Brought Together by Baby (16 page)

‘Make the most of it, Maxie,’ she advised with a grin. ‘This is the only time in your life that you’ll be encouraged to burp like that and be praised for doing it!’

Sharing the laughter, Gus cuddled Max close, grateful that following his abrupt entry into the world his son was now the picture of health. Max was growing so quickly, and Holly was right about the way he changed and developed every day.

Much of Max’s happy contentment and sunny disposition were due, Gus believed, to Holly’s loving care. He wished she was Max’s real mother. The admission hit him hard. Time with Holly had given him a taste of what might have been had things been different. Had Holly returned his feelings and not stood him up and rejected him. Had he not made the terrible error with Julia. Self-disgust and deep regret filled him. If only things had been different and this tableau of a happy family was true. He wanted to believe that Julia would have loved their son, but he doubted she would ever have adapted so readily to the day-to-day hands-on role that came so naturally to Holly.

With his thoughts back on Julia, Gus cleared his throat and broached the difficult task ahead of him.

‘I think it’s time I started sorting out Julia’s things,’ he told Holly, who leaned back against the counter, facing him.

‘OK.’ She lowered long dusky lashes, masking her expression. ‘I’m sorry. I know it’s not a nice thing to do. Do you want some help?’

‘Thank you, no. Not to begin with, at least.’ He appreciated her offer, but he’d heard her reluctance and didn’t want
to subject her to more pain than necessary. ‘Is there anything you’d like to keep?’

She frowned and shook her head. ‘I don’t think so.’

‘What about clothes? There are lots of designer things in the wardrobes,’ he remarked, puzzled by her humourless laugh. ‘Can’t you make use of any of them?’

‘Hardly! Julia was elegant and fashionable, not to mention incredibly slender—unlike me. I’m a jeans and T-shirt girl. Even if I were more stylish I’d never fit into her clothes,’ she added with a rueful smile.

Her comments were made without edge or envy. She really believed what she was saying, Gus realised with shock. With her soft curves and natural beauty Holly was vastly more feminine and appealing than Julia had been—but he could hardly say that without revealing how he felt about her. He wanted more than anything to tell her, but doing so would mean confessing that he was a fraud—that his marriage had been a sham and he wasn’t grieving as Holly and everyone else believed. It was a dilemma of his own making, and as he wrestled with it Holly diverted his attention.

‘There is one thing I’d like to have…’

‘Go on,’ he invited, intrigued.

She clasped her hands so tightly that her knuckles whitened. ‘Julia took the family photograph album. I don’t know if it’s here, but—’

‘If I find it I’ll make sure you get it,’ he promised as her words trailed off. He could hear how much it meant to her, though it was a small enough request.

‘Thank you.’ Her relief was obvious as her shoulders relaxed and she unclasped her hands. ‘There’s something else, Gus.’ She hesitated and he waited, curious to learn what was on her mind. ‘I was just thinking…It would be good if you put some things aside for Max. It doesn’t have to be much,
but a memory box of things he can have when he grows older to remember his mother.’

A lump lodged in Gus’s throat. He was touched by Holly’s generous suggestion. He knew the sisters had been at odds, yet Holly’s only thought was for Max and preserving good memories of the mother the boy would never know. It was another example of why his son was so lucky to have Holly in his life.

‘That’s a lovely idea. Thank you.’

She nodded, looking shyly embarrassed. Standing up, he returned Max to his Moses basket, smiling as his son stretched his limbs before giving a big yawn. He would never tire of watching him.

‘Are you hungry?’

‘Starving,’ he confirmed in response to Holly’s question, dragging his gaze from Max and turning to face her. ‘Things were so busy today none of us got a break for a proper meal.’

‘Don’t tell me…you got through the day on endless mugs of tea and raiding the vending machine for chocolate?’ she teased him.

‘Guilty as charged.’

Shaking her head, she tried unsuccessfully to look cross. ‘There’s salad in the fridge. And I made a quiche earlier.’

‘Plus the crumble in the oven. With ice cream?’ he added hopefully, making her laugh again.

‘Maybe!’

He rubbed his stomach in anticipation. ‘Have I time to change?’

‘Plenty.’

‘I’ll be down in a few minutes,’ he promised.

