Single Dad In Her Stocking

‘What’s going on? Who’s this? A new nanny?’ He shut the door, turned and made an irritated sound. ‘Pirate, come here.’

But the small, scruffy dog had made a beeline for Emma, was sitting at her feet and staring up at her with black button eyes. She guessed that he was mostly a West Highland White terrier but it was easy to see where his name had come from because he had a black patch covering one eye and ear. He was very cute. And he was wagging his tail. It was impossible not to bend down and offer him her hand. The small black nose felt cold and damp as it touched her skin.

‘Look at that,’ Max said. ‘That doesn’t happen very often. Pirate likes you. And no,’ he told his father. ‘This is Emma, who’s going to be my locum at the Royal. I told you about that plan.’

‘I thought she was staying at your place.’

‘My place is wrecked. I’ll explain later. The kids are due to arrive any minute. Maggie, could I ask you to make up another bedroom for Emma for tonight, at least? It seems that there aren’t any hotel rooms to be easily found.’

‘No, really... I should go.’ Emma actually took a step towards the door. ‘If I can’t find a hotel room in Cheltenham, I could try Gloucester...?’

‘Nonsense.’ Maggie’s hand was on Emma’s elbow. ‘We’ve got ten bedrooms here and I got an extra one ready in case the children wanted their own rooms later but I’m sure they’ll want to be together at least for now. Come with me.’

So they were children now? Emma was becoming increasingly confused.

‘It’s snowing out there,’ Max’s father said, coming towards her. ‘You don’t want to be going anywhere if you don’t have to. You might get stuck until they come to clear the lanes. I’m James, by the way. James Cunningham. Max seems to have forgotten his manners.’

Max shrugged and offered Emma a crooked smile but there were frown lines on his forehead. And some kind of plea in those dark eyes? The tension in the air here was palpable and Emma suddenly felt trapped but she couldn’t run away if someone needed help, could she?

‘And you’re most welcome to stay,’ James continued. Yes, there was a hint of the same kind of smile that Emma remembered his son using to devastating effect. Even a short-lived twinkle in his eyes. ‘Pirate is a very good judge of character.’ He snapped his fingers at the dog, who instantly went back to his master. ‘I’m going to make sure the fire’s going properly in the drawing room. Central heating is one thing, but you need to see some flames to feel properly warm when it’s snowing.’

Maggie was pulling gently at Emma’s arm. ‘Come upstairs,’ she invited. ‘You’ll love this room. So much better than a hotel, I promise.’

Perhaps it was best if she stayed for one night, Emma thought. It might only be mid-afternoon but it was already looking a lot darker outside and what if she went hunting for a hotel room and couldn’t find one? She would hardly want to start her first shift in an unfamiliar emergency department having slept in her vehicle overnight. Besides, she had to admit she was curious. She wanted to see more of this impressive house. She also couldn’t deny that part of her wanted to know what was going on in Max Cunningham’s life. It almost felt like they had something in common here, in that their lives weren’t turning out how they might have anticipated—or wanted—when they’d last been in each other’s company.

The sweep of the wide staircase was dramatic enough to conjure up images of women making a grand entrance in exquisite ball gowns. The first part of the hallway it led to looked down over the entrance foyer. Emma could see Dr Cunningham senior disappearing through a door with his dog by his heels. She could also see Max, who was simply standing still as if he was taking a breath in order to size up an accident scene, perhaps. Or what looked like it might be a complicated resuscitation.

The way he cradled his forehead in his hand a heartbeat later, rubbing both his temples with his thumb and middle finger, added to the impression of a man out of his depth, and it was enough to touch Emma’s heart. She knew, better than most, how life had a habit of side-swiping you sometimes and it never hurt to offer kindness.

Sometimes, it could save a life.

‘Here you are.’ Maggie stopped at one of several doors further down the hallway. ‘This one’s got its own bathroom so it will be perfect for you, I think.’

Emma followed her into the room. She could actually feel her jaw dropping. A four-poster bed? A massive wardrobe and dressing table that looked like museum pieces, an ornate fireplace with leather armchairs positioned in front of it and a cushioned window seat set into the mullioned window. The floorboards were polished wood but there was a large rug with a Persian design.

‘I hope it doesn’t smell musty,’ Maggie said. ‘I’ve only had a day or two to change linen and try and air things out. Some of these rooms haven’t been used since Max and Andy left home and that’s a very long time ago, now.’

‘Who’s Andy?’ Emma was still gazing around the room. Her earliest years had been in a small Italian village. Her recent years had been in a cramped one-bedroom flat in central London. She’d only ever been in houses like this when she’d paid an entry fee and stood behind the braided red ropes.

‘Max’s younger brother.’ Maggie had been leading the way to an interior door that must lead to the en-suite bathroom but now she paused. ‘He hasn’t told you what’s going on, has he?’

Curiosity battled with an odd sense of...what was it? A desire to protect Max—or at least his privacy—perhaps?

‘It’s probably none of my business,’ she said quickly.

‘Nonsense.’ Maggie flapped her hand. ‘You’re part of it for the time being, anyway, so you may as well know. The children that are arriving here any minute are Andy’s children. They’re orphans now and Max is their legal guardian.’

