BACHELOR DADS

Single Doctors…Single Fathers!

At work they are skilled medical professionals, but at home, as soon as they walk in the door, these eligible bachelors are on full-time fatherhood duty!

These devoted dads still find room in their lives for love…

It takes very special women to win the hearts of these dedicated doctors, and a very special kind of caring to make these single fathers full-time husbands!

Look out for the next book in this mini-series—coming soon from Jennifer Taylor and Medical Romance™!

JENNIFER TAYLOR lives in the north-west of England with her husband Bill. She had been writing Mills & Boon® romances for some years, but when she discovered Medical Romances™, she was so captivated by these heart-warming stories that she set out to write them herself! When not writing, or doing research for her latest book, Jennifer’s hobbies include reading, travel, walking her dog and retail therapy (shopping!). Jennifer claims all that bending and stretching to reach the shelves is the best exercise possible. She’s always delighted to hear from readers, so do visit her at www.jennifer-taylor.com

The Consultant’s Adopted Son

Jennifer Taylor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

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CONTENTS

Cover

About the Author

Title Page

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

HE KNEW who she was as soon as she came through the door. Even though they’d never met before, he recognised her. Her hair was the exact same honey-gold colour as Daniel’s was, and the way she tilted her head to the side as she looked around the bar was exactly what his son would have done, too.

Owen Gallagher’s hand clenched around his glass. He’d tried to prepare himself for this meeting, but seeing the resemblance between this woman and Daniel made him realise how dangerous the situation really was. If he wasn’t careful he could end up losing his son, and the thought was more than he could bear. He loved Daniel more than anything in the world and he wouldn’t allow anyone to take him away from him!

A crowd of people suddenly came into the pub and the woman disappeared from view. Owen cursed as he stood up and tried to see where she had gone. He should have made himself known to her as soon as she’d arrived instead of sitting here, worrying about what might or might not happen.

Normally, he wasn’t someone who hesitated. He couldn’t afford to be in his job, when he needed to make life-and-death decisions. He was used to trusting his instincts, yet he was afraid to trust them now. He was too closely involved in this situation and it would be foolish to hope that instinct alone would guide him down the right path. He needed to follow his head, not his heart, although it wasn’t going to be easy to detach himself emotionally when Daniel’s whole future depended on him making the right decisions.

The crowd suddenly parted and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the woman walking to the bar. He made his way towards her, using the few seconds it took to take stock. She was taller than he’d imagined, and slimmer, too. She was wearing a black trouser suit with a white blouse and a pair of low-heeled black shoes. Although her clothes were very neat and tidy, he could tell they weren’t expensive from the cut of the jacket—it was a little too loose around her waist and the sleeves were an inch too long. She stopped at the bar and he paused, too, needing another few seconds before he introduced himself.

Her face was in profile now, and his heart lurched as he studied the smooth curve of her brow, the straight line of her nose and the fullness of her lips. She was even more like Daniel in profile, and it was unsettling to see the familiar features on her face. It wasn’t easy to control the feeling of panic that was creeping up on him, but he’d never been a coward and he refused to behave like one now. This woman had the power to disrupt Daniel’s life. If he had to conquer his own fears to ensure that wouldn’t happen, that was what he would do.

Owen’s gaze moved on as he made himself take stock of the glossy fall of honey-gold hair that swung around her shoulders. Her hair was very thick and straight, like a golden waterfall as it shimmered in the lights above the bar. When she bent over to take her purse out of her bag, he half reached towards her, curious to see if her hair felt as cool and as smooth as it looked, before he realised what he was doing.

His hand fell to his side and he breathed in sharply to clear his head. It didn’t matter how her hair felt. It only mattered how it looked, and it looked exactly the same as Daniel’s did, apart from its length. The sooner he accepted these similarities, the easier it would be to discount them. He couldn’t afford to focus on the resemblance between them otherwise he wouldn’t be able to separate himself emotionally from what needed to be done. He might not know anything about her, but he did know one thing: she was a threat.

She suddenly turned, and Owen felt a rush of panic assail him when her eyes locked with his. He wasn’t mentally prepared yet to speak to her and wasn’t sure what he should do. Should he introduce himself now, or should he wait a while longer?

‘Excuse me.’

Her voice was low, husky, and the hair on the back of his neck lifted when he heard it for the very first time. So far, they’d only communicated by letter—a terse little note from him suggesting they should meet, an even shorter reply from her, agreeing to the idea. He hadn’t thought about how she would sound, so it came as a shock to realise that he found the husky tones very appealing.

He stepped aside to let her pass, feeling goose-bumps break out all over his skin when she murmured her thanks. All of a sudden it felt as though there wasn’t enough air in the pub and he couldn’t breathe. He hurried to the door. His only thought was to escape from a situation that was turning out to be far more stressful than he’d anticipated it would be. But even as he reached for the handle he knew he couldn’t leave. Not yet. Not until he’d made her understand what was going to happen.

He took a deep breath, filled his lungs with the heavy, turgid air, then turned around. If ever there was a time when he needed to be in control of himself, it was now.

Rose found an empty table and sat down. Taking a cardboard coaster out of the ashtray, she carefully placed her glass on it. She really hadn’t wanted a drink. She’d bought it simply because it had been expected of her. When you went into a pub you bought a drink. That was it, all nice and tidy—unlike her life, which was turning into such a mess.

A spasm of dread shot through her and she picked up the glass and sipped a little of the wine, hoping it would steady her. Ever since she had agreed to this meeting she’d worried about what was going to happen. She’d gone over it in her head, time and time again, but it had been pure guesswork, of course.

She had no real idea what Owen Gallagher wanted to see her about, except that it had something to do with Daniel—the child she’d given up for adoption eighteen years ago. Not a day had gone by since then when she hadn’t thought about him, worried about him, wondered where he was and if he was happy. Was that what Owen Gallagher wanted to know—if she ever thought about the child she’d given away?

She hoped so, because it would be the easiest thing in the world to tell him the truth. She’d never stopped thinking about Daniel, had never stopped regretting the circumstances that had forced her to give him up. Even though she was sure that she’d made the right decision, she had many regrets, but was that really what Owen Gallagher wanted to hear? Or was there another reason why he’d contacted her?

Rose put the glass back on the coaster as her hand began to tremble. She’d refused to allow herself to go beyond this point before, refused to consider the idea that Daniel might be ill and that was why Gallagher had tracked her down. One read about such things all the time—mothers and the children they’d given away reunited through illness—but she couldn’t accept that was the reason for this meeting. She simply couldn’t bear to imagine that her precious child might be desperately ill…

She shot to her feet, unable to sit there while thoughts like that tormented her. Gallagher had asked her to meet him at seven o’clock and it was ten minutes past the hour now. Maybe he’d decided not to come? In that case, there was no point her sitting here in this noisy pub…

‘Ms Tremayne? I’m Owen Gallagher. Thank you for agreeing to meet me.’

All of a sudden he was standing in front of her and Rose gasped. ‘But I just bumped into you at the bar!’

‘Yes. Please, sit down.’

He gestured towards the chair she’d vacated. Rose sat, simply because she couldn’t think what else to do. Why hadn’t he introduced himself before? she wondered. Why had he stood there, staring at her that way?

Oh, she’d noticed him, of course. Who wouldn’t? Even in this crowd he stood out. Tall and dark, with the kind of cleanly hewn good looks that would have appealed to any woman, Owen Gallagher wasn’t a man one could ignore. She shot him a careful look as he sat down, taking note of the beautifully tailored grey suit, the crisp white shirt, the silk tie and aura of affluence that surrounded him, and shivered. He wasn’t a man to be ignored—or crossed, for that matter—and it wasn’t pleasant to wonder what he wanted with her.

