‘Oh, so it’s a girl?’ Polly laughed, her pretty face lighting up with amusement. ‘That’s ten pounds you owe me.’ She looked round, deliberately drawing Ellie into the conversation. ‘Beth was convinced she was having a boy but I was equally sure it would be a girl so we had a bet on it. Looks as though I’m the winner!’
‘We’re both winners,’ Beth corrected her, laughing.
Ellie laughed as well but she couldn’t pretend that her heart wasn’t heavy at the thought of never having children of her own. It was hard to rid herself of the thought as she helped Polly deliver the afterbirth then get Beth and the baby ready for the transfer to hospital. Although Beth was reluctant to go, Polly managed to persuade her that it would be in her and the baby’s best interests. By the time Daniel led in the paramedics, everything was ready.
‘Let me know if they keep you in, Beth,’ he said, planting a kiss on his partner’s cheek. ‘We’ll set up a rota—that way you won’t be inundated by everyone wanting to visit at the same time.’
‘That would be great.’ Beth’s voice caught as she looked at the baby nestled in her arms. ‘It’ll be nice for this little one to have all her aunties and uncles there for her, even if her father isn’t interested.’
Ellie stepped aside as the paramedics wheeled Beth and the baby out to the ambulance. Polly was following on by car and she left as well. Daniel sighed as he watched them go.
‘I can’t believe that Callum doesn’t want anything to do with his own child, but he’s never even bothered to contact Beth since she wrote to tell him she was pregnant.’
‘So she said,’ Ellie said quietly. ‘It must be very difficult for her.’
‘It must. It’s hard enough bringing up a child on your own when it’s the result of circumstances beyond your control, but it must be much worse when it’s because the other parent doesn’t want to be involved.’
There was real regret in Daniel’s voice and Ellie found herself wondering if he was speaking from experience. She knew nothing about his personal life, whether he was married and had a family or what. However, before she could attempt to find out, he made an obvious effort to collect himself.
‘Anyway, leaving all that aside, I wanted to thank you, Eleanor. Talk about being thrown in at the deep end!’ He laughed ruefully. ‘And here was I, trying not to put too much pressure on you!’
CHAPTER FOUR
DANIEL COULD HAVE bitten off his tongue when he saw Eleanor’s face tighten. That she hadn’t appreciated the comment was obvious and he couldn’t blame her. No one liked to be made to feel that they weren’t up to doing the job they had been hired for. He desperately wanted to explain but how could he when it would mean admitting that he had been worried about her, that he cared?
‘Right. Better get back to work or the patients will think we’ve gone on strike. Any problems, buzz me.’
He swung round, not giving her a chance to say anything as he headed back to his room. Maybe he was taking the coward’s way out but the thought of confessing how much she had been in his thoughts lately was out of the question. Maybe she did have issues that still affected her but he doubted if she would appreciate his concern. From what he had learned, Eleanor preferred to keep her own counsel and he would be well advised to remember that whenever he was tempted to interfere.
The morning flew past as it always did. They held open surgery each morning and they were always very busy. Although patients could make an appointment to be seen during the afternoon, Daniel had found that they preferred this system. Being a mainly rural community, it allowed more leeway for the farmers and their families. Livestock came first and people appreciated being able to visit the surgery when work allowed, rather than be tied to a set time and date. It was almost one by the time his last patient left so he tidied up and made his way to Reception. Marie had been joined by Lucy Burrows, who was doing her pre-registration training in their on-site pharmacy. It was obvious that Marie had brought her up to speed about the morning’s events.
‘I can’t believe that Beth has had her baby here!’ Lucy declared when she saw Daniel.
‘I know. It came as a bit of a shock, not least of all to Beth,’ Daniel replied, laughing. Lucy had been born and raised in Beesdale and had returned to the town after she had completed her degree. With a Master of Pharmacy degree to her credit, she could have moved anywhere in the country, but she loved the Dales and wanted to remain here.
‘I wonder what she’s going to call her,’ Lucy continued, happily. ‘Beth was convinced she was having a boy so she’ll have to think of some girls’ names, I imagine.’
