Healing the Single Dad Surgeon
Author
Sue MacKay
Reads
19.9K
Chapters
11
Could his son's gorgeous nurse be the piece the single dad didn't know they needed to complete their little family? Anna loves nursing children. It's healing after having to give her own baby up for adoption. Her favorite patient is Jordan, an adorable boy who has Down Syndrome. Caring for him is rewarding — especially when she meets his handsome single dad, surgeon Eli! Since his ex-wife abandoned them, Eli's very protective of his son. But as he gets to know Anna, he sees Jordan's in safe hands. Soon, her warm and sunny nature breaks through Eli's emotional barricade. And an unexpected bond slowly fills them both with hope…
CHAPTER ONE
‘ELI, YOU MIGHT want to hand over the final suturing to your sidekick. Your son’s had an appendectomy and been taken to Paediatrics.’
‘What?’ Surgeon Eli Forrester stared at his friend Duncan. ‘Why wasn’t I told earlier?’ Jordan had had surgery and he knew nothing about it? Of course, he didn’t have his phone with him in Theatre so his sister Liz could’ve rung or texted in that time. ‘Who did the op?’
‘I did. I was between a rock and a hard place knowing you’d want to be with him and that you were in the middle of a very difficult surgical procedure. I couldn’t dither though, as the appendix was close to bursting.’
Eli shuddered. His boy had had surgery and he hadn’t been there for him. He couldn’t blame Duncan for his decision. He’d been doing a three-hour op that had taken all his focus and could not have been interrupted without serious consequences for the patient. But Jordan had been under the knife and he hadn’t even known. It would’ve been a huge distraction. He knew that and respected his friend’s decision. But he was a dad first and foremost. His gut squeezed painfully. ‘I’m glad it was you,’ he conceded. If he’d had a choice of surgeon, Duncan would’ve been the man.
‘Jordan came through it fine and is recovering as he should. So get out of here, and go be with him.’
Already peeling his gloves off shaky hands, Eli turned to the surgeon who’d been with him throughout the procedure. ‘You okay with finishing off?’ He had no concerns that the guy wouldn’t do a good job.
‘Try stopping me. Your son needs you.’
He was already halfway out of the room and answered over his shoulder. ‘Thanks.’ Why hadn’t Liz called him the moment she suspected something? She didn’t work Mondays and would’ve been giving Jordan her undivided attention. When had she noticed Jordan had abdo pain? She’d had him at her place since seven that morning so surely there’d been some indicators? Though with Jordan having Down syndrome it wasn’t always easy to understand what he might be carrying on about, or if he even was.
The lift up to the children’s ward took for ever. ‘Should’ve taken the stairs.’ If Jordie was anything like his usual self he’d be restless and demanding to get out of bed, but hopefully he’d be half asleep from the after-effects of anaesthetic.
‘Leanne, how’s Jordan?’ he asked the nurse sitting at the main desk when he raced into the ward.
‘He was grizzly and yelling for you, but Anna’s calmed him down so he’s happy at the moment. And fighting going to sleep.’
Anna. The nurse everyone adored. Jordan wouldn’t be any different. Hell, when she wasn’t being sharp with him, he was attracted to her and that was saying something. Sometimes he had to turn his back on her before he came out with something like, ‘How about joining me for lunch?’ Keeping his head on straight and squashing any random feelings for a woman was imperative to protecting his son—and himself.
‘Anna’s stayed on after her shift ended to sit with Jordan as we’re one nurse down at the moment.’
No wonder she was so popular. Didn’t she have a family to go home to? ‘What room?’
‘Three.’
‘I’ll be with Jordan from now on.’ He spun around and headed to room three. He had to see Jordan, hold him, to reassure him—and himself—that everything was all right, though it sounded as if Anna had beaten him to it. He’d stay the night as his son would likely wake up and panic when he found he wasn’t in his own bedroom. Now he really and truly understood the fear his younger patients’ parents went through.
Striding into room three, Eli took in the scene before him. Nurse Anna was sitting on the edge of the bed reading a story in a soft, seductive voice, her deep red hair in its usual neat plait lying down the centre of her back. He felt a tingle of something alien. Lust? Attraction? Hardly. Though he’d often felt the same sensation when he’d been too close to this particular nurse while discussing a patient. So far he’d always managed to move on and ignore the way she did that to him, but it was getting harder by the week.
