The Midwife's Baby

by Fiona McArthur

  ‘So much for my fantasy of pretty glowing worms swinging in a friendly fashion in the dark.’

  She frowned. ‘In that case, they have a remarkable similarity to my ex-husband.’

  She felt Max’s scrutiny and he didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he squeezed her hand again. ‘Let’s not spoil the night. Would you like to know about the mating habits of the parents?’

  She appreciated his effort but she was upset with herself for destroying the mood.

  Georgia slipped her hand out of his and rubbed her arms. It had been fun but now she just wanted to get back to Elsa. ‘I don’t think so. It was lovely, Max, but let’s go back.’

  Max got it. She could see that even in the semi-dark. ‘Of course. Tomorrow we might come back and see the path by daylight. It is magnificent along here.’

  ‘Sure.’

  They returned to the guesthouse and Morgan’s daughter was happy to see them. Elsa had woken up and in her less than discreet way had decided she wanted her mother.

  By the time Georgia had calmed her daughter, Max had showered and reappeared in boxers and white T-shirt for bed.

  Georgia tried not to look but the fabric stretched across his chest and biceps lovingly and activated somnolent nerves deep in her stomach. He looked far too masculine to easily ignore and she wasn’t sure she was safer sharing a room with him at all.

  ‘I’ll take her if you want to change.’ He held out his hands towards the baby and Elsa went happily to him.

  For Georgia it felt as if she’d just handed over her only form of protection and she stepped back quickly.

  Max frowned but didn’t say anything as he turned away with Elsa and walked to the window. ‘See the stars, Elsa? They’re like glow-worms in the sky. Mummy saw the glow-worms tonight.’

  Georgia could hear him talking away to Elsa as she closed the bathroom door. Now, why had she behaved like that? It wasn’t as if Max was going to jump on her.

  More likely she’d had the urge to run her hands over him—though he did have a partiality to follow her lead when she made an offer—so it would be very easy to start something.

  All through her shower, every touch of her own hand made her think of last night and of Max.

  When she dried herself, even the towel seemed to sensitise her skin.

  She was not going there. No matter what Max said or did she would not sleep with him. Absolutely. She chewed her lip as she opened the door.

  When she came out of the bathroom Max had settled Elsa back in the cot, climbed into his own bed, and turned his bedside light out.

  She guessed it was his way of saying she didn’t have to worry. It was unfortunate that she felt lonely and frustrated when she climbed into her own generous bed and pulled up the thick duvet.

  ‘Goodnight, Max,’ she said, and she blushed in the dark at the forlorn note in her voice.

  ‘Goodnight, Georgia.’

  The next morning was fun.

  After breakfast served in front of the fire Max carried Elsa in a pouch on his chest and they tramped along winding bush tracks and picnicked beside a mountain stream above a waterfall.

  Elsa loved being with Max and Georgia wouldn’t have minded it herself to be that close to Max’s gorgeous chest. She was definitely becoming more fixated. Luckily the other scenery was spectacular as well.

  When they arrived back at the retreat for afternoon tea, they were all exhausted but exhilarated from the mountain air. It was sad to have to pack to leave.

  Max promised they would come again in the not-too-distant future, and Georgia added the day to her increasing store of wonderful memories with Max.

  The phone call came just as Max carried Elsa to the car.

  Georgia had gone back to the room for one last check that they hadn’t left anything behind when the room phone rang.

  She frowned and picked it up. ‘Had a nice weekend, Mrs Winton?’

  Sol! Nausea rose like a wave in her throat and she sucked the air in through her nostrils and swallowed before she could open her mouth.

  Her voice when it came out was husky with distress. ‘I’m not Mrs Winton!’

  ‘No,’ Sol said. ‘You’re Mrs Beresford—so I hear—but not for long! I’m coming for you and our daughter. But something needs to be done first.’

  Then he rang off.

  CHAPTER TEN

  THE handset dropped from her fingers and spun giddily at the end of its cord beside the table. Georgia backed unsteadily across the room until she bumped into the bed behind her just as her legs collapsed from under her and she sat back limply. She hugged her knees.

