Lucy fetched her coat at the end of her shift and left. It had started raining at lunchtime and the gutters were brimming over with water as she made her way to the bus stop. She huddled against the wall when a car sped past, sending a wave of water across the pavement, but by the time she reached the bus stop, her shoes and trousers were soaked through. She joined the queue, hoping that she wouldn’t have to wait too long. However, half an hour later she was still there when a car drew up and Max Curtis poked his head out of the window.
‘Do you want a lift?’ He glanced at her sodden trousers and grimaced. ‘You’re going to catch your death if you stand there much longer. Hop in.’
Lucy hesitated, not sure that accepting a lift would be the right thing to do. It didn’t seem fair to expect him to drive her home after the long day he’d had. However, the thought of getting out of the rain was too tempting to resist. She slid into the passenger seat and slammed the door.
‘Thanks. It’s really good of you,’ she said gratefully. ‘I don’t know what happened to the bus. I’ve been waiting ages and there’s been no sign of it.’
‘Probably two will turn up together,’ he said lightly, putting the car into gear. ‘So how was your first day then? Not too scary, I hope.’
‘No, it was fine,’ Lucy assured him. ‘Everyone was really helpful, which makes a huge difference when you’re starting a new job.’
‘It’s a good team,’ he assured her, slowing as they came to a set of traffic lights on red. ‘Most of them have worked on the unit for a while, so that helps, of course.’
‘It must do,’ Lucy agreed, turning to look at him. Although he wasn’t classically handsome, he was certainly attractive, she decided. The combination of those highly masculine features—a strong jaw, straight nose and perfectly sculpted lips—was very appealing. Rumpled dark brown hair falling across his forehead lent him a rakish air that many women would find pleasing too. She found it strangely engaging which surprised her, given what had happened recently.
‘I’m looking forward to being part of a settled team,’ she said, hurriedly squashing that thought. She certainly wasn’t in the market for another relationship. The fact that her ex-fiancé had betrayed her had destroyed her faith in men. Love, marriage and, most important of all, a family had always been her dream but not any more. She wouldn’t give any man that much power over her again. ‘The turnover of staff at my last place was a nightmare. You no sooner got used to working with someone before they left.’
‘It’s always more of a problem in the city. Staff tend to move around more than they do in rural areas. You were at the Royal, weren’t you?’ he asked, glancing at her.
‘That’s right. I was there for almost four years. It was really busy, but I enjoyed working there.’
‘So what brought you to Dalverston?’ he asked, returning his attention to the road as the lights changed. ‘Has your family relocated to this part of the world?’
‘No, only me.’
‘Really?’ He shot her a look and she saw the surprise on his face. ‘It takes guts to up sticks and leave everything behind like that.’
‘I don’t know about that. It just felt like the right thing to do,’ she hedged, not wanting to go into detail about the reasons for her decision. She sighed softly. Maybe it was silly to feel embarrassed, but what had happened had dented her confidence. She no longer saw herself as the person she had always been, but as a reject, second best. For some reason she hated to think that Max might see her like that too.
‘I realised that I was in a bit of a rut and needed a complete change of scene,’ she explained, wondering why it mattered what he thought. She barely knew him, so his opinion wasn’t going to make much difference to her. ‘When I saw the advert for Dalverston, I decided to apply for the post.’
‘And got it.’ He gave her a quick smile but Lucy could tell that he’d guessed there was more to the story than she’d admitted. ‘Well, the Royal’s loss is our gain is all I can say.’
He didn’t press her and she was glad about that. Maybe it would get easier with time but at the moment it was still too painful to talk about what had happened. They drove into the town centre and she gave him directions to where she lived from there.
Finding somewhere suitable had been harder than she’d expected. Although rent in Dalverston was less expensive than it was in Manchester, it was still a big chunk out of her monthly salary. She and Richard had signed a lease on their flat and there were still several months left to run. Richard had refused to pay his share of the rent after he’d moved out, and unwilling to make the situation even more unpleasant than it already was, Lucy hadn’t tried to persuade him. Instead, she’d been paying it all and had needed to trim her costs accordingly. She’d finally settled on a flat in one of the old terraced houses close to the high street. It wasn’t the best location but it would do for now. She would find somewhere better when she could afford it.
Max drew up outside. ‘Here you are then. Home sweet home.’ He glanced up at the building and frowned. ‘It looks a bit grim. Couldn’t you find anywhere better than this?’
‘It’s fine, really.’ Lucy reached for the door handle, not wanting to explain why her options had been so limited. ‘Thanks again for the lift. I only hope I haven’t taken you too far out of your way.’
‘Not at all. In fact, it isn’t all that far from where I live, funnily enough. I just didn’t recognise the name of the road. I don’t think I’ve been down here before.’
‘You’ve not missed much,’ Lucy assured him wryly, opening the car door. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, I expect.’
‘You will.’
He waited while she unlocked the front door then drove away, but it was a moment before she went inside. As she watched the car’s taillights disappear around a bend, Lucy felt a wave of loneliness wash over her. All of a sudden the evening stretched before her, all those empty hours to fill. She couldn’t help thinking about how her life had used to be, when she had come home from work and Richard had been there.
