Читать книгу A Forever Family Collection - Коллектив авторов - Страница 24

FOR Luke it was like a blast from the past. He felt as if he were looking at an old photograph of himself and his brother. Carbon copies of each other, with their white-blond hair and pale blue eyes. And now this. Reuben. Like a little mini-me. He was stunned as a million thoughts catapulted into his brain at once.

Abby was engrossed in her son and didn’t seem to notice his reaction. When on earth had Abby had a child? And why didn’t he know about it?

For a second, just for the tiniest second, a wild thought flitted through his brain. It was like looking into a mirror. He tried to approximate Reuben’s age. Was he around four? Could, by some miracle, Reuben be his?

Almost as soon as the thought appeared, he shook it off. He was infertile. Tests had shown beyond any doubt that he was infertile. Reuben could never be his child. So whose child was he? And just how quickly had Abby moved on?

He cleared his throat, attracting her attention. ‘You have a son.’

‘Yes, yes, I do.’ Abby turned Reuben around in her lap to face Luke with a proud smile on her face. ‘Reuben, this is Mommy’s friend. He’s called Luke and he’s a doctor, like Mommy.’

‘Does he look after kids too?’

‘No, he looks after hearts.’

‘Wow.’ Reuben eyed Luke suspiciously for a few seconds before he obviously decided he must be okay. ‘Hi, Dr Luke.’

Luke watched the little figure Abby had clutched closely to her chest, his heart beating frantically. ‘Pleased to meet you, Reuben.’ He held his hand out to the little guy, who frowned at it before holding his own hand up for a high-five instead.

Luke slapped the hand held aloft and leaned closer. ‘How old is Reuben, Abby?’

‘He’s four,’ she answered quickly as she handed Reuben one of Nancy’s home-made cookies.

Four. A new sensation flitted through him. She’d replaced him almost instantly.

Fury started to build inside him. All rational thought was leaving the building. He was infertile. He couldn’t have kids. That’s the reason he’d broken up with her—because he couldn’t fulfil her dreams of having a family. And he hadn’t wanted to make her lose that chance.

And she obviously hadn’t. Abby had moved on and had the family she deserved. So why did it hurt so much?

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up. James Turner—the Man in Black. ‘We need to have a word.’

Luke nodded and scraped his chair along the floor as he stood, following James Turner to the nearby admin office.

‘There’s been a change of plan.’

‘She’s going to San Francisco?’ Right now, Luke couldn’t care less.

‘If only. No, there’s been a change of plan for you.’

‘What do you mean?’

James Turner had the grace to avert his eyes. ‘This has been a highly unusual situation.’

‘You can say that again.’

He raised his hand to stop Luke speaking. ‘Dr Storm, right now you are the only Presidential doctor in the vicinity. We have a range of protocols for these circumstances. The most important is that the First Family is looked after by doctors that are obviously well qualified but who have also been subject to our rigorous security checks.’ He looked along the corridor towards the cath lab. ‘Dr Blair is physically unfit to serve as the First Lady’s doctor right now.’

Luke nodded in agreement.

‘However, she is quite insistent that she values his opinion and wishes him to be consulted regarding her condition.’

‘That’s well out with my realm of expertise, Mr Turner. I’m happy to look after Dr Blair but I’ve no idea about the First Lady. To be honest, we’ve landed really lucky here. Dr Fairgreaves may be retired but he’s considered by many to be one of the finest obstetricians in America, so you would need to seek his opinion on the First Lady’s condition.’ Luke was in a hurry to get away. His mind was on other things. The ‘no ring’ thing didn’t mean Abby wasn’t married. He’d worked with lots of female doctors who didn’t routinely wear their jewellery to work. Was he going to have to make small talk with Abby’s husband?

The unimpressed voice cut into his thoughts. ‘I wouldn’t call this luck, Dr Storm.’

‘What?’

James Turner fixed him with a hard stare. ‘This is not a situation that I would deem “lucky”. In fact, I would deem this as anything but “lucky”, Dr Storm.’

Luke scratched his chin. He had no idea what was going on here but, to be frank, he’d other things to worry about right now, like whether or not Abby was married. He couldn’t possibly have any say in what happened with Jennifer Taylor. It was absurd. He knew nothing about obstetrics and only had a limited knowledge in paediatrics.

