the first order of business after her divorce should be to officially get rid of her married name. It still hurt to have it attached to her, even though she no longer went by Annabelle Ainsley.
‘Miss McDonald and her replacement are doing rounds and are ready to examine the baby. Do you mind filling them in on what’s happened over the last few hours?’
‘On my way.’ Annabelle had already been headed towards the glass window that made up the viewing area of the special care baby unit, so it was perfect timing. Arriving on the floor, she spotted a heavily pregnant Sienna McDonald ducking into the room. The neonatal cardiothoracic surgeon had been overseeing Baby Doe’s care as they waited for an available heart for the sick infant. Another man, wearing a lab coat and sporting dark washed jeans, went in behind Sienna. She could only catch a glimpse of a strong back and thick black hair, but something inside her took a funny little turn at the familiar way the man moved.
Shaking her head to clear it, she reached the door a few seconds later and slid inside.
She headed towards the baby’s cot, finding Sienna and the other doctor—their backs to her—hovering over it.
About to step around to the other side, the stranger raised the top of the unit. ‘Her colour doesn’t look good.’
Annabelle stifled a gasp, stopping in her tracks for several horrified seconds. She lifted her eyes and stared at the man’s back.
That voice.
Those gruff masculine tones were definitely not the feminine Scottish lilt belonging to Sienna, that was for sure. This had to be Sienna’s replacement. Had she actually seen the name of the new doctor written somewhere? She didn’t think so, but she was beginning to think she should have paid more attention.
She swallowed down the ball of bile before the pressure built to dangerous levels.
The new doctor spoke again. ‘What’s her diagnosis?’
The ball in Annabelle’s throat popped back into place with a vengeance.
It couldn’t be.
Sienna glanced over at him. ‘Hypoplastic left heart syndrome. She’s waiting on a donor heart.’
The other doctor’s dark head bent as he examined the baby. ‘How far down is she on the list?’
‘Far enough that we’re all worried. Especially Annabelle Brookes—you’ll meet her soon. She’s the nurse who’s been with our little patient from the time she was born.’
Annabelle, who had begun sliding back towards the door, stopped when the new doctor slowly lifted his head, turning it in her direction. Familiar brown eyes she would recognise anywhere met hers and narrowed, staring for what seemed like an eternity but had to have been less than a second. There wasn’t the slightest flinch in his expression. She could have been a complete stranger.
But she wasn’t.
He knew very well who she was. And she knew him.
No. It couldn’t be.
For a soul-searing moment she wondered if she’d been mistaken, that he wasn’t Sienna’s replacement at all, but was here to say he’d finally signed the papers. Maybe he’d heard about Baby Hope’s case and had just popped in to take a look while they hunted for Annabelle.
Or...maybe he’d met someone else.
Her whole system threatened to shut down as she stood there staring.
‘Annabelle? Are you all right?’ Sienna’s voice startled her enough to force her to blink.
‘Oh, yes, I...um...’ What was she supposed to say?
Max evidently didn’t have that problem. He came away from Hope’s incubator, extending his hand. ‘I didn’t realise you’d moved from London.’
‘Yes. I did.’ She ignored his hand, tipping her chin just a fraction, instead. So he hadn’t come here to find her.
Sienna glanced from one to the other. ‘You two already know each other?’
One side of Max’s mouth turned up in a semblance of a smile as he allowed his hand to drop back by his side. ‘Quite well, actually.’
Yes, they knew each other. But ‘quite well’? She’d thought so at one time. But in the end... Well, he hadn’t stuck around.
Of course, she’d been the one to tell him to go. And he had. Without a single attempt to change her mind—or to fight for what they’d once had.
Sienna’s brows went up, obviously waiting for some kind of explanation. But what could she say, really?
She opened her mouth to try to save the situation, but a shrill noise suddenly filled the room.
An alarm! And this one wasn’t in her head.
All eyes swivelled back to Baby Hope, who lay still in her incubator.
It was the pulse oximeter. Hope wasn’t breathing!
‘Let’s get some help in here!’ Max was suddenly belting out orders in a tone that demanded immediate response.
Glancing again at the baby’s form, she noted that the tiny girl’s colour had gone from bad to worse, a dangerous mottling spreading over her nappy-clad form. Annabelle’s heart plummeted, her fingers beginning a familiar tingle that happened every time she went into crisis mode.
Come on, little love. Don’t do this. Not when we’re just getting to know each other.
Social services had asked Annabelle to keep a special eye on the infant, since she had no next of kin who were willing to take on her care. Poor little thing.
Annabelle knew what it was like to feel alone.
In Max’s defence, it had been her choice. But he had issued an ultimatum. One she hadn’t been prepared to accept.
Right now, though, all she needed to think about was this little one’s battle for life. Max shot Sienna a look. The other doctor nodded at him. Whatever the exchange was, Max took the lead.
‘We need to tube her.’
Annabelle went to the wall and grabbed a pair of gloves from the dispenser, shoving her hands into them and forcing herself to take things one step at a time. To get ahead of yourself was to make a mistake.
She hurried to get the trach tube items, tearing into sterile packages with a vengeance. Two more nurses rushed into the room, hearing the cries for help. Each went to work, knowing instinctively what needed to be done. They’d all been through this scenario many times before.
But not with Baby Hope.
Annabelle moved in next to Max and handed him each item as he asked for it, her mind fixed on helping the tiny infant come back from the precipice.
Trying not to count the seconds, she watched Max in motion, marvelling at the steadiness of his large hands as he intubated the baby, his face a
