Stella MacLean - The Doctor Returns

Secrets and second chances

Sherri Lawson seems to be the only person not welcoming Dr. Neill Brandon back to Eden Harbor, Maine. She has moved on from their shared past. Yet a part of her has never quite gotten over Neill—or the baby she lost. The baby he didn’t even know about….

She can’t imagine a new relationship with Neill, much as she might want it. But it turns out that Neill wants it, too, and he believes they can make it happen. And to Sherri’s surprise, so does his daughter, Morgan!

“Sherri, I’d like to see you sometime...”

Neill then added, “Socially, I mean. Dinner perhaps?”

How could Neill possibly think he could make up for the past and what they’d lost by inviting her out to dinner?

Yet his voice, his openness as he looked at her and his uneasy smile—they were all so familiar. Sherri waited to see if he’d rub the back of his neck after running his hands through his hair.

When he did, a rush of feeling—long held hostage by her fear—flooded to the surface. It was as if he’d never been gone. She stepped back in shock and disbelief.

How could he still have this effect on her?

She had to stop herself from reaching for him, for everything his love had once offered her. “Dinner? That’s hardly necessary,” she said over the blood pounding in her ears. She leaned against the wall for support, hoping he didn’t notice her apprehension.

When would she ever be free of these feelings? It had been twelve long years since she’d seen him…since he’d seen her. And still, he held the power to make her want him.

Dear Reader,

Having friends enriches our everyday experiences by encouraging us to be who we are and to share our lives with those who believe in us. Yet finding a true friend means trusting another person to care about us despite our shortcomings.

Neill and Sherri had been best friends in high school, a friendship that over time became a love affair. But loving someone doesn’t guarantee happiness. Sherri and Neill’s love would have been lost forever but for the friendship they’d shared before they fell in love. The memory of how much they’d once trusted each other becomes the starting point from which they’re able to rekindle their love.

The Doctor Returns takes place in Eden Harbor, a fictional town on the coast of Maine, and begins what will be a series of stories about the lives of those who live and love in a place of magnificent beauty and shared family values.

For those of you reading this book, my one wish is that you have been blessed with close friends who have made your world a brighter place.

If you’d like to contact me, I would be delighted to hear from you. My website is www.stellamaclean.comand my email address is stella@stellamaclean.com. I can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/stella.maclean.3and on Twitter, @Stella__MacLean.

Sincerely,

Stella MacLean

The Doctor Returns

Stella MacLean

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stella MacLean has spent her life collecting story ideas, waiting for the day someone would want to read about the characters who have lurked in her heart and mind for so many years. Stella’s love of reading and writing began in grade school and has continued to play a major role in her life. A longtime member of Romance Writers of America and a Golden Heart finalist, Stella enjoys the hours she spends tucked away in her office with her Maine coon cat, Emma Jean, and her imaginary friends while writing stories about love, life and happiness.

I dedicate this book to Debbie Macomber, author, mentor and friend.

Acknowledgments

The best books are those carefully encouraged

and skillfully edited by professional editors.

My heartfelt thanks to Paula Eykelhof and Lara Hyde for their guidance and support in bringing The Doctor Returns to readers everywhere.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE

JUST ANOTHER FEW steps and he’d be there. “Hang on, sweetie,” Neill Brandon pleaded over the thrashing movements of his little girl’s body. Fear tore through his heart, fear driven by dread that he’d let his daughter down.

His feet thudded against the concrete of the driveway leading to the hospital emergency doors, while his lips moved in silent prayer that this was not the beginning of a reoccurrence of Morgan’s epileptic seizures. That he wasn’t somehow responsible for what was happening to her.

He’d picked Morgan up after school and taken her with him while he checked on a patient at the hospital. They’d been sitting in the car in the doctors’ parking lot when Morgan began arguing with him about being allowed to have a sleepover at her new friend’s house. Morgan’s grandmother approved, so why couldn’t he?

He hadn’t wanted to part with her so soon after their move to Eden Harbor, but his nine-year-old daughter’s plea had turned into a tearful demand just before her body was overcome by the tremors that announced the arrival of a seizure.

The seizure had been milder than the ones she’d had before they’d found a stable dose of medicine for her, and he was thankful for that. He was relieved she’d still had her seat belt on when the seizure began, which made it easier to control her shaking.

He hugged her closer, feeling her body yield to his anxious embrace as he ran the last few steps to the entrance of Eagle Mountain Hospital. The doors slid apart, and a warm flood of air welcomed him as he charged across the yawning space toward the doors to the emergency room. As if her body knew they had reached safety, Morgan relaxed into his arms; her head lolled against his shoulder, her breath sweet against his neck.

“My daughter’s an epileptic and she’s having a seizure. Get Dr. Fennell,” he ordered, barely glancing at the nurse who appeared before him.

“Certainly,” the nurse said, keying in the page on the phone hanging on the wall at the head of a bank of four unoccupied stretchers. Neill laid Morgan on the nearest one.

He couldn’t take his eyes off his daughter and her endearing face, her high cheekbones hinting of beauty to come, so like her mother’s. Her auburn hair clinging to her cheeks reminded him of the many times he’d sat with her in the early morning before school, forcing the mass of curls into what Morgan called a bun.

“Dr. Fennell’s on his way,” the nurse said, her voice soothing as she moved to the other side of the stretcher. “Your daughter’s lovely, Dr. Brandon.”

Neill anxiously watched Morgan, waiting for her eyes to flutter open. “Yes, she is lovely.” A gift life had given him—his taste of redemption.

Dr. Fennell strode into the room, his lab coat flapping around him. “Neill, what’s going on?”

Neill explained to Mike what had happened and how long the seizure had lasted, all the while vaguely aware of the nurse standing across the stretcher from him as she checked Morgan’s vital signs. Although he’d trained himself to remain in control, to be calm, the struggle to steady his breathing and to keep his hands from trembling where they held Morgan’s was difficult. His medical training told him his response was normal, but normal no longer mattered. All he wanted was to gather Morgan in his arms and promise her it would never happen again—a promise he couldn’t guarantee he could keep. No one could. But it didn’t stop the impulsive need to protect and care for her in whatever way possible. Her illness had made him understand why doctors didn’t treat their own family members, except in dire emergencies. Emotions could so easily cloud judgment.