Читать книгу: «The Midwife's Christmas Miracle»

The Christmas market stalls looked very festive, with strings of brightly coloured lights hanging from their awnings. When they came to a stall that was selling mulled wine, Lucy stopped.

‘Mum makes mulled wine every year on Christmas Eve. My sister and I always used to leave a glass for Santa to go with his mince pie.’

‘And did he drink it?’ Max asked, loving the way her eyes had lit up at the memory.

‘Of course—or at least somebody did.’

Max laughed. ‘Well, you can’t prove that Father Christmas doesn’t exist, can you?’

She shook her head. ‘You are completely mad. Do you know that?’

Max felt his breath catch when she smiled up at him. Bending, he placed his mouth over hers. Her lips were cool from the night air, yet he could sense the heat beneath the chill and groaned. Kissing Lucy was like nothing he had ever experienced before!

He drew back reluctantly, seeing the shock in her eyes, and knew that she was as stunned by what had happened as he was.

‘I suppose I should apologise, although I’m not sorry that I kissed you,’ he said truthfully. Reaching out, he brushed his fingertips over her lips and felt her shudder. There was a definite tremor in his voice when he continued. ‘There’s just something about you, Lucy, that draws me—even though I know how crazy it is.’

The Midwife’s Christmas Miracle

By

Jennifer Taylor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dear Reader

I always love writing Christmas stories—mainly because I love Christmas. I spend hours shopping for presents for my family, and enjoy every second. I love wrapping the gifts when I get home, and piling them under the tree. I even enjoy visiting the supermarket and buying all the food! But most of all I love the fact that the reason for all the hustle and bustle is because we are celebrating the birth of a child. That’s why I decided to set this book in the maternity unit of Dalverston General Hospital.

Consultant Max Curtis and midwife Lucy Harris have both been badly hurt in the past, and they are very wary about getting hurt again. However, as they work together, helping to deliver babies, they soon realise that they are deeply attracted to one another. Neither wants to admit how they feel. It takes a little Christmas magic to make them see that they don’t need to be afraid of falling in love.

I wish you all a happy and joyous Christmas, wherever you are.

Jennifer

About the Author

JENNIFER TAYLOR lives in the north-west of England, in a small village surrounded by some really beautiful countryside. She has written for several different Mills & Boon^® series in the past, but it wasn’t until she read her first Medical^™ Romance that she truly found her niche. She was so captivated by these heartwarming stories that she set out to write them herself! When she’s not writing, or doing research for her latest book, Jennifer’s hobbies include reading, gardening, travel, and chatting to friends both on and off-line. She is always delighted to hear from readers, so do visit her website at www.jennifer-taylor.com

Recent titles by the same author:

THE DOCTOR’S BABY BOMBSHELL*

THE GP’S MEANT-TO-BE BRIDE*

MARRYING THE RUNAWAY BRIDE*

THE SURGEON’S FATHERHOOD SURPRISE**

*Dalverston Weddings

**Brides of Penhally Bay

For my granddaughter, Isobel. My little ray of sunshine.

Chapter One

‘AND last but definitely not least, this is Max Curtis, our acting consultant. Max, this is Lucy Harris, the new midwife who started today.’

‘Nice to meet you, Lucy.’

‘You too, Dr…er…er…’ Lucy flushed when she realised that she hadn’t caught his surname. It was hard to disguise her embarrassment when the dark-haired man seated behind the desk laughed.

‘It’s Curtis, although most people round here call me Max.’ He smiled up at her. ‘I’m not picky, mind. “Hey you” will get my attention fast enough.’

‘That’s good to know.’ Lucy smiled back, relieved by the easy way he had accepted her gaffe. Obviously, Max Curtis wasn’t the type of person who took himself too seriously, unlike some of the consultants she had worked with. ‘Although I promise that I won’t forget your name from now on. I won’t dare!’

He chuckled softly, his dark brown eyes creasing at the corners. ‘Don’t worry about it. The first day in a new job is always a nightmare. There’s so much to take in that you don’t know if you’re on your head or your heels most of the time.’

‘That’s true,’ Lucy agreed. ‘I just hope everyone will be as understanding as you when I get their names muddled up!’

‘They will be,’ he assured her then reached for the phone when it started to ring. ‘Maternity. Max Curtis speaking.’

