Mills & Boon Medical Chapter Sampler

7/29/2019 Mills & Boon Medical Chapter Sampler

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Pulse-racing medical dramas


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DID YOU PURCHASE THIS BOOK WITHOUT A COVER?If you did, you should be aware it is stolen property as it was reportedunsold and destroyed by a retailer.

Neither the author nor the publisher has received any paymentfor this book.

First Published 2013First Australian Paperback Edition 2013ISBN 978 1 743 55102 8

THE SON THAT CHANGED HIS LIFE 2013 by Jennifer TaylorPhilippine Copyright 2013

Australian Copyright 2013New Zealand Copyright 2013

Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilisation of this work in whole or inpart in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafterinvented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any informationstorage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the permission of the publisher,Harlequin Mills & Boon , Locked Bag 7002, Chatswood D.C. N.S.W., Australia 2067.

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actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirelycoincidental.

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The Son That Changed His Life

Jennifer Taylor


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Jennifer Taylor lives in the north-west of England,in a small village surrounded by some really beautifulcountryside. She has written for several differentMills & Boon series in the past, but it wasnt untilshe read her first Medical Romance that she trulyfound her niche. She was so captivated by these heart-warming stories that she set out to write them herself!When shes not writing, or doing research for her latest

book, Jennifers hobbies include reading, gardening,travel, and chatting to friends both on and off-line. Sheis always delighted to hear from readers, so do visit her website at www.jennifer-taylor.com


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Dear Reader,

I realised when I was planning this series that I wasgoing to give Ben and Emily a really hard time, butI was confident that they were strong enough toovercome even the biggest obstacle a couple can face.

Discovering that Ben had cancer when he was younger comes as a huge shock to Emily. For the past three

years she has tried to come to terms with the way hetreated her, and now she has to revise her opinion of him. She realises that she still loves him and is thrilledwhen Ben admits that he loves her too, but havingcancer has made Ben afraid to make a commitment.Although he longs to be with Emily and their son, herefuses to take the risk of hurting them.

Helping Ben and Emily overcome their fears and find ahappy ending was a joy. Although their lives have beenaffected by cancer, it isnt a dark or depressing story far from it. Their love for one another shines throughand you just know that no matter what the future holds,they will face it together. I just hope you enjoy readingtheir story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Best wishes, Jennifer


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CHAPTER ONE

He had riv n ll nig t, w nting to voi tworst of t b nk oli y tr ffic. Now s pull up t t si of t ro to w tc tsun ris ov r t l n , B n ict L gr ng

coul f l is oubts surf cing g in. W ti op to c i v by coming r ? H

kn w t trut b tt r t n nyon i , so w yw st is tim ? H w snt t c il s f t r. Hcoul nt b . T rugs b n giv n m y

v s v is lif but t y l ft im inf r-til . H coul n v r f t r c il n hadnt f t r Emilys c il , spit r cl ims to tcontr ry. So w y put ims lf t roug ll t

rt c of s ing r g in?B n sig s r st is g inst t

s t n clos is y s. It w s on t ing toknow w s b ving foolis ly but som t ingntir ly iff r nt to stop ims lf oing so. Ev r

sinc is goo fri n Tom Br bury m n-


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the son that changed his life8

tioned Emily, he had felt all churned up inside.It was almost three years since theyd had thatbrief affair, yet the memory of what had hap-pened was as sharp as ever. Emily had touchedhim in ways no woman had ever done, affectedhim more deeply than he had believed possible.

That was why hed been so angry when she hadtold him she was expecting his child. He hadknown it was a lie and it had hurta lot!torealise that she would try to deceive him.

A ray of golden light touched his lids andBen opened his eyes. He breathed in deeply as

he watched the sun climb above the headland.Brides Bay in the summer was a beautiful placeto be and he was determined to enjoy his visit.He was looking forward to seeing Tom againand to meeting Hannah and her son, Charlie.He smiled. Hannah had to be really special if

shed managed to make commitment-phobicTom turn into a family man! Obviously thelove of the right woman could have far-reach-ing consequences.

His smile faded abruptly. That wasnt some-thing he had ever experienced. Emily hadnt

loved him as her subsequent actions had proved.He had been merely a convenience, the manshed hoped to con into accepting responsibil-ity for the child she was carrying. It might have


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worked too if the circumstances had been dif-ferent. He wouldnt have questioned her claimsthat he was the father if he hadnt known itwas impossible. What had the consultant toldhim after hed had that fertility test followinghis treatment, that the odds on him fathering

a child were several billion to one? It had beena bitter blow. He loved children and he wouldhave loved a child of his own so very much

He shut off the thought because it was point-less going down that route. Whoever the childsfather was, it wasnt him!