Jordie appeared mesmerised by Anna, taking in every word as though she were handing him his favourite chocolate biscuit. Eli’s heart stumbled. This was getting too much. Without knowing it, Anna was pushing too many of his buttons to ignore. But he had to. It was the only way to be safe. Approaching the bed from the opposite side to where Anna sat, he found a smile. ‘Hey, Jordie. How’s my boy?’
‘Daddy,’ Jordan shrieked. ‘Nurse Anna’s reading my favourite story.’ The words tumbled out of his mouth in such a hurry Eli wouldn’t have understood them if he weren’t used to the speech challenges that came with his son’s Down’s.
‘Aren’t you lucky?’ Hunching down, he carefully wrapped his arm around Jordan’s tiny frame and hugged him as close as he dared, mindful of the abdominal wound, while desperate to hold him in tight against his chest. Brushing a light kiss on top of his head, he felt the tension he’d been carrying from the moment Duncan had told him about the op start to fade. ‘Thank you for staying on, Anna. It means a lot.’ She really didn’t have to. ‘Jordan can get distraught when confronted with a new situation and this in particular would’ve been very scary for him.’
‘No problem. He was quite wound up and calling for you so I figured I’d see what I could do to help settle him down. Seems he likes stories about puppies.’
‘His favourite at the moment.’ Eli sat on the bed, arm still around Jordan, trying to ignore Anna’s caring smile directed at Jordan and not succeeding. He focused on his boy. ‘You probably need to get some sleep now, matey.’
‘No. I’ve been sleeping lots.’
True, but the last thing the staff wanted was Jordan when he got overtired and refused to sit still for even a minute. So far he had the room to himself, another perk of being a surgeon’s son. ‘I’m going to stretch out here with you.’ He’d have to try and sort out some time off tomorrow. It wouldn’t be easy with a full operating schedule but hopefully his colleagues would step up as they usually did for each other.
‘He’s calmed down a lot and there’ve been a few yawns he’s tried to hide so you might get lucky with the sleep idea.’ Anna smiled at him this time, and his stomach knotted tighter.
No wonder she was so popular around here if she smiled at everyone like that. Half the male staff must bend over backwards to get her attention. Was she single? Funny that he hadn’t considered that before. No wedding ring in sight, but that didn’t mean a thing. Most of the staff didn’t wear jewellery on duty. Anyway, she could be in a steady relationship. Why was he even wondering about her status now? He wasn’t interested. He had Jordan to think about, and that meant protecting him from any woman he got close to who wouldn’t give his son all the support he needed. ‘Right. Thanks again. I’m sure you want to get home now.’ He spoke brusquely in an attempt to cover what he was really feeling.
Anna gave him a sharp look before standing up. ‘Goodnight, Jordan. I’ll see you tomorrow, buddy.’ Then she strode out of the room without a backward glance.
‘Jerk,’ Anna muttered as she strode to the main desk. Eli Forrester came with a reputation for being blunt. More like rude in her book. They’d had a few run-ins over his terse manner with the nurses. He was a superb general surgeon, especially with children, but he’d never read the manual on being friendly with staff. He seemed to think everyone should toe the line when he was around. Not that that stopped her from taking second glances at him when he was on the ward. Not only was he drop dead gorgeous, but there was something about his aloofness that caught at her and had her wanting to know more about what made him tick—when he wasn’t being rude, that was. Though he did thank her for staying on to be with Jordan. ‘It means a lot.’ That was a small step towards being friendly, which was probably a one-off.
A picture of his face as he held Jordan and kissed the top of his head made her blink, and filled her with a softness for him she wouldn’t have believed possible before now. He’d been abrupt with her, but when it came to his son he was a marshmallow in hiding. He obviously loved that boy totally. As any parent did, or should.
Another image tapped her mind. Eli looked shattered. His face was drawn and his body unusually slumped. According to Leanne, Eli had been doing a complicated operation when Jordan was admitted so it would’ve come as a shock to learn his son had had urgent surgery for appendicitis. No wonder he looked beyond exhausted. He’d have been in a hurry to see Jordan and make sure his boy was doing okay so he wouldn’t have stopped to grab a coffee or something to eat.
How come Eli was on his own with his son? There had been no mention of a mother coming in to be with the boy. Was Eli a solo dad? She didn’t know the guy other than as a general surgeon qualified in paediatric surgery who sent a lot of patients to the paediatric ward. Plus the fact he was super sexy—when he wasn’t being remote, which wasn’t often.