Leaving the kitchen, Gus jogged upstairs and, after a quick wash in the bathroom, went to his bedroom to change into jeans and a T-shirt. Eager to sample the food awaiting him,
he was just leaving his room when Max, who rarely even cried, began screaming at the top of his lungs.

The sound ripped Gus to shreds and brought a chill to his spine.

What the hell had happened?

CHAPTER TEN

‘G
US
? Oh, dear God!
Gus
!’

Holly’s frantic call galvanised him into action and he rushed downstairs to the kitchen. ‘What’s wrong?’

Tears were streaming down Holly’s cheeks as she hugged Max close. ‘He’s been stung by a wasp. I didn’t see anything at first—he just started screaming. Then I found it inside the corner of his mouth. I got it out straight away—it’s dead—but it must have stung him at least once on the tongue or in the mouth. The swelling began immediately,’ she told him brokenly, pushing the back door shut with her foot.

Gus’s heart nearly stopped as he saw how quickly the swelling was spreading over Max’s face, mouth and throat. He wanted to grab his son, to hold him, comfort him, protect him, but every second counted and they needed to get to the hospital.

‘Take Max to the car, Holly,’ he instructed, reaching for his mobile phone. ‘I’ll ring A&E.’

Although his words were calm, he felt panicked inside. His heart was pounding. Fear threatened to paralyse him. But he had to function to help his son. Running down the path to his car, he phoned his colleagues to forewarn them of their arrival, then scrambled behind the wheel.

As a tearful Holly tried to soothe Max, whose distressed cries only added to his difficulty breathing, Gus drove to
the hospital, praying they’d arrive in time to prevent a minor stupid incident taking his precious miracle baby away from him.

* * *

‘Holly, give Max to me.’

Meeting them at the emergency doors, after what seemed the longest journey of her life, registrar Dr Nathan Shepherd coaxed her to hand the baby into his care. Holly was relieved to see Nathan. He was a skilled doctor, the fiancé of her friend Annie Webster—also a registrar in A&E—and she trusted him. So did Gus.

‘We’re expecting you. Come to Resus,’ Nathan instructed, cradling a red-faced Max, who was now struggling for each breath.

Hurrying behind him, with Gus at her side, Holly pressed her hands to her mouth, trying to stop the cries and pleas that wanted to burst from her. She was grateful when Gus gave Nathan a succinct if shaky account of events because she didn’t think she could speak. The fear in Gus’s voice matched her own. The speed of the swelling had shocked her, and she was wrestling with guilt. This was her fault. She’d left the door open. She’d brought the fruit in. And she’d known there were wasps around. She should have taken more care.

Seconds later they arrived in Resus, which was already busy with other patients. Holly knew they were only allowed to stay because of their connection to the department, so although the temptation to be close to Max was overwhelming she stood with Gus, out of the way. Feeling sick with anxiety, they watched and waited.

Nathan examined Max with brisk efficiency, the team following his directions for the administration of adrenalin via a nebuliser, followed by steroids and antihistamine to counteract the swelling. Holly knew how good her former colleagues
were, and she placed her trust in them to save the baby she loved with all her heart.

As an oxygen mask was placed over Max’s swollen face Gus slid an arm around her shoulders and drew her close. Shaking from head to toe, and too scared to think what she was doing, she turned into him, seeking the comfort she so desperately needed. Burying her face in his chest, she inhaled his familiar scent, drawing on his strength. Knowing he shared her fear, she wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tight.

‘I’m so sorry, Gus,’ she sobbed. ‘You must hate me. It’s all my fault.’

He stroked her hair with the palm of one hand, gentle and soothing. ‘That’s nonsense, Holly.’

‘I knew there were wasps around. I just didn’t think,’ she continued, riddled with guilt.

‘I saw them, too, and it didn’t occur to me, either.’

‘But—’

Much to her surprise, Gus drew back and cupped her face in his hands, smoky green eyes intense. ‘Stop tormenting yourself. No one is blaming you, darling, least of all me,’ he reassured her. The endearment startled her and warmed her at the same time. ‘It was a freak accident. That’s
all
. I know you’re frightened. I am, too. But Nathan knows what he’s doing and Max will be all right.’

‘He has to be,’ she whispered, taken aback when Gus pressed a kiss to her forehead, leaving her skin tingling.