‘I may as well get straight to the point, Ms Tremayne. Eighteen years ago my late wife and I adopted your son.’

‘Your late wife?’ Rose put in hurriedly. ‘You mean she’s dead?’

‘Yes. Laura died two years ago, after a long illness.’ He didn’t appear unduly upset about having to relay the news, but Rose had dealt with too many people who’d suffered a loss to take that at face value.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said quietly. ‘It must have been a difficult time—for you and for Daniel.’

‘It was.’ Something flashed in his pewter-coloured eyes, a hint of surprise, possibly, because she’d realised that he was still grieving. Nevertheless, his tone was just as brisk when he continued.

‘Daniel was very close to his mother and Laura’s death was a massive blow to him. I think that’s what set him on his present course, in fact.’ He shrugged, his broad shoulders moving lightly under the expensive fabric. ‘If Laura had still been alive then I’m sure that things would have been very different today. Daniel certainly wouldn’t have got this ridiculous idea into his head about getting in touch with you.’

‘Getting in touch with me?’ Rose felt the room tilt and grasped hold of the table. Owen Gallagher had asked her to meet him not because their son was ill but because Daniel wanted to see her?

Her heart ricocheted around her chest as the thought sank in, although it wasn’t just the fact that Daniel had decided to contact her that shocked her. It was the way she had linked herself and Owen Gallagher together with that phrase: their son. It made her feel very odd, but she didn’t dwell on it because he was speaking again.

‘That’s right, and before we go any further, Ms Tremayne, I may as well tell you that I am totally opposed to the idea. You have played no part in Daniel’s life to this point and I cannot see any reason why you should play a part in it in the future. That’s why I wanted to see you tonight—so there would be no mistake about this.’

‘What do you mean by that?’ Rose sat up straighter. Maybe she was overreacting, but there’d been something in his voice that had turned that statement into a threat.

‘I don’t want you interfering in Daniel’s life. He’s been through a rough couple of years and he’s still very vulnerable. At the present time he’s studying for his A-level exams and I don’t intend to allow you to disrupt his life when it’s essential that he remains focused.’

‘You won’t allow it?’ she said incredulously. ‘I’m sorry, but you seem to think that you have some kind of divine right over what Daniel does. If he wants to contact me, that’s his choice. It has nothing to do with you.’

‘Which proves how little you know about being a parent.’

His deep voice was harsh, the words biting into her and causing maximum pain, but Rose knew that he didn’t care if he was hurting her. He only cared about his son, or rather what he thought was right for Daniel. He didn’t accept that Daniel had to make his own decision regarding this issue. He wanted to dictate what would happen. However, there was no way that she was letting him dictate to her!

‘I might not know very much about what it takes to be a good parent, Mr Gallagher, but I do know that if you prevent Daniel from contacting me, it could backfire on you. He will resent you interfering and that could cause a rift between you.’

‘I think I know Daniel rather better than you do, Ms Tremayne. He’s been through a very harrowing time, and what he needs more than anything else is stability in his life. Meeting you—his birth mother—for the first time would be far too stressful for him.’

‘But can’t you see that it might help him if he got to know me? He’d be able to get some sense of who he is and where he came from. That could only be a good thing.’

‘Or it could unsettle him even more. The fact is that Daniel is in no fit state to make major decisions like this at the moment. It’s taken months of hard work to get him to this stage, and I don’t intend to stand aside and watch you ruin everything.’

‘That’s a ridiculous thing to say! Why would I want to ruin anything? I want what is best for Daniel, too. How do you think he’s going to feel if I refuse to meet him? Surely that will cause him far more distress?’

‘He might be upset at first, but he’ll get over it. After all, he doesn’t know anything about you apart from the fact that you gave him up for adoption. You are a stranger to him, and that’s how I intend the situation to continue.’

‘But it isn’t up to you, is it? It’s Daniel’s decision.’ She stared him straight in the eyes. There was no way that he was going to browbeat her into submission when her son’s happiness was at stake. ‘I’m sorry, Mr Gallagher, but I have no intention of turning my back on Daniel. If he contacts me then I shall arrange to see him.’

‘Even though I’ve explained the damage it could cause?’

‘Yes, because I don’t agree with your assessment. I think that meeting me might help Daniel come to terms with what has happened.’

‘I don’t think that meeting you will make up for losing his mother. Daniel adored Laura, so if you’re harbouring any hopes that he will see you as a substitute you can forget them. It’s far more likely that he will be bitterly disappointed when you don’t live up to his expectations.’

‘That’s a risk I shall have to take,’ she said quietly, not wanting him to know how much the comment had hurt.

‘But it’s a risk I am not prepared to take, Ms Tremayne.’

He leant across the table, looking big and intimidating as he stared at her. Rose felt a flurry of fear unfurl in the pit of her stomach. She knew she would regret making an enemy of him but she refused to back down. She’d not been able to do anything for her son apart from making sure that he was well cared for, but she could do this for him now. She could find the courage to fight this man and give Daniel the freedom to choose what he wanted.

‘Are you threatening me, Mr Gallagher? Because I have to say that it sounded very much like it to me. However, if it was a threat then you should know that I don’t respond to being threatened.’

‘It wasn’t a threat, Ms Tremayne. It was merely a statement of intent. I am not prepared to let you ruin my son’s life.’

‘I see.’ She gave a bitter little laugh. ‘You seem to have made up your mind about me, don’t you? You’ve decided that I’m not a fit person to be in contact with Daniel, yet you have no basis whatsoever for thinking that I will cause him any harm.’

‘Neither do I have any reason to believe that you will help him,’ he said flatly. ‘You gave him away, Ms Tremayne, so surely that proves how little he means to you? Why bother getting involved at this point when it will only cause a lot of heartache for everyone concerned? And if you are willing to co-operate with me over this, I am prepared to be very generous.’

‘Generous…What do you mean?’

Rose’s head was spinning again. She could scarcely believe what she was hearing. Didn’t he realise how hard it had been to give away her precious child, the baby she’d nurtured inside her for all those months? Even now, eighteen years later, she still woke up in tears sometimes, remembering how it had felt in the weeks following her decision to have Daniel adopted. Only women who had been through such an experience could understand the sense of loss that had filled her. Her body had ached for her child, and her mind, too. She had grieved for her baby even though he hadn’t died, and yet this man had the temerity to accuse her of not caring.

‘What do you mean?’ she repeated, her voice rising so that the couple at the next table turned and stared at them.

‘Please, keep your voice down.’ Owen Gallagher’s expression darkened as he leant closer to her. ‘You might enjoy making a scene, but I don’t. I came here tonight to tell you that I don’t want you making contact with my son, not to have an argument. Daniel has already written to you. I managed to persuade him to delay posting his letter for a week while he thinks about what he’s doing, but that was as far as I got. However, maybe I can convince you to take a more reasonable view.’

He felt in his inside pocket and pulled out a thick brown envelope. ‘There is five thousand pounds in here, and it’s yours if you give me your word that you won’t make any attempt to reply to his letter.’

He placed the envelope in the centre of the table. Rose stared at it in horror. He really thought that he could bribe her into complying with his demands?

‘I don’t want your money!’ She shoved the envelope back at him and stood up, feeling the hot sting of tears in her eyes. She blinked them away because she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

‘It might surprise you to learn that I can’t be bought off, so please don’t make the mistake of trying this again, Mr Gallagher. I would hate Daniel to know the lengths to which you will go to get what you want.’

