Small Town Marriage Miracle

‘I apologise. I shouldn’t have jumped down your throat like that.’

He shrugged. ‘It doesn’t matter. It’s little wonder that you’re stressed after everything that’s happened. All this coming on top of the journey you’ve had would be a lot for anyone to cope with.’

It was on the tip of her tongue to deny it until she realised that she was in danger of digging an even deeper hole for herself. Did she really want to admit that it was seeing him again that was causing her to behave so irrationally?

‘Probably.’ She glanced at her watch and came to a swift decision. ‘If you’re happy to stay then maybe I will go back to the house. I need to unpack and get settled in.’

‘It’s fine by me,’ he agreed equably.

‘Right, that’s what I’ll do, then. I’ll just let Aunt Margaret know what’s happening first.’

‘I’ll come with you.’ He shrugged when she glanced sharply at him. ‘I’d like to see Jim before he goes down to Theatre, set his mind at rest that the practice is in safe hands. You know what a worrier he is.’

‘That’s true.’ Emma headed back along the corridor, very conscious of the fact that Daniel was just a step behind her. She paused outside the door to the private room where her uncle had been taken and glanced at him. ‘It would be best if Uncle Jim didn’t have to worry about anything at the moment, so I suggest we call a truce.’

‘That’s fine by me.’ He smiled at her and Emma felt her breath catch when she saw the warmth in his eyes. She had never expected him to look at her that way and it threw her for a moment. It was an effort to concentrate when he continued. ‘I don’t want to fight with you, Emma. It’s the last thing I want, in fact.’

‘Me too,’ she replied stiffly.

‘Then we’ll agree to set our differences aside, shall we?’

‘Yes.’

She turned away, struggling to contain the emotions that were welling up inside her. It had been months since she’d even thought about Daniel, although in the beginning the memory of what had happened had tormented her. She had kept going over everything he’d said, reliving the pain of discovering that she had meant less to him than his precious career had done. Only by immersing herself in her work had she got through that terrible period and she refused to place herself in the same position again.

She squared her shoulders. No matter what Daniel said or did, no matter how convincing he sounded, she would never trust him again.

CHAPTER TWO

BY two o’clock Emma had finished unpacking and put everything away. She looked fondly around the room that had been hers since childhood. It had changed very little over the years and she found it reassuring to see her collection of stuffed toys on top of the wardrobe and the shelves of books she’d read while she had been growing up. She had moved house several times in the past few years and although it had never bothered her, it was good to know that there was somewhere permanent she could return to.

She sighed softly as she stowed the canvas hold-all in the bottom of the wardrobe because if Uncle Jim was forced to give up the practice, there would need to be a lot of changes made. The surgery was attached to the house and it was unlikely that her aunt and uncle would want to carry on living here. Nothing was truly permanent and she had to get used to the idea, even though she hated the thought of not being able to call this place her home.

Emma closed the wardrobe door and headed downstairs to make herself a cup of tea. She glanced at the clock as she filled the kettle. Uncle Jim should be leaving Theatre soon, so she would drink her tea then go back to the hospital to keep her aunt company. It would give Daniel time to get back for evening surgery.

‘I wouldn’t say no to a cup of tea, if you’re making one.’

As though thinking about him had somehow conjured him up, Daniel suddenly appeared. Emma looked round in surprise when she heard his voice. ‘What are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay at the hospital until I got back.’

‘I was, but your aunt insisted that she’d be all right by herself.’ He grimaced. ‘I tried to persuade her to let me stay but she wouldn’t hear of it. I think she was worried in case I was late for evening surgery.’

Emma sighed. ‘She’s as bad as Uncle Jim. Their lives revolve around the practice and have done for years. It isn’t right that it should come first, especially not at the moment.’

‘It certainly isn’t.’ He pulled out a chair and sat down. ‘They need to concentrate on making sure that Jim makes a full recovery and that’s where we come in.’

Emma wasn’t sure she appreciated that we, although she didn’t correct him. She poured boiling water into the pot then went to fetch the milk out of the fridge. The days when she and Daniel had been a couple were long gone and she, for one, wouldn’t wish them back again.

‘So what do you suggest?’ she asked, adopting a deliberately neutral tone to conceal the pain that thought had aroused, oddly enough.

‘Basically, what we agreed on today. We make sure we do nothing to cause your aunt and uncle any concern.’ He shrugged. ‘Margaret told me that she’s hoping to take Jim to their cottage on the coast while he recuperates, but he’ll refuse to go if he thinks you and I are at loggerheads.’

‘I can assure you that I have no intention of causing a disruption,’ Emma said sharply, trying to ignore the squirmy feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was one thing to agree to a truce but it could be something entirely different to stick to it. Could they really maintain a wholly professional relationship when they had once been lovers?

