The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) (138 page)

  
As Livvy took her son into her arms her puzzled expression was back.
‘This isn’t Roy Jnr,’ she told the midwife. ‘He’s blonde!’

  
‘He’s like you, dear,’ the midwife replied, her eyes twinkling. ‘Same
blue eyes too. You new mummies do come out with some gems. It must be the gas
and air.’

  
Livvy pushed the baby away. ‘Take him, Jess. This isn’t my baby.’

  
Jess looked startled, but took hold of him. ‘Of course he’s yours. You
just gave birth to him. Come on, Livvy, he’s beautiful. Look at his lovely blue
eyes. He’ll probably have curls eventually, like you and Courtney.’

  
Livvy shook her head as the tears came. ‘My baby should have dark hair
and brown eyes, like Harley. He shouldn’t look like Courtney,’ she wailed.

  
As Roy opened his eyes and
looked around bemusedly, Sammy knelt beside his chair. ‘Roy.’
She patted his cheeks gently. ‘Are you okay? You fainted.’

  
He nodded slowly. ‘Is it over?’

  
She smiled. ‘The baby’s here. He’s a fine big boy, but Livvy seems very
disappointed somehow. He’s blonde haired and blue eyed and she keeps saying
he’s not hers.’
 

  
He shook his head in bewilderment. ‘Well,
she’s
blonde haired and
blue eyed. He doesn’t have to look like me, does he? Have they sent the cord
for analysis yet?’

  
‘Yes,’ Sammy replied. ‘They did that right away. Come and see the baby
now.’
    

  
He stood up and walked unsteadily across the room to Jess who handed him
the tightly wrapped bundle. The child stared unblinkingly for a moment, yawned
and closed his eyes. ‘Been a busy day for you, young man,’ Roy
said softly, smiling down at the little face, whose brow was creased in a
worried frown. ‘Livvy, what is it? Why do you say he’s not your baby? He looks
like you and Courtney. Come on, love, hold him. He needs his Mommy.’

  
‘No!’ she mumbled into the pillow. ‘Take him away. You have him, Jess. I
don’t want him.’

  
Roy turned to Sammy, his
eyes filled with despair. ‘What’s wrong with her, Sam? Apart from being angry
with me over last night, I mean?’

 
 
Sammy took the baby from Roy
and sat down, cradling him in her arms. As she studied his features she saw
what Livvy had seen. This baby was most definitely not Roy’s.
He was the living image of Danny McVey and he was full term, not four weeks
early, not even two. By Sammy’s quick reckoning, Livvy must have been in the
very early stages of pregnancy when she arrived in the country, but with no
clue to her condition.

  
Sammy looked across at Jess who was staring at her, eyebrows raised. A
sharp nod told Sammy that Jess had also put two and two together. Roy
seemed bemused by the whole situation and was still trying to get Livvy to look
at him. Sammy quickly took charge.

  
‘I think we should let Livvy and this little man get some rest now, Roy.
She’s exhausted. We’ll be back in the morning, Livvy and we’ll bring the girls
in to meet their brother.’

  
There was no response from Livvy. Roy
bent to kiss her goodbye and she pushed him away. He shrugged as Sammy handed
the baby to one of the nurses.

  
‘Livvy’s booked into a private suite,’ Roy
told the midwife who smiled reassuringly.

  
‘Everything’s ready for them, Mr McVey, don’t worry. Your wife is tired.
She’ll be just fine by the morning.’
 

  
Roy followed Sammy and Jess
outside and smiled half-heartedly. ‘That felt weird, being addressed with a
dead man’s name. I noticed that Roy Jnr had Baby McVey on his name tag.’

  
Sammy raised an ironical eyebrow in Jess’s direction. ‘It makes it
easier for Livvy to use her married name,’ she said. ‘They’re just being pc
with you. You’re not telling
me
that
they’re the only ones in the area who didn’t see you both splashed all over The
Sun and Mirror.’

***

Sammy stared at Roy’s
back as he left the kitchen to use the bathroom. ‘Who’s going to tell him?’ she
whispered to Jess who had arrived at her parents’ home just before Roy and
Sammy and given a stunned Jane the details of the baby’s birth.

  
‘You should,’ Jane said. ‘You’re closer to him than anyone else.’
  