Wow... No wonder Max was looking like he was about to face a daunting situation. Everybody had known that he was a diehard bachelor even a decade ago. And while he’d been great with the children on that paediatric ward, he’d confessed more than once that that was because he could hand them back to their parents. Or get a nurse to change a nappy or deal with any tears and tantrums. That he’d never want to have any of his own.

And he’d just lost his brother?

‘I’m so sorry,’ Emma said. ‘I really shouldn’t be intruding. Not when the Cunninghams have just lost such a close family member.’

Maggie shook her head. ‘Andy died just over a year ago. And his marriage had fallen apart a year or more before that. They did try and work things out, and that must have been when Alice was conceived, but then it turned nasty and lawyers got involved. Simone moved away, broke a court order and took the kids with her and broke Andy’s heart at the same time. He died in a car accident not long after that. He’d been drinking and drove straight into a tree.’

‘That’s tragic...’

‘Mmm.’ Maggie hesitated for a moment and Emma wondered if there was more to that accident than simply drink-driving but if the housekeeper had been about to voice her own opinion, she obviously changed her mind. ‘Even worse, Simone wouldn’t let the family have anything more to do with the children after Andy was gone. She was living up in Scotland and Dr Cunningham didn’t even hear about her death until after her funeral. Until someone in Social Services had tracked down legal documents that gave Max guardianship.’ Maggie was moving again. ‘Come and see your bathroom. There should be everything you might need.’

Emma took in the clawfoot iron bath with its brass tapware, separate shower and shelves piled with fluffy towels. ‘It’s beautiful.’

‘It is.’ Maggie smiled. ‘This was the master suite in the early days when the boys were little ones. Dr Cunningham senior couldn’t bear to stay in it after his wife died and then he decided he’d just stay in the Green Room. Oh...is that a car I can hear?’ She walked swiftly to the window and peered down. ‘It is. I’d better go and help. There was supposed to have been a nanny here already to be with the children but she got sick and that’s why you’re here. To cover Max at work so that he can stay home to look after them all.’

Unsure of what she should do, Emma followed the housekeeper. Her head was spinning slightly with the tales of tragedy this family had experienced. What had happened to Max’s mother? she wondered. And how old had Max and his brother been when she died? She was also trying to do a bit of maths in her head. If Andy had died over a year ago and his ex-wife had already been pregnant, then this baby Alice had to be at least several months old now. Not a newborn.

She could cope with that. For one night, it shouldn’t be any problem at all, even if this wasn’t exactly the kind of clinical situation that was part of her protective walls. As for Max—she had no idea how he was about to cope. He had years and years ahead of him as a guardian. Remembering the way he’d been cradling his head in his hands when he thought he was not being observed, Emma couldn’t believe that he’d magically changed his attitude to children in the last ten years and would be quite happy to be sharing his life with them from now on.

‘Where are they?’ Maggie opened the front door but there was no sign of a car. ‘Oh, no...they must have gone through to the clinic parking.’

‘There’s another car.’ Max was standing beside her.

James Cunningham had come into the entrance foyer to see what was going on but Emma hung back, near the staircase, wondering if she should, in fact, go back upstairs for a while. How terrifying would it be for small children to arrive and be faced with so many strangers? Even if they’d met these members of their extended family it had apparently been more than a year ago and they would still be traumatised by the loss of their mother.

Through the wide gap of the open front door, she could see a large people-carrier type van that had parked a little way away from the entrance to the house and someone was getting out of the driver’s seat. Max walked out into the snow that was still falling to greet the newcomer. But someone else was running towards the front door of the house from the opposite direction. A middle-aged woman who was looking very anxious.

‘Dr Cunningham? Is the clinic closed already?’

‘Surgery finished an hour ago, Jenny.’ But James was frowning. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘It’s Terry. He’s got terrible chest pain and his spray isn’t helping. He wouldn’t let me call an ambulance. It was all I could do to persuade him to come and see you and he only did that because you’re right next door.’

Behind Jenny, Emma could see that children were being helped out of the van. A boy who might be about six or seven. A smaller girl. The driver was opening the back hatch which looked to be full of luggage and items like a pram and cot. Max was unclipping a baby seat. Emma’s mouth went a little dry. Maybe this was going to be harder to cope with than she’d thought.

James looked towards where his grandchildren were being ushered towards him. He turned his head to look in the other direction, presumably to the ‘west wing’ that housed his general practice clinic. His duty lay in both directions, with the professional one clearly more urgent than the personal.

And, suddenly, Emma knew exactly how she could help everyone here, including herself. Years of honing her skills to be able to work to the best of her ability in unfamiliar places made it automatic to take charge but, as a bonus, it felt as if her protective walls were suddenly strengthening themselves around her and keeping her in her safe space. She walked towards the anxious woman.

‘I’m Dr Moretti,’ she told her. ‘I can help you.’

Only a couple of minutes later, Emma was opening the door to the clinic with one of the keys on the ring James had given her.

‘There’s a twelve-lead ECG machine in the treatment room,’ he’d told her. ‘If it looks like an infarct, call an ambulance and then let me know.’

‘I can handle it,’ Emma had promised.

Jenny and her husband, Terry, followed her into what was clearly a waiting room.

‘How’s the pain level, Terry? On a scale of zero to ten, with zero being no pain at all and ten being the worst you could imagine?’