  How had Sol tracked her up here? She straightened slowly and looked around the room for inspiration. She had to tell Max he was in danger.

  Then the next thought crashed into her. If she told Max, what would he do? She knew what he would do. He’d search out Sol—if Sol could find them then Max could find Sol—and Max had sworn he would not let Sol upset her again.

  She needed to think this through before she talked to Max. He had to be safe. She heard his footsteps before he arrived and she tried to school her face.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Max stopped at the door and looked in. ‘Elsa’s in the car and Morgan is watching her. Are you ready to go?’

  She didn’t meet his eyes and something made him cross the room to sit beside her. ‘Hello? You OK, sweetheart?’

  Her eyes met his briefly but skidded away as if searching for something. ‘I’m sorry, Max. I just had a really rotten pain in my head and it made me feel quite sick.’

  Max frowned. He didn’t like the sound of that. ‘You’re not going to have a cerebral aneurysm on me, are you?’

  She forced a laugh. ‘Typical doctor. Always assume the worst case scenario. Not anything as dramatic. I’ve a headache. Maybe even the beginnings of a migraine.’

  She stood up and he saw that she was quite unsteady on her feet. He took her wrist and measured her pulse. Her heart rate was flying.

  ‘Maybe we should stay here until you feel better. We can do that if you like.’

  ‘No!’ She’d answered too sharply and Max watched her try to play down her agitation and his gut tightened. ‘Elsa’s already in the car, you said. I’ll be fine. It will be good to be home.’

  Max studied her face. ‘Are you all right, Georgia?’

  ‘I’ll be fine.’ She turned towards the door and he could see she forced herself to take steps that she could barely manage. ‘I’d really rather go home.’

  At least she thought of it as home. ‘All right.’ Max put his hand under her elbow. ‘Lean on me if you have to.’

  Max tucked Georgia into the car and shut her door. He didn’t like the way she looked and he would be happier when he had her home and settled.

  He kissed Morgan’s cheek. ‘Thank you for making us so welcome.’

  ‘You come back soon, Max. Your wife is a lovely woman.’

  ‘Thanks, Morgan. I think so.’

  Paddy came out from inside and wiped his hands on his trousers. ‘Safe trip, friend.’ He peered into the car and waved at Georgia. ‘Your wife get the phone call from the other doctor, did she?’

  Max stared at him and then nodded. He plastered a smile on his face when it was the last thing he felt like doing. ‘Yes. Thanks.’ They shook hands and Paddy and Morgan stood arm in arm to watch Max climb into the car.

  Max kept smiling until they left the driveway. He didn’t know what else to do. He glanced across at Georgia but she had her head back and her eyes closed.

  Obviously Georgia had been in contact with Sol and she wasn’t going to tell him.

  That knowledge hit him like a hammer. It certainly explained the sudden headache and also his sudden urge to squeeze the life out of the defenceless steering-wheel beneath his fingers. He concentrated on loosening his grip without taking his eyes from the road.

  If she didn’t trust him then there wasn’t much he could do except watch and wait.

  But it was galling t
o think she wouldn’t share her troubles with him. He’d thought them closer than that.

  When they got home Georgia went straight to bed after feeding Elsa and Max watched her go. She’d said thanks for the weekend and nothing else and Max took his disappointment through to the library.

  He’d do some background checks on Dr Winton, and he had a friend at Lower Mountains who owed him a favour.

  Georgia knew that the sooner she distanced herself from Max the safer he would be. She needed to prepare a reason for her sudden disappearance and do as much as she could to safeguard Max’s reputation. She needed to go to work one more day.

  On Monday morning Karissa handed over the ward keys to Georgia. She turned back on her way out. ‘By the way, I faxed a copy of the notes from your premature twins lady the other day. Some doctor wanted a copy of drugs given and not given. So if they ring, I’ve already done it.’

  Georgia felt her stomach plummet. ‘Did they say who wanted it?’

