His Brother's Son. Jennifer Taylor

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       CHAPTER TWO

      ‘YOU’VE not got much of a suntan, I must say. Don’t tell me it was raining in Mallorca?’

      Becky glanced round as her friend, Karen Hardy, came into the staffroom where she’d been making a cup of coffee. It had been a hectic morning on the paediatric intensive care unit of St Leonard’s Hospital, where she worked, and it was the first opportunity she’d had to take a break. She automatically reached for the jar of coffee and made Karen a drink as well.

      ‘It wasn’t raining, but I didn’t get much chance to enjoy the sun,’ she explained, handing her friend the mug.

      She picked up her own cup, hoping that the hot coffee would help to warm away the chill which seemed to have invaded her since the previous day. She’d felt cold ever since she had got back from Mallorca despite the fact that the weather in London was surprisingly warm for the time of year. But maybe the chill she felt owed itself less to the outside temperature than to the frosty reception she had received at the Clinica Valdez.

      Her grey eyes clouded as she recalled what Felipe Valdez had said to her. She had spent the night going over and over every cruel word, but nothing seemed to take the sting out of them. He honestly believed that she had used Antonio for her own ends. The thought still made her feel ill.

      ‘Hey, are you OK? You look as though you’d just swallowed something nasty.’ Karen sniffed her coffee suspiciously. ‘The milk isn’t off again, is it?’

      ‘No, it’s fine. Don’t worry, I’m not trying to poison you,’ Becky quickly assured her. ‘Here have one of these.’

      She offered Karen the packet of chocolate biscuits which one of the doctors on the unit had given her in the hope that it would distract her from asking anything else. Karen was a good friend but Becky had deemed it wiser not to tell anyone too much since she’d taken the job at St Leonard’s. People would have been bound to gossip if the truth had got out, and that was the last thing she wanted to happen.

      She’d told everyone the story that she and Antonio had decided upon—that she was a single mother, bringing up her nine-month-old son on her own. Whenever anyone asked about Josh’s father, she answered quite truthfully that he had died not long after the baby had been born.

      Everyone had accepted it without question, and although she occasionally felt guilty about having to deceive them she felt she didn’t have a choice. She wouldn’t take any risks where Josh was concerned.

      ‘Thanks.’ Karen took a biscuit and carried on talking through a mouthful of crumbs. ‘So why didn’t you get much chance to enjoy the sun while you were in Mallorca?’

      ‘Oh, it was just a flying visit. I was there and back within a day.’

      ‘Really?’ Karen made no attempt to hide her surprise. Her blue eyes gleamed with curiosity as she stared at Becky. ‘You must have had a very good reason for not stopping. I mean, it’s a long way to go just for a few hours, isn’t it?’

      Becky sighed as she realised her mistake. She shouldn’t have said that because her friend wouldn’t have been any the wiser if she’d let her believe that she had stayed in Mallorca. She’d had five days’ leave owing to her and had planned the trip to coincide with them. Not for the first time she rued the fact that being deceitful didn’t come naturally to her. Even when speaking to Felipe Valdez she had needed to watch every word she’d said.

      ‘I had something to sort out,’ she replied quickly, not wanting to dwell on the previous day’s events. Recalling the contempt on Felipe’s face still had the power to upset her, even though she didn’t understand why his opinion should carry any weight. So long as Josh was safe, nothing else mattered. And once she found the money she needed to pay Tara, her biggest problem would have been solved.

      ‘Something to do with Josh, do you mean?’ Karen guessed astutely. ‘You mentioned something about his father coming from Mallorca—did you go there to see his family?’

      ‘That’s right.’ Becky shrugged. ‘As I said, it was just a flying visit—that’s why I didn’t stay very long. Anyway, I wanted to get home to Josh.’

      ‘You didn’t take him with you?’

      She groaned when she heard the surprise in Karen’s voice. What was that saying about the tangled webs we weave? One lie seemed to lead to another and if she wasn’t careful she would start tripping herself up.

      ‘He had an ear infection so I didn’t think it would be wise to take him on the plane. He stayed with the childminder so he was perfectly happy.’

      She could tell that Karen was going to ask her something else so it was a relief when their new trainee nurse, Debbie Rothwell, put her head round the door.

      ‘I’m awfully sorry, Becky, but can you come? Holly is crying and I’ve no idea what’s wrong with her. All the monitor readings are fine. I’ve double-checked.’

      Becky put her cup on the draining-board and smiled at the younger woman. Debbie was still very nervous about the responsibility involved with working in the IC unit and rarely trusted her instincts where the children were concerned. Whilst the monitoring equipment was invaluable it didn’t supply all the answers.

      ‘Have you tried asking her what’s wrong?’

      ‘Well, no, I haven’t, actually,’ Debbie admitted, looking even more flustered. ‘I suppose I should have thought of that first.’

      ‘Don’t worry. It takes a while to slot into the routine here,’ Becky said kindly, going to the door. ‘Let’s go and have a look at Holly and see if we can find out what’s the matter with her. She’s due to be transferred to a ward once Mr Watts has seen her, so there’s no need to be overly concerned. She’s well on the mend, I’m glad to say.’

      They made their way into the IC unit and went straight to Holly Benson’s bed. The four year-old had been admitted the previous week after suffering a stroke. She had been gravely ill at the time and the prognosis hadn’t been good. However, dedicated nursing care, plus the child’s own will to survive, had pulled her through.

      The good news was that young children were known to make an excellent recovery after they’d suffered a stroke. Nobody was exactly sure how it worked, but it had been proved that other parts of the brain took over the tasks performed by any damaged areas. With a bit of luck, little Holly would lead a full and active life.

      ‘Now then, sweetheart, what’s the matter? Does your head hurt or do you have a pain anywhere?’ she asked gently, bending down beside the child’s bed.

      Although Holly had been removed from most of the monitoring equipment, СКАЧАТЬ