Midwife...to Mum!. Sue MacKay
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minute. She’d also sorted through the numerous girls wanting to take her place until she was ready to take Adam back under her wing and had decided on two likely applicants.
‘Caught. I’ll get onto it.’ He pushed his fingers through his hair. ‘Tonight?’
‘Whenever.’ She laughed. ‘It’s not as though you’ll be left high and dry. Half the island would love to look after Dr Reynolds’s boy. Not just because he’s such a cute little blighter either. There’s a family likeness between father and son.’
‘Haven’t you got a husband waiting at home for his dinner?’ He wasn’t keen on dating any of the island’s females. Too close to home and work. Anyway, no one had caught his interest in the last two years. Not until Ally had got knocked over by Sheba, that was.
Ally wasn’t answering when he phoned after putting Adam to bed. She wasn’t answering her phone when he called at nine, after giving in to the tiredness dragging at his bones and sitting down to watch a crime programme on TV. She might’ve answered if he’d rung as he was going to bed at ten thirty, but he didn’t want her to think he was stalking her.
But she sure as hell stalked him right into bed. As he sprawled out under the covers he missed her not being there beside him, even though she’d never seen his bed, let alone lain in it. He stretched his legs wide to each side and got the same old empty spaces, only tonight they felt cold and lonely. Make that colder and lonelier. In his head, hot and sexy Ally with those brilliant hazel eyes was watching and laughing, teasing, playing with him. How was he supposed to remain aloof, for pity’s sake? He was only human—last time he looked.
Was this what happened when he hadn’t had sex for so long? Should he have been making an effort to find an obliging woman for a bit of relaxation and fun? He yawned.
Did Ally know she’d cranked up his libido? Yeah, it was quite possible she did, if the way the air crackled between them whenever they came within touching distance was any indication.
So follow up on it. Have some fun. Have sex. Have an affair with her. It would only be four weeks before Ally moved on. He wouldn’t disrupt Adam’s routine too much or for too long.
Flynn rolled over to punch his pillow and instead squashed his awakening reaction to the woman in his head. The air hissed out of his lungs as he grinned. That had to be a good sign for the future, didn’t it?
‘Morning, Ally,’ Megan called as she stepped through the front door of the clinic on Tuesday. ‘I see you’ve found the best coffee on the island already.’
‘First thing I do on any job.’ She sniffed the air appreciatively just to wind Megan up.
Scowling happily at her, Megan lifted her own container then asked, ‘What did you think of the movie?’
‘It was great. Nothing like a few vampires to fill in the evening.’ She’d bumped into the receptionist and her boyfriend as they’d been walking into the theatre. ‘Seeing you there made me feel I’d been living here for a while.’
Megan laughed. ‘Small towns are like that. Believe me, people around here will know what you had for dinner last night.’
‘Then they’ll be giving me lectures on healthy eating. Fried chicken and chips from Mrs Chook’s.’ It had been delicious, even if she should’ve been looking for a salad bar. In winter? Hey, being good about food could sometimes be highly overrated. Anyway, she’d wanted comfort food because when she had gone back to the flat after work she’d felt unusually out of sorts. Arrival day in a new place, yes, that was normal; every other day thereafter, never.
This nomadic life had been one of her goals ever since she’d left school and become independent of the welfare system. Those goals had been simple—earn the money to put herself through a nursing degree then support herself entirely with a job that she could give everything to but which wouldn’t tie her to one place. Along with that went to establish a life where she didn’t depend on anyone for anything, including friendship or love.
So far it had worked out fine. Sure, there were the days when she wondered if she could risk getting close to someone. She had no experience of being loved, unconditionally or any other way, so the risks would be huge for everyone involved. She had enough painful memories of being moved on from one family to the next to prove how unworthy of being loved she was. At unsettled moments like this those memories underlined why she never intended taking a chance on finding someone to trust with her heart. Sometimes she wondered if her heart really was only there to pump blood.
In the midwife’s room she dumped her bag and jacket, then wandered into the staffroom, surreptitiously on a mission to scope out Flynn, if he’d arrived. He must’ve, because suddenly her skin was warming up. Looking around the room, her eyes snagged with his where he sat on a chair balanced on two legs. She’d known he was there without seeing him. She’d felt an instant attraction before setting eyes on him. What was going on? Hadn’t she just been remembering why she wasn’t interested?
She took a gulp of coffee and spluttered as she burned her tongue. ‘That’s boiling.’
Concern replaced the heat in Flynn’s gaze and the front legs of the chair banged onto the tiled floor as he came up onto his feet. ‘You all right?’ He snatched a paper towel off the roll on the wall. ‘Here, spit it out.’
Taking the towel to wipe the dribble off her lips before he could, she muttered, ‘Too late, I swallowed it instantly.’ And could now feel it heating a track down her throat. ‘I forget to take the lid off every time.’ But usually she wasn’t distracted enough to forget to sip first. ‘Black coffee takes for ever to cool in these cardboard cups.’]
‘Slow learner, eh?’ That smile should be banned. Or bottled. Or kissed.
It sent waves of heat expanding throughout her body, unfurling a need so great she felt a tug of fear. What if she did give in to this almost overwhelming attraction? Could she walk away from it unscathed? Like she always did? This thing with Flynn didn’t feel the same as her usual trysts. There was something between them she couldn’t explain. But they wouldn’t be getting started. Staying remote would keep things on an even keel. You’re not lovable. Forget that and you’re toast.
‘I called you last night to ask how you felt about your first day here.’
So much for remote. He wasn’t supposed to play friendly after hours. ‘That explains one of two missed calls. I went to a movie and switched it off for the duration.’
Flynn looked awkward. ‘I rang twice.’
‘Did I miss something?’ Had one of her patients gone into labour? Or developed problems? Had Chrissie wanted to talk to her again? This wouldn’t look good for her if she had.
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