‘Our protocols say you have to be on staff, Dr Storm. I hope you packed enough for four days— or maybe longer.’

Luke felt a cold sweat breaking out on his body. ‘On staff? What does that mean? That’s ridiculous! I’m happy to take care of Dr Blair for the next twenty-four hours—as a professional courtesy, of course—but anything else, forget it. I’m not your man.’ He’d expected to have to stay overnight—but four days?

‘Actually, Dr Storm, you are.’ He waved a contract with a presidential seal at the bottom. ‘It’s in the small print. You can check with Captain Leon Gibbs if you want. He will clarify your position for you. No matter what your specialty, if you are the only presidential doctor available at the time, you have to stay on staff until a suitable replacement is found.’

‘But you’ve got a suitable replacement in Dr Fairgreaves!’ Luke’s voice rose to crescendo pitch. Leon Gibbs was the navy captain who was the head of the White House medical unit—the man who had recruited him. The man was terrifying on a good day. He really didn’t want to have to check anything with him.

‘He hasn’t had the necessary checks.’

‘And how long does that take?’

The corner of James Turner’s mouth lifted upwards. ‘Longer than four days.’

‘This is absurd!’

A flicker of exasperation passed over James Turner’s face. ‘Let me clarify exactly what I, and your country, expect from you, Dr Storm. You have to take care of Dr Blair. You have to make sure he is mentally competent to be consulted on Mrs Taylor’s condition. Anything that could compromise his ability to consult—procedures, medications, et cetera—should be notified to me. You also have to be sure that all decisions taken are medically sound. If you have doubts, you can feel free to ask the opinions of others that you trust— as long as they sign a confidentiality agreement, that is.’

‘So I’ve got to stay here for four days—or longer—until all this is over?’ Luke ran his hand through his hair. A few hours ago he would have given anything to stay here for the next few days. But now? He didn’t know what to think.

‘That’s right. You don’t need to be here. You just need to always be available to me.’ He handed Luke a new phone. ‘Don’t switch it off, Dr Storm, it has a tracker in it. Now I guess you’d better find somewhere suitable to stay.’ He glanced over in Abby’s direction. ‘Somehow I don’t think that will be too much of a problem, will it?’

Luke stalked back into the emergency department in time to see Abby kissing Reuben goodbye and waving out the window to him. He crossed to the window to see Reuben walking hand in hand along the coastal path with a young woman with long brown hair.

‘Who’s that?’

‘What? Oh, that’s Lucy. She’s my childcare worker and she’s awesome with Reuben. Childcare workers are like gold around here. I’m lucky to have her.’

Something twisted in Luke’s gut. It was clear Abby was besotted with her son. Was she as besotted with his father?

‘Where did you find her?’

Abby smiled. ‘Being a paediatrician has its benefits. I looked after Lucy’s brother a few years ago. She remembered me and offered her services when she heard I was looking for someone.’ Abby turned to face Luke, touching his arm, ‘Luke, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I had a child—I was just about to when he came barrelling through the doors.’ She smiled. ‘He’s a real livewire.’

It was all Luke could do not to pull his arm from hers. Did she really have no idea how he was feeling? How could she be so blasé about this? He gritted his teeth. There was only one question he could ask. ‘So are you going to introduce me to Luke’s dad?’

‘Luke’s dad?’ Abby looked astonished by the question. ‘Well, that would be difficult since I don’t know who he is.’ She carried on looking over a patient’s chart as if she’d just given the most natural answer in the world.

Luke felt as if he was going to explode. She didn’t know who Reuben’s father was? What the hell was going on? Had she just slept with some anonymous stranger? What had happened to the Abby Tyler he’d known?

It took Abby a few seconds to realise that something was wrong. She’d thought Luke had been a little off, but thought it was because she hadn’t told him about Reuben. He’d baulked when she’d told him what age Reuben was, a reaction she hadn’t understood at the time. And then the penny dropped. Hard.

No! He couldn’t possibly think…

She put her head in her hands as she pictured her son in her mind. And then she cringed at the answer she’d just given about Luke’s father. What must he think of her? Did he think she’d slept with the first man that came along?

Everyone here knew her, everyone knew her history and Reuben’s background. But Luke had missed out on a whole chapter of her life. A whole five years.

