The Consultant's New-Found Family. Kate Hardy

      Pregnant

      Joel swallowed hard. He couldn’t go through this again—baby, postnatal depression. Especially now that Beth was old enough to understand what was going on and be hurt by it.

      “How long?” The words felt like sand in his mouth.

      “Early days. About eight weeks.”

      Lisa was obviously waiting for him to say something. He knew he ought to say something, but when he opened his mouth absolutely nothing came out. His mind felt as blank as his voice.

      When Vanessa had told him they were expecting Beth, he’d whooped with joy and whirled her around. Now he was lost for words. Lost, full stop.

      “I’m only telling you,” Lisa said calmly, “because I thought you had a right to know. But you also need to know that I don’t expect anything from you—and neither will my baby.”

      Before Joel could get his mouth or his body unfrozen, she walked out. Closed the door behind her. And by the time he made it over to the door, she’d vanished.

      He swore silently. Right now Lisa had to be his priority.

      Lisa—and their unborn baby.

      Dear Reader,

      I’m a complete wuss when it comes to snow. Especially if I have to drive in it. I hate the stuff. And it was made worse a couple of years ago when I ended up fishtailing down a hill on snow that had melted and refrozen into sheet ice. When I finally got home to safety and stopped shaking, it occurred to me that it’d be a great start to a medical romance. And supposing a tall, dark and handsome hero had come to my rescue…? (In real life, said tall, dark and handsome hero was about five miles away, so he couldn’t actually come and rescue me right then, but he calmed me down on the phone enough to let me drive the car down the hill to safety.)

      We holidayed in Northumbria the following summer and I fell in love with the coastline there—especially going out to the Farne Islands and seeing the puffins and the seals, and visiting the rose garden at Alnwick Castle. I’d had a yen for ages to write a coastguard book. So I had my setting, my opening scene and the area of medicine. Next I needed the hero.

      On cue, he walked into my head—a gorgeous man with a tragic past and a heart that really needs healing. The heroine also has a heart that needs healing. But before they can find happiness (and the family they both deserve), they have to learn to trust.

      I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. And I’m always delighted to hear from readers, so do come and visit me at www.katehardy.com.

      With love,

      Kate Hardy

      The Consultant’s New-Found Family

      Kate Hardy

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      For Gerard, Chris and Chloë.

      Just because.

      CONTENTS

       Cover

       Excerpt

Dear Reader

       Title Page

       Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

       CHAPTER FIVE

       CHAPTER SIX

       CHAPTER SEVEN

       CHAPTER EIGHT

       CHAPTER NINE

       CHAPTER TEN

       CHAPTER ELEVEN

       CHAPTER TWELVE

       CHAPTER THIRTEEN

       CHAPTER FOURTEEN

       EPILOGUE

       Extract

       Copyright

       CHAPTER ONE

      NO. THIS couldn’t be happening. Especially not today.

      The back wheels fishtailed wildly, swinging the car from side to side before slamming it into the side of the kerb.

      ‘No, no, no. You steer into the skid,’ Lisa reminded herself loudly.

      Problem was, she wasn’t sure which way that was, because her car was still fishtailing down the hill. One thing she did know, you weren’t supposed to brake hard on ice. You were supposed to take your foot off the accelerator and let the car slowly, slowly—

      The jolt went right through her as the car hit the kerb again and bounced off.

      OK. Calm down. Steer to the kerb. Stay in first gear. Let the car come to a halt.

      One last bounce, and the car finally stopped.

      And now she was stuck.

      Couldn’t stay where she was, because she was an obstacle—one that might cause someone else to have an accident as they tried to negotiate their way around her on the ice.

      Couldn’t go back—no way could she reverse up a hill that was covered in ice.

      Couldn’t go down—the hill loomed below her, a sheet of ice. If she slid across to the other side of the road, the chances were that she’d hit another car on its way up the hill. And she might not be able to stop at the bottom of the slope either, so she could end up driving straight into the path of an oncoming car. A car that wouldn’t be able to avoid