The fact that she should be experiencing such doubts when she was determined not to let Daniel affect her in any way annoyed her and she glared at him. ‘I said it before but obviously it didn’t sink in so I’ll repeat it. I don’t care enough to fight with you, Daniel. OK?’

‘Good.’ He smiled calmly back at her. ‘It should make life a lot simpler for all of us.’

Emma didn’t say anything as she poured the tea. Daniel obviously believed her and that was all that mattered. She certainly didn’t want him to suspect that she had doubts, not that she really did. She had moved on from the days when splitting up with him had left her feeling utterly devastated.

Of course it must have been easier for him to get over their break-up, she thought as she placed the cups on the table. He had never invested as much of himself into their relationship as she had done. Although he had told her at the time that he loved her, it patently hadn’t been true. He would never have chosen his career over her if he’d felt even a fraction of the love she had felt for him.

She frowned. It made his decision to work in Avondale all the more difficult to understand. Taking time off to come here didn’t make sense when he was so keen to pursue his ambitions. Did he have an ulterior motive? It was what she had accused him of earlier in the day, although she hadn’t seriously believed it. Now she found herself wondering if it was true. As she knew to her cost, Daniel’s career meant more to him than anything else.

Daniel wasn’t sure what was going through Emma’s mind, but he could tell that it wasn’t anything pleasant. He bit back a sigh because he had a nasty feeling that it had something to do with him. Once again he found himself wishing that he hadn’t misled her five years ago, even though he knew that he’d had no choice. He had loved her far too much to let her sacrifice her dreams for him.

‘Are you still working in London?’

He looked up when she spoke, trying to control the surge his pulse gave as his eyes alighted on her face. Although he had been out with a number of extremely attractive women since they’d parted, he had never been tempted to have a long-term relationship with any of them. A few dates and that was it: finito. In fact, he’d gained a bit of a reputation amongst his friends as being a ‘love them and leave them’ kind of guy. He always laughed off the accusation by claiming that he simply hadn’t met the right woman, but now he realised the truth was far more complicated. He had never met anyone who could match up to Emma.

It was an unsettling thought and he tried not to dwell on it as he answered her question. ‘Yes. It’s a busy practice, lots of variety, and I get on well with the rest of the team so I’ve not been tempted to leave.’

‘And they don’t mind you taking time off to work here?’

‘No. They were very sympathetic, in fact,’ Daniel replied, wondering what was behind her sudden interest.

‘It must have caused a problem when you had to drop everything without any warning, though,’ she persisted. ‘Didn’t you say that Uncle Jim had asked you to cover from the end of the month originally?’

‘That’s right. Fortunately, our practice manager was able to juggle the timetable and fit it in.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s worked out quite well, actually. I had some leave owing, so I’m using it up.’

‘Really?’ Her brows rose. ‘You had six whole weeks of leave stored up?’

‘One of the senior partners was pregnant last summer and we couldn’t get locum cover for part of her maternity leave,’ he explained. ‘I offered to carry my leave forward. It’s lucky I did as it turns out.’

‘Hmm, very lucky indeed.’

Daniel frowned when he heard the scepticism in her voice. He wasn’t sure what had caused it and before he could ask, the telephone rang. He stood up before he was tempted to explain that it wasn’t the first time he hadn’t taken his full holiday entitlement. It always seemed like a waste of time, taking time off, when he could be working. Although he had never been driven by personal ambition, he wanted to learn all he could so he could help the people who relied on him for their care. That aim had become even more important since he and Emma had parted.

‘I’ll get that,’ he said briskly. It wouldn’t help the situation to dwell on how much his life had been influenced by what had happened between him and Emma. ‘It’s probably Ruth checking that there’ll be a surgery tonight. Morning surgery had to be cancelled so I expect it will be busy this evening.’

‘I’ll give you a hand when I get back from the hospital,’ Emma offered.

‘That would be great.’ He smiled at her, relieved that she was willing to do her bit to maintain the peace. ‘Thanks.’

He went out to the hall to take the call. As he’d expected, it was the practice receptionist, Ruth Hargreaves. He assured her that surgery would go ahead as scheduled and hung up. There was no sign of Emma when he went back to the kitchen but he heard a car starting up and looked out of the window in time to see her driving away. She hadn’t bothered saying goodbye but why should she? So far as Emma was concerned, she would do what had to be done and that was it. She wasn’t going to suddenly want to become his best friend and he didn’t blame her. He had hurt her badly and the worst thing was knowing that he could never atone for what he had done. Even if he told her the truth, and even if by some miracle she believed him, it was far too late to get back what they’d had.

The waiting room was packed when Emma got back shortly after five p.m. Aunt Margaret had decided to stay the night at the hospital so Emma had come back on her own. Ruth was on the phone when she went in, looking unusually harassed. Emma waited until the receptionist finished the call.

‘Problems?’