‘Luke.’ She turned towards him with new eyes. This time she could see the rage that was bubbling under the surface, barely contained. She could see his brain trying to process everything around him—and coming to the wrong conclusion.

She placed her hand on his shoulder and saw him visibly flinch. ‘I think I should explain. It’s not what you think.’

‘Reuben’s four, Abby. You must have got pregnant as soon as you left.’ He spat his words through clenched teeth.

Abby put both of her hands on his shoulders. ‘Look at me, Luke.’ Her voice was calm and steady. She stood square in front of him. ‘Do you really think I’d do that?’

‘It looks like it.’

She pressed down hard on his shoulders. ‘Stop it. Stop it now. You know me. You know I would never do anything like that.’

‘Well, how do you explain Reuben?’

Abby took a deep breath. ‘You didn’t want children, Luke, and I did. So I reassessed my life. I came here…’ she pointed out the window at the ocean view ‘…to this beautiful place because I wanted to raise my children in the best place possible. I applied to adopt as soon as I had secured my position here and had a suitable house. It all takes time, Luke. I got Reuben when he was eighteen months old. I’m not his natural mother.’

‘You adopted him?’ his voice was incredulous. In the maelstrom of thoughts that had bombarded his mind he hadn’t even considered the possibility.

She nodded slowly. ‘It’s best thing I ever did.’ Her voice dropped. ‘His age is just a coincidence.’ She released her grip on his shoulders.

‘Why on earth did you adopt?’

Abby sat down on one of the nearby chairs and crossed her legs. ‘Why wouldn’t I adopt?’

‘Because you’re young, you’re beautiful. You could have come here and met someone else and had a baby of your own. I don’t imagine for a minute that you’ve been short of offers.’

Abby flinched at his blunt words then nodded slowly, ignoring his last comment. ‘Yes, yes, I could have. But I didn’t. I didn’t want to. This is what I wanted to do.’

‘I don’t understand.’ Luke ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

‘There’s lots of different ways to have a family, Luke.’ Her voice was almost a whisper.

‘But why this way? Why did you choose this way?’

Abby cast her eyes out the window. He was asking difficult questions, but then again he probably felt as if he was entitled to. And if she was going to answer honestly, it was easier not to look at him.

‘I had a dream of having a happy family. But I wanted to have the happy husband to go with the happy family. And it didn’t happen for me. And I realised that families come in all shapes and forms. I didn’t need a husband for my family. Not all families are mom, dad and 2.4 kids. And not all kids are perfect. So I decided it was time to follow my heart.’

She was talking about him. She was talking about him and her. That had been her dream. And he’d ruined it for her. Ruined it by not taking the time to consider the options. Then the entirety of her words struck home. He’d been so focused on the first part of her sentence he hadn’t paid attention to the second.

A chill went down Luke’s spine. Not all kids are perfect. ‘What do you mean?’ He walked across the room and knelt before Abby in her chair. ‘What do you mean, “Not all kids are perfect”? Abby, what’s wrong with Reuben?’

There was silence. The question hung in the air between them. Abby’s eyes were fixed on the floor. He saw her swallow uncomfortably. ‘He has ALL.’ Her voice was barely audible.

This time Luke really did feel as if he’d been punched. That beautiful, bouncy little boy had ALL.

The room was spinning now. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common type of childhood cancer, the same type that had killed his teenage brother fifteen years ago.

Abby seemed to focus, to gain her perspective. She leaned forward, ‘Luke, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to tell you.’

Her brown eyes were filled with compassion and without a thought he did what seemed the most natural thing in the world and wrapped his arms around her.

‘Oh, Abby, I’m so sorry.’

He could feel her tremble beneath his grip. She leaned her head on his shoulder and took a few deep breaths. He lifted his hand and stroked her blonde hair. They stayed that way for a few moments, Luke still kneeling on the floor with Abby wrapped in his embrace, then he put a hand on either side of her head and lifted it from his shoulder, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

‘So how is he doing?’

Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. She sat back in her chair but kept hold of Luke’s hand. ‘He’s doing well. He’s been getting treatment for the last two years. You can see he’s a lively little boy.’ She gave nervous laugh. ‘It’s difficult to keep an eye on him. What I really want to do is wrap him up in cotton wool and hide him somewhere, keep him safe from infections and injuries, but that’s just not Reuben. He’s a livewire and I’ve got to let him live his life.’

