Adam's Daughter

by Jennifer Taylor

  ‘I’ve had women tell me that HRT has literally changed their lives,’ Beth assured her. ‘As well as controlling the hot flushes and night sweats, which are so distressing, it helps to prevent osteoporosis—or thinning of the bones—and atherosclerosis, which is narrowing of the arteries. Plus, it does prevent dryness of the vagina which can make sexual intercourse very painful after the menopause.’

  Hilary blushed. ‘That isn’t something I need to worry about. I’m afraid that if Mr Right is out there, I certainly haven’t come across him yet!’

  ‘There’s still time,’ Beth said, laughing as she pressed a dressing over the small puncture mark in the crook of Hilary’s arm. ‘That’s it, then. We should get the results of the blood tests in a few days’ time so make an appointment to see Dr Knight on your way out.’

  ‘I shall. Thank you.’ Hilary slipped on her jacket and smiled mischievously at Beth. ‘Now there’s a man who would come top of my list for the title of Mr Right. Lucky you, getting to work with Dr Knight every day!’

  Beth murmured some appropriate reply but she couldn’t help sighing after she had seen Hilary out. Adam would come top of many women’s lists, she would imagine, but would he be at all interested to know that?

  The rest of the day flew past. There was a baby clinic that afternoon, which Adam had offered to take instead of Chris. Beth got everything set up before she went for her lunch, knowing that she wouldn’t have time after she got back from the hospital. Adam had a patient with him so she decided that it was pointless waiting to see if he wanted to go with her. She was always pushed for time because it was a good twenty-minute drive to the hospital.

  She spent a quarter of an hour with Hannah then drove back to Winton, cursing roundly when she found herself stuck in a traffic jam. The Willows hotel had been extended recently and workmen were digging up the road outside. It was obviously a rush job because there was a huge banner in front of the place, announcing that the new bar and restaurant would be opening that evening. By the time she managed to get through the hold-up she was fifteen minutes late arriving at the surgery.

  Adam had just shown the first patient into his room, and he looked up when Beth appeared. ‘Can you find me Laura Watson’s notes, please? They don’t appear to be amongst the ones Eileen has left for me.’

  Although his tone was pleasant enough, she couldn’t help noticing the rather grim set to his mouth when he addressed her. Her heart sank because it was obvious that he wasn’t pleased about her being late.

  ‘Of course,’ she replied, deeming it better to leave her apology for later rather than waste any more time. She hurriedly found the baby’s notes and took them back to him.

  ‘Thanks.’ Adam skimmed through the child’s record then turned to her mother. ‘I see from this that Laura was born six weeks premature, Mrs Watson.’

  ‘That’s right, Doctor,’ the young mother agreed. ‘The hospital kept her in the intensive care unit for over a month because she had trouble breathing.’

  ‘That’s a fairly common complication with prem babies,’ Adam assured her. ‘How has she been since you brought her home?’

  ‘Fine. She takes her feeds without any trouble now and she seems to be gaining weight at a rate of knots!’

  He laughed as he lifted the baby from her mother’s knee and gently deposited her in the scales. ‘She certainly looks well. Let’s see how much weight she’s gained since the last time you brought her into the clinic.’

  He quickly adjusted the scales then smiled. ‘Six ounces. Not bad going, I’d say.’

  Beth quickly noted the baby’s weight and the date on her chart while he handed Laura back to her proud mother.

  ‘You’re obviously doing a great job with Laura, Mrs Watson. I know she had a bit of a setback when she was born, but she’ll soon catch up. Most prem babies make up any ground they lost within the first year,’ he told her in his usual calmly reassuring manner. ‘Next time you come to the clinic we’ll start Laura off on her immunisation programme.’

  ‘That’s something I wanted to ask you about,’ Julia Watson said worriedly as she began slipping the baby back into her clothes. ‘I’ve heard so many conflicting views about those injections that I don’t know what to believe, quite honestly.’

  ‘The risks of vaccination are far less than the risks of damage from disease,’ he replied evenly. ‘Obviously, it’s a decision only you and your husband can make at the end of the day, but I do believe that it’s important to have a child immunised.’

