Adam's Daughter

by Jennifer Taylor

  ‘Whoa! Steady on.’ He laughed deeply. ‘What a very vivid imagination you have, my love. Let’s start at the beginning and get this all sorted out once and for all. I was never in love with Claire. I liked her and I was very sad when I heard that she’d been killed. We got together almost by accident when she heard me speaking about Winton, as I told you.

  ‘I’d just come out of a long-term relationship and so had she. It gave us a kind of bond. Maybe it was inevitable that we should have an affair because we were both on the rebound, I think. However, we realised almost immediately that we were making a mistake.’

  ‘So when you spoke about having been let down you weren’t referring to Claire?’ she asked in surprise.

  ‘No. It was someone else entirely.’

  ‘Who was she? You must have loved her a lot if the relationship had such an effect on you,’ she said wistfully.

  ‘Her name was Jane and at the time I thought that my world had ended when we broke up. She was a solicitor and she had no intention of going globe-trotting, which was what I intended doing.’ Adam gave a sudden laugh. ‘Actually, that should have been a good indication that I wasn’t quite so crazy about her as I thought, because it never entered my head to stay in England so that I could be with her!’

  ‘But you said that you’d put off any hopes of having a family because of the failure of that relationship,’ she reminded him, trying to understand.

  ‘I know I did. It’s what I’d told myself for years. I think it was easier than having to face the fact that, apart from my work, there was so little else in my life.’ He bent and kissed Beth softly. ‘I got over Jane a long time ago. I can barely remember what she looked like, in fact.’

  ‘So Claire was right about you two, then?’ she said in wonderment.

  ‘She was. She was right about a lot of things, even about her decision to put off telling me about Hannah,’ he admitted. ‘I would have married her if I’d known she was pregnant but it wouldn’t have worked, and she knew that.’

  ‘Oh, Adam, I don’t know what to say! I’ve tortured myself with the thought that you were still in love with Claire. I even wondered if you only made love to me because of that.’

  ‘What a mess. But everything is sorted out now, isn’t it? You do believe me when I say that I love you?’ he pleaded.

  ‘I do.’

  ‘Mmm, remember that phrase. It could come in very handy soon.’

  He didn’t give her time to answer as he kissed her again. This time he didn’t break off to ask questions or to answer them. It was another example of how actions could speak louder than words and say far more…

  The sound of the telephone ringing roused them an hour or so later. Beth groaned as she reached for the receiver. ‘Who can that be?’

  She just managed to bite back her gasp of dismay when she realised that it was Chris, phoning to see where she had got to and asking if she knew where Adam was.

  Adam grinned wickedly as he took the receiver from her. ‘We’ll be there very shortly. OK?’

  Chris laughed. ‘Don’t rush on my account!’

  It was obvious that Chris had a good idea what had been going on and Beth blushed furiously. Adam laughed as he pulled her back into his arms and dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose.

  ‘Chris is old enough not to be shocked, darling, so don’t worry about it. I think he’d probably guessed how I felt about you, anyway. I know Aunt Mary has had her suspicions, not that it’s any wonder. First of all I told her that I would be staying in Winton then I told her that I would be leaving.’

  ‘Leaving?’ She sat bolt upright in shock.

  ‘I knew that I wouldn’t be able to stand it if you and Patterson got back together,’ he explained with an ache in his voice. ‘I didn’t want to leave here but it seemed the lesser of two evils. I decided that I would try to find a job close by so that I could see Hannah on a regular basis and yet not have to come into contact with you daily.’

  ‘Did you discuss any of this with your aunt?’ Beth asked gently as the last bit of the puzzle slid into place. She sighed when he nodded. ‘Ian must have overheard you and he twisted what you’d said to suit his own purposes. He told me that you saw me as a convenience, someone to care for Hannah when you went back to your old job, and that you couldn’t possibly fancy a boring little home-body like me,’ she explained when he looked puzzled.

  ‘Did he indeed? I didn’t hear the whole conversation you had with him.’ He smiled grimly when she looked at him in surprise. ‘I followed you out of the ward tonight because I was worried about you. I just caught the tail end of your conversation with that slime ball and that was enough. I don’t feel the least bit guilty now for giving him a bloody nose.’

  She gasped. ‘You didn’t?’

