Midwife...to Mum!

PLASTERING ON HER best smiley face the next morning, Ally stepped inside the medical centre, unzipping her jacket as she crossed to the reception desk. ‘Hi, I’m Alyssa Parker.’ Lucas always wrote her full name on her credentials when sending them to medical centres. It was a technicality he adhered to, and she hated it. ‘Ally for short. I’m covering for Kat while she’s away.’

A man straightened from the file he was reading and she gasped as the piercing blue eyes that had followed her into sleep last night now scanned her. Her smile widened. ‘Flynn.’ The buzz she’d felt standing by this man yesterday returned in full force, fizzing through her veins, heating her in places she definitely didn’t need warmed by a married man. He was still as sexy, despite the stubble having been shaved off. Stop it. But she’d have to be six feet under not to react to him.

‘Ally. Or do you prefer Alyssa?’

‘Definitely Ally. Never Alyssa. So you’re Dr Reynolds?’ They hadn’t swapped surnames the previous day. Hardly been any point when the chances of meeting again had seemed remote. Neither had she learned his first name when she was told about this job. She became aware of the receptionist glancing from her to Flynn, eyebrows high and a calculating look in her eyes.

Fortunately Flynn must’ve seen her, too. ‘Megan’s our office lady and general everything girl. She’ll help you find files and stock lists and anything else you want.’

‘You two know each other?’ Megan asked her burning question.

Ally left that to Flynn to deal with and took a quick look around the office, but listened in as Flynn told the receptionist, ‘We met briefly yesterday. Can you tell the others as they arrive that we’re in the tearoom and can they come along to meet Ally?’ Then he joined her on the other side of the counter. ‘I’ll show you around. You’ve got a busy clinic this morning. Three near full-term mums and four who are in their second trimester.’

‘Three close to full term? Was there a party on the island eight months back that everyone went to?’ She grinned.

‘You’d be surprised how many pregnant ladies we see. Phillip Island’s population isn’t as small as people think. One of the women, Marie Canton, is Adam’s daytime caregiver when he’s not at preschool.’

So Adam’s mum worked, too. Ally wondered what she did. A doctor, like her husband? ‘Will Marie be bringing Adam with her?’

‘I’m not sure.’

‘What time’s my first appointment?’ she asked, suddenly needing to stay on track and be professional.

But Flynn smiled, and instantly ramped up that heat circulating her body, defying her professionalism. ‘Nine. Was it explained to you that Kat also does high school visits to talk to the teenagers about contraception?’ Flynn stood back and indicated with a wave of his hand for her to precede him into a kitchen-cum-meeting-room. ‘You’ve got one on Thursday afternoon.’

‘I didn’t know, but not a problem.’ What was that aftershave? She sniffed a second time, savouring the tangy scent that reminded her of the outdoors and sun and…? And hot male. She tripped over her size sevens and grabbed the back of a chair to regain her balance. ‘I’m still breaking these boots in,’ she explained quickly, hoping Flynn wouldn’t notice the sudden glow in her cheeks. He mustn’t think she was clumsy but, worse, he mustn’t guess what had nearly sent her crashing face first onto the floor.

But when she glanced at him she relaxed. His gaze was firmly fixed on the boots she’d blamed. Her awesome new boots that had cost nearly a week’s pay. His eyes widened, then cruised slowly, too slowly, up her thighs to her hips, up, up, up, until he finally locked gazes with her. So much for relaxing. Now she felt as though she was in a sauna and there was no way out. The heat just kept getting steamier. Her tongue felt too big for her mouth. Her eyes must look like bug’s eyes; they certainly felt as though they were out on stalks.

Flynn was one sexy unit. The air between them sparked like electricity. His hair was as tousled as it had been yesterday and just as tempting. Her fingers curled into her palms, her false nails digging deep into her skin as she fought not to reach out and finger-comb those thick waves.

‘You must be the midwife.’ A woman in her midforties suddenly appeared before her. ‘Faye Bellamy, part-time GP for my sins.’

Ally took a step back to put space between her and Flynn, and reached for Faye’s proffered hand. ‘That’s me. Ally Parker. Pleased to meet you.’

‘Pleasure’s all ours. Darned nuisance Kat wanting time off, but I’ve read your résumé and it seems you’ll be a perfect fit for her job.’ Bang, mugs hit the benchtop. ‘Coffee, everyone?’

Kat wasn’t meant to take holidays? Or just this one? ‘Yes, thanks. Where’s Kat gone?’

Flynn was quick to answer. ‘To Holland for her great-grandmother’s ninetieth birthday. She’s been saving her leave for this trip.’ He flicked a glance at Faye’s back, then looked at Ally. ‘She could’ve taken two months and still not used up what she’s owed,’ he added.

‘Europe’s a long way to go for any less time.’ Not that it had anything to do with her, except she would have been signed on here for longer and that meant more weeks—okay, hours—in Flynn’s company. Already that looked like being a problem. His marital status wasn’t having any effect on curtailing the reaction her body had to him.

She took the mug being handed to her and was surprised to see her hand shaking. She searched her head for something ordinary to focus on, and came back to Kat. ‘Bet the trip’s another reason why there isn’t much furniture or clutter in the flat.’ A girl after her own heart, though for a different reason.

