Книга - A Very Single Midwife

A Very Single Midwife
Fiona McArthur


Determinedly single, but very much in love…Bella Wilson, the beautiful new midwife at Gladstone, has spent the last year regaining her independence and doesn't want obstetrician Scott Rainford confusing things.Twelve years ago their relationship ended painfully. Now, working side by side on Maternity, they find their chemistry is as strong as ever.But Scott has his own issues that need resolving before he can commit to Bella, and Bella won't let Scott hurt her all over again. Only by laying their troubles to rest can they realize how strong their love is and that they no longer need to face life alone.







“So you’re never going to get involved with a man again?”

Bella shook her head vehemently. “I didn’t say that. I’m just not going to lose myself in the process. And if I find someone, then he’ll get a better bargain. Not some wimpy clinging vine.”

She smiled. “I was getting a bit serious there. Sorry.”

He shook his head and captured her chin in his hand. “You were telling me how you feel. And I’m privileged that you feel you can talk to me.” He let her go.

Their eyes met and there was silence for a moment as everything from the past seemed to shimmer between them. “I’ve always felt I could talk to you,” she said.


Dear Reader (#ulink_7fcae7e5-3c8d-53d4-8fcb-8f0e3efbad7c),

The MARRIAGE AND MATERNITY trilogy follows three dedicated and devoted sisters who believe that marriage and midwifery don’t mix, and acknowledge the important impact each sister has on her siblings’ life. After sharing more than a year with them, I feel as though the Wilson sisters are part of my own family. I wish they were.

In A Very Single Midwife, Bella Wilson is the beautiful sister and the one that everyone feels they have to take care of—especially Scott Rainford. When the worst happens, it is Bella who surprises everyone with her strength and determination not to break under the strain. Bella is for all the women who battle through soul-searing experiences and emerge stronger and even more beautiful. Scott needs to learn that even more difficult than staying away from Bella, is accepting that she knows best.

I hope you enjoy Bella and Scott’s story, and look out for the last story in the trilogy, The Pregnant Midwife, coming soon in Medical Romance™!

Very best wishes,

Fiona McArthur


A Very Single Midwife

Fiona McArthur






www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)




CONTENTS


Cover (#u31343112-6a85-56a1-b041-4efb07de9305)

Dear Reader (#ulink_220452cf-2c43-5f77-a5e3-4161bdf2b35e)

Title Page (#uc59f6d63-2c42-52db-862b-150f95a915f4)

CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_bffc501b-92a0-5c3a-8c08-184fa4f3131b)

CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_2b06e98a-5d18-5387-af09-de60b1135209)

CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_26660cfc-71f2-5637-8af1-ba85cded694d)

CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)




CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_32b65afc-0d0a-51a4-ab48-38131bb2a55d)


Friday

THE birthing suite was quiet as Bella Wilson refilled the cup for Abbey to scoop ice chips as she needed.

Bella glanced across at her brother-in-law, Rohan, as he gently stroked his wife’s back. Arched protectively around her on a low chair, his legs were either side of Abbey’s thighs as she perched upright on the big blue ball. She rocked and moaned softly with the strength of the contractions and Rohan winced in sympathy with the sound.

Her sister’s time was near. ‘I’ll ring Scott,’ Bella whispered, and Rohan nodded. Nobody else seemed to notice the tremor in Bella’s voice as she said it.

Although a very experienced midwife, Bella had chosen to be an onlooker at the time of birth rather than the person responsible for the safe arrival of the new Roberts baby. She wanted to see Abbey’s face, and Rohan’s, as her niece or nephew was born. She wanted to be a part of the whole experience and not just the mechanics of the birth. Scott should be the acchouchier.

Bella couldn’t think of anyone she trusted more than Scott Rainford, Gladstone Hospital’s Director of Obstetrics, to bring a baby into the world. Despite the fact there was still awkwardness between them, at least on Bella’s side.

When she returned from the phone, Abbey’s moans were a little louder and Bella went across to lay her hand on her sister’s shoulder. ‘It’s OK, you’re doing beautifully, nearly there.’

Abbey opened her eyes and stared at Bella as if to ground herself.

‘I think I want to push.’

Bella nodded. ‘Do what your body tells you to do.’ Both women, as midwives, smiled at the litany and then Abbey’s eyes widened as the feeling became stronger.

Rohan sat up straighter as he felt his wife tense with the change in sensation. ‘You OK, sweetheart?’

Abbey nodded and Rohan rested his hands on her shoulders as if to transfer energy from his body into hers as she began second stage. ‘I love you, Abbey,’ he said, and kissed her shoulder.

Bella turned away. The strength of the bond between Abbey and Rohan brought tears to her eyes. She’d thought she had her chance at being a part of someone like that once, but now she believed that type of relationship wasn’t for her. She could be strong on her own.

She heard the door open and there he was. The man who had once held her heart in his hands and let it go. Bella forced herself to meet Scott’s eyes and their glances clashed before she turned back to Abbey.

The next contraction would be here soon and the birth was very close. She switched off all thoughts of Scott. ‘Do you want the birth stool or are you going to move to the bed at the last minute, Abbey?’ Bella hovered to help her sister when she’d made her choice.

‘I’ll sit on the bed, so I don’t have to move afterwards.’

Bella nodded as she strained to hear Abbey’s answer and lifted the beanbag onto the bed in readiness.

After the next pain, Abbey stood up and Bella and Rohan helped her onto the bed until she was sitting upright with her hands behind her knees. The next pain came swiftly and the baby’s thatch of dark hair hovered at the entrance to the outside world before disappearing again.

‘The baby took a look and went back,’ Scott whispered, and they all smiled, though Abbey’s smile was tired.

‘I don’t know how many times I’ve heard you say that over the years…’ Her voice strengthened. ‘Just didn’t think I’d ever hear you say it to me.’

‘One more push, Abbey.’ Scott had always felt enormous admiration for the woman who had been midwife in charge until today, but during this labour Abbey had been inspiring with her belief in natural birth and her quiet acceptance of what her body required her to do.

‘Here comes your baby,’ Scott said quietly, and his heart constricted as the newborn eased into his hands as if the infant had finally decided it was time to arrive. Scott glanced at the clock as he gently lifted Abbey’s baby up onto her stomach. ‘Ten past three born. Wonderful, Abbey.’

A birth never failed to uplift him but when he looked at Bella and the joy in her face from this moment, it was as if the dam broke and his own loss overwhelmed him. He acknowledged the two things he’d most wished for in life would never be his. The woman he loved and the son he’d never met.

Scott heard Rohan let out a heartfelt sigh of relief that echoed around the room and it snapped him back into focus. As his medical partner and friend, Rohan had delivered hundreds of babies himself, but Scott could see that none had drained his friend like this.

