A Mommy for Christmas by Caroline Anderson Read Free Book Online

matter of urgency and remove it before she starts to suffer with gastric bleeding from the abrasion.’
    â€˜I agree. We’re operating tomorrow. I’ve got a couple of patients I’ve seen today who are much more urgent than their referrals suggest, one of them the Crohn’s case I was telling you about, so stick her on the list with them and we’ll just have to hope we aren’t too busy overnight.’
    â€˜I’ll tell her to come in later today, then,’ he said. ‘What do you want me to do now? More outpatients?’
    She frowned. ‘Actually, no, I’d like you to talk to Mrs Symes. She’s waiting for you.’
    He felt his heart sink, and swallowed. ‘OK. I’ll talk to her now, and then see Tracy when she’s back down.’
    He walked along the corridor to the waiting area, saw Amanda Symes staring out of the window blankly and went over to her.
    â€˜Amanda?’
    She turned, her hand on her chest, and gave him a very half-hearted smile. ‘You made me jump, I was miles away.’
    In hell, he thought, judging by the look of her. ‘I’m sorry. Come on, let’s go and have a chat. Fancy a cup of tea?’
    â€˜Have you got time, James? I don’t want to be a bother.’
    â€˜It’s no bother, I could murder for one. I haven’t had time to stop yet this afternoon.’
    He paused by the reception desk. ‘Any chance of two cups of tea in my consulting room?’ he asked, and the receptionist nodded.
    â€˜I’ll get them brought through to you,’ she said, reaching for the phone, and he took Amanda to his room and sat her down.
    â€˜So—how can I help?’ he asked gently.
    â€˜I don’t know that you can. I don’t know that anyone can, but—Oh, James, I don’t want him to die,’ she said, and started to cry.

CHAPTER THREE
    T HERE was nothing he could do except let her talk, and he did that, for as long as he felt it was productive, but when they started going round in circles he stopped her.
    â€˜You really need to talk to the oncology nurse. She’s trained to deal with this situation, and she has lots of practical things she can offer to help you both. I’m not trying to get rid of you, but I’m not really the best person to help you now. I’ve done all I can to make things better for him, unless he needs further bowel surgery in the future, but the onco nurse has an amazing range of things she can offer to make things easier. Talk to her. Make friends with her, and with the Macmillan or Marie Curie nurses. They’ll look after you, Amanda. They won’t let you deal with this alone.’
    Her face crumpled again, and she made a valiant effort to control the threatening tears. ‘I am, though. I feel so alone. It’s crazy. It’s as if in a way he’s already gone, and I feel so angry with him for leaving me.’
    He nodded, aching for her, knowing that distancing himself was impossible because he was with her every step of the way. ‘That’s the start of the grieving process,’ he explained, his voice a little gruff. ‘Accept it for what it is, and just remember that, however hard it gets, it’s not going to go on for ever, and you can get through it, and you’re not alone. And although I can’t really help you, if you want to talk to me again, at any time, I’ll always find time to see you.’
    He showed her out, a little surprised when she hugged him, and then shut the door and leaned on it.
    I feel so alone. It’s crazy. It’s as if in a way he’s already gone.
    He swallowed hard, trying not to get sucked in by the memories, and after a moment he eased himself away from the door and sat down again.
    Poor woman. Poor man. Poor all of them. He hauled in a steadying breath, closed his eyes for a moment and then picked up the receiver.
    â€˜Is Tracy Farthing back in the