The Midwife's Marriage Proposal Read online

  Something shifted inside Sally and she felt an instant bond with Helen.

  She was an incredibly kind person.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said gruffly, ‘but I’ll be fine, really.’

  ‘Helen’s right, you shouldn’t cycle this late. I’ll give you a lift.’ Tom rose to his feet and lifted an eyebrow in her direction, challenging her to refuse.

  She lifted an eyebrow. ‘You’re on a bike, too, remember?’

  Tom’s eyes gleamed with amusement. ‘Not the same thing, as you well know.’

  Sally glanced down at herself. ‘I’m hardly dressed for a ride on a motorbike in freezing March.’

  ‘I’ve got a spare helmet and you can borrow a set of leathers from here,’ Tom said easily. ‘Oliver?’

  ‘We’ll take her,’ Bryony interrupted quickly, her expression troubled as she looked at Sally. ‘She doesn’t want to go on the back of your motorbike. It’s a totally uncivilized mode of transport.’

  ‘Sally isn’t like you,’ Tom said softly, his blue eyes fixed firmly on Sally. ‘She used to love my motorbike. I can’t believe she’s really changed that much.’

  Sally stared at him, hardly able to breathe. Why did she have the feeling that this conversation wasn’t about motorbikes? It was about the person she used to be.

  But she wasn’t that person any more.

  She wasn’t the same girl who had been so crazy about Tom that all the other parts of her life had blurred into insignificance.

  Bryony reached for her keys. ‘I’m taking her home,’ she said firmly, and Oliver sighed.

  ‘Well, in that case you’ll have to come back here afterwards, because Jack and I have got things to discuss.’

  ‘Thanks, Bry, but I’ll go with Tom.’ The last thing Sally wanted was to put Bryony to so much trouble when she’d already been so generous in every way. It was just one short motorbike ride. How could that be a problem? And it was hardly intimate. They wouldn’t even be able to have a conversation and he couldn’t see her face once they were on the bike. It would be fine.

  She looked at the leathers that Oliver was holding out to her, her eyes suddenly wary as she recognized them. ‘They’re mine …’

  ‘You gave them to us when you left. Naturally, we hung onto them.’

  Sally stood for a moment, remembering the time she’d bought the leathers. The same time she’d thought she’d be with Tom for ever.

  Putting them on would be like going back in time, and that was the last thing she wanted to do.

  Then she felt Tom’s eyes on her and reached for the leathers. ‘Thanks.’

  She wriggled into them, took the helmet from Tom and said her goodbyes, by which time Tom was already seated on the motorbike, his black helmet concealing his features and giving him an air of menace and danger.

  Sally swallowed, suddenly realizing what she’d committed herself to. Why on earth hadn’t she just agreed when Bryony had offered to drive her home? It would have been the safe option.

  But she’d never chosen the safe option in her life and Bryony had already done more than enough.

  She looked at his powerful figure straddling the bike with careless ease and suddenly her body throbbed in an instinctive and totally feminine response to the macho figure he presented. But his sexual magnetism had never been in question, she reasoned, hating herself for the strength of her reaction. That was why she’d made such a fool of herself over him in her teens.

  Looking at the space on the back of his bike, she felt her breath catch.

  How could she have thought that riding on a bike with him would be less intimate than travelling in a car? It was so much more intimate. On a bike she would be wrapped around him, her body locked against his as it had been so many times in the past.

  ‘Are you coming?’ His deep voice was molten male invitation and she was suddenly thankful that the helmet concealed her expression.

  ‘Yes.’

  Comforting herself that the journey was relatively short, she stepped up to the bike and swung her leg over, sitting as far back in the saddle as possible, trying to keep her distance.

  Without speaking, he reached back and found her arms, lifting them and wrapping them around him, forcing her to draw close, to slot her body against his.

  She felt the warmth and strength of him pressed against her, felt the powerful play of male muscle against hers as he steered the bike out of Oliver’s drive.