‘We have a son, Abbey.’ Rohan’s voice was thick with tears. His fingers stroked Abbey’s cheek as if he still couldn’t believe he’d been so blessed, and Abbey smiled up with a love and maternal joy that, despite its intimacy, shone to the darkest corners of the room.

Excluded, Scott had to look away as she decreed, ‘We’ll call him Lachlan.’

Bella smiled at the name Abbey had always fancied. There was something about that private glance shared between husband and wife that made Bella look at Scott, and for once the usually enigmatic Dr Rainford couldn’t hide his bleakness.

Bella’s heart squeezed at the look of raw pain in Scott’s face, but then it was gone. He leaned forward to congratulate the parents and Bella was left with unanswered questions.

Questions for later, Bella thought as she kissed her sister, brother-in-law and precious dark-haired nephew, and returned to what she should be doing as the new midwife in charge. Euphoria at the safe arrival of Lachlan lightened her step as she bustled around and cleared the room of unneeded equipment. Abbey and Rohan deserved private time to share those precious early moments with their son and she would make sure it happened.

A fragment of her concentration tussled with possible reasons for Scott’s depression as she pushed the green-draped trolley into the sluice room. Then she heard the sound of the doctor’s footsteps as he followed her out of the delivery suite, and her fingers stilled.

‘So you’re the new unit manager now that Abbey has given birth earlier than anticipated?’ Scott acknowledged the change in management but he didn’t like it. He hadn’t thought it through when he’d been told that Abbey’s just-as-well-qualified sister would replace his midwife colleague during her maternity leave.

This last month he’d erected a wall between himself and Bella but now she was going to be in his face a lot more than he’d realised. Scott couldn’t prevent the mocking note in his voice that he’d found was his only defence against this woman.

She turned to stare at him and shrugged delicately, and Scott could see the last glimmer of happy tears in her glorious lilac eyes. His heart contracted.

After yesterday’s discovery of his full-grown son, today’s birth was even more poignant. Perhaps if he hadn’t pushed Bella away all those years ago he too would have had the opportunity to watch a son grow to a man. But having been proved a bad husband once, he’d chosen to let the young Bella go.

Bella had been eighteen and a virgin, to his thirty and divorced, and he’d felt a hundred. Freshly qualified in obstetrics, and new to town, he’d been so much under her spell he’d had to take drastic steps to protect her. He’d grown to love and respect Bella too much to risk her suffering the same pain he’d endured by marrying someone so much older than himself.

And today, to see Rohan and Abbey with everything that he desired, their happiness made the bleakness inside him crystallise into shards of pain that hardened on the outside. He felt old, which was the reason he’d never pursued the vibrant and beautiful Bella in the first place. Bella in his life, even a small amount, was a concept he needed to think about, something he couldn’t do when faced with her.

She’d be hard to avoid now.

Bella’s voice brought him back to the present and he’d missed the first part of her sentence.

‘It was only a matter of days before Abbey was going on maternity leave anyway,’ Bella said. ‘Do you have a problem with me as Unit Manager, Scott?’

Her voice had always been gentle but lately he realised there was an underlying vein of inner strength that he’d never associated with Bella. He looked at her, slim and straight, and the top of her flame-red bun only came up to his throat—right where her presence caught him. He swallowed to clear away the tightness.

He’d no idea how he was going to cope seeing her every week day on the ward when all he wanted to do was carry her off to his house and lock her away from the big bad world that had tried to crush her.

Today’s feelings, along with the hurt of realising his ex-wife had kept his son from him all these years, promised some painful hours of reflection in the coming weeks.

Too easily, he fell into his old defence mechanism of superiority until he could sort out this new relationship he’d have to deal with. ‘I think you’ve taken on too much this time, Bella,’ he said. ‘Five days a week running the clinical and administrative side of the ward is different to working part time as the floating midwife.’

‘Abbey managed it!’ Bella sounded less confident than she should have but her older sister had always seemed to take responsibility in her stride.

‘Abbey’s an experienced manager,’ he said, and made his escape before the emotion on her face and the emotions of the afternoon made him say something else he’d regret.

Bella stared after him and bit her lip. The man was insufferable, always had been, and she didn’t know how Abbey had put up with him all these years.

Scott had been giving her, Bella, a difficult time since she’d started part-time orientation on the ward the previous month but it had never been as blatant as today. He’d almost vibrated with some inner rage and Bella hoped she was out of range when the eruption occurred.

He must be at least forty-two now, she supposed, though he looked much younger and as annoyingly handsome as he’d always been. Bella winced at the memory of the teenage infatuation she’d had for the gorgeous young doctor and, more painfully, his disclosure of her crush to Abbey after their mother had died. Even now, when she saw him, he flustered her just being there.

She really had been useless at love. There had been Scott, when she’d been eighteen. He’d seemed to return her feelings for an idyllic few months until she’d been mortified by his sudden change of heart.

Nursing had carried her through that rejection until she’d completed her midwifery.

Then she’d been pursued and won by the obstetrician she’d worked with in the birthing centre in Sydney. After three years of vague promises by Jason, he’d eventually admitted he’d been unfaithful from the start of their relationship and she’d run home. She certainly could pick them.

Finally, last year, she’d been drugged and the victim of a loathsome sexual attack by a vengeful old flame of Abbey’s, which had almost destroyed the last vestiges of her self-worth. She’d wished the drug he’d slipped her had erased her memory of the attack and not just the strength to fight him off. That attack had been hard to come to terms with but out of the ashes of that experience had come her rebirth.

Somehow she’d conquered her fear and helped extricate them all when her attacker had returned to destroy Abbey. Dropping a plant pot on someone’s head from upstairs didn’t make Bella a heroine but it had had the desired effect! When the police had taken the man, Harrows, away, she’d felt the balance of power swing back her way.

She’d felt cleansed of the irrational but sapping guilt the attack had left her with. Instead of the usual scenario of big sister Abbey saving Bella—something Abbey had always done—Bella had saved Abbey! There was salvation in that thought and Bella had used it to drive herself to a new life.

She’d never be the champion her sister was, but she was learning to hold her own. And she would refuse to rely on a man for her happiness. So what Scott Rainford thought of her shouldn’t matter.

Bella kicked a linen bag and the automatic kickboxing hand posture that went with the kick made her laugh at herself. Her year of self-defence classes had turned out to be an absorbing challenge. She’d achieved many things in the last twelve months and Scott Rainford was not going to undermine her success with his bitterness.

She used that thought to insulate herself against the pricking pain she shouldn’t be feeling from mere words. Furiously she cleaned the instruments and wiped the trolley down. He had no idea what she was capable of.

