Read Online The Army Doctor's New Year's Baby by Helen Scott Taylor - Free Book Online

Mrs. Smyth asked.
    "It
won't feel quite the same, but with practice I'm sure Kieran will get used to
it."
    The boy
nodded and gave Daniel a weak smile. Daniel returned it with feeling. He was a
brave kid. Daniel would do his best to repair his thumb.
    ***
    Megan added
some sliced haggis to the pan beside the sizzling sausages and strips of bacon.
Lyall stood a few feet away, his hip propped against the kitchen counter,
cradling his coffee cup in his hands.
    They were a
sorry pair. Saturday morning and they were hanging out together because neither
of them had significant others. Lyall was a good-looking man. He dated tourists
sometimes, but his problem was the same as Meg's—nobody stuck around for long
up here in the middle of nowhere. They all scurried back to the bright lights
of the cities.
    "Any
plans for today?" Lyall asked.
    Megan
glanced over her shoulder to where Fergus sat in his high chair, chomping on
toast and peanut butter fingers. Most of the peanut butter was spread over his
face, hands, and tray by the look of him. "Babysitting all day."
    "If you
have to stay with the bairn, I'll keep you company."
    "Thanks."
She tried to inject some enthusiasm into her voice. They had been best friends
forever. She enjoyed his company, but she hoped to see something of Daniel this
weekend. Last Saturday and Sunday, she and Lyall had gone away to a mutual
friend's wedding. Add in the evening surgeries she'd been stuck with when a
colleague was sick, and she had seen little of Daniel these last two weeks.
    Her gaze
drifted to the door to the hall for the umpteenth time, eager for him to come
down.
    "The
Sassenach major is not for you, Meg."
    Lyall's
uncompromising tone snapped her attention back to him. "Says who?"
    "Have
you not seen the articles on the Internet about him? He likes fast cars and
fast women. He'll not settle down here with you, lass."
    "When I
want your opinion on the matter, Lyall Stewart, I'll ask for it." Megan
banged about, taking her irritation out on the cast iron skillet as she turned
the bacon, sausages, and haggis. What annoyed her most was that Lyall had
voiced her own fears.
    The sound of
a door shutting upstairs carried into the kitchen, followed by the faint thump
of footfalls on the stairs.
    Lyall put
his cup on the counter. "Think I'll be on my way. I've just remembered
something I want to do."
    "What
about your breakfast?" Megan nodded towards the pan.
    "I've
lost my appetite." With an unreadable glance, Lyall stomped out the back
door.
    What was
eating him? Megan stared after him for a moment, puzzled, then turned as Daniel
strolled through the door, his usual grin in place.
    The dogs
jumped up, tails wagging, and wriggled around his feet, vying for attention.
"Hey there, Bruce, hey, Torrie. Are you good boys?" Daniel patted
them and stroked behind their ears.
    Megan's
heart did a happy jig, her pulse rate increasing at the sight of him.
    The dogs
went back to their beds in the corner and Daniel turned his attention to Megan.
"Good morning, stranger. I've missed you this week."
    "I had
to cover evening surgery at short notice. A bit of a pain."
    Fergus
bounced in his high chair, slapping his palms on his tray, squealing with
excitement.
    "How
are you, Gussy? Wearing your breakfast, I see," Daniel said.
    "Dan,
build. Dan, build." Gus pointed at the wooden bricks on the floor.
    Daniel
picked up a few and built a tower on the table.
    "Gus
wants." Fergus bounced some more.
    "I
think Auntie Meg would like to wipe those dirty fingers before you touch
anything, bud."
    To distract
him, Daniel grabbed a toy dog and bounded it around the table, making it
snuffle and bark. Fergus giggled while Bruce and Torrie jumped up from their
spot in the corner and joined in the racket.
    It seemed
her nephew and the dogs had also fallen under Daniel's spell. Everyone seemed
to like him except for Lyall and Angus, but then Angus didn't like anyone much.
    Megan
laughed, the atmosphere in the room lighter now Daniel