‘Clever thing.’
Jed grinned and leaned over to take a peep. ‘Doesn’t look a bit like you, Nicholson, so he should do all right in life.’
Sean laughed, the relief evident on his face. ‘I’m sorry I was so stressed—’
‘You? Stressed?’ Jed’s firm mouth twitched and he glanced at Brooke. ‘We didn’t notice, did we?’
‘Hardly at all.’ Brooke laughed, concentrating her attention on clamping the cord and delivering the placenta.
Half an hour later Jed was long gone and Ally was spruced up and happily feeding her new son.
‘He’s starving,’ she murmured, stroking the downy head with a gentle hand.
‘He’s not the only one.’ Sean dropped a kiss on her forehead. ‘Can you do without me if I go and grab a sandwich?’
‘Oh, we’ll cope,’ Ally said, her eyes laughing as she glanced at her husband.
‘Use the staffroom,’ Brooke offered, her smile slightly shy. There was something very daunting about Sean Nicholson.
‘Poor man.’ Ally chuckled and settled herself more comfortably. ‘He could never have been an obstetrician. He’d have had the highest section rate in Britain.’
‘I’ve heard he’s an incredibly skilled trauma doctor.’ Brooke was clearing up quietly and chatting at the same time.
‘He is.’ Ally’s face glowed with pride and love. ‘And surprisingly enough he’s incredibly calm in a crisis. Not that you’d think it from seeing him in the delivery room! He was the same with our other one.’
‘I thought you said you have three children?’
‘We have, but our first is adopted. She was my sister’s child,’ Ally told her, switching the baby to the other breast with all the skill of the seasoned breast-feeder. ‘Then I met Sean and we had Katy. She’s two now and into everything.’
They chatted for a while longer and Ally looked at her curiously.
‘So what’s with you and Cumbria’s most eligible bachelor?’
Brooke concentrated on clearing up. ‘Who’s that, then?’
‘Oh, come on!’ Ally grinned. ‘There’s so much electricity coming from you and Jed I thought my hair would stand on end.’
‘You’re imagining things.’ Brooke blushed and tossed a pile of debris into the bin. ‘It’s nothing.’
‘Nothing, eh?’ Ally’s blue eyes teased her gently. ‘Well, if a man looks at you like that when it’s nothing, goodness knows how he looks when he means it.’
Had Jed been looking at her?
‘You must be an amazing woman,’ Ally drawled, cuddling the baby closer. ‘Women have been trying to hook Jed since he was in nappies, according to Sean.’
‘I haven’t hooked him,’ Brooke said gruffly, and Ally grinned.
‘Well, if you haven’t then you’re daft. It’s not often these days you find a rich, good-looking man who hasn’t already been snapped up.’
Suddenly Brooke remembered Jed’s comment about his financial resources not being easy to drain, and wondered just how rich he was.
Ally’s smile faded. ‘I hope I haven’t offended you, but the way he was looking at you made me assume…’
Brooke gave her a stiff smile. ‘There’s nothing between Jed and me. Nothing at all.’
Ally looked at her sagely. ‘Right. I see.’
Brooke bit her lip but fortunately at that moment Sean returned, looking considerably revived. They both thanked her warmly as she arr