Sue MacKay – Midwife...to Mum! (страница 1)
‘A deeply emotional, heart-rending story that will make you smile and make you cry. I truly recommend it—and don’t miss the second book: the story about Max.’
‘What a great book. I loved it. I did not want it to end. This is one book not to miss.’
MIDWIVES ON-CALL
Welcome to Melbourne Victoria Hospital—and to the exceptional midwives who make up the Melbourne Maternity Unit!
These midwives in a million work miracles on a daily basis, delivering tiny bundles of joy into the arms of their brand-new mums!
Amidst the drama and emotion of babies arriving at all hours of the day and night, when the shifts are over, somehow there’s still time for some sizzling out-of-hours romance…
Whilst these caring professionals might come face-to-face with a whole lot of love in their line of work, now it’s their turn to find a happy-ever-after of their own!
Eight special stories to collect and treasure:
These titles are also available in eBook format from millsandboon.co.uk
I’m so excited to have written one of the
When Kiwis visit Australia we call it hopping across the ditch. In this case my story has hopped over there. It’s fun to write a story set in a very different location from my usual haunts.
Flynn and Ally are made for each other—it just takes them time to work that out. But who could go wrong with love on the beautiful Phillip Island, which sits just below Melbourne and the Victoria coastline? Throw in the cutest little boy and a big friendly dog and life’s a beach.
I hope you enjoy reading Flynn and Ally’s story, and seeing how it ties in with the other stories in this series.
Drop by my website, suemackay.co.nz, or send me an email at sue.mackay56@yahoo.com
Cheers!
With a background of working in medical laboratories, and a love of the romance genre, it is no surprise that SUE MACKAY writes Mills & Boon® Medical Romance™ stories. An avid reader all her life, she wrote her first story at age eight—about a prince, of course. She lives with her own hero in the beautiful Marlborough Sounds, at the top of New Zealand’s South Island, where she indulges her passions for the outdoors, the sea and cycling.
Midwife… to Mum!
Sue MacKay
Table of Contents
ALYSSA PARKER DROPPED her bags in the middle of the lounge and stared around what would be her next temporary living quarters. She could pretty much see it all from where she stood. Dusting and vacuuming weren’t going to take up her spare time, like it had at the last place. She’d have to find something else to keep her busy after work. Take up knitting? Or hire a dog to walk every day?
Her phone rang. Tugging it from her jacket pocket, she read the name on the screen and punched the ‘talk’ button. ‘Hey, boss, I’ve arrived on Phillip Island.’ The bus trip down from Melbourne city had been interminable as she’d kept dozing off. It had taken the ferry crossing and lots of fresh air to clear her head.
‘How’s the head?’ Lucas Elliot, her senior midwife, asked.
‘It’s good now. Who have you been talking to?’ She and some of the crew from the Melbourne Midwifery Unit had gone out for drinks, which had extended to a meal and more drinks.
‘My lips are sealed,’ Lucas quipped. ‘So, Phillip Island—another place for you to tick off on the map.’
‘Yep.’ Her life was all about new destinations and experiences. Certainly not the regular nine to five in the same place, year in, year out, that most people preferred.
‘How’s the flat?’
‘About the size of a dog kennel.’ Stepping sideways, Ally peered into what looked like an overgrown cupboard. ‘It’s an exaggeration to call this a kitchen. But, hey, that’s part of the adventure.’ Like she needed a kitchen when she favoured takeout food anyway.
‘Ally, I forgot to tell you where the key to the flat would be, but it seems you’ve taken up breaking and entering on the side.’
She was Ally to everyone except the taxman and her lawyer. And the social welfare system. ‘It was under the pot plant on the top step.’ The first place she’d looked.
‘Why do people do that? It’s so obvious.’ Lucas sounded genuinely perplexed.
Still looking around, she muttered, ‘I doubt there’s much worth stealing in here.’ Kat, the midwife she was replacing temporarily, certainly didn’t spend her pay packet on home comforts.
‘Are you happy with the arrangements? I know you enjoy everywhere we send you, but this should be the best yet as far as location goes. All those beaches to play on.’
‘It’s winter, or haven’t you noticed?’ Ally shook her head. ‘But so far the island’s looking beautiful.’
His chuckle was infectious. ‘I’ll leave you to unpack and find your way around. You’re expected at the medical centre at eight thirty tomorrow. Dr Reynolds wants to run through a few details with you before you get started with the Monday morning antenatal list.’
‘Same as any locum job I do, then?’ She couldn’t help the jibe. She’d been doing this relief work for two years now. It suited her roving lifestyle perfectly and was the only reason she remained with the Melbourne Midwifery Unit. They’d offered her fixed positions time and again. She’d turned them all down. Fixed meant working continuously at the midwifery unit, which in turn meant getting too close to those people she’d work with every day.
The days when she set herself up to get dumped by anyone—friends, colleagues or lovers—were long over. Had been from the monumental day she’d turned sixteen and taken control of her life. She’d walked out of the social welfare building for the very last time. It hadn’t mattered that she’d had little money or knowledge on how to survive. She’d known a sense of wonder at being in charge of herself. Since then no one had screwed up her expectations because she’d been in charge of her own destiny. Because she hadn’t allowed herself to hope for family or love again.