  ‘But is there any point in having it done?’ Julia Watson persisted. ‘I mean, nowadays there are all sorts of antibiotics to treat these diseases with, so what point is there in having a child vaccinated against them?’

  ‘Because the antibiotics available to us don’t always work. If, for instance, whooping cough is recognised early enough then erythromycin can be given and can shorten the period of illness,’ he explained patiently. ‘However, it doesn’t actually cure the whooping cough. I’ve seen babies die of the disease because they developed complications such as pneumonia.’

  ‘Oh, I hadn’t realised that!’ Julia Watson shuddered. ‘You tend to get a bit complacent, don’t you? Expect that there’s a cure for everything, but that’s not always the case.’

  ‘No, it isn’t, I’m afraid,’ he said flatly.

  Beth knew immediately that he was thinking about Hannah. Even if Hannah had a bone-marrow transplant, there were no guarantees that she would be cured.

  She longed to say something to him, a few words of reassurance, but there was no time as he set about explaining the vaccination programme to Laura’s mother. Each baby was given a combined injection against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough at two, three and four months of age. Another injection was also given to immunise the child against Haemophilus influenzae B, the bacterium responsible for epiglottitis and meningitis. The vaccine to safeguard against polio was administered orally at the same time.

  ‘I know that you must be worried about making the right decision for Laura, Mrs Watson, but I strongly advise you to have her vaccinated.’ He turned to Beth. ‘Do we have any leaflets on the vaccination programme, do you know? It’s always helpful to have something to refer to.’

  ‘There’s some in this folder.’ Beth found one of the information leaflets and handed it to Julia.

  Adam smiled approvingly. ‘Good. I should have known that you’d have everything to hand.’

  She smiled back at him, relieved that he seemed to have forgiven her for being late back from lunch. She quickly removed the paper sheet from the scales and popped a fresh one into place while he saw Julia out. Maybe it was foolish but it felt as though the day had grown that little bit brighter.

  The baby clinic came to an end at last then it was time for evening surgery. Beth worked her way through her list, wondering when she was ever going to get to the end of it. When she left her room to fetch a batch of forms that she had run short of, she could see that the waiting room was packed. By the time they finished just before seven everyone was worn out.

  ‘The days just seem to get busier,’ Chris exclaimed, following her into the office with a stack of cards for filing. ‘It’s fast reaching the point where we won’t be able to cope.’

  ‘I agree.’ Adam had come into the office behind them and had heard what Chris had said. ‘As soon as Jonathan is well enough I intend to broach the idea of taking on another partner.’

  ‘Do you think Dr Wright will agree?’ Beth queried.

  ‘I don’t think he’ll have any choice.’ Adam shrugged. ‘It’s obvious that the surgery is drastically understaffed. We not only need another GP but we need closer links with the community nurses’ department as well. A lot of the people you deal with in the surgery, Beth, should be seen at home by a community nurse.

  ‘Then there’s all the office work that has to be done. Eileen does a superb job but she needs help. We need another receptionist plus an office manager to deal with all the paperwork that
’s piling up.’

  Chris whistled. ‘You’re talking about making some major changes around here. I’m all for it, frankly, but I don’t know how Jonathan will feel. It took me long enough to persuade him to buy in an on-call service outside surgery hours.’

  ‘I think Jonathan will have to bow to the inevitable. This practice cannot carry on functioning the way it has been, with people running themselves ragged trying to keep on top of all the work,’ Adam stated bluntly.

  ‘Amen to that,’ Chris said immediately. ‘By the way, have you had any luck finding a locum?’

  ‘I’ve got someone coming tomorrow as it happens, a fellow by the name of Benedict Cole. I spoke to him on the phone this afternoon and I’m hopeful, shall I say.’ He clapped Chris on the shoulder. ‘It might be a bit premature but maybe you can think about packing those suitcases soon.’

