Читать книгу Their Baby Bond - Amy Andrews - Страница 5

DR WILLIAM GALLIGHER knew he’d been fooling himself the minute he saw Louise Marsden again. Damn it. He wasn’t as over her as he’d thought! One year apart had obviously not managed to erase five years of the best relationship he’d ever had. He paused at the entry to Ward Two, his hand on the swing doors, and took a deep breath, his heart pounding in anticipation. He watched her through the glass panels, the familiar pull of attraction flaring to life.

Even a good ten metres away, and with her back to him, he knew it was her. Her thick, golden, rope-like plait brushed the gentle curve of her bottom, revealing her identity at any distance. That plait and the cute package attached to it were known the width and breadth of the hospital.

His groin tightened as, unbidden, images stormed his mind. Lou naked with her hair loose, flowing over her shoulders and down her back. He still had far too vivid recall of how great it felt trailing over his body. How thick and heavy it felt against his fingers when they were buried in it. How he had spent many an hour brushing it, until the streaks of blonde, honey and gold blended together to form a shiny silken curtain of glorious colour. He had missed her hair.

She was leaning against the raised return of the central nurses’ desk, her elbow resting against the smooth surface. Her petite body as slender as he remembered. Her derrière as cute as ever. She was chatting to Lydia, and he could hear her wicked laughter drift towards him. Lou had a fantastic laugh. He had missed her laugh too.

He sighed. Louise Marsden had been an easy woman to love. Generous, loyal, uncomplicated—the complete opposite of his ex-wife. She had known how messed up he’d been over Delvine and the demise of his marriage, and she had been a soothing balm for his battered soul. Lou had been just what he’d needed.

Damn it. He could feel himself being seduced by the past and put the brakes on. He wasn’t here for this. For her. His work had bought him back. And that was it. Because for the first time in years he had a chance to start a fresh page with his daughter. And he wouldn’t complicate it by rekindling the flame with Lou.

Okay, Candy adored Louise, but after years of Delvine muddying the waters with his daughter he finally had the opportunity to reconnect with her, and he needed to devote all his time and energy to that. Not chase after something that he had ended a year ago. No matter how tempting it was.

Louise Marsden felt like hell. She gripped her stomach as the baby did a somersault. Come on, little guy, give me a break. Her back ached, her legs ached, her ribs ached and her stomach growled as the little commandant inside her demanded a sugar-hit. She felt shaky and nauseated as she pulled a packet of Fruit Tingles out of her pocket and crammed one quickly into her mouth.

Her tongue tingled as the sweet fizzed in her mouth, the effect almost instantaneous. The trembling ceased and her stomach stopped feeling as if it was imminently in danger of losing its contents.

‘You okay, Lou?’

Louise nodded, easing her grip on the desk. ‘Am now,’ she smiled weakly at her second-in-charge and good friend Lydia Clarke.

‘Fruit Tingle time?’ Lydia asked.

Louise smiled and nodded. ‘Little dictator,’ she said.

‘Hah! If you think this is bad, just wait. You’re going to be dancing attendance on that little tyke for the rest of your life.’

Lydia had four kids, so Lou figured she could speak with reasonable authority. ‘Oh, goody,’ she grumbled good-naturedly.

‘Still sleeping badly?’

She nodded. ‘I just can’t get comfortable. I feel like I’m an elephant sleeping in a hammock.’

Lydia laughed. ‘You aren’t exactly small.’

‘Gee, thanks … why are we friends again?’

‘Because I’ve known you since first grade and I keep you supplied with Fruit Tingles.’

‘I can buy my own Fruit Tingles,’ Lou protested, but couldn’t deny that Lydia’s multiple stashes had got her out of many a baby-induced hypoglycaemic attack.

The phone rang and Lydia answered it. Peter Booth, a nurse on Ward Two, steamed into the nurses’ station, baby on hip. ‘I can’t get anyone else to do the shave. I just need one more, come on guys—Lou … people are going to pay big money to see all that gorgeous hair come off.’

