Snowbound: Miracle Marriage / Christmas Eve: Doorstep Delivery

by Sarah Morgan

  Hayley bounced into the antenatal clinic and Maggie looked up from the desk and raised her eyebrows.

  ‘How much?’

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘How much have you won? I’m assuming from the look on your face you’ve won the lottery.’ Maggie studied her face and started to laugh. ‘Only in this case I suspect the jackpot is a six-foot-two, super-sexy obstetrician called Patrick. Am I right?’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ But it was impossible to keep her happiness inside her and Hayley virtually danced round the desk to give Maggie a hug. ‘Oh, Maggie, I’ve never felt like this in my life before. I want to smile and smile. And I…actually I can’t put it into words.’

  Maggie laughed and hugged her back. ‘That’s probably a good thing because clinic is about to start.’

  ‘That’s why I’m here. The labour ward is really quiet and Jenny said you needed some help down here.’ Hayley pulled away from her and realised that her hair hadn’t survived the hug. With a grin, she pulled the clasp from her hair, scooped it up and fastened it in her usual haphazard fashion. ‘I’ll be your wing man. Have I wished you Happy New Year yet? Happy New Year! Where do you want me to start?’

  Maggie picked up a set of notes from the pile. ‘You can see Olivia. It should be routine but you know the drill anyway. Any problems, yell. Patrick’s registrar is doing the clinic because the boss is in some meeting or other. But I expect you know that.’

  ‘Actually, I do, because this morning he was wearing one of his gorgeous suits.’ Remembering how good he’d looked as he’d left the house, Hayley smiled dreamily and then pulled herself together. ‘Sorry. Where is Olivia?’

  ‘Room 3. Good luck.’ Maggie gave a wry smile. ‘Olivia talks almost as much as you do.’

  After five minutes with the young woman, Hayley was forced to agree.

  Olivia had regaled her with everything from her disastrous Christmas to the agonies of morning sickness.

  ‘Honestly, you have no idea.’ The woman rolled her eyes. ‘I didn’t know I’d feel this bad. Other women seem to sail through pregnancy, but I feel as though I’ve picked up some vile bug that doesn’t want to shift.’

  ‘It’s like that sometimes,’ Hayley murmured sympathetically, checking the height of Olivia’s uterus and recording it in the notes. She kept thinking about her evening with Patrick. The way he’d looked at her across the table. ‘Hopefully it will pass soon and you’ll start to feel better.’

  ‘I hope so. I think maybe it’s my punishment for all the drinks I had before I knew I was pregnant. This whole thing has come as a shock,’ Olivia confessed. ‘I’m embarrassed to admit this—I mean, how stupid can a girl be?—but I didn’t even suspect I could be pregnant. It’s not as if we were trying or anything. And I’m not the sort that marks my period on a calendar every month, you know? I’m just not obsessed with that sort of thing.’

  ‘I’m the same,’ Hayley said absently, recording the bloodpressure reading and comparing it with the time before, her head somewhere else entirely.

  He’d said she was special.

  ‘It just sort of hit me one night. I thought to myself, My period is late. And then I worked out when my last one was and I thought, Oh…’ The girl used a word that made Hayley start.

  ‘I can imagine it must have been a bit of a shock.’

  ‘You have no idea.’ Olivia rolled her eyes heavenwards. ‘I keep telling Mick—he’s my boyfriend—well, at least I noticed I was pregnant before I actually delivered. You do hear of women who actually deliver the baby before they find out. I wasn’t quite as clueless as that.’

  ‘It isn’t always straightforward,’ Hayley said tactfully. ‘Some women do still have a light period for the first few months and that can delay them realising that they’re pregnant.’

  ‘Oh, that didn’t happen to me.’ Olivia slipped her feet back into her shoes and stood up. ‘I had no period at all, but I was basically just too busy to notice. If you’re not expecting to be pregnant, you’re not looking, are you? I bet you’re not like that. You midwives must be really up on stuff like that. I bet no midwife has ever had an unplanned baby. I bet you tick off that date in your calendar every month, just to be sure.’

  ‘I don’t go that far.’ Hayley laughed. ‘But I always know when—’ When she was due. And…

  Oh, God, she’d missed a period.

  The realisation hit her along with a wave of almost crippling nausea and panic.