  
‘I’m very tempted, believe me, but it’s not my place. I don’t think for
one minute Livvy realised she was carrying Danny’s baby. She probably hadn’t a
clue that she was already pregnant when she slept with Roy.
The shock on her face when she looked at that child was genuine; I’ve no doubt
about that. Livvy will have to tell him that he’s not the father.’

  
‘God, what a messy situation!’ Jane exclaimed. ‘If, as you say, she had
no idea, then to see her dead husband’s child staring at her must have come as
a horrendous shock.’

  
Jess nodded. ‘He’s a beautiful baby, Mum. He weighed eight pounds ten
ounces, so he’s really bonny and he’s got big blue eyes and tufts of blonde
hair. It’s awful to think that Livvy’s rejected him because he’s not Roy’s.
She actually said
I
could have him. I
mean, I would, but…’

 
 
Jane and Sammy looked at one
another and Sammy clapped her hand to her mouth.
 

  
‘Shit, I’ve just thought of something else. The cord’s gone for
analysis, to see if the baby is a match for Harley. Of course, he won’t be, no
more than Courtney was. Poor Harley, she was pinning all her hopes on that.’

  
Roy strolled back into the
kitchen and sat down at the table. Jane poured him a mug of coffee and laced it
with brandy. He knocked it back and looked at them.

  
‘That’s not my kid, is it?’ he directed at Sammy.

  
She touched his hand. ‘What makes you say that?’

  
‘Somewhere in that faint I heard the midwife telling you he was overdue,
not early. I couldn’t bring myself round and then when I did the baby was
handed to me and I thought I must have imagined her saying it, but it makes
sense now. I just worked it out that Livvy wasn’t even in the country when he
was conceived, so he has to be Danny’s.’

  
Jess nodded. ‘Sammy and I had already worked that out. So had Livvy,
judging by her reaction.’

  
‘Were you going to tell me, Sam?’ He looked at her with such a pained
expression that her heart went out to him. She put her arms around him and
hugged him.

  
‘Oh, my love. My poor Roy.’
Tears poured down Sammy’s cheeks as he clung to her and she sobbed against his
shoulder. ‘We really thought Livvy should tell you herself.’ She choked on her
sobs, her tears mingling with his. ‘Come on home with me. You need to be
somewhere quiet to get your head around this. Jess will call Livvy’s parents
and the girls to tell them it’s a boy and that they can visit tomorrow. You
don’t need to speak to anyone until you feel ready.’
   

  
He nodded and took a deep shuddering breath. ‘There’s nowhere on earth
that I’d rather be at the moment than Jasmine House with you.’
 

  
‘Come on then. Get in the car while I have a quick word with Jane.
She’ll speak to Ed for you and then you can call him later.’

  
Roy shuffled out of the
kitchen as Jane stared after him. ‘Jesus Christ, it never rains but it pours.
How did
you
get involved, Sam? I
thought you were seeing Stuart today?’

  
Sammy nodded. ‘I was, then Livvy picked up a text message I sent to Roy
earlier, but he’d left his phone at home, you see.’

  
‘And?’ Jane prompted.

  
Sammy sighed and brought Jane up to speed.
  

  
‘Would you have him back, in spite of everything?’ Jane asked, putting
her arms around Sammy.

  
‘What do
you
think, Jane?’

  
‘I don’t
think
, I
know.
’

  
‘It’s madness, but I still love him,’ Sammy admitted. ‘And I know he
still loves me. But he’s got all these responsibilities now. Even though that
baby isn’t his, it still needs a father and he’s promised to marry Livvy. That
little family needs stability.’

  
‘She might not want to marry him now,’ Jane said. ‘Go home and sort
things out. Talk to him; help him come to terms with it. At the end of the day
this was all for Harley. I know he’s smitten with Livvy and she’s carried a
torch for him all this time, but not for one minute do I think Roy
ever meant things to get so out of hand. Once Livvy gets used to the fact that
the child is Danny’s, she’ll love it as much as she loves the girls. She may
decide to stay single and go back to The States with the kids.’
  

  
‘Roy won’t let Harley go, so
we’d be back to square one,’ Sammy said. ‘By the way, Jess, thanks so much for
being there.’