‘Hey, you’d better get out of here while you can.’ Leanne looked up from the computer on her desk.
‘I’m on my way. Mr Forrester says he’s staying the night with Jordan.’
Leanne’s eyes twinkled. ‘Why did you call him Mr Forrester and not Eli as per normal?’
‘Because he annoyed me.’ His blunt manner when she’d been taking care of his son had got to her. She wasn’t asking herself why when it was nothing out of the ordinary.
‘I know that’s not unusual but he is pretty upset about Jordan having surgery when he didn’t know.’
Anna let out a long sigh. ‘Yeah, I get it.’ Well, she would if she were a mother with a young child. Mother to her son. Stop it. The pain from having to give her son up for adoption always hovered just below the surface, raising its head at all sorts of moments to distress her. ‘Does Eli drink tea or coffee?’ She was going to be nice. It wouldn’t hurt and who knew? He might be nice back.
Leanne’s eyes widened. ‘You’re going to get him one?’
‘Might as well do the decent thing.’ As a reward she’d take another look at that long, sexy shape no doubt now sprawled the length of the bed, then go home and forget all about him. Ha!
‘I think the answer’s coffee, white with one. While you’re at it, can I have a black tea? Pretty please?’
‘No problem.’ Might as well also heat up the pie she’d brought in for lunch and not got around to eating. Eli probably wouldn’t be heading out to grab a meal any time soon, if at all. There was a supermarket handy where he could grab something but she’d save him the bother. She laughed to herself. She was stretching the ‘be nice to the jerk’ thing, but then she was known for helping people out. Today Dr Eli was no different when it came to needing a helping hand.
Ten minutes later, after she’d given Leanne her tea, she walked into room three carrying a tray.
Eli looked up from the story he was reading to Jordan, who appeared to be two breaths away from sleep. ‘Thought you’d be long gone by now.’ His voice was barely above a whisper, probably hoping not to wake Jordan. His tired gaze went to the tray. ‘What’ve you got there?’
‘Coffee, as well as pie and salad. I figured you probably haven’t eaten in a while,’ she answered just as quietly, handing over the tray.
‘What’s in the pie?’ He was staring at the plate as though stunned. Maybe he was. Did no one do anything as simple as offering him something to eat?
‘Are you allergic to any foods, or is there anything you prefer not to eat?’ she asked. It was her version of bacon and egg pie with mushrooms, tomatoes, cheese and parsley thrown in.
‘No.’
‘Then eat and enjoy. It was my lunch I didn’t get time to have.’ She got the feeling he didn’t want to accept her generous offer. Why had she bothered?
‘Anna.’ He hesitated, which was so unlike Eli that she had to swallow a smile.
She looked directly at him, her heart tightening at the sight of that gorgeous face. ‘Yes?’
‘Thank you so much. I do appreciate this. I haven’t eaten for hours and since I’m staying here for the night I was going to go without till the morning.’ No hint of remoteness now. Instead it had been replaced with something akin to friendliness in his face and steady gaze.
Her heart loosened, letting him a little closer than she liked. ‘It’s nothing fancy, but it’ll fill a gap.’
Eli glanced down at Jordan and then back to her. ‘Jordie thinks you’re the bee’s knees, by the way.’
That was one way to get to her, for sure. She adored children. If only she—Stop right there. Nothing could ever change the past, or bring her son back to her. ‘He’s gorgeous.’
‘I think so, but then I am biased,’ Eli said with the softest, most caring smile she’d ever witnessed from him.
Blimey, if he smiled like that more often he’d have the whole hospital at his beck and call. He’d certainly have her in the palm of his hand, and she didn’t like being at the end of anyone’s leash. Working alongside him, she often felt a tingle of longing slide under her skin. He was good-looking in an outdoorsy way, with tanned skin and slightly too long dark hair, and legs that ate up distance in a blink. But then he’d say something in his take-no-prisoners tone and the tingle would disappear in a flash, replaced with annoyance that she’d been aware of him as more than a doctor.
‘Aren’t all parents?’ Stupid thing to say. Hers hadn’t been. They’d thought she should do absolutely everything their way when she’d screwed up big time by getting pregnant when she was fifteen. But then they’d always put themselves first. Unfortunately she’d had to do as they’d insisted because there’d been no other option if she wanted her child to have a decent life. One that she couldn’t have provided by herself.
