The Army Doc's Christmas Angel. Annie O'Neil

Always had. Always would.

      Pushing himself to the physical limit was one of the things that kept the demons at bay.

      Theo gave Finn’s shoulder a solid clap. “You’re the one I want on this. The only one.” He didn’t need to spell out to Finn how his time in the military had prepared him more than most for the injuries Adao had sustained. “Just want to make sure you’re on top form when the little guy arrives.”

      “What? Nah.” Finn waved away his concerns, gritting his teeth against the grinding of his knee against his prosthesis. “I just save this curmudgeon act for you. Someone’s gotta be the grumpy old man around here.”

      “I thought that was Dr. Riley.”

      They both laughed. Dr. Riley had yet to be seen without an ear-to-ear grin on his face. The man had sunbeams and rainbows shooting out of his ears. The children adored him. Most people called him Dr Smiley.

      Finn nodded toward the Christmas tree twinkling away in the dimly lit reception area where they stood. “A bit early, isn’t it?”

      “Not if you’re Evie.”

      Finn grunted. Evie was the resident Mrs. Claus around Hope Children’s Hospital. Especially now she was all loved up. Just being around her and Ryan made him...well...suffice it to say it brought up one too many memories he’d rather not confront. Love. Marriage. They’d never got as far as the baby carriage, he and Caroline. Now he supposed he never would.

      Guess that made him the resident Scrooge. Not that he had anything against Christmas in particular, it was just...seeing these poor kids in hospital over the holidays always bugged him. He may not want to hang out with his own family, but he was damn sure these kids wanted nothing more than their mums and dads at the end of their beds on Christmas morning.

      “Anyone else about for Adao’s arrival?”

      Finn shook his head. “Not that I know about. I’ve got the usual suspects lined up for tomorrow so we can give him a proper assessment.” He listed a few names. “Right.” He clapped his hands together. “I’m going to get on up to the roof, if you don’t mind. Clear the cobwebs before Adao arrives.” He stood his ground. Theo was smart enough to take the absence of movement as his cue to leave and turned toward the bank of elevators.

      “Hey,” Theo called over his shoulder as he was entering the elevator. “You know we have a team of experts who look after that sort of thing.”

      Theo didn’t have to look at Finn’s knee for Finn to know what he was talking about. He knew the offer was there. He just didn’t want to take it. Pain equaled penance. And he had a helluva lot of making up to do. Parents. Brother. Ex-wife. Friends. And the list went on.

      “Good to know.” He waited until the elevator doors closed before he moved.

      A string of silent expletives crossed his lips as he hobbled over to a sofa, pulled up his trouser leg and undid the straps to ease the ache in his knee, not even caring when the whole contraption clattered to the floor.

      One breath in...one breath out...and a silent prayer of thanks that he had this moment alone. He didn’t do weak.

      Not in public anyway.

      The handful of moments he’d let himself slide into self-pity over the years...those would remain buried in his chest as bitter reminders of the paths he shouldn’t have taken. The lessons he should’ve learned.

      He gave his prosthesis a bit of a kick.

      “It’s just you and me, mate. Guess we’d better start finding a way to make nice.”

       CHAPTER TWO

      “ARE YOU HANGING about for a meet-and-greet with Adao?”

      Naomi went wide-eyed at Evie’s question. She hadn’t said anything, but that had definitely been her plan. A volley of responses ricocheted round her chest and lodged in her throat because she didn’t want Evie to hear any of them.

       I know how he feels.

       He’s probably as scared as I was.

       I wanted him to know there’s someone here who understands what it’s like to live in a world ruled by guns and fear.

      But Evie knew nothing of Naomi’s past. Having Adao here would be the biggest emotional challenge she’d faced since arriving in Britain at the ripe age of fifteen. Scared. Utterly alone.

      Two things she never wanted Adao to feel.

      At least he knew his family was waiting at home for him.

      Naomi pinned on her bright smile—the one she ensured her patients and colleagues knew her by—and asked, “How’d you guess?”

      Evie shrugged in her elfin way. She just did.

      Naomi liked to think of Evie as the entire hospital’s resident Christmas faerie. She had a canny knack for intuiting things. That and a heart the size of Britain. She smiled as Evie shifted Grace on her hip, the baby who’d been abandoned at the hospital a few months ago and who was to be adopted by Evie and her soon-to-be husband, Ryan.

      “I have a really ridiculous question.” Evie looked at her a bit bashfully.

      “Shoot.”

      “I’m not exactly sure where Kambela is.”

      “Adao’s home?” Naomi knew what Evie was really asking. Is it anywhere near where you’re from? Her English, no matter how hard she tried, was still lightly accented. “It’s on the coast of Africa. Near the Horn.”

      Right next door to her country. Zemara.

      “Hey...is everything all right with you?”

      Uh-oh. Evie’s emotional intuition radar was beep-beep-beeping like a metal detector in her direction...not so good.

      “Fine! Great.” Naomi tipped her head toward the glass doors leading out of the front of the hospital and grinned. “Did you see that?”

      “Violet being discharged early? Amazing. You did such good work with her.” Evie grinned and shifted Grace from one arm to the other. “Oof! This little girl’s putting on weight at a rate of knots! I’ll have ‘mom arms’ soon.”

      Naomi smiled and gave the tip of the baby’s nose a tickle. Hope Hospital had hit the headlines with this little girl and would again soon with Adao...if the surgery went well and the rehab was successful. So much of recovery had to do with a patient’s will. The will to fight. The desire to survive. The stamina to confront what had happened to them head on.

      She crossed her fingers behind her back for Adao, ignoring the tight twist of nerves constricting the oxygen in her lungs.

      “Are you waiting for Ryan?”

      Evie nodded, her smile hitting the ear-to-ear register. If a couple of red-breasted robins flew in the front door and began adorning her with mistletoe, she could easily be the poster girl for Cupid’s arrow. “He’s just come out of surgery. I’m swotting up for nursing college in the new term and he’s promised to talk me through all the signs, symptoms and early treatment for scarlet fever if I make him an early Christmas dinner.”

      “Turkey and all the trimmings?” Naomi couldn’t hide her shock. She knew they were in love, but Christmas dinner on a “school night”?

      “Giant prawn cocktails and pavlova.” Evie shrugged and shifted Grace in her arms again. Whatever her Australian-born fiancé wanted...

      Naomi giggled. “You are well and truly loved up, aren’t you?”

      Evie blushed in response. Her whole world had changed. “It’s not just me, is it? Have you seen Alice lately? Sunbeams. Everywhere she goes. And Marco can’t stop humming opera