Dr. White's Baby Wish

‘You know—bat, ball and wickets. The kids can’t get enough of it. Bet when you hit a ball it stays hit.’

‘It’s been a while since I swung a bat.’ He shook his head. ‘Thanks for the invitation, Gemma, but don’t count me in. I’ve already got something on.’

‘You sure? We have a lot of fun, there’s always great food and—’ she grinned ‘—ice-cold beer.’

Cody gave her a smile in return. ‘Thanks, but no thanks.’ Harper wouldn’t be pleased if he accepted the invitation, however graciously it had been extended. They worked together; playing together wasn’t part of the deal. He headed to the bedroom with Harper’s water glass in his hand.

‘Gemma giving you a hard time?’ Harper asked as he handed her the glass.

Knowing Harper would back him all the way about not joining her family, he grunted, ‘She insists I join you all for the birthday do on Sunday.’

‘Oh.’ She winced as she swallowed the pills. ‘You’d have to stay all afternoon.’

What happened to her seeing things his way? ‘I’ve got plans to spend the afternoon with my mother.’ It was what he did in the weekends now that he was back in town. Her condition had lost her most of her friends and she was lonely.

‘Bring her with you, with us.’

Yeah, right. ‘Sorry, no can do. Mum’s got dementia and needs watching all the time.’ Not to mention how rattled she got when out of her usual haunts or was with people she’d never met.

‘Well, you know best, of course. But there are plenty of us to keep an eye on her. She might have fun! The kids will be friendly. My parents and brothers and sister are quite nice most of the time. The brothers and sisters-in-law are housetrained on a good day.’

‘I thought it hurt to talk.’ He was over these bossy women. ‘You sure you and Gemma aren’t sisters, rather than related by marriage?’ They had the same genes.

Harper grimaced. ‘We’ll talk some more tomorrow.’

That was it? She must be feeling even worse than he’d thought. ‘Go to sleep,’ he growled and strode out into the kitchen, where thankfully Gemma was waiting with keys in hand, ready to take flight.

‘Thanks for doing this.’ She grinned and stretched up on tiptoes to drop a sisterly kiss on his chin. ‘I really appreciate it. Her brothers will be more than thankful. Harper can be very stubborn at times and I know she’d never have come home with me tonight.’

‘I must be stark, raving mad,’ Cody muttered as the front door closed behind her. Outmanoeuvred was what he really was. It didn’t sit comfortably. Not at all.

CHAPTER THREE

NOW WHAT WAS he supposed to do? Nearly five in the afternoon, a beautiful woman hopefully sound asleep in the room next door—which was not how he usually spent time with women in their homes—and he had absolutely nothing to do. He was not going to check up on Harper. What if she was awake? Or, worse, woke while he was in her room? She’d be calling him a pervert at the very least.

Staring around, he took in the multitude of framed photos hanging on the walls and standing on bookcases and the sideboard. They were mostly of kids, boys and girls—very young, middling and nearly teenaged, he guessed. Laughing, smiling, pulling faces, dressed in school uniforms, in shorts and shirts, ski outfits, swimming gear and playing cricket. Basically all about having fun. With Harper right amongst them—laughing and smiling. Cute, and nothing like the serious woman who kept everyone in the department on their toes as she worked alongside them.

The kids’ room was where he was supposed to sleep tonight. So, Harper had children. Where were they? And where was their dad? He obviously wasn’t Jason. Why hadn’t Harper wanted her brother to know what had happened at work today? And where did George fit in? Questions tumbled over and over in his brain, cranking up his agitation. It irked him he didn’t know these things about Harper.

It really riled him that he wanted to find out.

Cody’s chuckle was bitter. He’d loved Sadie deeply, and her death had made him wary of being so vulnerable again. Even nearly five years down the track he couldn’t look back at those dark days without curling in on himself. Sure, he’d love a family, had bought a house suited for one, but to step up and take a chance? He was so not ready. The day might come when he was, but today wasn’t it. He sighed. Nor was tomorrow.

