Twins for Christmas Read Free Page B

him know even by a glance how she felt about him. She’d certainly never, ever expected to share her bed with him. And, yes, it was her fault as much as his that they hadn’t used any protection, but the possibility of pregnancy had seemed as unreal as everything else about that night.
    Kate pumped up the cuff and let it down slowly, listening for a pulse to reappear. She took her time, because she would have to look up when she’d finished and she could feel Rory staring at her.
    Sounds from the adjacent cubicle were muffled, but still audible. A junior doctor was talking to Florence.
    ‘How old is she?’
    ‘Nearly two.’
    ‘And she lives at the Castle?’
    ‘Yes. Her mum, Helen, came when she was fourteen and pregnant. She’s still living there. She helps with the other kids and gives me a hand with the cleaning and so forth.’
    Kate unhooked the stethoscope and wrote down the blood pressure. Then she put her fingers back on Marcella’s wrist to time her heart rate.
    ‘How many children at the home at present?’ the doctor was asking Florence.
    ‘Nine—if you count Danni, here. Ten if you count Helen—and she’s still a child, really, poor lamb.’
    ‘And you were at a Christmas party?’
    ‘Yes. Big charity do where they give us sacks of gifts for the children. They’re still in the back of the bus. Oh, no! You don’t think someone will steal them, do you?’
    ‘I’m sure the police will take care of that. Danni seems fine. Let’s have a look at that head of yours.’
    Kate could hear the noise level in the department increasing, pre sum ably due to a new wave of arrivals, but that wasn’t what made her brow furrow in concern.
    ‘Is your mother’s pulse normally irregular?’
    ‘Yes. She has chronic atrial fibrillation.’
    ‘I might see if I can find a twelve-lead ECG machine that’s free. I’ll check to see if any results are back on those tests as well.’
    ‘You might be needed more urgently elsewhere.’
    ‘Help!’ someone was shouting. ‘ Help   me…’
    ‘It   hurts !’ a child’s voice cried. ‘It really,   really   hurts!’
    It was a cry that would have torn anybody’s heart. Kate looked up deliberately to catch Rory’s gaze.
    ‘You could help,’ she heard herself suggesting. ‘While your mum’s asleep.’
    ‘No.’ The word was a harsh dismissal. ‘I’m no longer a doctor, Kate. It’s out of the question.’
    She stared at him. This wasn’t the man she knew. Or thought she knew. The brilliant doctor who’d never missed a beat, no matter how much pressure he was under. The leader who had thrived on coping and still being fanatically careful with his treatment of every patient. The physician whose diagnostic abilities were a legend and his skills with highly invasive procedures even more so. The man colleagues had admired and respected. That patients had adored. That women had fallen in love with.
    Like Kate had.
    And to ignore a child like the one who had just cried out! She’d seen him with children in the past. He’d always gone to whatever lengths were necessary to help a child.
    Who was this man? The lines on his face were as uncompromising as his tone had been. The topic was clearly not open for discussion, but surely Kate had the right to know?
    ‘You left medicine? Just walked away?’
    ‘That’s exactly what I did.’
    ‘What have you been doing?’
    ‘Not that it’s any of your business,’ Rory said coldly, ‘but I’ve been building roads. New mining development in the south of Australia.’
    No wonder he looked so tanned and lean. Toughened by a harsh climate and physically demanding work.
    ‘But… why ?’ The word came out as a whisper. It just didn’t make sense.
    Marcella stirred, probably disturbed by the now chaotic noise level in the department.
    ‘Jamie?’
    The change in Rory was subtle, but Kate didn’t miss any of it. She’d had too much practice watching this man in the past. She saw what amounted to physical pain at