Marion Lennox: His Secret Love-Child

‘You’ll be my family?’

‘Of course I’ll be your family,’ she said, really, really unsteadily. ‘I think I already am. Maybe I’ve been your family for five long years and you haven’t even realised it. Even Paul…’

‘I owe Paul,’ Cal said, and the laughter suddenly disappeared as he tried to speak of what he’d been thinking. ‘Paul was your husband and his death has brought you back to me. But Paul’s decision-to face life, to search for what love truly was-was what brought you to me in the first place. He’ll always be honoured in our home.’

‘Oh, Cal…’

‘Will we have more kids?’ he asked, and she stared up at him in such astonishment that he leaned back to see what she was thinking.

‘What? What’s surprising about that?’

‘You want to extend our family?’

‘Family’s good,’ he said, tugging her back to him again. ‘Family’s great. Three days ago I was alone. Now I have you, I have my son and I have a dog. And I was wondering…’ He smiled against her hair. ‘Gina, if Lucky’s parents aren’t found…’

‘You’d want him?’ She could scarcely speak. This was so much how she’d been feeling herself.

‘I guess I’ve learned that love expands to fit all comers,’ he whispered. ‘Lucky brought you back to me. We could love him. Couldn’t we?’

‘Of course we could,’ she whispered. ‘Of course. Oh, Cal…’

‘And if we do find his parents…’

‘Then we’ll just have to work on making our own babies,’ she told him. ‘How about that for a good idea?’

He didn’t answer. And she didn’t speak. His kiss was all the response she needed and their kiss lasted a very long time.

‘So you’ll marry me,’ he said at last into the stillness of the night, and she held him close and felt his heartbeat and wondered how he could ever ask that question.

‘Of course I will. My heart.’

‘Then I guess we should go back to the fire,’ he told her.

She glanced along the beach, where their friends, the medics of Crocodile Creek, were clustered together on the warm sand.

‘They’re waiting,’ Cal said.

‘Waiting? For what?’

‘To know whether you’ve said yes.’

‘Did they know you were going to propose?’ Gina demanded, prepared to be indignant, but Cal smiled and hugged her to him, and then chuckled out loud.

‘Welcome to Crocodile Creek, Dr Lopez,’ he told her. ‘Welcome to our extended family. In this town-in this house-there is no such thing as a secret. There’s life and laughter and loving and…’ He tugged her hard against him and kissed her again, long and sweetly, with the promise of forever in his kiss.

‘And the best is yet to come.’