  As they picked up speed she felt the familiar kick of excitement and closed her eyes, transported back in time.

  It was a mistake. Like an addict who allows himself just one more taste of a dangerous substance, she felt the insidious pull of desire. A need that couldn’t be controlled by common sense. Feeling the traitorous warmth spread through her body, she wondered despairingly how it was that you could know something was bad for you and yet still want it so badly.

  Other men, she told herself firmly.

  There were other men out there and she was going to meet one of them …

  She was so preoccupied by her own internal battle that it wasn’t until Tom approached Bryony’s cottage that she realized that she hadn’t even told him where she lived.

  The bike slowed and she pulled herself back from the edge of insanity, sliding off the back of the bike before he’d even brought it to a halt.

  She dragged off the helmet and handed it to him, shaking her blonde hair in an automatic gesture.

  ‘So how did you know where I was living?’

  ‘A simple matter of deduction,’ he drawled. ‘My little sister seems to have given herself the role of protector and her cottage is empty. It would be a logical decision to offer it to you.’

  ‘I’m finding myself somewhere of my own soon.’

  He shrugged. ‘Why bother? This cottage is great and it’s not that far from the hospital.’

  Because after seven years of travelling she was ready to have somewhere that was her own. Even if all she could afford was something tiny.

  It would be all hers.

  But she had no intention of sharing those thoughts with Tom.

  ‘Goodnight. Thanks for the lift.’

  ‘Are you going to invite me in?’ His voice was velvety dark and tempting and she stared at him like a rabbit caught in headlights, the physical pull of his presence as powerful as ever.

  ‘Why would I?’

  ‘Because, whatever you might say to the contrary,’ he drawled softly, ‘you know you want to. All evening you felt me next to you in the same way that I felt you. This thing between us hasn’t gone away, Sally.’

  Her insides lurched alarmingly and she backed away a few steps. ‘What I know,’ she said coldly, ‘is that you are as arrogant as ever.’

  But despite her accusation she could feel the insidious warmth spread through her veins, fuelled by the lazy, confident look in his blue eyes.

  When she’d been younger, it had been one of the many things that had attracted her to him. His unshakable self-confidence, his nerve and courage in confronting the world, his total belief in his ability to conquer all. For someone as insecure as her, he’d represented security. She’d always believed that nothing would ever go wrong as long as Tom was there.

  But the thing that had gone wrong had been Tom himself.

  Like everyone else in her life, eventually he’d pushed her away.

  ‘So are you inviting me in?’ He sat easily on the bike, watching her, totally relaxed. Or was he? His blue eyes were sharp and alert and fixed on her face, reading her every reaction with lethal accuracy.

  ‘No, Tom. I’m not. Thanks for the lift.’ She delved in her bag for her keys and turned to walk down the path to the cottage, but his arm snaked out and strong fingers closed over her arm, preventing her escape.

  ‘You can deny it as much as you like, but it’s still there.’

  She stood still, trapped by the strength of his fingers and the truth in his words.

  It was still there.

  And that made it d
oubly difficult to do what she had to do.

  But it didn’t make it impossible.

  ‘Goodnight, Tom.’ With a determined effort and more willpower than she’d known she possessed, she pulled away from him for the second time that evening and walked down the path without looking back.

  * * *

  Tom rode the motorbike home at a pace that would have horrified his mother, but even the sudden burst of death-defying speed and power didn’t relieve the throbbing tension that had built within him during the evening.

  He locked the bike away and let himself into his house, contemplating the undeniable fact that, of all the women he’d been with in his life, Sally Jenner was the only one who had ever held his attention.

  But she’d wanted a level of commitment that had unsettled him.

  She’d been young and mixed up. Shifted from foster-home to foster-home, searching for security and acceptance. And unconditional love. Someone who wouldn’t push her away when the going got tough.

  And hadn’t he done just that?

  He cursed softly, reminding himself that he’d been in an impossible situation.