Theo, no! Put that down right now Oh!Emily Jackson made a grab for the carton of

orange juice but she was a shade too slow. Itlanded on the kitchen floor, sending a wave of

juice f lowing across the tiles. Theo looked up

at her with solemn dark brown eyes.Fall, Mummy.So I can see, you little rip. Emily grabbed

a wad of kitchen roll and wiped up the juice.I know you were trying to help, darling, but

you must wait for Mummy to pour your juice

next time. Okay?Okay.Theo smiled beatif ically at her as he started to

eat his cereal, and Emily didnt have the heart


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to berate him any further. After all what wasa drop of spilled juice in the great scheme of things, she thought as she tossed the soddenpaper into the bin. So long as Theo was happyand healthy she wasnt going to make an issueof it.

She helped him finish his breakfast then tookhim upstairs to clean his teeth, ever consciousof the minutes ticking away. Mornings were al-ways hectic and today she needed to be at thesurgery early as she had two patients booked infor fasting cholesterol tests. As soon as Theo had

finished, she hurried him out to the car, quicklystrapping him into his seat before fetching hislunch bag from the kitchen. Fortunately thegood weather had held and there was no needto worry about coats, which saved another pre-cious few seconds. It was just gone seven-thirty

when she backed off the path of the tiny cottageshe rented on the outskirts of the town and shebreathed a sigh of relief. Shed be well in timefor her first appointment after shed droppedTheo off at the nursery.

She headed into Brides Bay, taking the road

that skirted the headland as it was the quick-est route. There were already a number of carsabout, no doubt tourists intent on making themost of the bank holiday weekend. She slowed


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down to let a top-of-the-range four-by-four turn into a narrow track leading to the cove.From the look of its paintwork the vehicle hadnever been off-road before and she smiled toherself as she pictured the state of the tracksrutted surface. It wouldnt look quite so pris-

tine after it had driven down there!Emily rounded the bend then had to slowonce again when she encountered a car parkedon the grass verge. There were a couple of ve-hicles coming the other way so she waited for them to pass. She pulled out to overtake, auto-

matically glancing at the car as she drew along-side. The driver had the window down andshe had a clear view of him, so clear that for amoment she couldnt believe what she was see-ing. Just for a second her brain seized up, thethoughts all jammed up like logs in a river: Ben.

Here. Sitting in that car.Her foot pressed down way too hard on theaccelerator and she roared past, and the soundof the engine broke the spell. Emily bit her lipto stem the cry that threatened to emerge. Shedidnt want to frighten Theo but she could feel

it building inside her until it felt her head wasringing with it. What did Ben want? Why hadhe come here? Did it have anything to do withTheo and if it did, how did she feel about that?


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She took a deep breath, forcing the panic tosubside to a level she could deal with. She hadno idea what the answers were to any of thosequestions but she intended to find out.

Have you got a minute, Tom?

Emily summoned a smile as she popped her head round the consulting room door, but thetension that had been building inside her allmorning was making her feel sick. It had beentoo busy to find out what Ben was doing inBrides Bay before now and the uncertainty had

been very hard to deal with. She knew that shewouldnt rest until shed found out some an-swers.

Of course. I just need to type up these notesand Ill be right with you.

Tom Bradbury gave her a quick smile before

he returned his attention to the computer screenand Emily did her best to curb her impatience.She went over to the window, concentratingon the view across the bay in the hope that itwould calm her, but it didnt work. What didBen want? Why had he come to Brides Bay

when it was the last place she would have ex-pected to see him? He had made his positionperfectly clear when shed been to Paris to seehim, so clear that shed been left under no il-


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lusion that he didnt want anything more to dowith her. So why had he come here when hemust have known their paths would cross?

Right, all done. Tom spun his chair roundand grinned at her. Its been mad this morn-ing, hasnt it? I had hoped that folk would have

better things to do than worry about their ail-ments with the bank holiday coming up, butno such luck.

It doesnt work that way, Emily told him,knowing that she couldnt just leap in and startdemanding answers. She had to lead up to the

subject, make it appear that it was of little con-sequence otherwise Tom would suspect some-thing was wrong. That was the last thing shewanted. Shed told no one who Theos father was, neither her family nor her friends knewhe was Bens son. She wasnt sure why she had

kept it a secret but shed felt it was better if no-body knew the truth. And there was no reasonwhy she should change her mind at this pointwas there?

She took a quick breath as yet another ques-tion tagged itself onto all the others and hur-

ried on. With us being closed this afternoonas well as Bank Holiday Monday, a lot of peo-ple will have decided to make an appointment

just in case.


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You mean in case their cold turns to fluor their tickly cough to pneumonia? Tomlaughed. I never thought of that. Obviously,Ive got a lot to learn about being a GP.

You seem to be coping well enough, Emilyassured him and he grinned.

Thank you. I shall take that as a compli-ment. Anyway, what was it you wanted to seeme about? He looked enquiringly at her andEmilys mouth went dry. All of a sudden shecouldnt remember a word of her carefully re-hearsed speech.

