The Boss Who Stole Her Heart

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‘She’s not good with strangers,’ Madeleine Walsh said hurriedly, cuddling the trembling child to her.

‘Does she attend the nursery school?’ Daniel asked levelly, although the bad feeling he had was growing worse by the second. Alice was four years old and in his experience most children her age had got over their shyness and were happy to socialise with people outside the family unit.

‘No. I decided not to send her.’ Madeleine Walsh bit her lip then rushed on. ‘She’s very shy and it didn’t seem right to send her to a place where I know she’ll be unhappy.’

‘She’ll have to go to school next year, though, won’t she?’ Daniel pointed out, gently examining the woman’s arm. The wrist was swollen and heavily discoloured. It was obviously painful because Mrs Walsh gasped when he touched it. ‘Sorry. I can tell how painful it is, although I can’t say if it’s broken or badly sprained. Can you move your fingers?’

‘Yes.’ Madeleine grimaced as she wriggled her fingers the tiniest bit. ‘It’s really painful, though.’

‘It will be.’ Daniel sat down again. ‘I’m afraid it really needs X-raying to establish if it’s broken or not. Is there anyone who can drive you to the hospital, your husband perhaps?’

‘No, Nigel’s in court this morning and I don’t want to bother him,’ Madeleine Walsh said quickly. ‘Can’t you put a bandage on it, Dr Saunders? I’m sure it’s not broken and just needs some support while it heals. I wouldn’t have bothered you if I could have done it myself.’

‘I really think it needs to be X-rayed,’ Daniel insisted. ‘If it is broken then the last thing you want is for it to set badly and end up with a deformed wrist. If you don’t want to contact your husband then I can arrange for someone to drive you to the hospital. We have a team of volunteers who very kindly ferry people there and back in situations like this.’

‘Oh, I don’t know...I’ve no idea what Nigel would say about that.’ She looked so stricken that Daniel almost wished he hadn’t suggested it. However, it was vital that she have her wrist X-rayed to avoid any future problems.

‘I’m sure he will take the sensible view and be pleased that you got it attended to. I’ll phone Mrs Goodison and see if she’s free. She used to be a teacher at the junior school and she’s very nice,’ he added encouragingly as he reached for the phone.

‘But what about Alice?’ Madeleine Walsh protested. ‘There’s no one to look after her and I can’t leave her.’

‘You can take Alice with you. I know for a fact that Mrs Goodison has a child seat in her car—she has grandchildren, you see. She’ll be more than happy to look after Alice while you have the X-ray done too.’

Daniel made the call, not wanting to give Madeleine Walsh any more opportunities to wriggle out of the hospital visit. Fortunately, Barbara Goodison immediately agreed to run Mrs Walsh to the hospital and bring her back again afterwards. Once he had explained to Madeleine that she would be collected from home, he saw her out. He intended to follow up the case and find out if he was right to suspect that the woman was being abused by her husband. He didn’t know Nigel Walsh personally as the man had never been to the surgery since the family had moved to Beesdale just over a year ago. However, from what he had heard Walsh was very high up in legal circles.

Daniel sighed as he went to ask Marie if she would wait a few minutes before sending in his next patient. Sadly, social standing had no bearing on that type of behaviour. It crossed all boundaries. Had Eleanor been a victim of abuse? It was obvious that something awful must have happened to her, something so bad that she had left her job and relocated to a different part of the country. His hands clenched. The thought of Eleanor suffering such treatment was more than he could bear.

* * *

‘You’re doing great,’ Ellie said encouragingly as Beth breathed her way through another contraction. She checked her watch, frowning when she realised how close together the contractions were coming. It was obvious that the baby was going to be born very soon and she couldn’t help feeling anxious. It was several years since she had delivered a baby during her rotations and it had been in the safety of a modern maternity unit with a couple of experienced midwives standing by. The thought of delivering Beth’s baby by herself was decidedly scary. According to Marie, Polly was on her way back from one of the local farms and would get there as soon as she could; however, it seemed to be taking her an awfully long time. Ellie looked round when the door opened, hoping it would be her, but her hopes were dashed when Daniel came into the room. Even though she could do with some support, she wasn’t sure if she was glad to see him after their run-in earlier.

‘How are we doing in here?’ he asked as he came over to the couch. He smiled at Beth. ‘Not quite how you planned it, I imagine.’

Beth laughed then grimaced as another contraction began. Daniel turned to Ellie, his mouth still curved into a smile, and she felt some of her unease dissipate. Surely he wouldn’t smile at her like that if he was still annoyed with her?

‘I’m sorry about before. I didn’t mean to snap at you. Suffice to say that I was worried about the patient who was with me, not that it’s any excuse.’