  
‘Think nothing of it,’ Jess said. ‘Tell you what though; if she decides
she really doesn’t want the baby, maybe me and Jon could foster him.’

  
‘It’s not going to happen, Jess.’ Jane gave her a hug. ‘Don’t get your
hopes up, love. Anyway, I thought you and Jon had drawn a line under that
subject for now.’

  
‘Just a thought,’ Jess said wistfully.

***

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Livvy stared at the luminous hands
of the wall-clock, eyes wide and unblinking. The time was ten-thirty. She
glanced around, puzzled, no thick oak beams on the ceiling, no comfy sleigh-bed
with its William Morris quilt; just a small single bed with a plain navy
bedspread. Not her bedroom at home then. The pale-blue painted room was quiet
and dimly lit by an over-bed lamp. For a long moment she felt confusion then
was conscious of stillness about her body. She ran her hands over her flattened
stomach and wriggled into a sitting position. So, it hadn’t been a dream. She’d
given birth. As she reflected, hazy snippets of the last few hours came back
and she caught her breath.

  
Text messages for Roy from
Sammy. Then Roy’s anxious face and
Sammy and Jess in the delivery suite. She glanced around, but there was no sign
of her baby, no cot in the room. Had something awful happened? A wave of panic
washed over her and she pressed the buzzer by the bed. A minute ticked slowly
by before her summons was answered by a stocky nurse who greeted her with a
wide smile.

  
‘Well,
you’ve
certainly had a long sleep, Mrs McVey.’
 

  
‘Have I?’ Livvy pushed herself further up the bed.
   

  
‘Let me adjust your backrest and pillows. You’ve been out cold for four
hours. We’ve had to give your hungry young man a bottle to keep him going.
Maybe you’d like to try and feed him now? I’ll go and fetch him from the
nursery.’

  
The nurse left as Livvy ran her hands through her tangled curls. Roy Jnr
was here, but where was Roy Snr? Shouldn’t he be with her? There was a
telephone on the bedside table. She grabbed the receiver and dialled her home
number. Her dad answered and she recalled being told that her parents had
arrived from Glasgow earlier. He
congratulated her, asked how she was feeling, and then Courtney’s excited voice
came down the line.

  
‘
Mom, congratulations
!
Are you okay? We’re coming to see you
tomorrow. I can’t wait. Jess called and told us about the baby but she said you
were very tired and probably wouldn’t want visitors tonight.’

  
‘Jess told you? Where’s Roy?’
If he wasn’t at the hospital with her, then he should be at home with the
girls.

  
‘
I’m not sure where he is. Jess
said he’s due to go to
London
to meet up with the group. But he hasn’t been home to collect his car and phone
yet.’

  
Courtney’s next words brought the events of the whole day clearly into
focus for Livvy and struck a chill in her heart. ‘
Jess said that
Roy
Jnr looks just like me. Isn’t that nice, Mom?’

  
‘I have to go now, Courtney,’ she said abruptly. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow,
honey.’ She hung up, hearing the bewilderment in her daughter’s goodbye. She
drew a deep breath. Roy was with
Sammy, she just knew it.

  
Tears started as the nurse came into the room, pushing a small crib.
‘He’s wide awake and raring to go.’ She reached into the crib and lifted the
baby, handing him to Livvy, who couldn’t even look at her son, although
his
bright blue eyes were firmly fixed on
her
face.

  
Livvy shook her head and held him at arms length as he started to
whimper. ‘I can’t do it. I’m sorry.’

  
The nurse took him back and sat on the edge of the bed. ‘Are you still
feeling groggy? Don’t worry, I’ll bottle feed him again. But if you want to
breast feed, you’ll need to start soon to encourage your milk supply.’

  
‘Don’t you understand?’ Livvy yelled, startling the baby who began to
cry. ‘I don’t want that baby. He isn’t mine! Where’s Roy?
Where’s my partner? He’s not here and he’s not at home either.’

  
The nurse looked puzzled. ‘This
is
your baby, Mrs McVey. I’ll get
Sister; she may be able to tell you if your partner left any messages.’ She
placed the baby back in the crib and hurried out of the room. The child’s cry
was now a loud, angry wail and he was sucking hungrily on his fingers.

