The Midwife's New Year Wish

The Midwife's New Year Wish
Jennifer Taylor

It's Christmastime at Dalverston General Hospital, and midwife Katie Denning is frantically trying to find a stand-in Santa for the carol concert.A gorgeous stranger, Nick Lawson, steps in at the last minute, but it isn't until after he has claimed his "fee" – a sensual, earth-shattering kiss – that she discovers he is the new OB-GYN registrar!However, he quickly proves what a caring and dedicated doctor he is, and Katie starts giving in to their mutual attraction – only to find it's Nick who is now holding back. Katie has to find out why if she has any hope of fulfilling her own secret New Year wish…

“Katie, if more people were like you then the world would be a much better place, believe me.”

He touched her lightly on the cheek then strode away. Katie bit her lip as she watched him hurrying to the stairs. He gave out such mixed signals that it was no wonder she felt confused. One minute he was pushing her away and the next.…Well, the next he was behaving as though he really felt something for her. Was it just that he was an inveterate flirt and couldn’t help coming on to a woman: the gentle touch, the intimate smile, the lingering eye contact? Or was there more to it than that? Did Nick really feel something for her, perhaps?

Dear Reader (#ulink_2baed025-4850-591e-b3df-70945ba21cc8),

Midwife Katie Denning never imagined that she would meet the man of her dreams while dressed as an elf! Desperate to find a replacement Santa for the hospital’s Christmas carol concert, she accosts a tall, dark, handsome stranger in the car park and begs him for help. All she needs is someone who can be nice to the kids and do a bit of ho-ho-ho-ing and their new specialist registrar, Nick Lawson, seems to be perfect for her requirements.

Despite his misgivings, Nick agrees to help and proves to be a huge hit with the children. He certainly makes their wishes come true by turning himself into the perfect Santa, but can he make Katie’s wish come true as well? All Katie wants is a man who will love her as much as she loves him, but Nick seems reluctant to make a commitment to her despite their shared attraction. Can she convince him that love can overcome any obstacle if that is what they both wish for?

I had enormous fun writing this book. Nick and Katie are both lovely characters and deserve to find happiness together. The Midwife’s New Year Wish is the latest book in my Dalverston General Hospital series and I would like to thank you all for writing to tell me how much you have been enjoying it.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and that all your wishes come true.

Jennifer

P.S.You can e-mail me at: jennifer@jennifer-taylor.com. (http://www.jennifer@jennifer-taylor.com)

The Midwife’s New Year Wish

Jennifer Taylor

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

CONTENTS

Cover (#u73ebc3ea-be8a-58d0-a402-4204a693446a)

Dear Reader (#ulink_7c819b7b-dece-5e6c-a3e7-cf42e6cf1a62)

Title Page (#u29724105-d7c5-5d2a-af7b-7930c6e3bf5e)

CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_1f85942b-fafb-541d-9478-4a33d4f4cb72)

CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_2508268c-eb71-5ed8-9585-5d27de39d463)

CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_48675520-3b38-543b-bb12-9bd9d1540b13)

CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_47fae3ce-730f-5f63-a8d0-d85fd43d1aab)

‘OK, FOLKS, can we have a bit of hush while I check that everyone’s here?’

Katie Denning flicked the pompom attached to her bright green elf’s cap out of her eyes and consulted her list. It was Christmas Eve and the staff at Dalverston General Hospital were about to perform their annual Christmas carol concert. It was the first time that Katie had organised the event and she was determined that it was going to be a huge success. She’d spent hours working on their costumes but it had been worth it, she decided, looking around the room. Never had she seen such a well-dressed collection of elves and fairies in her entire life!

‘Right, if you could all shout out when I call your names it would be a big help,’ she instructed. ‘I’ll start with the fairies so that’s Anne, Vicky, Linda and Jane.’

‘Here!’ they chorused obediently.

Katie put ticks beside their names then worked her way down the list, ticking off the elves, the reindeer and George, the hospital’s head porter, who’d agreed to be a snowman that year. ‘So that just leaves Santa,’ she concluded, glancing up and frowning when she realised that Jim Carstairs, the surgical registrar who’d offered to play Father Christmas, was nowhere in sight. ‘Has anyone seen Jim today? I hope he hasn’t gone off sick with that flu bug that’s been doing the rounds.’

‘He was in Theatre when I last saw him,’ Vicky explained helpfully. ‘He said to tell you that he’d be along as soon as he’d finished so I don’t know what’s happened to him.’

‘I’ll give Theatre a ring and find out,’ Katie said, hurrying to the phone. She put through a call to Theatre, her heart sinking when one of the staff there explained there’d been a problem with the patient they’d been operating on and that she had no idea how long it would be now before Jim was free to leave.

Katie thanked her and hung up but it was going to cause no end of problems if she had to find a replacement for Jim so late in the day. They could always go ahead without him, of course, but the kids on the children’s ward would be so disappointed if Santa didn’t turn up for his promised visit and Katie hated to think of all their sad little faces. She quickly explained her predicament to the others, sighing when everyone groaned.

‘I know. It’s going to be almost impossible to find someone to take Jim’s place at this stage. I daren’t try and filch anyone else from the wards because we’re already working on minimum staffing levels as it is.’

‘How about one of the visitors?’ Anne suggested. ‘Visiting hour is just about to finish so if you’re quick you might be able to waylay somebody suitable. I’m sure you’ll find someone willing to play the part if you tell them it’s for the benefit of the kids.’

‘Good idea!’ Katie exclaimed in relief. ‘You lot stay here and I’ll see who I can find. If I hang about by the main entrance surely I’ll find someone willing to spare a couple of hours.’

‘Just make sure that you don’t scare the pants off them,’ Pete Gilchrist, one of the paramedics, put in with a grin. ‘It is Christmas Eve, don’t forget, so a few of the visitors might have had a celebratory drink. You could give someone a very nasty turn if they see you loitering about in that get-up!’

‘Cheek! I thought it looked rather fetching on me, too.’

Katie grinned as she smoothed the bright green tabard over her hips. With it she was wearing a pair of green and red striped tights and green felt slippers. She’d pinned her light brown hair under her cap and painted green and red freckles across the bridge of her nose so she could well imagine the shock she might give any unwary visitor who’d been imbibing a drop or two of Christmas cheer.

She rolled her eyes when everyone jeered. ‘All right, I suppose we don’t want to go touting for business so I promise I’ll be careful. Back in a sec!’

She hurried out of the staffroom and made her way to the main entrance. There were a lot of visitors leaving and she smiled to herself when she saw the surprise on their faces as she hurried past. She spotted a couple of children staring at her and waggled her fingers at them, and they laughed and waved back. At least she didn’t look too scary to them, Katie thought with a chuckle.

There was quite a crush in the foyer so she found a quiet spot near the coffee-machine from where she could check out everyone who was leaving. Jim was six feet tall so whoever wore the costume would need to be roughly the same height because there was no time to shorten it. It would also help if he was as comfortably rounded as Jim was, too, although she could probably find some padding at a push. Hair colour wasn’t a problem because she’d managed to borrow a curly white wig from one of the patients on the oncology unit, and age also wasn’t an issue because the thick white beard she’d fashioned out of cotton wool would hide a multitude of sins. No, all she needed was a healthy, six-foot-tall male, willing to help, and everything would be fine.

Knowing what she needed and finding it, however, proved to be two entirely separate issues. As the flow of visitors tailed off to a trickle, Katie started getting desperate. She’d not seen a single man who’d fit the bill the whole time she’d been standing there so now what was she going to do? She could hardly go out into the street and accost people…