Kate Hardy - A Christmas Knight

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Cover Page

Title Page A Christmas Knight Kate Hardy www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author About the Author KATE HARDY lives in Norwich, in the east of England, with her husband, two young children, one bouncy spaniel, and too many books to count! When she’s not busy writing romance or researching local history, she helps out at her children’s schools. She also loves cooking—spot the recipes sneaked into her books! (They’re also on her website, along with extracts and stories behind the books.) Writing for Mills & Boon has been a dream come true for Kate—something she wanted to do ever since she was twelve. She’s been writing Medical™ Romances for nearly five years now, and also writes for Modern Heat™. She says it’s the best of both worlds, because she gets to learn lots of new things when she’s researching the background to a book: add a touch of passion, drama and danger, a new gorgeous hero every time, and it’s the perfect job! Kate’s always delighted to hear from readers, so do drop in to her website at www.katehardy.com

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

KATE HARDYlives in Norwich, in the east of England, with her husband, two young children, one bouncy spaniel, and too many books to count! When she’s not busy writing romance or researching local history, she helps out at her children’s schools. She also loves cooking—spot the recipes sneaked into her books! (They’re also on her website, along with extracts and stories behind the books.) Writing for Mills & Boon has been a dream come true for Kate—something she wanted to do ever since she was twelve. She’s been writing Medical™ Romances for nearly five years now, and also writes for Modern Heat™. She says it’s the best of both worlds, because she gets to learn lots of new things when she’s researching the background to a book: add a touch of passion, drama and danger, a new gorgeous hero every time, and it’s the perfect job!

Kate’s always delighted to hear from readers, so do drop in to her website at www.katehardy.com

‘LET me get you a coffee, and then I’ll take you round and introduce you to the team,’ Essie, the charge nurse, said with a smile.

‘Thanks. I, um, brought some biscuits for the staff-room,’ Louisa said, handing her a large tin.

‘Thanks very much.’ Essie beamed as she peered at the lid. ‘Chocolate ones, too. Excellent. You’ll fit right in.’ She gave Louisa a sympathetic look. ‘The first day’s always the worst, isn’t it? Like being back at school.’

Louisa smiled back. ‘I’ve been doing agency work for the last three months, so you’d think I’d be used to change. But, yes, you’re right. It feels like the first day at school, when you don’t know anyone and you don’t know the routine—well, as much of a routine as you get in the emergency department,’ she finished. No two days were ever quite the same.

‘You’ll be fine,’ Essie told her warmly. ‘I’ve rostered you onto Minors—but if anything big comes in, I might need to borrow you for Resus.’

‘That’s fine,’ Louisa said. As a nurse practitioner, she was able to see patients through from start to finish for the less serious problems—from taking the medical history through to doing the clinical examination, ordering and interpreting tests, diagnosing the ailment and organising a treatment plan for the patient. She loved the responsibility and the feeling that she was in charge of her own day, but she also enjoyed the busy, hands-on role in Resus, working as part of a team.

‘Dominic’s the senior registrar in Resus today. He’s our resident heart-throb,’ Essie said with a grin. ‘He looks like Prince Charming.’

Heart-throb. Jack had been a heart-throb, too. But he’d been very far from being Prince Charming. He’d walked out on Louisa just when she’d needed him most. So much for promising to love, honour and cherish her. Jack had left her—and Tyler—because he couldn’t handle the idea of having a son with Asperger’s. As soon as Jack had heard the paediatrician say the words ‘autistic spectrum disorder’, he’d closed off, and Louisa had seen it in his eyes. She’d known that her marriage was cracking beyond repair, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Less than two months later, he’d moved out and asked her for a divorce.

She could cope with Jack’s rejection of her; but she’d never, ever forgive him for rejecting their bright, quirky, gorgeous son. And she’d taken notice of the old saying, ever since: Handsome is as handsome does .

Essie didn’t seem to notice Louisa’s silence. ‘He’s been here for eight years now. He joined us as a wet-behind-the-ears house officer, and worked his way up.’ She sighed. ‘Though he’s not one for settling down, our Dominic. Women used to fall at his feet in droves, but nowadays he doesn’t even date—he’s completely wrapped up in his work. Pity, because he’d make a fantastic husband and father.’

Louisa had already spotted the photograph on Essie’s desk; the charge nurse was smiling for the camera, looking blissfully happy with her husband and two children. It seemed that Essie was the type who wanted everyone to be as happy and settled as she was. Well, she was happy and settled. She just wasn’t in a two-parent family. ‘Marriage isn’t for everyone,’ she said quietly.

‘You’re not married, then?’

‘Not any more.’ Not that she wanted to talk about it. Though, given the photograph on Essie’s desk, she could offer the perfect distraction. ‘But I do have a gorgeous son. Tyler.’ She took a photograph from her purse to show the charge nurse.

‘Oh, he looks a sweetie. And he’s so like you.’

‘He is,’ she agreed with a smile. ‘I’m really lucky.’ And she meant it. Tyler was the light of her life, and she loved him with a fierceness that she knew probably made her protect him too much.

‘So how old is he?’ Essie asked.

‘Eight. He started middle school last week—so this summer was the least disruptive time to move here from London.’ Louisa took a deep breath. ‘Actually, that’s why I started today, not last week—I wanted to give him a few days to settle in to his new school first.’

‘It’s always hard, changing schools, whether you’re from the local first school or not,’ Essie agreed. ‘Though I’m sure he’ll soon make friends.’

Louisa would be very, very surprised if he did. Tyler was self-contained in the extreme. Having Asperger’s meant he saw the world in terms of black and white, with no shades of grey. Other children quickly noticed that—especially as Ty was a walking encyclopaedia on his favourite subjects, and wouldn’t hesitate to correct anyone instead of just letting it go for the sake of social harmony. She’d tried to help him, inviting children home for tea after school—but Tyler had never been invited back. Probably because most of the time, when someone came over, he’d lose interest in whatever game they were playing, disappear up to his room and start drawing. ‘Maybe,’ she said.