Lucy sighed as she moved away from the desk, hoping that would be the end of the introductory tour. She honestly didn’t think that she could cope with having to remember anyone else. Joanna, the young trainee midwife who had been delegated to show her around, grinned at her.

‘That’s it. You’ve met everyone now, apart from the staff who are working tonight and Anna Kearney, our consultant. She’s on maternity leave at the moment, so you have that pleasure to come.’

‘At least that’s one less name to forget,’ Lucy declared, rolling her eyes.

‘As Max said, nobody will worry about it,’ Joanna assured her. She led the way along the corridor, pausing outside the door to one of the delivery suites. There were four suites in total and Lucy knew that every one was currently occupied. Although the maternity unit at Dalverston General was smaller than the one she had worked on in Manchester, she had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be any less busy because of that.

‘Margaret’s going off duty soon and Amanda wants you to take over from her,’ Joanna explained, passing on the instructions the senior midwife had given her. ‘I’ve got to help sort out the breakfasts now so I’ll have to leave you here. Is that OK?’

‘Fine,’ Lucy assured her. She smoothed down her brand-new uniform top as Joanna hurried away then tapped on the door and went in, smiling at the middleaged woman standing beside the bed. ‘I believe I’m taking over from you.’

‘That’s right.’ Margaret returned her smile. ‘We were hoping that Sophie’s baby would arrive while I was still on duty but he’s proving to be a tad reluctant to make his appearance in the world.’

‘Obviously a determined little chap who knows his own mind,’ Lucy said lightly. She went over to the bed and introduced herself to the young mother-to-be. ‘Hello, Sophie, my name is Lucy Harris and I’ve just started working here today. I’ll be looking after you when Margaret goes home.’

‘You are a proper midwife, though?’ Sophie said anxiously. ‘You’re not just a trainee?’

‘No. I’ve been a midwife for four years and I’ve delivered lots of babies during that time,’ Lucy explained. It wasn’t ideal to have to hand over a patient in the middle of a delivery and she was keen to allay the girl’s fears. ‘I worked at a hospital in Manchester before I came here.’

‘Oh, I see. Well, that’s all right, I suppose.’

Sophie still sounded a little dubious but Lucy understood. The relationship between a mother and her midwife was a delicate one and needed to be based on trust if it was to be successful. She patted Sophie’s hand. ‘Everything is going to be fine, Sophie, believe me. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like Margaret to update me as to what progress you’ve made.’

Sophie closed her eyes as Lucy moved away from the bed. She looked both exhausted and extremely anxious as she settled back against the pillows. Lucy frowned as she studied the girl’s strained face.

‘When was she admitted?’

‘Just before eight p.m. last night,’ Margaret replied. ‘Her contractions were quite strong, so I was hopeful it would be a fairly speedy delivery even though it’s her first baby. Unfortunately, everything started to slow down a couple of hours later and now we’ve come to a complete standstill.’

‘How’s the baby doing?’ Lucy queried.

‘Fine. Heartbeat is strong and there’s no signs of distress. It’s just going to be one of those stop-go deliveries from the look of it, which is a pity because I was hoping to get it over as quickly as possible.’ Margaret must have seen the question in Lucy’s eyes and lowered her voice. ‘Sophie’s not got anyone with her, you see. From what I can gather, the baby’s father took off a couple of months ago and she’s not seen him since.’

‘What about family or friends?’ Lucy asked sympathetically.

‘She’s never mentioned her family so I’ve no idea what the situation is there. As for friends, well, she hasn’t lived in Dalverston all that long. Apparently, the baby’s father got a job at the industrial park and that’s why they moved here.’ Margaret sighed. ‘I feel really sorry for her because she’s been very much on her own since he disappeared off the scene.’

‘What a terrible shame.’

Lucy’s heart went out to the girl, although she couldn’t help thinking that even if Sophie had had friends and family to support her, it might not have helped. As she knew to her cost, sometimes it was the people you were closest to who let you down most of all.

The thought sent a shaft of pain surging through her but she forced it down. She refused to dwell on the past when she had moved to Dalverston to escape it. She read through the notes Margaret had made then checked Sophie’s pulse and BP, the baby’s heartbeat, all the routine tasks that were so essential to the eventual outcome. She had just finished when the door opened and Max Curtis appeared.

