Neurosurgeon...and Mum! by Kate Hardy Read Free Book Online Page A

never talked about her—and needed someone female around to help bring her out of her shell again? Or was it because she recognised a kindred spirit in Amy—someone else who hadn’t fitted in that easily as a child?
    Then he froze as he heard Perdy ask, ‘So were you the same sort of doctor as my dad is?’
    ‘A family doctor? No. I worked in a hospital,’ Amy said.
    ‘What sort of doctor were you?’
    ‘A neurosurgeon.’
    Tom blinked. Well, that would explain why he’d thought Amy’s hands were delicate. To go with her equally delicate work.
    ‘Is that a brain surgeon?’ Perdy asked.
    ‘About a third of my work was inside people’s heads, yes, but I didn’t work just on people’s brains. “Neuro” means “nerves”,’ Amy explained, ‘so I used to do a lot of operations involving people’s spines and necks, where there are lots of nerves.’
    Tom knew he really ought to walk straight in and distract Perdy, stop her grilling Amy, but her next words froze him to the spot.
    ‘My mum was a doctor, too. She was like the ones you see on telly, in the emergency room. Did you know my mum?’
    Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no. He’d been so sure that Perdy never talked about Eloise. He shouldn’t have taken it for granted; why the hell hadn’t he put his pride to one side and warned Amy, given her an idea what to say if Perdy brought up the subject?
    ‘That depends where your mum works,’ Amy said lightly. ‘There are quite a few hospitals around.’
    ‘She worked at the London City General.’
    ‘I was at the London Victoria,’ Amy said. ‘And I didn’t work that much with the emergency department, so even if we had worked in the same hospital I probably wouldn’t have known her. Sorry.’
    Did you know my mum?
    Tom had a nasty feeling where that question would’veled if Amy’s answer had been yes. Had Eloise ever talked about her daughter at work, the way most people talked about their children?
    He suspected not. Eloise would’ve talked more about her work for Doctors Without Borders, tried to encourage others to give their time and expertise to help those who needed aid so badly.
    It was important work. Vital work. He knew that and he wasn’t for a moment putting her down for being so caring about the needs of people who had nothing.
    But what about the needs of her own daughter?
    He didn’t think he’d ever be able to forgive Eloise for that. For putting their child last when she was still so young and really needed her mother. For not being able to compromise.
    ‘Why do people need operations on their nerves?’ Perdy asked.
    ‘Because they’re in pain—often because there’s a lump pressing on their spinal cord or the nerves.’
    ‘So you have to get rid of the lump and make them better?’
    ‘I used to.’
    ‘Why don’t you do it now?’
    Amy paused. ‘I stopped being good at my job. So that’s why I’m taking a break.’
    Tom heard the bleakness in her voice, and guessed exactly what had happened. Amy had burned out. Maybe she’d lost a patient and couldn’t forgive herself for it.
    So right now it seemed that she was in as dark a place as he was.
    Part of him wanted to comfort her; yet part of him knew it would be a mistake. Too much of a risk. He didn’t want to open himself up to anyone again.
    Then Buster barked once and bounded out of the kitchen towards him.
    Should he admit that he’d just overheard the conversation? Then again, it would put Amy in a truly awkward position, where she’d feel obliged to explain more than she wanted to. He’d been there himself too often to do that to her. He walked into the kitchen with a smile that wasn’t entirely fake. ‘Hello. Something smells nice.’
    ‘Daddy!’ Perdy rushed towards him and hugged him. He hugged her right back: his precious little girl.
    ‘We made scones,’ she said proudly. ‘Amy, are they cool enough to eat yet?’
    ‘You tell me, Perdy. You’re nearest the rack. Remember how I showed you to