A Father For Poppy. Abigail Gordon

was parked amongst other staff cars and she wondered where he had stayed over the weekend, and how she could possibly be so disinterested after the way she’d adored him. Had her feelings eventually turned to pique because she’d been discarded so thoughtlessly for a promotion and a trip to Switzerland?

      When she arrived at her office, which was part of the hospital’s administration complex, her secretary, middle-aged Jennifer Edwards, was already there and eager to inform her that the new senior consultant had called to say hello on his way to the wards and what did she think of that?

      ‘I don’t think his predecessor even knew we existed,’ Jennifer said in a tone of wonder, and Tessa’s hopes of a busy day in the office without sightings of Drake began to disappear. But Jennifer went on to say that he’d stopped by to explain that he was calling a meeting of all staff who were free to attend at five o’clock that afternoon and hoped that the two of them would be there.

      ‘But will you want to stay behind?’ she asked Tessa, knowing that normally she would be setting off to collect Poppy at that time.

      It was a tricky question. Her dedication to her job demanded that she be there to support the new head consultant, and deep down she knew that if it wasn’t Drake she would be phoning Lizzie to explain that she would be a bit late. She’d already been away from her little one for part of the weekend on hospital business and felt that she had given enough of her free time, but Tessa knew that was just an excuse. It would be worse if Drake thought she was being difficult because he had come back into her life unexpectedly—perhaps she should go to the meeting just to show him that he was fine. Stop it, Tessa, she told herself severely.

      She was free of the spell he had cast over her. And she wasn’t going to the meeting. If they didn’t speak today she would explain tomorrow that she’d had another commitment that had been equally important.

      It had been a hectic day, Drake thought, as he made his way to the main hall of the hospital at five o’clock, but it was to be expected with patients and staff all new to him … with the exception of one.

      Would Tessa be there when he spoke briefly to his new team? He hoped so. There was no way he would want to cause her pain or embarrassment, but they were adults—and professionals, for goodness’ sake—and could surely behave that way.

      If his restlessness and discontent while he’d been in Switzerland had been because he’d made a big mistake by not cementing their relationship, there was nothing to indicate so far that she’d been missing him. If she was now living with someone else, he had only himself to blame.

      He was crossing the hospital car park to get to where the meeting was being held and caught a glimpse of her in the distance, about to drive off into the summer evening. He quickened his step but she was pointed in the opposite direction and as the car disappeared from view he had his answer.

      She had better things to do, it would seem, than stay behind to hear his few words of introduction to the staff. It was going to take more than just showing up, or his charm, to get to know her again. Did he even want that?

      Minutes later he faced a varied assembly of the workforce and with complete sincerity assured them that every aspect of the day-to-day challenges that Horizons Hospital was confronted with would have his full attention. Relieved that the meeting at the end of their working day had been brief yet reassuring, most of them went on their way, leaving just a few who wanted to meet the new chief consultant.

CHAPTER TWO

      AFTER THE LAST of the staff members had left Drake’s thoughts turned to food.

      He was starving, and the thought of relaxing over a meal in a good restaurant in the town centre had no sooner surfaced than he was on his way there.

      He had to pass a park on the way and happened to cast a glance at a certain bench that had memories of a time that was as clear in his mind now as it had been then. Did Tessa remember? he wondered. Did she think of it each time she passed this spot?

      As he drove along a country lane not far from the hospital he unexpectedly found his curiosity satisfied about where she had moved to. It was in the porch of a cottage by the wayside that he saw Tessa, and he almost ran the hire car into the hedgerow in his surprise.

      She was chatting to a guy of a similar age to himself and as he drove past Tessa reached out and hugged him to her. Drake’s first thought was that this had to be the man who had replaced him in her heart. His second thought, which took a while to summon up, was, So what? But at least he knew now where she was to be found out of working hours.

      As for himself, he’d wandered into the house in the hospital grounds that she’d mentioned, after remembering the keys on his desk and the chairman’s note offering him the use of it, and thought it wasn’t his type of place. It was too drab and he thrived on light and colour. But he had already decided that its proximity to Horizons would be perfect in an emergency, so was going to take advantage of the offer. He’d look for something else when he had time.

      The food was fine when he found a restaurant that was his type of place; it battened down his hunger with its goodness, but Drake hardly noticed it. He’d got the job of a lifetime back in his home town and a place to sleep that plenty would die for, yet he wasn’t happy.

      It had been a mistake to come back to where he and Tessa had been so besotted with each other, so right for each other in every way. He’d had three years to realise in slow misery that he’d thrown away a precious thing without a second thought to satisfy his ambitions, and would have been even more selfish if he’d expected that time might have stood still where she was concerned.

      She was just as beautiful now as she’d been then, but there was no warmth in her towards him, and as the night was young—it was barely seven o’clock—he decided to call on her on the drive back. If possible, he would wipe the slate clean by apologising for his past behaviour and assure her of his intention to stay clear, with the exception of their inevitable coming face to face sometimes in a professional capacity at Horizons.

      When Tessa opened the door to him the shock of what he was seeing rendered him speechless. Standing behind her on the bottom step of the stairs and observing him unblinkingly was a small girl in a pretty flowered nightdress with hair dark as his own and big brown eyes.

      ‘Who is she?’ he questioned, standing transfixed in the doorway.

      ‘She’s my daughter,’ Tessa told him. ‘Her name is Poppy.’

      ‘How old is she?’ he asked hoarsely.

      ‘Three.’

      There was a pause. ‘Is she mine too?’ he asked in barely a whisper as the colour drained from his face.

      She shook her head and watched the dark hazel of his eyes become veiled. ‘Who is her father, then?’ he choked, as the small vision on the bottom step rubbed her eyes sleepily.

      ‘Poppy is my adopted daughter,’ she told him. ‘Her parents were killed in a car crash and we got to know each other when she was brought into Horizons with a bleed behind her eyes from the accident.

      ‘She was with us for quite some time and we became close. I used to sit beside her whenever I got a spare moment and take her a little surprise every day. In the end I applied to adopt her and was successful. So there you have it. No cause for alarm.’

      Turning, she scooped Poppy up into her arms and held her close. As their glances met she told him, ‘Poppy has brought joy into my life.’

      ‘Yes, I’m sure that she must have,’ he said flatly, turning to go. But then thought that before he did he might as well ask another question that could have a body blow in the answer. ‘So is the guy I saw leaving earlier her new daddy?’

      ‘No, of course not,’ she replied, her voice rising at the question. ‘There are just the two of us and we’re loving it. The man you saw was the husband