Dr. White's Baby Wish by Sue MacKay Page B

Trent’s lot wanted to question her some more today.
    â€˜Stress will do that.’
    Cody got an image in his skull of that gun being held to Harper’s head, and the rank fear pervading her sweet eyes. ‘Not sure how she’ll go with all the head stuff, though. It’ll be tough trying to put aside the fact that someone threatened to shoot her brains out.’
    â€˜I hear she handled the situation well,’ Trent said, then thankfully changed the subject. ‘How long have you been back in town?’
    He winced, regretting not phoning Trent sooner. ‘Six weeks. Shifted Mother into a retirement home with hospital facilities and then packed up her house, sold off stuff, all of the usual.’ It had been hard going through forty years of her possessions. She’d kept everything of his dad’s since he’d died ten years back as well, including all his clothes, even his old pipes that he’d smoked in the evenings and the rods from trout-fishing excursions. The rods which were now in his shed in case one day he had a child he could take on similar forays. If he ever got brave enough to start over.
    The trip down memory lane had at times made him laugh, and at others caused him to shed tears for the mum and dad he’d loved. Still loved. His mother mightn’t be the same any more, with the dementia doing its number on her, but she was still Mother. Packing up everything and getting rid of most of the clutter had reminded him of fun family holidays to the beach when he’d been small, and of annoying the hell out of his older brother just because he could.
    â€˜So, you up for a pint?’ Trent asked, reminding Cody he was in the middle of a conversation. ‘I’m done for the day.’
    He’d kill for one. ‘I can’t tonight. Got something on.’
    â€˜Found a hot female, huh?’
    â€˜Nah, haven’t got time for that at the moment.’ Stretching the truth wasn’t a lie. Harper wasn’t his type of woman; she was too focused on her career from what he’d seen, and obviously with family issues which she wouldn’t want him getting involved in. But she is hot. Sizzling. He was seeing that more and more the longer he spent in her company.
    â€˜I heard about your wife.’
    Who hadn’t? It’d been headline news for days. ‘It’s history now.’ Except the consequence was he didn’t talk about personal things or want to put his heart on the line again. He knew the doctors had done everything they could to save her. It didn’t make him feel any better.
    â€˜That when you took up nursing?’ Trent had known he’d considered it, even at school.
    â€˜Yep. It was horrible not being able to help Sadie.’ Huh? He didn’t do talking, remember? It had to be the day that had screwed his brain.
    â€˜You back home for good?’
    Cody managed a chuckle. ‘I’ve bought myself a house that needs lots of work, a big sucker on the hill overlooking Oriental Bay. It’s going to keep me out of mischief for years, so yes, I guess I’m here for the long haul.’
    â€˜You staying out of mischief? I must be talking to the wrong Cody Brand.’
    If only he knew. Knowing he was stuck in this apartment tonight with a woman he’d only met five days ago, and who he was now babysitting, would bring Trent to his knees with laughter. As Cody stuffed his phone in his back pocket, he wondered just what was stopping him walking out and going to pick up his motorbike before heading down to the pub for that drink with Trent.
    A promise that he’d stay the night.
    A sense that Harper needed someone to keep an eye out for her. He always knew when someone wanted that—just didn’t always do it right. But he kept on trying.
    Cody wanted to be here, making sure Harper got through the night without any nightmares about what might’ve happened if everything had gone wrong.
    And if