The Playboy of Harley Street / Doctor on the Red Carpet

by Anne Fraser

  The woman pushed the child towards Kendrick, who was forced to accept the toddler. Kendrick held it at arm’s length, a look of puzzlement on his face. Clearly he had no idea what to do with the little person he had been handed.

  Appalled, Elizabeth watched as the woman jumped into her Jeep and with a flurry of dust drove away. Turning on her heel, Elizabeth headed back to her trailer.

  Inside she sat on her bed, trying to get her thumping heart under control. Kendrick had a child, one that he was clearly trying to avoid taking responsibility for. He was a snake. Not much better than Simon, and it was good she had discovered this now. What had she been thinking when she’d thought he was different? Her judgement when it came to men was clearly flawed.

  She stood up and began to pace. Okay, so she had misjudged Kendrick. Where did that leave her? She had coped on her own before and she could do so again.

  She picked up the photograph of Charlie and held it to her. Her heart ached as she remembered her little girl looking up at her with trusting eyes, relying on Mummy to take the pain away, to make everything better. But she hadn’t been able to. She’d had no option but to watch Charlie suffer. And that despicable man outside couldn’t even be bothered to look after his child for one day. More importantly, could she let another child of hers go through that again?

  Hating the way she felt disappointed in Kendrick, realising now how much she’d wanted him to be different and wondering if she’d ever be able to look at another child without feeling torn in two, Elizabeth sat down on the bed and sobbed.

  Once she had cried herself out, she washed her face and repaired her make-up. She still had a job to do. Filming was due to start and after that she would be in her trailer for any of the cast who needed medical advice. Whatever she decided to do, whatever agonies of indecision she was going through would have to be put aside until she was alone again.

  Walking back onto the set, she saw that whoever the woman with the child was had got her way. Kendrick was sitting outside his trailer, looking on with bemusement as Josh walked up and down, trying to comfort the child, who was screaming as if its heart would break.

  Whatever Josh was trying to do clearly wasn’t working. The cries ripped through Elizabeth and she tried to close her ears. This wasn’t her problem. Hadn’t she come here so that she wouldn’t have to face children? Steeling her heart, she went to pass by but Josh called out to her.

  ‘Doc, could you help us here? I think Kip is in pain. Something serious has to be up with the kid.’

  Elizabeth stopped in her tracks and sighed. She had no choice. It was possible that the child was in pain, although she doubted it. The cries sounded much more like those of a toddler who was overtired or hungry, or both. Nevertheless, whatever her own feelings, she couldn’t stand by and ignore a distressed infant.

  ‘Let me have a look,’ she said.

  Kendrick was waving his car keys in front of the child’s face, but if he thought that was going to do anything to calm it down he was badly mistaken. Instead, the cries rose in pitch and the little face screwed up with fury.

  Elizabeth removed the screaming infant from Josh’s arms. Almost immediately, as if the child knew he was in the hands of someone who knew what they were doing, the cries tailed off. Brown eyes fixed on hers.

  ‘Name?’ Elizabeth said brusquely. The familiar feel of a small warm body in her arms, the particular baby smell, the familiar look of trust and entreaty, was breaking her up inside.

  ‘Kip,’ Kendrick said. ‘What’s up with him? I didn’t know something that small could make a sound so loud.’ He pulled a hand through his hair. In the time that Elizabeth had been gone he seemed to have aged. He wasn’t the cool, collected Kendrick of earlier. In his place was a man who looked at the end of his tether.

  ‘I think Kip might be hungry, or sleepy, or—’ she wrinkled her nose as the smell of ammonia drifted up her nostrils ‘—wet. Most likely all three. Do you have nappies? Food?’

  Kendrick looked around as if expecting to find those things behind him. He turned impassioned eyes on Elizabeth. ‘Where am I supposed to find those things?’

  ‘What about the bag Kendall left for you?’ Josh interrupted. He was looking more relaxed now that Elizabeth had appeared.

  ‘Oh, yes. Of course.’ Kendrick lifted a small leather bag from the ground next to him. ‘I think it’s all in here.’

  Elizabeth balanced a hiccupping Kip on her hip and dug around in the bag. There were disposable nappies, bottles and a change of clothes. She hauled out one of the bottles and handed it to Josh. ‘Could you get some boiled water and add it to the powder? Then bring it back. C’mon, Kendrick, let’s go inside so you can change your son.’ At his look of incredulity she snapped, ‘You’ll have to learn some time.’ She was so angry with him she could barely talk.