‘She will,’ Daniel agreed, although he was only half listening. His ears had caught the sound of footsteps and he knew without needing to check that they belonged to Eleanor. How or why he was able to recognise them with such certainty, he had no idea, but he knew he was right and his heart seemed to beat a shade faster all of a sudden. It was an effort not to show how alarmed he felt as he turned to her. ‘All done?’
He’d been aiming for lightness, for nonchalance, for...for heaven knew what, but he hadn’t achieved it. No way! He inwardly winced when he realised how stilted he sounded. What made it worse was that out of the corner of his eye he saw Lucy and Marie exchange a look, confirmation, if he’d needed it, that he had messed up. All he could do was hope that Eleanor didn’t know him well enough to realise how strangely he was behaving.
‘Yes. Thank you.’
Daniel felt a jolt of shock hit him when he realised that Eleanor sounded the same as he did. Uptight. Stilted. Aware. His blood heated, gathering several degrees as it rushed through his veins. Eleanor was aware of him? Not just the normal sort of recognition of one human being for another but completely and totally aware of him? As a person? As a man? If his mind hadn’t been already boggled it would have been so then. Daniel could barely get his head round the idea and definitely couldn’t chase it away. It was a relief when Lucy unwittingly stepped into the breach.
‘Hi, Eleanor, I’m Lucy Burrows. I’m doing my pre-reg training in the pharmacy. I also do a turn on the desk if we’re pushed.’
‘Nice to meet you, Lucy.’ Daniel heard Eleanor take a quick breath and didn’t know whether he felt relieved or sorry when he heard how normal she sounded. ‘Actually, most people call me Ellie. I always think it sounds less, well, formal.’
Ellie. Daniel tried it out for size, oh, not out loud—he wasn’t that far gone! It rolled around his tongue pleasantly enough yet for some reason it didn’t feel quite right. He shot a glance at the woman standing beside him and felt his nerve endings start to fire out signals. Ellie was a pretty name, slightly more modern, a little more accessible, but it wasn’t right for her: it didn’t fit. He preferred Eleanor, preferred the sound of it, the feel of it, the sense of completeness. With Eleanor one got the whole woman. Whereas Ellie was just a fraction of the whole, the bits she wanted folk to see, not the bits she kept hidden. The bits, he realised, that he desperately wanted to get to know.
Ellie forced herself to respond as Lucy asked her how she had enjoyed her first morning at The Larches but it was an effort to concentrate. She had no idea what was going on in Daniel’s mind but she could almost see the thought bubbles forming above his head. That he was thinking about her was a given and it was unsettling to say the least. It was a relief when the phone rang.
‘I expect you’re keen to see the flat. I’ve got the keys here so I’ll take you up there now.’ Daniel offered her a small bunch of keys that he’d taken from his pocket as they moved away from the desk.
‘Thank you.’ Ellie took them off him, trying to ignore how warm they felt from being tucked against his body. ‘There’s no need for you to come, though,’ she said hurriedly, not sure she appreciated that idea. ‘I’m sure you must have more important things to do. I can sort myself out.’
‘It isn’t a problem. Anyway, there ar
e a couple of things I need to show you—how to work the boiler and where to find the stopcock, things like that.’ He didn’t give her time to protest any more as he led the way from the surgery, taking the path round to the rear of the building. ‘The flat is completely self-contained,’ he continued over his shoulder. ‘Camille and I lived there when I took over the practice. We only moved out because of Nathan.’ He laughed. ‘We needed more space to fit in all his paraphernalia!’
‘Oh. I see.’ Ellie felt her heart sink. Although she knew it was silly, learning that Daniel was married and had a family was disappointing. She pushed that ridiculous thought to the back of her mind, determined that it wasn’t going to set down roots. ‘It must have been handy living on site, so to speak.’
‘Yes and no.’ Daniel paused so she could catch up with him. ‘It was great not having to drive miles each day to get to work but the downside was that I was always on call. Folk knew exactly where to find me, day and night.’