‘No, no, no and no. It’s all right for you,’ laughed Lou, staring at Pete’s bald pate. ‘You’re used to it.’

‘You could just get it cut short or even coloured. You don’t have to go the whole hog.’

‘Out,’ Lydia ordered, replacing the phone, picking up a chart and whacking him playfully. ‘That would be a sin.’

‘True,’ he sighed. ‘But still …’

‘Out,’ said Lydia, grinning. They watched him leave. ‘So, what have you got planned for the weekend?’

‘Anything and everything I can to keep my mind off Will’s return.’ A month had passed since the memo from the Medical Director had announced Will’s appointment, and she wasn’t any closer to indifference.

Kristy Freeman, a newly graduated nurse, bustled into the station along with Lynne Oliver, the ward clerk. The phone rang again and Lynne answered it. Lynne was efficient and practically indispensable to Ward Two, but loved to gossip. Lydia took her friend’s arm and steered her out of the nurses’ station—too much activity, too much noise, too many flapping ears.

They parked themselves just on the other side of all the activity, in the main thoroughfare, leaning their elbows against the raised return. ‘It’s been a year, Lou. Don’t tell me you still love him?’ Lydia asked.

‘Oh, God, no. I’m over him. Really.’ Really.

‘So, what’s the problem?’ Lydia demanded.

‘I don’t know. Will took up every part of my life for a long time, and …’

‘You loved him?’ Lydia finished.

Lou nodded miserably. She was over him. Really. But suddenly a year’s separation didn’t seem like enough distance.

‘Tell me, Lou,’ Lydia said gently, ‘how long were you unhappy in that relationship?’

‘I was happy most of the time,’ she protested.

‘Sure. But did he ever ask you to marry him? Did he ever give you any indication or promise of anything other than living for the moment?’

‘No.’

‘No,’ said Lydia, touching her friend’s arm, ‘he didn’t.’

‘It wasn’t his fault. His life is complicated. Delvine made everything so difficult. You know that, Lydia. He’s your friend too.’

‘Sure.’ Lydia nodded. ‘And you were more than understanding, Lou. In fact I don’t know of any other woman who would have been quite so understanding for quite so long. But he ended it, and vacated your life, and you’ve moved on,’ she said, indicating Lou’s round bump. ‘And you have this baby to think about now. And Will may have been my friend too, but my loyalty will always be with you.’ She grinned. ‘Always. Now, repeat after me: Will Galligher is in my past. I am over him.’

Lou rolled her eyes. ‘Will Galligher is in my past. I am over him,’ she said dutifully.

‘Now repeat it over and over until you believe it. All weekend if necessary.’ Lydia laughed.

Lou laughed too. She felt empowered by talking to Lydia. Her friend always had the knack of cutting through the layers to the crux of the matter. ‘You’re right, Lydia. Besides, the only room I have in my heart these days is for this little guy,’ she said, patting her stomach.

‘Atta girl! You’ll be fine, Lou,’ said Lydia, hugging her reassuringly. ‘Really. You’ll be cool. You’ll be calm. You’ll be collected. And if he puts one foot wrong, I’ll beat him to a pulp.’

Will hesitated a little before pushing open the doors and approaching. He hadn’t expected to feel this churned up, and part of him urged retreat. Maybe this meeting would be better on Monday morning? At least she’d be expecting him then, and it would be business as usual. Lou and Lydia looked deep in conversation. Don’t be stupid, man. She won’t bite. Get it over and done with.

He swung the doors open defiantly and ordered his legs to move. I am over her. Candy is my priority. Only Candy. He strode towards his goal, his eyes planted firmly on his target. Her long plait like a homing beacon. He noticed a crawling child with bilateral leg plasters also making its way to Lou from the opposite direction. Except he wasn’t looking at her with grim determination, but absolute glee. As if she was the best thing in the whole ward. Good taste, kid.

He saw her look down as the little one touched her leg, and he heard her laugh again, the noise carrying to him, evoking myriad memories from their five years together. She bent and hauled the babe up on to her hip, still chatting to Lydia. The child snuggled his head into Lou’s breast and Will’s heart skipped a beat as Lou cuddled the little boy close, her chin rubbing absently against his downy hair. He remembered how she had held Candy just like that. I am over you. I am over you.

