Midwives On Call: From Babies To Bride. Kate Hardy

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ with a woman he was on a date with was only surpassed by the totally unexpected way Sophia had embraced the idea.

      What was with that? Was there something about him that didn’t make him attractive longer term?

      The thought shouldn’t be disturbing but it was. So was the niggle of doubt that he’d come right out and put a limit on how much time he was going to have with the gorgeous Sophia. How the stupidity of that move had been plaguing him ever since he’d left her at the end of their date with no more than another kiss.

      She was …

      ‘That good, huh?’ He could hear the grin in Nate’s voice. ‘Off the scale, was she?’

      Aiden merely grunted.

      She was perfect, that’s what she was. Absolutely gorgeous. Smart. So easy to talk to. And that all too brief taste of her lips …

      Man … The way she’d felt in his arms. The way she’d responded to his kisses. He had a fair idea of exactly where their second date was going to end up and he couldn’t wait. How, in fact, would he be able to enjoy the day on the beach they now had planned for when their next days off coincided? He would be hanging out to get her somewhere a lot more private. Somewhere they could really get to know each other.

      But that would mean there was only one date left. And then what?

      This had never bothered him before. He’d never even thought ahead like this before.

      ‘Could be the one, then.’ Nate was nodding. ‘A four-dates woman.’

      ‘No way.’

      ‘Why not?’

      ‘Because I’m not getting into anything serious, that’s why.’

      ‘Why not?’

      This was getting annoying. Aiden had stopped by after work for his usual visit. He just wanted a quiet beer with his brother, not some kind of interrogation.

      ‘You know why. I’m not interested in getting married or having kids.’

      ‘Doesn’t mean you can’t have a long-term relationship. Not every woman out there is hanging out to walk down the aisle in a meringue dress or stockpile nappies.’

      ‘They all get to that point at some stage. I know that from painful experience. And the longer it goes on for, the harder it is when you break it off. I’m not going to be responsible for someone else’s happiness.’

      ‘Why not?’ There was an edge to Nate’s voice he hadn’t heard before. ‘Because you feel you have to be responsible for mine?’

      ‘Whoa … where did that come from?’ Aiden glanced over his shoulder as he broke the moment of startled silence. Wasn’t it about time for the boys to all roll their chairs into the dining room for their evening meal? Where was everybody else, anyway? In the lounge, watching reruns of Murderball games? If he stepped away from the corner he could probably see through the window and, if there was a game on, he could distract Nate. He had a feeling that he wasn’t going to like whatever Nathan was about to unbottle.

      ‘You do, though, don’t you?’ Nathan swivelled his wheelchair with practised ease and trapped Aiden so that it would look like a deliberate evasion if he tried to step past him. ‘You feel responsible for what happened to me and so you think you have to be responsible for me for the rest of your life.’

      Of course he felt responsible for what had happened. It had been his fault.

      Nate was staring at him. He shook his head. ‘It wasn’t your fault.’

      Aiden stared back at him. ‘You were too young to remember what it was like. If I hadn’t lost my rag and yelled back at Dad, he’d never have come after me. He’d never have knocked you down the stairs and broken your neck.’

      The horror of that day as a sixteen-year-old whose life had changed for ever in a heartbeat had never gone. Crouched over the crumpled form of his ten-year-old brother at the bottom of the stairs, his hands had been shaking as he’d tried to hold his phone still enough to call for an ambulance. To stop Nathan moving, even as they’d both heard the dreadful sound of the gunshot that had come from an upstairs room.

      Maybe the worst horror had been the relief of knowing that he didn’t have to protect Nathan from their father’s tyranny any more—the twisted bitterness that had come from blaming an innocent baby for his wife’s death.

      He’d held Nathan’s head still, knowing that moving him could make it worse. And he’d talked to him as he’d crouched there, waiting for help to arrive.

      ‘I’m here,’ he’d said, over and over again. ‘I’ll look after you. I’ll always look after you.’

      ‘I remember a lot more than you give me credit for. And you know what? I’ve had enough of this.’

      Nate sounded angry. His clever, brave, determined kid brother was letting his irrepressible good humour go for once. He was angry with him.

      Finally. There was a relief to be found in that. He deserved the anger. He could handle it. He was the one who could still walk. The one who had a job he loved. Who could get out there and kiss gorgeous women. Nate was allowed to be angry about what had happened in his life. The opportunities he would never have.

      ‘It was Dad who pushed me down the stairs. Not you. It’s ancient history. Get over it, Aiden. I have.’

      ‘How can you say that?’ Aiden was shocked. ‘You have to live with that accident for the rest of your life. It should never have happened.’

      ‘Oh, get off the guilt train,’ Nate snapped. ‘Yeah … I have to live with it for the rest of my life. Me. And you don’t get to feel so guilty about it that you stuff up your own life. I’m not having that put on me, thanks.’

      ‘I’m not—’

      ‘Yeah, you are. You baby me. You’re always here, checking up on me. Trying to make life better for me, but guess what? I like my life. I don’t need this.’

      Aiden stared at his brother. He’d thought he could handle the anger but that was when he’d thought it was going to be about the accident that had wrecked a young life—not about him honouring a vow to look after the only person who’d ever been so important to him.

      This hurt, dammit. Enough to make him feel angry right back at Nate.

      ‘I’ve only ever done what I could to help. You were ten years old.’

      ‘And you’re still treating me like I’m ten years old. I’m twenty-four, man. I’m grown up. I’ve got a girlfriend.’

      How on earth had this all come out after sharing the news that he’d gone on a date with the cute midwife?

      ‘And there’s no way I’m going to play by your stupid three-dates rule.’

      So that was it.

      ‘You do know it’s stupid, don’t you?’

      ‘Works СКАЧАТЬ