‘Hi! I thought I’d check to see what progress we’re making,’ he said as he came over to the bed.

Lucy stepped aside to give him room, somewhat surprised to discover how tall he was. He had been sitting down when they had been introduced so she’d had no idea that he must be at least six feet tall with a leanly muscular physique under a pair of well-cut dark grey trousers and a paler grey shirt. All of a sudden she felt unusually conscious of her own lack of inches. At a mere five feet two, she could best be described as petite, although a lushly feminine figure did make up for what she lacked in height.

‘Everything seems to have come to a dead stop, Dr Curtis,’ Sophie said forlornly. ‘I don’t understand why it’s happened.’

‘It just does sometimes, Sophie,’ he assured her. ‘It’s all systems go and then everything suddenly tails off. Are you still having contractions?’

‘No. I’ve not had one for ages now.’

‘Let me take a look and then we’ll decide what we’re going to do.’

He gently examined her, explaining what he was doing as he checked the position of the baby and how far her cervix had dilated. Lucy appreciated the fact that he didn’t rush. He appeared to have all the time in the world and she knew that it would reassure Sophie more than anything else would do. She was pleased to see that the girl looked far less anxious by the time he finished and explained that he was going to give her something to help restart her contractions.

He wrote out an instruction for an intravenous infusion of synthetic oxytocin to be administered. This would augment the naturally occurring oxytocin that caused the muscles in the uterus to contract. He handed it to Lucy after she told him that Margaret was going off duty. ‘I’ll check back with you later to see what progress we’re making. In the meantime, get the switchboard to page me if you have any concerns.’

‘I shall,’ Lucy concurred.

‘Hopefully, this should get things back on track,’ he added, slipping his pen back into his pocket. ‘We’ll give nature a bit of a boost and hope it’ll do its stuff.’

‘Always the best solution,’ she agreed. She had never been an advocate of rushing in unnecessarily and it was good to know that they were in accord in that respect.

‘It seems we’re in agreement, then.’ Max smiled at her then headed towards the door. ‘Right, now I’m off to make myself a large cup of black coffee. I need a serious injection of caffeine if I’m to get through the rest of the day.’

‘That sounds like desperation talking,’ Lucy replied lightly.

‘Oh, it is, believe me. Given half the chance, I would curl up in this doorway and fall fast asleep!’

He laughed but Lucy could tell that he was only partly joking. She frowned as she took stock of the lines etched either side of his mouth, the weariness in his dark brown eyes, and realised all of a sudden how exhausted he looked.

‘Didn’t you get much sleep last night?’

‘I didn’t get any. I was about to get into bed when I was called back here to see a patient. Eclampsia,’ he added succinctly.

‘Oh, I see.’ Lucy nodded, understanding why he had needed to rush back into work. Eclampsia was a highly dangerous condition for both a mother and her child. It could lead to convulsions and even coma and death if not treated in time. Normally, the condition was picked up as pre-eclampsia during routine antenatal screening. The combination of high blood pressure, protein in the urine and oedema—an accumulation of fluid in the tissues—were all indications of it. She was surprised that alarm bells hadn’t started ringing earlier, in fact.

‘Was there no sign beforehand that the mother was at risk?’ she asked curiously.

‘None at all. Mind you, the fact that she missed her last couple of antenatal appointments didn’t help.’ Max sighed. ‘When I asked her why she hadn’t been to the clinic, she said that she hadn’t had the time. Apparently, she had a hair appointment on the first occasion and needed to get her nails done the next time.’

‘Unbelievable!’ Lucy exclaimed.

‘Yep. I think that just about sums it up. Fortunately, her husband phoned us when she started complaining that she had a headache and that her vision was blurred. He was told to bring her straight in so she was here when she had a convulsion. We administered anti-convulsant drugs and I delivered the baby by Caesarean section. He’s in the special care baby unit, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be fine. Mum will need monitoring for the next few weeks but she should be all right too.’ He shrugged. ‘It was worth a sleepless night, all things considered.’

He sketched her a wave and left, his long legs striding along the corridor. Lucy watched him for a moment then closed the door and went to set up the drip. Funnily enough she had enjoyed talking to him. Max Curtis had a relaxed and friendly manner that had put her at her ease, made her feel more positive about the changes she had made to her life recently. Hopefully, moving to Dalverston had been the right thing to do.

