A Very Single Midwife. Fiona McArthur

you when you were married?’ The question drifted towards him and he would have liked to know why it was so damned important for her to hear this. He considered refusing to answer but he never had been able to deny Bella anything if she wanted it badly enough.

      His voice was expressionless. ‘Married at twenty, but she left less than a year later. Pretty well most of med school was spent trying to forget my marriage. We fell in and out of love very quickly. Or at least she did.’

      Scott could see the brevity of his answer irritated Bella and it gave him a little satisfaction that she could be frustrated for once.

      ‘Then why get married?’

      ‘I was young and stupid and she was older and no wiser. It blew incredibly hot and then, before I knew why, our relationship was as cold as ice. She left me for another man, a man her senior who could support her, and filed for divorce.’ A distant echo of a crushing hurt was in his voice and Bella felt more mature than Scott for the first time in her life. It was an interesting concept.

      Luckily he wasn’t looking at her. His voice was flat when he went on, ‘Apparently my wife was pregnant when she left me. I just wish I’d known I had a child and could have been involved in some part of his life. The last two days I’ve agonised over why she shut me out so completely. I rang and checked. I am Michael’s true father.’

      He shrugged. The image of the pain in Scott’s face in the birthing suite that morning came back to her. ‘And you’ve learnt nothing else about your son?’

      ‘What’s there to learn? He’s a man now. I imagine from his side I’m the father who’s done nothing to help him. It must be more of a shock to him than it was to me.’

      Bella drained her coffee and set the cup down. She glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall. ‘It’s almost time for the bus run again.’

      Scott gave her a wry smile and stood to pull out her chair. ‘Well, that will end our session of truth and dare for the night. Thank goodness.’

      ‘It’s not healthy to keep all this stuff bottled up, Scott.’ Bella was stern in her new role. ‘When the shock wears off, you’ll be glad you told me.’

      ‘Right,’ Scott said cynically, and waited for her to precede him out of the room.

      When they’d settled in the bus and Scott saw Bella stifle another yawn his original misgivings came back to him. ‘This is ridiculous. You shouldn’t be driving this bus. Can’t you find someone else to do it?’

      Bella shook her head. ‘The government has promised funding for next year. That includes the employment of a salaried driver. I can survive until then.’

      ‘But why is it your problem?’

      Bella shrugged. ‘Because if I didn’t do it, no one else would. I agree with my sister in the basic goodness of the younger generation. The advantages of the service are worth the effort.’

      The conversation came to a halt because the bus had reached the first stop. A large group of young men and women clambered on and the noise level in the bus made conversation between Bella and Scott impossible, which was OK because he had enough to think about. Not the least was how soft Bella had felt in his arms and how hard it had been to let her go. Her support for his dilemma with his son was also surprisingly comforting.

      At each stop the bus became more crowded until finally people started to get off and head home. By the time Bella had arrived back at Chisholm Road there were only Melissa and a young man left.

      Bella had glanced in the rear-view mirror a few times. Blake—Bella assumed it was the Blake Melissa had befriended—had a sweet smile and laughter-filled eyes. In fact, Bella had liked him on sight.

      When they moved to the front of the bus to alight, Melissa’s pleading eyes left Bella in no doubt of the young man’s identity.

      ‘This is Blake, Bella.’

      Bella swivelled in her seat and held out her hand. Blake’s long brown hair looked clean and his goatee was interesting, though she wasn’t sure if she was thrilled with the small scorpion tattooed on his wrist or the skull and crossbones piercing his eyebrow. Scott’s going to love this, she thought.

      She met the young man’s green eyes and nodded. ‘Hello, Blake.’ Blake shook Bella’s hand. ‘This is Dr Rainford.’ The two men nodded at each other but neither held out their hand. Bella smiled wryly to herself. ‘Perhaps you could come and see me tomorrow and we can discuss Melissa’s idea.’

      Blake nodded. ‘Thank you. I will.’ He glanced at Scott once more and then followed Melissa out of the bus, where they went into a huddle for a minute before he headed off down the street.

      Bella realised she’d been swayed to coolness by the fact that Scott was there, and the thought irritated her.

      ‘What was all that about?’ Scott’s timing was way out.

      ‘Nothing important.’ She put the bus into gear and reversed it carefully down the driveway. ‘Let’s get this bus parked. I’m tired. It’s been a long day.’

      He waited until she switched off the engine in the garage before pushing his luck. ‘For nothing important, there was a lot of eye contact going on all round. What does he want?’

      Bella stifled a sigh and measured her answer. ‘Blake has offered to do odd jobs around the house in exchange for lodging. I’m thinking about it.’

      Scott frowned and shook his head. ‘I can do odd jobs around the house. I don’t think introducing a young man as a boarder is a good idea.’

      Bella held back the comment that it was none of his business. Her voice was sweet. ‘And here I was thinking that having a large country medical practice and most nights on call would be enough to keep you busy. I must start a list of repairs for you.’

      She stood up and eased herself from her seat. ‘Goodnight, Scott.’

      He followed her out and towered over her beside the bus. ‘I enjoyed your company, Bella. We must do it again.’

      ‘Any Friday and Saturday night,’ Bella said dryly, and walked away.

      Scott’s firm voice drifted across. ‘Then I’ll see you at seven tomorrow night.’

      Bella thought of those moments in the kitchen and how much she had cared about Scott’s distress over his son. She closed her eyes and didn’t look back. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ she whispered to herself.