It was one o’clock in the morning when Daniel’s car pulled onto the drive and Kate was round at the passenger’s side in a flash. As she opened the door a pair of sleepy blue eyes were fixed on her and a small voice asked, ‘Are you Kate?’
‘I am,’ she told him with a smile, ‘and you must be Alex.’
Daniel was watching them from the driving seat. ‘We have one very tired boy here, Kate.’
‘Come along, then,’ she said gently, helping him out of the car. ‘There’s a nice bed waiting for you but, first, are you hungry, Alex?’
He shook his head and Daniel explained, ‘He was starving, so we stopped at a service station on the motorway, and now all I think Alex wants is to go to sleep, isn’t it?’ he said, placing his arm around the boy’s shoulders.
‘Then come this way, both of you,’ she said, and led the way to the room that was going to be Alex’s for a time. ‘I’ll leave you to it now,’ she told Daniel. ‘I’m sure that Alex would rather you showed him where the bathroom is and helped him undress on his first night here. I’ll see you both in the morning.’
When Kate had gone, sleepy though he was, Alex pointed to the box on the bedside table and said, ‘Can I open it? My name is on it.’ And when he lifted the lid he smiled for the first time since they’d left Tom at the hospital.
Bless you, Kate, Daniel thought. You deserve far better than that cheating fiancé of yours. You will be just what we need at the surgery for our small patients.
In another life he might have thought that she was just what he needed, but not in this one.
When Alex cried out for his dad in the night, Kate and Daniel almost bumped into each other on the landing in their haste to get to him. But she stepped back when she saw him and said with a smile, ‘Great minds think alike, it would seem. I’ll leave you to it.’
But he noticed that she didn’t remove the wedge that she’d placed under her bedroom door to keep it open, and when he’d hushed Alex back to sleep he saw that she was propped up in bed reading a magazine.
‘Go to sleep, Kate,’ he said in a low voice. ‘I’ll keep my eyes and ears open.’
‘All right,’ she agreed, sinking back against the pillows, ‘but who are they, Daniel—Alex and his father?’
‘Can it wait until tomorrow?’
‘Yes, I suppose so.’ As he turned the light off she added, ‘Was it only a few hours ago that you told me I was going to be doctor number three in the practice? It seems like a lifetime.’
‘It’s because a lot has happened since then,’ he replied, and wondered how they were going to give an eight-year-old boy the loving care he was going to need and keep the practice running smoothly at the same time.
The next morning, while their young visitor was still sleeping, Kate went down to the kitchen and made a pot of tea with the intention of taking some up to Daniel if he was awake, but before she could do so he appeared looking somewhat heavy-eyed, and she observed him sympathetically.
‘I take it that you didn’t get much sleep,’ she said.
‘No, I didn’t,’ he admitted. ‘I dozed off a few times but was loath to let myself get too comfortable in case Alex cried out again. The early hours of the morning were not a good time for a child to be taken to a strange house and put to bed in a strange room, but once he’d settled into a deep sleep I didn’t hear a sound from him. The poor kid was exhausted.’
‘So are you going to tell me what it’s all about?’ she asked as she poured the tea.
‘I suppose so. I owe you that if for no other reason than the way you were so kind and caring with Alex last night. I am in contact with the boy and Tom, his father, because I was once engaged to Alex’s older sister.’
Kate managed to hide her surprise. ‘I see. But I take it that you didn’t marry her.’
‘No. I didn’t marry Lucy. I was going to, but I didn’t.’
She frowned. ‘So you had a change of heart.’
‘No. Neither of us changed our minds. We were very much in love, but circumstances did it for us. She died the week before we were due to be married. Lucy had a brain tumour.’
‘Oh! How awful!’ she gasped. ‘How did you cope with something so dreadful?’
‘For a long time not very well, I’m afraid. But in the end I just had to get a grip on my grief and get on with my life. I went to work abroad for a while, but the pain was still there no matter where I was, so when I came back I opted for the life of a country GP and so far have no regrets on that score.