  Karissa thought for a moment and then reached into the waste-paper basket and pulled out a screwed-up scrap of paper. She straightened it out. ‘Yep. Didn’t say why they wanted it but it was addressed to this guy. Dr S. Winton.’

  It had started again. She’d known it would and yesterday’s call had at least slightly prepared her.

  The specialist’s desire for Del to not have the treatment they’d expected became ominously clear. Sol had risked Del’s twins’ welfare to trap Max into not giving optimal care.

  This was it, then. It was as if a blinding light flashed on in her head. The time for feeling sick and frightened had long passed and he was not going to win.

  Now was time to put an end to this. She would not allow Sol to do this to Max. She, and anyone close to her, would not be a victim ever again.

  She would leave this afternoon. Her mind was incredibly clear as she planned ahead.

  ‘Before you go, Karissa. I need to let you know I can’t do this week or next week after all. I’ll be seeing the nurse manager today. My uncle is sick and I have to go back to Sydney. Max is staying here for the moment.’

  Karissa sighed and then shrugged. ‘I’m sorry about your uncle. Hope he’s OK.’

  Georgia could answer that honestly. ‘He’s been like a father to me since my parents died. I won’t know how sick he is until I get there.

  ‘In a few months I might even be looking at coming back up this way so I will try to get a few weeks together to help you get away.’

  ‘Bummer you’re leaving.’ Then Karissa smiled philosophically. ‘I hadn’t booked anything yet in case it didn’t work out. No worries. I can wait or something will come along.’

  ‘I’m so sorry to have to let you down.’

  Karissa shrugged. ‘Maybe we’ll catch you again.’ She gave Georgia a hug. ‘Never mind. Hope your uncle improves. It’s been nice meeting you.’

  Georgia watched her go and told herself she hadn’t lied. Harry was sick. And if she didn’t do something about Sol for once and for all, her life would continue to be a series of abrupt departures.

  The time had come and she wasn’t even afraid any more. Just incredibly, volcanically angry. How dared he?

  For the moment all she knew was that she would never go back to Sol but she just as surely couldn’t stay with Max. When she left Max, Sol had better leave him alone—or else.

  Tayla’s wedding plans would keep Tayla out of her way and Uncle Harry would have no problem with Elsa and herself moving into his house while she planned Sol’s downfall.

  If she told Max why she was going, he would want to take Sol on and save the world for her. But this was something she had to do for herself and for Elsa.

  She would not allow Max to be dragged though the type of mud-slinging investigation Sol would have in mind. It was all her fault and it was time that she stopped being a victim.

  The last thing she wanted was for Max to go after Sol so she’d have to leave without telling him. Georgia looked down at her mobile phone. She’d have to turn it off or Max would phone her and she knew she would cry.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  GEORGIA was gone.

  She’d hired a car and left with Elsa as if there had been nothing between them.

  Mrs White was devastated and the house had felt like a morgue without Georgia and Elsa when he’d come home from work. Now her phone was switched off.

  Max knew Georgia had left because of Winton but how could she respect him so little that she hadn’t even told him her ex-husband had contacted her. Or even that she was going?

  What did she want him to think and why? Why not tell the truth?

  Max stared out over the ocean and thought about all the possible reasons she had felt unable to talk to him. The most obvious one fell into place with a dull, ominous thud.

  How had Winton got her back last time? Max slapped the veranda rail. With a threat to her friend! What if this time he’d threatened not Georgia or Elsa, but him?

  Max glared out to sea and his hand tightened on the veranda rail. He wasn’t worried about any threat Sol Winton could make to him but he was livid that Georgia had felt so powerless that she’d left to protect him.

  Her lack of faith in his ability to protect himself, or her, hurt the most.

  She had no idea of the cut-throat world of hospital administration, then, he thought, and smiled without humour.

  It was his job to sort out troublemakers and those with plans for self-gain. He dealt with mini-gods like Winton all the time.

  That would explain why Georgia hadn’t told him about the phone call if she was concerned he would take matters into his own hands.