‘Morning, everyone.’ A man strolled in. ‘Coffee smells good.’ Then he saw Ally. ‘Hi, I’m Jerome, GP extraordinaire, working with this motley lot.’

Amidst laughter and banter Ally sat back and listened as the nurses joined them and began discussing patients and the two emergencies that had happened over the weekend. She felt right at home. This was the same Monday-morning scenario she’d sat through in most of the clinics she’d worked at ever since qualifying. Same cases, different names. Same egos, different names. Soon her gaze wandered to the man sitting opposite her, and she felt that hitch in her breathing again.

Flynn was watching her from under hooded eyes, his chin low, his arms folded across his chest as he leaned as far back in his chair as possible without spilling over backwards.

Ally’s breathing became shallow and fast, like it did after a particularly hard run. The man had no right to make her feel like this. Who did he think he was? The sooner this meeting was finished the better. She could go and play with patients and hide from him until all her body parts returned to their normal functions. At the rate she was going, that’d be some time around midnight.

The sound of scraping chairs on the floor dragged her attention back to the other people in the room and gave her the escape she desperately needed.

But fifteen minutes after the meeting ended, Flynn was entering her room with a frightened young girl in tow. ‘Ally, I’d like you to meet Chrissie Gordon.’ He ushered the girl, dressed in school uniform, to a chair.

‘Hi, Chrissie. Love your nail colour. It’s like hot pink and fiery red all mixed up.’ It would have lit up a dark room.

‘It’s called Monster Red.’ Chrissie shrugged at her, as if to say, Who gives a rat’s tail? Something serious was definitely on this young lady’s mind.

Given that Flynn had brought Chrissie to see her, they must be about to talk about protection during sex or STDs. Or pregnancy. The girl looked stumped, as if her worst possible nightmare had just become real. Ally wanted to scoop her up into her arms and ward off whatever was about to be revealed. Instead, she looked at Flynn and raised an eyebrow.

‘Chrissie’s done several dip-stick tests for pregnancy and they all showed positive.’ Flynn’s face held nothing but sympathy for his patient’s predicament. ‘I’d like you to take a blood sample for an HCG test to confirm that, and then we’ll also know how far along she is if the result’s positive.’

It wasn’t going to be negative with all those stick tests showing otherwise. ‘No problem.’

Ally took the lab form he handed her and glancing down saw requests for WR and VDRL to check for STDs, antibodies and a blood group. She noted the girl’s date of birth. Chrissie was fifteen. Too young to be dealing with this. Ally’s heart went out to the frightened child as she thought back to when she’d been that age. She’d barely been coping with her own life, let alone be able to manage looking after a baby. Face it, she doubted her ability to do that now. Locking eyes with Flynn, she said, ‘Leave it to me.’

His nod was sharp. ‘Right, Chrissie, I’ll call you on your cell when the lab results come back.’

‘Thanks, Dr Reynolds,’ Chrissie whispered, as her fingers picked at the edge of her jersey, beginning to unravel a thread. ‘You won’t tell Mum, will you?’

‘Of course not. You know even if I wanted to—which I don’t—I’m not allowed to disclose your confidential information. It’s up to you to decide when to talk to your mother, but let’s wait until we get these tests done and you can come and see me again first, if that’ll make it easier for you.’ Flynn drew a breath and added, ‘You won’t be able to hide the pregnancy for ever.’

‘I know. But not yet, okay?’ The girl’s head bowed over her almost flat chest. ‘I’m afraid. It hurts to have a baby, doesn’t it?’

Ally placed a hand over Chrissie’s and squeezed gently. ‘You’re getting way ahead of yourself. Let’s do those tests and find out how far along you are. After I’ve taken your blood I’ll explain a few things about early-stage pregnancy if you like.’

‘Yes, please. I think.’ Fat tears oozed out of Chrissie’s eyes and slid down her cheeks to drip onto her jersey. ‘Mum’s going to kill me.’

‘No, she won’t,’ Flynn said. About to leave the room, he turned back to hunker down in front of Chrissie and said emphatically, ‘Angela will be very supportive of you. You’re her daughter. That’s what mothers do.’

Yeah, right, you don’t know a thing, buster, if that’s what you believe. Did you grow up in la-la land? Ally clamped her lips shut for fear of spilling the truth. Some mothers couldn’t care two drops of nothing about their daughters. Some dump their babies on strangers’ door-steps.

But when she glanced at Flynn, he shook his head and mouthed, ‘It’s true of Angela.’

Had he known what she’d been thinking? The tension that had been tightening her shoulders left off as she conceded silently that if he was right then Chrissie was luckier than some. A big positive in what must feel like a very negative morning for the girl. ‘Good,’ she acknowledged with a nod at Flynn. As for his mind-reading, did that mean he’d known exactly what she’d been thinking about him back there in the staffroom?

‘Have you had a blood test before?’ she asked Chrissie. She’d wasted enough time thinking about Dr Reynolds.

Flynn disappeared quietly, closing the door behind him.

‘Yeah, three times. I hate them. I fainted every time.’

‘You can lie on the bed, then. No way do I want to be picking you off the floor, now, do I?’

She was rewarded with a glimmer of a smile. ‘I don’t weigh too much. You’d manage.’