Reading Online Novel

West Wing to Maternity Wing!(4)



He shook his head firmly and let out an almost forced laugh. 'You can't possibly think … '

Nancy rolled her eyes. 'I never said a word.' She picked up the notes.  'I'll go and get Ms Carson logged into the system … ' her eyes swept over  the nearby locker ' … and bring her some water. I think she'll need it.  This girl's overheated. I wonder how long she was standing out in the  sun.'

Lincoln watched as she swept out of the cubicle. His eyes drifted back to the monitor.

Amy's heart rate was slow and steady but her BP … ? It was way too high.  He glanced at the chart. Her temperature was above normal too. He pulled  up a nearby chair and sat down next to her. The noise of the E.R.  seemed to fade away.

It was the first time he'd seen her in six years. His Amazonian fling.  One of the best things that had ever happened to him. Six months of hard  work and great sex. She'd left to go back to the US for a holiday but  had told him she would be coming back in a few weeks to rejoin the boat.  Next thing he knew, two weeks had passed and she'd quit. With no  reason. And no forwarding address.

So what had happened to her? What had she been doing for the last six  years? And why had she texted him two days ago, asking for help? Was it  about this? About being pregnant?

Because this was last thing he'd been expecting.

Over the last few years he'd tried to push Amy completely from his mind.  And if thoughts of her ever did creep in, they certainly didn't look  like this! He'd always imagined he might meet her again on another aid  boat or working in a different hospital. He certainly hadn't expected  her to seek him out as a patient. And it made him almost resentful. A  sensation he hadn't expected.

He reached out and touched her skin again. She was hot. She hadn't had a  chance to cool back down in the air-conditioned E.R. One of her red  curls was stuck to her forehead and his fingers swept across her skin to  pull it back.

She murmured. Or groaned. He wasn't sure which. His hand cupped her  cheek for a second. Just like he used to. And her head flinched. Moved  closer. As if his hand and her cheek were a good fit. As if they were  where they were supposed to be.

Something stirred inside him. And he shifted uncomfortably. They hadn't  made each other any promises. He'd been surprised that she hadn't come  back-had been surprised that she hadn't got in touch. She'd had his  mobile number, scribbled on a bit of paper, but he hadn't had hers. She  hadn't brought her phone to the Amazon with her, thinking it would never  work there. And she couldn't remember her number. But it hadn't  mattered, because he'd thought he would be seeing her again in two  weeks.

Only he hadn't. Not until now.

That was the trouble of having a reputation as a playboy-sooner or later  you started believing your own press. Everyone had expected him just to  take up with the next pretty nurse that crossed his path-so had he. But  something had been wrong. That pale-skinned redhead hadn't been so easy  to forget. Amy Carson had got under his skin.

Even two years later, when he'd found himself swept along into an  engagement with an elegant brunette, something just hadn't felt right.  The first whiff of wedding plans had made him run for the hills. And he  hadn't stopped. Until now.

His eyes darted to her notes and he picked them up, flicking them  between his fingers. He wasn't her obstetrician, he shouldn't really  read them. But he had acted as an E.R. admitting doctor, so surely that  meant he should find out about his patient's history?

But he couldn't. He couldn't do that. There was a boundary here. David  Fairgreaves was much more qualified to look after her and he would be  here in a matter of minutes. There were some ethical lines that he  wasn't sure he wanted to cross.

He looked at her overstuffed black shoulder bag. Maybe he should look in  there? Maybe she might have her mobile and there could be someone he  could contact for her? Or what about a next of kin? She was pregnant, so  there was probably a husband.         

     



 

The thought stopped him dead. He stared at her left hand. It was bare.  Did that mean there was no husband? So who was the baby's father?

He pulled the bag up onto his lap. For some reason it felt wrong.  Awkward. To go searching through an almost stranger's bag. Years ago, as  an attending doctor he would have had no qualms about this. Lots of  patients came into the E.R. in an unconscious state and had their  pockets or bags searched. This was something he'd done a hundred times  before. So why didn't he want to do it now?