  ‘I did.’ Adam’s smile was unapologetic. He trailed a finger along her collar-bone then let it slide lower until it came to rest on the curve of her breast. There was a gleam of mischief in his eyes as he looked at her, along with a whole lot of other things! ‘Do you really want to spend any more time talking tonight?’

  ‘That depends,’ she said softly, sliding down to lie beside him and glorying in the feel of his hard body pressed against hers. It was obvious that he had far more exciting ideas than simply talking on his mind!

  ‘Depends…on…what?’ he murmured between kisses.

  ‘On the alternative, of course. I’m open to suggestions.’

  ‘Oh, I’ve got plenty of those!’ he growled.

  Beth laughed as he pulled her towards him, feeling her heart swell with happiness. ‘Then what are we waiting for?’

  She wound her arms around his neck and gave herself up to the passion that ignited spontaneously between them. They never did make it to the party that night because they were far too busy.

  EPILOGUE

  ‘I CAN’T believe that we’re actually bringing her home at last!’

  Beth took a deep breath but it was impossible to contain her excitement. Hannah was being discharged from hospital that day and she and Adam were going to collect her after morning surgery ended. They had decided that Beth should take three months’ leave of absence to care for the little girl so a new practice nurse had been hired and would start work the following week. In fact, so much had happened in the past few months that sometimes she felt as though she should pinch herself in case she was dreaming!

  The transplant had gone smoothly and the signs all pointed to the fact that it had been a success. Obviously, there was still a long way to go before Hannah could be declared free of the disease but even the ever-cautious Charles Guest had admitted to being pleased with her progress.

  Beth had moved from the flat above the surgery and gone to live with Adam at his aunt’s and uncle’s old house. The older couple had decided to move to their cottage in Wales after Jonathan Wright had left hospital. Evidently, Jonathan had been putting off his retirement in the hope that Adam would one day take over the practice from him.

  Now Jonathan and Mary were looking forward to spending some time together, and to having Hannah to stay with them when she was well enough. They adored their new little great-niece and Beth couldn’t help thinking how wonderfully well everything had turned out for all of them.

  ‘What’s that smile for?’ Adam asked, coming up behind her and putting his arms around her so that he could nuzzle her neck. They had been the first to arrive at the surgery that morning and Beth was making some coffee because they had somehow got sidetracked and missed having any breakfast!

  She smiled at the delicious memory of their love-making and heard him laugh. ‘I wonder if I can guess what you’re thinking about?’ he teased, letting his lips skim to her jaw so that he could leave a trail of kisses along it.

  ‘I bet you can!’ She turned to face him, loving the warmth and tenderness that she could see in his eyes. Every time that Adam looked at her, she could tell just how much he loved her, but it probably worked both ways. It was impossible to hide how much she adored
him so she didn’t bother trying!

  ‘You were right, of course, but I was also thinking how well everything has worked out,’ she told him, reaching up to return his kiss. She got sidetracked again for a few delicious seconds and had to think hard before she could recall what she’d been saying. ‘Hannah didn’t just find her father when she found you, she got a whole new family as well.’

  ‘Maybe that family will grow in the not-too-distant future,’ he said softly. ‘I’m sure she would love to have a little brother or sister to play with. Once we set the date for the wedding maybe we could think about it.’

  ‘I’d like that,’ she whispered huskily. ‘How many children should we have, do you think? I’d like two, a boy and a girl. That way Hannah will have a sister and a brother. ‘

  ‘I don’t care how many or what sex they are because I shall love them all,’ he declared deeply. ‘So now that’s settled, when are you going to marry me? This week, next, the week after?’

  She laughed. ‘I think it might need a little longer than that to get everything arranged! Anyway, I want Hannah to be my bridesmaid and she won’t be able to do that until Mr Guest gives us the all-clear.’

  ‘That could take months! I don’t think I can wait that long.’ He kissed her long and thoroughly. ‘I want to know that you’re mine for ever and always, darling.’

  ‘You don’t need a piece of paper to know that. I love you, Adam. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.’ She paused but this was something she had thought about for some time and it needed to be said. ‘It won’t make any difference where you decide to work in the future either, because I shall always be with you.’

