Healed by Their Unexpected Family Read online

  ‘Don’t write him off altogether. Talk things over first. I know you’ve been hurt in the past, but this could be the start of a great future together for the two of you.’

  ‘I wish I could believe that, Cherry.’ She sighed, but life had taught her not to expect too much. That was exactly what it would be if she believed Jamie would commit to her for ever. Too much.

  * * *

  More than ever, Jamie was grateful he’d gone into general medicine rather than the frantic pace of emergency care. Life as a doctor would never run to nine to five, Monday to Friday shifts, but he did have some down time when he wasn’t on call. In hindsight he shouldn’t have been in such a rush to get back to work and made the most of his paternity leave to squeeze out every second of quality time with his family. It was too late now. He’d made the knee-jerk decision to go back simply because he’d feared getting too close. Now he realised home with his family was where he wanted to be more than anywhere else.

  Perhaps it had taken that short separation for him to realise that. It could’ve been spending that afternoon with them that reminded him of the important things in his life. Whatever it was that had changed his views from the pitfalls of domesticity to the rewards of having people he cared about around him, there was something to look forward to at the end of every shift.

  He used his key to let himself into the house, careful not to make too much noise in case Luke was sleeping and he woke him up.

  ‘Hey,’ he said softly as Kayla peeped her head around the doorframe.

  ‘Dinner’s ready,’ she said with a grin.

  ‘Now that’s what I call a welcome home.’ He could get used to this. Especially if he came home to Kayla’s kisses and a home-cooked meal every night. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had cooked for him. When he and Tom had lived together he’d done all the cooking and he was used to cooking for one throughout his subsequent bachelor lifestyle. He hadn’t minded, but Kayla’s gesture tonight showed him how nice it was to have someone think of him, to want to take care of him for a change. It was also an indication that she was getting things under control herself if she’d been able to juggle looking after Luke and making dinner. He certainly hadn’t expected it.

  ‘What have I done to deserve this?’ Once he’d hung up his coat and walked through to the dining room he could see she’d gone all out for him.

  The table was set for two, with heaped bowls of vegetable pasta. He was grateful she’d gone to this trouble for his benefit. In this case, the way to a man’s heart was definitely through his stomach. He’d thought he couldn’t love her any more than he already did until she’d surprised him with this.

  The thought struck him so hard he practically fell into his chair. He loved her, and not in the way he loved the look of this carb-laden meal before him. In the couldn’t-stop-thinking-about-her, didn’t-know-how-he’d-live-without-her conventional sense. He’d assumed his want of her company had arisen from being around her so much it had become a habit. Now they’d had a little time apart he could see it was much more than that. He wanted to spend every second of every day with her, raising their son, or kissing like teenagers in the first flush of love. Preferably both.

  ‘I thought it would be nice for us to sit down to a meal together once you got home from work. Luke’s getting settled into a routine now and things are becoming more manageable.’ She certainly looked happier and he could see she’d taken time with her hair and clothes today. Not that he would’ve minded if she’d had bedhead and spent the day in her pyjamas. She simply appeared more like the Kayla he’d first met, so together and confident.

  ‘It’s great. Thank you. I mean, you didn’t have to, but it’s much appreciated.’ He helped himself to a mouthful of creamy pasta and Jamie knew he’d found heaven here with her and Luke. There was nothing else he could’ve wanted for and he considered himself a very lucky man indeed.

  ‘I can’t guarantee it’ll be a regular occurrence once I’m back to work.’ Kayla was picking at her dinner whilst he was wolfing his down. Jamie hoped cooking this for him hadn’t been a step too far for her.

  ‘Of course. We can always take turns making dinner. I’m just happy to have some company. Usually I’m a dinner-for-one-in-front-of-the-TV sort, so anything else is a bonus.’ When Luke was older meal times would become messier as he explored new foods and textures. They’d probably spend their evenings cleaning the evidence of it off the walls.

  ‘I’m glad you’re enjoying it.’ She gave him an uneasy smile and laid her knife and fork down on her plate side by side. It looked as though she was preparing to tackle something more unsavoury to her palate. If Jamie hadn’t almost finished eating he might’ve lost his appetite too at the thought they were going to have a talk about something more serious than dinner or assigning household chores.

  ‘Okay, what’s wrong?’ He didn’t actually want to know when he was content to carry on as they were. In asking they’d have to confront whatever was ailing her and the family dream might come crashing down around him. Except he’d promised to be honest with her and that didn’t involve pretending there was nothing wrong when there was clearly a problem. In return, he’d expect Kayla to be honest with him.

  ‘I’m thinking about returning to work.’ She was chewing her bottom lip, but if she thought he was the type of partner to keep her chained to the kitchen she didn’t know him at all. Similarly, he’d always known Kayla wouldn’t be a housewife for ever. She had too much to give to be wasted on just one man.

  ‘Good for you.’ He wanted her to see he was being supportive and not to be afraid of saying whatever was on her mind. It was the only way to make a relationship work and, goodness knew, he wanted this one to last.

  ‘You don’t mind?’