She sighed because she’d honestly believed they’d been happy. Even when Richard had started making excuses and going out at night, she hadn’t suspected a thing. It was only when Amy, stricken with guilt, had confessed that Lucy had discovered what had been going on. The fact that she’d felt like such a fool had made it all the more painful.
She took a deep breath and closed the door. It was all in the past now and she had moved on. Even though she didn’t feel like the same person, she would survive and build a new life for herself. Just for a moment a picture of Max Curtis appeared in her mind’s eye before she dismissed it. Max might play a small role in her life but no man was going to take centre stage ever again.
* * *
Max drove home thinking about what Lucy had told him or, rather, what she hadn’t said. He’d seen the sadness in her eyes and suspected there was more to her decision to relocate than she had admitted. Had she broken up with her partner, perhaps? If that was the case, then it must have been a very painful split if she’d felt the need to leave everything behind.
He sighed as he turned into the car park of the modern apartment block where he lived. He knew only too well how it felt to want to escape. He’d done that himself, hadn’t he? After his marriage had ended, he’d left London and come north, seeking a fresh start. Although he couldn’t change the fact that his life was never going to turn out how he’d expected it would, it had helped to meet new people and form new friendships.
Nowadays he was far more philosophical. So what if he could never father a child? It was a blow, yes, but he had come to terms with the idea now and accepted it. At least he knew the truth so there was no danger of him ruining any other woman’s life.
Marriage was off the agenda for obvious reasons and any relationships he had were strictly for fun. Maybe it wasn’t the life he’d once envisaged for himself, but he couldn’t complain. He had a job he loved, good friends and enough money to buy whatever he wanted. I
n fact, he couldn’t understand why he was even thinking about it. Had Lucy Harris been the trigger? But why? What was it about her that made him suddenly wish he could change things?
He had no idea but it was something he needed to bear in mind. Lovely though Lucy was, he didn’t intend to get his fingers burned a second time.
* * *
Lucy was rostered to work at the antenatal clinic the following morning. She went straight there after she’d signed in and the first person she saw was Max. He was chatting to the receptionist, laughing at something the girl was saying. He looked so relaxed that she felt her spirits immediately lift. It had been a long night and she’d had difficulty sleeping, but there was something about Max that made her feel much more positive about life.
He glanced round when he heard her footsteps and grinned at her. ‘Ahah! I see you’ve drawn the short straw, Lucy. We’ll be working together this morning. Is that OK with you?’
‘Fine.’ She returned his smile, wondering why he had this effect on her. It wasn’t anything he said, more a feeling he exuded, and it was very welcome too. ‘I’ve no problem with that.’
‘Good.’ He gave her a warm smile as he led the way to the consulting room and sat down at the desk while he brought up the list of appointments on the computer. ‘It’s rather a mixed bag this morning. Normally, we try to split the list so that one of us sees the mums who are here for their first visits while the other deals with the rest. Unfortunately, we’re short-staffed today because Diane is off sick. It means you won’t have as much time with the new mums as you’d probably like.’
‘I’ll make up for it at a later date. Most women are a little anxious when they come for their first visit to the clinic and they find it difficult to take everything in. It’s usually better to talk to them and discuss their options at their second or third appointment, I find.’
‘That’s great. I’m glad it isn’t going to cause you a problem.’ He turned his attention back to the screen, scrolling through the list of names until he came to the one he wanted. ‘This is a case I’d like you to be involved in. Mum’s name is Helen Roberts. It’s her first baby and she had pre-existing diabetes mellitus when she got pregnant.’
‘How has she been?’ Lucy asked, walking around the desk. She bent down so she could see the screen, feeling her nostrils tingle as she inhaled the citrus-fresh tang of the shampoo he’d used. She couldn’t help comparing it to the rather cloying scent of the one Richard had preferred.
‘Extremely well so far. We run a pre-pregnancy clinic at Dalverston for women with established diabetes. It’s a joint venture between us and the diabetes care team and our main aim is to ensure that blood glucose levels are under control before and at the time of conception.’
‘There’s a slightly increased risk of the baby being malformed if the blood glucose level isn’t right, isn’t there?’ Lucy questioned, straightening up. She moved back to the other side of the desk, unsure why it troubled her to make the comparison. What difference did it make if she preferred the smell of Max’s shampoo?
‘There is, which is why a woman with diabetes should seek advice before she gets pregnant. As I expect you know, there are increased risks for the mother as well as for the baby. Retinopathy can be a problem for anyone who has diabetes, as can high blood pressure, but there’s more chance of them becoming an issue when a woman is pregnant. And of course there’s a greater risk of mum suffering from pre-eclampsia, too.’
‘It must be daunting for a woman to be faced with all that,’ Lucy said quickly, determined to nip such foolishness in the bud by focusing on their patient.
Max shrugged. ‘It must be. Thankfully, Helen is a very level-headed sort of person. She’s a farmer’s wife and has a very practical approach to life. She understood the risks from the outset and has coped extremely well. We’ve been working closely with the diabetes care team and she’s undergone all the recommended tests and assessments.’
