Sleigh Ride With The Single Dad

This was a different planet from the kind of environment Grace had been working in for the last few years and the overall impression was initially overwhelming. Why on earth had she thought she could thrive with a volume of work that was so fast-paced? In a totally new place and in a huge city that was at the opposite end of the spectrum from where she’d chosen to be for such a long time.

Because her friend Helena had convinced her that it was time to reconnect with the real world? Because she had become exhausted by relying solely on personal resources to fight every battle that presented itself? Because the isolation of the places she had chosen to practise medicine had finally tipped the balance from being a welcome escape to a bone-deep loneliness that couldn’t be ignored for ever?

Like another omen, lights flickered overhead as neon strips came alive with a renewed supply of power. Everybody, including the porters and nurses guiding this bed towards Theatre, looked up and Grace could hear a collective sigh of relief. Normal life would be resumed as soon as the aftermath of this unexpected challenge was dealt with.

And she could cope, too. Possibly even thrive, which had been the plan when she’d signed the contract to begin work in Manhattan Mercy’s ER. This was a new beginning and Grace knew better than most that to get the best out of new beginnings you had to draw a line under the past and move on. And yes...some things needed more time to heal but she had taken that time. A lot more time than she had anticipated needing, in fact.

She was ready.

Having stayed longer than the rest of the transfer team so that she could give the anaesthetist and surgeons a comprehensive handover, Grace found that she needed to find her own way back to the ER and it turned out to be a slightly more circuitous route than before. Instead of passing the main reception area, she went past an orthopaedic room where casts were being applied, what looked like a small operating theatre that was labelled for minor surgery and seemed to have someone having a major laceration stitched and then a couple of smaller rooms that looked as if they had been designed for privacy. Were these rooms used for family consultations, perhaps? Or a space where people could be with a loved one who was dying?

A nurse was peering out of one of the doors.

‘Oh, thank goodness,’ she said, when she saw Grace approaching. ‘I’m about to burst... Could you please, please stay with the boys in here for two minutes while I dash to the bathroom?’

The young nurse, whose name badge introduced her as ‘Jackie’, certainly looked desperate. Having had to grab a bathroom stop herself on her way back from Theatre, Grace could sympathise with the urgency. She was probably already later in her return to the ER than might have been expected so another minute or two wouldn’t make any difference, would it?

‘Sure,’ she said. ‘But be as quick as you can?’

Jackie sped off with a grateful smile and vigorous nod without giving Grace the chance to ask anything else—like why these ‘boys’ were in a side room and whether they needed any medical management.

She turned to go through the door and then froze.

Two small faces were filling the space. Identical faces.

These two children had to be the most adorable little boys she had ever seen. They were about three years old, with tousled mops of dark hair, huge curious eyes and small button noses.

There was something about twins...

For someone who’d had to let go of the dream of even having a single baby, the magic of twins could pack a punch that left a very physical ache somewhere deep inside Grace.

Maybe she wasn’t as ready as she’d thought she was to step back into the real world and a new future...

CHAPTER TWO (#u9b31b2ca-6d47-5327-8e60-5753769b425c)

‘WHO ARE YOU?’

‘I’m Grace. I’m one of the doctors here.’

It wasn’t as hard as she’d expected to find a smile. Who wouldn’t smile at this pair? ‘Who are you?’

‘I’m Cameron,’ one of the boys told her. ‘And he’s Max.’

‘Hello, Max,’ Grace said. ‘Hello, Cameron. Can I come into your room?’

‘Why?’ Cameron seemed to be the spokesman for the pair. ‘Where’s Jackie gone?’

‘Just to the bathroom. She’ll be back in a minute. She asked me to look after you.’

‘Oh... ’Kay...’

Grace stepped into the room as the children turned. There was a couch and two armchairs in here, some magazines on a low table and a box of toys that had been emptied.

‘Are you waiting for somebody?’ Grace asked, perching on the arm of the couch.

‘Yes. Daddy.’ Cameron dropped to his knees and picked up a toy. His brother sat on the floor beside him. ‘Here...you can have the fire truck, Max. I’m going to have the p’lice car, ’kay?’

Max nodded. But as he took hold of the plastic fire truck that had been generously gifted with both hands, the back wheels came off.

‘Oh...no...’ Cameron sounded horrified. ‘You broke it.’

Max’s bottom lip quivered. Grace slid off the arm of the couch and crouched down beside him.

‘Let me have a look. I don’t think it’s very broken. See...?’ She clipped the axle of the wheels back into place. ‘All fixed.’

She handed the truck back with a smile and, unexpectedly, received a smile back. A delicious curve of a wide little mouth that curled itself instantly right around her heart.

Wow...

‘Fank you,’ Max said gravely.

‘You’re so welcome.’ Grace’s response came out in no more than a whisper.

Love at first sight could catch you unawares in all sorts of different ways, couldn’t it? It could be a potential partner for life, or a gorgeous place like a peaceful forest, or a special house or cute puppy. Or it could be a small boy with a heartbreaking smile.

Cameron was pushing his police car across the top of the coffee table and making muted siren noises but Max stayed where he was, with the mended fire truck in his arms. Or not quite where he was. He leaned, so that his head and shoulder were pressed against Grace’s arm. It was impossible not to return this gesture of acceptance and it was purely instinctive to shift her arm so that it slid around the small body and let him snuggle more comfortably.

It would only be for a moment because Nurse Jackie would be back any second. Grace could hear people in the corridor outside. She could feel the draught of air as the door was pushed open behind her so she closed her eyes for a heartbeat to help her lock this exquisite fraction of time into her memory banks. This feeling of connection with a precious small person...

‘Daddy...’ Cameron’s face split into a huge grin.

Max wriggled out from under Grace’s arm, dropping the fire truck in his haste to get to his feet, but Grace was still sitting on the floor as she turned her head. And then astonishment stopped her moving at all.

‘Charles?’

‘Grace...’ He sounded as surprised as she had. ‘What on earth are you doing in here?’

She felt as guilty as a child caught with her hand in a forbidden cookie jar. ‘It was only for a minute. To help out...’

‘Jackie had to go to the bathroom.’ Cameron had hold of one of his father’s hands and he was bouncing up and down.

‘She fixed the truck,’ Max added, clearly impressed with the skills Grace had demonstrated. ‘The wheels came off.’

‘Oh...’ Charles scooped Cameron up with one arm. Max was next and the ease with which two small boys were positioned on each hip with their arms wrapped around their father’s neck suggested that this was a very well-practised manoeuvre. ‘That’s all right, then...’

Charles was smiling, first at one twin and then the other, and Grace felt her heart melt a little more.

She could feel the intense bond between this man and his children. The power of an infinite amount of love.