She brushed past him, forcing her way through the crowd that had gathered around the bar. One man tried to grab hold of her as she passed but Rose shrugged him off, ignoring the catcalls that followed her out of the door. She didn’t care what people called her. Foul names couldn’t hurt her; they certainly couldn’t cause the kind of heartache she was currently feeling.

There was a bus coming along the road so she ran to the stop and flagged it down. She paid her fare and sat down. The bus stopped again to let a car out of the pub’s car park and her heart began to thump when she recognised the driver of the expensive vehicle as Owen Gallagher.

He glanced around to check the road was clear and Rose’s heart beat even harder when she saw the expression on his face. She had never seen anyone who looked as tortured as he did at that moment. He looked like a man in extremis, and the thought that she was responsible for all that pain was very difficult to bear.

She sat back in the seat as he drove away. She knew that she’d made herself an enemy that day and it was the last thing she’d wanted to do. She had no idea what would happen now, but one thing was certain: Owen Gallagher would do everything in his power to keep Daniel away from her.

‘Sorry about this. I was all set to give you the grand tour when all hell broke loose. There should be an empty locker in here, so once you’ve put your coat away can you come straight through? I’ll have to fill you in as and when I get the chance.’

Rose sighed as the charge nurse hurried away. Although she was used to the frenetic pace of a busy accident and emergency department, it would have been nice if there’d been time for someone to show her around for a change.

Opening the staffroom door, she went in and looked around. It was a typical hospital staffroom, from the pile of mugs stacked up on the draining board to the row of metal lockers lined up against the wall. She’d seen hundreds of similar staffrooms since she’d been working for the nursing agency, so she wasn’t sure why the sight depressed her so much that day. Maybe it was because she’d felt so downhearted ever since the night she’d met Owen Gallagher in the pub?

Rose grimaced as she took off her coat and hung it up in one of the empty lockers. Over a week had passed since that night, yet the memory still weighed heavily on her. Granted, she’d been angry at the way Gallagher had tried to bribe her, but it had been that glimpse of his face as he’d driven away that had bothered her most, surprisingly enough. She didn’t enjoy hurting people even though he had treated her so shabbily. She’d thought about writing to him yet what could she have said? That she hadn’t wanted to upset him? Oh, please!

Rose’s pretty mouth compressed as she made her way to the treatment area. The charge nurse was on the telephone and she held up her hand when Rose approached her. It was another couple of seconds before she hung up, and Rose could tell immediately that something major was about to happen.

‘RTA on its way,’ the charge nurse explained, bustling past her. ‘Multiple casualties, with an ETA of four minutes, so we need to get everything set up. You’ve worked in Resus before, I hope?’

‘Many times,’ Rose replied, following the other woman across the foyer. It was just gone seven a.m. and already the waiting room was filling up. Swingeing cuts to health-care budgets had resulted in many of the smaller emergency departments closing their doors. Casualties were brought to central points and St Anne’s was one of the biggest in this part of London. That it was reputed to be one of the best was the reason why she had been so keen to work there.

‘I’ve worked in just about every A and E in central London. I’ve also done the extra training required for trauma care,’ she explained as the charge nurse led the way into the resuscitation room, which was where the most critically injured patients were treated.

‘Really?’ The other woman looked relieved. ‘Looks like we’ve struck gold for once. I can’t count the number of times we’ve ended up with agency staff who don’t know the first thing about A and E work. At least we’ll be spared our revered boss having an apoplectic fit today…’

She broke off when a nurse popped her head round the door to warn them the first ambulance had arrived. Turning back to Rose, she said hurriedly, ‘Find out where everything is, can you? Once the patients start arriving, there won’t be time to direct you.’

Rose took a deep breath as the other nurse hurried away. It wasn’t the first time she’d been dropped in at the deep end, neither would it be the last. Every time she worked at a new hospital she had to acquaint herself with the layout of the department. Just for a second she thought wistfully how wonderful it would be if she had a permanent post to go to each day, before she dismissed the idea. Agency work paid double the salary she could earn in a permanent job, and that had to be the major consideration at the moment.

She did a quick tour of the room, taking note of where all the supplies were kept. It was obviously a new facility because the equipment was the most modern she’d seen. She cast an admiring glance at the state-of-the-art radiography equipment, which was linked to a sophisticated computer system—there’d be no waiting around for X-ray films to be developed here!

‘Male, aged seventeen, with extensive leg injuries.’

The doors crashed open as the paramedics wheeled in the first patient and Rose ran to help. She listened attentively as they rattled out details about the young man’s BP and oxygen saturation levels, the amount of saline fluid he’d received as well as the drugs that had been administered. Even the smallest detail could turn out to be important, so she made sure that she didn’t miss anything as she positioned herself at the top right corner of the specially adapted trauma bed.

‘On my count…one, two…!’

Rose grabbed a corner of the spinal board when one of the crew started to count and helped to lift the young man off the trolley. The charge nurse was standing at the foot of the bed and she glanced at her.

‘Get rid of his clothes, will you? The consultant’s on his way…Ah, speak of the devil. Here he is.’

Rose looked round as the doors burst open again. She heard the other nurse say something to her but the words seemed to be coming from a distance. All she could see was the man striding towards her: tall and dark, with the kind of cleanly hewn good looks which would appeal to any woman…

Blood rushed to her head and she swayed. What was Owen Gallagher doing here?

CHAPTER TWO

OWEN had never fully appreciated before what the saying about being pole-axed had meant, but he understood it now. It felt as though he’d been riveted to the spot as he stared at Rose Tremayne. What was she doing here? he wondered dazedly. However, before he could attempt to work out the answer, the doors crashed open as the next patient was rushed in.

‘Bed two. Suzanne, you take charge. I’ll be with you once I’ve checked this one out.’ Owen snapped back into action, feeling his heart thundering as he strode over to the bed. He didn’t look at Rose as he bent over the young man because he couldn’t afford to let himself get distracted. ‘What do we know so far?’

‘Motorcyclist with severe injuries to both legs. GCS of ten on admission.’

It was Rose who answered, and he felt his skin prickle with awareness when he recognised the sweetly husky tones. His mouth thinned as she continued updating him on the patient’s status. There was no way on earth that he was prepared to think of her as an attractive woman. She was a threat to his son and that was all there was to it.

‘He needs intubating and I want another line put in, stat! And can someone get rid of those clothes? How the hell can I examine him properly when he’s trussed up in those?’

He quickly set about intubating the patient, ignoring the fact that everyone had fallen silent. So maybe it wasn’t usual for him to order people around like that, but this wasn’t a usual day, was it? Having Rose Tremayne turn up in his department was something he had never allowed for. He wasn’t sure what she’d hoped to achieve by it, but there was no way he was letting her get anywhere near Daniel if that was what she’d been planning.

The thought of her duplicity was very hard to swallow and he swore under his breath as he eased the endoctracheal tube down the young man’s throat. Rob Lomax, one of the two registrars who were on duty that day, looked at him in surprise.

‘Are you OK, Owen?’

‘Fine. I suggest you concentrate on what you’re supposed to be doing instead of worrying about me.’

Owen ignored the looks the team exchanged at yet another example of his strange mood that day. He would make his peace with them later, after he’d calmed down—if he calmed down, he amended as Rose Tremayne moved around the bed and into his line of sight. What the hell was she doing here?

The only person who could answer that question was Rose herself, and there was no way he could ask her it at the present moment. He finished intubating while she cut away the young man’s leather jacket and then carried on with his examination, logging up a couple of broken ribs as well as a dislocated shoulder.

‘X-rays,’ he rapped out, moving to the bottom of the bed so he could examine the man’s legs, which were a mess. The right tibia was sticking through the flesh and the left foot was twisted at such an odd angle that the ligaments had to be ruptured. It was going to take the orthopaedic team several hours to put this jigsaw back together, he thought grimly as he turned to Beth Humphreys, the senior radiologist.

