Free The Baby Swap Miracle by Caroline Anderson Page B

it.
    She blinked a few times, glanced back in the wing mirror at the receding house, and then fixed her eyes firmly ahead. That was what she should be concentrating on—the future. Not the past. The past was gone. Over.
    ‘Want a coffee?’
    ‘Not here. Let’s get right away first.’
    He nodded and concentrated on the road, and as they cleared the town boundaries, she turned her head towards him and gave him a fleeting and probably rather wobbly smile.
    ‘Sorry. End of an era.’
    His eyes were gentle and concerned, and he nodded. ‘I saw a woman go in. She looked a little upset. Was that Julia?’
    ‘Yes. I—um—I said more than I meant to, but maybe it was as well. We cleared the air. She asked me to forgive her.’
    ‘And did you?’
    She gave a tiny shrug. ‘I said I’d try. I don’t know. I haveto let go, and to do that I have to forgive her, don’t I? You can forgive without excusing.’
    ‘I don’t know,’ he said quietly. ‘Sometimes you just have to move on in whatever way you can.’
    It wasn’t a good time in my life.
    Was that what he’d been doing when he’d bought the house? Moving on, in whatever way he could? Poor Sam—but he seemed confident he was doing the right thing now, so maybe she shouldn’t feel sorry for him, even if he had lost his dream…
     
    When they got back he carried her things up to her bedroom for her, refusing to let her lift any of them, and when she started to put them away, he stopped her.
    ‘Leave that for now. I’m starving and we never did get coffee.’
    ‘Oh. Well, you go ahead, I’m not really hungry.’
    ‘Emelia—’
    ‘Please, Sam,’ she said, and then her voice cracked and the tears she’d been holding down for hours now spilt over and coursed down her face.
    ‘Oh, sweetheart,’ he murmured, and she felt him gather her up into his arms, cradling her face against his chest as he led her to the ottoman and sat down with his arms round her, rocking her gently as she cried.
    It felt so good to be held by him, so safe. And today had been such an awful day…
    ‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered unevenly. ‘It was just really hard. There were so many memories—’
    ‘I’m sure there were. You don’t need to apologise,’ he murmured gruffly, smoothing her hair with his hand and wishing there was something he could do to ease the pain she was feeling. But there wasn’t, because he was the cause of it, in a way, or at least the facilitator that had enabled theclinic to make the mistake. Without him, she wouldn’t have become pregnant, and she and Julia and Brian would have parted company in a much more gentle way, without this tearing grief that was threatening to destroy them all.
    All he could do was be there for her.
    ‘I’m sorry. I’m OK now,’ she said, easing away and swiping the tears from her cheeks. He pulled a tissue out of the box beside the bed and handed it to her, and watched with a frown as she mopped herself up. ‘What an idiot,’ she mumbled, feeling stupidly self-conscious now as he studied her.
    ‘You’re not an idiot,’ he said gruffly, dropping down onto his haunches in front of her and taking her hands in his. ‘You’re a brave and wonderful woman, and I’m immensely proud of the way you conducted yourself today. You were gracious and dignified, and it can’t have been easy.’
    She felt her eyes fill again, and she gave a little laugh that was half-sob. ‘Would you stop being nice to me for a minute?’ she protested, and he chuckled and straightened up.
    ‘Sure. I’m starving. Stop snivelling and let’s go and find something to eat. There’s a little café near here. They do the best carrot cake in the world.’
    ‘That’s just empty calories.’
    ‘Rubbish. It has carrots,’ he said.
    ‘Oh, well, that’s all right, then. What are we waiting for?’ she said, and without even bothering to look at her blotchy, tear-stained face, she headed for the stairs.
     
    ‘So, have you thought any more about