His Brother's Son

by Jennifer Taylor

  ‘Silvia told me that you offered to give up your break and talk to them while we carried out the tests on Ryan,’ he said quietly. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘It’s what I’m paid to do,’ she replied, quickly standing up. She couldn’t afford to let herself be distracted by the thought. She had to remember what a dangerous situation she was in. It would take very little to uncover her secret.

  ‘No, you are paid to care for the children we treat here. Giving support to the parents is something you do out of the goodness of your heart, Rebecca.’

  There was a grating note in his voice when he said that, and she sighed. ‘I didn’t think you believed that I had a heart.’

  He looked at her with a searching light in his eyes. ‘I told you this morning that I knew I was wrong about you.’

  She half expected him to say something else, maybe bring up the subject of why she had allowed him to continue thinking so badly of her, but surprisingly he didn’t pursue it. ‘So how was Josh when you left him at the crèche?’

  ‘Fine. He was very excited because he could see all the other children.’ She summoned a smile, not wanting him to see how relieved she felt because it would only arouse his curiosity. ‘He barely spared me a glance when I left, in fact.’

  ‘He is a credit to you, Rebecca. The fact that he is happy to be left with strangers proves how secure he feels.’

  ‘Thank you.’ She was deeply touched by the comment. ‘All I ever wanted was for him to be safe and happy.’

  ‘I realise that. Everything you have done has been for his sake. And for Antonio’s sake, of course. It must mean a lot to you to take care of his son.’

  ‘Do you really believe that?’ she said urgently. If she could believe what he’d said then maybe she could risk telling him the truth after all?

  ‘Claro que sí. Of course,’ he said flatly, and her heart sank when she heard the reservation in his voice.

  ‘But? There was a definite but tagged onto the end of that, Felipe, wasn’t there?’

  ‘Perhaps.’ He sighed. ‘Sometimes people do things in good faith and end up causing themselves a great many problems. I only hope that your desire to look after Josh hasn’t caused you to do something you now regret.’

  ‘I did what had to be done and I would do exactly the same thing all over again,’ she said flatly, because it was true. No matter how difficult the situation was or how much anguish it caused her personally, she didn’t regret the decisions she’d made.

  ‘Then I hope that one day you will trust me enough to tell me the truth, Rebecca. Like you, my only concern is Josh’s welfare.’

  Becky sensed that he was hurt by her refusal to tell him the whole story, but she still wasn’t sure that he would understand. She heard Felipe sigh when she remained silent.

  ‘It would be best if we left this conversation until another time. Work isn’t the place to discuss it.’ He turned to leave then paused and glanced back. ‘Before I forget, I shall be out this evening so you will have the villa to yourself. Dr Menendez and I are old friends and I have invited him out for dinner. It will give us a chance to catch up on what has been happening.’

  ‘Oh, right. Thank you for letting me know.’ She shrugged when he looked quizzically at her. ‘I was going to make dinner for us both, but I won’t need to bother now.’

  ‘I do not expect you to cook for me because you are living under my roof, Rebecca.’

  ‘I never imagined that you did. However, with Maria being away, it seemed more sensible to make a meal for us both.’

  She could feel the colour rushing up her face and turned to plump up the cushions on the sofa. Did Felipe think that she was trying to ingratiate herself even further by offering to cook him a meal?

  ‘I’m sorry. I did not mean that the way it sounded.’ He sighed when she shot him a startled look. ‘I am not used to having to think before I speak, I’m afraid. There has never been anyone to question me before.’

  ‘Before me, you mean?’ She gave a light laugh, hoping it didn’t sound as strained to him as it did to her. ‘You must be sorry you met me, Felipe. I’ve done nothing but disrupt your life, have I?’

  ‘You have turned everything on its head, Rebecca, although I am not sorry about it.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ she demanded, startled.

  ‘That maybe my life needed to be disrupted before I could see what was missing from it. I don’t regret meeting you, Rebecca. If there is anything I regret, it’s that we didn’t meet before.’