‘Mmm. I can see how that could be a problem,’ Ellie agreed, frowning.
‘You don’t need to worry about that,’ he said quickly. He put his hand on her arm and laughed. ‘We’ve managed to train our patients now. They phone the out-of-hours number rather than hammer on the front door these days.’
He patted her arm then moved away but it was a moment before Ellie followed him. She could feel her arm tingling from where his hand had rested on it and had to resist the urge to rub it. Daniel had reached a flight of steps leading to the upper floor of the building and he paused again to wait for her.
Ellie forced her feet to move in his direction but inside she could hear alarm bells ringing. She was already far too aware of Daniel, more aware of him, in fact, than she had been of anyone before, including Michael. Her attraction to her ex had developed over time; it definitely hadn’t been instantaneous as this had been. Was it the fact that she had suffered such a huge blow? she wondered. That being betrayed had left her vulnerable so that she had latched onto the first attractive man who had shown her any kindness?
Ellie wanted to believe it with a fervour that bordered on frenzy. Quite frankly, any explanation was better than thinking that this attraction she felt could develop into something more!
* * *
‘And this is the main bedroom. The bed’s new and so is the carpet. I decided to change them when I had the flat redecorated. The old ones were well past their use-by date.’
Daniel stepped back so that Eleanor could go ahead of him but she merely glanced into the room. Her eyes swept over the soft café-au-lait-coloured carpet and matching curtains and he found it impossible to decide if she liked what she saw or not. It had been the same with every room—a swift glance, a brief nod, and that had been it. Even though he knew it was ridiculous to feel even the tiniest bit miffed, he couldn’t help it.
‘So what do you think?’ he said, trying to mask his disappointment. She wasn’t to know how much effort he had expended getting the place ready for her. She had no idea that he had devoted a whole weekend just to choosing the colour for the walls or that buying new curtains had been such a nightmare—widths and lengths, patterned or plain—it had been like tiptoeing through a minefield! However, all the effort he’d expended wouldn’t be worth a brass farthing if she didn’t like it.
‘I don’t know what to say.’
She sank down onto the sofa and stared around the bright and airy living room. He’d chosen sheer curtains for in here—well, he hadn’t actually chosen them but had gone with what the sales assistant had advised—and he had been particularly pleased with the result. The view from the window was spectacular, the greens and mauves of the surrounding hills shown to advantage without heavy curtains to detract from it. But had he made an error of judgement? Would Eleanor have preferred something more substantial, more private?
‘Look, I understand if you want to change things,’ he said quickly. ‘Don’t think you have to live with what I’ve chosen...’
‘I love it. The walls, the curtains. Everything.’ She looked up and he could see tears shimmering in her eyes. ‘I never expected this, Daniel. Thank you so much. It’s perfect.’
‘I’m glad you like it.’ Daniel felt a lump come to his throat and had to swallow hard. He dredged up a rather rusty laugh. ‘I had a horrible feeling that you loathed the place when you didn’t say anything.’
‘I was just overwhelmed.’ She dashed away her tears and smiled self-consciously. ‘Sorry. I was expecting something fairly basic, you see, not this. This...well, this looks like a proper home.’
‘Good. It’s going to be your home for the next year, so I’m pleased you feel that way.’ He took a deep breath, clamping down on the urge to tell her that it was her home for as long as she wanted it to be. Eleanor was here to cover Beth’s maternity leave and once that was over she would leave. Better to get that clear in his head from the outset.
‘Right then. Do you need any help?’ he said, determined to get a grip on his thoughts. ‘Those steps can be a real bind if you’ve got anything heavy to fetch up here, so I’ll give you a hand.’
‘Thank you but there’s no need.’ She stood up and he couldn’t help noticing that her face had closed up again. ‘I got rid of most of my things before I left Kent so there’s nothing really heavy—just clothes and bedding mainly.’
