Reunited By Their Baby

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‘That’s your decision and I certainly wouldn’t try to force you to take it,’ Beth assured her. ‘However, in my opinion, it’s extremely safe and very helpful too.’ She stood up, not wanting to appear to be pushing Diane into making a decision right then. ‘Let’s take some blood and see what that shows before we go any further.’

Beth took the sample, deciding it was easier to do it herself rather than ask Diane to wait to see Jane Barton, their practice nurse. Once the tubes were clearly labelled, she popped them into an envelope ready for the courier to collect at lunchtime. ‘We should have the results back in a week or so. In the meantime, I’m going to prescribe a course of iron tablets to help with the tiredness. I think you may be a little anaemic—the blood results will show if you are—and the iron will help.’

‘Let’s hope so. It’s a busy time of the year for us and I could do with a bit more energy. I’ll definitely need it when our Sam and Lauren have the baby,’ Diane declared, sounding much brighter than when she had arrived.

‘It won’t be long now,’ Beth agreed, thinking how much it could help to talk through a problem. She sighed inwardly, wondering if she should have talked to Daniel about the problem she had with Callum before she had agreed that he could work at The Larches. Maybe it would have helped a bit, she acknowledged, but at the end of the day it was something she had to resolve by herself. She fixed a smile to her mouth, not wanting to think about her own worries. ‘Are you looking forward to being a grandmother?’

‘That I am. It seems an age since there was a little one running around the place,’ Diane said with a laugh. ‘Steven, my youngest, is seventeen now and at least a foot taller than me. He’s certainly not a baby any more!’

Beth laughed as she saw Diane out. She worked her way through the rest of the list then went to Reception to wait for the courier. There were several more tests that Jane had collected so she handed them over as well. They closed for lunch but there was an open surgery in the afternoon, plus a visit by the local optician. Hemsthwaite Surgery might be smaller than The Larches and open for fewer hours, but it was still very busy and she would enjoy working there, she decided as she went to lock the door after the courier left.

Her hand was hovering over the catch when she saw a car turn into the car park and she frowned, hoping it wasn’t an early arrival. It was only when the driver got out that she realised it was Callum and her heart seemed to skip a beat. What on earth was Callum doing here?

Callum wasn’t sure if he should be doing this. He had intended to give Beth some space but the urge to see her had been too strong to resist. He locked the car then started to walk towards the surgery, his stomach lurching when he saw Beth standing by the door. It was hard to read her expression from this distance but he had the feeling that she wasn’t exactly thrilled to see him. It was only the thought of how it would appear if he turned around and went back to the car that kept him walking towards her.

‘What are you doing here, Callum?’

There was no welcome in her voice and he sighed under his breath. Obviously, the situation hadn’t improved as much as he had hoped it had. Beth was still loath to have anything to do with him and although he could understand it in a way, it was starting to grate on him. His tone was harsher than it might have been, less conciliatory. Beth wasn’t the only one who had suffered: he had too.

‘I came to thank you for not raising any objections about me being offered the locum post,’ he said flatly. ‘However, I can see that I’m wasting my time. Jack the Ripper would probably receive a warmer welcome than me!’ He swung round, deciding that it would be better if he got back in his car and left. He wasn’t helping his case, was he? He was simply putting Beth’s back up and that was the last thing he could afford to do.

‘Wait!’

Callum slowed, although he didn’t stop altogether. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that Beth had stepped outside and was standing on the path. There was such a look of indecision on her face that he felt his heart suddenly go out to her. That she was torn between sending him packing and talking to him was obvious and he hated to know that he had put her in this position. He didn’t want to make life difficult for her but unless they found a way to resolve this situation, it was going to continue to be stressful for both of them. The thought made him turn round and retrace his steps.

‘Look, Beth, I didn’t come here to start an argument,’ he said quietly. ‘I simply came to thank you. Daniel told me that I could have the job as long as you didn’t raise any objections and I’m just grateful that you agreed.’

‘Why? That’s what I don’t understand, Callum. Why do you want to work here? Why do you want to stay in Beesdale for that matter?’

There was a tremor in her voice that made Callum feel worse than ever. That she was upset was obvious and there was absolutely nothing he could say that would help...apart from telling her the truth, perhaps?

The thought of baring his soul made his stomach clench. Was he prepared to do that, to admit how he felt about becoming a father in the hope that it would convince her to let him see their daughter? What if he said too much? What if the words somehow slipped out and he found himself admitting how he felt about her? The thought gave him hot and cold chills because he wasn’t sure if he could cope if Beth rejected him.

‘Callum...?’

‘Have you had lunch yet?’ Callum cut her off, knowing that he needed time to work out what he was going to say if he was to avoid a disaster.

‘Lunch,’ Beth repeated, blankly.

‘Mmm. I’ve got to drive over to Leeds this afternoon to pick up the rest of my stuff from the airport. There wasn’t room for it in the plane I flew back on so it had to be sent as freight. I was planning to have lunch on the way so do you fancy joining me?’ he said, as though inviting her to have lunch with him was the most natural thing in the world to do. Maybe it should be, he thought suddenly. After all, if they could forge some kind of normal relationship then surely it would help?

‘I’m not sure it’s a good idea,’ she said flatly.

‘Why not? Look, I know you’re angry with me, and I understand why, but I want this to work, Beth. I want to be here for Beatrix, not just now but in the future as well. Maybe I had doubts about becoming a father in the past, but now that it’s happened, I know it’s what I want.’ Callum felt a wave of emotion rise up and almost choke him but he forced himself to carry on. ‘The last thing I want is Beatrix growing up, thinking that I don’t care about her. I know how destructive that can be, believe me!’

