A Single Dad to Heal Her Heart

by Caroline Anderson

  Could a single dad of two...

  ...be the answer to her dreams?

  Trauma doc Livvy Henderson loves her job and friends, and she’s been cancer free for five years. She’s content...until she meets widowed father, handsome surgeon Matt Hunter on a team weekend in Cumbria. Their powerful connection reawakens her fears, desires and longing for a family she’s long since locked away. But Matt finds he’s ready to convince her she belongs in his, whatever the future holds...

  “It was fun, Livvy. Apart from you hurling yourself down the scree slope.”

  She felt her eyes fill with tears, because she’d felt the same, the freedom from the burden of everyone watching their words so they didn’t reopen the emotional wounds or poke the sleeping tiger. That was why hardly anybody at Yoxburgh Park Hospital knew her medical history, and why she hadn’t told Matt.

  “You’re right, it was fun, but we’re back now.”

  “Yes, we’re back. Amber insisted on sleeping with me last night, and Charlie woke up at four crying because he’d wet the bed. Definitely back. And it feels good to be back, I really missed them, but I’m very, very glad I went away, too, and I’m glad you were there with me.”

  She smiled at him. “I’m glad, too. Still, it’s over now.” Odd, how that made her feel sad. It wasn’t as if anything had really happened. Just a couple of kisses, some shared banter, the odd hug. How could she miss that so much?

  “It doesn’t have to be over,” he said, after a long pause.

  Dear Reader,

  Well, I finally got there, and this is my 100th book! And I thought, because I hate a loose end, that it would be lovely to go back twenty-eight years to where it all started and give Livvy, the daughter of Oliver and Bron, my first ever hero and heroine, her own story. Livvy, their love child from a fleeting affair at a conference, was around eighteen months old at the start of Relative Ethics, which makes her twenty-nine now and old enough to be a registrar. Great, I thought, I’ll give her a happy, lighthearted little story—and then my editor said, “What’s her conflict?” and that all got swept under the carpet!

  My editor was absolutely right, of course, as usual (!), so here it is, Livvy’s not-so-lighthearted but definitely heartfelt love affair with a single father broken by grief but ready to love again. He has so much to offer her, so much tenderness and understanding that he gives her the inner strength to dare to love him, to dream of a future and to overcome her past and move on with him and his beautiful little children as part of their family.

  It was such a joy to give them their happy ending, and I don’t think I’ve ever had a couple so in need of happiness and so very worthy of it. I hope you love them both as much as I do.

  Here it is, with my love,

  Caroline x

  A Single Dad to Heal Her Heart

  Caroline Anderson

  We hope you’ve enjoyed A Single Dad to Heal Her Heart, Caroline Anderson’s 100th book!

  Books by Caroline Anderson

  Harlequin Medical Romance

  Hope Children’s Hospital

  One Night, One Unexpected Miracle

  Yoxburgh Park Hospital

  From Christmas to Eternity

  The Secret in His Heart

  Risk of a Lifetime

  Their Meant-to-Be Baby

  The Midwife’s Longed-For Baby

  Bound by Their Babies

  Their Own Little Miracle

  Harlequin Romance

  The Valtieri Baby

  Snowed in with the Billionaire

  Best Friend to Wife and Mother?

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

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  For Ali, without whose skill and perseverance with my knotted muscles none of my recent books would have ever been written, and whose extraordinary frankness and generosity in sharing her cancer journey have made it possible for me to write Livvy’s story. I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for me. I just wish I could give you your happy ending. xxx

  Praise for Caroline Anderson

  “Written with flair, sensitivity and heart, Their Meant-to-Be Baby is a wonderfully compulsive tale of second chances, redemption and the power of love that I found absolutely impossible to put down!”

  —Goodreads

  “A sweet, romantic story. Very enjoyable.”

  —Goodreads on Best Friend to Wife and Mother?

  Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  EXCERPT FROM RESISTING HER RESCUE DOC BY ALISON ROBERTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  ‘WOW, LOOK AT that glorious view!’

  Stifling her impatience, Livvy glanced back across the scree slope to the valley floor stretched out below them, the late spring grass a splash of vivid green. In the distance Buttermere lay like a gleaming mirror, the bleak slate hills behind it rich purple in the sun.

  And between her and the view—admittedly glorious—was Matt, dawdling his way up the winding, rocky path and driving her nuts because it was the last day of their team-building exercise in Cumbria and there was a trophy at stake.

  They’d been there since Friday, four teams all in some way connected to the emergency department of Yoxburgh Park Hospital; Sam and Vicky from the ED, Dan and Lucy from Orthopaedics, and Ed and Beth from Paediatrics, which had left her and Matt as the Trauma team.

  She’d only started at the hospital a few weeks ago and she’d met him a few times fleetingly when he’d come down to the ED, but ever since they’d arrived at the lodge and sat down together to decide who would be in each team, she and Matt had seemed a natural fit.

  ‘Are you OK with that?’ she’d asked at the time, and he’d nodded, his grin a little cheeky.