  ‘Son?’ Kendrick said. Then he laughed. ‘You think that bundle of fury belongs to me? You have to be kidding.’

  ‘He’s not yours?’ Elizabeth tried to ignore the feeling of relief that swept through her.

  ‘He’s my nephew,’ Kendrick said. ‘His mother, my sister, just dumped him on me. Said she has an audition she just can’t miss. I’m to take him to my parents’ ranch. Apparently my harebrained sister didn’t have time.’

  ‘Then,’ Elizabeth said firmly, ‘he does belong to you. As his uncle it’s your responsibility to look after him.’ She walked into his trailer, leaving him to follow.

  It was the first time she’d been inside his trailer and she looked around with interest. Almost the mirror image of hers, it was tidy. A guitar was set against a wall, the bed neatly made and the counter clear of dishes. It reminded her of army barracks. Clearly his time in the forces had left its mark on Kendrick.

  She placed a tearstained Kip on the sofa and undid his nappy. She handed the sodden bundle to Kendrick, who couldn’t have treated it with more dismay had she passed him a hand grenade.

  She used the wipes she had found in the bag Kendall had left and soon had Kip a clean nappy. As she worked, the child’s large brown eyes clung to hers and she found herself talking to him in a low, soothing voice.

  ‘It’s okay, baby. We’ll soon have you feeling all comfy again. Then we’ll give you your bottle and you can have a sleep. Mummy will be back tomorrow and in the meantime Uncle Kendrick …’ she slid a look at Uncle Kendrick, who was watching her with a confused look on his face ‘… will look after you.’

  ‘Can’t you?’ Kendrick said helplessly. ‘I mean, I don’t know how to look after a baby. Besides, I have to work. How can I work while looking after a baby? It’s just not possible.’

  ‘When did you last see your nephew, Kendrick?’ Elizabeth asked. ‘Doesn’t he know you at all?’

  ‘I saw him after he was born. He’s changed since then. I would hardly know this is the same kid.’

  ‘Then you’ll have to learn how to look after him. At least until you take him to your parents'. I have to work too, so I can’t look after him for you.’

  Not just wouldn’t—couldn’t. Every moment she spent with this baby was tearing her in two.

  Josh arrived back holding a full bottle of formula triumphantly. ‘Sorted,’ he said. ‘What do we do now?’

  Elizabeth chose to ignore that ‘we'—at least for the time being. For now, she needed to ensure Kip was fed and put down for a nap. After that it was up to Kendrick.

  She tested the milk on the inside of her wrist. Too hot. It needed a few minutes to cool down.

  She pointed to Kendrick and then to the single armchair in the room. ‘Sit there.’

  Kendrick looked mutinous, but did as he was told.

  Elizabeth placed Kip in his arms, and her heart cracked a little as the tiny boy was dwarfed in Kendrick’s muscular arms. He was holding the child away from his body as if unsure what to do with him. Elizabeth suppressed a smile.

  ‘He’s not a sack of potatoes or live ammunition, you know. Hold him close to you.’ She leaned over Kendrick and adjusted t
he child in his arms until he was lying snugly against Kendrick’s chest. Kip smiled at his uncle, revealing two front teeth.

  ‘Hey, did you see that?’ Kendrick said, a note of wonder in his voice. ‘The kid actually smiled at me. I think he likes me. Hey, kid, maybe later I can take you for a ride. Would you like that? Go on a horse with your Uncle Kendrick?’

  ‘He’s too small to go on a horse, Kendrick,’ Elizabeth said. ‘Here’s his bottle. Tip it up so he doesn’t suck on air.’

  Kendrick did as he was told and soon Kip was sucking hungrily. Elizabeth watched them for a moment. The sight of macho Kendrick holding the little boy was incongruous, yet melted her inside. This was how he would be with his own child. Eventually. Once he had some training. And if that child wasn’t disabled. She couldn’t imagine someone as sure of his own masculinity, so physical, coping with a child who wasn’t. She could barely see him with a child who was fit and healthy.

  Kendrick glowered at Josh, who was standing watching with a broad smile on his face. ‘If you so much as breathe a whisper of this to the others, I’ll have your guts.’