  ‘Not at all. Why should I? It’s your decision, your life. I’m sure we can make some childcare arrangements for Luke around both of our jobs.’ They’d be thorough in their search for suitable help in that area when neither of them would take chances when it came to doing what was best for their son.

  ‘Actually, I was thinking about taking him with me to work.’

  He took a minute to consider that extra information. It could work. As a doula, Kayla worked for herself and, although that involved being on call for a patient going into labour, there was nothing stopping her from taking Luke too. It was preferable to leaving him with a stranger in a nursery.

  ‘I’ll be here to do my bit too and I can watch him if you get called out through the night.’ He didn’t want her to shut him out again or disrupt Luke’s sleep merely to make a point that she could do everything herself.

  ‘I was considering going back into midwifery.’ It wasn’t a huge bombshell, given the way she’d become immersed back into that role so suddenly yesterday.

  However, he wished she would hit him with everything at once rather than drip-feeding him little titbits.

  ‘How would that work with Luke? Do they have crèches for the hospital staff? Would you have to retake your qualifications after being away for so long?’ It didn’t matter to him if she did. He’d support her emotionally and financially until she was exactly where she needed to be to find her vocation.

  ‘Not where I want to practise. I’ve been looking at helping out in the clinic Tom and Liam set up. Jamie, I want to go to Vietnam and take Luke with me.’

  There it was, the devastating truth truck capable of obliterating everything in its path and leaving him with nothing. Kayla was leaving him and taking their son with her.

  * * *

  As she said it, she tried to focus on the excitement of a new adventure instead of the sadness at ending things with Jamie. She wanted to carry on with Liam and Tom’s efforts and be someone her son could be proud of when he was older. As well as put some distance between her and Jamie to get her senses back in working order.

  ‘No way in hell.’ Jamie’s voice was so meas
ured and menacing it sounded so unlike him.

  ‘Excuse me?’ A prickling sensation started across her skin and crept up the back of her neck as she found he was no longer a caring partner supporting her, but a stern authority figure dictating to her. It gave her flashbacks of Paul telling her she wouldn’t go out with her friends if she really loved him. Then her father, spittle forming at the corners of his mouth as he went nose to nose to yell at her when she’d expressed an interest in a school disco.

  ‘I’m sorry, Kayla, but there is no way you are taking my son to another country. To the very place where my brother died. I didn’t know you could be so cruel.’ That hard look she’d seen on his face when she’d broached the subject had now changed into one of pain. He was thinking only of himself by accusing her of such venom. Not of what she wanted or of the good she could do where it would count most.

  It said a lot that in the heat of the discussion he only cared about his son being taken away, not that she would be leaving too. Clearly, she’d been reading way too much into those passionate interludes between them.

  ‘If you think so little of me I can see there is no future for us.’ It had all been too good to be true. She’d have been better off as that cynical version of herself, combatting his attempts to charm her, when she’d known things would end this way. They always did. Thanks to her parents she attracted people who thought they could rule over her the way they had. Except this time she had Luke to think about. He was her priority and he’d be safer travelling with her than being stuck in a toxic house like the one she’d grown up in. She wasn’t going to wait around until the full force of Jamie’s dominance made itself known and he tried to impose it on Luke too.

  ‘I live in the real world. One full of everyday dangers for a newborn without asking for more by taking him to a foreign country.’

  ‘Do you honestly think I would risk my son’s well-being?’ She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He was being ridiculous. It wasn’t as though she wouldn’t have researched the idea thoroughly before deeming it safe to travel with a baby. No, Jamie was trying to assert his authority over her, and over their son. She wasn’t having it.

  ‘That’s exactly what you’re doing.’ He pushed back his chair and got up to pace around the room. Determined not to be intimidated ever again, she copied his move, pulling herself up to her full height to face him.

  ‘Luke is my son. Liam was my brother. This decision is mine to make.’ Her independence meant more to her than a possible romance that had been doomed from the start. She’d gone ahead with the surrogacy idea at the time because she’d believed having a child in an actual relationship wasn’t going to be possible. There was no joy in finding out she’d been right all along. The biggest mistake she’d made was adding his name to the birth certificate.

  ‘It’s not all about you, Kayla. Luke is my son too and, in case you’d forgotten, I also lost a brother. Which is the reason I’m not prepared to let you risk my son’s life over there.’

  Her hands balled into fists into his use of that word, which conjured up memories of her parents’ lists of rules and the consequences she incurred if she broke any of them. Thank goodness Jamie didn’t have any real hold over her other than the grip he had around her heart. At least seeing his true colours now should lessen the heartbreak she was facing at losing him.

  ‘If I hadn’t already made my mind up about going, your attitude has convinced me why this is a good idea. I need to get away and remember who I am. That’s no longer a woman who’ll cower every time someone raises their voice at me.’

  He actually laughed at that. The dark, hollow sound giving her chills. ‘Kayla, I am nothing like your parents. I care. That’s why I don’t want you going over there.’