‘How about the baby?’ Lucy asked. ‘Is it much larger than normal?’
‘Slightly larger than would be expected at this stage but not worryingly so.’
‘Controlling the blood glucose level is key, isn’t it? If the level isn’t strictly controlled, there may be an increase in the amount of glucose that reaches the baby so that it grows faster than normal.’
‘Either that or its growth may be stunted,’ Max explained. ‘I’ve seen several cases like that and there were complications each time following the births.’
‘How many weeks is she?’ Lucy asked.
‘Thirty-two,’ he replied promptly, not needing to refer to his notes.
It was clear from that how interested he was in the case and she couldn’t help admiring the fact that it was obviously more than just a job to him. She’d noticed that yesterday, too, when he’d examined Sophie. His patience and refusal to rush were indications of a genuine concern for his patients. She’d worked with a lot of doctors and, sadly, some had treated the mums-to-be in a very cavalier fashion. It was good to know that Max wasn’t of that ilk.
‘As you know, it’s even more important to control blood glucose levels towards the end of the pregnancy.’ He picked up a slip of paper and handed it to her. ‘Helen has been attending the diabetes clinic on a weekly basis recently. She was there yesterday and the registrar was concerned because her glucose levels have started fluctuating. That’s why we’re seeing her today. We may need to arrange for her to have another ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid volume as well as the baby’s growth.’
Lucy quickly read the note. She sighed as she handed it back to him. ‘What a shame that it should happen now after she’s been doing so well.’
‘Isn’t it?’ He grimaced. ‘Knowing Helen, she will blame herself for this and that’s where you can help, Lucy. I want you to make her understand that it isn’t anything she’s done wrong. The last thing we want is her getting stressed. It won’t help her or the baby.’
‘Of course. I’ll do anything I can,’ she assured him.
‘Thanks.’
He gave her a quick smile and she felt a trickle of warmth flow through her when she saw the approval it held. Once again, she felt her spirits lift and it was such an odd feeling when her mood had been so downbeat recently. She wasn’t sure why Max had this effect on her and didn’t have a chance to work it out as he continued.
‘Right, now that’s sorted out we’d better make a start or we’ll still be here at midnight.’
Lucy went to the door and called in their first patient. She’d always enjoyed meeting the mums and being involved in their care and she realised that she was looking forward to it more than ever that day. Knowing that she was part of a team that really cared about these women and their babies made the job so worthwhile.
All of a sudden she was glad that she had made the move to Dalverston, and not just because she’d escaped from a difficult situation either. She would learn a lot from working here, learn a lot from working with Max, too. For the first time in ages, it felt as though she had something to look forward to.
Chapter Three
‘LUCY will have a word with you on your next visit, Rachel. You’ll be able to decide what you want to do then. Isn’t that right, Lucy?’
Max sat back in his seat while Lucy took over. They made a good team, he thought, listening as she explained how they would work out a birth plan the next time Rachel came to the clinic, before she escorted her out to Reception. Although her predecessor had been an excellent midwife, she’d been a little brusque at times. He knew that some of the younger women in particular had found her intimidating, but that definitely wasn’t the case with Lucy. She had a gently reassuring manner that put even the most nervous mums at their ease. He couldn’t remember when he’d last enjoyed a clinic so much, in fact.
He was in the process of absorbing that thought when she came back into the room. His brows lifted when he saw the frown on her face. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘I’m not sure. Appar
ently, Helen Roberts hasn’t turned up. From what you told me, it seems rather strange that she would miss an appointment, doesn’t it?’
‘It’s not like Helen,’ he agreed. He brought up Helen’s file on the computer and checked her phone number. ‘I’ll give her a call and see what’s happened to her.’
He picked up the phone then stopped when his pager suddenly bleeped. It was the code for the maternity unit, so he dialled their number first. ‘It’s Max. You paged me.’ His heart sank when Amanda informed him that Helen Roberts had just been admitted. ‘I’ll be right there.’
‘Problems?’ Lucy asked as he hastily stood up.
‘Helen Roberts has been rushed in by ambulance. It appears she collapsed on the bus on her way here.’
‘That explains why she didn’t keep her appointment!’ Lucy exclaimed. ‘Are you going up to Maternity to see her?’
‘Yes.’ Max picked up his jacket off the back of the chair and shrugged it on. ‘The diabetes care team will need to know what’s happened. Can you give them a call for me, please? I’ve been liaising with Adam Sanders, their registrar, so can you see if he’s available? I’d really like his input.’
‘Of course.’
Lucy reached for the receiver at the same moment as he went to pass it to her and he felt a ripple of awareness shoot through him when their hands brushed, and quickly drew back. He cleared his throat, unsure why it had happened.
‘I’ll leave you to sort it out, then. Can you phone Amanda and let her know if Adam can make it? He knows Helen and it will be easier if he reviews the case rather than bring someone else up to speed.’
‘Will do.’
The Midwife's Christmas Miracle (Dalverston General Hospital) Page 2
