Tempted by Dr. Daisy (12 page)

She nodded, looking almost excited, as if for the first time she dared to let herself believe it could be all right.

‘Do you think they'll make it?' Daisy asked Ben when they'd left.

‘I hope so. I want you in charge of them when she's admitted. Daily scans, Doppler three times a day, at least, and really close scrutiny. If she feels they're moving a lot it could be because there's a problem, so I want her checked again then, day or night.'

He broke off and met her eyes searchingly. ‘You will be here, won't you? Until we deliver them? I really want you in charge of the day-to-day running of this case, even if we…'

‘Don't you trust Evan?'

‘Trust? Yes, of course I do, he's a box-ticker and he wouldn't let anything happen to them, but I don't think he's right for Mel. I want
you
,' he said quietly. ‘Mel knows you, and so do I. And you don't have an ego so you won't try to go it alone if you're worried.'

She gave a wry little laugh. ‘Fair point. But there aren't
any jobs for me to go to anyway, so even if we decide it doesn't work, you'll be stuck with me for a while, so, yeah, I'll be here.'

His gaze didn't flicker from her eyes. ‘Good, because I feel we could be getting somewhere now. Give us time, Daisy. Please. And have a little faith in me.'

She felt her smile slip, and nodded. ‘I will. And whatever happens, I'll stay for the twins at least.'

He levered himself off the edge of the desk and took her shoulders in his hands. ‘Thank you,' he said quietly, and folded her into his arms for a brief and gentle hug. Then dropping a kiss on her hair, he eased away and swatted her lightly on the bottom. ‘Off you go, Dr Daisy, before I do something unprofessional to you halfway through the antenatal clinic. And I'm cooking for you tonight, by the way.'

‘I'll look forward to it,' she said, and went off to find her next patient, her heart lighter than it had been for weeks.

He sent her off for a relaxing bath in her lovely sanctuary when she got home from work, and when she came down, the dining room was transformed.

He'd cooked her a meal, laid the table, lit candles—but they didn't get that far. He poured her a glass of wine, handed it to her and kissed her fleetingly, then the wine glass ended up on the table and she ended up in his arms.

‘Oh, Daisy, I've missed you so damn much,' he said raggedly into her hair, cradling her close. ‘Missed having you to myself, missed spending time alone with you doing nothing in particular, just being with you. And it feels
so
good just to hold you.'

She lifted her head and looked up into his eyes. ‘Will supper keep?'

He went over to the hob, drained the potatoes, turned off the heat under the casserole and came back to her. ‘It
will now,' he said, smiling as he cradled her face in his hands and kissed her lingeringly. ‘Did you have anything special in mind?'

They ate later, with the candles burned down and the casserole well and truly tender, and Tabitha mugged him for scraps which he gave her without question.

‘You shouldn't feed her at the table,' she said disapprovingly, but in fact she was glad he did, glad he didn't mind the cat, because she was spending more and more time next door, and on Saturday night she'd slept on Florence's bed. And if—

Don't jump the gun!
she warned herself, and put another scoop of his delicious casserole on her plate.

‘No!' she told the cat and put her on the floor. ‘You see what you've done?'

His eyes twinkled. ‘Mmm. Turned her into a normal cat. What a shame. Do you want these green beans, or shall I finish them?'

 

Sheena Lewis was making steady progress after her car accident, and Daisy went in to check her on Tuesday afternoon just as her husband and the children were leaving. He was in a wheelchair, and the oldest two were squabbling good-naturedly over who was going to push him back to the ward.

‘Hey, take it in turns or you won't be allowed to push it, because you'll hurt him,' Sheena said. ‘Lucy first, she's oldest. And where's my kiss goodbye?'

The children ran to hug her, not a sign of the dutiful about them, both of them obviously devoted to their stepmother. She'd seen them before, last Friday, and they looked a great deal happier now that both their parents were on the mend.

‘Come on, horrors, let's leave Sheena with the doctor,'
Dan Lewis said, and they left. Sheena flopped back against the pillows with a weary smile and sighed with relief, and Daisy chuckled as she turned back the covers and had a look at her wound.

