‘Oh, how awful! But that makes it even more important that she knows how much you love her. She might feel jealous about having to share you with another child and I don’t want her to get hurt.’
‘She won’t. We won’t let her be hurt—you, me and this baby we’re having. We’ll give her all the love and stability she could possibly need.’
He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and dried her tears then kissed her again. Helen clung to him, needing the reassurance of his arms around her because she still wasn’t convinced. He must have sensed that she still had reservations because he sighed as he led her to the couch.
‘Let’s sit down and talk about this properly. I can’t think straight when I kiss you and this is one time when I need a clear head.’
She sighed wistfully as she sat down beside him. ‘I knew it would cause a problem if I told you.’
‘Which is why you decided to sell up and leave.’ He took her hands and held them tightly. ‘I’m just glad that I found out. I can’t bear to imagine what might have happened if you’d gone through with your plan, my darling. I’d have lost you and our baby.’
‘I’m sorry. I wasn’t doing it to hurt you—just the opposite, in fact.’
‘I know.’ He kissed the tip of her nose, making it plain that he didn’t blame her. ‘We’ve both made mistakes. I shouldn’t have made such a big thing about keeping our relationship quiet. Then you would have realised sooner how important you are to me and not had to go through all the worry of thinking you had to leave your home.’
‘You did it for Kristy so don’t blame yourself. And I didn’t want to start any rumours flying, don’t forget.’ She sighed as she snuggled up against him. ‘The gossips are going to have a field day when they find out.’
‘Are you worried because you don’t want it to seem as though you are letting Ian down in some way?’ he asked gently.
‘Not at all. Oh, I admit that I clung on to his ideas in the surgery for a lot longer than I should have done, but it was out of fear more than anything else. I was afraid to admit how empty my life was so I filled up the time with lots of extra jobs.’ She drew back so she could look at him because she didn’t want there to be any mistake about what she was saying. ‘Ian was a good man and I cared about him, but I definitely never felt this way about him.’
She kissed him on the mouth, letting her actions explain how she truly felt. The kiss lasted for a long time and they were both trembling when it ended.
‘I love you so much, Helen. I can’t believe how stupid we’ve been. We were so busy tiptoeing around one another that we couldn’t see the wood for the trees, if you’ll excuse all those mixed metaphors.’
She laughed. ‘I’ll let you off just this once.’
‘So long as I don’t mix up my metaphors or my words ever again.’ He pulled her to him and smiled into her eyes. ‘I shall be very clear from now on so watch my lips, Dr Daniels. I love you and I refuse to let you leave me or Summerfield. Even if it causes umpteen problems we will solve them together. So now there’s no reason why we can’t get married, is there?’
‘Married?’ She stared at him in shock. ‘Married?’
‘If you’ll have me, of course, which I hope you will.’ He dropped to his knees, his eyes full of love and laughter as he stared up at her. ‘Maybe it’s this room but I feel the need to do this properly, so…Helen Daniels, will you do me the honour of agreeing to become my wife?’
Helen giggled, then she laughed, and then she sobbed. ‘Yes…oh, yes, yes!’
‘That’s all I needed to hear.’ He stood up and swept her into his arms. She gasped as he carried her out of the room and along the hall.
‘Where are you taking me?’
‘Home. To my house.’ He dropped a kiss on her lips then set her on her feet. ‘From this point on that is where you’ll be living. With me and Kristy. And I’m sure that she will grow to love you as much as I do. We are going to be a proper family—you, me, Kristy and our baby.’
Tears sparkled in her eyes as she reached up and kissed him. ‘I can’t think of anything I want more than to spend my life with you.’
‘Me neither,’ he whispered as he kissed her back. ‘Me neither.’
He drew back and she could see the joy in his face. ‘I’ll just fetch Kristy then we can go home and start our new life together.’
ISBN: 978-1-4603-5858-0
IN HIS LOVING CARE
First North American Publication 2006
Copyright © 2006 by Jennifer Taylor
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In His Loving Care Page 19
