The Midwife's New Year Wish

Katie sucked in another breath as she set about bandaging the pillows to his upper torso. It was harder to reach around him now because he was so much broader around the chest and a spasm of awareness shot through her when her fingers encountered warm, bare flesh. It was a relief when the last bit of bandage had been fastened into place.

‘That’s better.’ Nick buttoned up the robe, nodding his approval as he patted his newly acquired paunch. ‘I look a bit more like the kind of Father Christmas the kids will be expecting, don’t I?’

‘You look great,’ Katie muttered, quickly moving away. She’d fitted all the male members of staff for their costumes but not once had she felt as aware of them as she’d felt of Nick just now and it was rather alarming to have to admit it. She’d promised herself that she wouldn’t rush into another relationship after what had happened with David. The next time she got involved with someone she would take her time and get to know him properly. Maybe there was an excuse for what she’d done because she’d been so lonely after her parents had died that she’d not been thinking clearly. However, she intended to learn from her mistake and not repeat it.

She cleared her throat, hoping that Nick couldn’t tell how jittery she felt. ‘You just need to put your hood on now and then you’re ready.’

‘Right.’ Nick pulled the hood over his head then looked at her. ‘How’s that?’

‘I’m not sure…I think your wig’s a bit crooked.’

‘Better?’ he asked, quickly adjusting it.

‘No, it’s still not right. It looks as though it’s drooping over your right eye.’

‘You’d better do it, then.’

He sat down on a chair, obviously expecting her to adjust the wig to her own satisfaction. Katie went and stood in front of him, hoping he couldn’t tell how loath she was to touch him in case the same thing happened again. Using the very tips of her fingers, she tweaked the wig into place then hastily stepped back when he reached for the mirror.

‘That’s better,’ he declared, studying his reflection from various angles. ‘What about the beard, though? It looks a bit uneven to me. Maybe you should fix that as well?’

‘It’s fine,’ she assured him because she really couldn’t face the thought of having to set to work on his beard next…

She bit her lip because she could just imagine how stressful it would be to smooth that cotton wool around his mouth. What on earth was the matter with her? she wondered desperately. Why was she having all these crazy thoughts about a stranger? It was impossible to say so it was a relief when Vicky poked her head round the door.

‘How did you get on, Katie? Did you manage to find—? Oh, wow!’

Katie summoned a smile as Vicky came into the room. ‘So what do you think of our new Santa?’

‘Brilliant!’ Vicky declared in obvious admiration. ‘I don’t know who you are in real life, Santa, but I’d let you bounce me on your knee any day of the week!’

‘Thank you.’ Nick grinned at her, his teeth gleaming whitely even through the snowy folds of his beard. ‘I could return the compliment. In fact, the next time I need a fairy to assist me you’ll be at the very top of my list!’

Katie quickly battened down her irritation when Vicky giggled. There was no point wishing that she’d been wearing one of the fairy costumes because that would be stupid. She headed for the door, deeming it wiser to stick to the task at hand. ‘It’s time to make a start so shall we go and find the others?’

Vicky hurriedly followed her out of the room. However, Katie couldn’t help noticing that she hung back so she could walk with Nick. They passed a couple of late visitors who were leaving and she gritted her teeth when she heard Nick give a booming ‘ho-ho-ho’ as he wished them a merry Christmas. He seemed to be adapting to the role rather too easily, she thought sourly, then realised how perverse that thought was. The fact that Nick seemed to have a preference for fairies rather than elves wasn’t a good enough reason to wish he’d make a hash of things!

The idea was so ridiculous that Katie chuckled then hurriedly turned it into a cough when she saw Nick staring at her. ‘Bit of frog in the throat,’ she explained, leading the way into the staffroom where the rest of the party was waiting. She quickly introduced Nick to everyone by telling them simply that he’d offered to play the part of Santa without going into detail. If he did demand payment then she’d have to work something out, but she wasn’t going to spoil everyone’s afternoon by mentioning money.