His hands dropped to her shoulders and turned her so she could see what was happening on the treatment table. Max had stopped crying, and she realised with a huge wave of relief that the swelling was lessening and his breathing improving. Nathan gestured to them and they followed him out of Resus into the relative quiet of the corridor. ‘Max is doing well. He had five mg of nebulised adrenalin to begin with.
We did anaesthetic and ENT reviews, but in the end he didn’t need intubation or an emergency tracheotomy because he responded to the adrenalin, steroids and antihistamine we gave him,’ he told them with a smile, and Holly sagged against Gus, clinging tenaciously to his hand, her fingers linked with his. ‘He’s settled, and the swelling is much reduced, so we’re moving him to a quiet cubicle to rest, but it’s close enough to bring him back to Resus in the unlikely event we need to. There’s the potential of a second stage of reaction in the first six hours, but I’m not anticipating any problems.’

‘Can we stay with him?’ Holly asked, her voice rough with emotion.

Nathan nodded. ‘Of course. And if his recovery continues like this you can take Max home—as soon as it’s clear there’ll be no further reaction. If he needs it overnight he can have some Calpol, but I think you’ll find him back to normal by tomorrow.’

‘Thank you.’ Gus sounded as relieved as she felt, and she watched as he shook Nathan’s hand. ‘Do you think Max is now sensitised to wasp stings?’

‘I believe this has been a localised reaction to being stung in a sensitive place inside the mouth and not a full-on anaphylactic attack,’ Nathan explained, his brow creasing in concentration. ‘As you know, generally a person needs to be stung once to sensitise the immune system, and it’s after the second sting that an allergic response occurs. As far as we know Max has never been stung before.’

‘And hopefully won’t be again,’ Holly interjected with feeling, and Gus’s fingers gave hers a squeeze.

Nathan smiled in sympathy. ‘It must have been a dreadful experience for both of you. We can do some tests at a later date to see if Max is sensitised or not, and you can carry an Epipen of adrenalin as a precaution, but my hunch is that this was a one-off event.’

‘Thanks, Nathan…for everything,’ she said with feeling.

Smiling, the handsome doctor gave her a quick hug. ‘No worries.’

‘How’s Annie? I keep meaning to ring her or meet up for a chat.’

‘She’d love that,’ Nathan confirmed. ‘She’s much happier now the court case is over and her attacker is safely behind bars.’

‘Thank God,’ Gus responded, voicing aloud her own feelings.

Holly shivered, recalling the January day when Annie had been stabbed in A&E by a man escaping the police. Holly had transferred to the Children’s Ward shortly before the event, but she’d visited Annie many times during her recovery and would never forget how close they’d come to losing her. It was a huge relief to know it was over and that the man would be serving a long sentence for nearly ending Annie’s life.

Nathan gave further reassurances about Max’s condition before saying goodbye to them both. Thankful that what had begun in such a scary and traumatic fashion was ending so happily, Holly accompanied Gus to the nearby cubicle where they found a much more contented Max. With tears welling in her eyes, Holly kissed his soft, warm cheek and cuddled him.

Gus’s arms closed around them both in a three-way hug. Every atom of her being was aware of him and reacted to his closeness, reminding her how vulnerable she was to him and how easy it would be to let down her guard.

After the short but terrifying ordeal Max was safe.

Where Gus was concerned, Holly knew
she
was anything but.

* * *

Gus knew the instant he walked into the living room that Holly had been crying. And he could tell by the wobbly,
over-bright smile and the characteristically stubborn lift of her chin that she was determined to hide it. He was equally determined to find out what had upset her. She didn’t meet his gaze, focusing instead on the pillowcase she was ironing, folding it with studied care and adding it to the completed pile of laundry on the dining table behind her.

‘Everything OK?’ he asked, keeping his voice light as he dropped the things he was carrying on the sofa—including a plush teddy bear. He knelt on the floor to say hello to Max, who was lying on his play mat gym, happily kicking his legs and gurgling along to the music of a well-known nursery rhyme.

‘Fine.’ Holly’s answer was predictable, and he didn’t believe her, but he allowed her to temporarily divert his attention back to his son. ‘Given all the kicking practice he’s been doing, I think Max is going to be a footballer when he grows up.’

He smiled, drawing the growing baby into his arms. ‘Yeah?’