And then it happened. Her dark green eyes flickered open. And a smile  spread across her face. 'Linc,' she whispered huskily, her lips dry and  her throat obviously parched. 'Do you always search through your wife's  handbag?'





CHAPTER TWO

HE STARTED. For a second he'd been lost in his own thoughts. He should  have known better. That was what you always got from Amy. Miss  Unpredictable. That was the nickname the staff on the aid boat had given  her. She'd never said what you expected her to say. Maybe that was what  made her so unforgettable.

Everything about her was the same. And yet, everything about her was  different. She gave a little smile as she tried to sit up on the gurney  and he moved swiftly to her side to help adjust the backrest and  pillows, automatically pressing the button for the electronic BP monitor  again. Her smile was disarming him. It reminded him of a hundred things  that weren't appropriate for an E.R. It reminded him of a hundred  things that probably weren't appropriate for a pregnant lady. He felt  his breath leave his body-had he been holding it? And felt the tension  leave his shoulder muscles. He could stop worrying. She was awake.

'So what's the problem, Mrs Adams?'

Amy's heart was fluttering in her chest and she didn't know if it was to  do with her medical condition or from the effect of seeing Lincoln in  the flesh again. Thank goodness she was currently lying down, because  she was sure her legs had just turned to mush. Old blue eyes was back.  All six feet, broad shoulders and dark curly hair of him. Hair you could  just run your fingers through …

Her grin spread wider, then she laid her hand on his arm. 'I'm sorry  about that, Linc. But it's like Fort Knox out there and I really needed  to see you.' Her mind was spinning. Could he hear her heart beating  frantically in her chest? Could he know the effect that he still had on  her, six years on? She hadn't expected this. She'd expected to get in  here and persuade him to look after her baby if she delivered early.  Instead, she found herself being pulled into his deep blue eyes. Deeper  and deeper.

'Amy, I'm happy to see you. Doubtless, I would have been happier if it  was six years ago, but you didn't need to lie to get in here.'

She sat back against the pillows. 'Wow. You don't beat about the bush.'

'Neither do you apparently.' His eyes were resting on her abdomen but his voice had reverted back to teasing.

She took a deep breath. It didn't matter that something was currently  doing flip-flops in her stomach. She needed to focus. To let him know  how important he was to her right now. 'I did need to tell lies to get  in here, Linc. It was really important that I see you and the cop had  already told me to go away.'

'So you decided to faint?' He raised his eyebrow at her.

She gave a little laugh. 'Nah, the heat decided that for me.' Her eyes  fixed on his and she hesitated a little. 'I did try to text you-but you  weren't answering-and then I saw you on the television this morning and  realised where you'd been.'

He pulled the chair back over and sat next to her again. 'Yeah, I've  been kind of busy. And I should warn you-I haven't slept in two days.'

She rolled her eyes. 'Oh, no! You're like a bear with sore head when you  don't sleep. I pity the poor nursing staff working with you.'

A lazy smile crept across his face. 'You're the second person to say that to me today.'

She felt something wrench at her. It was so easy to fall back into their  way of teasing each other. It was so easy to forget the most obvious  reason she was here. Six years felt like nothing. It was almost as if  the last time they'd spoken had been yesterday. She knew him so well.  But who else knew the same things about him that she did?

She bit her lip. There was every chance that Lincoln was happily  married. But she wasn't here looking for romance. She wasn't here  because he was the best lover she'd ever had. This was even more  personal than that. He had no idea how much life had changed for her in  the last six years. She was only half the woman he used to know …  She  gave herself a shake. She was here to find someone she trusted to look  after her baby. The most precious thing in the world to her.         

     



 

He shook his head. 'Enough about me. Let's get back to the matter at  hand.' His voice dipped. 'Why are you here, Amy? What do you want from  me?'

The professional head was gone again. This time, the hundred questions  that were spinning around his head in frustration came bubbling to the  surface. He hadn't seen her in six years. She'd appeared out of the  blue, pregnant and asking for him. What on earth was going on?