  She wanted to believe him, and she had, up until a few minutes ago. Now those barriers had shot back up there was no way she was going to let him sweet-talk his way back into her heart and take advantage of her. ‘I’m sorry, Jamie, but my mind is made up. We’re not going for ever but, make no mistake about it, we are going.’

  His face darkened. ‘Not if I can help it.’

  She didn’t like the threat hovering in the tense atmosphere, waiting for the opportunity to strike and hit her where it could do the most damage. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘As Luke’s father I have certain rights. I’ll fight you on this if I have to.’

  The thing she’d dreaded most about their crazy situation had actually come into being. Jamie was going to betray her in the worst possible way. He was going to use that trust she’d shown him in naming him on the birth certificate to try and control what happened to her son.

  ‘You will have to. There is no way on this earth I’m going to give him up. He’s all I have in the world.’ She hated the sound of her strangled voice as she battled not to cry in front of him. It was a sign of weakness she couldn’t afford to show him when he’d probably try and use it against her somehow.

  ‘Be reasonable, Kayla.’ He walked towards her, arms outstretched, but she didn’t want him to touch her now she realised everything between them had been a lie. All along he’d only wanted access to his son and used her to get it. She’d been so weak, so desperate for someone to love her and fill that void in her life that Liam’s death had left, she’d abandoned her senses to believe they could be together as a family. Now she knew the truth she had to fight to save what was left of it. Her and Luke.

  ‘You’re the one who’s being unreasonable, Jamie. All I want to do is take Luke to the place which meant so much to his uncles, the men who were supposed to raise him. Without them he would never have been born. You didn’t even want him, remember?’

  ‘That’s not fair. He wasn’t a baby then. Since his birth you know I’ve been there every step of the way for you both.’

  ‘Until now.’

  ‘All I’m asking is that you think about what you’re doing to Luke, and to me, by going through with this harebrained scheme.’ He was back to being that arrogant know-it-all she’d met at the wedding. This was the true face of Jamie Garrett and the supportive partner had obviously been a ruse to garner her trust. He hadn’t shown any interest in hearing her plans or what safety measures she’d have in place to protect Luke out there. As far as he was concerned, his word was law and he wouldn’t hear any different. So why should she even give him house room?

  ‘Get out of my house, Jamie.’ She didn’t often raise her voice so when she did people took notice. They knew she was serious.

  ‘Pardon me?’ He didn’t budge.

  ‘I said get out of my house.’ She marched down the hall, lifted his bag and his coat, opened the front door and chucked them out onto the path.

  ‘Kayla, please.’ He followed her but hovered in the doorway, unwilling to go after his belongings.

  ‘You can collect the rest of your things tomorrow. I’ll box them up.’ Arms folded, jaw set, she was unyielding in her decision. She needed him gone so she’d no longer be under his influence. So her feelings for him wouldn’t eat away at her conscience until she doubted her own decision-making.

  ‘I thought we’d already had the row over the house. It’s half mine too.’ It was a last-ditch attempt to guilt her into letting him stay but nothing could persuade her to change her mind now. She had too much to lose.

  ‘Yeah? Sue me. When you’re talking to your solicitor about custody rights you can bring it up with him. Goodbye, Jamie.’ She held the door open wider for him, refusing to back down.

  ‘Kayla...you know I don’t want any of this.’

  ‘Goodnight, Jamie.’

  He sighed and shook his head before eventually stepping outside. She slammed the door, not wanting to see him stoop to retrieve his things from the ground and so that he couldn’t see the tears running in rivers down her cheeks. It was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do and she only found the strength because of her son. She was Luke�
��s mother and, unlike her own parents, would protect him at all costs. Even if it cost her the love of her life.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  ‘WHERE ARE MRS HENSHAW’S blood results? We’ve been waiting weeks now. It’s unacceptable. Get onto the lab.’ Jamie was at the clinic early, catching up on the patients the locum had treated in his absence.

  ‘What’s wrong with you this morning? Did the little one keep you up all night?’ When his secretary didn’t immediately rush to follow his instructions he eventually looked up from his computer screen.

  ‘Sorry. What?’ If she’d been trying to start a conversation with him he’d missed it. His head was full of thoughts only about Kayla and Luke and how much of a mess he’d made of things last night.

  ‘You’re not your usual affable self. I thought perhaps the baby had kept you awake.’ She was subtly pointing out he was being a grouch. His personal life was not something his patients, or the staff, should suffer for. The only one to blame was him for his outburst at Kayla last night. As a result, he’d spent the rest of the night, alone in his bed, cursing himself for ruining the best thing that had ever happened to him.

  ‘Er...something like that.’ He had to say something to get rid of her before she asked any more questions and it became obvious to her too what an idiot he’d been.

  It was natural for Kayla to want to go and see what Liam and Tom had been working towards out in Vietnam. Any sane person would have been proud that she wanted to do more than go sightseeing and intended to put her medical knowledge to use out there. Deep down he knew she’d never put Luke in danger either. He’d panicked the instant she’d suggested the trip, thinking of all the problems that could befall the people he loved most in the world.