When Bella unlocked her front door it seemed a year since she’d left the house that morning. As she put down her bag, she realised that with all the excitement of Lachlan’s arrival she’d forgotten she had to drive the youth bus tonight.

She stifled a sigh and hung her house keys on the hallstand. The chortling sound of a baby’s laugh made her smile as she wandered into the kitchen.

‘Your meal is on the stove, Bella.’ Vivie, Bella’s nineteen-year-old housekeeper, looked up from the last spoonful of vegetables she was trying to coax into her son’s mouth. She grinned at Bella’s appreciate sniff. ‘I made your favourite. Pumpkin and macadamia soup. And congratulations on being an auntie.’

Bella ruffled the baby’s hair and the little boy gurgled up at her. ‘Thank you, Vivie. You’re a treasure. I’ve just remembered I have two hours before my first bus trip. Do you want to slip up to see Abbey and baby Lachlan while I mind young Ro?’

Vivie’s baby had been named after Abbey’s husband, Rohan. They all shortened the baby’s name to prevent confusion. Bella lifted the lid on the pot and closed her eyes as the soup’s aroma filled the room. ‘You should be a chef, Vivie. Your meals are fabulous.’

Vivie shook her head vehemently. ‘I’m happy here, thank you. And I’d love to see Abbey and the baby for a few minutes if I could.’ Vivie put the spoon down and wiped her son’s mouth with his bib before she lifted him out and onto his play mat in the corner. ‘We saw Rohan. He dropped in to see Aunt Sophie after he left the hospital. He looked pretty blown away by being a father.’

Bella smiled as she ladled soup into a bowl Vivie had left out for her. Rohan had a soft spot for Bella’s elderly maiden aunt who resided in the front rooms of Bella’s big house. An avid punter, Aunt Sophie’s world revolved around her television set and penny-gambling on horse races via telephone.

‘I’ll take Aunt Sophie over to see them when they come home. She hates going out.’ Bella smiled as she imagined her aunt’s visit to Abbey and her baby in a few days. ‘Who’s home?’

Bella’s family home had grown into a self-sufficient refuge for young women in crisis, something Abbey had unintentionally started before she’d moved next door with her new husband. Bella had expanded that aim when she’d taken over the house.

Vivie ticked off the people on her fingers. ‘Melissa is still here, but she wants to go with you in the bus to the bowling club and needs to talk to you about a friend who wants to board.’

Bella looked up and mentally reviewed the rooms. There were three left. ‘We’ll see.’

Vivie nodded and went on. ‘Lisa is still feeling unwell from morning sickness and is lying down, and Aunt Sophie said she’s staying in her rooms until the last race. The twins have gone out but they did bring the washing in and put it away before they went.’ She pushed the high chair back against the wall.

‘Oh, and Dr Rainford rang and said he wanted to come on the bus with you tonight.’

The spoonful of soup on the way to Bella’s mouth stopped in mid-air. ‘Now, how the heck did he find out I was driving tonight?’

Vivie looked uncomfortable. ‘He said he’d ring back when you got home and I mentioned you’d be in and out after seven. And it went on from there. Sorry.’

Bella put the untouched spoon back into the bowl and forced a smile. ‘No problem. You go and see Abbey. Young Ro and I will stay here until you get back, then I’ll get organised.’

Vivie smiled her thanks and dashed off to change. Bella lifted the spoon again. She did not understand how Scott Rainford thought he could barge into her private life uninvited. Why would he want to when he was obviously unhappy about her presence in his professional orbit?

It was five to seven and Bella had backed the cumbersome bus out of the garage into the driveway to allow her first passenger to board.

Melissa, at eighteen, was thirty-four weeks pregnant, and her yellow chenille trousers made Bella blink. Melissa’s wrists jangled every time she moved her hands and her body piercing was nothing short of incredible. A sweet-natured girl, Melissa had been badly let down by the boyfriend she was still in love with.

‘Vivie says you had something to ask me?’ Bella smiled to convey that she was listening and waited for Melissa to explain. The girl drew a deep breath, as if preparing for the worst, and Bella looked back at her puzzled. ‘Why so worried? I’ve never refused anyone in trouble, have I?’

‘It’s just that this is different. But not different! Well, it is different but shouldn’t be.’

Bella blinked. ‘Run that by me again.’

‘My friend…’ Melissa wrung her hands and the jewellery rattled and pinged with the movement ‘…is staying at the pub and it’s expensive, and she’s a really nice person. I guess, like me, the earrings and tattoos don’t help people like them.’

‘So you’d like your friend to stay at Chisholm Road until she finds somewhere to live. Is that right?’

Melissa twisted her hands again. ‘Sort of. But different.’

Bella sighed. ‘We’re back to different. Different shouldn’t be a problem.’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘Is she not pregnant, doesn’t speak English, has two heads?’

‘She’s a he.’ Melissa shot a glance at Bella and rushed on. ‘His name’s Blake, and he really is a sweetie.’

Bella stifled another sigh. She knew this had to come up some time. ‘How old is your Blake?’

Melissa shook her head. ‘He’s not my Blake. I still love Thomas.’ Her head drooped. ‘Even though he doesn’t love me.’ After a few moments of wishful thinking Melissa straightened her neck. ‘But Blake is twenty and my very best friend. He hasn’t been in town long but he stood up for me when some people were giving me a hard time and we’ve spent heaps of time together since. And I said I’d ask if he could stay. Maybe he could work around the yard or something. He said he would.’

Bella smiled at the girl in the rear-view mirror and reached across to shut the door. ‘We’ll see. We’d need a house meeting. I’m not promising anything.’ She started the engine and the radio came on with the ignition and gave her a respite from further discussion. She needed to think about this.

At least she didn’t have to deal with Scott Rainford while she worked it out. Bella wasn’t sure whether she was relieved that Scott hadn’t come or annoyed that she’d wasted time deciding what to wear. Relief won.

Unfortunately, just as she pushed in the clutch, his car drew up at the end of the driveway. Bella sighed and opened the passenger door again.

Darn. She could have done without this. Her pulse skipped and she closed her eyes for a second to steady her nerves.

He was dressed casually in dark jeans and a yellow polo shirt that sat snugly across his broad shoulders and deep chest. To Bella, he looked disturbingly handsome and charged with a virility that she could more easily ignore at work—but not tonight. He seemed bigger and stronger as he loomed over her seat and he made her aware of how slight she was compared to him.

‘Were you leaving without me, Bella?’ Scott had climbed the two steps into the bus and chosen the front seat directly next to her so that every time she turned her head she could see him. Bella wrinkled her brow. A faint drift of his expensive aftershave floated towards her and she resisted the temptation to breathe in more deeply. She had more sense than to lean towards self-destruction.