He clasped her hand even tighter. He could see the conflicting emotions in her face. The parent and the doctor. ‘Did you know he was sick when you adopted him?’

Abby shook her head. ‘He wasn’t initially, but you know how long these things can take. He’d had a medical before the adoption procedures began and everything was fine. He’d already been staying with me for a few months when I started to notice all the classic signs—the bruising, frequent infections and fever—and I just knew.’ Her eyes glassed over. ‘They asked me if I wanted to withdraw, can you imagine?’ She turned to face him. ‘As if I would do that. Then I guess they thought about it and decided who better to have a sick child than a paediatrician?’

Her voice wobbled. ‘He was mine, Luke. From the first time I set eyes on him he was mine.’ She broke her gaze from his, embarrassed by her reactions. Luke was the person who didn’t want children, so he couldn’t possibly understand how she felt.

‘I didn’t want to tell you about Reuben. I didn’t want to bring back bad memories for you about Ryan.’

Ryan. She’d said it. The name cut straight through to his heart like a knife, a knife that plunged in to the hilt and was then twisted around. His brother. The little brother he’d played with, laughed with and shared everything with. They’d been inseparable, probably due to the fact that their parents had seemed to have so little time for them. The life of a senator and his wife was never quiet. So they’d depended on each other entirely. And Luke had let him down.

He squeezed her hand. ‘Most memories of Ryan are good,’ he said quietly.

She smoothed her ruffled hair back into place and put on a bright smile. It was obvious she was trying to clear her head. ‘Did you bring an overnight bag with you?’

‘What?’ Luke started, still lost in thoughts of his brother and the life that had been stolen from him.

‘A bag, Luke. Did you bring a bag with you?’

He nodded. ‘I was due to speak at a conference and had my bag packed for that. It must still be stuck in the back of one of the secret-service cars.’

‘Well, why don’t you go and find it? You’ll need it for tonight if you’re staying at my place.’ She turned and headed towards the door. ‘And, Luke…’ she gave him a little smile ‘…go and grab some scrubs, will you? I don’t want you parading about my house in your usual nightwear—I’ve got a four-year-old, remember?’ And with that parting shot she disappeared out the door, leaving Luke to stare out over the waves breaking in Pelican Cove.

He stood for a few minutes, watching the sea. The irony of all this was that Ryan would have loved living in a place like this. And if he’d got sick a few years further down the line, there would have been more effective treatments, with better options and outcomes for the patients. Ryan could maybe have fulfilled his dream to be a surfer. He’d been the cleverest in the family by a mile. Naturally clever. One of these kids that had hardly needed to study and just sucked in information from all around them. But what he’d really wanted was to be a jock.

He’d wanted to play every sport known to man. And he’d done that for a while. But once he’d become sick, sports had been a no-no. Anything that could have caused injury, breaks, anything that had expended too much energy. All had been forbidden. So Ryan had only been able to dream about the sports he’d yet had to master. And surfing had been one of them.

Only once had the brothers had the opportunity to try surfing together. They’d been dragged to yet another official engagement by their parents—only this time it had been in Hawaii and the boys had disappeared to the beach as soon as they’d got there.

He’d never forget the look on Ryan’s face as he’d finally managed to stand upright on the surfboard. The expression of pure joy and exhilaration, captured in a few fleeting seconds on his teenage brother’s face, was a picture that was seared into Luke’s brain. A moment in time, frozen and remembered for ever.

Luke tore his eyes away from the crashing waves. Sometimes the memories were just too hard.

Abby headed back down the corridor, her heart beating furiously in her chest. She wasn’t sure if it was the effect of Luke holding her again, or from the stress of having to tell him about Reuben.

She ducked around the corner and stood for a second with her back against the wall, letting the feel of the cool concrete spread between her shoulder blades and back, easing her hot, trembling skin. She took a few deep slow breaths to calm her frantic heartbeat. At least he understood. At least he knew what it felt like to have someone that you love suffer from the condition. She didn’t need to explain to him what type of cancer it was, the statistics around it, the treatments and, worst of all, what Reuben’s chances were, because he knew all that already. Fifteen years ago the statistics had been much grimmer—Luke’s brother was proof of that. Things were a lot more positive now, but there was still always the chance that her child would be the unlucky one. Abby shook the thoughts from her head. She couldn’t stand it when the crows of doubt crept into her head and haunted her. A few months ago she’d had a dream that she was standing next to a graveside, watching a little white coffin being lowered into it, and she’d woken screaming and covered in sweat.