‘That's coming on really well. It looks lovely and clean. You should be able to go home soon.'

‘Good. I think Dan's parents are finding it all a bit much. Still, he'll be home tomorrow so he can help to keep them in order.'

‘They're quite a handful, I imagine,' Daisy said, wondering how she coped, but she just smilingly agreed.

‘Oh, they are, but I wouldn't change them for the world. They're the sweetest things, and they lost their mother four years ago, so they've been really upset by this accident. I think they wondered if it might not all happen again, and the fact that we're both all right and the baby's here is just a bit much for them on top of the shock, so they're a bit like a bottle of fizzy drink that's been shaken—open with care! But they're such good kids. Dan was saying earlier that if he'd died, he wouldn't have had to worry about the kids because he would have known they'd be all right.'

‘It's a lot to take on. They're lucky to have you,' Daisy said quietly, and she shrugged.

‘I fell in love with Dan, and the kids are part of him. How couldn't I love them? It hasn't all been easy, don't think that, but I wouldn't give back a minute of it. It's been wonderful, and it's just got better, and I'm just so grateful that I'm alive to share it.'

‘I bet you are,' Daisy said softly, and left her in peace. She told Ben about their conversation later, over dinner, and he winced.

‘I didn't realise their mother was dead. Poor little things.'

‘Mmm. She said Dan feels he doesn't have to worry
about anything happening to him because they'll be all right with her.'

‘I can understand that,' he said, surprising her. ‘If anything happened to me and Jane wasn't around for any reason, if you were there I'd know Florence would be safe and secure and loved.'

He trusted her that much? Feeling choked, she laid a hand over his and squeezed it. ‘Thank you.'

He turned his hand over and caught hers, threading their fingers together. ‘What for? It's the truth, Daisy. You love her, and given the slightest encouragement, she'll love you, too. She probably already does. It's not hard, after all.'

‘Too hard for Mike.'

‘Tell me about him,' he urged softly, and she shrugged.

‘Oh—what's to tell? He just messed me about. He kept saying we'd get married one day, maybe, but he just wouldn't set a date. He never really asked me, and he certainly didn't give me a ring. I don't think he had any intention of doing it, he was just looking for someone to help with the kids at weekends, and then he realised how busy I was and how much he was still having to do, so when his wife said she'd have him back, he dropped me like a hot brick—but he'd talked about us getting married in front of the children, so they were really confused because it just didn't happen. Kids are too immediate. If you tell them you're getting married, they want to know when, and they want it to be in the foreseeable future. “Sometime” just isn't good enough, it's like saying “Maybe” when they ask if they can do something. It means no. I should have realised that, pinned him down and forced his hand, and it would have been over earlier.'

‘No,' he said flatly. ‘He should have been more straightforward with you. And if he wanted to marry you, he should have asked you properly. He was just wasting your
time, using you, and I'd quite appreciate a few minutes alone with him.'

He let go of her hand and cleared the table, and they made tea and took it into the sitting room in front of the television and watched the news with Tabitha lying sprawled across them both, Ben's arm around Daisy's shoulders, snuggling her close and making her feel safe and wanted.

Loved.

It was a wonderful feeling. Dare she trust it? She was still afraid of making a mistake, of doing something that could hurt an innocent child as Freya and Millie had been hurt—as she'd been hurt—but there were lots of people who made second marriages work.

Take Sheena Lewis. She was amazing with her step-children, and Ben had said he felt the same way about her and Florence as Dan did about Sheena and the children.

He trusted her that much. He trusted her with his beloved child. Could she trust him?

Yes. Surely, yes.

She snuggled closer, and he turned off the television and lifted the cat off onto the floor. ‘Bedtime,' he said, a smile flickering in the back of his eyes, and she slipped her hand through his and let him lead her up to bed.

 

‘Jane and Peter can't have Florence this weekend, they're going away,' he told her on Thursday morning, when she'd been looking forward to it for days.

‘Oh. Well, it doesn't matter,' she said, surprised at how disappointed she felt, but Ben just smiled and pulled the rabbit out of the hat.