‘Hell, Lou, don’t look now, but Will’s coming up right behind you,’ murmured Lydia.

Lou froze and cuddled little Terry closer. Today? He wasn’t due to start till Monday. She wasn’t ready for this. She was supposed to have the weekend to prepare. How was he going to react to her news?

‘Hello, Lou.’

Louise bugged her eyes at Lydia. Help.

Lydia bugged hers back, and nodded ever so slightly. It’s okay. I’ve got your back.

Will smiled at Lydia, who gave him a cool look. Oh, dear. He had counted Lydia as one of his friends. He and Lou had been out with Lydia and her husband, Gerry, many times, had been to dinner at their house on numerous occasions. Candy counted Rilla, Lydia’s third child, as one of her closest friends. But Lou and Lydia had always been really tight, and he’d known that Lou had been hurt when he’d left. And women stuck together.

He felt his heartbeat kick up a notch as Lou slowly turned. What would he see when she finally faced him? Would she still look as hurt as the day he had told her they couldn’t go on as they were? Or had she moved past that? To anger? Or contempt? Or maybe she’d be happy to see him? She’d smile at him and throw her arms around his neck?

Lou took a deep breath and slowly turned, bracing herself for his reaction, pulling Terry closer to her chest. ‘Hello, Will.’

Will’s thoughts stuttered to a halt. For a few seconds he wondered if he was having some kind of absent seizure. Or stroke. It took a few moments for the wiring in his brain to reconnect. He had heard about people being struck dumb and knew he was living their nightmare.

How naive had he been? The look on her face didn’t register. The amazingly large bosom where the little boy was snuggled didn’t register. He leant against the counter and took a deep breath. The only thing that registered was her enormous stomach. Pregnant? She was pregnant? He was completely speechless. In fact he was fairly certain he had his mouth open and was gaping like an idiot.

‘Close your mouth, Will,’ said Lydia, saccharine-sweet. ‘Don’t want to catch any flies.’

He glanced at her and saw the amusement and triumph in her eyes. Oh, yeah. Lydia definitely wasn’t keen on him. He ignored her, and struggled for a moment for something to say. The initial shock was waning, and he could feel the first spurt of a darker, stronger emotion. Anger? Jealousy? Possession?

Lydia’s smugness goaded him. ‘Jeez, Lou. You sure didn’t waste any time,’ he said, staring pointedly at Lou’s belly.

Lou gripped Terry even closer as she heard Lydia’s shocked gasp. She stared at him for a moment, stung by his words. ‘My office,’ she said, through clenched teeth.

Lou passed Terry to Lydia, feeling her friend’s hostility as a palpable force. If she didn’t get Will out of harm’s way Lydia was going to tear him to shreds. And the way she felt at the moment, with his insulting remark hanging between them, she might well let her.

He followed her, watching her plait sway and glide against her shirt. The urge to pull on it, flip her around, kiss her mouth and refamiliarise himself with those lips was strong, and he suppressed it with difficulty. Even if his life hadn’t been complicated, and there hadn’t been Candy to consider, Lou had obviously replaced him.

Lou pulled out her chair and glared at him as he sat opposite. How dared he? She was mad as hell, and battled to bring her temper under control. The very fact that being in this office reminded her of the number of times he had dragged her in here and kissed her made her madder.

‘I’m sorry. Was I supposed to sit around and pine for you all this time? Was I?’

He knew he had no right to feel so outraged. But he did. ‘Of course not,’ he snapped. ‘But, jeez, Lou. Did you even let my side of the bed get cold? Just how pregnant are you?’

‘I’m thirty weeks. And I don’t owe you an explanation, Will. You ended it. You left. You said you didn’t know when you’d be back. So I got on with my life. You were too involved with your own stuff for a baby. So I found someone who wasn’t.’