  Before Antonio.

  The words hung between them, unspoken yet clear all the same. Becky felt her heart pound when she looked into his eyes and saw the expression they held. There was regret in them but it was mingled with another emotion which made her body burn with a sudden intense heat. To know that Felipe still wanted her that morning as he had wanted her the night before made her feel as though the bottom had just dropped out of her world.

  It was a relief when he abruptly left the room because she had no idea what she might have said. Her head seemed to be whirling. Felipe had admitted that his opinion of her had undergone a complete reversal, but so, too, had her opinion of him. The idea terrified her.

  If he was no longer her enemy, how much more difficult was it going to be to keep her secret from him? Could you love someone and keep a part of yourself separate?

  The thought slid into her mind and she gasped. Was she falling in love with Felipe? Was it possible? She wanted to deny it, but it wasn’t possible to do that.

  Not after last night.

  Why on earth had he said that?

  Felipe bit back a groan as he went into his office. He sat down behind his desk, automatically reaching for the pile of letters his secretary had left for him to sign. He stared at the beautifully printed pages without seeing a word that was written on them. He kept hearing himself telling Rebecca that he regretted not having met her before she’d met Antonio.

  He pushed back his chair and paced the room, too on edge to sit still. She had understood what he’d meant even though he’d managed to stop himself saying his brother’s name. He’d seen the shock in her eyes and the awareness that had followed it. And yet she hadn’t looked as though the idea had sickened her. He’d had the definite impression that she wished the same thing, in fact. But if that was the case, why was she so reluctant to tell him the truth? Just how bad was this secret she was keeping?

  He groaned again. The harder he tried to understand the situation, the more difficult it became. Frankly, there was a danger that it would drive him insane if he didn’t find out the truth soon. Maybe it was time he did just that. It didn’t feel right to go behind Rebecca’s back, but he had no choice. If she wouldn’t tell him, someone else would!

  Picking up the phone, he dialled the London office of the firm of solicitors his brother had used. He’d had little contact with them since the funeral, but maybe it was time he started asking some questions. The solicitor who had handled Antonio’s affairs was in court that day so Felipe left a message asking the man to get back to him and hung up.

  Picking up the letters, he tried to concentrate, but it was impossible to keep his mind on the task. Finding out the truth about Rebecca seemed far more important than the smooth running of the Clinica Valdez. It scared him to death to have to admit it.

  All of a sudden it felt as though there were no longer any guidelines in his life. He was drifting through time and space with no idea what would happen next. All he could do was hope that he wouldn’t regret discovering Rebecca’s secret. It could prove to be a big mistake, but it was a risk he had to take.

  Until he knew what Rebecca was hiding, he couldn’t make any plans for their future. Whether he liked the idea or not, the two were intrinsically linked.

  It was a busy afternoon. They had several new admissions to the children’s ward so Becky was kept busy dealing with them. One child in particular was giving cause for concern.

  Four-year-old Christopher Thomas was suffering
from hyperpyrexia, a severe form of heatstroke. He had been playing in the sun and had suffered quite extensive sunburn to his back and shoulders. Becky got him settled then went to have a word with his parents.

  ‘Christopher’s temperature is coming down but he’s still quite poorly,’ she explained. ‘The staff in Casualty managed to cool him by wrapping him in a wet sheet and using a fan. However, we shall need to keep him on a drip overnight to replace all the fluids he’s lost.’

  ‘He will be all right, won’t he?’ Elaine Thomas demanded. ‘We had no idea he was ill until one of the reps from the hotel came to fetch us.’

  ‘He wasn’t with you?’ Becky asked in surprise.

  ‘No, we left him at the children’s club. I mean, that’s the whole point of going on holiday, isn’t it?’ Michael Thomas, the child’s father, put in belligerently. ‘You can offload the kids and have some time to yourself. Elaine and I were in the bar when that girl who runs the club came to find us.’

  ‘So have you any idea how long Christopher was out in the sun?’ Becky asked.