‘Her mother had died from the same thing as her daughter some years before, so when Lucy was taken it left just her father and young Alex. There were no other relatives, but they’ve been fine so far. Tom is a great father to the boy, and I’ve kept in touch because Lucy asked me to. So you know now why I couldn’t refuse when he asked me to look after Alex. He calls me his Uncle Dan.’
Kate felt like weeping. Her own blighted engagement seemed as nothing compared to what had happened to Daniel. She had her answer now as to why he was alone. It was from choice. No one was ever going to replace Alex’s big sister in the life of the man sitting opposite, and coming to that conclusion made her feel even more like weeping.
‘You must see what happened to my marriage plans as trivial when you think back to what happened to yours,’ she said, looking down at the place where her wedding ring would have rested.
‘No! Not at all,’ he said firmly. ‘You had a raw deal. But, Kate, you are young and attractive. It won’t be long before someone else wants to marry you and have children with you. What is happening to you now will just seem like a bad dream then.’
She wanted to tell him that getting to know him was the only thing that was making her life bearable, and if she did meet someone else he would have a hard act to follow after her having spent time with a man who’d stayed awake all night in case a small boy woke up in a strange house and wanted his dad.
While Kate’s thoughts had been all about him, Daniel’s mind had been moving on. ‘I’ll call in at the school some time today and ask if they are prepared to take in a temporary pupil in the middle of term,’ he said. ‘If Alex can start tomorrow, there is no reason why you shouldn’t join us at the practice at the same time.’
‘That would be great,’ she enthused, ‘just as long as he is at school and comes to the surgery afterwards. But I wouldn’t mind putting it off for a while if you want me to so that I can be there for him until he’s settled into his new surroundings.’
Daniel shook his head. ‘No, Kate, I can’t let you do that. Alex is my responsibility. Let’s not make any decisions until I’ve spoken to the headmaster.’
‘I’ve got today free,’ she insisted. ‘I could sort that out for you. He and I could go to the school and see the headmaster.’
‘You are just too good to me,’ he said with a smile, ‘but Alex is in my care. I’ll tell you what, though. We’ll all three go to the school. How about that?’
‘Yes!’ She smiled. ‘It’s going to be lovely, having him around for a while, isn’t it? He can ring his dad whenever he wants and we’ll take him to see him at the weekends.’
‘Which reminds me,’ he said, ‘Tom will be anxious to hear that Alex arrived here safely and that he is all right. When he’s had some breakfast he and I will give him a ring. The poor guy has bone splintering in each of his knees so it’s going to be metal plates and whatever else is needed to get him mobile again. It will be like he said, a big job.’
Having someone like Kate around would be just what Alex needed, he thought as he went upstairs to see if he was awake. She was ready to put her own affairs on hold because of his commitment to Tom and Alex, but he couldn’t let her do that. It wouldn’t be fair.
He’d noted that to her they were already a threesome with regard to Alex, and thought that not so long ago he would have been putting up barriers at the description, but now it had a comforting sound to it. It was good to have Kate in his life. Without her the responsibility that he’
d just taken on would be much more overwhelming.
When he reached the top of the stairs Alex was coming out of the bedroom, looking around him curiously and clutching the box of goodies that Kate had left for him the night before.
‘Hi, Alex,’ Daniel said breezily, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for them to be meeting on the landing, ‘Are you ready for something to eat?’
Alex nodded and, still looking around him, asked, ‘Where’s Kate, Daniel?’
‘In the kitchen, making breakfast and looking forward to seeing you again. I will have to go to the surgery today to look after my patients, but Kate will be here to keep you company, and at some part of the day the three of us are going to go to the village school to ask if they can find a place for you until your dad is better.’
‘Do we have to?’ he asked with a noticeable lack of interest.
‘I’m afraid so. He won’t want you to miss any of your schooling.’
‘Can I talk to him?’