‘I see.’ Daniel frowned, wondering why she had got rid of all her belongings. He longed to ask but some tiny shred of caution held him back. He had teetered on the very edge of that invisible line between colleagues but he hadn’t crossed it. Yet. Once he did so there would be no going back and that wouldn’t be wise. He had to concentrate on Nathan. He couldn’t afford to involve himself in Eleanor’s affairs. At the end of the day, his son came first.
Daniel’s heart was heavy as he walked to the door. Maybe he was doing the right thing, but there was no denying that it felt as though he was abandoning Eleanor and the idea hurt him probably far more than it would have hurt her if she knew how he felt. Eleanor had no problem keeping to her side of that line.
‘I’ll leave you to it then. I’ve half a dozen home visits this afternoon so if you need anything, ask Marie.’ He forced himself to smile, although it was an effort to appear upbeat. ‘She’s the fount of all knowledge and any problems, she can usually solve them.’
‘I’ll remember that.’ Eleanor’s voice was cool, proof, if he’d needed it, that she didn’t feel anywhere near as confused as he did.
Daniel sketched her a wave and left. He went back to the surgery and collected the list of calls that Marie had left for him. His first call was to one of the outlying farms so he got into his car and headed out of town. It was a good twenty minutes’ drive there and that should give him time to get his thoughts together. Quite frankly, he couldn’t understand why he was behaving this way. It wasn’t as though he was desperate to have a relationship again, desperate to have sex. He hadn’t slept with anyone since Camille had died, hadn’t wanted to despite the fact that he’d had many opportunities. It was as though that side of him had died along with his wife and he had never imagined he would feel desire again.
Was that what he felt for Eleanor? Did he want to sleep with her? Yes, he did. However, deep down he knew that sex wasn’t at the heart of this attraction he felt, that there was more to it than that, although he wasn’t going to make the mistake of working out what that ‘more’ was. It was too risky when he needed to stay focused on Nathan.
Daniel’s expression was grim as he turned in through the farm gates. Meeting Eleanor couldn’t have come at a worse time.
* * *
Ellie couldn’t help feeling a deep sense of satisfaction as she switched off her computer. The day had gone much better than she had hoped. The patients she’d seen had been friendly and welcoming, genuinely grateful for her help. The other members of the team had also been highly supportive, going out o
f their way to make her feel at home. She knew she had made the right decision by applying for this job. It would help her get over what had happened, help her forget her disappointment and heartache. She just needed to concentrate on her work and everything would be fine.
‘All finished?’
Ellie felt her heart lurch when the door opened and Daniel appeared. She hadn’t seen him since he had shown her round the flat and she had forgotten the impact he had on her. Now, as she took stock of his rangy figure, she could feel that flicker of awareness shoot through her once more. Was it just his looks that caused her to react this way? Or was it more than that, the air of kindness, of caring, of compassion he exuded?
She had been attracted to Michael initially because of his looks, although, if she was honest, it had taken a while to find anything attractive about his personality. Michael had very strong views on most matters and Ellie had had to reconcile herself to the fact that they didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of subjects. Had that been a mistake? she wondered suddenly. Should she have compromised her views to accommodate his simply because she had been afraid of losing him?
‘Eleanor?’
The concern in Daniel’s voice brought her back to the present and Ellie jumped. ‘Sorry, I was miles away. Yes, I’m all finished.’
‘Good. I was hoping we’d be able to finish on time with it being your first day.’ Daniel gave her a quick smile and she felt her heart flutter once more and fought to control it. This was ridiculous! She wasn’t some infatuated teenager but a mature woman, a woman who knew what was what too.
‘Well, it seems to have worked out that way,’ she said lightly, standing up. She took her bag out of her drawer then glanced around, checking that the cupboard was locked and the tap wasn’t running—all the itty-bitty jobs that she did automatically and yet for some reason seemed to have taken on a far greater importance with Daniel watching her...
‘Humph!’ She didn’t realise that she had actually snorted in disgust at her behaviour until she saw his brows rise. Colour flooded her cheeks and she hurried to the door, praying that he couldn’t read minds along with his other talents. Wanting to make a good impression on him was pathetic!
The Boss Who Stole Her Heart Page 4