An enigmatic smile sat on his chiselled lips and his face was inscrutable. Bella reminded herself it was a waste of time to wonder what went on behind those cool green eyes of his. She never had been able to tell.

Maintain composure. Be assertive. She raised her voice over the radio. ‘I wasn’t waiting, Dr Rainford. Luckily you weren’t late.’ Bella put the vehicle smoothly into gear and pulled out into the street.

‘You handle the bus well.’ There wasn’t any condescension in his voice but his comment annoyed Bella anyway. She turned the radio up a little more.

‘Did you think I wouldn’t?’ she enquired sweetly as she negotiated a roundabout without touching the central island. She glanced across at his face and he was smiling. Now what was funny?

The laughter was in his voice. ‘So, where are we going first?’

Bella sighed and turned the radio down a little. There was no use gaining a headache just to annoy Scott.

‘It’s a set route and we start at the south side of town and visit the clubs and pubs until we end up back where we started. First stop is Southside Bowling Club. Melissa is getting out there.’

Bella shut her mouth with a snap. Until someone got on, she would be alone with Scott as they drove around. And this was the quietest time of the night. Great.

‘Why are you here anyway?’ She listened to her own voice and the belligerence in it made her bite her lip. There was no excuse for bad manners. ‘I’m sorry. That came out poorly.’

‘Please, don’t apologise. That’s one of the reasons I’m here.’ His words surprised Bella so much she reached over and turned off the radio.

Scott’s smile was wry at the sudden silence in the vehicle and from the corner of her eye she saw him rub the back of his neck. So the great Dr Rainford was uncomfortable. Bella wasn’t sure how that made her feel but it was good to know he wasn’t one hundred per cent comfortable all the time.

Scott held his silence as they drew up to the bowling club and Bella flicked on the indicator and steered the minibus under the entrance portico. The door hissed open at the first stop and Melissa swayed belly-first down the aisle to carefully descend the steps. She turned back at the bottom step.

‘You will think about it, won’t you, Bella?’ Bella nodded and the girl went on her way. The expression on Scott’s face as he watched her leave made Bella smile.

When Melissa was out of earshot, he looked at Bella. ‘Melissa makes me think of that Adam Harvey song about the girl who fell face first into the fishing-tackle box.’

‘You’re showing your age,’ she said, and she saw him wince.

‘That’s because I’m old.’

The humour of the reply didn’t quite come off and Bella shot him a look and changed the subject. ‘So what was this about you apologising?’

His expression softened and Bella was surprised how good that made her feel. Danger lights flashed. She should not feel anything. Scott’s hang-ups were no concern of hers.

He turned to face her fully. ‘I’m not good at apologies so bear with me.’ He took a deep melodramatic breath and his face was solemn.

‘Bella Wilson, I…’ he placed his hand over his heart with exaggerated sincerity ‘…Scott Rainford, apologise for any slur or aspersions I may have cast on your ability to run Gladstone Maternity Ward. It was uncalled for and inexcusable and not a true indication of my faith in your ability. Please, forgive me.’

Then he smiled. Bella looked into his eyes and it happened again. The world shifted and she knew he understood everything about her—just like that day twelve years ago when she’d fallen in love with him.

But she wasn’t going there. She didn’t need this. Bella fumbled with the gearstick until she found a gear and jerkily pulled away from the club as if to drive away would leave the words behind. She’d thought she’d sigh with relief when Scott stopped baiting her but now that he seemed so warmly approving she felt more off balance.

Even while she battled with the cumbersome bus in traffic, the awareness of Scott beside her didn’t go away. The air in the bus seemed charged and no matter how much Bella berated herself for the resurgence of all those emotions she’d fought against as a teenager, she couldn’t deny it—Scott’s presence excited her.

Excited her in a way the three years with the permanently unfaithful Jason had never done. But excitement passed, she reminded herself, and she wasn’t stupid enough to fall for that story again.

‘Apology accepted,’ she said quietly, and avoided his eyes.

Thankfully, the next stop saw two young women and a pimply youth board the bus and their friendly chatter helped distance the sensation that Bella was being drawn, inexorably, towards a fatal attraction she’d later regret. Because it wasn’t going to happen!

Scott had also been quiet since that unmistakable awareness had passed between them. Bella had no idea of his thoughts. Perhaps he regretted he’d come tonight. Maybe now he’d apologised he’d go home after the run. She could only hope.

Bella dropped the three passengers at a noisy pub and the bus was empty again. ‘After the next stop, I head home for nearly an hour before I do it all again.’ She glanced at Scott and his eyes seemed to warm her from across the aisle. Her imagination was running away with her. Scott wouldn’t look at her like that.

‘It gets busier later in the evening.’ Her voice cracked as she strove for normality and she wished he’d say something. Anything to break this mounting awareness that had come from nowhere and seemed to drain the strength from her body. She pulled into the last stop and two young blonde women, obviously twins, waved gaily as they clambered up the steps.

‘Hi, Bella.’ They looked at Scott curiously. ‘Hello, Dr Rainford,’ they chorused as they took their seats. Trish and Trina were just seventeen and Bella was pleased to see them heading home. Their mother was in hospital for a major operation and the girls had come to stay with Bella while she was away rather than with their stepfather whom they didn’t get on with.

Bella glanced into the rear vision mirror. ‘You ladies home for the night now?’ The girls nodded.

Scott observed the interplay between Bella and the girls. She treated them with respect and yet he could see that she had a natural authority that came across despite the gentleness of her voice.

Authority was something he hadn’t associated with Bella. This afternoon, after rational thought, he’d realised how badly he’d behaved to belittle Bella’s ability to run the ward. If she’d been an unknown replacement for Abbey’s job he would never have dreamed of undermining the new NUM’s confidence. Just because he had a problem looking at Bella dispassionately he had no right to take it out on her. He’d always believed in fair play and in retrospect he’d been dismayed at his behaviour. They needed to let go of their past and establish a good professional friendship.

Then he’d found out Bella was driving the youth bus and the idea of her safety weighed on him as well. And a little aching curiosity about how Bella coped with young adults—people the same age as his son—something he didn’t associate with beautiful but fragile Bella. Something he didn’t associate with himself. He shelved those thoughts for later. It was enough trying to remain rational around her.

Tonight had seemed a good opportunity to apologise for his lack of support at her promotion and see her in action. The trouble was, when he let his barriers down, the depth of his attraction to her swamped him like it had now and his plan of just being friends became difficult to stick to.

The bus pulled up at Bella’s house more sharply than expected and everyone jerked in their seats. ‘Sorry,’ Bella murmured as she opened the door. The twins giggled as they waved goodbye.