Why? She had no idea, because Reuben was doing well, brilliantly, in fact. But there was always just this tiny sliver of doubt, right at the back of her mind, chipping away at her. The slightest temperature and she’d be awake all night, worrying it was some hideous infection rather than a mild sniffle. But then again she was a mother and she was only human.

James Turner rounded the corner and just about walked into her. ‘Dr Tyler, I was looking for you.’ He seemed oblivious to her anxiety.

‘You were? Is everything all right?’

‘I’m just about to move Jennifer Taylor from your emergency department, but she’d like to speak to you before she moves.’

‘The First Lady, the First Lady wants to see me? But why? I’m not her doctor.’

‘I know that, Dr Tyler.’ He shrugged his shoulders. ‘What the First Lady wants, the First Lady gets.’

Abby nodded and glanced at her watch. Nearly three o’clock. Only a few more hours before she could clock off and head home to Reuben, only this time she would have Luke in tow. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what that would feel like. What would it be like to have a man under her roof? A man who was going to stay the night, and possibly for the next four days?

‘Dr Tyler?’ James Turner’s voice was abrupt, he was obviously losing his patience.

‘Sure, sure, I’m coming.’

Abby strode back into the emergency department and towards Jennifer Taylor’s room. The security service man at the door gave her a little nod as he stood aside to let her enter the room.

Jennifer was on the phone and she was in tears. ‘Yes, yes, I know. I understand, really I do.’ She sniffed back a new wave of tears as Abby grabbed some tissues and crossed to the edge of the bed. ‘Yes, Charlie, I promise, I’ll get them to phone you if I go into labour. Love you.’

She hung up the phone and grabbed the tissues from Abby, blowing her nose furiously. ‘I’m sorry Abby,’ she motioned for her to sit down at the side of the bed.

‘What are you sorry for? Was that your husband?’

She nodded tearfully.

‘Is he mad at you?’

Jennifer shook her head. ‘Charlie? Never. No, he’s in the middle of a peace agreement, they’ve been negotiating it for the last two years and it’s just about to be signed. So he really needs to be there. But he wants to be with me.’

Abby nodded. ‘I’ll bet he does. I’m surprised he doesn’t want you near him in Washington.’

Jennifer laughed. ‘That’s the last place he wants me right now. No, he’s spoken to Dr Fairgreaves and knows that I will get the best possible care. It’s actually lucky that I’m here.’

‘Lucky?’

‘Yes. If this had happened in Washington, some idiot would have leaked it to the press already. At least here I’ve got a modicum of privacy.’

Abby smiled. It was really the last thing she’d expected her to say. ‘So you’re happy that the First Son or Daughter is going to be born in Pelican Cove?’

‘I couldn’t be happier.’

Abby mulled it over. Jennifer Taylor was full of surprises. ‘So what can I do for you?’

Jennifer rolled her eyes. ‘I’m bored, Abby. They…’ she motioned towards the door ‘…are driving me crazy. They won’t let me out of the room, they won’t let me open the window, they won’t let me look out the window.’ She flopped her head back against her pillows. ‘There’s a good chance I’m going to be here for at least four days. I can’t take much more of this seclusion. I need something—or someone—to distract me.’

Abby smiled and looked around the little room. It was cheery enough, but was built for practicalities, not for comfort. She also knew that the room Jennifer Taylor was being moved to was almost identical.

‘How about I bring you some movies from home, and some books? What do you like?’

Jennifer breathed an audible sigh of relief. ‘Perfect, Abby, thanks. Movies, I like older ones, from when I was a teenager, particularly action ones— Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford or anything sci-fi. And books, definitely romance. You’ve got some, haven’t you?’

‘Oh, yes, by the bucketload.’

