Jennifer Taylor - The Boss Who Stole Her Heart

‘Oh, you don’t need to worry about finding me any kittens,’ Ellie said, completely deadpan. She waited a beat then grinned at him. ‘I much prefer puppies!’

Everyone laughed, Eleanor included, and it was such a shock that she found it hard to believe what was happening. She couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed, couldn’t recall when she had felt so light-hearted. Ever since that dreadful day when she had found Michael and Stacey together, her world had been filled with darkness, but all of a sudden it felt as though the gloom had lifted and it was all thanks to Daniel. Even if they were destined to be no more than colleagues, Ellie knew that she would be grateful to him for ever for that.

* * *

The morning flew past. Ellie was surprised by how differently things were done at The Larches. Although there were all the usual forms to fill in, the surgery offered a range of services to its patients that hadn’t been available on-site where she had worked before. She mentioned it to Beth when they stopped to drink the coffee Marie had made for them.

‘It’s all down to our location,’ Beth explained, blowing on the hot liquid to cool it. ‘It takes almost an hour to reach the nearest hospital on a good day and far longer than that if the weather’s bad. A lot of patients both here at The Larches and at Hemsthwaite can’t undertake that kind of a journey. That’s why Daniel fought so hard to secure funding to provide more facilities on site.’

‘So what else do you offer?’ Ellie asked as Beth paused to sip her coffee. ‘You said that several consultants from the hospital hold clinics here—did you mention something about a dentist as well?’

‘Yes. That’s right. We have an arrangement with a dental practice—they see patients here once a week. The same goes for the optician—patients can make an appointment to see him here on a Wednesday,’ Beth explained and grimaced. ‘Dratted Braxton Hicks contractions. They woke me up this morning. I was not pleased either as it was the first time I hadn’t had to get up through the night to go to the loo.’

‘What a nuisance,’ Ellie said sympathetically. ‘Daniel said that you only have a few weeks before your baby is due.’

‘Hmm, three, although first babies are notoriously late.’ Beth wriggled around, trying to get comfortable, and Ellie frowned.

‘Are you sure they’re Braxton Hicks? You do seem to be in a lot of discomfort.’

‘Oh, I’m sure it will pass,’ Beth said, levering herself up off the chair. She let out a gasp as water suddenly gushed out from between her legs.

‘I doubt it!’ Ellie exclaimed, jumping to her feet. Putting her arm around Beth’s waist, she helped her to the couch and got her settled. ‘It looks as though it’s the real thing so let’s get you out of those wet undies and have a look. If your waters have broken then it won’t be long before your baby’s on its way too.’

‘I can’t believe this!’ Beth exclaimed, wriggling out of her sodden underwear. ‘I should have another three weeks before the baby arrives.’

‘It’s easy to get confused about the dates,’ Ellie said soothingly, lifting Beth’s skirt so she could examine her.

‘But I’m not confused. I know exactly when I got pregnant. It was the night before Callum went away. It couldn’t have happened any other time because we hadn’t spoken let alone made love for almost a year before that!’

‘Oh.’ Ellie wasn’t sure what to say, and Beth sighed.

‘Callum and I split up last year. We’d been trying for a baby for the best part of three years—ever since we got married, in fact—but it just didn’t happen.’ Her voice echoed with pain and Ellie’s heart went out to her.

‘It must have been difficult for you,’ she said quietly.

‘It was. We tried fertility treatment but it didn’t work, and in the end the constant pressure of hoping that this time we’d get lucky proved too much.’ Beth bit her lip. ‘Callum told me that he couldn’t handle it any more and that he wanted a divorce.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ Ellie said sincerely. ‘It must have been awful for you both, although surely it made a difference when you found out you were pregnant?’

‘I was thrilled, thrilled and shocked that it should have happened right out of the blue like that. As for Callum, well, I’ve no idea how he feels, although I can guess.’ She laughed harshly. ‘I wrote to tell him I was pregnant, you see, but he’s never bothered to reply. I think that says it all, doesn’t it? No, this baby’s my responsibility and no one else’s.’

She broke off as another contraction began. Ellie frowned, wondering how she would have reacted in similar circumstances. She sighed because the likelihood of her having found herself in the same position was zero. Michael had been fanatical about making sure she didn’t get pregnant. At the time, Ellie had thought it was because he had wanted to do the right thing, make sure they were married before they embarked on parenthood. Now she wasn’t so certain any more. Had Michael been desperate to avoid her getting pregnant so that it wouldn’t impact on him?

It was something Ellie knew she needed to think about but not right now. Now she needed to focus on Beth and the baby. She waited until the contraction had passed then examined Beth again. ‘You’re already about six centimetres dilated so your baby’s definitely going to make his appearance very soon.’

‘Oh, no!’ Tears filled Beth’s eyes. ‘It’s too early! I couldn’t bear it if something went wrong now. I’ve waited so long for this child.’

‘Nothing is going to go wrong,’ Ellie assured her, mentally crossing her fingers that she wasn’t tempting fate. Delivering Beth’s baby wouldn’t have posed a problem if they’d been in a fully equipped maternity unit. However, after what she had learned about the nearest hospital being an hour’s drive away, she couldn’t help feeling anxious. She summoned a smile, determined not to let Beth know that she was worried. ‘Now can you tell me what arrangements you’ve made for the birth? I take it that you’re booked into the maternity unit with it being your first child.’

‘That’s right.’ Beth made an obvious effort to calm herself. ‘I wanted to have the baby at home but Polly talked me out of it. She said it would be safer if I had it in the hospital seeing as I’m a first-time mum and that bit older too.’

‘And who’s Polly?’ Ellie asked, needing to be clear about the details.

‘She’s the local midwife—Polly Davies,’ Beth explained. ‘I’ve been seeing her for my antenatal check-ups. In fact, I saw her only last Friday.’

‘And what did she say?’ Ellie asked.

‘Oh, that everything was fine—blood pressure, baby’s heartbeat, et cetera.’ Beth frowned. ‘She did say that the baby seemed to be quite low down, now I think about it.’

‘Probably getting ready to make his exit,’ Ellie said, laughing.

‘Probably. The little rip!’

Beth laughed as well and Ellie was relieved to see that she appeared far less anxious. Good. The last thing she wanted was for Beth to be uptight if they had to deliver the baby here. The thought helped her focus on what needed to be done and she squeezed Beth’s hand. ‘I’ll go and phone the hospital and let them know what’s happening. I’ll also get hold of Polly. With a bit of luck, she’ll be able to lend a hand here. I’ll be as quick as I can. OK?’

Beth nodded, her face screwing up as another contraction began. Ellie hurried from the room and made straight to Reception, knowing that Marie would have all the phone numbers. She was dealing with a patient and Ellie waited until she had finished. Lowering her voice so it wouldn’t carry across the waiting room, she quickly explained what was going on.