Bella glanced at Scott. ‘Are you on call for the ward?’ Scott nodded and patted his pager and Bella raised her eyebrows. ‘What were you going to do if your pager went off and they needed you in Maternity?’

‘I was hoping the bus driver would drop me off. It’s a small town.’

Bella smiled and his own lips curved. Hell, she was beautiful. She was still talking and he tried to concentrate.

‘Are you going home now or were you planning to wait for the next run in an hour?’

Waiting with Bella would be exquisite torture but, now he realised there was a chance she’d be alone in the bus to pick up strange young people, he’d never settle at home. ‘I’ll wait.’

Bella glanced at him and he couldn’t tell her thoughts from her noncommittal voice. ‘Were you planning on coming on all the trips tonight?’

He avoided her eyes. ‘I don’t like the idea of you being here on your own.’ He stood and watched her squeeze out from behind the wheel and waited for her to go past him before following her out. Her no-nonsense jeans hugged her tiny waist and stretched over the subtle curve of her buttocks and down her long legs like a second skin as she descended the steps. Scott closed his eyes.

At work he could control the direction of his thoughts. But tonight, after the decision he’d made today to get used to Bella being in his life again, it was much harder to stay detached.

In the old boarding-house-cum-family home it was quieter than he’d expected for just after eight o’clock in the evening. The bustling family atmosphere he’d vaguely assumed would distract him from lusting after Bella wasn’t there. Now he was in trouble.

‘Drop in and say hello to Aunt Sophie. She’d love to see you,’ Bella said over her shoulder as she headed for the kitchen.

Scott glanced at the closed door in the foyer and accepted that the light streaming from under it meant that Sophie was awake. He knocked and a querulous voice called for him to enter.

The white-haired old lady was hunched in front of the television, watching the horse races as he’d expected, and she cackled softly when she saw him. Her bird-like face widened into a grin and he wondered not for the first time how she managed to eat with so few teeth.

‘Bit late for a house call, Dr Rainford,’ Sophie said.

Scott walked across the room to stand beside her chair. ‘I’m doing the bus run with Bella tonight. How are you, Sophie? Keeping the house under control as usual?’

‘Bella runs it. I just watch. And soon I’ll see my new great-nephew.’

Scott smiled at the old lady’s delight. ‘He’s a fine young fellow and Abbey looked wonderful when I saw her before tea.’

‘They deserve their happiness. And so do you. You might think of doing something about it before you get too old.’

Scott raised his eyebrows but, in fact, nothing Bella’s aunt said could surprise him after all these years of being her doctor. Sophie’s eyes had strayed from his, back to the screen, as a new race started. He’d ceased to exist.

‘Funny you should say that,’ he murmured. More loudly, he said, ‘I’ll go, then. Good luck with your punting.’

She flicked him a sly glance. ‘Good luck with yours.’ And turned back to the television.

Scott bit back a sigh as he left the room. One thing about old age seemed to be that you could say what you wanted, when you wanted!




CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_34f8822a-e985-5149-a477-9333fd107d41)


BACK in the foyer, the twins had disappeared up the stairs and then a barely audible thumping beat vibrated through the house. He looked down where the noise seemed to be seeping through the floorboards under his feet. Thump, thump, thump. He wondered if his son liked that kind of music and even if Bella did. He was definitely too old for Bella. He thought wistfully of his own quiet house until Bella returned from the kitchen and then age was forgotten.

She was munching an apple and he couldn’t help the sudden connection in his head to Adam and Eve and the malicious serpent of desire. Even in jeans she embodied the essence of womanhood and he could feel the too-familiar surge of frustration at the unfairness of fate.

‘It seems Vivie’s gone to bed.’ Bella said as she rubbed the uneaten side of her apple against her breast to shine it. Scott almost groaned at the undulation of tissue under the fruit. Oblivious, she went on, ‘Her baby was unsettled last night and she’s probably trying to catch up on some sleep.’ Bella tilted her head and he could see she was unsure what to do with him. ‘Do you want to listen to music in the study until the next trip?’

Scott tore his eyes away from the tightness of her shirt and dragged his thoughts back under control as he followed her into the book-lined room. He remembered the room they used as a study from when Abbey had lived here, but the aura was different.

Bella had painted the walls a soft lilac and replaced the old curtains with white linen. She gestured to an under-stuffed chair as she moved across to turn on the CD player. ‘Please, sit down.’

Before he knew it Carol King had started to sing softly in the background about a life and a tapestry and he relaxed a little at the pleasant music. Bella crossed the room back to him as he sank into the chair. And sank comprehensively until his knees almost came up to his chin. He pretended to be comfortable though he felt like he’d been swallowed whole. At least it took his mind off Bella’s breasts.

Bella perched on the arm of a sister chair and Scott could see why. Bella would disappear if she sank as far as he had.

Her eyes twinkled. ‘Sorry about the chairs. There used to be a chaise longue in here but Rohan asked if Abbey could take it with her when they got married. Something to do with happy memories or something and I couldn’t say no.’ She grinned. ‘He’s so romantic and Abbey is so matter-of-fact. Love is grand if it works out.’ She shrugged and patted the chair.

‘I found these really cheap at a garage sale.’ Her smile faded and she glanced out of the window at the house next door where her sister and brother-in-law lived. ‘Poor old Rohan looked strained today while Abbey was in labour.’

She turned back to stare thoughtfully at Scott. ‘And so did you after the baby was born. What happened to a show of relief and joy at the birth of the new Roberts baby?’

She was different in her own home, more decisive and assertive, and it knocked Scott off balance. So much so that he answered by speaking about something he’d least intended. Something he hadn’t told anyone since he’d found out yesterday.

‘I was thinking about my own son.’

Bella blinked. ‘You have a son? Since when?’

She looked so incredulous that Scott winced. ‘It is possible, you know. I am a man.’

Bella snorted, not unlike her maiden aunt, and raised her eyebrows. ‘I’ve been aware of that for a while.’ And suddenly it was back—that aura between them that had shimmered in the bus. She blushed and looked away but not before he saw her moisten her lips with her tongue. That brief glimpse of pink softness almost undid all the hard work he’d expended on controlling his lust.

He rose, not without difficulty, from the softness of the upholstery, and walked over to the window. He had to move away or he’d pull her into his arms and do something he should have done many years ago.

He clung grimly to a topic that could divert him. ‘As to “since when”, a letter arrived from him yesterday. My son, Michael…’ he shook his head as if still unable to believe he was a father ‘…apparently was adopted by his maternal grandparents not long after his birth, when his mother was killed in an accident. Until they died, and he came across his birth certificate, he didn’t even know he had other parents. He only mentioned that he’d discovered his real mother was long dead and the letter was to let me know my ex-wife had died. “In case I wondered”, he added, and he might come to visit me in a month or two. He doesn’t seem very keen to meet me.’