‘You’re a lifesaver. Thanks, Abby. I know there are things I should be worrying about. But I want some normality, some distractions. So, now I’ve got the somethings to distract me, what about the someone?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, what’s the gossip in Pelican Cove? Tell me. Tell me about the people and their lives. It’s so nice just to talk to someone normal—about normal things.’ She waved her arms around. ‘Everybody that’s usually around me has a political agenda. Either that, or they’re trying to write me a political agenda. I want normal. I want to know girlie stuff. I’m away from Washington now. I’m in a beautiful part of the country I’ve never seen before. I don’t want to be the First Lady right now. I want to be an expectant mom, waiting for her first child.’

She leaned over and touched Abby’s hand. ‘So, Dr Tyler, what’s the story with you and our Dr Storm?’

Abby stiffened, taken aback by the question. ‘Well, nothing really. We were friends a long time ago,’ she stumbled.

‘That’s not what he says. He says you were more than friends.’

‘He said what?’ She was horrified. Luke had been discussing their past relationship with the First Lady?

‘Don’t look so worried. I’d noticed something between you and I asked him about it. He looked really down.’

‘He did?’ Maybe she wasn’t so angry with him after all.

‘I told him he was a fool to let you slip through his fingers.’

Abby half smiled. ‘You did?’ How could a woman that was only a few years older than her seem so worldly wise?

‘Yes, I did.’ Jennifer leaned over and grabbed a barrette from the nearby table, coiling her hair up at the back of her head and pinning it in place. ‘He strikes me as quite a lonely soul,’ she said, looking thoughtful. ‘And knowing who his parents are, it doesn’t come as such a surprise.’

Abby was startled. ‘You know Luke’s parents?’

‘Of course I do. His father’s a senator. Didn’t you know that?’

Abby nodded her head. ‘Yes, yes, I did. I met them at birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I was with Luke for four years but his parents weren’t the most engaging people I’ve ever met. Kind of ironic since they’re both politicians. When they spoke to me it was almost as if their minds were on something else—the next thing on their list. Let’s just say that Luke didn’t seem to have a very good relationship with them. We certainly didn’t get invited around every week for Sunday dinner.’

‘I’m not surprised. Senator Storm is charm himself, but it’s all superficial. And as for her…’ She gave her head a little shake then gave Abby’s arm a little squeeze. ‘Meeting you was probably the best thing that could have happened to him, Abby, and it’s time to get to the bottom of whatever he’s hiding from you.’

Abby looked incredulous. ‘What on earth makes you think…?’

Jennifer Taylor tapped the side of her nose. ‘I’m not the First Lady for nothing.’

Abby stood up and gave her a smile and she headed to the door, ‘No, you’re certainly not.’

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. Luke went between the ER and the cath lab, checking on Dr Blair. Abby spent most of her afternoon treating a nine-year-old who’d been stung by a jellyfish. She’d done the best she could following the latest protocols for carefully removing the tentacles, helping to prevent more venom release and treating the child with painkillers and steroids before arranging the transfer to San Francisco Children’s Hospital for further treatment. And at the end of the day it didn’t matter what she did, she already knew that the scarring would be significant.

Luke came and stood outside with her while she watched the ambulance pull away and draped his arm around her shoulders again.

‘Are you okay?’

She gave a wistful little nod. ‘I guess.’ She watched the ambulance set off down the coastal road, ‘I just wish that I could help more.’

He gave her shoulder a little squeeze. ‘C’mon, Abby, you do the best job that you can. How can that be bad?’

She turned and shot Luke a smile that made his heart stop. He could almost feel the static in the air between them. If he just bent forward he could kiss her, right here, right now, in the middle of the ambulance bay outside the ER. Would she let him? Or would she object?

Her hair caught in the wind and fluttered in front of her face, blocking his direct access to her pink lips. She gave her head a shake and moved the strands from in front of her eyes, tucking them behind her ears. Their gaze was broken, the moment lost.

Something twisted in his stomach. Five years ago he would have been able to kiss Abby whenever he wanted. Now he couldn’t. He’d no right to kiss her. He’d no right to hold her the way he was doing. He glanced at his arm resting easily on her shoulders, almost as if it was something he did every day. And there it was again—the feeling that he was missing something. That he’d let something really important just slip through his fingers. For someone on the outside, Jennifer Taylor wasn’t too slow.

He turned slightly, guiding Abby back in towards the doors, and glanced at his watch. It was nearly six o’clock. ‘Have we finished for the day?’ he asked.