  ‘Hey, you’re a natural. What is there to be embarrassed about?’

  Kendrick tried to squint at his watch without disturbing the feeding child. ‘We need to be on set in ten minutes.’ He looked hopefully at Elizabeth. ‘Do you think he’ll be finished by then?’

  ‘What? So you can leave him sleeping in the trailer? On his own?’

  ‘Hell, I never thought of that. I don’t suppose you …?’

  ‘No, Kendrick. I have my own job to do. I can’t look after a child.’ Can’t. Won’t. Didn’t want to. ‘He’s your responsibility. All yours.’

  ‘I wonder if Imogen will look after him.’

  ‘Imogen is in the next take,’ Josh said. ‘You’re not.’

  ‘In that case, I’ll have to bring him on to the set with us. There must be something we can put him in.’

  Elizabeth was exasperated. Did Kendrick really have no idea? But as long as the child came to no harm, it was none of her business. As she turned to leave them to it, she couldn’t resist another quick peek. Now that he was fed and changed, Kip’s eyes had softened and half closed as he surrendered to sleep.

  Elizabeth swallowed the lump in her throat. Although she knew she could never risk having another child, it didn’t mean she didn’t long for another baby deep down inside. She blinked away the hot tears that burned behind her eyes. Hadn’t she resolved to make the best of her life, to make the most of the cards she’d been dealt? There was no point in wishing for what she could never have.

  Later that afternoon Elizabeth found herself in a Jeep with Kendrick and Kip. Not for the first time, she wondered why she’d let Kendrick persuade her to come with them to the ranch. The reason she had given herself—that she couldn’t leave a defenceless child to the ministrations of his uncle—wasn’t entirely true. She was curious to see where Kendrick had been brought up. But that wasn’t totally true either. She was here because she wanted to be with Kendrick. Filming was due to finish soon and then Kendrick would walk out of her life for good. The thought was almost unbearable. How could she have let herself fall for this man? Hadn’t she sworn to herself that she would never depend on anyone again, never lay herself open to being hurt? Yet here she was with a man who could only break her heart. And do it without noticing.

  ‘Here we are,’ Kendrick said as they turned into a dust road. His face was set, his usual grin absent. He didn’t look happy about being home.

  Elizabeth couldn’t see anything that looked like a ranch. All she could see were miles of fields with horses feeding contentedly.

  ‘Hey, Kip. Do you see the horses?’ Kendrick asked. But Kip was too busy looking the other way. At a clump of grass or a tree that must have caught his attention.

  ‘Are they yours?’ Elizabeth asked.

  ‘My father’s,’ Kendrick said tightly. ‘He owns around thirty. Some he uses for stud, the others on the ranch.’

  ‘So he’s a cowboy,’ Elizabeth said, trying to make Kendrick smile. She was nervous enough, without dealing with the tension that was rolling from Kendrick in waves.

  ‘Mmm. He doesn’t do much of that. Luckily he leaves it to the guys who know what they’re doing.’

  After driving for another ten minutes along the bumpy track they pulled up outside a low-slung, sprawling ranch house. In front of the house and to their right was a paddock where a man who looked every inch a cowboy was standing in the centre as a horse galloped in a circle around him on a long rope. Every now and again the horse would lift its rear legs and kick the air as if frustrated.

  Kendrick leaped out of the car and called over. ‘Hey, Tim, how’s it going?’ He reached into the back seat and with some difficulty removed Kip from his baby seat. Holding him awkwardly in his arms, he went over and opened the car door for Elizabeth. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him she was perfectly able to manage opening a car door herself but she bit back the words.

  ‘Let’s go and see what Tim’s up to,’ Kendrick said.

  Elizabeth had no idea whether he was addressing her or the toddler but followed him across to the paddock fence. Kendrick perched Kip on the fence so he could see what was happening.

  The horse reared when he saw them and Tim struggled to hold onto the rope.

  ‘Looks like you need a hand there,’ Kendrick said. A smile was playing in the corner of his mouth.

  ‘He’s a tough one,’ Tim grunted. ‘I’ve been trying to get a saddle on him this last week, but he’s having none of it.’

  ‘Could you hold Kip for a bit?’ Kendrick asked. Before Elizabeth had time to protest, Kendrick was holding Kip towards her and she had no choice but to take the toddler from him. Kip reached out a chubby fist and grabbed the front of Elizabeth’s blouse, twisting around so he could follow Kendrick with his eyes.