‘Both legs need doing as well as the usual—lateral cervical spine and anteroposterior views of the chest and pelvis. And can you send a copy through to the orthopaedic department so they know what they’ll be dealing with?’

He moved away after Beth had assured him that she would get straight onto it and went to see how Suzanne was faring. Although the registrar was extremely capable, she tended to doubt her own ability and needed a bit of gentle encouragement at times.

‘So what have we got here?’ he asked, standing beside Suzanne because it meant that he had his back to Rose Tremayne. The less he saw of her the better, he thought darkly, then deliberately erased the thought from his mind. If she’d hoped to upset him by turning up here then she was going to be disappointed.

‘Jane Robinson, aged fifty-five, presented with severe chest pain. She was a rear-seat passenger in the second vehicle that crashed.’ Suzanne frowned as she looped her stethoscope around her neck. ‘GCS fifteen on admission. Blood gases normal for both oxygenation and acid-base status, and both lungs are clear. There’s no history of cardiac problems, but there’s extensive bruising down the centre of her chest.’

‘Right.’ Owen turned to the woman. ‘I’m Owen Gallagher, the consultant in charge of the trauma unit. Were you wearing a seat belt when the accident happened?’

‘Yes. My daughter insisted I should wear it…Where is she? Has she been brought in yet? I want to see her…!’

‘I’ll get one of the nurses to check,’ he said soothingly. He looked around but everyone appeared to be busy at that moment apart from Rose. He steeled himself and beckoned her over. ‘Can you find out if this lady’s daughter has been admitted yet?’

‘Of course.’ She turned to the woman and smiled, and Owen felt his breath catch. Rose Tremayne had the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen, so warm and caring that it felt as though it could melt away any problems one might have had. It obviously had a comforting effect on Mrs Robinson because she immediately calmed down.

‘Can you tell me your daughter’s name?’ Rose asked quietly, but he’d prepared himself and the sound of her voice caused only the most minimal reaction this time.

‘Shelley…Michelle, I mean. Michelle Robinson.’

‘I’ll see what I can find out for you.’

Rose gave the woman’s hand a gentle squeeze then hurried away. Owen breathed a sigh of relief as she left the resuscitation room. Now that she’d gone he should be able to function on all cylinders again.

It was alarming to realise the effect she had on him. He tried not to think about it as he turned to the patient. ‘I need to examine you, so try not to worry. I’m sure there will be news of your daughter very shortly.’

Mrs Robinson didn’t demur as he set about the familiar routine. He frowned when he saw the full extent of the bruising down the centre of her chest. ‘How did this happen? I can see the marks from your seat belt, but I can’t understand where you got these bruises from.’

‘It was my own fault,’ Jane Robinson admitted guiltily. ‘Shelley told me to put it in the boot but I didn’t want it getting damaged.’

‘Were you holding something on your knee?’ he guessed, gently exploring the area. The bruising extended from just below her collar-bones right down to her waist—following the line of her sternum, in fact. It was possible that she’d broken a rib or two but he wasn’t convinced it was that which was causing her so much pain.

‘Well, not on my knee, exactly. It was too heavy for that. I had it propped in the footwell in front of me.’ She sighed. ‘It was a table, you see, with a marble top, and I didn’t want it getting chipped.’

‘And when the car crashed you slammed into it?’ Owen said, rapidly putting two and two together.

‘Yes. There wasn’t much room with the table in front of me, so even though I was wearing my seat belt, it still rammed right into my chest…’

She broke off and gulped. Owen frowned when he saw her start struggling for breath. ‘Can you tell me how severe the pain is at this moment?’

‘It’s really bad, Doctor, and I can’t seem to breathe properly…’ She suddenly stopped talking and her eyes rolled up into her head. The cardiac monitor started beeping to warn them that there was no output from her heart.

‘She’s in VF.’ Owen turned to his registrar. ‘I think it’s a cardiac tamponade—the heart is being compressed because blood is collecting in the pericardium. I’ll need to draw it off to relieve the pressure.’

‘You think it’s a fractured rib that’s caused it?’ Suzanne queried, hurrying round the bed.

‘More likely to be the sternum. That would explain the severe pain she’s been in. If the sternum has fractured, it could have pierced the pericardium, which is why there’s blood collecting around her heart. She’ll need to go straight to Theatre once we’ve finished. Shock her and give her a shot of adrenaline, but don’t apply external cardiac compression—it will only make matters worse.’

He left it to Suzanne to resuscitate the woman, knowing that the registrar was perfectly capable of following his instructions. His main concern was to deal with the cause of the patient’s arrest. It took him just a few moments to insert a hollow needle into the woman’s chest and he nodded as he watched the blood gush back into the syringe.

‘Just as I thought—cardiac tamponade. The sternum will need wiring up and the pericardium will need repairing, so the cardio team will have to crack open her chest.’

He drew off another syringe full of blood before Suzanne told him the patient’s heart was beating and they had established sinus rhythm. ‘Good. Get onto the cardio reg and tell him what’s happened,’ he instructed, peeling off his gloves. ‘Make sure he understands how urgent it is. This is one occasion when queue-jumping is absolutely essential.’

Suzanne made the call, then came back to him. ‘I wouldn’t have known what to do if you hadn’t been here. It never occurred to me that it could be a tamponade. I always associate that with a penetrating chest injury. I never considered the possibility that the sternum had fractured and pierced the pericardium even though I could see all that bruising.’

‘Don’t be so hard on yourself, Suzanne. There’s a dozen different reasons why she could have arrested. You know that as well as I do.’

‘Maybe. But you still managed to come up with the correct diagnosis.’

Suzanne looked downhearted as she went to meet the paramedics who’d arrived with another casualty. Owen made a note to have a word with her later and went to check on the young man with the leg injuries. Beth had the X-rays on the computer screen and he sighed when he saw the extent of the damage that had been done to the man’s ankle.

‘That’s going to take some sorting out. It will be a while before he’ll be able to walk on it. It causes a major problem when ligaments are torn like that.’

‘What about his leg?’ Rob queried, coming over to have a look. ‘It’s a real mess.’

‘That’s going to take time, too, and it will need external fixation from the look of it. The bone’s in bits just here,’ he explained, pointing to the screen. ‘It will take several weeks to lay down new bone and the biggest problem will be to ensure that the tibia doesn’t shorten in the meantime. That’s why external fixation is the best option.’

He looked round when he sensed that someone was standing behind him and stiffened when he saw Rose. ‘Yes?’

‘Mrs Robinson’s daughter is on her way in. ETA three minutes,’ she told him quietly, then moved away.

Owen watched her walk over to the bed and it was all he could do not to go after her and demand to know what she was doing there. He’d barely slept since the night he’d met her in the pub. He knew that he’d handled the situation badly by offering her money, but it had been his last resort after everything else had failed. Now he had no idea what she was up to, but he couldn’t accept that it was coincidence that had brought her to his department that day. She was planning something and, whatever it was it would have an impact on Daniel.

The thought of the damage she might cause was too much to deal with. Owen knew that he had to put some distance between himself and Rose Tremayne, otherwise he couldn’t be held responsible for his actions. Spinning round on his heel, he strode out of the room, ignoring the startled looks from his staff as they watched him leave. He needed a couple of minutes on his own to think things through. If Rose did have a plan, he intended to be one step ahead of her!