The baby chose that moment to give her a hefty kick, as if objecting to the lie. She placed her hand over the spot and rubbed it absently. Sorry, baby, but if he’s going to accuse me of being easy when he should know me better, then he can suffer for a bit.

Will followed the movement and felt another irrational streak of jealousy. She was carrying another man’s baby. He hadn’t been prepared for that. Her anger, her hostility—yes. But not how much it was going to sting knowing she had traded him in for someone else so quickly.

He shook his head to clear it. ‘Since when did you want a baby?’

‘I’ve always wanted one,’ she snapped.

‘You never told me,’ he said indignantly.

‘When was it ever the right time to tell you, Will? I’m a thirty-five-year-old woman. What makes you think I wouldn’t want one?’

He blinked. Good question. She was a paedatric nurse. A damn good one at that. She’d been wonderful with Candy. He sighed. ‘Who’s the father?’ Please, God, don’t let me know him. ‘Are you going to marry him?’

Lou felt herself getting sucked in to the lie further, and searched for a half-truth to assuage her guilt. ‘He’s … not on the scene any more.’ It’s complicated. She thought about Jan and Martin and clutched her swollen belly harder.

Will blinked. The surprises just kept on coming. ‘What do you mean? Doesn’t he know you’re pregnant?’

‘It’s not like that,’ she dodged, hoping she could keep the lies straight. ‘It was just a casual thing.’

Will narrowed his eyes and looked at her closely. Rubbish. There was something she wasn’t telling him. How badly had she wanted a baby? Had she used some poor, unsuspecting guy to accomplish her goal?

‘Lou, you didn’t just use some guy to get pregnant, did you?’

The baby kicked again. Did he really think her capable of such a cold-blooded plan? Anger simmered through her veins. ‘This is none of your business, Will. All you need to know is that I’m pregnant and I’ll be out of your hair in a month. I’m sure you and I can manage to be civil to each other in that time, right? Or is that going to be a problem?’

Four weeks. He’d been looking forward to coming back to his old job, knowing he’d get to see Lou every day. Because apart from their history she was the best damn nurse unit manager he’d ever worked with. Efficient, knowledgeable and resourceful. ‘No problem,’ he said emphatically, staring into her pretty face and blue eyes. ‘Who’s filling in for you?’ he asked.

‘Lydia.’

Oh. Great. Just what he needed. The friend from hell. ‘Excellent,’ he said.

There was a moment of awkward silence. ‘I suppose you’re here to familiarise yourself with the new computer system?’ she said, not seeing any point in continuing hostilities when they had to work together.

‘No, I have some other stuff to attend to first. I’m coming back this afternoon to get myself orientated with that. I actually came to see you. Check that we were … okay.’

‘And?’

‘I don’t know, Lou.’ He raked his hands through his hair. ‘You’ve thrown me for a bit of a loop, actually.’

Welcome to my life. ‘Well, back at you,’ she said.

The phone rang and Lou was grateful for the interruption. ‘Ward Two, Louise Marsden speaking.’

‘Everything okay?’ demanded Lydia.

Lou smiled. ‘Fine.’

‘Do you want me to come in and kick his butt?’

This time she laughed. Lydia would, she had no doubt. ‘Thanks, I have it under control.’ She hung up, still smiling.

‘Lydia?’

She nodded.

‘She doesn’t like me much these days.’

‘No.’

‘I wasn’t aware I’d done anything to upset her.’

Lou shrugged. ‘You didn’t. You left. You upset me. It’s enough.’

‘What else could I have done, Lou? Delvine was making it impossible. You were miserable. I wasn’t … we weren’t making you happy any more.’

‘You did what you had to do, Will. I understand that. But it still hurt.’

‘So I do the only decent thing and I’m the big bad wolf? That’s hardly fair,’ he grumbled. Women!

Lou nodded. ‘That’s what friends are for.’

‘Do they all hate me?’ he asked, feeling slightly apprehensive about working with a hostile staff.

She shook her head. ‘Only about seventy-five percent.’

The phone rang again, and it was the pharmacy checking on supplies. She replaced the phone and felt more on an even keel now the initial hostilities were over and they’d settled into polite chit-chat.