  The feeling of the child in her arms made her throat tighten.

  Kendrick vaulted over the fence and strode towards Tim. ‘He doesn’t trust you yet,’ he said. ‘Want me to give it a go?’

  ‘You’re the boss man,’ Tim said. ‘If anyone can get him to settle, it’ll be you.’

  The horse had come to a halt and was breathing heavily, its flanks tipped with frothy sweat. As Kendrick walked towards him the horse sidestepped and rolled his eyes.

  ‘Hey, big fellow,’ Kendrick said softly. ‘No one’s going to hurt you. No one’s going to make you do anything you don’t want to.’

  The horse lowered its head and snorted, still eyeing Kendrick warily. Elizabeth held her breath. If the horse reared and caught Kendrick with one of its hooves, it could be nasty. Very nasty. She wanted to call him back, but she forced herself to swallow the words. Any sudden noise might make the horse react and do the very thing she dreaded. Kip was pointing and saying a stream of words in his own baby language. Elizabeth found herself squeezing him tighter. The warm body tucked against her felt painfully good.

  Kendrick was still approaching the horse, talking quietly. As he spoke the horse calmed, its snorting and rolling eyes becoming still. Its ears pricked up and it looked at Kendrick. Tim had backed away before vaulting over the fence, and came to stand next to Elizabeth.

  ‘Hey, Kip,’ he said. ‘How d’you do, ma’am?’ He tipped a finger to his hat, making Elizabeth smile. It seemed as if she’d moved from one movie set to another.

  Men were beginning to gather around. Without saying anything, except nodding in Elizabeth’s direction, they positioned themselves along the fence to watch Kendrick.

  ‘Bet you fifty dollars he doesn’t get the saddle on Satan,’ one of the watching ranch hands said to Tim.

  Satan? The horse was called Satan. Elizabeth was torn between covering her eyes or Kip’s so that they wouldn’t have to watch.

  ‘Bet you a hundred he saddles him and rides him,’ Tim said calmly.

  ‘Ain’t no one can ride that crazy animal. Not even Kendrick,’ the man replied. ‘But if you want to t
hrow your money away, don’t let me stop you.’

  There was a flurry of activity while money changed hands. It seemed that all the watching men wanted to bet on whether Kendrick would be killed. If Elizabeth could have stopped this, she would have. On the other hand, she had seen enough of Kendrick in action to know that if anyone could do what the men were betting on, it would be him.

  By this time Kendrick was stroking Satan’s neck, still talking in a low voice. The horse nickered and tossed its head, but otherwise remained calm.

  Kendrick held the rope near the horse’s head and walked him around for a little while.

  ‘Can you bring me a saddle?’ he called over to Tim.

  Tim cast a told-you-so look at the others and, picking up a saddle from the fence, carried it across to Kendrick. Satan skipped sideways again as he approached but Kendrick soothed him until he was standing still again. Kendrick waited until Tim was once more on the other side of the fence before he placed the saddle on the horse’s back.

  Elizabeth held her breath. Kip moved his hand and grabbed hold of her bottom lip and clung on for dear life. Elizabeth was too mesmerised at what was happening a few yards away to try and move his hand.

  Feeling the weight of the saddle, Satan rose on his hind legs, scrabbling at the air with his front hooves and only narrowly missing Kendrick’s head.

  Undeterred, Kendrick waited until he calmed a little. There was another flurry of movement beside her as more money changed hands.

  Then, with one easy movement, Kendrick leaped onto Satan’s back. This time the horse reacted. Bucking and rearing as he broke into a canter. But Kendrick held on. Round and round they went until the horse stopped bucking and settled into a smoother gait. Then Kendrick turned Satan towards the fence and with an almost undetectable movement of his feet sent the horse soaring up and over the fence and into the plains stretching into the distance. As horse and rider disappeared there was a collective sigh from everyone watching.

  ‘Okay, everyone, pay up and get back to work,’ Tim said, holding out his hand.

  ‘Will they be okay?’ Elizabeth asked. ‘I mean, what if Kendrick comes off? What if he hurts himself?’ She tried to act as if her concern was nothing more than the natural concern of one human for another but judging by the speculative look in Tim’s eyes he wasn’t convinced.