course. She’d been rude as she’d laid down the ground rules. Her only excuse was that she’d had no choice.
‘Here it is.’ He offered her the key then looked steadily at her. ‘Is that all now?’
‘Yes.’ She cleared her throat but it was an effort to force the words past the lump in it when she saw the chill in his eyes. ‘Thank you.’
He inclined his head, although he didn’t say anything as he strode past her. Anna watched him go into the office then turned and quickly made her way to the stairs. She was halfway up them when she heard the alarm beeping, followed a few seconds later by the sound of the front door closing. And it seemed to her that she had never felt more alone than she did at that moment.
Ben had offered her the hand of friendship and she had rejected it. Maybe she’d had no choice but it hurt to know that he wouldn’t offer it to her again. It struck her all of a sudden that she would have liked to have had him for a friend, to have been able to turn to him when times became really tough.
She sighed sadly.
Would Ben Cole still want to be her friend when he found out what she had taken such care to keep secret? He would probably thank his lucky stars that he hadn’t got involved!
Her hand went to the gentle swell of her stomach concealed beneath her loose fitting T-shirt and her eyes were suddenly sad.
How many men would be interested in befriending a woman who was having someone else’s baby?
‘I WONDER if you could do me a favour?’
Anna was in the treatment room when Ben Cole tapped on the door. It was Friday morning and surgery was coming to an end. It had been a busy morning as usual, but she had thoroughly enjoyed her first week in Winton. Any qualms she’d had about her ability to do the job had soon disappeared. The work might be rather different to what she was used to but the basic procedures were the same, and she really liked the people she was working with.
All in all, Anna had decided that things were working out rather better than she had feared they would. The only cloud on the horizon was the fact that Ben Cole continued to treat her with a distant courtesy that stung. Now as she saw the chilly expression on his face she had to bite back a sigh.
‘Of course. What would you like me to do?’ she asked politely.
‘I’ve a patient with me who needs a blood test and I’d like to get it done as soon as possible. Would you have time to see her now, by any chance?’ he asked, equally politely.
‘Yes, there’s no problem. I’ve only got one more patient to see and he hasn’t arrived yet.’ Anna glanced at her watch. ‘In fact, if you send her straight in to see me then I should be able to catch the courier. He’s due in about ten minutes to collect today’s samples.’
‘Fine. The lab won’t have any excuse for not getting the results back to us early next week, then.’ Ben sounded relieved and she frowned.
‘Is it that urgent?’
‘Yes and no.’ He sighed when he saw that she didn’t understand. ‘I’ve been trying to get this woman to have a blood test for months but each time I suggest it she finds some sort of excuse. I’m not sure what the problem is, to be honest.’
‘I see. Why did she come to see you in the first place?’ Anna asked curiously, thinking that it was a strange situation.
‘She’s been suffering from night sweats and hot flushes,’ he explained. ‘She’s in her mid-forties so I did suggest that it was probably the first sign of the menopause, but she got really upset by the idea. I’m hoping that she will accept it once we get the results of the blood test, then I can start her on HRT.’
‘A lot of women find it difficult to come to terms with the fact that they are reaching that stage in their lives,’ she observed softly.
‘I know, and I’m sympathetic to how they feel, believe me. However, this patient seems unusually loath to accept the idea. She’s so adamant, in fact, that I’m starting to wonder if I’m simply opting for the easy answer.’ Ben frowned thoughtfully.
‘What?’ Anna asked impulsively. She gave a little shrug when he looked at her. ‘I can tell that you’re trying to make up your mind about something.’
He laughed and she felt a shiver run down her spine when she heard the unaccustomed warmth in his voice. ‘You’re far too perceptive, Anna. It wouldn’t be easy to pull the wool over your eyes.’
‘Oh, I’m as gullible as the next person, believe me,’ she replied, feeling the tiny stab of pain that speared her heart. She couldn’t help wishing that she hadn’t been quite so trusting in the past year. If she’d realised what would happen, would she have decided on the course she’d taken?
It was impossible to answer a question like that so she didn’t try. She looked up, feeling a ripple of apprehension run through her when she saw how Ben was looking at her.
‘That sounded as though it was spoken from the heart,’ he said quietly.
‘Probably.’ She summoned a smile, wishing that she had hidden her feelings better. The last thing she wanted was to incite his curiosity. ‘Anyway, what’s the patient’s name and what tests do you want done?’
‘Janice Robertson. Here are her notes.’ He handed her the patient’s record card. ‘I want the full works—cell count, proteins, gases, antibodies, micro-organisms, and so on. I don’t want to overlook anything just in case I’m on the wrong track. I want to get this sorted out while I have the chance.’
‘Fine. I’ll get straight onto it.’
Anna turned away, making a great production out of finding everything she needed. She breathed a little sigh of relief when she heard the door closing. She really must be more careful about what she said! Ben had obviously been suspicious just now and she didn’t want him wondering what she had to hide.
She sighed again as she took a couple of fresh vials out of a drawer for the blood samples. She was going to have to tell people about the baby at some point. Although she had managed to disguise her pregnancy so far, the time was fast approaching when she wouldn’t be able to hide it any longer. She couldn’t help worrying how the staff at the surgery were going to react when they found out. Would they be angry that she hadn’t told them before? She really couldn’t blame them if they were.
It was a sobering thought but she tried not to dwell on it as she got ready. When Janice Robertson tapped on the door a few minutes later she had everything set up.
‘Come in,’ she called, smiling reassuringly as the woman hesitantly entered the room. ‘Hello, there. I’m Anna Clemence, the new practice nurse. Dr Cole wants you to have a blood test, I believe?’
‘That’s right.’
Anna frowned when she heard the reluctance in the other woman’s voice. She couldn’t help noticing how dejected the woman looked as she ushered her to a chair. It was obvious that Janice wasn’t keen to have the test done, although, like Ben, Anna
