a few minutes, then tore his gaze away, worried about what her neighbours might think. He started the engine, turned up the heater and slowly drove away. Berating himself for not saying something more inspiring, something witty—something that would have had her…what?
That wasn’t who he was. Those clever, witty guys, who always had the perfect line for every occasion, lived elsewhere. He didn’t have a scriptwriter to think up clever things for him to say that would charm her and make her like him more. He wasn’t suave, or sophisticated, or one of those charming types who could have women at their beck and call with a click of their fingers.
And he didn’t want to be a man like that. He was a single dad, with a gorgeous, clever daughter who anyone would be lucky to know. He led an uncomplicated life. He worked hard.
What did he want to achieve with Sydney? And why was he getting involved anyway? His own fiancée—the woman he’d been willing to pledge his entire life to—had walked away from him, and if someone who’d once said they loved him could do that, then a relative stranger like Sydney might do the same thing. She didn’t strike him as someone looking to settle down again, to start a relationship in a ready-made family. Especially not with another little girl after losing her own.
Did she?
No.
So why on earth could he not get her out of his head?
Nathan was fighting fatigue. Over the last few days he’d been having a small relapse in his symptoms, and he’d been suffering with painful muscle spasms, cramps, and an overwhelming tiredness that just wouldn’t go away. That accident had aggravated it. It was probably stress.
As he downed some painkillers he knew he’d have to hide his discomfort from his daughter. She mustn’t see him weaken. Not yet. It was still early days. He didn’t want her to suspect that there was something wrong. He had to keep going for her. Had to keep being strong. Normally he could hide it. And he needed his energy for today. Anna was still too young to understand about his condition. How did you explain multiple sclerosis to a six-year-old?
Today Lottie was due for her next check-up, and he was feeling some anticipation at seeing Sydney. At work, during breaks, he often found himself itching to cross the road on some pretext, just to see if she was there, but for the life of him he couldn’t think of anything to say. His inner critic kept reminding him that seeing her was probably a bad idea. The woman practically had ‘Keep Out’ signs hanging around her neck, and she’d certainly not divulged anything too personal to him. She hadn’t even mentioned her daughter to him.
And yet…
‘Anna! Come on, it’s time to go.’
‘Are we taking Lottie now?’
‘We are. But we’re walking because…’ he reached for a plausible excuse ‘…it’s a nice day.’ He smiled, reaching out for the counter as a small wave of dizziness affected his balance briefly. Of all his symptoms, dizziness and feeling off-balance were the worst. He couldn’t drive like this. It would be dangerous. And at least the crisp, fresh winter air would make him feel better.
‘Yay!’ Anna skipped off to fetch Lottie’s carrier.
He managed to stop the world spinning and stood up straight, sucking in a deep breath.
The rabbit was doing quite well, Nathan thought. She was eating and drinking as normal, had come off the medication and was settled back outside. The bite wounds had healed cleanly and Lottie’s eye had escaped surgery, much to both his and Anna’s delight. They were hopeful for a full recovery.
With Lottie in her box, Nathan locked up and they headed to the veterinary practice. He still wasn’t feeling great—quite tired and light-headed—but he tried to keep up a level of bright chatter as they walked along the village roads.
His daughter hopped alongside him, pointing out robins and magpies and on one particular occasion a rather large snail.
The walk took a while. They lived a good couple of miles from the practice and his arms ached from carrying Lottie, who seemed to get weightier with every step, but eventually they got there, and Nathan settled into a waiting room seat with much relief.
He didn’t get to enjoy it for too long, though.
Sydney had opened her door. ‘Do you want to bring Lottie in?’
Sydney looked well, though there were still faint dark circles beneath her eyes. It felt good to see her again. He carried Lottie through and put her onto the examination table.
‘How’s she doing?’
He nodded, but that upset his balance and he had to grip the examination table to centre himself.
Had Sydney noticed?
He swallowed, suppressing his nausea. ‘Er…good. Eating and drinking. The eye’s clean and she seems okay.’ He decided to focus on Sydney’s face. When he got dizzy like this it helped to focus on something close to him. She wasn’t moving that much, and he needed a steady point to remain fixed on.
‘Let’s take a look.’
Sydney frowned, concern etched across her normally soft features as she concentrated on the examination. She was very thorough, reminding him of her capability and passion. She checked Lottie’s eye, her bite wounds, her temperature and gave her a thorough going-over.
‘I agree with you. She seems to have recovered well. I think we can discharge this patient.’ She stood up straight again and smiled.
‘That’s great.’
He realised she was looking at him questioningly.
‘Are you okay?’
Nathan felt another wave of nausea sweep over him as dizziness assailed him again. ‘Er…not really…’
Had the walk been too much? Was he dehydrated?
Sydney glanced at Anna uncertainly, then came around the desk and took Nathan’s arm and guided him over to a small stool in the corner. ‘I’ll get you some water.’
He sank his head into his hands as the dizziness passed, and was just starting to feel it clear a bit when she returned with a glass. He tried not to look at Anna until he was sure he could send her a reassuring smile to say everything was okay.
He took a sip of the drink. ‘Thanks.’
‘Missed breakfast?’
He gratefully accepted the excuse. ‘Yes. Yes, I did. Must have got a bit light-headed, that’s all.’
‘Daddy, you had toast with jam for breakfast.’ Anna contradicted.
He smiled. ‘But not enough, obviously.’
‘You had three slices.’
He smiled at his daughter, who was blowing his cover story quite innocently. He was afraid to look at Sydney, but she was making sure Lottie was secure in her cage.
Then she turned to look at him, staring intently, her brow lined. ‘Are you safe to get home, Dr Jones?’
He stood up. ‘We walked here. And I’m fine.’ He didn’t want to let her see how ill he felt.
‘You don’t look it. You look very pale.’
‘Right…’ He glanced at Anna. ‘Perhaps I just need some more fresh air.’ He took another sip of water.
Sydney stood in front of him, arms crossed. ‘You don’t seem in a fit state to walk home yet. Or to take care of Anna.’
‘I am!’ he protested.
‘You had nystagmus. I know your world is spinning.’
Nystagmus was a rapid movement of the eyes in response to the semi-circular canals being stimulated. In effect,