  She’d missed a period. She’d missed a period.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ Olivia stared at her in alarm. ‘Is something wrong? You said everything seemed fine. Are you worried about the baby’s growth?’

  ‘No. Nothing. I just…’ Frantically she searched for some explanation that would satisfy the patient. ‘I just remembered that I had to ring the lab about some results. Not yours. Someone else’s.’

  How could she not have realised?

  She’d been so affronted when Patrick had assumed she was pregnant, it hadn’t even occurred to her that she might be pregnant. She desperately wanted to go through her diary and check the dates, but Olivia was still chatting.

  Somehow Hayley managed to finish the conversation and then she hurried to the desk. ‘Maggie, I’m sorry but I have to go to the staffroom for a minute.’ Panic engulfed her like rolling clouds and she barely registered Maggie’s concerned look before she fled from the department, her heart beating and tears stinging the back of her eyes.

  Please, no. Please let her be wrong. Let her have miscalculated, missed a week. Please, please…

  The staffroom on the labour ward was empty and she rummaged through her bag and found her diary. Her fingers were shaking so badly it took ages to find November and check the date she needed to know. And as soon as she saw it, she dropped the book back into her bag and stared blankly at the chipped paint on the wall. She didn’t need to count twenty-eight days to know that her period was now over a week late. She’d lost track.

  She didn’t even need to do a pregnancy test.

  She knew.

  And she also knew that her relationship with Patrick was over.

  Pregnancy was no basis for a relationship, was it?

  He’d made that clear to her.

  And she was very definitely pregnant.

  ‘What do you mean, she just ran out of clinic?’ Patrick frowned. ‘Was she feeling ill or something?’

  ‘I don’t know. Maybe.’ Maggie shrugged helplessly. ‘Actually, I think she looked more upset than sick, but she didn’t say anything to me.’

  ‘Well, that’s unusual,’ Patrick drawled, ‘because Hayley always tells everyone what’s on her mind.’

  ‘That’s what I love about her,’ Maggie said stoutly, and Patrick gave a faint smile.

  ‘And that’s why you can stop worrying. As soon as I track her down, she’ll tell me what’s wrong and we can fix it. At least with Hayley you know where you are.’

  ‘Yes.’ Maggie looked at him doubtfully. ‘Yes, you’re right. Go and find her, Patrick.’

  Patrick glanced at the clock. ‘I’m due in Theatre in thirty minutes. I have a gynae list.’

  ‘Thirty minutes is ages…’ Maggie pushed him towards the door ‘…and Hayley talks quickly. Go, Patrick. She really did look upset and I’m worried about her.’

  Patrick took the stairs to the labour ward, mentally listing the things that could be wrong with Hayley.

  They’d had a wonderful evening the night before, but it had been a late night. Was she tired?

  Had a patient been rude to her?

  Had a member of staff offended her?

  Or maybe she was feeling poorly. There were certainly plenty of people off sick with flu.

  Pushing open the door of the staffroom, he saw Sally sitting there, talking to Tom.

  ‘Hi, Patrick.’ Sally gave a sheepish smile. ‘I was bored with the ward so I came up here for a change. How are you doing?’

  ‘Fine, thanks.’ Patrick barely registered
her. ‘Have either of you seen Hayley?’

  ‘No. Why?’ Tom frowned. ‘Aren’t you supposed to be operating?’

  ‘I’m on my way there now.’ Patrick paused, frustrated that he hadn’t been able to find her. ‘If you see Hayley, will you tell her I was looking for her?’

  Sally winked at him. ‘We certainly will.’

  Hayley sat in the toilet, staring down at the test in her hand. It had taken her less than fifteen minutes to grab her coat, sprint to the nearest chemist and buy the test.

  And now she was staring at the irrefutable proof that she was pregnant.

  She was having Patrick’s baby.

  How ironic, she thought numbly, that having his baby would mean the end of their relationship. And she knew that it would. Their relationship was too new, too fragile. And given Patrick’s past…

  It was the cruellest irony.

  She couldn’t tell him.

  She had to keep it from him or he’d feel obliged to do the same thing he’d done with Carly. He was a responsible guy, wasn’t he? He’d want to do ‘the right thing’.

  Only what was the right thing?

  Marriage certainly hadn’t been right for him.