  He had to find Winton, disarm him once and for all, with a cast-iron insurance against any further threats. Then he, Georgia and Elsa could get on with their lives together.

  After that he would find Georgia and tell her he loved her.

  Enough of this pussyfooting around. He wanted his family. She’d be with Harry. It was the logical place for her to go.

  He rang the retired doctor from Meeandah who agreed to come back on call for the next two days while Max was away.

  Then he offered Mrs White leave if she wanted it but she said she’d prefer to stay in case Georgia came back.

  He threw some overnight clothes in his case and after one last phone call to his friend at Lower Mountains he climbed into his vehicle. Sol’s plan had been quashed and an investigation started. The paper trail would catch Winton in the end and Max had made sure he would be drummed out of the medical fraternity.

  When Max pulled out into the highway traffic the headlights of a truck coming straight for him made him swerve violently towards the side of the mountain.

  Normally it would have been easy to correct the swerve. This time when he applied the brakes the pedal sank uselessly to the floor.

  His last thought as the Hummer crashed through the guide rail was that he’d underestimated Sol, but at least he was in a decent vehicle for the hurtle down the mountainside.

  Georgia’s hand shook as she dialled Sol’s home number. Elsa was finally asleep and cars whizzed past the motor inn she’d stopped at for the night.

  She hadn’t wanted to land on Harry’s doorstep at midnight but she needed to let Sol know she had left Max and hopefully forestall any plans Sol had to cause trouble.

  The phone rang six times and with each ring Georgia could feel her heart rate increase. Her mouth dried and suddenly she realised how emotionally fragile she was—and playing into Sol’s hands. She put the phone down and stared at her fingers on the handset.

  What was she doing? Hadn’t she learned that weakness and not being prepared for confrontation with Sol caused more problems? She needed to be much smarter this time. It wasn’t just herself at stake.

  She needed proof that Sol was unbalanced and that he intended to threaten and blackmail her into submission again. She needed to ensure Sol could never take Elsa.

  She would buy herself a tiny tape recorder to wear on her person. Then s
he would take the proof to the police and formally charge him. She should have done that a long time ago and she owed it to Max and herself to do it now.

  Max’s faith in her stood clear and firm and she knew she would do it this time. She would do this and then she would find Max and tell him she loved him.

  The next morning, she and Elsa set things in motion. This time she would ensure she was safe.

  She tucked the tiny voice-activated tape recorder inside her shirt and patted the small cylinder in her jacket pocket. The final purchase had been a last-minute decision and one that provided reassuring support.

  She glanced in the rear-view mirror at her sleeping daughter. It was time to set up a meeting with Sol somewhere safe, like a public park.

  She watched Elsa in the car outside the phone booth. Her daughter slept on as she dialled Sol’s office.

  ‘Dr Winton has gone away on urgent family business.’ Sol’s secretary’s comment sounded as though it had been repeated many times. ‘He won’t be back until Wednesday.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Georgia put down the phone and returned to the car. She looked at Elsa. ‘Now, that’s an anticlimax, Elsa. I wonder where he went?’

  Suddenly Georgia’s heart rate picked up. Georgia snatched the mobile phone from her bag and checked the missed calls.

  They’d flooded in. One from Max, one from Sol, four from Max’s house at Byron Bay.

  She stared at the calls and shuddered. Then the phone vibrated in her hand and she checked the number. Private.

  She looked back at Elsa, drew a deep breath and pressed the button.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Georgia Beresford?’ She didn’t recognise the voice and her shoulders dropped in relief that it wasn’t Sol.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Constable Ethan Moss, Byron Police Station.’

  Georgia’s heart thumped so loudly in her ears she could barely hear the man. She forced words out. ‘Is something wrong?’

  ‘We’ve been trying to contact you. Do you have a husband by the name of Max Beresford?’

  Oh, no, please, God, she thought. ‘Yes I do.’

  ‘I’m sorry to have to tell you your husband was involved in a vehicle accident on the Pacific Highway last night and was airlifted in a critical condition to Newcastle Hospital.’