The Midwife's Christmas Miracle (Lakeside Mountain Rescue 5)

‘I want to know what sort of man would let his girlfriend climb alone in the mountains in the middle of winter and then let her vanish for a day and a night without calling the police.’

The same sort of man that didn’t care that he’d made a girl pregnant.

Miranda gritted her teeth and gave another shiver. She didn’t want to think about him. He wasn’t worth it. She and the baby didn’t need him. They didn’t need anyone. ‘My life isn’t your business.’

‘You made it my business when you forced me to rescue you from a mountain and when you kissed me back.’ He was glaring right back at her. ‘You can’t cycle home in this weather. Why isn’t he picking you up?’

‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, why do you care? Goodnight, Mr Blackwell.’ She tried to push past him but his powerful, athletic frame blocked her path and he muttered something under his breath and then lifted her bike.

‘Come on, I’ll give you a lift home. Your bike can go on the back of my car. It isn’t the first time.’ He strode across the car park with her bike and she stared after him in a mixture of misery, temper and frustration. And consternation.

She didn’t want him to give her a lift home. She didn’t want to give him the chance to question her further or find out anything about her.

‘Miranda!’ Having fastened her bike, he turned, his glance impatient. ‘Get in the car before you freeze.’

Short of bodily wrestling the bike away from him she had very little choice but to stalk across to him and climb into his car. Again. Her mind was working overtime. She needed to find a way out of this situation and she needed to do it fast. There was no way that he could be allowed to drive her home. It would stimulate more questions that she had no intention of answering.

‘All right, give me directions.’ He slammed the door shut, slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine. ‘Where do you live?’

‘Not far,’ she said vaguely. ‘Turn right out of here and then take the first road on the left.’ She felt several wriggly movements from the baby and put a hand on her stomach with a soft smile. It was as if he or she was reminding her that she shouldn’t give away too much.

Jake stared at her for a moment and then his mouth tightened and he reversed out of his space. ‘You look pale.’

‘Do I?’ It was probably the shock, she thought numbly. The shock of seeing him again, mingled with the worry of having to reveal details of her life that she didn’t want to reveal. Suddenly she was struck by inspiration. ‘Take the second road on the right. That’s it. If you drop me here, that’s fine.’

He slowed the car. ‘Here?’

‘Yes.’ It wasn’t where she lived but he didn’t need to know that. ‘Thanks.’

He pulled up and removed the bike from his car, glancing at the row of large Victorian houses. ‘Is this where you live?’

‘Thanks for the lift,’ she said quickly, ignoring his question and taking the bike. ‘And I’m sorry about yesterday and everything. If it’s OK with you, I’d just like us both to forget it ever happened. I’ll see you at work, Mr Blackwell. Thanks a lot.’

‘Hold on a minute, you can’t just—’ He was interrupted by his mobile phone and he cursed softly as he reached into his pocket and answered the call.

Silently thanking the hospital for choosing to call at that precise moment, Miranda climbed onto her bike, made sure that he wasn’t looking in her direction and then silently pedalled away from him into the darkness.

Fifteen minutes later, in a very different part of town, she let herself into her tiny flat, propped her bike against the wall of the gloomy living room and yanked off her gloves.

Relieved that he obviously hadn’t managed to follow her, she locked the door firmly behind her, dragged herself the few steps to the bed and sat down. She eyed the damp patch on the wall with resigned humour.

‘It’s a good job you’re not born yet, hotshot.’ She rubbed a hand over her stomach, talking to the baby as she often did. ‘At least you can’t see where we’re living. I promise to do better than this by the time you make an appearance but, in the meantime, at least I’m saving money for us both.’

She pushed away thoughts of Jake’s spacious, comforting living room. She wasn’t going to think about his fabulous bathroom and she wasn’t going to think about the flickering fire or the deep, comfy sofas. And she most definitely wasn’t going to think about that kiss.

It had been a stupid, wild moment and it wasn’t going to be repeated.

She could hardly blame him for being annoyed. He’d judged on appearances, and hadn’t she done exactly the same thing herself in the past? Wasn’t that why she was in this situation? The facts at his disposal suggested that she’d deceived him and she, of all people, knew exactly how that felt—remembered only too well the sharp, vicious pain of discovering the depth of someone’s deception.

Part of her wanted to defend herself, blurt out the whole truth so that he realised just how wrong he was, but what was the point of that? It didn’t matter what he thought of her, she reminded himself. In fact, it was probably a good thing that he had a low opinion of her. It would stop him pursuing her further.

She gave a laugh of self-mockery. What man in his right mind would pursue a woman who was six months pregnant? She toed off her shoes and wriggled her aching feet. Not a man like Jake Blackwell, that was for sure. He clearly lived in fairy-tale land. He saw a pregnant woman and assumed she had a caring partner somewhere. If only…

For a moment she remembered Jake’s skill and kindness with the women on the unit. Then she remembered the warm, tumbling feeling in her tummy when he’d kissed her, and buried her head in the pillow with a groan. Why had she kissed him?

It was bad enough having been self-indulgent enough to go back to his house, but to have kissed him was unforgivably stupid. And now she was paying the price. Her long-dormant body was well and truly awakened. Her body and brain were disturbingly unsettled. She wanted things she shouldn’t want and could never have.

She sat up and brushed her hair out of her eyes in a determined gesture. She needed to put Jake out of her mind. Tomorrow at work she’d be brisk and professional and she had no doubt that he would be the same. Now that he knew that she was pregnant, why would he take the trouble to pursue her?