Healed By The Single Dad Doc

‘Hello. You must be Sam.’ Kate smiled down at his son and Sam nodded.

‘Are you the lady who might take Jeff to heaven?’

Sam had clearly taken everything that Ethan had told him and put it together in his own way. Ethan flashed a look of apology at Kate, gently trying to move Sam away from the doorway.

Both of them ignored him. Kate bent down and Sam escaped his grip, joining her on the front porch.

‘Yes, I am.’ She reached out, brushing the back of Sam’s hand with one finger. ‘Is it all right with you if I come in?’

Sam looked Kate up and down, obviously thinking about it. Kate was smiling, and any interruption was suddenly impossible, as the two sized each other up.

‘Dad says that Jeff’s very, very old.’

‘Yes, he is.’ Kate’s tone was gentle.

‘Will he see Mummy in heaven?’ Sam’s question delivered a knife to Ethan’s heart. He saw Kate’s gaze flip up towards him, in the way that most people’s did when Sam asked questions about his mother, but she didn’t back off or change the subject, leaving Sam to wonder what was going on.

‘What do you think, Sam?’

‘He will.’

‘I think you’re right.’

If Kate really was an angel, come to take Jeff to heaven, then she made a very good one. She almost shone in the evening sunshine, which slanted across the porch—red-haired, with soft, honey-coloured eyes, which were unafraid of Sam’s questions. Sam seemed to see it too, stepping towards her and laying his hand on her knee. Then he leaned forward, whispering into Kate’s ear, and Ethan strained unsuccessfully to hear what he was saying.

‘Yes, of course I will.’ Kate crooked her little finger, hooking it around Sam’s. ‘There. That makes it a promise.’

Sam nodded, clearly satisfied, and ran into the house and straight up the stairs to his grandmother. Kate got to her feet.

‘How’s your arm?’

‘Fine. Gives me a twinge now and then, but it’s okay.’

She was smiling. She was wearing a short-sleeved top, which allowed Ethan to see that the bruises on her arm had faded now. More than that, there was a lightness about her. Maybe she’d been right in getting straight back to work. It seemed that the last three weeks had lifted the burden that had rested on her shoulders.

‘I’m sorry about Sam ambushing you.’

‘That’s okay. He’s working it out for himself.’

Ethan thought about asking Kate what Sam had said to her and decided against it. If Sam had wanted him to know, he wouldn’t have made such a show of whispering in Kate’s ear. It seemed that Sam had grasped the concept of having secrets now, and Ethan supposed he should respect that.

She leaned forward, the evening sunlight tangling in her hair. For a moment, Ethan couldn’t move. ‘Can I come in, then?’

‘Oh. Yes, of course. Thanks for coming.’

He showed her through to the conservatory, and she walked across to Jeff’s basket, kneeling down. It looked as if Jeff was just sleeping, and Kate was stroking him gently, but Ethan knew that she was examining him.

‘I think...’ She looked up at him suddenly. ‘Is Sam going now?’

‘Yes, in a minute. As soon as my mother gets his things together. I think he’s been waiting to see you.’

She pressed her lips together, in an unspoken understanding that this was hard. ‘I think that if Sam has any goodbyes to say...’