‘Yes. Any time you like. But let’s have breakfast first, shall we? Your dad might be with the doctors at this time of the morning.’
‘Hello, there,’ Kate said, directing a bright beam upon him. ‘Has Daniel told you that you and I are going to explore the village today while he’s looking after the poorly people?’
‘Yes. What is there to see?’ he asked doubtfully.
‘There’s the river, where we can fish when I’m not working,’ Daniel told him. ‘How would you like that?’ As Kate observed him in surprise he explained, ‘The fishing rights go with the piece of land I’ve bought.’
‘Oh! I say!’ she teased. ‘And I suppose you will have a boat moored at the bottom of your garden.’
‘I might, but it won’t be until I’m living there, and given the speed the builder is moving at it could be quite some time before I’m in residence.’
Alex had been listening wide-eyed to what they were saying and now he was finding his voice. ‘So we can fish in the river!’ he cried.
‘You’d like that, would you?’ Kate said, putting juice and cereal in front of him.
‘You bet I would!’ he whooped. ‘Wait till I tell Dad.’ And the two doctors smiled their relief above his small dark head.
When they rang Tom he was feeling weak after surgery and badly in need of something to raise his spirits. Alex’s voice coming over the line, full of excitement at the things he was going to do with Daniel and Kate, was just what he needed to hear. If his boy was happy, then so was he, and when it was Daniel’s turn to have a word he asked who Kate was. Was she a girlfriend?
‘No,’ he replied promptly. ‘Kate is the daughter of the lady I’m lodging with and she’s lovely with Alex. You need have no worries about him while she’s around. She’ll make a great mother one day, and now I’m afraid I’ll have to go—the practice calls. Alex is going to be fine. Don’t worry about him. Put yourself first for once.’
CHAPTER FOUR
‘KATE BARRINGTON and Dr Dreyfus!’ the headmaster of the village school exclaimed when they were shown into his office. He came out from behind his desk to shake hands with them and said, ‘This is a pleasant surprise, if I may say so. It seems a long time since I last saw you, Kate, and who is this young man that you have brought to see me?’
Graham Henshaw had been headmaster when Kate had been Alex’s age and for a good few years before that. He was a jovial man in his late fifties with a pleasant wife and two sons at university. The small school always came high in the league for excellence and it was mainly due to the hard work and dedication of its headmaster.
‘His name is Alex,’ Daniel told him, looking down at his young charge’s dark locks. ‘Last night I had to uproot him from Gloucestershire, where he lives, because of an emergency in his home life and bring him here, far from all the things that he is familiar with.
‘We aren’t sure how long Alex will be staying with us, but we know that it is important that he doesn’t miss any of his schooling and have come to ask if you will take him as a pupil here until his home circumstances change.’
‘And they are?’ the headmaster questioned.
‘Alex’s father is bringing him up alone. Yesterday he had a serious accident while at work, which could keep him hospitalised for some weeks. He has asked if I will look after Alex until he is mobile again so he is staying with Kate and I at Jasmine Cottage.’ Daniel smiled across at his companion. ‘Kate has kindly offered to help.’
‘I see,’ Graham said with a smile of his own for the small boy standing uncertainly beside them. ‘I’m sure that we’ll be able to find you a place in our school, Alex.’ He turned to Daniel and Kate. ‘Any intake of new pupils has to be authorised by the Local Education Authority, who has to agree to accept them into the system by including them on their roll. I’ll get on to them and ask that they put it through as fast as possible. There should be no problem when I explain the circumstances.
‘In the meantime, bring Alex in to school. He can sit and watch and get to know the other children until I hear from the powers that be. You have the practice to consider, haven’t you?’
Daniel nodded. ‘Yes, and Kate is joining us there as soon as Alex is at school.’
‘Really!’ Graham exclaimed. ‘That’s great news. So where does Ruth come in all of this?’
‘My mother is at my grandma’s,’ Kate told him. ‘She has heart problems so Mum is looking after her and could be there for quite some time.’