Will shook his head. ‘Candy’s going to flip when I tell her you’re having a baby. She was just lamenting only yesterday how she didn’t have a little brother or sister to play with. You’re going to be her favourite person … but then I guess you always were.’

Lou smiled, thinking about Will’s gorgeous eight-year-old daughter. ‘How is Candy?’

‘Good,’ he said. ‘Surprisingly so. I thought she might be more upset … withdrawn … But she’s amazed me. I’m lucky she’s so resilient.’

Lou loved the way his mouth, his entire face softened when he talked about Candice. Just as well I’m over you. ‘How long will Delvine be gone for?’ Harold Yates, the Medical Director, had filled Lou in on Will’s new circumstances. Delvine had found herself a rich property developer and had decided to relocate to Italy with him.

‘At least two years. Probably more.’

Lou shook her head. How could she? How could she walk out on her daughter, a sweetie like Candice, for such a long time? But then Delvine had always had the maternal instincts of a spider. And it wasn’t the first time Delvine had done a runner. She had taken off for two and a half years when Candy had been one, leaving Will a single dad.

Lou felt the bulge of her belly and knew that although the baby inside her had never been a part of her future plans, it was her responsibility and she could no more walk away from that than fly to the moon. And the baby wasn’t even hers.

Lucky for Candice she had a father who doted on her and was one hundred per cent committed. Hell, despite the custody arrangements, he had practically raised her. When Lou thought about the interference and stress Delvine had caused in Will’s life, their life, she wanted to spit.

‘She signed over custody to you?’

He nodded. ‘I think she was looking for an out. Again. She was relieved I wouldn’t sign the passport application. To be honest, I don’t think she’ll ever return.’

Lou nodded. ‘Are you back in the house?’ Will had a beautiful federation-style Queenslander, in the trendy suburb of Paddington.

He nodded. ‘Why don’t you come over this weekend? She’s dying to see you.’

Lou swallowed. She’d do anything for that little girl. But this? So soon? ‘I’m kind of busy.’ She fobbed him off. ‘I’ll see how things pan out.’

There was another awkward silence. He looked so good. A year had been too long. The things she’d wanted to do with this man … to be with this man. Her tiredness was making her sentimental and emotional. She suddenly felt like crawling into his lap and bawling all over his chest. She’d missed him. Curse hormones! I’m over you, damn it.

‘Anyway, I’d better get back. Peter’s out there causing havoc, no doubt,’ she said, rising and crossing to the door like a spooked filly. She’d worked too hard to put him behind her to falter at the first real challenge. I will not cry.

‘Wait. Lou …’

Lou stopped at the door, her hand on the knob. ‘Yes?’ she said, a tremble husking her voice, refusing to look back at him.

‘I’m sorry about before,’ he said, joining her at the door. Her body was so close, and his burned hot with memories of how good it had felt to hold her.

‘It’s fine,’ she said briskly, turning the knob and pulling before she gave in to the urge to lean back into him.

‘No,’ he said, pushing the door shut with his hand up high on the frame, keeping it there, his other hand automatically reaching for her hip. He could feel the unfamiliar flare of her abdomen where once had been the jut of bone. ‘It’s not. I was shocked. I acted like a Neanderthal.’

‘Yes, you did.’

There was a moment of silence, of stillness, full of things unsaid. His hand at what used to be her waist was burning a hole in her side.

‘Lou …’

‘Don’t,’ she begged him quietly.

Her hair smelt fantastic, as always, and he wanted to touch it so badly his fingers itched. ‘I missed you,’ he whispered. ‘I missed this,’ he said, removing his hand from her hip and giving in to the urge to feel her hair.

The skin at the nape of her neck broke out in goosebumps as his fingers lingered there a little, before moving down the length of her plait.

‘I’ve dreamt about touching it again. I’d forgotten how heavy it is. How glorious.’

She couldn’t do this. She was going to have a baby in a couple of months. It was no longer just about her. The baby deserved a stable home life. Not some male figure who had too much of his own baggage to commit to them. She had to think even harder about who she let in.