A shadow crossed his face. ‘Most are, I suppose.’
Ouch. Something, someone, had upset him. Had she put her foot in it? She wasn’t asking. That’d only lead to another abrupt comment. ‘I’m off. See you both tomorrow.’ If Eli was spending the night with Jordan then most likely he’d be here when she started her shift at seven. As for bringing him breakfast, forget it. She’d done her good deed for this man. He could fend for himself tomorrow when he’d be in a better space. Wouldn’t he?
‘Goodnight, Anna.’ Her name sounded like molten chocolate on his tongue, something she could all too easily get used to.
Waving a hand over her shoulder, she left the room without a word. It was enough to have him waking her up more than usual. He was certainly a different man around his son—loving and vulnerable. The vulnerability was a surprise. At least, Eli showing it was. Who knew what else lay behind that intriguing face?
So much for thinking she was immune to a sexy man. Immune, or worn down to the point she’d given up trying to find one to fall in love with and have the family she longed for. It hadn’t happened so far and she’d just turned thirty-four. Now, whenever she got close to a man, she started getting nervous about sharing what she’d done with her son because twice she’d told the man in her life and been called a selfish bitch and worse. That made it so much harder to be open about her past and upped her insecurities about being good enough for any man who wanted to have a family with her. She had given up her son when he was twenty-four hours old. There’d been no choice. Not that that made her accept what she’d done. If she could go back to that day, she knew she’d do it all over again. For her son’s sake, not hers.
It had been the right thing to do. Or so she’d kept telling herself ever since, because how else could she get up every morning to face another day? Barely sixteen years old when he was born and with her parents saying they’d disown her if she kept him, she’d had no choice. She was still at school and even if she’d got a job it wouldn’t have paid for accommodation and supporting her son. Her heart had been smashed into so many pieces as the nurse took her baby out of her arms. Not all those pieces had found their way back into place. This was why she got so much from being a paediatric nurse. She could care for children, make them smile, and then let them go home to their families knowing she hadn’t let them down. She could never make it up to her son, but she could do her damned best to look out for other children.
With an unusually heavy heart Eli watched Anna go. She got under his skin so effortlessly. No denying it. She’d often had him looking at her twice, or feeling out of sorts around her, but exposing his feelings wasn’t possible when he had so much to protect. If his boy’s mother could walk out of their lives then how could he trust another woman to stay around for them both? He’d always been able to pull on his neutral face and carry on regardless. Not tonight. He could put it down to exhaustion after a difficult day and Jordan keeping him awake half the night before. But really he’d been shocked to learn Jordan had had surgery. That had knocked him off his feet.
He did like how Nurse Anna had made Jordan happy. Anna, the woman off duty, had worked out he wouldn’t take the time to get something to eat because he desperately wanted to be with his son so had brought him food and coffee. He liked her very much for that. But that was where it stopped. He wasn’t looking for a lifetime partner.
Not true, Eli.
It really wasn’t. For him, falling in love with a wonderful woman to share everything with seemed impossible. Share being the operative word here. Melissa hadn’t known the meaning of it. Her pregnancy had been unplanned as they had both still been studying in their respective careers and Melissa had struggled to cope with being pregnant. She’d found it even harder accepting Jordan had Down syndrome. Just before his second birthday she’d asked for a divorce, saying she needed to go offshore to finish her studies in fashion design and that it wouldn’t be fair to expect Eli and Jordan to go with her. In other words, she was bailing on her wedding vows and her son. One of the upsides was he’d got full custody of Jordan. The other was he’d learnt to be super careful when it came to falling in love. As in it was not happening again while his boy still lived at home, which would be for many years.
He leaned close to Jordie. He loved the little guy so much it hurt. How Melissa could give up her son was beyond him. How could any mother? Or father, come to that. He knew too well how it felt to be abandoned by the one person who should never be able to sever ties with their child. His mother had handed him over to the welfare system when he was six months old because it took too much effort to keep him happy and she had better things to do. He’d been extremely lucky when Jackie and Kerry adopted him. They loved him as much as their two daughters, his adoptive sisters, who’d taken to him just as quickly. He’d grown up knowing he was loved without any boundaries, and always would be. But it still rankled how his birth mother didn’t want anything to do with him even now. It wasn’t as though he was asking anything of her except to be accepted as a small part of her life.
