‘So everyone keeps telling me.’ Melody sighed. ‘But what if I’m useless as a mother?’
‘Stop it,’ Ollie growled softly. ‘We’re going to be the best parents ever. We’re doing this together, remember?’ He turned to Isabella. ‘I’ve turned our back bedroom into an office so I can work from home for the foreseeable future. Whenever clients need to see me I can meet them there or at the company rooms in town.’
The worry in Melody’s eyes only increased, as though nothing was registering except she had three babies to look after and all the things that could go wrong. Was she a candidate for postnatal depression? Isabella glanced at Raphael, and relaxed. He was on to it. Of course the same thought would’ve occurred to him.
He said, ‘I’ll arrange for you to talk to someone about how you’re going to cope, Melody. Try not to get too wound up about everything. Make the most of this time in here where you can learn a lot about being a mum in preparation for going home. Enjoy your babies. They grow up so darned fast you’ll soon be wondering where the time went.’
Ollie lifted one boy—Shaun, according to the card on his little cot—and held him out to his mother. ‘Here you go, Mum.’
Melody immediately relaxed and placed her son against her breast, rubbing his back as though she’d always been doing that.
‘See, just like a pro.’ Isabella nodded. ‘He’s as happy as can be, snuggling against you.’
‘He’s hungry.’ The father picked up Antony and held him in a similar position.
‘Aren’t they always?’ she said, and leaned over the third crib. ‘Hello, Morgan. Aren’t you the cutest little guy?’ He was blinking and moving one hand in the air. So innocent and trusting. What would his life be like? All their lives? Would the three of them watch out for each other? Or compete over everything? If she’d had a sibling she was certain her life of moving from country to country would’ve been different. There’d have been someone who was always there, a constant, someone of a similar age to understand what she’d longed for, to share the good and bad times, to love always. Not all siblings got along though. There was that. No point thinking about what couldn’t be changed. She was grown up now, and making her own way without having to do as her parents demanded. Besides, she’d had Raphael in her life since she was a teen. Still did. As good as a brother. Brother? These feelings she was getting for him had nothing to do with a brother.
Behind her, he was talking to Melody. ‘I hear you’ve got another infection in your Caesarean wound.’
‘Yes, but why when I’ve been taking antibiotics? It’s not fair.’ Melody sounded close to tears.
‘We’ll try a different antibiotic. Mind if I have a look first?’
Melody shook her head.
‘Isabella, do you want to get me some swabs?’ Raphael asked when he saw Melody’s inflamed wound. ‘They’re in the trolley outside the door.’
‘Sure.’ She pushed the trolley into the room and slipped gloves on before handing him the swabs. ‘You want the antiseptic fluid?’
‘Please.’ He cleaned the area and dabbed the yellow liquid all over. ‘There, that should help. I’ll make sure someone does that regularly. And I’ll sign a prescription for the nurses to collect. Any other worries?’ When Melody shook her head, Raphael said to Isabella, ‘I’ll go check on my other patients. You okay finding your way around?’
‘You can introduce me to whoever’s at the station and I’ll go from there.’ Though right now she’d be happy lying down for a nap. ‘If you can’t find me I’ll be curled up somewhere out of the way.’
Raphael was quick to look at her, worry now in his eyes. ‘Are you all right? This is so not like you.’
‘The jet lag’s new, I admit. But I haven’t been sleeping well for so long I hardly notice.’ Ever since she’d been forced to face up to the fact she hadn’t married Darren purely for love but mostly for the security and one-stop life he’d promised. That had been as important to her as love. Maybe even more. It had taken her reaction to finding her husband in bed with another woman to bring her up sharp, and to start thinking about why she’d married in the first place. She hadn’t liked the answers. They had her questioning her ability to have a loving, caring relationship. She’d been selfish in wanting the lifestyle Darren offered before anything else. Didn’t mean he had to betray her though. How was she supposed to trust any man with her heart again?
‘We’ll talk some more about this when we’re back home.’
‘Ah, no, we won’t.’ She wasn’t ready for that. It was history, and she was getting on with now. ‘Come on, play nice and introduce me to whoever’s here.’
Two nurses were sitting in front of computers in the work area, and looked up at the same time. ‘We were wondering if you’d drop in, Raphael. Mrs Baxter has been seen by the duty specialist and has settled down again.’
‘No one let me know that.’ He didn’t look happy. ‘But since I’m here I’ll talk to her.’
One of the nurses was on her feet instantly. ‘I’ll come with you.’
‘First let me introduce Isabella Nicholson to you.’
The same nurse turned to her. ‘You’re starting here later this week, aren’t you? I saw your name on the roster. Hi, I’m Annabel, and this is Mary. What are you doing in here today? Should be making the most of your days off.’ Annabel’s eyes flicked from her to Raphael, a question in her gaze.
‘Hello. I came along for the ride.’ Not going to explain why she was with the handsome doctor who obviously had one of the nurses in a bit of a lather. Which was odd, because she was usually quick to let women know she was his friend, not his lover.
‘Can you show Izzy around, Mary?’ Izzy, not Isabella. Rubbing it in how friendly he was with her?
‘Sure.’ The other nurse stood up. ‘Anything would be better than doing the stock figures.’ Then she grimaced. ‘Sorry, Isabella. That sounded all wrong. Take no notice of me.’
Isabella laughed. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll get over it.’
‘Want a coffee first?’
It might help her stay awake. ‘That’d be great.’
‘Come through to the staff kitchen, then. The lockers are along here too, and uniforms are next door.’
‘It’s all coming back.’ When Mary shot her a puzzled look she explained, ‘I trained as a midwife in this hospital, and spent many nights on this ward.’
‘In that case, shall we grab coffees and go back to the station so I can keep an eye on things while interrogating you?’ It was said with a smile, and Isabella laughed.
‘Not sure I’ve got anything interesting to say, but let’s give it a go.’ As long as she didn’t want information on Rafe. That would not be happening. His details were not for her to share.
‘Actually, I did hear you’d worked here before. It slipped my addled brain. Esther and I are friends.’
‘How is she? I only got here yesterday so haven’t had a chance to catch up with her or our other two friends. The four of us trained together, and now we’re all back here again.’
‘She’s great. Totally in love with Harry with stars in her eyes all the time.’
‘Isn’t it awesome?’
Mary handed her a mug and pushed the coffee jar in her direction. ‘Help yourself.’ Leaning back against the bench she watched Isabella. ‘You’re close to Raphael? Since he brought you in I figured you must’ve been together when he got the call,’ she added hurriedly when Isabella tightened her mouth.
‘We’re friends from way back.’ That wasn’t divulging anything that could be twisted into something more interesting. ‘It’s been a while since we had time together.’
And that’s all I’m saying.
‘Lots to catch up on, then.’
Time to change the subject. ‘So do you do all shifts or weekends only?’
‘I cover all the rosters just like you’re g
oing to do. Most of the staff do, apart from two nurses who work nights only, and one who only does weekends. Where were you last working?’
‘Based in Wellington, New Zealand, but I volunteered in Cambodia recently.’ When they were seated in the workstation sipping coffee, Isabella filled her in on her working background and avoided questions about her private life. She was here, that’s all that mattered. In fact, that was a good line to follow herself. ‘What’s the social life like here? Does everyone get together for drinks at the end of the week?’
‘Some of us do. You up for that?’
‘Absolutely. It’s the best way to get to know people.’