‘Let me out,’ she said, holding on to the last shred of her sanity.

Will sighed, releasing her hair, and stepped away from her.

‘Thank you,’ she said, opening the door hastily and walking out into the cool air outside.

Her office was suddenly hot. Stuffy. She couldn’t breathe. Lydia was hovering outside, and looked relieved when Lou appeared intact. Will took a moment to collect himself, and then stepped out of Lou’s office.

‘Help! I need help in here!’ came a raised voice from one of the bays.

The voice held just the right note of panic, and they ran. Lou, Lydia, Peter and Will, with Lou reaching the bedside first. ‘What’s wrong, Kristy?’

‘I think she’s having an allergic reaction to the penicillin,’ said Kristy, her face pale.

‘Stop it,’ Will ordered as he looked down at the very frightened-looking child in question. The little girl was naked but for a nappy, and had large red welts forming all over her body before their eyes. Her lips were looking very puffy, and Will didn’t need a stethoscope to hear the wheezes coming from the lungs. Anaphylaxis.

‘I’ll get the resus trolley,’ said Peter.

‘Oxygen, adrenaline, phenergan, hydrocortisone and some ventolin,’ Will directed, as everyone sprang into action around him.

Lou drew up and administered the drugs, Lydia attached a sats probe, Peter assembled the ventolin and Kristy took care of the oxygen.

‘How old is she? What’s her diagnosis?’ Will asked.

‘Erica’s eighteen months,’ Lou told him. ‘Cellulitis from a possum bite.’

‘Is this Erica’s first dose?’

‘Second,’ said Kristy.

He nodded. That made sense. Often anaphylactic reactions weren’t seen until the second or subsequent exposure to the particular allergen. Will looked around for a stethoscope and found one being thrust into his hand by Lou. Efficient. He smiled at her gratefully.

The wheezes had reduced markedly, and Will breathed a sigh of relief that they had halted the rapid progress of a condition that could have been fatal in minutes.

‘Let’s get her into the high dependency bay. We’ll special her for the next little while,’ said Lou.

Her hands shook slightly as she helped push the cot to the bay opposite the nurse’s station. Thank God Will had been here. Having an experienced paediatrician in an emergency on Ward Two was a definite bonus.

Will hung around while the nursing team got the little girl settled in her temporary locale.

‘Possum bite?’ he asked as they trooped back into the nurses’ station.

‘Camping with the family,’ explained Peter. ‘Tried to pat one of the friendly possums. It bit her arm.’

‘Ouch.’ Will winced.

‘Hey, Pete,’ said Lydia casually. ‘I’ve an idea. Why don’t you ask our new colleague about the shave?’ She nodded towards Will.

Pete’s eyes lit up. ‘Good idea, Lydia. Brilliant. Just brilliant.’

Pete smiled at Will and rubbed his hands together.

Lydia gave him a baleful smile. ‘What?’ Will said warily.

‘Dr Galligher,’ said Pete, narrowing his eyes speculatively. ‘You do know what they say about bald men, don’t you?’

Will nodded, still wary. ‘Ah, but is it true, Pete?’

‘Never had any complaints.’ Pete winked. ‘But seriously, Shave for a Cure is on in a few weeks, and I just need one more person to agree to have their hair cut.’

‘That’s for the Leukaemia Foundation?’ Will asked.

Pete nodded. ‘I’ve been trying to convince Lou.’

Will looked at Lou and her beautiful hair, completely horrified by Pete’s suggestion. Over my dead body! ‘That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard,’ he said dismissively.

‘No, no,’ Pete said, shaking his head emphatically. ‘Think about it. That plait is famous in this hospital. It’s been part of the history here for years. We’d raise a fortune. People would come from all over the hospital to finally see Lou lose the plait.’

‘Sacrilege.’ Lydia shook her head.

‘Hear, hear,’ agreed Will, suddenly warming to Lydia again.

‘Yes, I can see the signs around the hospital now. “Come see our Lou lose her plait”,’ Pete said, staring at a point in mid-air and flicking his hands to emphasise each word.