  
‘Shut up! SHUT UP!’ Livvy screamed, and carried on screaming as the
nurse and the ward sister dashed into the room.

  
‘Get me the duty doctor, quickly,’ Sister instructed. She took hold of
Livvy and held her while she sobbed against her shoulder. ‘Mrs McVey, I’m
Sister Munro. Calm down and tell me what’s wrong.’

  
‘That baby isn’t mine,’ Livvy sobbed. ‘My baby should have dark hair and
brown eyes, like his father.’

  
‘Well maybe he takes after you,’ Sister Munro suggested gently. ‘He has
your colouring, dear.’

  
‘But he has Danny’s face,’ Livvy cried. ‘How can that be? Danny’s dead!
I was carrying Roy’s child, not
Danny’s. Please get Roy for me,
he’ll tell you that this is not our son.’

  
Sister Munro shook her head in bewilderment. The young nurse hurried
back in the room and announced that Doctor Brierly was on his way.
 

  
‘Stay with Mrs McVey for a few minutes while I make some phone calls,’
Sister Munro instructed. ‘I’ll take baby back to the nursery for now and get
someone to feed him.’

***

Back at her desk, Sister Munro
went through Livvy’s file. Mrs McVey was obviously hallucinating. Maybe she’d
had an adverse effect to the gas and air. Roy Cantello was listed as next of
kin and father of Baby McVey. There was a mobile and home telephone number for
him. A young lady answered the home number immediately.
 

  
‘
Dad’s not here at the moment.
Would you like to speak to my Grandpa Peter instead?’
 

  
‘Please, dear,’ Sister Munro replied. A man with a Scottish accent came
on the line, announced that he was Mrs McVey’s father and asked how he could
help.

  
‘I’m trying to contact Roy Cantello,’ Sister Munro told him. ‘Mrs McVey
is asking for him and we do need to speak to him as a matter of urgency.’

  
‘
Is there a problem? Are Livvy and
the baby okay?’

  
‘They’re fine, There’s
nothing to worry about,’ Sister Munro assured him. ‘Mrs McVey is a little
confused and we really could do with speaking to Roy.’
  

  
‘
We honestly don’t know where
Roy
is at the moment. All I’ve been told is
that he’s due in
London
tomorrow. Just one moment please. My
granddaughter is trying to tell me something
.’

  
Sister Munro waited patiently while Peter exchanged words with his
granddaughter.

  
‘
His daughter thinks
Roy
may be at his old family home. Would you
like the number?’

  
‘If you wouldn’t mind,’ she said and scribbled it down on a pad.

  
‘
Would it be okay if I came along
to see Livvy? I know it’s late, but my wife and I have driven down from
Glasgow
today to look after her and the girls. The
baby arriving unexpectedly has thrown all our plans out of kilter.’
  

  
‘That would be most helpful. I’ll explain the situation in more detail
when you arrive.’ She hung up, breathing a sigh of relief. Mrs McVey needed to
see a familiar face and in the absence of the errant partner, who better than
her own father?

  
She tried the number she’d been given. A softly spoken woman answered
the call and told her that Roy was
sleeping. She asked if she could help. Sister Munro raised her eyebrows. Men!
‘We’d like Mr Cantello to come to the hospital. His partner’s very distressed
and asking for him. It would help us greatly if he could be here when the
doctor arrives.’

  
There was silence for a moment and then the woman spoke again. ‘
I don’t think it would help if
Roy
came to the hospital tonight. He’s
not
the father of Mrs McVey’s baby.
Her late husband fathered the child.’

  
‘I see,’ Sister Munro replied. ‘And whom shall I say I have spoken to,
if Mrs McVey asks?’

  
‘
Mrs Cantello.’
 
The woman replied
. ‘
Roy
’s wife!
’ The line went dead and Sister
Munro stared at the receiver, confused.

  
‘Are you okay, Carol?’ Staff Nurse Connor, returning from her tea-break,
asked.

  
‘I’m not sure, Maggie,’ she replied and related the latest news on the
McVey baby.

  
Staff Nurse Connor nodded and sat down. ‘You’re obviously not up to
scratch with our local celebrities and their shenanigans.’ She proceeded to
explain the situation, as reported in the newspapers, between Livvy McVey, Roy
Cantello and the late Daniel.

