Bound by Their Babies

by Caroline Anderson

  ‘You can’t tell them yet,’ Em said, laughing, but Ben was heckling them from the crowd.

  ‘Too late, Emily, you’re rumbled. You’ve been drinking fizzy water, and no one’s seen you with a coffee for weeks. Did you really think you’d get away with that?’

  Everybody laughed, but it was laughter that was filled with warmth and affection, and as a light breeze off the sea caught the climbing rose and drifted petals over them like confetti, Jake turned his bride into his arms, bent his head and kissed her...

  * * * * *

  If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Caroline Anderson

  THE MIDWIFE’S LONGED-FOR BABY

  THEIR MEANT-TO-BE BABY

  RISK OF A LIFETIME

  THE SECRET IN HIS HEART

  All available now!

  Keep reading for an excerpt from FALLING FOR THE PREGNANT GP by Lucy Clark.

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  Falling for the Pregnant GP

  by Lucy Clark

  CHAPTER ONE

  CLAUDIA-JEAN NICHOLLS STOOD on tiptoe, stretching as high as she could to the top shelf. ‘Nope.’ She relaxed back with a sigh and rubbed the large baby bump. ‘It may help, little one, if you didn’t continue to stab me with your elbows. Hmm? How about giving Mummy a break?’ She stepped back to look at the item she wanted with longing. ‘Why didn’t I wear my platform shoes?’

  ‘Do they make platform shoes that high?’

  CJ turned to look at the owner of the deep voice but all she saw was a firm chest beneath a navy polo shirt. She lifted her chin to meet the man’s gaze and saw a small grin on his lips. ‘Are you teasing me about my height?’ she asked, her tone light and jovial. When you lived in a small country town, it was almost second nature to have a chat with anyone you met, even if they were a stranger.

  He shook his head, his grin widening. ‘Not at all. Merely posing a question.’

  ‘Well, to answer your question, no, I don’t think they do.’ Her own smile increased and she pointed to the item on the shelf that was out of reach. ‘Would you mind helping me, please? Coffee beans. The red bag.’ She placed a hand on her belly. ‘There are a few at the back but how they expect me to get them in my condition is beyond me. I should demand a step stool for every aisle.’

  ‘Or enlist the help of a tall friend every time you want to go shopping,’ he offered. ‘A safer option to platform shoes and step stools, especially in your condition.’ He quickly obliged, obtaining the coffee for her. ‘How tall are you?’

  ‘Five feet, two inches tall and thirty-five weeks wide.’ CJ chuckled at her own joke as she placed the coffee beans into her disorganised grocery trolley. ‘Thank you for your help.’

  ‘You’re more than welcome.’

  With another smile in his direction, she pushed her trolley a little further down the aisle, looking for the next item on her list. She could feel him still watching her and when she looked over her shoulder, almost hitting herself in the face with one of her blonde pigtails, she saw him frowning and looking down the otherwise empty aisle. ‘Something wrong?’

  ‘Er...no.’ He looked up at the sign above them. ‘This is aisle eight.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘It’s just I was told by the store manager that I’d find Dr CJ Nicholls in aisle eight.’

  ‘And you did.’ CJ spread her arms wide. ‘And then you helped her get coffee beans from a high shelf.’

  The man did a double take. ‘You’re CJ Nicholls?’

  ‘I am.’

  ‘But...but...you’re...er...too young.’ At her arched eyebrow, he quickly continued. ‘What I mean is...you look about eighteen years old.’ He shook his head, his wide grin returning. ‘You’re having a laugh, right?’

  ‘You think I look eighteen? How very flattering but add at least another twelve years to that and you’ll be right on the money.’

  ‘You’re thirty!’ The incredulity in his tone should have been flattering.

  ‘I guess wearing my hair in pigtails doesn’t help the argument that I am indeed a qualified general practitioner. It’s just that wearing my hair up gives me headaches, keeping it loose makes me hot, and I really don’t want to cut it so...’ She allowed her sentence to trail off as she held out her hand. ‘Claudia-Jean Nicholls. Dr Claudia-Jean Nicholls. I went to medical school and everything.’ Her smile was wide, bright and absolutely dazzling. Her green eyes twinkling with merriment.

  ‘Uh... Ethan Janeway.’

  ‘Oh, you’re Ethan.’ She shook his hand enthusiastically, ignoring the small wave of heat that spread up her arm at the touch. ‘I wasn’t expecting you until this evening.’ She gestured to her shopping trolley. ‘Hence the reason for this last-minute shop. There’s nothing in the cupboards.’ Why, all of a sudden, did she feel so self-conscious? Perhaps it was because she was faced with a very tall, very dark and very handsome stranger who had the most amazing blue eyes she’d ever seen. A stirring of something foreign sizzled in her tummy and it definitely wasn’t indigestion! He frowned and she flicked her pigtails back over her shoulders. ‘Problem?’

  ‘Why should it matter if there’s nothing in the cupboards?’

