A Mother's Secret

She let out a laugh. ‘Oh, come on. Someone your age doesn’t stay with their mother. You certainly weren’t there when we arrived this morning.’

There was something in the air between them. Everything about this was wrong. He was a colleague. This was a small island.

She was here for a fresh start and some down time.

So why was her heart pitter-pattering against her chest?

It seemed that Arran was about to get very interesting.

CHAPTER THREE

LOGAN RAN HIS fingers through his hair. They’d finally reached a compromise.

He was going to cover as much of the on-call as possible, even though Gemma had been determined to do her share. She was feisty.

And so was her daughter.

He’d nipped back home after lunchtime and found his mother being ordered around by Isla. Granted, it was in a very polite manner—but the little girl clearly took after her mother.

But what had struck him most of all was the expression of joy on his mother’s face. She clearly loved the interactions with the little girl. His father had died ten years ago. Logan had settled back on the island once he’d completed his GP training and bought a house just along the road. His sister Claire had been battling infertility for seven years. And his mother had been patiently knitting and stashing tiny little cardigans in a cupboard in the back bedroom for just as long.

It was a nightmare. The one thing he’d never given much thought to during his medical career. Fertility.

Sure, he understood the science of it. And, of course, he always had empathy for his patients.

But to see the true, devastating effects of unexpected infertility and how it impacted on a family had been brought home to him in the past few years. The highs of being accepted for treatment and at the start of each attempt. The lows and desperation as each failure lessened the likelihood of future success. The slow, progressive withdrawal of his sister, along with the cracks that had subsequently appeared in her marriage.

At times, Logan had no idea how his brother-in-law managed to keep things on an even keel. Claire could be so volatile now. The slightest thing could set her off. The beautiful, healthy, lively young woman had turned into a skeletal, unconfident wreck.

And it affected every one of them.

And now he’d just given his mother a taste of being a grandmother.

It wasn’t as if his mum hadn’t stepped in before. She’d loved little Ben as much as he had and had watched him occasionally as he and Zoe had dated. But the connection with Isla was definitely stronger. Why, he wasn’t sure. But watching them together and hearing the way they spoke to each other made him laugh. It was like a pair of feisty older women, rather than a little girl and his mother. They were definitely kindred spirits.

Was he being unfair? Because his mother currently looked as if she were loving every minute of this. Isla too. And there was no question about the fact that Gemma needed trustworthy childcare.

But what would Claire think if she found out her mother was acting as a surrogate gran? Would it hurt her even more? Because he really couldn’t bear that.

The phone rang on his desk. He picked it up swiftly. ‘Yes?’

‘Logan, we’ve had too many calls for emergency appointments this morning. We’re going to burst at the seams.’

He frowned. ‘Have you scheduled Dr Halliday to see any of the emergency patients?’

‘Well, no. You told us not to. She’s supposed to be doing the house calls this week to try and find her way around the island.’

‘Let’s leave that for next week.’ He couldn’t afford the time needed for Gemma to navigate her way around the outlying farms and crofts that he could find in his sleep. ‘Schedule her for some of the emergency GP surgeries this week, there’s just no way we can do without her.’