  ‘A couple of hours, I suppose. He was at the kids’ club all morning then we told him to stay by the pool after that. Elaine and I always go to the bar at lunchtime and he’s such a nuisance if we take him with us, all the time asking if he can go and play,’ Michael told her. ‘Of course, I blame the staff for what’s happened. They should have been keeping an eye on him, shouldn’t they? That’s what they’re paid to do. I wouldn’t mind but I’d just ordered a round of drinks and we had to leave them to bring him here because that rep insisted.’

  Becky managed to hide her dismay. It was hard to imagine how any father could be more concerned about a drink than his child’s welfare. ‘It’s a good job you did bring him straight to the clinic, Mr Thomas. Christopher was very ill when he was admitted. Not to put too fine a point on it, he could have died.’

  She gave the parents a moment to digest that, hoping it would stop them being so careless in the future. Heatstroke was far more serious than people realised. Once the body lost its ability to cool itself, its core temperature rose dramatically. It wasn’t unknown for people to die from severe heatstroke, especially a child of Christopher’s age.

  ‘Anyway, I’ll take you in to see him now. He’s been sick and he might be a little disorientated, but by tomorrow he should be feeling much better. We’ll keep him in overnight to monitor his condition.’

  ‘We won’t have to stay, will we?’ Michael demanded. ‘I mean, this is a proper hospital, isn’t it? There’ll be nurses here to look after him?’

  ‘Of course. The Clinica Valdez is one of the biggest hospitals on the island,’ she assured him. ‘But I’m sure Christopher would prefer it if you were to stay with him. It really isn’t a problem as far as we’re concerned, I assure you. There’s a family suite that you can use.’

  ‘Maybe it’s not a problem for you, but it’s a problem for us. We’ve booked to go on a trip tonight and they won’t refund our money if we cancel at the last minute.’ Michael turned to his wife. ‘There’s not much point in us staying here, is there, Elaine?’

  ‘Well, I suppose not,’ she agreed hesitantly. She gave Becky a watery smile. ‘So long as you’re sure Christopher will be properly looked after, of course.’

  ‘Christopher will receive the very best care,’ she said shortly, not trusting herself to say too much.

  She led the couple into the room and left them there. How long they would stay was anyone’s guess. Frankly, she found it hard to believe that people could be so callous, although she could easily imagine Tara leaving Josh in a hospital on his own while she went off to enjoy herself.

  The thought made her see that she’d been right to come to Mallorca. Making sure that Josh was safe was the only thing that mattered. It would be marvellous if she could tell Felipe the truth, of course, but it was too dangerous.

  She couldn’t afford to let her feelings for him overrule common sense. Deep down she knew that Felipe would have a hard time accepting that she had lied to him about being Josh’s mother. He might never be able to forgive her for deceiving him. She might not only lose Josh but Felipe’s support as well.

  Her heart ached at the thought.

  Becky collected Josh from the crèche at the end of the day and took him back to the villa. It felt strange, letting herself in to the empty house. Normally Maria would have come bustling out to meet her, telling her all about the things Josh had done while she’d been at work.

  She took him into the kitchen and gave him some wooden spoons to play with while she made them something to eat. They both had scrambled eggs, with toast soldiers for Josh, and strawberries to follow. She wiped his hands and face then lifted him out of his high chair and kissed him.

  ‘Not as much fun as when your Uncle Felipe gave you those strawberries last night, was it, poppet?’

  Josh bounced up and down in her arms, seeming to react to the name, or maybe it was she who had reacted to it. Just saying Felipe’s name out loud had sent a thrill coursing through her, made her skin tingle and her breath catch. It made her realise just how difficult it was going to be, living under the same roof as this man without letting him see how she felt.

  It was a sobering thought and it stayed with her the whole time she was getting Josh ready for bed. He was worn out after his day in the crèche and could hardly keep his eyes open while she was bathing him. She laid him in his cot and wound up the clockwork mobile that hung from the ceiling so that he could watch the plastic fishes and dolphins bobbing around while he fell asleep.