She sighed as the doubts suddenly surfaced again. It had been hard to leave her last job when she had been so happy there, harder still to leave all her friends and family behind, but she’d had no choice. Although her parents had tried to persuade her not to go, Lucy knew how difficult it would have been for them if she’d stayed. After all, it wasn’t their fault that her cousin and her ex-fiancé had had an affair.

Lucy took a deep breath and quelled the moment of panic. She had made her decision and even if it didn’t work out as well as she hoped it would, at least it would give her a breathing space, time to put things into perspective. She simply had to remember how much worse it would have been if she’d found out about Richard and Amy after the wedding had taken place.

Max made his way to the staffroom then realised that he didn’t even have the energy to make himself a cup of coffee. Veering away from the door, he headed for the lift. The cafeteria should be open soon and the thought of a double espresso with his name on it was too tempting to resist.

The staff were just opening up when he arrived, so he gave them his order and sat down, feeling weariness washing over him. The long night had taken its toll, especially as it had been the second night in a row that he’d been called in. With Anna on maternity leave, he had been picking up more than his share of extra hours recently. It wasn’t a new occurrence, by any means. Working long and unsocial hours was par for the course in medicine. At one point, he’d been only too glad to work any time he was needed, too. It had been far less stressful dealing with his patients’ problems than what had been happening in his marriage.

Max frowned. It was rare that he thought about the past and it surprised him that he should do so now. He had been divorced for three years and he had closed the door on that episode in his life. OK, so he was willing to admit that it had had a knock-on effect, in that he avoided commitment these days, but to his mind that was common sense. Once bitten, twice shy seemed a sensible maxim to live by and he wasn’t going to put himself through all that heartache again.

His thoughts moved away from the less than appealing subject of his failed marriage and on to the far more interesting topic of their new midwife. Lucy Harris appeared both highly competent and extremely capable, and he was pleased that their views were in accord. Some of the older midwives were a little entrenched in their ways and it would be good to have a soul-mate on the unit.

The fact that she was also extremely pretty with those huge blue eyes and those shiny auburn curls tumbling around her cheeks was another point in her favour. Although Max shied away from commitment, he had a normal healthy interest in the opposite sex and Lucy Harris was a very attractive member of it. All of sudden his tiredness lifted and he grinned. Working with the lovely Lucy could turn out to be a real tonic.

Chapter Two

SOPHIE JONES’S baby finally made his appearance in the middle of the afternoon. Amanda, the senior midwife, helped Lucy deliver him. Lucy guessed that Amanda was keen to put her through her paces, but tried not to let it worry her. By the time Sophie and baby Alfie were transferred to a ward, she was confident that Amanda wouldn’t have any more concerns about her, and it was reassuring to know that at least one very important aspect of her life hadn’t changed.

Lucy fetched her coat at the end of her shift and left. It had started raining at lunchtime and the gutters were brimming over with water as she made her way to the bus stop. She huddled against the wall when a car sped past, sending a wave of water across the pavement, but by the time she reached the bus stop, her shoes and trousers were soaked through. She joined the queue, hoping that she wouldn’t have to wait too long. However, half an hour later she was still there when a car drew up and Max Curtis poked his head out of the window.

‘Do you want a lift?’ He glanced at her sodden trousers and grimaced. ‘You’re going to catch your death if you stand there much longer. Hop in.’

Lucy hesitated, not sure that accepting a lift would be the right thing to do. It didn’t seem fair to expect him to drive her home after the long day he’d had. However, the thought of getting out of the rain was too tempting to resist. She slid into the passenger seat and slammed the door.

‘Thanks. It’s really good of you,’ she said gratefully. ‘I don’t know what happened to the bus. I’ve been waiting ages and there’s been no sign of it.’

‘Probably two will turn up together,’ he said lightly, putting the car into gear. ‘So how was your first day then? Not too scary, I hope.’

‘No, it was fine,’ Lucy assured him. ‘Everyone was really helpful, which makes a huge difference when you’re starting a new job.’

‘It’s a good team,’ he assured her, slowing as they came to a set of traffic lights on red. ‘Most of them have worked on the unit for a while, so that helps, of course.’