  
‘Well I never!’ Sister Munro exclaimed. ‘Mrs Cantello, Roy’s
wife, who he’s with at the moment, has just thrown a rather large spanner into
the works. Apparently, Roy is
not
the father of Baby McVey. Livvy’s late husband is.’

  
‘Get away,’ Staff Nurse Conner cried. ‘Under normal circumstances, I
would have thought that was a wonderful thing. At least her late hubby lives on
in his son.’

  
‘I don’t think Livvy would agree with you at the moment. She obviously
thought she was carrying Roy Cantello’s child.’

  
‘Roy’s the father of her
eldest daughter who has leukaemia,’ Staff Nurse Conner said. ‘The family were
hoping Baby McVey would be a bone-marrow match.’

  
‘Maybe that’s what’s at the bottom of the rejection,’ Sister Munro said.

  
‘Quite possibly, and if that’s the case, no wonder she’s hysterical. But
poor little baby, it’s not his fault, bless him.’

***

Sammy dropped the receiver onto
its cradle and finished her coffee. Roy
was upstairs in their bed. She’d lain with him until he’d dropped off. Although
they’d held one another and kissed, he hadn’t touched her and she’d felt him
distancing himself until he eventually rolled away and turned his back. She’d
crept downstairs as soon as she heard him snoring softly.
 

  
‘I heard the phone.’ Roy
strode into the kitchen, yawning and scratching his head. ‘Who was it?’

  
‘The hospital,’ Sammy replied. ‘I told them you were sleeping.’

  
‘What did they want?’ He sank onto a kitchen chair and lit a cigarette.
Sammy poured him a coffee and pushed it across the table.

  
‘They said they want you there when the doctor arrives and because
Livvy’s asking for you.’

  
He was silent for a minute and took a sip of coffee. ‘I suppose I should
be with her, and I don’t need this,’ he said, stubbing out the cigarette. ‘I’ve
almost bloody given up.’ He lit another and glared at her.

  
‘You’re going then?’ Sammy felt her stomach turn over. Of course he was
going. Last night was a one-off. He’d already told her that. And he had to sort
out this mess with Livvy. ‘You need to talk. Every woman’s vulnerable after
giving birth, but Livvy must feel like she’s in the middle of a nightmare.’ She
tried her best to sound reasonable.

  
‘I’m sure she does, and you know what, Sam? She’ll be devastated more
for Harley than for her and me. She was so hoping for a match. Now we’ll be
back to the vagaries of the bloody donor system.’

  
Sammy took his hand and gripped it tightly. ‘You know there’s nothing to
stop the pair of you having a child together at a later date.’ It tore at her
heart to say it.

  
‘Oh yeah,’ Roy snapped,
yanking his hand away. ‘Like that’s gonna happen. She won’t want to know me
now. Not after last night. I’ll be surprised if she even speaks to me again.
She’s probably only asking for me to give me an ear-bashing about us.’

  
‘Can you blame her?’ Sammy said, taking his hand again. ‘We’ve agreed
that we made a mistake. You have to try and make her understand that. She’ll
forgive you - in time. But you’ve got to do a lot of begging first and make her
see that you’re really sorry, and mean it. Go on, Roy,
get it sorted.’

  
She handed him her car keys and watched him walk out of the house. She
wanted to run after him, grab him and not let go. But she couldn’t do that, not
now. Roy had to take his own path.

***

Peter arrived at the hospital
while the doctor was with Livvy. Sister Munro invited him into her office. She
made him a mug of coffee and explained the situation.
    

  
He shook his head sadly. ‘My daughter’s had a traumatic life,’ he began
and told her the sorry tale.

  
Sister Munro listened and nodded sympathetically as he continued. ‘Livvy
and Roy got back together and tried for another child to save Harley’s life.
Then Danny, who she was divorcing, was killed in the terrorist attacks on The
World Trade Centre. And now
you
tell me she’s had his baby. She must be
feeling so distraught after thinking she was carrying Roy’s
child. It must seem like Danny’s reaching out from beyond the grave.’

  
Sister Munro nodded. ‘I have to admit it’s quite spooky. But it’s the
rejection of the child I’m concerned with. Livvy and the baby could go home in
a couple of days, but I have this feeling she won’t want to take him with her.’