  Chris laughed. ‘They’re already packed! I’ve no idea where I’m going, mind, but that doesn’t matter so long as I get away from here. The only thing that’s keeping me going at the moment is the thought of this break!’

  Adam laughed as Chris sketched them a wave and left. However, his expression was thoughtful when he turned to Beth. ‘Let’s hope this holiday does him good otherwise I get the impression that Chris might consider giving up medicine altogether.’

  ‘Do you really think so? It would be such a shame if he did,’ she said worriedly. ‘Eileen told me when I first started working here how dedicated Chris is to his job.’

  ‘Maybe he is, but there comes a point when everyone has to face the fact that they need more than just work in their lives.’ He shrugged but she wasn’t deaf to the rather hollow note in his voice all of a sudden. ‘I think Chris has realised that, and it’s all part of the problem.’

  ‘I’m sure you’re right,’ she agreed softly, wondering if he was thinking about his own circumstances. Like Chris Andrews, Adam had dedicated his life to his work up till now, but had he come to realise that he needed more out of life, like a home and family and someone to love?

  Maybe he had found the first two by coming back to Winton and finding Hannah, but would he ever find a woman he could love as much as Claire?

  She sighed, realising how often that thought had plagued her of late. It was a bit like having a sore tooth—she kept prodding away at it instead of leaving it alone. But it was the reason why she found it so difficult to deal with that worried her most of all.

  It hurt to know that Adam might still be in love with Claire, and it hurt more than anything had ever hurt before, including her break-up with Ian. On one hand she wished that she understood why it should cause her such pain, whilst on the other she knew that it would be a mistake to start looking for an answer. Some questions were best left alone!

  Hannah was sitting up in bed when they arrived at the hospital that night. Adam had driven them both there, claiming that it was pointless going in separate cars, and it hadn’t seemed worth arguing. Now, as she hurried into Hannah’s room, Beth felt her spirits lift. Although Hannah still looked rather pale and heavy-eyed, she was obviously much better that evening.

  She went straight to the bed and gave the child a hug. ‘Hello, darling. How are you tonight? You look a lot better, I must say.’

  ‘I don’t feel sick now,’ Hannah told her. Her face suddenly broke into a huge smile as Adam came into the room. The sister on duty that night had stopped him as they had been passing the office so Beth had gone on ahead.

  ‘Adam! I thought you weren’t coming,’ Hannah exclaimed in delight.

  ‘Wild horses couldn’t have kept me away!’ he declared with a smile. However, Beth could tell that something was troubling him and her heart turned over as she wondered what the sister had told him.

  It was impossible to question him in front of Hannah, of course, so she bided her time. They stayed with the child for almost an hour then left when it became obvious that she was getting tired. There were a lot of visitors leaving at the same time so Beth waited until they were out of the building before asking him what the sister had wanted to speak to him about.

  ‘The results of the blood tests are back. Charles Guest left a message, asking me to make an appointment to see him as soon as possible.’

  ‘Did the sister give you any indication whether it was good news?’ she asked anxiously.

  ‘No. You know what hospital etiquette is like. It’s left to the consultant to break the news.’ He grimaced. ‘I keep wondering what’s going to happen if I’m not a suitable donor for Hannah. After that scare she’s just had, it’s more imperative than ever that she gets this transplant.’

  ‘It is,’ Beth agreed. ‘We’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed, I suppose. When have you arranged to see Mr Guest?’

  ‘Tomorrow afternoon at 2.30. I was hoping that you’d come with me.’ He summoned a smile but she could tell how anxious he was. ‘I could do with a bit of moral support, to be honest.’

  ‘Of course I’ll come. It’s my free afternoon because I’m working this Saturday, so there’s no problem about that.’

  ‘And Chris has agreed to cover for me any time that I need to come to the hospital,’ he informed her, unlocking the car door.

  ‘You’ve told him about Hannah, then?’ she asked as she slid into the seat.

  ‘Yes. You don’t mind, do you?’ He turned to look at her as he got into the driver’s side.

  ‘Of course not. I was going to ask you if you intended to tell people about her, in fact.’

  ‘If I was going to tell people? What do you mean by that?’

