Jennifer Taylor - A Very Special Child

“You will be all right here by yourself? I hate to leave you like this in a strange place.…”

“But you don’t have any choice.” Laura smiled, appreciating his consideration when he must have more pressing things on his mind than her or Robbie. “We’ll be fine, Mark. Why shouldn’t we be? We have everything we need after all.”

“Have you?” There was a strange note in his voice all of a sudden, an intensity to the look he gave her that made a tremor run down her spine. Laura stared back at him, her greeny-blue eyes the color of a stormy sea.

He gave her a gentle smile before he suddenly bent and brushed her cheek with a kiss.

“Don’t wait up,” he said softly, and then he was gone.

Dear Reader CONTENTS Cover Dear Reader Title Page CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE EPILOGUE Copyright ,

One of the joys of writing medical romances is the opportunity it gives me to touch upon so many fascinating subjects. A Very Special Child tells the story of Laura Grady, the widowed mother of a four-year-old Down’s Syndrome child.

Several years ago I helped organize a production of ballet and modern dance performed by a group of teenagers who all had Down’s Syndrome. The group’s enthusiasm and sheer joy in performing touched everyone’s heart. Afterward, one of the dancers’ mothers told me how she felt privileged to have such a very special child. That phrase stuck in my mind and this book is the result of it.

I am sure that you will take Laura and little Robbie to your hearts as you watch Laura falling in love with pediatric resident Mark Dawson. I know you will feel as I did—that she found the perfect man to share her life with and help care for her very special child.

My very best wishes to you all.

Jennifer Taylor

A Very Special Child

Jennifer Taylor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Cover

Dear Reader Dear Reader CONTENTS Cover Dear Reader Title Page CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE EPILOGUE Copyright , One of the joys of writing medical romances is the opportunity it gives me to touch upon so many fascinating subjects. A Very Special Child tells the story of Laura Grady, the widowed mother of a four-year-old Down’s Syndrome child. Several years ago I helped organize a production of ballet and modern dance performed by a group of teenagers who all had Down’s Syndrome. The group’s enthusiasm and sheer joy in performing touched everyone’s heart. Afterward, one of the dancers’ mothers told me how she felt privileged to have such a very special child. That phrase stuck in my mind and this book is the result of it. I am sure that you will take Laura and little Robbie to your hearts as you watch Laura falling in love with pediatric resident Mark Dawson. I know you will feel as I did—that she found the perfect man to share her life with and help care for her very special child. My very best wishes to you all. Jennifer Taylor

Title Page A Very Special Child Jennifer Taylor www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

EPILOGUE

Copyright

‘AM I GLAD to see you! Here…catch!’

Nurse Laura Grady deftly caught the plastic apron her colleague, Rachel Hart, tossed towards her. She shot it a quizzical glance, but before she had chance to ask what it was for Rachel had headed out of the office door.

Laura’s greeny-blue eyes shimmered with amusement as she fastened the apron over her brand-new uniform dress. Nothing had changed, it seemed. There was still too much work and not enough staff to do it, from the look of things!

She quickly followed Rachel into the ward, realising that it was a relief to know that some things were the same as they had always been. It was her first day back at work after an absence of almost five years and she couldn’t deny that she’d spent a sleepless night, worrying about how she would cope.

Would it take her long to slip back into the old routine? Could she cope with the demands of working in a new department? She had been a midwife in the maternity unit before she had left, so the children’s ward was a new departure for her, although she’d worked in paediatrics before. Granted, she had taken a refresher course to brush up her skills, but what if she wasn’t up to the job?

‘It’s OK, poppet. Don’t cry. We’ll soon have you cleaned up.’

Rachel’s soothing tones cut through Laura’s introspection and she gave herself a mental shake. This was neither the time nor the place to start having doubts!

She joined the ward sister at the side of the bed, her heart aching as she saw the expression on the child’s wan little face. The little girl couldn’t have been more than six years old and she was looking very sorry for herself.

Rachel turned to Laura and grimaced. ‘This is Katie Watson. Admitted with recurrent urinary tract infection. We’re going to check for any renal anomalies or scarring. And, as you can see, she’s been very, very sick.’

‘Too right!’ Laura grinned commiseratingly at the little girl. ‘Hello, Katie. My name is Laura and I have to say that I think I’d be sick if I had that cover on my bed. It’s horrible!’

She cast a disparaging look at the bedcover, which was printed with a gaudily coloured jungle scene. Katie gave her a wobbly smile. ‘I have a nicer one at home,’ the child whispered shyly. ‘It’s got puppies on it.’

‘Oh, wow, I bet that’s really great. I love puppies, don’t you?’ As she was speaking, Laura began to strip the soiled cover off the bed, swiftly rolling it up to put it into a plastic laundry bag. She nodded as Rachel murmured that she’d be back in a moment as the office phone began to ring. Laura turned her attention back to Katie.

‘So, do you have a dog at home, then?’

‘Yes. But he isn’t a puppy. He’s three. I miss him.’ Katie’s lower lip wobbled ominously and Laura hurriedly set about distracting her.

‘Three? So he’s still only a baby really. I bet he does all sorts of silly things, doesn’t he, like chewing your slippers?’

Katie shook her head, her huge blue eyes full of scorn. ‘Sandy doesn’t do that! He’s a good dog. He sleeps in my room when I’m at home, on my bed.’ The little girl looked momentarily unsure. ‘You won’t tell Mummy that, will you? She might make him sleep downstairs if she finds out.’

Laura shook her head so that her reddish-brown curls danced around her pretty heart-shaped face. Her hair was baby fine and the bane of her life, defying all her attempts to keep it neatly styled. She kept it cut short in an effort to tame it, but the soft curls seemed to have a life of their own most of the time.