Cody pushed the past aside and took another scan of the photos. No man seemed to be especially close with Harper, as in ‘in a relationship’ close. There were two men hugging her and some kids in many of the photos. Presumably one was Jason. The other could be another brother. Both guys were holding women with love written all over their faces, Gemma being one of them. So was Harper single or not? In any relationship? Divorced? There were those kids who apparently used the spare room, so there had to be a father out there, which meant a man in Harper’s life in one way or another.

Harper’s bedroom hadn’t looked as though she shared it with anyone. It was too feminine, and not one item of clothing was male, there was no comb or shaver on the dresser, or the bits and pieces he’d expect on the bedside table on the opposite side of the bed to the one Harper had crawled into.

The mystery was no clearer in the second, tiny bedroom where two single beds with bright quilts, one with fire engines and the other with frogs printed all over them, took up most of the space. More photos were interspersed with pictures of everything from lions to TV cartoon characters. Hell, he’d be having nightmares sleeping in here.

He was meant to be sleeping in here.

He might check out that couch. Except it was only a two-seater and he was six-five tall. Even these beds weren’t going to be long enough but he’d be able to manoeuvre himself into a more comfortable position in one than on the couch.

On his hip his phone vibrated, giving him a much-needed diversion, though he didn’t recognise the number on the screen. ‘Yup?’

‘Now I know you’re definitely back in town.’

He recognised the voice of his old mate instantly, despite not having talked for years. ‘Hey, Trent, been meaning to catch up, but got busy, you know?’ Truth was he’d been reluctant to get in touch because he was uncertain of the welcome he’d get. At sixteen they’d been the closest of mates at school and into loads of mischief, but the day school had finished he’d headed out the gate without a backward glance, leaving everything and everyone behind.

Including Trent. Eager to get on with life, rebelling against settling into more study, this time at university, he’d put his surprisingly not-too-bad exam results aside and found a job down south on a fishing trawler. Despite only being seventeen, he’d already had the body of a rugby prop, so getting a job had been easy in an industry that required plenty of muscle.

‘Police Inspector Trent Ballinger to you.’ A deep laugh rumbled through the phone.

‘Way to go, man. Well done, you.’ Cody headed for the lounge and the garden on the other side of the sliding glass doors. He didn’t want to wake Harper, and anyway he needed some fresh air after being holed up with her in the car and then here. Hell, even her home smelt of citrus, a scent he was rapidly accepting as Harper’s scent.

‘Saw your name on the report that was filed a few hours ago about Strong and his mule. It wasn’t hard to track you down.’

His friend did have the New Zealand police resources on his side. ‘That lowlife locked up good and tight?’

‘You should’ve given him what for while you had the opportunity.’ Trent sighed. ‘I didn’t say that. But, hell, the man hasn’t stopped whinging since the boys brought him in. Anyone would think he’d been hard done by, losing those drugs.’

‘It was tempting to give him a wee nudge.’ He was not admitting to the knee slam in the lowlife’s back, though. Trent might still be a friend but he was a cop first and foremost. ‘How did Strong get in on the act in the first place? I presume he was waiting to pick up Frew outside the international terminal but he managed to slip into our department too easily. I wouldn’t have thought the par

amedics would’ve let him ride in with them.’

‘He followed them, and strolled up to the ambulance bay as they were disembarking, waved a card that the paramedics believed was a police identity and walked on in.’

‘Guess if you’ve got the balls you can get away with just about anything.’ Cody was shocked at how simple it had been, and a tad angry.

‘More like if you’ve got a loaded gun you can get away with most things.’

Cody swallowed. ‘It was loaded?’ After flipping out of Lowlife’s hand, it’d spun across the floor to be picked up by Harper, who’d then stuck it under her waistband before attending to Frew. He shivered. Maybe luck had been on their side after all. ‘I thought it might be but hoped I was wrong.’

‘I think you’ll find the hospital will be tightening security quick-fast,’ Trent said.

‘The old stable door trick.’ It wasn’t right that outsiders, detectives or not, could get in so easily. During the night no one got through, but it seemed daytime security was lax. ‘From what I’ve seen of George Sampson so far, he’ll already have someone looking into it.’

‘How’s the doc? She holding up?’

Cody chuckled. ‘You always ask this many questions?’

‘Occupational hazard,’ Trent replied. ‘You avoiding the question?’