Scott turned back to Bella and the sympathy he saw in her face made him fiercely regret telling her. ‘Considering I’ve done nothing for him, I’m not surprised, of course.’

Bella shook her head. ‘If you didn’t know about Michael then someone made it hard for both of you. Why didn’t his mother tell you?’

‘That’s not something I’m ever likely to find out. We were totally different and never really understood each other. She probably thought I’d be as useless as a father as I was as a husband.’ He saw her flinch at the bitterness in his voice. What did she expect? All those extra years he had on her were filled with mistakes.

Bella’s voice was reasonable. ‘As you’re not useless at anything else you attempt, I find that hard to believe.’

‘That’s a compliment, considering I’ve been less than pleasant to you since you came back.’

Bella patted the chair and encouraged him to sit down again. ‘We’ll talk about that another time.’ When he walked past her to his chair she touched his arm fleetingly and this time there was healing in her sympathy. To his relief she didn’t pursue the subject.

Bella outlined a few changes she was looking at for the ward and the time passed swiftly. Before he knew it, she’d glanced at her watch and stood up. ‘Let’s go drive a bus.’

This time, as they circumnavigated the town, surprisingly there was little strain—on Bella’s side anyway. More young people got on and off than the last trip and they all knew Bella.

Scott tried to concentrate on where they were driving and not the driver. He’d been aware of the bus campaign but was amazed at how much the service was used. No wonder the number of teen car accidents was down if this many kids weren’t driving the streets.

When they returned to Bella’s house the lights were out in Sophie’s rooms. They were the only ones awake in a sleeping house and there was one more run to go. He felt his inner tension increase another knot and his steps slowed.

‘Do you want to go back into the study and have some coffee?’ Bella didn’t appear to notice as she stifled a yawn.

Scott pictured another episode of trying to extricate himself from the carnivorous chair and, despite its diversional properties, he couldn’t face it. ‘Can we sit in the kitchen?’

Bella stared at him for a moment and the laughter in her eyes told him she’d guessed about the chair.

‘Certainly.’ She led the way into the old-fashioned kitchen and indicated a huge boiled fruit cake under a glass cover in the middle of the scrubbed oak table. ‘I’ll make coffee and you can cut us some of Vivie’s cake. Then you can tell me about your marriage.’

She looked so innocent as she assumed he’d just do as he was told and bare his soul. For some reason her assumption chipped a little more at his composure and he couldn’t help his need to try and regain some control.

Bella wondered if she would get away with it. Hopefully Scott wouldn’t take offence at her question. It would be nice to know more about the man she’d once thought she loved. Someone, she realised now, who’d always treated her like a child.

Without warning, he caught her arm as she moved towards the sink to halt her progress away from him. Apparently, Scott wasn’t ready to discuss his marriage any further. It was the first time he’d touched her in twelve years and he wasn’t touching her as if she were a child. Bella’s pulse jumped with the unexpectedness of it.

‘Who says I want to talk about my marriage?’ His voice was deeper than usual with a touch of danger that accelerated her heart rate even more. ‘You’re being very bossy all of a sudden. When did this shift in power happen?’ he asked with gentle sarcasm.

This was a startling side of Scott she’d never seen. Bella looked down at her own pale wrist captured by his much larger hand and then up at his face.

Her mouth was dry and she moistened her lips with her tongue, lost for words. Suddenly he was staring down at her like a dying man in a desert without water. The air crackled with tension and she could almost taste the scent of the storm to come.

She said quietly, ‘Maybe I’ve changed and you’ve never noticed.’ This time when she ran her tongue over her lips she did it to deliberately provoke him, but his response exceeded her expectations.

Bella felt his fingers tighten on her wrist even more and her eyes widened as he pulled her all the way towards him until she was hard against the rock of his chest with her head tilted up at him.

His voice lowered and the conversational tone he used belied the hungry look in his storm-green eyes. ‘It drives me insane when you lick your lips. If you do it again I won’t be responsible for the consequences.’ Scott’s fingers loosened and he dropped her wrist to sit down.

Bella blinked and pressed her lips together, rubbed her wrist and turned away. Her mouth was dry, and a heaving, almost sickening excitement she didn’t want to feel coursed through her stomach as she filled the kettle. At least she’d found out the tiger’s tail could be pulled, she thought shakily.

When she returned to the table with the mugs of steaming coffee, Scott had cut two pieces of cake.

A tiny green flame simmered in his eyes and Bella threw up her chin at the challenge—something the Bella of a year ago would never have done—and she gloried in it. ‘So, does this mean you don’t want to talk about your first wife?’

Scott’s hand froze as he reached for his cup.

Ha. Good, she’d surprised him, she thought with sudden satisfaction, and for once she could read his mind. ‘You really haven’t seen how much I’ve changed since the court case, have you?’

Scott paled and clenched his teeth as he fought back the impotent fury that invaded his mind whenever he thought of Bella at the drugged mercy of her attacker. He took a deep breath. ‘We seem to have successfully avoided each other for most of the last year since you’ve been home. I didn’t get the impression it helped you when I was around.’

She shrugged delicately and her fragility belied the strength in her voice. ‘They say good comes out of even the worst scenarios. That experience taught me to rely on myself and not other people. And not to expect my big sister to always save me. I’ve worked on that over the last year.’

Scott frowned. ‘To say good came out of a brutal attack seems a tad forgiving of a creep who drugged and abused you.’

Bella winced with distaste and her voice shook a little. ‘He can rot in gaol, but surviving his attack has forced me to grow and learn. You weren’t here straight after the attack, but for a while I was ready to crawl away and die.’

Scott had shut off a lot of the memories of Bella’s attack because he’d felt so useless in her hour of need. He’d been away and had come back to find a shattered shell of the woman he’d known. She’d refused to see him when he’d come to offer comfort so he’d gone away again and gained what reassurance he could from information gleaned from Rohan. Scott felt he’d already hurt her enough all those years ago to feel he had the right to push his presence on her when she was vulnerable.

‘But I don’t want to talk about me, I want to hear about you…’ She trailed off and managed a small smile of encouragement.

He smiled grimly. ‘So it’s my turn, is it?’ He could see that she’d sat far enough along the table away from him to be out of reach. At least he’d made her wary but it hadn’t stopped her impudence.

‘How old were you when you were married?’ The question drifted towards him and he would have liked to know why it was so damned important for her to hear this. He considered refusing to answer but he never had been able to deny Bella anything if she wanted it badly enough.

His voice was expressionless. ‘Married at twenty, but she left less than a year later. Pretty well most of med school was spent trying to forget my marriage. We fell in and out of love very quickly. Or at least she did.’