‘That pie’s getting cold.’ Leanne stood at the end of the bed. ‘You won’t want Anna to find out you didn’t eat it.’
He glanced up at her. ‘I was miles away.’
‘I could see that. Why don’t you sit in the chair while I check Jordan’s temperature and vitals?’
Carefully sliding off the bed so as not to disturb Jordie too much, he did as suggested. Savouring the flavours humming across his tongue, he gave a happy sigh. ‘This pie’s to die for. Did Anna make it?’ He’d questioned what was in it and she’d got annoyed. He owed her an apology.
‘Probably. She loves cooking. Shh, Jordan. Lie still for me or I’ll tickle your chin.’
Jordie’s eyes were open and he was staring around as though he’d forgotten where he was. Putting the tray aside, Eli got up and went to hold his hand while Leanne finished the obs.
‘All good. I’ll give him some more antibiotics when he’s due in an hour.’
‘Thanks, Leanne. For everything.’
Her eyes widened as though she was unused to him being quite so friendly which, he admitted, was true. He didn’t do becoming buddies with his colleagues other than a couple of surgeons he’d known since specialising. He came to work to help patients and then went home to be with Jordan. There wasn’t a lot of energy left for anything else.
She said, ‘Just doing my job. If you’re staying the night then we’d better get a bed in here for you.’
‘I’ll be fine in the armchair that’s across the hallway. I’ll haul it in later.’ One thing learned along the way to becoming a doctor was sleeping on any manner of furniture. Though it had been a few years since he’d last done that.
‘There’s a bed that should be in here that the orderly hasn’t returned. I’ll get it brought up and you cross your fingers we don’t get another unexpected wee patient during the night.’
‘Can I finish the pie first? Crossed fingers could make for awkward eating and I don’t want to waste a crumb.’
Another surprised look came his way before Leanne laughed. ‘As I don’t want to be the one Anna blames for you not finishing it, I think you’d better get on with the job.’
He couldn’t imagine Anna being cross with anyone—other than him. Experience had taught him how it felt when she took offence to his curt instructions. Settling into place beside Jordie, his legs stretched to the end of the narrow bed, he relaxed and enjoyed his meal while thinking about Anna Passau—because it was too easy. She was gorgeous.
Today she’d got under his skin more than ever with how she’d calmed Jordan down, how she’d got him something to eat. Not to mention those damned smiles. He couldn’t afford to lose his heart and yet she was making it difficult to remain aloof. He struggled with being let down again after his birth mother and Melissa had each done their number on him. He owned half the marriage break-up because surely if he’d been a good husband she wouldn’t have gone? He shouldn’t feel like that when his adoptive family had never once let him down, always gave him all the love and support anyone should get from their family, but it was hard to forget how those other two women hadn’t cared enough. They’d undermined his belief in himself.
Anna, with her crazy red hair that made his fingers itch at the thought of running his hands over it and her suck-me-in smile that caused his gut to tighten, was a complete turnaround in women for him. Did she have what it took to be that certain special woman? The fact he was even wondering had his toes twitching. He’d have to get back to his usual remote persona tomorrow. Except that felt wrong now. Anna had been nothing but kind and friendly. Even Leanne had laughed with him. Getting onside with the staff could make for happier days at work. He’d learned to be aloof with everyone he worked with after two nurses had continually pestered him for dates and more when they’d heard Michelle had left him. Neither of them had understood the meaning of no and he’d changed his approach to all staff, especially the females.
Putting aside the tray, he turned to study his little man and his heart expanded as Jordie smiled in his sleep. He was a tough wee fella, took the teasing some kids gave him on the chin. He had some good friends who attended the same preschool. Preschool was his dream come true with lots of games to play, books to read, and other kids to run around with. His teacher aide was exceptional in teaching him basic skills with a pen and paper. With lots of help from his family, Eli worked hard to give Jordan the same loving environment he’d grown up in.
The sound of a bed being wheeled along the corridor diverted him. Something he probably needed about now. All this thinking didn’t achieve anything but too many questions he had no answers for. Standing up, he went to help the orderly put the bed in place, even though the guy had done it a thousand times before and he was probably getting in the way. Seemed everyone was stepping up to help him. Especially Anna. A grin spread across his face, stretching his lips further than they were used to. Anna was getting to be a pain in the backside with the number of times she popped into his head.
Quite a gorgeous pain though. One he was happy to put up with for now anyway.