‘I've got a better idea. Let's go to Yorkshire and see my parents. We'll have resident babysitters, and it's ages since they've seen her, and I can show you where I grew up.'

He was taking her to meet his parents? Wow. That was progress. She'd never met Mike's parents—but then, as she'd realised belatedly, he'd never been serious about her, so why would she have done? She'd never been that important.

But she was important to Ben. Very important, and this weekend suddenly took on a whole new meaning of its own.

They were leaving at four on Friday afternoon, straight from work.

‘Bring a dress,' he'd said. ‘I've booked a table for Saturday night, and it's quite smart.'

‘How smart?'

He shrugged. ‘I'll wear my suit, since you rescued it for me and it's survived. Probably not a tie.'

The dress she'd had for Laura's wedding? She'd only worn it once, and it was lovely. She felt really good in it, and it was the sort of material that packed well. ‘What else?'

‘Jeans and walking shoes. And just normal stuff. We'll take my parents and Florence to Bettys for tea.'

‘Oh, I've heard of Bettys tearoom! Can we really go?'

‘Yes. I've booked that, too.'

‘You're a marvel of organisation,' she said with a smile, and packed. Then repacked, because she was taking far too much, and she realised she was nervous.

They set off promptly, leaving Evan in charge with strict instructions to contact Ben if anything happened with the twins, and they arrived at eight, just as the sun was going down.

It was a stone farmhouse, right on the outskirts of Harrogate, with spectacular views over the Yorkshire countryside. She could see the sun setting in the distance as he
turned onto the drive, and as he pulled up outside three dogs came running towards them, tails lashing.

‘Hello, girls,' he said, getting out of the car and greeting them, and then they rushed round to greet Daisy as Ben lifted Florence out of her seat in the back. ‘I'll get the luggage in a minute,' he murmured, Florence's head lolling on his shoulder, and putting his arm round Daisy, he led her into the house, the dogs at their feet.

She felt ridiculously nervous.

Was her hair a mess? Her makeup smudged? She'd probably got cake crumbs round her mouth from snacking in the car—

‘You look fine,' he said, his eyes laughing as he pushed the back door open and went in. ‘Hi, Mum.'

His mother was lovely. Warm and homely, practical, no-nonsense, with an apron tied firmly round her middle and a kitchen that smelled of heaven. ‘You must be Daisy,' she said, beaming. ‘I'm Liz.' And without hesitation, she hugged her. ‘Andrew's about somewhere—ah, there you are, darling. They're here.'

‘Dad, this is Daisy. Daisy, my father Andrew.' Ben kissed his mother's cheek, handed her the sleeping child, hugged his father and put the kettle on.

‘If I don't make Daisy a cup of tea soon, she'll kill me,' he said mildly. ‘But if you're opening a bottle of wine, Dad, I'm with you all the way.'

‘It's done.' He shook her hand firmly. ‘Hello, Daisy, it's lovely to meet you.'

‘You, too. I've heard a lot about you. Apparently I have “good hands” like you when I'm operating.'

His father chuckled. ‘Oh, dear. I hope you weren't too insulted.'

‘I told her not to be. Mum, that is seriously good chilli,'
he said, putting the lid back on the pot and licking the spoon. ‘I'm starving.'

‘You're always starving. I've made plenty.'

‘Good. Where have you put us?'

His mother's face was bland. ‘I've made up the guest room and your room, and Florence is in the little room. Take your pick. Bring your bags in and you can put her to bed before we eat. She's exhausted, poor little mite. Has she eaten enough?'

‘Plenty,' he said, laughing. ‘Dad, can you give me a hand?'

‘So where
are
we sleeping?' she asked later as they were going up to bed.

‘If Florence wasn't here, I'd say my room. As it is, I think I'd better show you to your room and kiss you goodnight.'

Pity. She could have done with a cuddle.

She got one. Too brief, but a very definite cuddle.

‘They're lovely,' she mumbled into his shirt.

‘They are. They think you are, too.'

He kissed her, then kissed her again, just in case she'd missed it the first time, and she had to push him away laughing.