Rose bit her lip as she watched the doors swing shut after Owen Gallagher had left. She knew he was furious about her being there but it wasn’t her fault. She’d had no idea that he worked at St Anne’s when she’d accepted this job, otherwise she wouldn’t have taken it. Now she couldn’t decide what to do. Should she go after him and explain that she hadn’t intended to make life difficult for him by turning up in his department? Or would it be better if she left well alone?

‘I wonder what’s up with His Highness today.’

Rose summoned a smile when Rob Lomax came over to her. Instinct told her that it would be a mistake to let anyone know about her link to Owen Gallagher so she feigned ignorance. ‘Do you mean Dr Gallagher?’

‘Uh-huh. He’s like a cat on a hot tin roof today and it isn’t like him. That guy is the epitome of cool normally. Isn’t that right, Suzie?’

‘Isn’t what right? And don’t call me Suzie. You know I don’t like it.’

‘I know how you feel.’ Rose smiled as the other registrar joined them. ‘I hate it when people call me Rosie.’

Suzanne grimaced. ‘Then my advice to you is to make sure that certain members of this staff are fully acquainted with your views.’ She shot a speaking look at Rob, who tried to look hurt.

‘Do you mean me?’

‘If the cap fits…’ Suzanne sniffed loftily and walked away.

Rose chuckled. ‘That put you in your place, didn’t it?’

‘She loves me really,’ Rob assured her, grinning. ‘So, I know that your name is Rose but I don’t know much else. How about filling me in over a cup of coffee after we finish up here?’

‘Sorry, but I think I’d better stick to what I’m getting paid for.’

Rose smiled to take the sting out of her refusal, but nowadays she made a point of not getting involved with the male members of staff wherever she was sent to work. The few times she’d been out with a man in the past it had usually ended badly—her date had expected more from her than she’d been prepared to give. But she had made up her mind after Daniel had been adopted that she would never put herself in the position of being hurt like that again. It was much easier if she kept things on a strictly friendly footing.

‘That makes a change,’ Rob declared, unfazed by her refusal. ‘Most of the agency staff seem to think they’re here to socialise. Angie—that’s the charge nurse—keeps threatening to padlock the staffroom door. Usually they spend more time in there drinking coffee than doing any work!’

‘You must have been using the wrong agency,’ she said lightly, not wanting to be drawn into a discussion about the merits—or pitfalls—of employing agency nurses. There was enough ill feeling as it was, without her encouraging people to think badly of all agency staff.

The porters arrived just then, to take the motorcyclist up to Theatre. Rose checked that his notes were up to date and handed him over, then went to help with the patient who’d been brought in. It was Michelle Robinson, the daughter of the woman who had suffered the heart attack, and she was in a very bad way.

Owen reappeared, and he and the team did all they could for her, but it was a losing battle from the outset. The young woman’s injuries were just too extensive and she died thirty minutes later. Rose nodded when Angie asked her to remove all the leads and tubes before her family came to identify her. It would be distressing enough for them without them having to see all the unpleasant details.

Another couple of patients were brought into Resus, but Rose was asked to work the cubicles and didn’t deal with them. She was glad of the change because dealing with the most severely injured was always harrowing. As she went to report to the triage nurse, she found herself remembering what Rob had said about Owen Gallagher’s mood that day and sighed.

It didn’t take a genius to work out why he was out of sorts. Seeing her there must have been as big a shock for him as it had been for her. All she could hope was that it wouldn’t make a difficult situation any worse. No matter what he believed, she only had Daniel’s best interests at heart, and if getting in touch with her would help Daniel then she most certainly wasn’t going to refuse to see him.

The day wore on, the usual mix of high drama and the mundane. Overcrowded GP surgeries meant that a lot of people who came to the department didn’t actually need to be treated there. Rose dealt with half a dozen minor injuries ranging from a deeply embedded splinter to a sore throat then, at Angie’s behest, went for a break.

There were a couple of other nurses in the staffroom when she went in and she tried not to take it personally when they ignored her. She never stayed in one place long enough to make friends, so she was used to being ignored. She made herself a cup of coffee and had just sat down to drink it when the door opened and Owen Gallagher appeared.

She had managed to keep out of his way since she’d left Resus. With her working the cubicles, it hadn’t been that difficult to avoid him and she’d been glad of the respite. Knowing that she was an object of loathing in his eyes wasn’t the most pleasant experience she’d ever had. Now she stiffened as his gaze skimmed over the other nurses and landed on her. Even from that distance she could see the chill in his grey eyes. He strode towards her and his face was like thunder when he stopped in front of her.

‘There is a waiting-room full of people out there. I suggest you attend to what you’re being paid for, Ms Tremayne. And, to my knowledge, that doesn’t include sitting here, drinking coffee.’

His tone was icy with contempt and Rose flushed. She didn’t say a word as she got up, took her mug to the sink and emptied the coffee down the drain. Nobody said anything as she left the staffroom but she could feel the other nurses watching her and it was galling to know what they must be thinking.

They probably thought she wasn’t pulling her weight after what Owen Gallagher had said, and the unfairness of being labelled as lazy was very hard to take. She did a good job wherever she worked and put one hundred per cent effort into it, too. That was why she’d been offered so many permanent posts—every hospital she’d worked at had asked her if she would like to join their staff, but she’d had to refuse.

It wasn’t that she didn’t like the idea of working in one place, because she would have loved to do so. It was the fact that she wouldn’t earn her current salary that stopped her. As her father had sunk deeper into the grip of Alzheimer’s disease she’d had to move him into a nursing-home, and the fees were extortionate. Agency work paid far more than she could earn by working for the NHS, plus she could top up her income by working nights if the nursing-home’s fees increased. Maybe she should have explained all that to Owen—only what would have been the point? He wasn’t interested in her problems, he was only interested in keeping her away from Daniel.

Rose went back to the unit and took a fresh file out of the tray, determined that she wouldn’t give him the opportunity to accuse her of wasting time again. The waiting-room was packed and she had to shout to make herself heard above the din.

‘Vicky Smith.’

A girl in her twenties stood up, clutching her left hand. Rose grimaced when she saw the state of her ring finger. ‘That looks very nasty,’ she said, leading the young woman to a cubicle. ‘How did it happen?’

‘I was bringing my horse in from the field when he tried to bolt. The lead rope must have got wrapped around my finger somehow because I heard it make this horrible popping sound.’ Vicky sat down on the bed, looking very pale as she studied her swollen hand. ‘Do you think it’s broken?’

‘It could be, but I’ll have to get one of the doctors to take a look at it before we can be sure.’ Rose smiled at her. ‘It will probably need X-raying so there’ll be a bit of wait. Did you come here on your own or did someone bring you?’

‘I came on my own.’ Vicky looked close to tears. ‘I was going to phone my boyfriend but Oliver—that’s my horse—trampled on my mobile phone and broke it.’

‘I can phone him for you,’ Rose assured her. She jotted down the boyfriend’s phone number then went to find Suzanne and asked her to take a look at the girl’s hand. As she had predicted, Suzanne wanted X-rays to be done so Rose ushered the young woman to the radiology unit and left her there while she made the telephone call. Angie was using the phone on the desk, so rather than waste time waiting until it was free Rose found some change in her pocket and used the public phone in the foyer. She was just hanging up after telling Vicky’s boyfriend what had happened when Owen Gallagher came out of the department and he stopped dead when he saw her.

‘I’ve warned you once today about getting on with your work, Ms Tremayne, and I don’t intend to warn you again about flagrantly wasting time. You’re paid to work, not to organise your social life.’

‘Do you always speak to staff this way or have you singled me out for special treatment because of Daniel?’ Rose was incensed. She had never been spoken to in such a fashion before and she refused to stand there and meekly accept it.