  It had just gone seven when she went into the sitting room and found herself wondering how to fill in the hours until it was time for bed. Although Felipe rarely spent any time with her once they’d finished dinner, she had never felt lonely. Just knowing that he was in the house had always seemed to be enough.

  Becky sighed because that thought simply reinforced all her earlier ones about her feelings for him. It was worrying to think that she was falling in love with him when there was no future for them. Unless she told him the truth about Josh there was no chance of their relationship developing.

  Her heart felt unusually heavy as she wandered out onto the terrace and stared across the bay. The sun was riding low in the sky, turning the sea blood-red where the last dying rays touched it. It had been extremely hot all day and the temperature hadn’t dropped very much. She would have loved a dip in the pool, but she didn’t like to stray too far from the house in case Josh woke up. She was just about to go back inside when she heard footsteps coming along the path and gasped when Felipe appeared.

  ‘What are you doing here? I thought you were going out to dinner with your friend?’

  ‘I was, but Ramon decided to catch the early flight back to Madrid. He has a busy day tomorrow and needed time to prepare for it.’ Felipe summoned a smile, hoping that Rebecca wouldn’t question him about his change of plans. Did he really want her to find out that it had been he who had cut short the evening and not Ramon Menendez?

  He knew that Ramon had been looking forward to the evening, but as the afternoon had passed he’d found himself growing increasingly reluctant about their proposed dinner. In the end he’d cancelled their arrangements, using the excuse that something urgent had cropped up at the clinic.

  Ramon had accepted it without question, used to having his own plans disrupted by the demands of the job. However, Felipe wasn’t as confident that Rebecca would believe him, and it was the thought of her guessing that he hadn’t been able to stand being apart from her for a whole evening that made him feel so uncomfortable.

  ‘What a shame!’ she exclaimed. ‘You were looking forward to it, too.’

  ‘I was. But these things happen so there is no point worrying about them,’ he said, feeling worse because she was obviously disappointed for him.

  ‘I suppose so. Anyway, are you hungry? You must be if you’ve missed out on dinner,’ she continued, and he felt himself relax when he realised that she’
d accepted his story.

  ‘Not really,’ he replied truthfully. ‘It’s so hot tonight that I think I would prefer a swim rather than a meal.’

  ‘I was just wishing I could go for a swim,’ she said wistfully. She shrugged when he looked quizzically at her. ‘I didn’t want to miss hearing Josh if he woke up so I thought it best not to go as far as the pool.’

  ‘You could move the baby alarm onto the patio,’ he suggested, thinking how typical it was of her to put the baby’s welfare first. He felt a little flurry of pleasure run through him because it was proof that he had no need to worry what the solicitor might tell him. How could there be anything bad to say about Rebecca when he could see for himself what kind of a woman she was?

  ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ she exclaimed, laughing. ‘I suppose I’m not used to having a baby alarm. There wasn’t much need for one when Josh and I were sharing a bedroom, but it’s the perfect solution.’

  ‘Good. I’m glad that is settled.’

  Felipe smiled back because her delight was so contagious. He followed her back inside while they got changed, parting company in the hall to go to their respective bedrooms. Rebecca’s door was closed when he passed it a few minutes later so he didn’t wait for her. He didn’t want her to think that he was too eager to spend the evening with her.

  He sighed as he made his way down to the pool. He couldn’t lie to himself, though. Just the thought of having a few hours alone with her was making his blood heat, but he had to control himself. Until he’d cleared up the last little question about what she was hiding from him he had to keep his emotions in check.

  It was something he’d never had any difficulty doing in the past, but as he slid into the water he knew it was going to be a struggle. It was hard to resist temptation when it came in the form of Rebecca.

  Felipe was already in the pool by the time Becky arrived. He had switched on the perimeter lights and the water was the most glorious shade of azure blue. He swam over to the side and smiled up at her.