  And it hadn’t been right for her mother either.

  And what about the children? Alfie, Posy and—Hayley rested a hand low on her abdomen—her baby.

  She knew better than anyone that step-families could be a disaster. She thought of the resentment that her step-siblings had felt when she’d arrived in their family. Did she want to do that to three more children? Alfie and Posy liked her, she knew that. But this was something different entirely. This was huge.

  She had to make a decision. And she hated decisions. And of all the decisions she’d ever had to make in her life, this was the hardest.

  Should she tell him? Yes, of course she should. He had a right to know. But if she told him, he’d talk her out of going and it would be for all the wrong reasons.

  He didn’t want her to be pregnant, she knew that.

  Remembering his face when he’d opened the door to her on Christmas Eve, Hayley gave a choked sob. He’d braced himself for hearing that she was pregnant and it was impossible to forget his relief when she’d told him she wasn’t. So, knowing that, what choice did she have?

  Obviously he adored his children, but he’d made it clear that he didn’t want another relationship that was held together only by a pregnancy.

  So the right thing to do—the only decision—was to leave.

  Pretend their relationship just wasn’t working.

  And she had no idea how she was supposed to do that convincingly.

  How was she supposed to pretend to be miserable?

  As the tears dripped onto her hand she almost laughed at herself. She was miserable. Horribly miserable. She wouldn’t have to act at all. She just needed to not tell him the real reason. For once in her life she had to keep her thoughts locked inside her.

  Hayley spread icing on the top of the cup cakes and watched with a lump in her throat as Posy carefully pressed a chocolate button into the centre of each one.

  ‘That’s great, Posy,’ she said huskily, leaning forwards and hugging the little girl tightly. Her blonde curls smelled of shampoo and the thought of leaving her hurt Hayley almost as much as the thought of leaving Patrick.

  ‘Yum.’ Alfie reached out a hand and stole a cake. ‘Just one more.’ He took a large bite out of the cake and stole a look at Hayley. ‘Aren’t you going to tell me off? Normally you only let me eat one before tea. You’re not acting like yourself.’

  She wasn’t acting like herself? Obviously she needed to concentrate harder on what she’d usually do. If she wasn’t even able to fool the children, how was she going to manage with Patrick?

  Before she had time to consider that challenge, she heard his key in the door and dipped her head, pretending to help Posy with the cakes, panic racing through her. He was home really early, which was just going to make the evening longer.

  She hoped that for once in her life everything she was feeling wasn’t written all over her face.

  ‘Hayley, I’ve been trying to catch up with you all day.’ Patrick slung his coat over the back of the chair and strode across to her. ‘Where were you?’

  ‘All over the place. In clinic, then on the labour ward.’ Implying that her day had been one mad rush, Hayley smiled at him briefly and then turned her attention back to the chocolate buttons. Never had she paid so much attention to decorating a cake. ‘You must have just missed me. How was your theatre list? Any dramas?’ Did she sound normal? Was she doing OK?

  ‘No dramas.’ Patrick kissed Posy on the head, his eyes still on Hayley. ‘Are you feeling all right? Maggie said you weren’t too good earlier.’

  ‘She’s definitely not herself,’ Alfie said firmly, ‘because I’ve eaten five cakes and she hasn’t even noticed.’

  Hayley bit back a gasp of horror. Five? He’d eaten five? ‘I assumed you must be hungry,’ she said calmly, desperately hoping he wasn’t going to be sick. ‘And dinner won’t be ready for another twenty minutes. Anyway, you’re old enough to judge whether or not you’re going to spoil your appetite.’

  ‘I’m only a day older than yesterday,’ Alfie said with faultless logic, ‘and you didn’t think I was old enough to judge then.’

  ‘Well, I’m not going to be around for much longer,’ Hayley said brightly, ‘so it’s good for you to learn not to eat too many cakes in one go.’

  Her words were greeted by a stunned silence.

  ‘Wh-what do you mean?’ Alfie gaped at her in horror. ‘What do you mean you’re not going to be around for much longer? Why not? Where are you going?’

  ‘You advertised for a housekeeper for two weeks over Christmas and New Year.’ Hayley started to put the cakes carefully into the tin. ‘The two weeks is up in a few days’ time.’

