Small Town Marriage Miracle

She sighed. It probably felt chilly because her body hadn’t adjusted to the change in temperature yet. When she’d left South Africa early that morning the temperature had been in the high 30s, so it was bound to be a shock to her system to be plunged back into the tail end of a British winter. Still, she would soon adapt.

Emma looked round in surprise when she heard the front door open. It slammed shut and a moment later she heard footsteps crossing the hall. Her heart was already racing when Daniel appeared, even though she had no idea what he wanted.

‘Oh, good. You’ve got the fire going. It’s a lot colder up here than it is in London,’ he observed, crossing the room to warm his hands.

‘I suppose it is,’ Emma agreed uncertainly. She frowned when she realised that he wasn’t wearing a coat. He’d had it on earlier so why had he taken it off? A horrible suspicion started to rear its head and she stared at him in alarm. ‘What are you doing here, Daniel?’

‘At this precise moment, I’m trying to warm up. But give me a couple of minutes and I’ll make myself useful.’

‘Useful?’

‘Uh-huh. I’ll cook dinner tonight. It doesn’t seem fair to expect you to do it after the day you’ve had.’

‘Cook dinner?’ Emma took a quick breath when she realised that she was repeating everything he said. ‘Why on earth would you want to cook dinner?’

‘Because we both need to eat,’ he replied reasonably. He glanced at her, the light from the fire reflecting in his eyes so that she found it impossible to read his expression. ‘We can work out a rota if you prefer, but tonight I’ll cook.’

He straightened up and headed for the door but Emma knew that she couldn’t let him leave before she found out what was going on. ‘Why do we need a rota? Surely you’ll be having dinner wherever you’re staying? Most of the guest houses will provide an evening meal if you ask them to.’

‘Your aunt hasn’t told you, then?’ He stopped and turned, and she could see the concern on his face. It made her feel even more alarmed. ‘Told me what?’ she snapped. ‘That I’m staying here.’

CHAPTER THREE

‘EVERYTHING happened so fast that there was no time to arrange accommodation before I left London. I was going to sort something out when I got here, but Margaret insisted that I stay at the house.’

Daniel shrugged but he could tell from the frozen expression on Emma’s face that the news had come as a shock to her. ‘I can’t see that it will cause a problem, Emma, but if you aren’t happy with the arrangement then, of course, I’ll find somewhere else.’

‘There’s no need,’ she said stiffly. ‘If Aunt Margaret invited you to stay, I’m certainly not going to object.’

‘Fine. If you change your mind, though, just let me know.’

Daniel managed to maintain an outward show of indifference as he left the sitting room, but he sighed as he headed for the kitchen. Emma’s reaction to the news that they would be sharing the house was upsetting but what did he expect? It might have been different if her aunt and uncle had been there, but she probably didn’t relish the idea of them being on their own. All he could do now was monitor the situation and find somewhere else if it looked as though it was going to create friction.

It was the logical solution, although it didn’t make him feel good to know that he was persona non grata so far as Emma was concerned. He tried not to dwell on it as he made a start on dinner. He was just mashing the potatoes to go with the lamb chops and green beans he had cooked when Emma appeared.

‘I’ll set the table.’

She busied herself with place mats and cutlery, glasses for water and condiments. Daniel suspected that it was displacement activity, aimed at taking her mind off the thought of eating with him. He couldn’t help feeling sad as he remembered all the other meals they had shared—impromptu picnics in the country, lunches in one of the local pubs. It hadn’t mattered what they’d eaten or where because they’d always enjoyed it. Just being together had added extra zest to the food.

‘Remember that meal we had at the Golden Goose?’

Emma’s voice cut into his thoughts and he felt a tingle run through him. That she had been recalling the good times they’d had seemed too much of a coincidence, yet why should it be? It wasn’t the first time their thoughts had been so in tune. Maybe there was still some kind of connection between them.

Daniel hurriedly quashed that thought. He couldn’t allow himself to think like that; it was too dangerous. ‘Not really,’ he replied offhandedly.

He spooned mashed potato onto the plates, ignoring the flicker of hurt that crossed her face. He was doing this for her sake. They couldn’t go back and they couldn’t go forward either. Not together. Leaving aside the fact that Emma no longer loved him, the old objections were as valid today as they had been five years ago. He knew from what Jim had told him that Emma was determined to make consultant one day. If that was to happen then he knew that she needed to remain completely focused. If she failed to achieve her goal, she would regret it just as much as she would have done if she’d given up surgery all together.

Daniel’s heart was heavy as he carried the plates over to the table. Even if Emma was prepared to give them a second chance—which she wasn’t!—there was no future for them. ‘I hope this is all right for you. There’s no gravy, I’m afraid. I’ve never mastered the art of making decent gravy.’

‘It’s fine. Thank you.’

Her tone was painfully polite and it cut him to the quick to know that she was deliberately distancing herself from him. He didn’t react, however, as he pulled out a chair and sat down because there was nothing he could do that would help. Emma sat down as well and began to eat. Apart from the faint clatter of cutlery, the room was silent and Daniel could feel the tension mounting as the minutes passed. He searched his mind for something uncontroversial to say, but all he could come up with was work. Still, it was better than nothing.

‘How did you get on tonight?’