‘It must do,’ Lucy agreed, turning to look at him. Although he wasn’t classically handsome, he was certainly attractive, she decided. The combination of those highly masculine features—a strong jaw, straight nose and perfectly sculpted lips—was very appealing. Rumpled dark brown hair falling across his forehead lent him a rakish air that many women would find pleasing too. She found it strangely engaging which surprised her, given what had happened recently.

‘I’m looking forward to being part of a settled team,’ she said, hurriedly squashing that thought. She certainly wasn’t in the market for another relationship. The fact that her ex-fiancé had betrayed her had destroyed her faith in men. Love, marriage and, most important of all, a family had always been her dream but not any more. She wouldn’t give any man that much power over her again. ‘The turnover of staff at my last place was a nightmare. You no sooner got used to working with someone before they left.’

‘It’s always more of a problem in the city. Staff tend to move around more than they do in rural areas. You were at the Royal, weren’t you?’ he asked, glancing at her.

‘That’s right. I was there for almost four years. It was really busy, but I enjoyed working there.’

‘So what brought you to Dalverston?’ he asked, returning his attention to the road as the lights changed. ‘Has your family relocated to this part of the world?’

‘No, only me.’

‘Really?’ He shot her a look and she saw the surprise on his face. ‘It takes guts to up sticks and leave everything behind like that.’

‘I don’t know about that. It just felt like the right thing to do,’ she hedged, not wanting to go into detail about the reasons for her decision. She sighed softly. Maybe it was silly to feel embarrassed, but what had happened had dented her confidence. She no longer saw herself as the person she had always been, but as a reject, second best. For some reason she hated to think that Max might see her like that too.

‘I realised that I was in a bit of a rut and needed a complete change of scene,’ she explained, wondering why it mattered what he thought. She barely knew him, so his opinion wasn’t going to make much difference to her. ‘When I saw the advert for Dalverston, I decided to apply for the post.’

‘And got it.’ He gave her a quick smile but Lucy could tell that he’d guessed there was more to the story than she’d admitted. ‘Well, the Royal’s loss is our gain is all I can say.’

He didn’t press her and she was glad about that. Maybe it would get easier with time but at the moment it was still too painful to talk about what had happened. They drove into the town centre and she gave him directions to where she lived from there.

Finding somewhere suitable had been harder than she’d expected. Although rent in Dalverston was less expensive than it was in Manchester, it was still a big chunk out of her monthly salary. She and Richard had signed a lease on their flat and there were still several months left to run. Richard had refused to pay his share of the rent after he’d moved out, and unwilling to make the situation even more unpleasant than it already was, Lucy hadn’t tried to persuade him. Instead, she’d been paying it all and had needed to trim her costs accordingly. She’d finally settled on a flat in one of the old terraced houses close to the high street. It wasn’t the best location but it would do for now. She would find somewhere better when she could afford it.

Max drew up outside. ‘Here you are then. Home sweet home.’ He glanced up at the building and frowned. ‘It looks a bit grim. Couldn’t you find anywhere better than this?’

‘It’s fine, really.’ Lucy reached for the door handle, not wanting to explain why her options had been so limited. ‘Thanks again for the lift. I only hope I haven’t taken you too far out of your way.’

‘Not at all. In fact, it isn’t all that far from where I live, funnily enough. I just didn’t recognise the name of the road. I don’t think I’ve been down here before.’

‘You’ve not missed much,’ Lucy assured him wryly, opening the car door. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, I expect.’

‘You will.’

He waited while she unlocked the front door then drove away, but it was a moment before she went inside. As she watched the car’s taillights disappear around a bend, Lucy felt a wave of loneliness wash over her. All of a sudden the evening stretched before her, all those empty hours to fill. She couldn’t help thinking about how her life had used to be, when she had come home from work and Richard had been there.

She sighed because she’d honestly believed they’d been happy. Even when Richard had started making excuses and going out at night, she hadn’t suspected a thing. It was only when Amy, stricken with guilt, had confessed that Lucy had discovered what had been going on. The fact that she’d felt like such a fool had made it all the more painful.

