The Surgeon's Fatherhood Surprise Read Online Free PDF

down behind his desk. ‘Just keep giving him junior paracetamol and it should settle down in a day or so.’
    ‘Right. Thanks. I will.’ Jack headed for the door, then paused when his father carried on.
    ‘Have you seen Lucy yet?’
    ‘Yes, she called round late yesterday afternoon after she’d finished here.’
    ‘Good. It will be a big help to you, having Lucy on hand,’ Nick said quietly.
    Jack felt a shaft of pain run through him. Had that been a subtle hint that Nick himself wasn’t going to offer a helping hand if he needed it? His expression hardened as he opened the door. ‘It will. At least there’s one member of my family who’s willing to help out.’
    ‘That wasn’t what I meant,’ Nick began, but Jack didn’t wait to hear what he had to say. He wasn’t interested.
    He shook his head as he stepped out into the corridor. There was no point wishing that his father gave a damn about him or his son. He knew what Nick thought of him because he had made it perfectly clear that he disliked the way Jack had chosen to live his life. OK, so maybe he had gone a bit wild a few years ago—he was willing to admit that. He had spent a lot of time on the London party scene, although in his own defence he had never let it interferewith his work. However, in the past couple of years—ever since his mother had died—he had cut out the socialising and concentrated on his career.
    He was no longer the playboy Nick imagined him to be, although his father would never accept that. Nick seemed to prefer to think the worst of him, and if that was how he felt then Jack wasn’t going to try to change his mind. As for him and Freddie, they would manage perfectly well without Nick’s help. He had Lucy to help him if he got really stuck, and if she was busy he would sort things out himself. Just for a moment his mind flashed back to the empathy he’d seen in Alison’s eyes the previous night before he blanked out the memory. Alison had enough to contend with without taking on his problems as well.
     
    Nick got up after the door closed and went to the window. He sighed as he watched Jack lift little Freddie into the car. He should have gone after him and made him listen, instead of letting him rush off like that. Now Jack believed that he wasn’t interested in his grandson, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.
    Of course he cared about the little boy, just as he cared about Jack, too. The trouble was that every time he and Jack were together they ended up arguing. Annabel had said it was because he and Jack were so alike—they were both strong-minded and passionate about issues they cared deeply about.
    Maybe it was true, but it didn’t help to resolve this issue. Jack needed his help more than ever at the moment, and he wanted to be there for him and Freddie. It was how to convince Jack of that fact which was going to be the hardest thing to do.
     
    Alison was on her way back to Penhally Bay when the accident happened. She’d been to the local farmers’ marketto buy some fresh fruit and veg. Sam had been invited to a birthday party at his childminder’s home so she had taken advantage of the fact that she’d had a couple of hours to herself. She was driving back along the narrow winding lanes when a car overtook her, travel ling far too fast. It reached the bend and she saw its brake lights flash on as the driver tried to slow down, but it was too late by then. It careered across the road and she gasped in horror when she saw a tractor suddenly appear, travel ling in the opposite direction. There was a sickening crunch of metal as the two vehicles collided.
    Alison braked to a stop and reached for her mobile phone to call the emergency services. Once she was sure the ambulances were on their way, she jumped out of her car and ran over to the vehicles. The car had rolled over onto its roof; its windows were shattered and most of its bodywork had been stoved in by the force of the impact. The tractor had