Scott could see the brevity of his answer irritated Bella and it gave him a little satisfaction that she could be frustrated for once.

‘Then why get married?’

‘I was young and stupid and she was older and no wiser. It blew incredibly hot and then, before I knew why, our relationship was as cold as ice. She left me for another man, a man her senior who could support her, and filed for divorce.’ A distant echo of a crushing hurt was in his voice and Bella felt more mature than Scott for the first time in her life. It was an interesting concept.

Luckily he wasn’t looking at her. His voice was flat when he went on, ‘Apparently my wife was pregnant when she left me. I just wish I’d known I had a child and could have been involved in some part of his life. The last two days I’ve agonised over why she shut me out so completely. I rang and checked. I am Michael’s true father.’

He shrugged. The image of the pain in Scott’s face in the birthing suite that morning came back to her. ‘And you’ve learnt nothing else about your son?’

‘What’s there to learn? He’s a man now. I imagine from his side I’m the father who’s done nothing to help him. It must be more of a shock to him than it was to me.’

Bella drained her coffee and set the cup down. She glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall. ‘It’s almost time for the bus run again.’

Scott gave her a wry smile and stood to pull out her chair. ‘Well, that will end our session of truth and dare for the night. Thank goodness.’

‘It’s not healthy to keep all this stuff bottled up, Scott.’ Bella was stern in her new role. ‘When the shock wears off, you’ll be glad you told me.’

‘Right,’ Scott said cynically, and waited for her to precede him out of the room.

When they’d settled in the bus and Scott saw Bella stifle another yawn his original misgivings came back to him. ‘This is ridiculous. You shouldn’t be driving this bus. Can’t you find someone else to do it?’

Bella shook her head. ‘The government has promised funding for next year. That includes the employment of a salaried driver. I can survive until then.’

‘But why is it your problem?’

Bella shrugged. ‘Because if I didn’t do it, no one else would. I agree with my sister in the basic goodness of the younger generation. The advantages of the service are worth the effort.’

The conversation came to a halt because the bus had reached the first stop. A large group of young men and women clambered on and the noise level in the bus made conversation between Bella and Scott impossible, which was OK because he had enough to think about. Not the least was how soft Bella had felt in his arms and how hard it had been to let her go. Her support for his dilemma with his son was also surprisingly comforting.

At each stop the bus became more crowded until finally people started to get off and head home. By the time Bella had arrived back at Chisholm Road there were only Melissa and a young man left.

Bella had glanced in the rear-view mirror a few times. Blake—Bella assumed it was the Blake Melissa had befriended—had a sweet smile and laughter-filled eyes. In fact, Bella had liked him on sight.

When they moved to the front of the bus to alight, Melissa’s pleading eyes left Bella in no doubt of the young man’s identity.

‘This is Blake, Bella.’

Bella swivelled in her seat and held out her hand. Blake’s long brown hair looked clean and his goatee was interesting, though she wasn’t sure if she was thrilled with the small scorpion tattooed on his wrist or the skull and crossbones piercing his eyebrow. Scott’s going to love this, she thought.

She met the young man’s green eyes and nodded. ‘Hello, Blake.’ Blake shook Bella’s hand. ‘This is Dr Rainford.’ The two men nodded at each other but neither held out their hand. Bella smiled wryly to herself. ‘Perhaps you could come and see me tomorrow and we can discuss Melissa’s idea.’

Blake nodded. ‘Thank you. I will.’ He glanced at Scott once more and then followed Melissa out of the bus, where they went into a huddle for a minute before he headed off down the street.

Bella realised she’d been swayed to coolness by the fact that Scott was there, and the thought irritated her.

‘What was all that about?’ Scott’s timing was way out.

‘Nothing important.’ She put the bus into gear and reversed it carefully down the driveway. ‘Let’s get this bus parked. I’m tired. It’s been a long day.’

He waited until she switched off the engine in the garage before pushing his luck. ‘For nothing important, there was a lot of eye contact going on all round. What does he want?’

Bella stifled a sigh and measured her answer. ‘Blake has offered to do odd jobs around the house in exchange for lodging. I’m thinking about it.’

Scott frowned and shook his head. ‘I can do odd jobs around the house. I don’t think introducing a young man as a boarder is a good idea.’

Bella held back the comment that it was none of his business. Her voice was sweet. ‘And here I was thinking that having a large country medical practice and most nights on call would be enough to keep you busy. I must start a list of repairs for you.’

She stood up and eased herself from her seat. ‘Goodnight, Scott.’

He followed her out and towered over her beside the bus. ‘I enjoyed your company, Bella. We must do it again.’

‘Any Friday and Saturday night,’ Bella said dryly, and walked away.

Scott’s firm voice drifted across. ‘Then I’ll see you at seven tomorrow night.’

Bella thought of those moments in the kitchen and how much she had cared about Scott’s distress over his son. She closed her eyes and didn’t look back. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ she whispered to herself.




CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_564a2537-bb15-57e6-8719-cbd94fdc87f0)


Saturday

‘BELLA, Blake’s here.’ Melissa’s voice drifted from the front door. Bella put down the morning newspaper and stood up from the kitchen table. She met Vivie’s eyes and Vivie shrugged.

At breakfast, Bella had spoken to Aunt Sophie about the possibility of a male boarder and her aunt had sent the ball back into Bella’s court with a noncommittal shrug. ‘If he’s likeable and honest, it’s not a bad thing to have a man about the house,’ she’d said.

All the other girls except Vivie had met Blake previously and thought it ‘cool’ that he might move in with them. Bella had had to bite back a smile as they’d unanimously agreed to hand the mowing and the garbage-bin duties over to him if he joined the household.

Bella walked into the hallway and smiled at Blake. ‘Come through into the kitchen, Blake, and we’ll have a coffee and see if we can work something out.’

Blake shot a glance at Melissa who nodded encouragingly and hung back to watch them go.

Vivie brought the coffee-pot over and when they were all seated at the kitchen table, Bella looked across at the young man. Tall and good-looking under the ponytail and eyebrow stud, there was something about the square chin under his goatee that invited a smile.

She couldn’t help but like him. ‘You haven’t met Vivie, have you, Blake?’

Blake smiled at the young woman. ‘Hello, Vivie.’

Vivie nodded but didn’t say anything.

‘Vivie runs the house. She shops and is a fabulous cook and we’re very lucky to have her. That’s why she’s in on this discussion.’ Vivie blushed and looked down at the tablecloth.

Bella moved on. ‘If we were to think about inviting you to move in, Blake, it’s only fair that we’d run through the expectations we have for everyone in the household.’

Blake nodded that he understood.

Bella continued, ‘Melissa said you might be willing to do some odd jobs around the house.’