They went straight to Women’s Surgical, where they were given a rousing welcome. Even the patients who were really ill seemed to cheer up as they worked their way through their repertoire of carols. Nick turned out to have a surprisingly good voice so that Katie was forced to admit that no matter what it might end up costing her, it could be worth it. He carried them through ‘Once In Royal David’s City’ and took the lead in ‘Silent Night’, singing the lovely old carol with such feeling that there were several members of staff as well as patients with tears in their eyes when they left. It was the same in each ward they visited. However, it was in the children’s ward where he really came into his own.

Katie was frankly amazed by his aplomb as they went from bed to bed so that Nick could wish each of the kids in turn a merry Christmas. He was a natural and she couldn’t believe how lucky she’d been to find him, a sentiment echoed by several members of the group as they made their way back after the performance was over. It had been a resounding success and it had been all down to Nick for pulling it together.

Katie waited until they were back in the staffroom then clapped her hands and called for order. ‘I just want to thank you all for today. It was brilliant and everyone loved it.’

She turned to Nick, who was surrounded by a group of admirers. ‘The biggest thanks, though, must go to you, Nick. I don’t think we could have found a better Santa!’

Everyone cheered and Nick grinned. ‘It was my pleasure, although I’ll be very glad to get out of this costume, I can tell you. Now all that’s left for me to do is to claim my fee.’

Before Katie had time to realise what was happening, he stepped forward and swept her into his arms. ‘I think a kiss should just about cover it.’

CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_cac83ab8-c02d-5cb2-b3e3-bd42a0da25f5)

NICK had intended the kiss to be a bit of fun, a teasing reprimand because Katie had actually believed that he expected to be paid for playing Santa, so it was little wonder that he was unprepared when it turned out to be rather more than that.

He bit back a groan of delight as his lips settled onto hers. Katie’s lips were so delicious that he felt like a kid who’d suddenly been let loose in a sweet shop. He could hear the others cheering him on but took no notice as he greedily savoured the taste of Katie’s delectable mouth. Her lips were as smoothly addictive as caramel, as sweetly satisfying as barley sugar, and he just wanted to carry on kissing her and never stop…

‘Oops! Sorry to break up the fun, but I need a word with Katie, if you don’t mind.’

Nick was rudely jolted back to the present when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He let go of Katie so fast that she staggered, but there was nothing he could do about it. He moved aside so the other woman could speak to her, hoping that nobody could tell how shocked he felt. He’d kissed his fair share of women over the years, sometimes in fun although more often in passion, yet he couldn’t recall a single kiss that had affected him the way that one had done.

‘I…Is something wrong, Abbey?’

Nick’s nerves twanged in alarm when he heard how breathless Katie sounded. He shot her a wary glance but she had her back to him now and he couldn’t see her face. He sighed because even if she had been as moved by that kiss as he’d been, there wasn’t a lot he could do about it. He’d set out his stall years ago and love, marriage and the regulation 2.3 children weren’t on his agenda. Maybe he was making a lot of assumptions he wasn’t qualified to make but something told him that Katie Denning was the sort of woman who’d expect all those things. A little light romance would never be enough for her. She’d want the whole kit and caboodle and Nick simply wasn’t in the market for that kind of commitment when he still had so many dreams to fulfil. To put it bluntly, he wasn’t the kind of man that Katie needed even if he’d have happily traded a few of his dreams for a couple more of her kisses!

‘Did you page Niall? What did he say?’

The worry in Katie’s voice cut through his thoughts and Nick frowned as he tuned into the conversation. Maybe he should have explained who he was earlier, he thought as he listened while the other woman—Abbey—explained that she’d been in touch with Niall Gillespie, the head of the obstetrics unit, but that Niall was stuck in traffic and didn’t know how long it would be before he could get to the hospital.

