A Family To Come Home To. Josie Metcalfe

      “And I’m happy to stay on for the rest of the three months, with an option for a further three,” Ben offered, even as a small voice was shrieking warnings inside his head

      He’d already grown far too close to this little family and staying any longer was a bad idea. But he couldn’t in all conscience leave her to be buried under that mountain of responsibilities again—at least, not until she’d found someone reliable to take over from him.

      The look of relief and pleasure that spread over her face was like the sun coming up in the dark places inside him. But it also made his misgivings cast deeper shadows.

      Kat was an incredibly strong woman, and as for her boys…What was it about Kat Leeman that had started to melt the block of ice around his heart?

      Dear Reader,

      I’m a member of a big family that’s growing larger with every year—brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, in-laws. Sometimes the sheer numbers at a family get-together can be overwhelming, but the other side of the coin is the knowledge that there will always be plenty of people willing to help if one of us is in trouble.

      Kat isn’t so lucky. She’s all alone and desperately needs help as she tries to cope single-handedly with her two boys and a busy family practice.

      Ben certainly can’t be the answer to her dreams because, on his own admission, he won’t be around for long. Ever since he lost his wife he hasn’t been able to settle anywhere for long, and will only promise to stay for three months. Except time doesn’t seem to matter when Kat’s heart recognizes that he is everything she needs. And when her younger son is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, Ben can’t help but show how much he cares—discovering that he needs Kat and her boys every bit as much as they need him.

      I hope you enjoy seeing how the two of them heal each other’s broken hearts and become the family they all need.

      Happy reading!

      Josie

      A Family to Come Home to

      Josie Metcalfe

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      CONTENTS

       COVER

      Dear Reader

       TITLE PAGE

      CHAPTER ONE

      CHAPTER TWO

      CHAPTER THREE

      CHAPTER FOUR

      CHAPTER FIVE

      CHAPTER SIX

       CHAPTER SEVEN

       CHAPTER EIGHT

       CHAPTER NINE

       CHAPTER TEN

       COPYRIGHT

       CHAPTER ONE

      ‘HE’S here!’ the voice in her ear said with an unexpected touch of excitement.

      Kat stifled a grin when she heard the attempt at a confidential whisper, glad that her receptionist couldn’t see her amusement on the other end of the phone. Obviously, the candidate in question was standing nearby and had somehow impressed her…By his manners? By his good looks?

      Well, manners and good looks were all very well, she thought as she straightened her shoulders, ready for yet another waste of time, but they weren’t what she was looking for in the GP she needed to share the burden.

      ‘Then you’d better show him in, Rose,’ she suggested, hoping her weary tone wasn’t too obvious.

      How many interviews had she conducted so far? She’d lost count. She supposed she should be grateful that she’d had people willing to apply, but this prospective locum was unlikely to be any more interested in the position than any of the others, not when he found out exactly how dire her situation was.

      A brisk tap at the door snapped her into professional mode and she forced herself to stretch her mouth into some semblance of a welcoming smile.

      ‘Come in!’ she called, expecting to see Rose’s beaming motherly face as she led the man in. Instead, there was the man himself, tall, almost gaunt with the most sombre expression she’d ever seen. So it hadn’t been his charm that had bowled Rose over, she thought inconsequentially.

      ‘Your receptionist said to tell you that she had to stay to deal with the O’Gormans,’ he reported in an unexpectedly husky voice as he stepped into the room and closed the door.

      For just a second Kat nearly asked him to leave it open, the air around her feeling strangely charged by his presence and making it hard to catch her breath.

      ‘Please, take a seat, Dr…’ She gestured towards the chair that her patients usually used, horrified to find that she’d completely forgotten the man’s name.

      ‘Ross. Benjamin,’ he supplied, then looked straight at her and met her gaze for the first time. ‘But I usually answer to Ben.’

      He’s got green eyes! she thought in amazement, the colour almost unearthly when they weren’t being shadowed by his thick dark lashes. One dark eyebrow rose and she realised with a swift surge of colour that she’d actually been staring at him.

      ‘Well, then, ah, Dr Ross…Dr…ah, Ben…’ she stumbled, trying frantically to get her thoughts back on track.

      ‘Just stick to Ben. It’s easier,’ he said quietly, but the hand knotted around a copy of the practice’s brief prospectus Rose must have given him belied his apparent calm.

      ‘Ben,’ she echoed, conscious that it felt strangely intimate to use a diminutive of his name so soon after meeting him. ‘How much do you know about the situation here at Ditchling?’

      ‘If you mean, have I seen any adverts, then, no, I haven’t because I wasn’t really looking for a job,’ he admitted bluntly. ‘I heard that you were looking for help through a friend…of your husband’s?’ he ended on a questioning note.

      ‘It could be,’ she said quietly, quelling the stab of pain that came with the memories. ‘Richard died of leukaemia almost a year ago, just three weeks after he was diagnosed. He never went into remission.’

      She wondered at the flash of agony she glimpsed in those extraordinary eyes before he shuttered them behind a screen of thick dark lashes.

      ‘I take it the two of you were partners in the practice?’ he asked, his voice huskier than ever. ‘Have you been trying to cope by yourself since then?’

      Trying and failing, said a morose voice inside her head, but she refused to pay it any attention.

      ‘With the help of one arrogant potential partner and subsequent intermittent locums,’ she admitted, then, when she saw his frown, explained a little further. ‘The potential partner had just finished his GP training in a big city practice and, in spite of the fact that he was still as green as grass, thought that he was going to take over as the principle partner purely on the basis that he was a member of the superior sex.’

      Ben winced and she almost allowed herself to smile.