Blake shrugged. ‘I don’t have employment at the moment, and I get bored if I’m not busy. I’d enjoy the chance to do some work around here. In Sydney I worked for the Salvation Army Depot and restored furniture, so I can fix most things.’

Bella nodded and considered his answer. ‘Why did you move to Gladstone?’

He grimaced. ‘When my parents died I went off the rails a bit. The guys I was with started to get into some heavy stuff and I didn’t want to go there.’ He looked embarrassed. ‘I thought it might be a good idea to leave town while I could still drive away. I ended up here.’

Blake smiled sheepishly. ‘I thought if I went to a country town there was more chance of a fresh start. I like the idea of moving into the house.’ He couldn’t keep the anxiety out of his face.

Bella held out her hand. ‘We’ll go for a week’s trial and we’ve room for another car in the garage besides the bus. My car’s just died a decrepit death and it can be relegated to the back shed.’

Blake smiled a huge smile and he didn’t notice that Vivie looked ready to pass out with the brilliance of it. ‘You could drive mine. Maybe I could fix yours, too. I like mucking around with cars.’

‘Don’t give yourself too much to do or we’ll miss you if you decide to move out.’ Bella smiled. ‘Welcome to the house, Blake.’

She looked at Vivie. ‘Would you like to show Blake his room? He can have the end room at the back of the house. That one has its own bathroom, even though it’s pretty rough.’ She looked at Blake with a challenging stare. ‘You clean your own bathroom every week. We don’t do men’s rooms.’

‘I’ll show you how.’ Vivie managed to enter the conversation finally. ‘When you get your stuff I’ll make the room up for you—then it’s up to you. You get clean sheets on a Friday.’ Vivie had moved into housekeeper mode and Blake followed her out of the room.

Bella could hear Vivie explaining about mealtimes and how he had to tell her if he wasn’t planning on being there for a meal. It would do Vivie good to have some male company other than her year-old son, Bella thought with a smile. Vivie had been on the receiving end of a bad experience, like Bella herself, and she needed to practise her feminine wiles. Bella had decided she didn’t need her wiles.

Later Bella was stepping out of her front door for the first bus run of the evening when Scott fell into step beside her.

‘Good evening, Bella. Here we are again,’ he said.

‘So I gather. Hello, Scott.’ She looked up at him. ‘This really isn’t necessary you know.’

‘Humour me,’ he said as they walked together towards the garage.

Bella sighed and waited for the fireworks. She stepped past a fire-engine red, low-slung, two-door SLR Torana with silver mag wheels and BITE ME splashed across the front windscreen. Scott’s eyes widened as he followed Bella onto the bus.

‘Where on earth did that car come from?’ Scott twisted his neck and screwed up his face in disgust.

Bella settled herself into the seat before she answered and didn’t look across at her passenger. ‘It’s Blake’s car. He moved in today.’ She started the bus’s engine and revved it. It was a diesel engine and she shouldn’t do that before it warmed up, but the motor’s noise successfully drowned out Scott’s reply.

Scott glared across at her. When the engine was back at an idle he tried again. ‘Does Abbey know you now have a male boarder?’

Bella could feel the elevation in her blood pressure. At least she assumed that was what the red mist in front of her eyes meant. ‘Excuse me?’ She turned to Scott and spoke softly but the edge was unmistakable. ‘Perhaps you’d like to trot up to the hospital and tell my sister while she’s breastfeeding. I can’t wait for her to tell you it’s none of her business.’ To reinforce her point she opened the door again and waited.

Scott met her eyes and raised his eyebrows at her reaction. ‘That’s not what I meant, but I’m sorry if I upset you.’

Bella said nothing. The door closed again and she put the bus into gear and drove out of the garage.

Scott held his peace as they drove the circuit but mentally he gnashed his teeth. He couldn’t believe she’d been so reckless and invited some unknown youth into her house. And judging by his car, the boy was loud and a hothead as well. Scott remembered the boy’s pierced eyebrow and tattoo and clenched his fists. If anything happened to Bella he’d grind the pipsqueak into a pulp.

They didn’t talk much during the first trip. There were a few more young adults than last night’s early trip and Bella was kept busy stopping and starting the bus.

By the time they were back at Bella’s house she had calmed down enough to accept she might have overreacted and Scott was being careful.

They almost made it to the next bus run as they talked of ordinary things and then suddenly, as they stood up to leave, it was as if he couldn’t restrain himself. Scott threw in a contentious question.

‘So where does Blake sleep?’ The words hung in the air between them.

Bella blinked and raised her eyebrows. How dared he? ‘That’s funny.’ She tilted her head. ‘I was under the impression that the guests in my house had nothing to do with you.’

She glared but this time Scott stared back without expression and wouldn’t be silenced. ‘It’s not unreasonable for your friends to be concerned if we consider you’ve made an ill-judged decision.’

‘Ah,’ said Bella. The red mist was coming back. ‘Patronising! That’s the Scott we all know and love.’

Scott glared back. ‘Don’t avoid the issue. You’re just asking for trouble. You can’t know anything about this person. What if he tries to break into your room in the night? He could have a criminal record as long as your arm. I’m concerned for you, Bella.’

‘I like him and I trust my instinct.’

‘Abbey trusted her instinct with Clayton Harrows and look where that led both of you.’

‘How dare you?’ Bella couldn’t believe he’d brought her sister’s ex-fiancé into the conversation. She’d just managed to get those memories of her attack back in their box after last night, and he was opening the lid again. She couldn’t believe it. Where did this man get off?

Scott wasn’t repentant. ‘I dare because I care.’

‘So what changed you to care?’ The bitterness in her voice made Scott wince. He couldn’t help the step he took towards her and before he knew it he had her pulled against him.

He looked into her eyes and his voice was barely audible. ‘I’ve always cared!’

She smelt of some herbal shampoo and flowery perfume that triggered the response he’d been fighting against all night, and his body quickened with desire and a stupid jealousy that she believed some twenty-year-old over him.

Oblivious to the tightening of his fingers, Bella tossed her hair and glared back at him. This was a Bella he’d never seen. ‘Big effort, Scott. Be careful, or someone will hear you,’ she taunted. ‘I have to watch what I say in case you run to Abbey with it, like you did when I was eighteen.’

The bitterness in her reply shocked them both. Scott lowered his voice. ‘I “ran to Abbey” to protect you. Don’t you realise? I was twelve years older and you were only eighteen. I couldn’t trust myself.’

‘So what’s changed now?’ This was crazy and needed to stop. Bella could hear the scorn in her own voice and she consciously relaxed her shoulders and attempted to step back.

But it was too late.

Scott pulled her against him and lowered his face. His eyes burned into hers as he captured her chin firmly in his hand so she couldn’t step away again.





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