‘Fine, thank you.’ Emma forked a little potato into her mouth. She chewed and swallowed it then looked at him. ‘How about you?’

‘Oh, yes, fine. Thanks.’ Daniel inwardly groaned when he heard the stilted note in his voice. This was hardly the best way to improve the atmosphere, was it?

He cleared his throat and tried again. ‘I was surprised by how busy it was, to be honest. I know morning surgery had to be cancelled, but even so I didn’t expect that many patients to turn up. Did you?’

‘No.’ She scooped a little more potato onto her fork then hesitated. Daniel held his breath, hoping that she would find something else to say. If the next few weeks weren’t to be an ordeal for them both, Emma needed to meet him halfway.

‘To be frank, I don’t know how Uncle Jim copes on his own. It was obvious from the number of people we saw tonight that it needs more than one doctor to run this practice.’

Daniel felt like punching the air in relief, but managed to control the urge. Two sentences didn’t make a conversation. And they definitely didn’t make up for past hurts. ‘I agree. The workload is way too much for one person, especially when that person has health issues of his own,’ he agreed soberly, trying to ignore the pang of guilt he felt. He had never set out to hurt her, far from it. He’d done what was necessary to safeguard her happiness and he had to remember that, even though it was hard.

‘We have to find a way to make Uncle Jim understand that.’ Emma sighed. ‘It won’t be easy, though. You know how independent he is and admitting that he needs help will be extremely difficult for him. Then there’s the problem of finding someone suitable who’s willing to work here. That will be another major hurdle.’

‘Jim told me once that he’d not had much luck finding a replacement after his partner retired,’ Daniel said quietly.

‘No. There were very few applications when the post was advertised, so he wasn’t exactly spoiled for choice. And the couple of candidates he interviewed changed their minds when they discovered what the job actually entailed.’ She shrugged. ‘It takes a certain type of person willing to go out to a call at one of the farms in the middle of winter.’

‘Not many doctors are as dedicated as Jim is, but he has to face facts. He’s not getting any younger. Even without this operation, he would have had to think about at least scaling back even if he doesn’t intend to retire. Quite frankly, he can’t go on working as hard as he’s been doing.’

‘We know that, but convincing Uncle Jim is another matter. The practice means everything to him,’ she added worriedly.

‘I know it does, Emma, but somehow we have to make him see that he needs to think about himself for a change. And about your aunt, too. She must be worried sick about him.’

‘She is.’ Tears welled to her eyes and she looked away.

Daniel reached out and laid his hand over hers, hating to see her looking so upset. ‘We’ll work something out, Emma. Promise.’

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, his heart lifting when he felt her fingers curl around his for a moment before she pulled away. Picking up her cutlery, she started eating again and he knew that the all too brief moment of togetherness had passed. They finished the meal as it had begun, in silence. Daniel knew there was no point trying to draw her out again, even if he’d had the heart to try. Emma was deliberately shutting him out and although it hurt like hell, he understood why. She didn’t trust him after what had happened and he couldn’t blame her.

Emma refused both dessert and coffee. Her nerves were stretched so tightly by then that she would have been sick if she’d consumed anything else. She stacked her plate and glass in the dishwasher then went upstairs to her room. Daniel had mentioned something about watching television in the sitting room, but she had no intention of joining him. Dinner had been enough of an ordeal.

She sighed as she lay down on the narrow single bed. The thought of having to spend the next few weeks making stilted conversation wasn’t appealing, but what choice did she have? If she asked Daniel to find somewhere else to live it would only arouse her aunt and uncle’s suspicions that things weren’t right between them. Although Aunt Margaret and Uncle Jim knew that she and Daniel had spent a lot of time together five years ago, they had no idea just how serious the relationship had been or, rather, how much it had meant to her. As far as the older couple were concerned, it had been nothing more than a summer romance and she didn’t intend to disabuse them of that idea. She and Daniel would have to muddle through as best they could, although one thing was certain—if he tried to touch her again, she would make it clear that he was overstepping the mark.

Emma tried to ignore the tingle that shot up her arm as she recalled the warm grip of his fingers. She got up and went to the bookshelves, selecting a well-worn copy of Black Beauty, a childhood favourite. Curling up on the bed, she proceeded to reacquaint herself with the familiar characters. She must have drifted off to sleep at some point because the next thing she knew, the telephone was ringing.

She got up and hurried out to the landing, but Daniel had beaten her to it. He had already lifted the phone off its rest and was holding it to his ear. Emma felt her breath catch when she discovered that all he was wearing was a pair of pyjama pants resting low on his narrow hips. His chest was bare, the thick, dark hair outlining the solid strength of his pectoral muscles before it arrowed down to disappear tantalisingly beneath the waistband of his pants. It was only when he dropped the receiver back onto its rest with a clatter that she managed to drag her gaze away.

‘That was Harry Groves from High Dale Farm. Apparently, his wife has gone into labour and the midwife is at another call. Harry has phoned for an ambulance but it will be at least an hour before it gets there,’ Daniel explained. ‘I said I’d go over there straight away.’

‘High Dale Farm is right up in the hills. It’s a long drive even from here, so no wonder the ambulance will need time to get there,’ Emma agreed worriedly.

‘Is it marked on the map?’ Daniel asked, referring to the Ordnance Survey map they kept in the surgery.