‘This has nothing to do with my son!’ Gallagher glared at her. ‘I will not tolerate incompetence in any way, shape or form.’

‘Of course it has to do with your son!’ Rose spat the accusation back at him. ‘You’ve got it into your head that I am a threat to Daniel’s well-being and that’s why you are behaving this way.’

‘And can you blame me?’ He took a step towards her so that, instinctively, she tried to retreat. However, with the wall at her back there was nowhere to go. Her heart began to pound as he bent and stared into her eyes. She had never seen such dislike on anyone’s face before. It was all she could do to stand there as he continued in the same relentless tone when what she wanted to do was to run away and hide.

‘I don’t know what kind of a game you’re playing, Ms Tremayne, but one thing I do know: it won’t work. I won’t let you ruin Daniel’s life.’

‘I have no intention of ruining his life,’ she protested.

‘No? Then what are you doing here? What exactly do you hope to achieve by harassing me?’

‘I didn’t know that you worked here! I was just as shocked as you were when I saw you this morning.’

‘And you really expect me to believe that?’ He laughed shortly, his deep voice devoid of humour. ‘I’m sorry but I don’t believe in coincidences, so you’ll have to come up with a better story than that.’

‘It’s the truth! I’m here because the agency I work for sent me here. That’s it. There’s no other reason.’

Just for a moment a flicker of uncertainty showed in his eyes before he shook his head. ‘No, it’s just too convenient. You turn up in my department and expect me to believe that you didn’t plan this—’

‘Plan what? What possible good could it do me to come here?’

‘I don’t know. That’s the whole point, isn’t it? I have no idea what you’re up to. You, Ms Tremayne, are an unknown quantity. And until I find out what you want, I am not going to be foolish enough to believe a single word you say.’

With that, he walked away. Rose took a shaky breath but her heart was hammering after the bitter attack. What made it worse was that she could sympathise with his fears. He didn’t know her, so he had no idea what kind of person she was. Oh, she could tell him that she meant Daniel no harm but why should he believe her? She was a threat in Owen Gallagher’s eyes and he was going to do everything in his power to keep her out of Daniel’s life.

The thought was more painful than it should have been in view of the fact that she’d had over a week to get used to the idea. Rose wasn’t sure why it upset her so much. Obviously, if there was a chance that she could get to know Daniel then she wouldn’t allow anything to stop her, yet it hurt to know that Owen would hate her all the more if she flouted his wishes. She couldn’t help wishing they could put aside their differences for Daniel’s sake, but the likelihood of that happening was nil.

The one thing Owen Gallagher didn’t want from her was friendship!

CHAPTER THREE

IT WAS the longest day of Owen’s life, and he couldn’t wait for it to end. Although he tried to avoid any further contact with Rose, it wasn’t possible to escape from her completely. Several times he found himself working alongside her, and each time it was all he could do to hide his animosity.

The sooner she left his department, the better, he thought grimly as he went into the office to check the rosters and see who was on duty the following day. They were carrying three vacancies at the present time—two nurses and a senior registrar—so they had been relying on agency staff to fill in the gaps. As he skimmed his finger down the chart, he felt his stomach sink. Angie had pencilled in Agency’ in the nursing column for the following three weeks and he could only hope that it wouldn’t be Rose who was working for them. After all the hassle she’d caused him that day, he could do without having to spend the next three weeks working with her.

‘Checking what cover we’ve got?’

Owen glanced round when Angie came into the office. ‘Yes. I see you’ve hired agency staff for the next three weeks.’

‘I had to.’ Angie sighed as she glanced at the roster. ‘Now that Maggie’s gone on maternity leave we’re really struggling for cover. I know it’s costly to use agency staff, but I haven’t any choice. And at least the agency came up trumps this time. Rose is great, isn’t she? It’s wonderful to have someone who actually knows what she’s doing for a change.’

‘I wasn’t all that impressed with her,’ he said curtly, hanging the chart back on its hook. ‘Not only did I catch her in the staffroom drinking coffee, but she was also using the payphone in the foyer to organise her social life.’

‘Actually, I insisted she took a break.’ Angie shrugged when he looked at her in surprise. ‘I know what you’re thinking—I’m usually the one banging on about the amount of work agency staff do, but Rose isn’t like that. She’s a really hard worker.’

‘And the phone call?’ Owen said cynically, not convinced.

‘She could have been making the call for one of the patients. The girl who’d broken her finger asked me to thank Rose for getting in touch with her boyfriend,’ Angie explained. ‘I heard Rose say something about using the payphone when I was using the one in Reception, so that probably explains what she was doing.’

‘I see.’ Owen’s mouth compressed. Maybe it was unfair of him to have assumed the worst, but Rose only had herself to blame. If she hadn’t wheedled herself a place in his department, he wouldn’t be a bag of nerves from wondering what she was up to.

The thought of what Ms Tremayne might be plotting was more than he could cope with at the end of such a stressful day so Owen said his goodbyes and left. It was a thirty-minute drive to his home in Richmond on a good day, but the traffic was horrendous that night. It was almost seven by the time he let himself into the house, to be greeted by the thunderous delights of rock music pounding through the ceiling.

He sighed as he hung his coat in the cloakroom and made his way upstairs. The last thing he wanted was another confrontation with Daniel about the amount of time he wasted when he should be studying. He didn’t want to play the heavy-handed father all the time, but what else could he do? He couldn’t take the easy route and allow his son to ruin his whole future.

Owen rapped on the bedroom door and went in. Daniel was lying on his bed, playing air guitar. There was a pile of books on his desk but there was no sign that the boy had attempted to do any work. Walking over to the socket, Owen pulled out the plug, sighing in relief when the music immediately stopped.

‘Dad!’ Daniel leapt to his feet, looking pained as he hurried to the stereo to check if one of his precious vinyls had been damaged.

‘I thought we agreed that you’d cut down the amount of time you spend listening to music,’ Owen said quietly, deciding it would be less stressful if he adopted a reasonable approach. He really didn’t feel like getting into another argument. He’d had his fill after that last confrontation with Rose Tremayne.

The memory of what had happened still had the power to anger him but he battened down his emotions. ‘Have you done that geography essay yet? It has to be handed in by the end of this week.’

‘I was going to do it after dinner,’ Daniel explained mutinously, taking the record off the deck and carefully stowing it away in its cardboard sleeve.

‘Dinner will be a good half-hour yet, so why not make a start on it?’ he suggested mildly. There was no point ordering Daniel to get it done—experience had shown that the boy would make a mess of it on purpose if he did so. Daniel reacted badly to people ordering him about—just like his mother did.

The thought sent a rush of emotions scudding through him. Owen spun round on his heel, not wanting Daniel to see how upset he was. The fact that he had automatically linked Rose to his son made him feel all sorts of things, from guilt to a mind-numbing fear. He couldn’t afford to start noticing similarities in their behaviour—it was too dangerous. Rose was a stranger, and just because she had a problem with authority it didn’t mean that Daniel had inherited it from her.

‘I’ll give you a shout when dinner is ready,’ he said, going to the door.

Daniel muttered something in reply, but for once Owen wasn’t listening to what his son was saying. He was too busy trying to fight his own inner demons. He went downstairs and made them a meal. And the whole time he was grilling and chopping his mind was spinning in ever-decreasing circles.

He needed to find a solution to the problem of Rose Tremayne but it wasn’t going to be easy. If…He paused at that point and took a deep breath to steady himself then carried on. If Rose was as stubborn as Daniel, she wasn’t going to go away. She wasn’t going to stay quietly in the background either. Once she received Daniel’s letter then she would respond to it, and no amount of threats or coercion by him would change her mind.

