Kathryn Ross - The Unexpected Father

Josh was a total enigma to her. She couldn’t work him out at all Obviously he was being nice to her now because he felt sorry for her, because Ben had been his friend.

She didn’t want anybody’s sympathy; she certainly didn’t want Josh Hamilton’s. Her hand trembled badly as she held the glass. He didn’t let go of it, helping her as an adult would help a child. Annoyance mixed with gratitude. She wished to hell she could understand the way she was feeling.

After a few sips she lay back against her pillow again.

A young nurse walked past them and smiled provocatively at Josh. She noticed that he returned the smile in a warm, lazy kind of way.

Samantha looked away from him. ‘Don’t let me detain you here.’ She muttered the words abrasively. ‘I’m sure you must have better things to do.’

‘Am I to take it that’s your way of telling me to go?’ he asked sardonically.

‘If you like.’

‘Fine.’ He stood up. He seemed to tower over her bedside. He was tall—well over six feet. ‘I hope you feel better soon.’

Her reply was interrupted by Sister Roberts as she came to check up on Samantha, her trained eye moving over the girl’s pallor with concern.

‘Well, how is my favourite patient today?’ she asked light-heartedly.

‘Not bad.’ Samantha shrugged. ‘When can I get up from here? I’m starting to feel as if I’m taking root in this bed.’

‘You’ve only been there a few days,’ the sister said with a shake of her head. ‘You need the rest, Sam.’

‘I need to get back to work...that’s what I need,’ Samantha said bleakly. ‘You must be really short-staffed.’

‘We are managing,’ the sister assured her quickly.

Josh moved from the bedside. ‘Well, I’ll leave you two ladies to talk.’ His eyes moved over Samantha’s face, then he smiled. ‘See you later.’

‘Nice man.’ Sister Roberts sat down in the chair he had vacated. ‘He must have nerves of steel the way he was able to run into the hospital corridor to get you out. Parts of the roof were still falling in.’

‘Was that when he hurt his arm?’

The sister nodded.

Out of the side of her eye she could see Josh speaking to the nurse who had smiled at him. Then Nurse Joanne Kelly walked over to him as well. Josh said something to them and they both laughed.

‘He certainly seems to be a hit with the staff,’ she said, and for some reason couldn’t get rid of the asperity in her tone.

‘I suppose.’ Sister Roberts darted a glance over at her two members of staff. ‘Anyway, I haven’t come to talk about Josh Hamilton. I thought maybe you were ready to discuss what you want to do.’

‘Do?’ Samantha swallowed nervously.

‘You are going to have to return home, Sam.’ The woman’s voice was gentle. ‘You are in no fit state to continue working here. You are in shock and—’

‘Pregnant. Dreadful combination,’ Samantha said with dry humour.

‘I was about to say you need peace and quiet for a while,’ the sister finished with a small smile. ‘Have you a home, a family you can go to in England?’

‘You mean you’re kicking me out of Chuanga?’ Samantha’s voice was light, almost jovial. ‘And I thought I was indispensable.’

‘Come on, Sam!’ The sister shook her head. ‘You have a baby to consider. You know you can’t stay. We’ve already discussed that. You were already making plans to leave us...weren’t you?’

‘Yes.’ Samantha closed her eyes. If the truth were known she hadn’t really got around to the point of making plans; she had been too busy thinking about her husband, about the fact that he didn’t want their baby.

‘You...you haven’t told anyone that I’m pregnant, have you?’ she asked suddenly, her eyes flicking open anxiously.

‘Just your doctor... I’ll have to fill in a report for headquarters, though, Sam.’

That was to be expected, but even so her heart sank.

‘Shall I make some enquiries about getting you back to civilisation?’ the sister asked gently now.

‘I suppose you should.’ Samantha nodded. ‘As you say, I can’t stay here.’

She watched as the sister walked away across the ward. At least her baby was all right, she told herself positively. Ben—had he been here—would probably have been disappointed by that news.

Across the ward she could see Josh leaning indolently against the doorway, listening intently to something Joanne was telling him.

He was very handsome. His very presence seemed to dominate the small ward, radiating powerful, vital waves of strength.

What was Joanne talking so earnestly to him about? Samantha wondered. Josh seemed very interested, his eyes serious, watching her with complete absorption.

She sighed and turned on her side, away from them. She was grateful to Josh for rescuing her but she still didn’t like him. He was too arrogantly sure of himself. He was probably a womaniser into the bargain. A man who enjoyed breaking hearts.

Ben had broken her heart. She stared at the wall and tried not to think about her husband. There was no point in analysing their relationship any further. If the truth were known their marriage had been a terrible mistake from the beginning. She had tried very hard to make it work, but Ben had killed her feelings for him with his cold, almost indifferent attitude.

She remembered his reaction when she had told him she was pregnant. ‘Get rid of it,’ he had said stonily, with no hesitation. The memory made her shudder.

Ben was dead, and she grieved for the tragic waste of his life. But her respect for him had gone. Now her priority was her unborn child.

CHAPTER TWO

A WEEK later they let Samantha out of hospital. In one way she was relieved to be out of the ward. It had been frustrating to have to lie there when she knew the nurses around her could use some help. However, going back to the room she had shared with Ben would be hard.

She was making her way out of the hospital when she saw Josh Hamilton walking towards her.

‘Almost didn’t recognise you with your clothes on.’ He grinned as he stopped beside her. ‘I’ve only ever seen you in a uniform or a white nightshirt.’

Samantha tried not to look embarrassed by the remark, or by the way his eyes were assessing her in a light-hearted manner. She was wearing a cotton summer dress which had a faded floral print in blues and pinks. It was not a sophisticated dress but it was pretty, or rather it had looked pretty before she had lost so much weight. Now it hung on her slender frame in a way that was not exactly flattering. Not that she cared about her looks, and she certainly didn’t give a damn what Josh Hamilton thought of her.

‘I thought you might have left by now,’ she said crisply, pointedly ignoring his remarks.

‘If you can’t drive, getting out of here is not so easy,’ he said, indicating his wrist, which was still bandaged. ‘Believe me, I’ve explored all the options.’

‘I know what you mean.’ Samantha nodded. ‘I was hoping to be able to catch a plane to Salanga, but unfortunately none of the air relief has been able to get in.’

She turned to continue walking and he fell into step beside her. ‘You’re leaving?’ He sounded surprised.

‘Yes... I’ve been given my orders to go home. Apparently I need peace and quiet so as to heal my emotionally traumatised body.’ She made a joke of the subject, her lips curved in a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. ‘What about you? Are you going back to England?’

‘No, I’m not due to leave Nuangar for a while yet.’

They walked out into the heat of the day. The sky was a perfect dazzling blue which contrasted sharply against the brown mud huts and the dusty red earth. People were going about their work as usual. The sound of children’s singing drifted up from the school at the far end of the compound.