  Sally had been so lonely and unloved that she’d treated him like a lifeline, and he’d known that the only way she was ever going to find confidence, find her place in the world, would be if they parted company. He’d been mature enough to realize how desperate she’d been for some sort of stability in her life, and he’d been afraid that her love for him had been fuelled by a desperation for security.

  And looking at her this evening, looking at that poise and confidence, he could almost convince himself that he’d done the right thing.

  But then he’d felt the pulsing, throbbing tension between them, and the question came back to taunt him as it had a million times over the last seven years.

  What if he hadn’t ended it?

  Wondering why life was so damn complicated, Tom tugged open the fridge to retrieve another beer when he remembered that he’d already had one and it was still possible that he’d be called back to the hospital.

  So instead he made himself a coffee and took it into his huge living room.

  He sprawled on one of the leather sofas, staring blindly, thinking about the one woman who was never far from his mind.

  When she’d chosen to leave Cumbria he’d been relieved. He had been fully aware that living in the same community as Sally Jenner and not wanting to ravish her twenty-four hours a day had been more than his willpower would have been able to cope with.

  Even believing that his decision had been right for both of them, it hadn’t made it any easier to live with.

  He’d hurt her. Badly. Which had reduced him from friend and lover to just another person who’d rejected her.

  What he hadn’t anticipated was that seven years of separation wouldn’t dull his desire for her in even the smallest degree.

  All that the time had done had been to increase his doubt.

  He stirred slightly, his gaze sliding around the stylish room that he’d designed himself, noticing how empty it was. Usually he found comfort in returning to the peace and order of his home.

  But tonight something had changed.

  Tonight his house didn’t feel peaceful, it felt silent.

  It didn’t feel private, it felt lonely.

  Suddenly he’d found himself wishing that he shared it with a woman, but not just any woman.

  Sally.

  The connection between them was as powerful as ever, even though she was choosing to deny it.

  And who could blame her for that?

  Suddenly he wished it were Sally who was pregnant, with his child.

  Shocked by his thoughts, he rose to his feet and paced the generous expanse of his living room, wondering just what on earth was happening to him.

  * * *

  Sally dragged herself through the next few days at work, feeling totally exhausted. The strain of working in such close proximity to Tom was affecting her sleep pattern and she was permanently tired.

  And she was thinking too much.

  Thinking about the past.

  Gritting her teeth and promising herself that she’d spend the weekend outdoors, she walked onto the unit for her last shift before her days off, frowning slightly as her mountain rescue team pager bleeped.

  Moments later Tom strode onto the unit, his expression urgent.

  ‘Grab your things, we need to get going.’

  ‘Going?’ Sally looked at him, her hand still on her pager. ‘Surely we can’t both leave the unit?’

  Emma gave her a little push. ‘We’re quiet, and anyway Chris is around and I can get some help from the ward if I need it. What’s happening, Tom?’

  ‘Would you believe me if I told you that Lucy Thomas has called from somewhere in the Langdales? She’s fallen and hurt her ankle.’

  ‘Lucy?’ Emma gaped at him. ‘But she must be eight months pregnant by now!’

  ‘Apparently she felt like some fresh air.’ Tom let out a breath. ‘I have to admit that of all the incidents I’ve ever attended, this one looks as though it might take the prize. It seems she fell and twisted her ankle and her husband can’t move her. But we can talk about it on the way. I need to grab some extra equipment, Emma. Just in case.’

  Sally frowned. ‘But I thought it was her ankle that was injured.’

  ‘It is, so far …’ Tom was already striding down the corridor towards the storeroom, ‘but I have a bad feeling about this one and clearly so does Sean. It’s the reason he’s asked for both of us to be there.’

  He was back minutes later, stuffing various packages into a bag. In the meantime Sally had grabbed her coat and bag.

  ‘You’ll be pleased to hear I brought the four-wheel-drive today,’ he said dryly, his eyes faintly mocking as he looked at her. ‘So at least you’ll be travelling in comfort.’