His main aim had been to keep her out of Daniel’s life, but if it wasn’t possible to do that he would have to try a different tactic. Wasn’t there a saying about knowing one’s enemy? It might work very well in this instance. At the moment Daniel seemed to believe that his birth mother was some wonderful almost mythical being who was imbued with goodness and grace, but once he met her, he could change his mind.

The reality couldn’t possibly live up to his overly high expectations, and that was what Owen needed to concentrate on. Instead of keeping Rose away from his son, maybe he should let them meet and allow Daniel to form a true opinion of the woman who had given him away?

Just for a moment the thought flashed through his mind that perhaps his son wouldn’t be disappointed, but he refused to consider it. Rose might be many things but she wasn’t a saint!

Rose went straight home after she’d finished her shift. As she let herself into the building she could feel her heart racing. Ever since Owen had told her that Daniel had written to her, she had been waiting for his letter to arrive. She knew it could take some time to reach her, because it would have to be forwarded by the adoption agency. There was a system in place whereby a parent or an adopted child could leave a note in their files to say that they would welcome contact from the other party, which was how Owen had been able to get in touch with her. His letter had been forwarded by the agency, although she wouldn’t have been quite so keen to follow it up if she’d had an inkling of the outcome. Why did he consider her such a threat?

There was no answer to that question, or none that she could come up with, at least. Closing the front door, she went straight to the mailboxes at the back of the foyer. Every flat in the block had its own mailbox on the ground floor, to save the postman having to trek upstairs. She unlocked her box and sorted through the usual collection of junk mail and bills until she came to a familiar white envelope bearing the address of the adoption agency on its back flap. Daniel’s letter had arrived.

Rose made her way to the lift and stood there in a fever of impatience as it carried her up to the sixth floor. She let herself into her flat and ripped open the envelope, not bothering to read the accompanying note. She just wanted to read Daniel’s letter and see what he had to say.

The letter was quite short, just a few lines written in an unsteady hand, explaining that he hoped she didn’t mind him writing to her but that he would like to see her if it was possible. He’d included his address at the top and his phone number, then repeated them again at the bottom.

Rose’s eyes filled with tears. Despite its brevity, she knew the effort it must have cost him to write it. Daniel had no idea if she would reply, and the thought of him sitting at home, wondering and waiting as she’d been doing, was more than she could bear. Reaching for the phone, she dialled the number, her heart pounding as she listened to it ringing, once, twice, three times…

‘Owen Gallagher.’

She dropped the receiver back onto its rest. How could she have forgotten about Daniel’s father and his animosity towards her? There was no way that he would allow her to speak to Daniel, so she would have to write to him instead…

The phone rang, startling her so much that she jumped. She was trembling as she picked up the receiver. ‘Hello?’

‘Ms Tremayne? It’s Owen Gallagher. I believe you just tried to phone me.’

‘H-how did you get my number?’ she whispered.

‘I dialled 1471.’

His tone was brisk and she winced when she realised how foolish she’d been to make such a basic error. Now that he knew Daniel’s letter had reached her he would do everything in his power to keep them apart, maybe even go so far as to make sure that Daniel never received her reply

‘…and that’s why I’ve decided you two should meet.’

Rose blinked as she caught the tail end of what Gallagher was saying. ‘I’m sorry, but what did you say?’

‘I said that I’ve changed my mind and I think that you should meet Daniel. Now all we need to do is to work out a time that will be convenient—’

‘Just a moment.’ She took a deep breath, trying to clear the fog of panic from her head so she could think. She couldn’t understand why he’d changed his mind after what he’d said to her that day. ‘Why have you had a change of heart all of a sudden? You made it perfectly clear that you didn’t want me to see Daniel, yet now you’re offering to arrange a meeting with him. It doesn’t make sense.’

‘After considering all the facts, I’ve decided this might be the best way forward for all of us.’

‘I find it very hard to believe that you’re doing this for my benefit, Dr Gallagher,’ she said scathingly, ‘so what is really going on?’

‘Nothing. I’m entitled to change my views the same as anyone else is, surely?’

Rose shivered when she felt the rich deep tones strumming across her nerves. Up till then she’d been more concerned with the content of what he’d been saying and it was only now she realised what a beautiful voice he had—and that it matched his appearance.

The thought made her gasp, and she clamped her lips together to stop any sound escaping. She couldn’t afford to show any sign of weakness in front of this man. Even though he appeared to be offering her an olive branch, she wasn’t convinced it was what he actually intended. Until she knew what he was up to, she had to be on her guard.

‘I think it would be best if you two met somewhere Daniel feels at ease. Here, at home, might be best.’

‘It would be far too stressful for him to meet me there,’ Rose said quickly, setting aside her own concerns for the moment. ‘It needs to be somewhere neutral—a place where he won’t feel guilty.’

‘Guilty?’

His tone had sharpened and she sighed. She wasn’t deliberately trying to annoy him, but she’d read all the research that had been done about adopted children and how they felt when meeting their birth parents, and the biggest factor of all was the guilt they often experienced.

‘Adopted children who have been brought up in a happy and loving home often feel guilty about making contact with their birth parents. They feel that they are letting their adoptive parents down and I don’t want Daniel to be put in that position, do you?’

‘No, I don’t. So what do you suggest, Ms Tremayne?’

There was far less assurance in his voice this time and Rose felt her heart suddenly ache when she realised what he must be going through. The situation was just as difficult for him as it was for her. Her voice softened, unconsciously taking on the soothing cadence she used so often with patients who were deeply traumatised.

‘I think we should ask Daniel where he would like to meet me. He is the most important person in all of this, and we need to ensure that he feels completely comfortable with the arrangements.’

‘Do you want to speak to him now and ask him yourself?’

Rose couldn’t think of anything she would like more than to do just that, but now that she was thinking clearly she could see how stressful it would be for the boy to have to speak to her without prior warning.

‘No. It would be better if you told him that I’d phoned and gave him my telephone number. That way he can get in touch with me when he’s ready.’

‘Yes, you’re right.’ Owen paused, and it sounded as though the words were being forced out of him when he continued. ‘Thank you. You’ve been very understanding and I appreciate it.’

Rose didn’t have time to reply because he hung up. She put the receiver back in its rest, then picked up the letter and read it again. Half a dozen lines, which had bridged a gap of years and brought her precious son back into her life. All she could do now was pray that everything would work out the way she hoped it would. She didn’t want to replace Daniel’s mother—she couldn’t even if she tried. She just wanted to be there for him if he needed her. Yet so much depended on Owen, didn’t it?

He might have seemed much more reasonable tonight but she wasn’t convinced he would continue to behave that way. It all depended on whether he still believed she was a threat and, quite frankly, she didn’t know how to convince him that she wasn’t. The only thing she could do was to be herself and hope it would be enough to reassure him.

Owen had spent another restless night, so he felt tired and out of sorts when he arrived at work the following morning. Daniel had veered between euphoria and terror when he’d found out that Rose had phoned. It had been sheer torture to watch him getting so stressed and not be able to do anything about it. It was a father’s responsibility to protect his child and Owen hated feeling so powerless. The fact that he’d found his attitude towards Rose softening had troubled him, too. He couldn’t afford to lower his guard.

The thought that he might have allowed himself to be taken in by her apparent concern was very hard to swallow. He was in no mood to compromise when he strode into the A and E unit so it was unfortunate that Rob was making the most of the lull between patients to chat up their new receptionist, Polly. Owen’s face was like thunder as he strode over to the reception desk and tapped his registrar on the shoulder.

‘If you spent less time on your love life, you might actually make something of yourself, Dr Lomax. Have you no work to do? I can soon find you something if you haven’t.’