  ‘Yeah, suits me. You’re small enough that I can pick you up if you dawdle.’

  ‘I don’t dawdle, and you’d better not!’

  ‘Don’t worry, Livvy, I think I can just about keep up with you,’ he’d said drily, and he had, seemingly effortlessly. They’d tackled all manner of challenges, and he’d been witty, mischievous, not above cheating and game for anything Sam threw at them.

  Until now. Now, with everything to play for, he was stopping to admire the view?

  Yes, it was beautiful, and if they had time she’d stop and drink it in, but they didn’t because so far the four teams were neck and neck, so the first to the summit of Haystacks would take the crown. And Matt was trailing.

  Deliberately?

  ‘Are you dawdling on purpose or just studying my backside?’ she asked, hands on hips and her head cocked to one side, and he stopped just below her, a smile playing around that really rather gorgeous mouth that she was itching to kiss.

  He took a step closer, curling his hands around her hips and sending shivers of something interesting through her. They were standing eye to eye, and his mouth was so close now...

  His smile widened, crows’ feet bracketing those laughing eyes the colour of the slate that surrounded them, and he shook his head slowly from side to side.

  ‘Cute though it is, and it has been wort
h watching, I’ll admit, I was actually studying the scenery then.’ The smile faded, replaced by awe. ‘Stop and look around you, Livvy, just for a moment. It’s so beautiful and you’re missing it—and anyway, it’s only supposed to be fun!’

  She sighed, knowing he was right, but still impatient. ‘I know, but we can’t let Sam catch us now, we’ll never hear the end of it. We can look on the way back when we’ve won.’

  He shook his head again and laughed. ‘You’re so competitive. Just be careful, that edge is unstable. Why don’t you let me go first?’

  She laughed at him and took a step backwards out of reach. ‘What, to slow me down? No way. And besides, I’m always careful,’ she threw over her shoulder as she turned, and then she took another step and the ground vanished beneath her feet...

  * * *

  ‘Livvy—!’

  He lunged for her, his fingers brushing her flailing arm, but she was gone before he could grab her, her scream slicing the air as she fell. And then the scream stopped abruptly, leaving just a fading echo, and his blood ran cold.

  She was below him, lying like a rag doll against a rock, crumpled and motionless, and for a moment he was frozen.

  No. Please, God, no...

  ‘Livvy, I’m coming. Hang on,’ he yelled, and scanned the slope, found a safe route that wouldn’t send more rocks showering down on her and scrambled down, half running, half sliding across the shale. Fast, but not too fast. Not so fast that he’d put himself in danger, too, because that wouldn’t help either of them.

  As he got closer he could see her shoulders heaving, as if she was fighting for breath, and then as he got to her side she sucked in a small breath, rolled onto her back and started to pant jerkily, and his legs turned to jelly.

  She was breathing. Not well, but she wasn’t dead...

  He took her hand and gripped it gently. ‘It’s OK, Livvy, I’m here, I’ve got you. You’re OK now. Just keep breathing, nice and slow. That’s it. Well done.’

  Her eyes locked on his, and after a moment her breathing steadied, and he felt his shoulders drop with relief.

  ‘What—happened? Can’t—breathe...’

  ‘Just take it steady, you’ll recover soon,’ he said, his voice calm, his heart still pounding and his mind running through all the things that might be damaged. Starting with her head... ‘I think you’ve been winded. Stay there a minute—’

  ‘Can’t. I need to sit up.’

  He gritted his teeth. ‘OK, but don’t do it if you think you’ve got any other injuries.’

  ‘No. Haven’t,’ she said, and she struggled up into a sitting position and propped herself against the rock that had stopped her fall.

  ‘Ah—!’

  ‘OK?’

  She nodded, shifting slightly, her breathing slowing, and she closed her eyes briefly.

  ‘Yeah. That’s better. The path just—went.’

  So she remembered that, at least. ‘“I’m always careful”,’ he quoted drily, and she laughed weakly as relief kicked in.

  ‘Well, nobody’s—perfect,’ she said after a moment, and then her eyes welled and he reached out a hand and brushed the soft blond hair back from her face with fingers that weren’t quite steady, scanning her face for bruises.

  ‘Are you OK now? You scared me half to death.’

  She met his eyes with a wry smile, and for once the sparkle in her eyes wasn’t mischief. ‘That depends on your—definition of OK. I’m alive, I can breathe—just, I can feel everything, I can move, so yeah—I guess I’m OK. Do I hurt? Oh, yeah. These rocks are hard.’

  ‘I’m sure. Don’t move. Let me check you over.’

  ‘You just want to get your hands on me,’ she quipped, her breath still catching.

  ‘Yeah, right,’ he said lightly, trying not to think about that right now because however true it might be, he could see she was in pain. He simply wanted to be sure she didn’t have any life-threatening injuries and then maybe his heart could slow down a bit. ‘Why don’t you let me do my job?’ he added gently, trying to stick to business.

  ‘Yes, Doctor.’