  She shrugged, feeling a little uncomfortable when she heard the edge in his voice. ‘I wasn’t sure what you intended to do. I mean, this situation has come right out of the blue, hasn’t it? I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want people to know that you are Hannah’s father.’

  ‘I have no intention of hiding the fact, I can assure you.’ He started the engine with a roar that hinted at his displeasure. ‘It wasn’t my decision to stay out of her life, if you recall.’

  ‘I know that and I wasn’t trying to imply that it was.’ She sighed. ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I was just trying to be…well, discreet, I suppose. People are bound to be curious about what’s happened and I just didn’t want you to be put on the spot by having to answer a lot of awkward questions.’

  His expression softened. ‘And I’m sorry for snapping at you like that when you were only trying to help.’ Reaching over, he took hold of her hand. ‘Friends?’

  She laughed when he treated her to a hang-dog look. ‘Of course!’

  ‘Good.’ He let go of her hand as they came to a junction. ‘I’d hate to think that we might fall out, Beth, when we both want the same thing.’

  ‘Me, too. Hannah’s welfare is our number-one priority and everything else has to take second place to that,’ she agreed lightly.

  He flicked her a smile. ‘It does for now, anyway.’

  She wasn’t sure what he had meant by that but before she could ask him to explain he suddenly groaned.

  ‘Hell’s teeth! I was supposed to go to the airport yesterday to collect my luggage. I’d forgotten all about it!’

  She laughed at his rueful expression. ‘It’s no wonder, bearing in mind the day we had.’

  ‘I suppose not.’ He frowned as he pulled out of the junction. ‘I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to go now. It will probably be the weekend before I have any free time. I know I bought some clothes to tide me over but I really could do with some of the stuff in my cases.’

  ‘Why not go tonight?’ she suggested. ‘I know it’s late but there’s bound to be someone at the airport who can help you. They have flights going out at all hours.’

  ‘Brilliant idea! Why didn’t I think of it? But would you mind if I went straight away? It seems pointless driving all the way back to Winton when we’re halfway to the airport.’

  He gave her a beguiling smile. ‘And as an added inducement, I’ll treat you to a drink when
we get back, so you’ll not only have a tour of the lost-property department to look forward to but the pleasure of my company for an extra hour.’

  ‘Oh, how could I possibly refuse such a tempting offer?’ she replied, trying to quell the sudden pounding of her heart. After all, it wasn’t as if he’d asked her out on a date! she told herself sternly, but it didn’t seem to help.

  ‘Stick with me, kid, and I’ll show you a good time,’ he growled in his best gangster voice, making her laugh.

  ‘I’ll believe you, although thousands wouldn’t!’

  ‘Then it’s a good job that I’m not interested in their opinions,’ he stated in a tone that made a frisson ripple through her.

  Beth took a deep breath as he turned the car onto the motorway slip-road but it did little to quell the feeling of excitement that was making her blood fizz like champagne. Maybe Adam hadn’t meant anything by that comment but she didn’t want to believe it. She wanted to believe that she was special to him.

  The thought was enough to make those bubbles start popping all over again!

  ‘Thanks anyway…No, really. There’s no need to worry. I’m sure they’ll turn up eventually.’

  Beth smothered her grin when Adam tried to edge away as the girl behind the enquiry desk broke into another bout of abject apologies. It appeared that his luggage had mysteriously disappeared once again and nobody knew where it had gone this time. As he came to join her, she couldn’t contain her amusement any longer.

  ‘Ever get the feeling that those cases are jinxed?’

  ‘I most certainly do!’ he declared, rolling his eyes. ‘I can’t believe they’ve gone missing again. The person I spoke to the other day swore that once they had them back here they would lock them away!’

  ‘They could have been liberated,’ she suggested, her tongue very firmly in her cheek. ‘There’s a lot of strange people about so who knows if someone didn’t take pity on them?’

  ‘That’s it!’ He stopped dead and stared at her, laughter making his blue eyes sparkle. ‘The SLF have freed them from oppression.’