CHAPTER FOUR (#u202b70a3-a8b6-5b1c-8f8b-c2ec535c736d)

BETH SAT ON the old settle and watched as Callum made his way to the bar to order their lunch. It was a beautiful day and the pub was busy with tourists enjoying a day out but she had no problem picking Callum out from the crowd. With his thick dark hair, his tanned skin and that air of authority he exuded, he stood out and she noticed several women glance his way. Callum had always possessed the ability to turn heads, just as he had turned hers when they had first met.

‘Right. That’s all sorted.’ He came back and dropped down beside her.

‘What do I owe you?’ Beth edged away when she felt his thigh brush against hers. She would have dearly loved to move but every seat was taken and they’d been lucky to find these. She bent down to pick up her bag, steeling herself when her knee accidentally knocked against his. She could feel ripples of sensation running under her skin and bit her lip. She didn’t want to feel anything for him, didn’t want to be aware of him in any way at all, but it was impossible when even the slightest contact made her skin tingle and her blood heat.

‘It’s my shout. I invited you, don’t forget.’

Callum dismissed her offer to pay her share with a shake of his head. Beth was sorely tempted to argue with him but she decided that it wasn’t worth it. She needed to keep things on an even keel and not allow emotions to get in the way. She placed her bag back on the floor, taking care not to touch him this time.

‘Have you left Beatrix with the childminder?’

She jumped when he shot the question at her. ‘Well, I certainly haven’t left her at home on her own,’ she replied tartly.

‘I didn’t think you had,’ Callum said quietly. ‘I was only asking, Beth. I wasn’t having a go at you.’

‘No. Of course not. Sorry.’ Beth flushed, knowing that she had been far too sharp with her answer. She took a quick breath to calm herself but her nerves were jangling. It wasn’t easy being with Callum like this but she had to try to maintain some kind of a balance. ‘I left her with Alison Lewis. One of the mums I met at my antenatal classes recommended her and she’s very nice—she has a real affinity with the children she minds.’

‘I remember her from when I last worked here,’ Callum said thoughtfully. ‘Doesn’t she have twins, a boy and a girl?’

‘That’s right—Molly and Max. They’re three now and Beatrix adores them. She was so excited when I dropped her off this morning because she knew they’d be there to play with.’

‘Good. It must make it easier if you know that she’s happy,’ he observed.

‘It does,’ Beth agreed, somewhat surprised by his astuteness. ‘I have to admit that it was a wrench to leave her but she didn’t seem the least bit worried. She was more interested in playing with the other children than in the fact that Mummy was leaving her!’

‘It sounds as though she’s got loads of confidence,’ Callum said with a smile.

‘Oh, she has. She’s just like you in that respect.’ The words rushed out before she could stop them and she saw an expression of pain cross Callum’s face.

‘I wish I could see her, Beth. Oh, I know you need time to decide what you intend to do but it would mean such a lot if I could see her.’ He stared down at his hands. ‘After I received your letter telling me you were pregnant, I spent hours wondering if you’d had a little boy or a little girl. Then ever since I found out she was a girl, I’ve spent even more time imagining what she looks like.’

He suddenly looked up and Beth felt a lump come to her throat when she saw the yearning in his eyes. ‘I mean, is she blonde like you or dark like me? Does she have brown eyes or hazel? At the moment she’s just this shadowy little figure who I can’t picture clearly and I can’t tell you how much it would mean to me to just see her, touch her, smell her even. Then I’ll really feel that she’s my daughter.’

Callum hadn’t meant to let his emotions get the better of him. On the contrary, he’d been determined to project a calm front. However, thinking about the daughter he had never seen had let loose a host of feelings, most of which he had never expected to experience. He had never yearned for a child of his own, never longed to procreate even when he and Beth had been trying so hard to have a baby. But now that his daughter was a fact, he found it impossible to take a step back from her.

‘Here. I have some photos of her on my phone.’

He jumped when Beth pressed her phone into his hand. He stared at the screen, feeling his emotions multiply a hundredfold as he looked at the fair-haired moppet smiling up at him. She had Beth’s colouring and his eyes. She also had his nose if he wasn’t mistaken.

Words failed him as he flicked through the photos, one after the other. They were a record of his daughter’s life to date, the first one taken straight after her birth and the last one only a couple of days ago. All those months that had passed without him being there, he thought wretchedly. All that time during which she had grown up and he had known nothing about her existence.

How he longed to turn back the clock, to have been there for her from the very first moment, but it was impossible. He could never recapture that precious time he’d lost; all he could do was to make sure that he was there for the rest of her life. The thought stiffened his resolve, made him see just how important this was to him. He wasn’t going to give up. Even if Beth refused his pleas then he would find a way to maintain contact with his daughter.

‘She’s beautiful,’ he said, reluctantly relinquishing the phone. ‘She has your colouring and my eyes.’

‘Yes.’ Beth bit her lip and he could sense her hesitation before she hurried on. ‘I think she has your nose as well, although babies change so quickly that it’s hard to be certain. One minute they look like one parent and the next they look like the other.’

‘It must be fascinating, seeing all the changes,’ he said, struggling to control the emotions that kept welling up inside him. He cleared his throat when he saw Beth glance at him, not sure if he felt comfortable about laying himself bare this way. It would have been different if they’d still been together; he wouldn’t have felt nearly as self-conscious then. But they were no longer together, no longer involved apart from through their child, and he needed to protect himself.