‘So you are both in the thick of it,’ he said sympathetically, and Kate thought that she couldn’t argue about that, with a broken engagement dying in the charity shop window and the man beside her still mourning the love of his life. But at that moment the needs of a small boy came before any problems that might exist in her own and Daniel’s lives.
Boys of a similar age to Alex were playing football on a sports field at the side of the school building when they left, and he perked up when he saw them.
It must have reminded him of the other thing that had caught his interest and he said, ‘When are you going to show me where the river is, Kate?’
‘Now, if you like,’ she suggested. ‘Daniel has to go back to his patients but you and I have got all afternoon to wander around.’
‘Take Alex to the place where we’ll be fishing,’ he suggested.
‘Which is where?’
‘You can’t miss the building site. Look for a half-finished house. Every time I urge the builder to press on he reminds me that summer is past and days are short and nights are long. I’d been hoping to be in for Christmas, but there’s no chance of that.’
She didn’t want to think of Christmas, Kate thought. The longer it was in coming, the better. She was not going to be the life and soul of any parties this year, with the feeling of betrayed trust so strong within her. But if it should turn out that Alex was still with them then, she would have to make an effort for his sake.
After they’d said goodbye to Daniel they began to walk the short distance to the river, and as Alex took in all the new sights and sounds around him she thought wistfully that she wanted children of her own one day, and Daniel’s obvious affection for the child at her side showed that he must have felt the same way once.
But now the hand of circumstance had put that pleasure on hold for both of them. In her case a broken engagement, and in his something much worse.
When they came to the plot that he’d described, her eyes widened. Daniel was having his house built on the part of the riverside that had been her favourite place when she’d been young.
She and her friends had played on the grassy slope that would be his front lawn, and on the opposite bank was a park where they’d often seen the bright flash of kingfishers beside a lily pond.
There were men working on the house and as they observed them questioningly Kate told them, ‘I’ve brought Alex to see the river. Dr Dreyfus said it was all right for us to come onto the site.’
The one nearest to them smiled and said
. ‘What he says goes. The doc’s the boss, but I think we’d better find you both hard hats if we’ve got one small enough for your lad.’
‘I’ve got one that my youngster wears when he calls on his way home from school sometimes,’ one of the other men told her. ‘He’s about the same age as yours.’
‘Does he go to the village school?’ Kate asked.
‘Er…yes,’ he said, somewhat taken aback. ‘Why do you want to know?’
‘It’s just that Alex is new around here and at the moment doesn’t know any other children. He’ll be going there on Monday for a visit, that’s all, with a view to becoming a pupil.’
‘Ah, I see,’ he said as light dawned. ‘Well, my kid’s name is Scott Thompson. He’s a good lad. I’ll tell him to look out for your Alex, then.’
When they’d been kitted out with the hard hats they strolled past the workmen and went to stand where the river was skipping along frothily over a stony bed. Almost as if on cue, as Alex gazed at the water wide-eyed, a big silver fish swam past, swerving and diving with a sense of purpose that only it understood.
‘What was it?’ he cried excitedly as it disappeared from view.
‘A salmon, I think,’ she told him, pleased to see him enjoying himself.
They dawdled by the river until the light began to go. The workmen had already gone, and Kate decided that the least said to Daniel about that the better.
As they took the hats off and wrapped them in some plastic that was lying around she was taking note of the structure, and thought that the property when it was finished was going to be quite something. How often had Daniel wished that Lucy might have been spared to share it with him? she wondered.
It was easy to tell how much she’d meant to him, and she wished there was some way to break down the barriers he’d erected to save himself further hurt. Because she knew that was from where the reserve in him came. The wariness that she sensed whenever he thought they were getting too close. Didn’t he realise that if Lucy had loved him as much as he’d loved her, she wouldn’t want him to be alone for the rest of his life?
Country Doctor, Spring Bride Page 5
