don’t have to do that.’
‘I know. But I will. You’ve had a bit of a baptism of fire today. I know you want to get home to Freya and the buses will be busy this time of day.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s only five minutes out of my way. We’ll go in ten minutes.’
The phone rang further along the ward and Hope Sanders, one of the other midwives, stuck her head out of one of the rooms. ‘Jacob? Can you come and take this call?’
He didn’t even give her a chance to respond before he walked swiftly along the corridor. He was impressed. Bonnie was doing a good job. He hadn’t even given a thought to where she might be staying. If she was worried about that—would she be able to focus on her work?
Hope handed him the phone. ‘It’s Sean Anderson. He wants to know if you can help in Theatre tomorrow.’
The call only took a few minutes. Jacob liked Sean, the new Australian obstetrician, and he was happy to scrub in on a complicated case. Hope waited for him to finish the call, her arms folded across her chest, leaning on the door.
‘What?’ he asked as he replaced the receiver.
‘How are you?’ she asked steadily.
He felt himself flinch. Hope was one of the few people he classed as a friend. She knew exactly what kind of year he’d had. ‘I’m fine.’
She nodded slowly. There was no way he’d get away with that kind of answer with Hope. ‘When do you get your test results?’
He shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He hated being put on the spot. ‘A few weeks.’
‘And you’re feeling well? Anything I can do?’
He shook his head and picked up some paperwork from his desk. ‘I’m fine, Hope. There’s no need to fuss.’
She gave him a tight smile. Hope was never bothered by his short answers or occasionally sharp tongue. She just ignored it and asked the questions she wanted to ask.
‘Did you reconsider my suggestion?’
‘What one?’ Hope made lots of suggestions. He should socialise more. He should do less hours at work. He should eat better. He should be more pleasant at work.
She raised her eyebrows. ‘About renting out one of your rooms?’ Oh. That one. Her latest suggestion was a bid to encapsulate all her suggestions: it would force him to socialise, he might work less if he had someone to go home to, someone who could cook, maybe.
‘Haven’t had a chance.’ He walked from behind the desk and gave her a cheeky wink. ‘Been too busy at work.’
‘Jacob...’ Her voice tailed after him but he was already halfway down the corridor. Hope was about to go into interrogator mode. He could sense it. It was time to make a sharp exit.
Bonnie was just finishing at the desk and he welcomed the distraction. If Hope saw him talking to another woman she was bound to leave him alone.
‘Good first day?’ he asked.
* * *
Bonnie blinked. ‘It’s not over yet. Come with me a second.’
She took another quick glance over her shoulder at the bustling labour suite. Her bustling labour suite. She hadn’t even started to make her mark here. They walked down the corridor together.
So many things needed organising to make the place run more efficiently. Once she had things running the way she liked and she knew the staff a little better she’d start to delegate some tasks. All of the staff she’d met today seemed fine. No one had even mentioned what they’d overheard this morning, but she was sure—by the time she came on shift tomorrow—all members of staff would know about it. That was the thing about hospitals. Nothing was kept secret for long.
She’d met seven midwives, two doctors and one other consultant who all seemed good at their jobs. The ancillary staff seemed great too. CRMU’s reputation appeared to be well founded. All the labour suite needed was its wheels oiled a little to help it run more smoothly.
She smiled. First day. After a bumpy start with Freya, and with Jacob, things appeared to be looking up. Good staff. A temporary promotion. Three healthy babies delivered while she was on shift. And another delivered in the back of an ambulance with a mother who appeared to be on the road to recovery.
Jacob had surprised her most with his offer of a ride home. At their first meeting he’d appeared a little detached. But at times today his mouth had betrayed him by turning up at the edges. There was a sense of humour in there somewhere. She’d just have to find a big spade to dig it out.
She pushed open the doors at the end of the ward and walked along to one of the side rooms between her ward and the special-care nursery. Both of them looked through the window. Holly had opened her eyes and was talking to one of the specialist midwives assigned to her. Her husband sat by her side holding the baby in his arms. Another midwife from the special-care nursery was there with the incubator. It was obvious this was the first time she’d got to see her baby.
The whole scene sent a warm glow around Bonnie’s body. Coming here was the best decision she’d ever made.
She met Jacob’s emerald gaze. There was a gleam in his eye. He knew exactly what kind of day she’d had. She kept her face straight. ‘No. It’s not been a good day.’
He raised his eyebrows and she broke into a beaming smile. ‘It was a great day. I think I’m going to like Cambridge Maternity.’
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