‘I…um…Yes. Sorry, sir.’

Rob leapt away from the counter and disappeared towards the cubicles, leaving Owen feeling like some sort of a throwback to earlier times. He’d worked for a consultant who’d had a hair-trigger temper early on in his career and he hated to think that he was starting to exhibit the same tendencies. He sighed as he went to the office. It was wrong to allow his personal problems to intrude on his work….

‘Oops!’

He ground to a halt when Rose came hurrying out of the office and cannoned right into him. There was a moment when their bodies were in the most intimate contact—breast to breast, thigh to thigh—and his heart gave an almighty lurch when he felt her soft curves nestling against him. In the two years since Laura had died he hadn’t wanted another woman. He’d been celibate out of choice, not through lack of opportunity, yet all of a sudden his libido was asserting itself. He took a hasty step back when he felt his body quicken, hating the fact that it was Rose of all people who had caused this reaction.

‘I’m sorry. I should have looked where I was going.’ She sounded almost as shocked as he felt, and Owen felt his body respond with even more fervour to that idea. Had she experienced the same rush of desire he had? Was her body quickening, too, her senses coming alive because of his nearness?

His gaze dropped to her breasts before he could stop himself and the blood began to drum along his veins when he saw how her nipples were pressing against the thin fabric of her uniform—proof, indeed, that she’d been equally aroused by the contact. All of a sudden it felt as though the walls were closing in on him. He knew that he had to extricate himself from the situation as quickly as possible, but it appeared that Rose had other things on her mind now.

‘Did you tell Daniel that I’d phoned last night?’ she said quickly as he went to move away.

‘Yes, I did.’ Owen paused, torn between making his escape before anything else happened and carrying through with his plan. He took a deep breath and forced his rioting libido to settle down. If he was to rid himself of the threat this woman posed to his son, he had to learn how to deal with her.

‘And how did he react? Was he upset? Excited? Scared?’ She laughed, and there was a wealth of tenderness in her voice. ‘Or all three at once, more likely!’

‘He veered between euphoria and terror,’ he replied shortly. So what if she sounded truly concerned—was he really going to take it at face value when he couldn’t rule out the possibility that she had an ulterior motive? Nevertheless, it was hard to convince himself that she had anything except Daniel’s welfare at heart when she spoke about him that way.

‘Did he?’ She stared at the floor for a moment and there were tears in her eyes when she looked up. ‘It must be so confusing for him. I can’t bear to think about what he’s going through. I know how I feel and if it’s anywhere near as—’

‘I gave him your telephone number.’

Owen cut her off in mid-sentence because he really didn’t want to know how she felt. Maybe it was a sign of his own weakness, but he couldn’t afford to take any account of her feelings. It was Daniel who mattered, and Daniel who must be his only concern. How Rose felt wasn’t an issue.

‘Oh. Right. Thank you.’

Her smile was no more than the merest flicker yet he felt its effects in every cell of his body. He didn’t say a word as he turned round and made his way back to Reception. Polly glanced nervously at him as he passed her desk, but he wasn’t interested in tearing her off a strip for chatting to his registrar. He had too much else on his mind.

He took the stairs to the first floor two at a time and went straight to his office. He spent very little time in there because he’d always preferred a hands-on approach when it came to running the department. His maxim was to be seen and heard, so there was no skulking in his office for him as there was for so many consultants. However, it was the perfect place at the moment, the only place he could think of where he could get a few minutes’ peace.

Sitting down behind his desk, Owen closed his eyes and tried to rid himself of all the tension that filled him. It wasn’t an easy thing to do because it had been building up for years. He’d tried to remain strong when Laura had been diagnosed with cancer, knowing how important it was to have a positive attitude. Even when it had become apparent that she’d been losing the battle he’d never wavered.

After she’d died, he’d needed to be strong for Daniel, and he could honestly say that he had managed it, too. It was only when Daniel had started talking about finding his birth mother that he had found it difficult to cope. And now that he’d met Rose…Well!

He shot to his feet and started pacing the floor, unable to withstand the torrent of emotions that were flooding through him. Rose worried him on so many levels that it was hard to know how he really felt about her. He didn’t trust her, yet couldn’t explain why. It was gut instinct that had warned him to keep her out of his life, and it was gut instinct that had told him to draw her closer. It was instinct that had made him respond to her just now, too. His feelings towards her weren’t based on fact, they were rooted in emotion—fear, anger, desire. And that was what scared him most of all. How could he hope to do what was right when he had no idea how to handle all these feelings she aroused inside him?

Rose felt tense and on edge all morning long. She might have attributed it to nervousness at the thought of Daniel phoning her, but she knew it wasn’t just that. Bumping into Owen as she’d come out of the office had affected her in a way she would never have expected it to. She couldn’t remember having experienced such a strong physical reaction to anyone before, and it alarmed her that she should have felt that way about Owen when it would only complicate matters. She had to control these unwelcome feelings and not let them get out of hand.

Fortunately, they started to get busy just before lunch so she was able to focus on work. Three teenagers had been found unconscious and ambulances had been despatched to bring them into the department. Rose immediately offered to forgo her break when Angie told her what had happened.

‘Are you sure?’ the charge nurse said, frowning. ‘You’re entitled to a meal break—it’s in your contract.’

‘It’s probably in yours, too, but that won’t stop you working,’ she replied lightly.

Angie laughed. ‘You’re right there! Anyway, thanks. If you could cover Resus with Julie and Ellen, that would be a big help. Sharon can take her break and I can keep things ticking over out here.’

Rose nodded. She followed the nurses into Resus and made sure everything was ready when the ambulances arrived. The other women seemed a bit more approachable that day, and showed her where the various supplies were kept to save her having to hunt for them. By the time the first stretcher was wheeled in she felt as though they were starting to accept her, and she had to admit that it felt good to be part of the team for a change.

She grabbed a corner of the board and helped transfer the patient onto the bed. It was a young girl and she was unconscious. ‘Where was she found?’ Rose asked the paramedic.

‘In her bedroom. From the look of all the bottles that were strewn around, she and her friends must have been drinking until they passed out.’

‘So it’s alcohol related?’ Rose sighed. ‘She doesn’t look old enough to be drinking alcohol, does she?’

‘She’s fourteen, according to her parents. They start younger and younger these days,’ the paramedic replied wearily as he left.

Rob arrived just then, and came over to Rose. He grimaced when she relayed what the paramedic had told her. ‘Binge drinking is the scourge of modern society. Just wait until you’ve done a stint here on a Saturday night and then you’ll get an idea what a problem it is.’

‘I’ve seen the effects it can have when I’ve worked in other A and E departments,’ she assured him.

‘Of course you have. I keep forgetting that you travel around.’ Rob grinned at her. ‘You’ve fitted in so well here that I keep thinking you’re part of our staff.’

‘Thanks.’ Rose smiled at him, truly appreciating the compliment. Turning away, she reached for the leads to attach the teenager to the bedside monitoring equipment and paused when she realised that Owen was watching her. There was something on his face, a kind of raw awareness, that made her long to tell him that she was just as aware of him, too…

He turned away as the next patient was rushed in, and she carried on with what she was doing—linking the girl to the machine so that her BP, heart rate and oxygen saturation levels could be monitored. It was a task she’d done countless times before, but this time she had to concentrate to make sure she did everything right.

There was no room for error in her job; people depended on her. There was no margin for error with regard to Owen Gallagher either; she had to get it right for Daniel’s sake. And letting herself get carried away by the idea that Owen was interested in her would be a mistake of epic proportions. The only thing Owen was interested in was his son. She had to remember that or suffer the consequences.

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