‘It’s all right,’ Ellie said quickly, not wanting him to suspect how thankful she felt. She hated being in the wrong and had always done so ever since she was a child. Oh, she knew what lay behind it—she had worked that out a long time ago. Learning that she was adopted had made her aware of how different she was from Gemma, their parents’ natural daughter. Gemma hadn’t needed to be on her best behaviour all the time to earn their love; she hadn’t needed to be kind or considerate because their parents would always adore her. Gemma, with her golden curls and laughing blue eyes, was the child they had longed for whereas Eleanor, with her straight black hair and solemn demeanour, had been the cuckoo in the nest.

Ellie pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She wasn’t a child any more and she didn’t need anyone’s adoration to prove her worth. ‘The contractions are coming roughly two minutes apart now. Do you know how long it will be before Polly gets here? Marie said she was on her way back from Outhwaite Farm.’

‘Oh!’ Daniel grimaced. ‘It’s the farm that’s probably furthest away from here. It’ll take Polly a good thirty minutes to get back, I expect, but I’ll go and check where she is.’ He strode to the door then paused to glance back. ‘I meant what I said, Eleanor. I didn’t mean to snap at you.’

He didn’t wait for her to answer and Ellie was glad. She turned to Beth after he left, forcing down the bubble of happiness that had risen up inside her. She didn’t need Daniel’s approbation any more than she needed to be adored, she told herself sternly, but to very little effect.

She sighed. It had taken her a long time to develop a sense of her own worth. Growing up, she had always felt second-best compared to Gemma. Although her parents had been unfailingly kind and supportive, they had found it impossible to hide their delight in their natural daughter. Gemma had been so pretty and precocious and everyone had adored her—or so it had seemed to Ellie. Ellie had faded into the background after Gemma was born when Ellie was eight years old. It was only when she went to university that she had come into her own—made her own circle of friends, had her first boyfriend. She had slowly gained confidence and, once she had qualified and started practising, she had forgotten about the disappointments of her childhood. When she had started dating Michael Ross, another of the doctors at the practice where she’d worked, and had become engaged to him, her life had felt complete. And then she had let herself into his flat that morning and found him in bed with Stacey Roberts, one of the practice nurses, and her world had fallen apart...

‘Ooh!’

Beth’s groan brought Ellie back to the present. Bending down, she checked what progress they were making, her heart racing when she discovered that the baby’s head was crowning. ‘You’re almost there,’ she told Beth, trying to inject a note of confidence into her voice. ‘Baby’s head is crowning so it won’t be long now.’

‘The sooner the better,’ Beth muttered through gritted teeth. Her face screwed up as another contraction began and Ellie quickly gathered together everything she would need once the baby was born. Fortunately, they had birthing kits in the supply cupboard so she put on a pair of gloves and placed everything close to hand—scissors to cut the cord, a soft cloth to dry the infant, some narrow tubing to clear its airway if it was necessary. The head was emerging now and she slid her hand beneath it, gently supporting its weight as first one shoulder and then the other followed.

‘One more push should do it,’ she told Beth, thanking her stars that Beth was so clued up about what to do. ‘Here we go!’

The baby slithered out, screaming lustily, which was more than Ellie could have hoped for. It was a little girl, slightly on the small side, but absolutely perfect in every respect. Ellie wiped the mucus off the little one’s face, smiling as she wrapped her in a towel and handed her to Beth. ‘Congratulations. You have a beautiful little daughter.’

‘A girl!’ Beth exclaimed as she took her first look at her daughter. ‘I was convinced I was having a boy!’

‘Not disappointed, are you?’ Ellie teased her.

‘No way! She’s gorgeous.’ Beth dropped a kiss on her baby’s head.

Ellie turned away when she felt her eyes fill with tears. She had always dreamed of having a child of her own. Maybe it had become even more important because she and the baby would have been related by blood and that would have been even more special. Now the dreams she’d harboured had been bagged up and disposed of along with all that unwanted clothing. She wouldn’t have a child now because the last thing she planned to do was to fall in love again and risk being let down a second time. It hurt to know how much she would miss because of what had happened.

‘Well, it looks as though you’ve managed fine without me!’

Ellie swung round when the door opened to admit a tall, red-haired woman. Taking a quick breath, she hurriedly composed her features into a welcoming smile. Maybe her life wasn’t going to turn out how she had hoped it would but she would make the best of it. ‘I take it that you’re Polly,’ she said, holding out her hand. ‘I’m Eleanor Munroe, the new locum.’

‘Polly Davies.’ Polly shook hands then went over to Beth, smiling as she looked at the baby. ‘What a little poppet! And not a bad size too considering you had another three weeks to go.’

‘She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?’ Beth murmured, stroking the baby’s wrinkled little cheek.

‘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 (#ud78790e3-2b84-5303-b6c2-f7f892f9f0c3)

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 are 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.’