  The hospital was only minutes from the base, and as soon as Tom pulled up in the car park Sally was out of the door and sprinting inside, grabbing her gear and changing quickly.

  ‘I’m still waiting for the others,’ Sean told them, ushering them across to the large map that was permanently displayed on the wall. ‘She used a mobile phone but the battery went dead before she could be precise about their location. They stayed on the flat and she said they’d walked for about an hour. Given that she’s eight months pregnant, that can’t put them any further than here …’ He stabbed the map with the end of his pen and frowned thoughtfully. ‘We should be able to land a helicopter there if we have to.’

  Tom shook his head in disbelief. ‘What is a heavily pregnant woman doing, walking in the Langdales in this weather? Has the world gone mad?’

  Sean grinned. ‘It’s a sunny day. Perhaps she wanted to deliver alfresco.’

  ‘Don’t even joke about it,’ Tom growled, and Sally glanced at her watch.

  ‘Let’s get going.’

  Part of her was quaking at the thought of going on alone with Tom, but part of her was relieved to be paired with him.

  He was a highly skilled climber and a brilliant doctor. He was the perfect partner on any mountain rescue.

  She just wished he wasn’t so dangerously attractive.

  Or, at the very least, she wished she no longer noticed or cared.

  They both jumped back into the four-wheel-drive and Tom drove quickly to the point that he and Sean had identified from the map as being the closest to the path the couple seemed to have taken.

  As she slipped her arms into her rucksack, Sally gave a shiver and looked up at the sky.

  ‘The weather’s closing in.’

  ‘Of course it is.’ Tom’s tone was loaded with irony. ‘You didn’t really think you were going to carry out this rescue in sunshine, did you?’

  Sally laughed. ‘I would have hated it if we had. I love wild weather.’

  He stilled, a strange expression flickering in his eyes as he looked at her. ‘That’s right.’ His tone was suddenly soft. ‘So you do.’

  For a mom
ent their eyes held and then she turned on her heel and started up the path, her emotions churning.

  Being out in the mountains with him was the most bitter-sweet reminder of what they’d once shared. When they hadn’t been working, they’d spent their whole lives outdoors. And she’d often chosen to climb when the weather had been at its worst, and Tom had always come with her.

  Reminding herself that dwelling on the past just made the present harder to cope with, Sally increased her pace and strode confidently along the path that led along the valley floor, looking and listening and keeping a sharp eye on the weather. But all the time she was aware of Tom close behind her.

  When she reached a fork in the path she paused, and Tom walked up to her, squinting up at the sky.

  ‘It’s not looking good. So which way? Left or right?’

  Sally thought for a moment. ‘Left,’ she said decisively. ‘And if they only walked for an hour, they shouldn’t be far from here.’

  She set off again and this time Tom walked by her side, adjusting his stride to hers. ‘Why did you decide on left?’

  ‘Instinct.’ Sally glanced at him. ‘If I was pregnant I would have taken this path. The views are better and it stays in the valley. The other one creeps up the mountain. It’s steeper.’

  ‘I can’t imagine that would bother you,’ Tom said dryly. ‘I have no doubt that you’ll still be climbing rock-faces when you’re nine months pregnant.’

  Sally dragged her eyes away from his.

  She didn’t want him to know how much she still longed for a child. It was one of the factors that had triggered their break-up. She’d wanted a baby and he’d thought she’d been too young.

  She focused on the path. ‘I see them. There—by that boulder.’

  She increased her pace and they reached the couple quickly.

  ‘Thank goodness you’re here.’ The man looked pale and tired, his arm around his pregnant wife, who was lying on the ground, her bump smothered by an enormous weatherproof jacket. ‘I didn’t know what to do.’

  ‘Well, first we need to sit her up,’ Sally said quickly, shrugging the pack off her back and dropping to her knees next to the woman. ‘I’m Sally. I presume you must be Lucy, unless there’s another pregnant woman wandering the fells today.’