Jennifer Taylor - The Family Who Made Him Whole

As though unable to resist, his gaze moved back to Hannah and he felt a shudder run through him when he discovered that she was watching him. Just for a moment their eyes met before she looked away but it was long enough. Tom took another gulp of coffee, hoping it would quell the tremor that had been triggered inside him, but no such luck. He could feel it working its way down his body and inwardly groaned.

He didn’t do this kind of thing! He didn’t respond so instantly to a woman, certainly never felt as though he had suddenly found himself with one foot on an emotional roller-coaster that was about to speed off. He liked women, enjoyed their company, but the key word in that statement was women.

He liked them in the plural. When he dated he always made it clear that he was happy for his date to see other men, as he would be seeing other women. However, he knew without the shadow of a doubt that Hannah Morris wasn’t a plural type of woman. She would expect any man she dated to be strictly faithful and if there was one thing he couldn’t guarantee it was that kind of commitment.

‘So what do you think of Simon’s new protégé?’

Tom dragged his thoughts back into line as he turned to Ros, although he had to admit that he was more than a little stunned by the way he was behaving. He had known Hannah Morris for less than ten minutes and yet here he was, pondering the weighty matter of his own shortcomings. ‘She seems very nice.’

‘Nice!’ Ros hooted. ‘Is that the best you can come up with, Tom? She’s nice ?’

‘Well, I’ve hardly had a chance to get to know her,’ he countered, a shade defensively.

‘Maybe not, but it’s not like you to be so slow.’ Ros’s eyes were filled with laughter as she looked at him. ‘Usually, you have a woman summed up and categorised in less time than this.’

‘Categorised? I’m not sure I know what you mean,’ he said stiffly.

‘Oh, come on! Of course you do. I’ve watched you growing up, don’t forget. I’ve seen the effect you have on the female half of the population and watched you in action, too.’ Ross chuckled. ‘I’m not sure if you use some sort of scoring system but women seem to fall into one of two categories where you’re concerned. They’re either fair game or strictly off limits. What I can’t work out is which category Hannah comes into.’

‘So what are you two muttering about?’ Simon came over to refill his cup and smiled at them. ‘You look as though you’re plotting some sort of mischief.’

‘Mischief?’ Ros took the cup off him. ‘It’s a long time since I could be accused of causing any mischief! ‘

Tom moved away while Ros topped up her husband’s cup, relieved to have been let off the hook. He frowned as he turned to stare out of the window again. Was Ros right? Did he view women in such a calculating way? He hated to think that he did, yet he knew in his heart it was true.

Since his first—and only!—ill-fated foray into love, he had been determined not to leave behind a trail of destruction like his parents had done. Although he enjoyed dating, definitely enjoyed sex, he didn’t do the rest and he never would. There would be no happily-ever-after for him. No wife and family gathered around the hearth waiting for his return. He preferred his life to be free of such complications and that way nobody would get hurt, neither him nor some poor unsuspecting woman who’d had the misfortune to fall in love with him.

He glanced round when someone laughed, felt the hair on the back of his neck lift when he realised it was Hannah. In that second he knew that although he may have managed to avoid commitment in the past, he might find it harder to do so in the future. There was just something about Hannah Morris that drew him, something he could neither explain nor reason away. He could only thank his lucky stars that he was leaving. By this time next week, he would be on his way to Paris and he would make sure it was a long time before he came back!

Hannah spooned a little more sugar into her cup as she listened to the affectionate banter between Simon and his wife. It was obvious how fond they were of each other and she couldn’t prevent the sudden pang of envy that rose up inside her. She had hoped that she and Andrew would have that kind of a relationship, but it hadn’t happened. There had always been a certain distance between them even though they had appeared to have had so much in common. It was funny how you could think you knew someone and be proved so wrong.

‘More coffee, my dear?’

Simon reached across the table for her cup but she shook her head. ‘No, thank you.’ She turned and smiled at Ros. ‘It was delicious but I’ll be buzzing if I have any more.’

‘I know what you mean.’ Ros smiled back. A pretty woman in her fifties with light brown hair that curled around her face, she exuded an air of calm that was very soothing. ‘I have to limit myself to no more than three cups a day otherwise I’m high as a kite on all the caffeine!’

Hannah laughed when Ros pulled a rueful face. She glanced round when a movement caught her eye and felt herself tense when she realised that Tom Bradbury was watching her again. It had happened several times now; she had glanced up and found him staring at her and she wasn’t sure what to make of it. Was it just the fact that she was new or was there something more behind his interest?

She hurriedly dismissed the thought, refusing to go down that route. She wasn’t looking for romance. She just wanted to be left alone to create a new life for herself and her son. Charlie was all that mattered, his happiness was her main concern. Everything else was inconsequential.

‘Simon told me that you have a little boy, Hannah. What’s his name and how old is he?’

Hannah roused herself when Ros spoke. ‘His name’s Charlie and he’s nine months old.’

‘And into everything, I bet!’ Ros laughed as she turned to her husband. ‘Remember when our two were that age? You needed eyes in the back of your head. They’re twins and that made it worse, of course, but I wouldn’t have believed the havoc they could cause if I hadn’t seen it for myself.’

Hannah smiled, trying not to let Ros see that the remark had hit a nerve. Sadly, Charlie couldn’t get up to very much mischief. He had been born with talipes—club feet—and at the moment his legs were encased in casts, which severely restricted his movement. Although he was a happy, intelligent little boy, he wasn’t able to do a lot of the things a child his age normally did. Still, she consoled herself, once the casts came off the situation should improve, and if they hadn’t worked there was a good chance that a second operation would solve the problem.

‘Do your children still live in Bride’s Bay?’ she asked, changing the subject because the thought of her son needing further surgery made her feel a little panicky.

‘I wish!’ Ros sighed. ‘Daniel is a research botanist. He’s in Borneo at the moment, tracking down a plant which the locals claim has healing powers. And Becky moved to New Zealand with her husband a couple of years ago. She’s just had a baby, a little girl called Millie, and as you can imagine we’re dying to see her.’

‘We’ll get over there as soon as we can,’ Simon assured her, patting her hand.

‘I know, darling, but I don’t want to wait, that’s the problem. Babies grow so quickly and I just feel that we’re missing out on so much…’ Ros stopped and gasped. ‘Why didn’t I think of it before! I mean, this would be the ideal time, wouldn’t it? Tom knows the ins and outs of running the practice almost as well as you do, and now that Hannah is here, we’re fully staffed.’

She turned beseechingly to Hannah. ‘If you and Tom would hold the fort, it means that Simon and I can go and visit our first grandchild!’