  ‘Well, at least you can remember that. How many fingers am I holding up?’

  ‘Twelve.’

  He tried to glare at her but it was too hard so he just laughed, told her to co-operate and carried on, checking her pupils, making her follow his finger, feeling her scalp for any sign of a head injury.

  Please don’t have a head injury...

  ‘My head’s fine. It’s my ribs that hurt.’

  So he turned his attention to her body, checking for anything that could be a worry because she’d hit that rock hard and a punctured lung could kill her. He squeezed her ribcage gently.

  ‘Does that feel OK?’

  ‘Sort of. It’s tender, but it’s not catching any more when I breathe and I can’t feel any grating when you spring them, so I don’t think I broke any ribs,’ she said, taking it seriously at last. ‘I thought I had an elephant on my chest. I had no idea being winded was so damn scary.’

  ‘Oh, yeah. I’ve only ever been winded once, when I fell out of a tree. I must have been six or seven, but I remember it very clearly. I thought I was dying.’

  She nodded, then looked away again, just as they heard a slither of shale and Sam appeared at their sides.

  ‘How is she?’ he asked tightly.

  ‘Lippy and opinionated but apparently OK, as far as I’ve checked. She was winded. At least it shut her up for a moment.’

  Sam chuckled, but Matt could see the relief in his eyes. ‘Now there’s a miracle.’

  ‘Excuse me, I am here, you know,’ she said, shifting into a better position, and Sam looked down at her and grinned.

  ‘So you are. Good job, too, we don’t need to lose a promising young registrar, we’re pushed enough,’ he said drily, and sat down. ‘Why don’t you shut up and let him finish so we can get on?’ he added, and Matt laughed. As if...

  ‘Any back pain?’ he asked, but she just gave him a wry look.

  ‘No more than you’d expect after rolling down a scree slope and slamming into a rock, but at least it stopped me rolling all the way down,’ she said, trying to get to her feet, but he put a hand on her shoulder and held her down.

  ‘I’m not done—’

  She tipped her head back and fixed him with a determined look. ‘Yeah, you are. I’m fine, Matt. I just need to get up because there are rocks sticking into me all over the place and I could do without that. You might need to give me a hand up.’

  He held his hand out but let her do the work. She’d stop instinctively as soon as anything felt wrong, but he was horribly conscious that he hadn’t ruled out all manner of injuries that might be lurking silently, but that was fine, he had no intention of taking his eyes off her for the rest of the day.

  She winced slightly, but she was on her feet.

  ‘How’s that feel?’

  ‘Better now I’m off the rocks. Did you see what happened? Did I step off the edge, or did it crumble?’

  He snorted. ‘No, it crumbled. I told you the edge was unstable, but did you listen? Of course not. You were in too much of a hurry. When you weren’t walking backwards, that is.’

  ‘Only one step—’

  ‘I’ll give you one step,’ he growled. ‘So, are you OK to go on?’

  ‘Of course I am. You seriously think I’m going to give up now just because of this?’

  ‘You might as well. I don’t get beaten,’ Sam said, getting to his feet, and she laughed in his face.

  ‘We’ll see about that,’ she retorted, stabbing him in the chest with her finger, then she took a step and yelped.

  Matt frowned. ‘What?’

  ‘My ankle.’ She tried again, and winced. ‘Rats. I can’t weight-bear on it. I must have turned it when the path gave way.’

 
‘Well, that’s just upped my chances,’ Sam said with a grin, and Matt rolled his eyes.

  ‘You two are a nightmare. Right, let’s get you off here and have a better look at that.’

  * * *

  Livvy flexed her ankle again and regretted it. She was so mad with herself, and she was hideously aware that it could have been much, much worse. If it had been her head against that rock instead of her chest...

  After all she’d been through, that she could have died from a moment’s lack of concentration was ridiculous. She’d meant what she’d said about being careful. She was always careful, meticulous with her lifestyle, fastidious about what she ate, how much she exercised—she woke every morning ready to tackle whatever the day brought, because whatever it brought she had at least been granted the chance to deal with it, and she never stopped being aware of that glorious gift.

  And now, after the physical and emotional roller coaster of the last five years, she’d nearly thrown it all away.

  Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  ‘OK?’

  She nodded, her teeth gritted, because her ankle was definitely not OK and the rest of her body wasn’t far behind. She was going to have some stunning bruises to show for this. What an idiot.

  They carried her carefully across the loose rock slope to where the others were waiting, clustering round her and looking concerned as they set her on her feet, and she felt silly and horribly embarrassed.

  And annoyed, because she’d been really looking forward to climbing up Haystacks and there was no way she was going up it now, and she couldn’t see how she could get down, either, so one way or another she was going to miss out on the climb and coincidentally cause the others a whole world of aggravation.

  Either that or just sit there and let them pick her up on the way back.

  Whatever, they’d be worried about her, Matt especially since he’d seen her fall, and she felt awful now for scaring him. Scaring all of them, and putting a dampener on the whole trip.