  CJ shrugged and glanced at her watch. ‘Whoa, look at the time.’ She started pushing the trolley and was pleased when he fell into step beside her. ‘I guess I like to eat food when I get home from work,’ she remarked, answering his previous question. ‘I naturally presumed you would, too.’

  ‘I don’t follow. Why should you be concerned with where and when I eat?’

  ‘Your lodgings, while you’re in town, are at my house.’

  ‘They’re...what now?’

  ‘I thought you knew. It was in the paperwork I sent through. We share a kitchen, laundry and lounge room.’

  ‘The paperwork stated that accommodation was provided with the job. It’s why I’m here.’ He indicated their present surroundings. ‘I went to the clinic to pick up the key for my lodgings, only to be directed here and told to find you.’ His gaze rested momentarily on her pregnancy. ‘I’m the locum to cover...maternity leave.’ He spoke the last two words slowly, as though finally realising that she was the person he was locum for.

  ‘That’s right. I’m going on maternity leave as soon as we’ve got you settled, although why Donna doesn’t think I can work up until—’ She stopped. She and Donna had had several discussions about this maternity leave, namely that CJ didn’t think she needed to take leave at all. Decreasing her workload to part time would have worked just fine but Donna had stood her ground and insisted CJ employ a locum. CJ had
finally agreed to find someone for three months, Donna had insisted upon six months. ‘Never mind. Any other questions?’

  ‘Er...do we share a bathroom?’ He glanced once more at her pregnant belly.

  ‘No.’ Her smile broadened. ‘Which is just as well because, with Junior jumping up and down on my bladder all night, I need a clear path.’

  ‘And that’s why you’re shopping? Because I’ll be living with you?’

  ‘Sharing a house,’ she corrected. ‘The bedrooms, with en suites, are at opposite ends of the house. We only finished the renovations last week.’

  ‘You and your husband?’ A small frown puckered his brow. ‘Or partner?’

  CJ dropped her gaze to her ringless fingers. ‘My husband passed away. It’s just me and the baby now.’ She flicked a pigtail over her shoulder.

  ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be...indelicate.’

  ‘You weren’t to know and, besides, Pridham is a very small town. I’m sure you’ll know all there is to know about me from the patients by the end of your first week.’ She grinned. ‘At any rate, the “we” I was referring to was myself and Brett, the builder.’ She turned into the next aisle and checked her list again, then looked at the shelves and lifted a hand dejectedly.

  ‘Why is everything on the top shelf today? I swear it’s a conspiracy to stop pregnant women from getting what they want. Ethan, would you mind getting that jar of pickles down, please?’

  ‘Cravings?’

  She grinned again. ‘Oh, yeah. Pickles and bananas are high on the list at the moment.’

  ‘Your body must be low in sodium and potassium.’

  ‘Excellent deduction, Dr Janeway. If I hadn’t already been impressed with your extensive résumé, I am now.’ She chuckled as she added a few more things to the trolley, checked her list and nodded. ‘That’s it...unless there’s something you’d really like or need?’

  He scanned the contents of the trolley before shrugging. ‘I can come back tomorrow if need be.’

  ‘OK.’ She headed for the checkout.

  ‘Ah, I see you found her,’ Idris, the store manager, said as CJ started to unload the contents of the trolley.

  ‘In aisle eight, just like you said.’ Ethan quickly took over unloading the trolley, especially when she picked up a large tub of ice cream and almost dropped it. ‘Allow me,’ he stated.

  ‘It’s OK. I can manage.’

  ‘I have no doubt but still, this one time, allow me.’ Ethan continued to put the groceries onto the checkout conveyer belt. ‘I thought, as you’re almost to term, that you would have given up work a while ago.’

  ‘Ah...the life of working in a small town. It’s definitely a vocational calling because it’s all work and no play. Plus, it’s usually very difficult to get locums to agree to come this far away from a major city for any extended period of time.’

  ‘I did.’

  ‘Which means you’re rare and valuable.’ She smiled at him as he finished emptying the trolley. ‘Thank you. It’s also nice to meet a true gentleman.’

  ‘Do you mean because I helped a pregnant woman?’ He shook his head. ‘That’s not what makes me a gentleman because in my opinion anyone, male or female, should help a pregnant woman, especially one in her last trimester.’ There was a slight vehemence to his words that CJ admired. When her phone rang, she pulled it from her pocket. ‘Dr Nicholls.’ Her words were absentminded, still thinking about what Ethan had said, but her mind quickly cleared as her practice manager’s voice came down the line.

  ‘Just a heads up, CJ. Ethan Janeway’s arrived. He came to the clinic to collect the key to the house and I told him you were at the supermarket. Did he find you?’

  ‘Yes. Yes, he found me. We’ll head back to the house so I can put the shopping away and then come over to the clinic. Nothing urgent?’

  ‘No. Just wanted to make sure you’d met our new locum.’

  ‘OK. See you soon.’ CJ disconnected the call and paid for her groceries, watching Ethan put the bags into the trolley and begin to push it outside. He was definitely considerate. Hopefully that was a good sign that he would fit well into the town, the medical practice and the shared accommodation.