Abby nodded, glancing down at her pager. ‘They’ll call me if any paediatric emergencies come in that they can’t cope with.’ She turned to face him as they reached the desk. ‘How’s Dr Blair?’

‘Textbook, no problems. Routine care, but the staff will call me if they have any concerns.’

‘Have you got your case?’

Luke gave a little nod and pulled it from behind one of the desks. He shook his head slowly. ‘Before you see the contents, all I can say in my defence is that I packed it for a conference, not for coming to Pelican Cove. I might be a little overdressed.’

‘I can’t wait to see. Come on, let’s go.’ She grabbed her jacket and headed towards the nearest exit. Luke expected her to head towards the car park but instead she headed for the coastal footpath that Reuben and his childcare worker had walked along earlier.

‘What, no car?’

Abby smiled. ‘I have one at home but here I don’t need one. We’re only about two minutes along this path.’ She walked ahead along the path, which, although it lay well back from the cliffs, gave a spectacular view over the whole of Pelican Cove. From here Luke could see the boats sitting in the harbour, the houses dotted along the coast, the sandy beaches and even the pelicans on the rocks beneath.

‘Wow, Abby, this is some view. You must love walking to and from work every day. You don’t get this in Washington or San Francisco.’

‘No, you don’t.’ She stopped and gazed towards the ocean. ‘That’s why I love it here—why I intentionally came to stay here when I knew I wanted to adopt.’ She spread her arms out across the harbor. ‘This is the kind of life I want for my kids,’ she said. ‘Not granite, stone, skyscrapers and streets that aren’t safe to play in.’

‘Kids? Plural? Are you planning on adopting some more or having some of your own?’ It was a weighted question.

Abby shrugged her shoulders. ‘Whatever happens happens. If it’s only Reuben and me for as long as I’m blessed with him, then that’s fine. If I meet someone and have some kids of my own, then that’s fine too. If I don’t ever meet someone, then I might decide to go down the route of adoption again. It’s worked out pretty great for me this time.’ She’d moved down the path a little and then stopped just short of a white picket fence. The fence surrounded a gorgeous shingled house that looked out over the ocean. It was painted blue and white and was large and spacious, much bigger than Luke would ever have expected, and looked like a true family home.

He could see Reuben playing in the garden with his childcare worker, jumping from a wooden-built swing to a little playhouse built in exactly the style of the main house, complete with little tiles on the roof.

Abby noticed him watching her blond, bouncing son. ‘Like I said earlier, Luke, families come in all shapes and sizes and I’m happy to take what I’m given.’

The words stuck in his throat. This was where he should take the opportunity to talk, to tell her what a failure he’d been when the mumps had struck, and why he shouldn’t be part of anyone’s family—that when his brother had needed him most he had failed him.

It had killed him that he’d been so infectious he hadn’t been allowed to visit his brother. The irony of it was he had been immunised against mumps as a child, but the vaccine obviously hadn’t been effective. So, when he had been struck down with the highly infectious acute disease, the last person he had been allowed to visit had been his immunocompromised brother.

And with the mumps virus had come fever, swelling of his salivary glands and more importantly orchitis, inflammation of the testes. And Luke had been unlucky, in more ways than one. His sperm-producing cells had been damaged, leading to permanent infertility. At the time, it had all seemed so irrelevant. He’d just lost his brother. He hadn’t really been interested in his family-making capabilities. But as time had progressed and he’d met Abby, a woman who wanted to have a family of her own, he’d known he couldn’t take that away from her.

And he still wasn’t ready to face up to his infertility. He’d followed the doctor’s instructions for a year after the virus struck. Suffering the embarrassment of delivering samples of semen to check if his fertility status improved. Then the offer of counselling, when it hadn’t. At that point, the last thing he’d wanted to discuss had been his lack of baby-making facilities. For him, it was linked. He’d failed in the parenting role for his brother and someone was making sure he wouldn’t be in that position again.

He looked out over the cove again, watching the early-evening surfers catching the waves. This was where Ryan should have been. Leading the charge on the crest of a wave and riding his way to happiness and fulfilment.

Luke gave a little smile as he watched them, the strong sea winds raking through his hair. His eyes caught a glimpse of Abby’s neat butt as she turned up a path away from the sea. He could almost hear his brother shouting in his ear: Go for it, Luke! Another smile spread across his face as he turned and followed her up the winding path.