she hurriedly composed her features into a welcoming smile. Maybe her life wasn’t going to turn out how she had hoped it would but she would make the best of it. ‘I take it that you’re Polly,’ she said, holding out her hand. ‘I’m Eleanor Munroe, the new locum.’
‘Polly Davies.’ Polly shook hands then went over to Beth, smiling as she looked at the baby. ‘What a little poppet! And not a bad size too considering you had another three weeks to go.’
‘She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?’ Beth murmured, stroking the baby’s wrinkled little cheek.
‘Oh, so it’s a girl?’ Polly laughed, her pretty face lighting up with amusement. ‘That’s ten pounds you owe me.’ She looked round, deliberately drawing Ellie into the conversation. ‘Beth was convinced she was having a boy but I was equally sure it would be a girl so we had a bet on it. Looks as though I’m the winner!’
‘We’re both winners,’ Beth corrected her, laughing.
Ellie laughed as well but she couldn’t pretend that her heart wasn’t heavy at the thought of never having children of her own. It was hard to rid herself of the thought as she helped Polly deliver the afterbirth then get Beth and the baby ready for the transfer to hospital. Although Beth was reluctant to go, Polly managed to persuade her that it would be in her and the baby’s best interests. By the time Daniel led in the paramedics, everything was ready.
‘Let me know if they keep you in, Beth,’ he said, planting a kiss on his partner’s cheek. ‘We’ll set up a rota—that way you won’t be inundated by everyone wanting to visit at the same time.’
‘That would be great.’ Beth’s voice caught as she looked at the baby nestled in her arms. ‘It’ll be nice for this little one to have all her aunties and uncles there for her, even if her father isn’t interested.’
Ellie stepped aside as the paramedics wheeled Beth and the baby out to the ambulance. Polly was following on by car and she left as well. Daniel sighed as he watched them go.
‘I can’t believe that Callum doesn’t want anything to do with his own child, but he’s never even bothered to contact Beth since she wrote to tell him she was pregnant.’
‘So she said,’ Ellie said quietly. ‘It must be very difficult for her.’
‘It must. It’s hard enough bringing up a child on your own when it’s the result of circumstances beyond your control, but it must be much worse when it’s because the other parent doesn’t want to be involved.’
There was real regret in Daniel’s voice and Ellie found herself wondering if he was speaking from experience. She knew nothing about his personal life, whether he was married and had a family or what. However, before she could attempt to find out, he made an obvious effort to collect himself.
‘Anyway, leaving all that aside, I wanted to thank you, Eleanor. Talk about being thrown in at the deep end!’ He laughed ruefully. ‘And here was I, trying not to put too much pressure on you!’
DANIEL COULD HAVE bitten off his tongue when he saw Eleanor’s face tighten. That she hadn’t appreciated the comment was obvious and he couldn’t blame her. No one liked to be made to feel that they weren’t up to doing the job they had been hired for. He desperately wanted to explain but how could he when it would mean admitting that he had been worried about her, that he cared?
‘Right. Better get back to work or the patients will think we’ve gone on strike. Any problems, buzz me.’
He swung round, not giving her a chance to say anything as he headed back to his room. Maybe he was taking the coward’s way out but the thought of confessing how much she had been in his thoughts lately was out of the question. Maybe she did have issues that still affected her but he doubted if she would appreciate his concern. From what he had learned, Eleanor preferred to keep her own counsel and he would be well advised to remember that whenever he was tempted to interfere.
The morning flew past as it always did. They held open surgery each morning and they were always very busy. Although patients could make an appointment to be seen during the afternoon, Daniel had found that they preferred this system. Being a mainly rural community, it allowed more leeway for the farmers and their families. Livestock came first and people appreciated being able to visit the surgery when work allowed, rather than be tied to a set time and date. It was almost one by the time his last patient left so he tidied up and made his way to Reception. Marie had been joined by Lucy Burrows, who was doing her pre-registration training in their on-site pharmacy. It was obvious that Marie had brought her up to speed about the morning’s events.
‘I can’t believe that Beth has had her baby here!’ Lucy declared when she saw Daniel.
‘I know. It came as a bit of a shock, not least of all to Beth,’ Daniel replied, laughing. Lucy had been born and raised in Beesdale and had returned to the town after she had completed her degree. With a Master of Pharmacy degree to her credit, she could have moved anywhere in the country, but she loved the Dales and wanted to remain here.
‘I wonder what she’s going to call her,’ Lucy continued, happily. ‘Beth was convinced she was having a boy so she’ll have to think of some girls’ names, I imagine.’
‘She will,’ Daniel agreed, although he was only half listening. His ears had caught the sound of footsteps and he knew without needing to check that they belonged to Eleanor. How or why he was able to recognise them with such certainty, he had no idea, but he knew he was right and his heart seemed to beat a shade faster all of a sudden. It was an effort not to show how alarmed he felt as he turned to her. ‘All done?’
He’d been aiming for lightness, for nonchalance, for...for heaven knew what, but he hadn’t achieved it. No way! He inwardly winced when he realised how stilted he sounded. What made it worse was that out of the corner of his eye he saw Lucy and Marie exchange a look, confirmation, if he’d needed it, that he had messed up. All he could do was hope that Eleanor didn’t know him well enough to realise how strangely he was behaving.
‘Yes. Thank you.’
Daniel felt a jolt of shock hit him when he realised that Eleanor sounded the same as he did. Uptight. Stilted. Aware. His blood heated, gathering several degrees as it rushed through his veins. Eleanor was aware of him? Not just the normal sort of recognition of one human being for another but completely and totally aware of him? As a person? As a man? If his mind hadn’t been already boggled it would have been so then. Daniel could barely get his head round the idea and definitely couldn’t chase it away. It was a relief when Lucy unwittingly stepped into the breach.
‘Hi, Eleanor, I’m Lucy Burrows. I’m doing my pre-reg training in the pharmacy. I also do a turn on the desk if we’re pushed.’
‘Nice to meet you, Lucy.’ Daniel heard Eleanor take a quick breath and didn’t know whether he felt relieved or sorry when he heard how normal she sounded. ‘Actually, most people call me Ellie. I always think it sounds less, well, formal.’
Ellie. Daniel tried it out for size, oh, not out loud—he wasn’t that far gone! It rolled around his tongue pleasantly enough yet for some reason it didn’t feel quite right. He shot a glance at the woman standing beside him and felt his nerve endings start to fire out signals. Ellie was a pretty name, slightly more modern, a little more accessible, but it wasn’t right for her: it didn’t fit. He preferred Eleanor, preferred the sound of it, the feel of it, the sense of completeness. With Eleanor one got the whole woman. Whereas Ellie was just a fraction of the whole, the bits she wanted folk to see, not the bits she kept hidden. The bits, he realised, that he desperately wanted to get to know.
Ellie forced herself to respond as Lucy asked her how she had enjoyed her first morning at The Larches but it was an effort to concentrate. She had no idea what was going on in Daniel’s mind but she could almost see the thought bubbles forming above his head. That he was thinking about her