‘Are you insane?’ asked Will incredulously. How could the man even think of cutting off Lou’s gorgeous locks?

Lou listened to their conversation about herself and her hair, feeling suddenly invisible. Like a life support system for a head of hair.

‘Oh, come on, there wouldn’t be one person who hadn’t thought about snipping it off as she’s walked past all these years. And it would make such a glorious wig,’ Pete said, lifting Lou’s plait and examining the blend of colours.

‘Ah, excuse me—I am actually standing here in the same room,’ said Lou, bemused by their in-depth discussion.

‘The plait stays,’ Will said firmly.

‘Lou?’ Pete entreated, appealing to his boss one last time.

Lou opened her mouth to graciously decline.

‘No, Pete,’ said Will, even more firmly this time. ‘Absolutely not.’

Lou turned and raised her eyebrow at Will. She knew he’d always been obsessed with her hair, but this was ridiculous. He was looking at her as if he owned her hair. As if he owned her. She felt the early simmer of her blood pick up to a slow boil. Did he really think he actually had a say over what she did with her hair? Or any other part of her body? Did he think he could walk back in after a year and she’d just fall back into her old Will-worshipping ways?

If she was going to hold on to herself and her sanity now Will was back, he had to know that their old dynamic was dead. No more following meekly wherever he led. I am over you, buddy boy. Time to draw a line in the sand.

‘I’ll do it,’ she said, talking to Pete, but looking pointedly at Will.

‘Oh, no,’ gasped Kristy.

‘Lou,’ warned Lydia.

‘Yes!’ Pete rubbed his hands together with glee and picked up a pen.

‘No. Don’t put her down. I’ll do it,’ Will instructed, still holding Lou’s gaze.

Lou broke eye contact. ‘Do not listen to him. Long hair with a baby is not a good combination. I’m doing it.’

‘He doesn’t need you now,’ said Will, placing a stilling hand on Pete’s, hovering above an official form, pen poised. ‘I’ve already volunteered.’

Everyone in the nurses’ station looked at Lou. She felt as if she was in a tennis match, her colleagues looking left and right as they lobbed the bone of contention between them.

She shrugged. ‘You want to as well—fine. But I’m not changing my mind. He can have both of us,’ she said.

‘Lou,’ said Will, looking at the stubborn set of her chin, ‘you’re just trying to prove a point now. You don’t have to do this.’ Will realised his fatal error. By disagreeing, he had goaded her into it.

‘No, my mind is made up. It’s for kids with cancer. I’m the kids’ ward nurse unit manager. It’s a good cause. I normally go along, sponsor everyone, sell raffle tickets, do my bit. But this year I’m going to lead by example.’

Will shook his head, not really able to believe that she was seriously going to go through with it.

‘Are you really going bald?’ asked a mystified Kristy.

‘No.’ Lou laughed, not quite indignant enough to agree to that. ‘But shaved all over. Like Lydia’s Matt. How short does he have his?’ she asked her friend. Lydia’s ten-year-old son always got a crew cut.

‘He usually gets a number four blade,’ Lydia said, almost as horrified as Kristy.

‘Good.’ Lou nodded emphatically. ‘A number four it is.’

Will still couldn’t believe the direction of the conversation. He searched around for something to deter her, one last-ditch effort.

‘Jan will have a fit,’ he said. Lou’s sister probably coveted Lou’s hair even more than he did. Jan had always bemoaned her thin, stringy, can’t-do-anything-with-it hair, especially as Lou’s was the exact opposite.

Lou blinked, and braced herself for the inevitable pain. She heard a slight gasp come from Kristy, and felt rather than saw the sudden tension emanating from Lydia and Pete. It was suddenly deathly quiet, as if the entire ward had chosen that moment to cease all noise and activity.

‘Hardly,’ she said, keeping the gut-wrenching sorrow from her voice. ‘Jan’s dead.’ And she pushed herself off the desk and calmly walked away, before she did something awful—like burst into tears at the unexpected reminder of her sister’s tragic death.