Nick knew he’d been a tad economical with the truth when he’d introduced himself to Katie earlier, but he’d been loath to admit who he really was. He desperately needed some time to himself after the rigours of the past few months. That was the reason why he’d decided to move to Dalverston on Christmas Eve, in fact—because everyone would be too busy with their own affairs to notice him and he’d be spared any fuss. However, as he listened to the conversation, Nick realised that he might have to put his plans for a low-key Christmas on hold.

‘Where’s Julie gone?’ Katie was asking now, so Nick held off a bit longer, hoping there might be another solution to the crisis apart from him revealing who he was.

‘Julie went home sick at lunchtime. She looked really awful, too. I think she’s got that horrible flu bug that’s been going around.’ Abbey sounded really worried. ‘Karen Johnson’s husband was frantic when he phoned to tell us that he’d had to call an ambulance. Apparently, Karen was in tremendous pain and losing a lot of blood. We didn’t know what to do for the best when Niall told us how long it could take him to get here so that’s why I came to find you.’

‘You did exactly the right thing,’ Katie assured her.

Nick felt a spasm of longing tiptoe its way down his spine when he heard the warmth in her voice. He could have done with some of her particular brand of TLC during the last few months, he thought wistfully, then quickly blanked out the thought because it was far too dangerous to go down that route. He forced himself to concentrate again as Katie began listing their options.

‘Obviously, we don’t know what’s wrong with Karen yet but if it’s a placental abruption, for instance, she’s going to need surgery urgently.’ She frowned as she considered the implications of that. ‘In that case, bringing her here will only waste time if there’s nobody available to operate. It might be best if she was taken straight to Hunter’s Green. It will take the ambulance a lot longer to get there but I know they have an obs and gynae consultant on over Christmas because they faxed us a list of their staff in case of an emergency like this.’

‘But they don’t have a special care baby unit at Hunter’s Green, do they?’ Abbey put in anxiously.

‘No, they don’t,’ Katie agreed. ‘The baby would have to be transferred to us after it’s delivered and I can’t say I’m happy about the idea of a preemie being driven around the country. Karen wasn’t due till the end of January so the baby will need a lot of support at first. Damn! If only the new registrar had started before Christmas instead of after, then we wouldn’t be in this mess!’

Nick sighed because it seemed that he really didn’t have a choice any longer. He would have to come clean and admit who he was. He stepped forward, seeing the way Katie’s grey eyes skittered to his face then just as quickly skittered away again. It was all he could do not to gnash his teeth when it was obvious that she was as sensitive about that kiss as he was. Now all he could do was to try and limit the amount of damage he’d caused, but he should never have put himself in this position in the first place.

‘I’m sorry to butt in but I might be able to help,’ he said with a smile that was meant to be cool but which wavered when Katie’s eyes once again shot to his face and stayed there this time.

‘Wh-what do you mean?’ she stammered, and a shiver ran through him when he realised that he was responsible for that catch in her voice. The women he usually dated were far too sophisticated to betray their feelings that way, but Katie had no such pretensions. Nick found himself suddenly awash with tenderness and it was the last thing he needed when he was determined to behave in a purely professional manner from now on.

‘That I’m Nicholas Lawson, your new specialist registrar. I should have introduced myself properly before, I suppose, but better late than never, as they say. Anyway, if I can swing it with Niall then I’d be happy to start right away instead of waiting until after Christmas.’

‘You’re the new registrar!’

A second or two earlier Nick had been glorying in Katie’s lack of artifice. Now he found himself wishing that she’d made more of an effort to dissemble. Did she have to make it quite so clear how dismayed she was by the prospect of him being her new colleague? It was hard to hide his chagrin but Nick didn’t have a choice.

‘That’s right. Sorry to spring it on you like this, but I’ve got references and everything so you don’t have to take my word that I am who I claim to be. And, of course, Niall will vouch for me because he’s the one who interviewed me for the post in the first place.’ There was a hint of challenge in his voice because he really didn’t appreciate the fact that Katie was staring at him as though he’d just sprouted an extra head.