She took a deep breath and closed the door. It was all in the past now and she had moved on. Even though she didn’t feel like the same person, she would survive and build a new life for herself. Just for a moment a picture of Max Curtis appeared in her mind’s eye before she dismissed it. Max might play a small role in her life but no man was going to take centre stage ever again.

Max drove home thinking about what Lucy had told him or, rather, what she hadn’t said. He’d seen the sadness in her eyes and suspected there was more to her decision to relocate than she had admitted. Had she broken up with her partner, perhaps? If that was the case, then it must have been a very painful split if she’d felt the need to leave everything behind.

He sighed as he turned into the car park of the modern apartment block where he lived. He knew only too well how it felt to want to escape. He’d done that himself, hadn’t he? After his marriage had ended, he’d left London and come north, seeking a fresh start. Although he couldn’t change the fact that his life was never going to turn out how he’d expected it would, it had helped to meet new people and form new friendships.

Nowadays he was far more philosophical. So what if he could never father a child? It was a blow, yes, but he had come to terms with the idea now and accepted it. At least he knew the truth so there was no danger of him ruining any other woman’s life.

Marriage was off the agenda for obvious reasons and any relationships he had were strictly for fun. Maybe it wasn’t the life he’d once envisaged for himself, but he couldn’t complain. He had a job he loved, good friends and enough money to buy whatever he wanted. In fact, he couldn’t understand why he was even thinking about it. Had Lucy Harris been the trigger? But why? What was it about her that made him suddenly wish he could change things?

He had no idea but it was something he needed to bear in mind. Lovely though Lucy was, he didn’t intend to get his fingers burned a second time.

Lucy was rostered to work at the antenatal clinic the following morning. She went straight there after she’d signed in and the first person she saw was Max. He was chatting to the receptionist, laughing at something the girl was saying. He looked so relaxed that she felt her spirits immediately lift. It had been a long night and she’d had difficulty sleeping, but there was something about Max that made her feel much more positive about life.

He glanced round when he heard her footsteps and grinned at her. ‘Ahah! I see you’ve drawn the short straw, Lucy. We’ll be working together this morning. Is that OK with you?’

‘Fine.’ She returned his smile, wondering why he had this effect on her. It wasn’t anything he said, more a feeling he exuded, and it was very welcome too. ‘I’ve no problem with that.’

‘Good.’ He gave her a warm smile as he led the way to the consulting room and sat down at the desk while he brought up the list of appointments on the computer. ‘It’s rather a mixed bag this morning. Normally, we try to split the list so that one of us sees the mums who are here for their first visits while the other deals with the rest. Unfortunately, we’re short-staffed today because Diane is off sick. It means you won’t have as much time with the new mums as you’d probably like.’

‘I’ll make up for it at a later date. Most women are a little anxious when they come for their first visit to the clinic and they find it difficult to take everything in. It’s usually better to talk to them and discuss their options at their second or third appointment, I find.’

‘That’s great. I’m glad it isn’t going to cause you a problem.’ He turned his attention back to the screen, scrolling through the list of names until he came to the one he wanted. ‘This is a case I’d like you to be involved in. Mum’s name is Helen Roberts. It’s her first baby and she had pre-existing diabetes mellitus when she got pregnant.’

‘How has she been?’ Lucy asked, walking around the desk. She bent down so she could see the screen, feeling her nostrils tingle as she inhaled the citrus-fresh tang of the shampoo he’d used. She couldn’t help comparing it to the rather cloying scent of the one Richard had preferred.

‘Extremely well so far. We run a pre-pregnancy clinic at Dalverston for women with established diabetes. It’s a joint venture between us and the diabetes care team and our main aim is to ensure that blood glucose levels are under control before and at the time of conception.’

‘There’s a slightly increased risk of the baby being malformed if the blood glucose level isn’t right, isn’t there?’ Lucy questioned, straightening up. She moved back to the other side of the desk, unsure why it troubled her to make the comparison. What difference did it make if she preferred the smell of Max’s shampoo?

‘There is, which is why a woman with diabetes should seek advice before she gets pregnant. As I expect you know, there are increased risks for the mother as well as for the baby. Retinopathy can be a problem for anyone who has diabetes, as can high blood pressure, but there’s more chance of them becoming an issue when a woman is pregnant. And of course there’s a greater risk of mum suffering from pre-eclampsia, too.’