Questions of Trust A Medical Romance - By Sam Archer Page 0,25
involve a virtual stranger like herself like this? No, it was something more than that. Might he have been meeting Rebecca, Chloe’s mother, for a lovers’ tete a tete and needed someone else to pick up his daughter for him? But Chloe didn’t think he’d do something so underhand and irresponsible. Besides, he’d sounded genuinely distressed when he’d phoned asking for Chloe’s help. Nonetheless, Chloe felt that old emotion, jealousy, flicker into life once more.
The sound of a car pulling up outside the cottage sent Kelly to the window. She yelled, ‘Daddy!’ and began to leap up and down in unfeigned joy. Jake didn’t understand but caught the excitement, and began gambolling about himself.
Chloe opened the door to a flustered-looking Tom, his hair dishevelled, his eyes apologetic and profoundly thankful at the same time. Something about his look set off a warmth deep within Chloe, in her belly, and she almost forgot herself and took him in her arms.
Almost, but not quite.
The children appeared around her legs and Tom seized Kelly and flung her into the air, catching her in mid-shriek. ‘Been good?’ he asked, addressing his daughter but looking at Chloe as he did so.
‘They’ve been quiet as lambs,’ said Chloe, rolling her eyes, smiling. ‘Come in, Cup of tea?’
She saw Tom hesitate, as if he didn’t want to impose for a moment longer. Then he nodded. ‘Yes. I owe you an explanation.’
She led the way in. As she busied herself in the kitchen, she heard Tom fuss around the children, asking them about their morning. Not just Kelly, but Jake too, which she thought was a nice touch. Chloe brought the tray through and, after a few more minutes’ banter with the children, the adults watched them resume their games on the carpet and sat themselves at the dining table.
‘Chloe,’ said Tom, ‘I can’t begin to express how grateful I am. And at such short notice.’
She flapped a hand. ‘What are patients for?’
He laughed distractedly. She watched him fiddle with his milk and spoon and realised he was finding it awkward to choose the words he wanted. So she let him take his time, watching the children rather than gazing at him and adding to his discomfort.
At last he murmured, ‘It’s Kelly’s mother. My ex-wife.’
Despite herself Chloe felt a tightening within her. Suddenly she didn’t want to hear his explanation. She and I have decided to make another go of it, I needed time to talk to her. Was that what Tom was about to tell her?
‘I may have overreacted – probably did, actually – but I think she might have been planning to abduct Kelly from nursery.’
It wrongfooted Chloe completely, taking her utterly by surprise so that she paused with her mouth open and her teacup halfway towards her lips before she realised how absurd she looked. Quickly she took a gulp of tea, set down the cup and stared at Tom.
‘What? That’s… awful. Tom, I don’t know what to say.’
He sighed, running a hand through his already rumpled hair. ‘As I say, im probably blowing this up out of all proportion. But… well, Rebecca – she’s my ex – rang the surgery this morning to ask if I was at work. We’ve been arguing a lot lately, and I just thought she might be checking I was out of the way before she… ah, you know.’ He shook his head, looking embarrassed. ‘When I tell it out loud like that, it sounds even more ridiculous and paranoid than I thought.’
‘But why would she want to abduct Kelly, just because you’ve been arguing?’
He looked levelly at Chloe. ‘Because the arguments have been about custody.’
And he told her about the recent phone calls, then the visit in person, all aimed at persuading him to relinquish custody of his little girl to her mother. Chloe listened with sympathy and a growing sadness. She’d lost Mark, and she missed him terribly, the ache there constantly and every so often flaring up into a pain that was far more acute. But she wondered if she’d rather have lost him to death, as she had, than have gone through the bitterness of separation, of protracted fighting over little Jake.
At the end, she said softly, ‘You know your ex better than I do, obviously. I’ve never met her. But you said she hadn’t taken out legal proceedings yet. Surely she’d do that first, before resorting to something like abduction?’
He raised his eyebrows ruefully. ‘You’re right. The more I think about it, the more