  ‘Where’s your car?’

  ‘Over there.’ She pointed to the silver Mercedes.

  ‘Nice wheels.’

  She shrugged. ‘Not really my kind of car. It was my husband’s,’ she explained. ‘It gets me from here to there and, at the moment that’s all that counts.’ They unloaded the shopping...well, Ethan unloaded the shopping, glaring harshly at her when she attempted to lift a bag. ‘I used to walk most places but now...’ she rubbed the heel of her hand over a part of her abdomen, pushing gently on the little foot that was underneath her ribs ‘...it’s kind of impossible.’ She took her keys out of her handbag. ‘Did you walk or drive here?’

  ‘Drove.’

  ‘OK. Follow me in your car and we’ll take this stuff back to the house.’

  ‘Then to the clinic.’ He nodded. ‘I heard your conversation.’ With that, he headed towards a red car parked opposite hers. The car immediately drew her attention. It was vintage with a soft top and leather seats.

  ‘Wow! This is yours?’

  ‘It is.’

  CJ headed over to the vintage car and ran her fingertips lovingly over the rim of the door. The soft top was down, which gave her a complete view of the leather upholstered seats and wooden panelled dash board. ‘It’s in great condition.’

  ‘I’ve had it restored.’

  ‘Did you do it?’

  ‘Most of it but my brother’s a mechanic so I let him help.’

  ‘Big of you.’ She grinned and continued to walk around the car as she spoke, inspecting and admiring it as she went. ‘May I have a quick look at the engine?’ She’d come to stand before him, her green eyes glazed with an honest passion that Ethan found intriguing.

  ‘Of course.’ He lifted the concertina hood and stood back.

  ‘Nice cams.’

  * * *

  Ethan was momentarily taken aback by her knowledge. He’d yet to meet a woman who understood cars. Now it appeared he’d met one—a pregnant one at that. ‘Uh, thanks.’ He scratched his head. ‘How do you know so much about cars?’

  ‘My dad. He used to restore them when I was a kid.’ She shrugged one shoulder. ‘I helped.’ Her smile was still wide with delight. ‘I think I should let you know that I will be begging for a ride or two while you’re here.’

  ‘Of course,’ he said again. He lowered the hood and when she didn’t say anything else, he gestured to her car. ‘Shall we get going?’

  ‘Yes. The ice cream’s already started melting. Lucky it’s not the height of summer.’ He watched as she walked back to her car. What a unique woman. He shook his head as though to clear it from thoughts of CJ Nicholls—Dr CJ Nicholls, he corrected, who he’d discovered didn’t look a day over eighteen, was heavily pregnant and had a passion for vintage cars. Definitely not the type of woman he was usually interested in, but she was definitely intriguing.

  It wasn’t the fact that she was pregnant that was presently bothering him, but the fact that they’d be sharing a house. Being around pregnant women wasn’t his thing. He didn’t shy away from them, and he’d proved that when his brother and sister-in-law had had their second child. He’d been the dutiful uncle, visiting in hospital, cooing and making all the right noises, but at the end of the day he’d returned to the peace and quiet of his apartment.

  Living, for the next six months, in the same house with the temporarily pregnant CJ Nicholls and soon-to-be newborn baby wasn’t what he’d signed up for. He wished he’d known the intricate particulars prior to his arrival because if he had, he wouldn’t have come. Perhaps there was a hotel he could stay at, or an apartment he could rent, but both of those would take time to organise and would be ex
ceptionally expensive.

  He was still annoyed he’d been forced to take a sabbatical from the excessively busy hospital where he’d worked non-stop for the past six years. When he’d ranted and raved to his sister, Melody, rhetorically asking her what he was supposed to do with his time, especially as he’d finished working on his research project, she’d pitched the idea of being a locum in a quiet country town.

  ‘It’s four hours’ drive from Sydney. You’ll be able to breathe in fresh air, rather than city smog. You’ll be able to handle the work of a general practice with your eyes closed, and on weekends you can go for long drives in your car,’ Melody had told him.

  Ethan had to admit that the drive from Sydney to Pridham today had indeed been a relaxing one...at least after he’d managed to leave the city outskirts behind. Melody would be pleased he was trying to relax. His family had been worried about him, especially after he’d suffered a mild heart attack. ‘A warning shot across the bows,’ his cardiologist had told him. At least he was being proactive. At least he was trying to change by taking a break from his stressful job.

  All of these thoughts went through his head as he followed CJ Nicholls’s car back to her house...the house he was supposed to live in for six months. She drove carefully and responsibly, indicating with enough time for him to follow, and eventually she pulled into a driveway—with a double garage—across the road from the medical clinic and local district hospital. At least everything was nice and close.

  Ethan helped her to unpack the car and carried the groceries into the kitchen, telling her to sit down and just point to where things went. CJ poured herself a glass of water and did as he suggested, lifting her feet to rest them on one of the other chairs at the table. He needed to gather more information, to find out whether there was anywhere else he could stay. Once the shopping was put away, he leaned against the bench and watched as she sipped her water.