  ‘But that was before we knew you. Now you’re here, we don’t want you to leave after two weeks. We want you to stay for ever!’ Alfie was frantic. ‘Tell her, Dad! Tell her we want her to stay for ever.’

  Hayley knew she ought to speak but the lump in her throat was so huge she knew she was going to embarrass herself.

  ‘We’d like her to stay,’ Patrick said carefully. ‘Of course we would. She knows that.’ His eyes were on her face and Hayley dug her nails into the palms of her hands, wishing she’d come up with a more solid plan for dealing with their protests. But she honestly hadn’t known the children would care so much. And as for Patrick…

  He wouldn’t want her to stay if he knew the truth.

  ‘It’s been fantastic.’ Somehow she managed to form the words. ‘Really—the best Christmas ever. But it was only ever temporary. And so is the work on the unit. I need to get myself a proper job. And I need to visit my family.’

  ‘But your family are mean to you. That’s why you didn’t want to go there for Christmas.’ Alfie was appalled. ‘Why would you want to visit them?’

  ‘Well…’ Oh, why on earth hadn’t she thought this through? ‘Nobody’s family is perfect. Now Christmas is over, I ought to see them.’

  ‘You can go and see them and then come straight back.’ Alfie looked at his father. ‘Dad?’

  Patrick stirred. ‘Hayley is free to do whatever she wants to do,’ he said gruffly, and Alfie gave a choked sob, flung his cake onto the floor and stormed out of the room.

  As always, Posy followed, dragging her velvet comforter behind her. ‘Alfie sad.’

  Hayley stood up immediately, intending to follow, but Patrick took her arm.

  ‘Wait. What’s this all about? Why would you want to leave?’

  She gave a tiny shrug. ‘It was only ever for two weeks and, let’s face it, you didn’t even want that! It was Alfie’s advert.’

  ‘Alfie’s advert ceased to be an issue a long time ago. Hayley.’ He frowned down at her. ‘Tell me what’s wrong. Has someone upset you?’

  ‘Gosh, no!’ She winced as she heard her falsely
bright tone. She wasn’t even fooling herself, so how did she hope to fool him? ‘Why would you think that? Who could possibly have upset me? Everyone is great. No, I just think it’s time to move on. It’s been fantastic, Patrick. A fantastic Christmas. This barn is just the perfect place, it’s just been—’

  ‘Fantastic. Yes, I got that. You’ve said it three times already. What I really want to hear is all the things you’re not saying.’ Patrick’s mouth tightened and his eyes were suddenly searching. ‘Is this about us?’

  ‘Us?’ How was she supposed to respond to that? OK, so definitely not like Hayley. She tried to work out what a twenty-first-century woman would say. What would Diane, her stepsister, say? ‘It was fun while it lasted, Patrick. But we both knew it wasn’t practical in the long term. We both have our own lives to lead. You have the children.’

  ‘I thought you liked the children.’ Patrick’s tone was cautious. ‘I was under the impression you liked them quite a lot.’

  ‘They’re gorgeous!’ Rubbish answer, Hayley, she thought to herself. You’re thinking like yourself, not like Diane. With a huge effort she forced herself to say words that were so alien it was almost impossible to voice them. ‘But I don’t know how you do it, Patrick. I mean, you have no time to yourself. No time to chill out. They’re always there!’

  And she loved that. She really loved that.

  ‘Yes.’ His voice was strangely flat and he released her suddenly. ‘They are always there.’

  ‘And I suppose I’m just used to being single. Needing my space.’ Oh, God, she was useless at this. Utterly useless. And she needed to get out of here before she blew it totally. ‘Well, anyway, talking of space—I must go and take a bath. A long soaky bath. It’s been a long day.’

  His gaze didn’t shift from her face and Hayley was suddenly terrified that she had Pregnant written on her forehead.

  He was an obstetrician, for goodness’ sake, and a skilled one at that. What if he could diagnose pregnancy from a distance?

  Why didn’t he say something?

  She carried on babbling. ‘I might not join you this evening if you don’t mind.’ For a start, she wasn’t sure she could make it through the evening without sobbing, and on top of that she needed to start acting like a woman who found children a bit much. ‘I’m in the middle of a really good book. I might just sprawl on the bed—you know, veg out, generally relax and do nothing.’