  He swallowed hard and she heard the huskiness in his voice. ‘Thank you for saying that. It means more than I can tell you. But I don’t want to go anywhere. I’ve done everything I ever wanted to do, and now that I have you and Hannah to make my life complete, I don’t need to go wandering the world. I want to stay right here in Winton and spend the rest of my days simply loving you.’

  He kissed her again, only breaking off when there was a burst of exaggeratedly noisy coughing from the doorway. They both looked round rather dazedly and saw Ben Cole standing there.

  ‘Sorry to interrupt but Chris is on the phone and he wants to speak to you, Adam,’ he told them with a grin.

  ‘Never even heard the phone ringing,’ Adam replied, totally unruffled about them having been caught in an embrace. He dropped a last kiss on Beth’s mouth then hurried from the room.

  Ben chuckled softly as he picked up a mug and filled it with coffee. ‘I wish I could bottle some of your happiness. It’s a real tonic, working around you two!’

  She laughed at that. She had grown very fond of the young locum since he’d been working at the surgery, and would be sorry to see him leave when Chris came back. ‘So long as you aren’t embarrassed.’

  ‘No way! If more people shared their happiness, the world would be a better place. We hear too much doom and gloom all the time—it makes a refreshing change to see a couple who are obviously ecstatically happy with each other.’

  ‘There’s no one special in your life, then?’ she asked, picking up the pot.

  ‘No.’ Ben heaved a sigh. ‘If Miss Right is out there, I haven’t found her yet, worse luck.’

  Beth smiled sympathetically at him, although she couldn’t help thinking that he wouldn’t need to look very hard to find a woman to love him. Still, she understood what he meant about it having to be the right person, she thought as Adam came back into the staffroom. There was no point in simply settling for second best.

  ‘Well, Chris certainly knows how to drop a bombshell,’ he declared, accepting the cup of coffee that she had poured for him. ‘He was phoning to tell me that he’s been offered a job in New Zealand and that he’s thinking seriously about accepting it.’

  ‘Really?’ She couldn’t hide her surprise. ‘It’s going to create problems here if he does decide to stay over there, isn’t it?’

  Adam shrugged. ‘Some, but we’ll cope.’ He turned to Ben. ‘What would you say if I asked you to stay on here? We could make the job permanent, maybe think of it being a partnership if you liked the idea?’

  ‘I’d say yes, please!’ Ben looked delighted as he shook Adam’s hand. ‘I was dreading the thought of Chris coming back, to be honest, because I didn’t want to have to leave here.’

  ‘That settles it, then,’ Adam declared. ‘I’ll phone Chris back and tell him that it’s up to him if he wants to accept the job. There’s no pressure on him to come back now that we have you on board permanently.’

  He went to the door, pausing when Beth put down her cup and hurried after him. ‘I’d like to speak to Chris and wish him good luck. I’m so pleased that he seems to have found what he wanted in life.’

  ‘Amen to that,’ he agreed, looping an arm around her shoulders. They went to the office and put through the call. Adam hung up after a delighted Chris had thanked him profusely, and smiled at her. ‘Another happy soul, from the sound of it.’

  ‘Maybe some of our happiness is rubbing off,’ she suggested softly, thinking back to what Ben had said.

  ‘We have enough of it to share,’ he said with a throb in his voice. He took hold of her hands. ‘Have I told you how much I love you?’

  ‘Oh, not since at least half an hour ago,’ she declared with a mock frown. ‘It’s not good enough!’

  ‘It certainly isn’t. Half an hour is far too long.’ He kissed her quickly then glanced at his watch.

  ‘Making a note of when you need to tell me again?’ she teased.

  ‘I don’t need any reminders,’ he assured her. ‘No, I was just working out that it’s only three hours until we collect Hannah and bring her home with us.’

  ‘Then we’ll be a real family,’ she said softly. ‘You, me and—’

  ‘Hannah,’ he finished for her. ‘I never thought that I’d be so lucky, Beth. I’ve found a daughter I never knew I had and one day soon I shall have you as my wife. I’m a very lucky man.’

  ‘And I’m a very lucky woman,’ she murmured as he kissed her.

  ‘Lucky and loved,’ he whispered. And she smiled because that was the most important thing of all, to be loved.

  ISBN: 978-1-4603-5669-2

  ADAM’S DAUGHTER

  First North American Publication 2001

  Copyright © 2001 by Jennifer Taylor

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  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

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