Iermum.Tom, darling, have you finished yet?She looked round when her friend Hannah

Morris, another GP at the practice, came intothe room, feeling a pang of something verymuch like envy strike her when she saw Tomsface light up. There was no doubt at all how hefelt about Hannah or she about him and Emilycouldnt help envying their closeness. It mustbe wonderful to have someone you could share

your innermost feelings withthe way shed

once thought she could share hers with Ben.Yep. I just need to take these notes throughto the office and thats it. Tom stood up. Imglad that Simon decided to cancel evening sur-


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gery. Its such a glorious day that I have to con-fess I dont feel like working.

Its a good job we arent working, Hannahstated, smiling up at him. Ben just phoned.Apparently, hes already here.

But I thought he wasnt arriving until this

evening! Tom exclaimed, mercifully missingEmilys gasp. Any hopes she may have har-boured about being mistaken had just been shotright out of the sky. It definitely had been Benin that car and now she needed to find out whathe wanted.

Me too, but it seems he decided to get anearly start and drove through the night. Han-nah shrugged. He sounded a bit uptight, to behonest. I think he needs this break more thanhes letting on.

Emily frowned as she listened to the con-

versation. So Ben had come to Brides Bay for a holiday? Was it true or was it an excuse? Shehad no way of knowing and it was another un-certainty to add to the ever expanding list.

I thought that when I spoke to him the other day. He seemed ratherwell, on edge, is the

best way to describe it. Tom suddenly turnedand Emily hurriedly smoothed her face intowhat she hoped was a suitably noncommittalexpression.


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You remember Ben Legrange, dont you,Emily? He stayed with Simon and Ros a cou-ple of years ago while he was recuperating fromsome bug hed picked up while working for Mdecins Sans Frontires. Im sure you werehere at the time.

Yes, I was. Emily summoned a smile, pray-ing that her friends couldnt hear the strain inher voice. It was a few months after Id re-turned to Brides Bay to take up this job, infact.

Of course. Tom smiled at her. Hannah and

I have invited him to stay for the weekend.Hes been in London sorting out some problemswith the funding for the clinic hes set up andwe thought it would be nice if he had a coupleof days on the coast before he returns to Paris.

Theres nothing like a bit of sea air to re-

charge the batteries, Emily agreed as calmlyas she could. So that was the explanation. Benwas here for a break; it had nothing to do withher and Theo. The thought should have reas-sured her but it didnt. It was painful to knowthat she and Theo didnt figure in his life.

Very true. And I have a feeling that Benneeds his batteries recharging more than most.Tom sighed. Hes been working flat out sincehis father died, setting up the clinic. I think he


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sees it as his duty to carry out his fathers wishesno matter what the cost to him personally.

Which is why this break is all the more im-portant, Hannah said soothingly. She placedher hand on his arm. Well make sure Ben en-

joys himself, darling. A few days R & R and

hell be right as rain.Of course he will. Tom dropped a kiss onher nose then turned to Emily. How do youfancy helping us make Bens visit that bit morespecial? Were planning a barbecue tomorrownight if the weather holds, so how about you

and Theo coming along? Im sure Ben wouldlove to see you again and meet Theo, of course.Emily shook her head, feeling sick at the

thought of her turning up with Theo in tow.If Ben hadnt wanted to acknowledge his sonin private then he certainly wouldnt wish to

do so in front of his friends. Im afraid I havesomething planned tomorrow. Sorry.Shame. If Im not mistaken you two got on

really well, didnt you? Tom glanced at Han-nah. Now that I think about it, I remember Ros saying that Emily and Ben seemed to have

a real connection. He laughed. I rather thinkRos hoped it would turn into something more!Emily dredged up a smile when Hannah

laughed but it was all she could do not to let


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her friends see how much it hurt to hear that.She, too, had thought she and Ben had con-nected on a deeper level but shed been wrong.All of a sudden she couldnt take any more andswung round, wanting to get away before shesaid something stupid. Nobody must know

about her affair with Ben. Nobody must knowthat he was Theos father either. It would onlycomplicate matters and, worse still, start peopletalking. The last thing she needed was Theooverhearing some chance remark and gettingupset.

Emily, hold on.She stopped reluctantly when Tom called her back. Yes?

What did you want me for? You never said.Oh. Do you know Ive completely forgot-

ten. She gave a short laugh, doing her best to

pretend that everything was fine even thoughit was far from being that. It cant have beenanything important, can it?

Well, if you do remember then give me acall. Tom put his arm round Hannahs shoul-ders and ushered her towards the door. Now

we had better go and make Ben welcome. Ithink an afternoon lazing in the garden is calledfor, dont you?

Sounds like heaven, Hannah assured him.


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She paused to glance back and Emily could seethe gleam in her eyes. If you do change your mind about tomorrow night then youll be verywelcome, Emily. Im sure Ben would love tosee you.

Erthank you, but as I said Ive made other

plans.Emily managed to hold her smile until theydisappeared. She sighed. Tom and Hannahmeant well but they had no idea of the prob-lems they were creating by trying to push her and Ben together. Ben wasnt interested in her;

he never had been. Shed been merely a conve-nience, someone to sleep with and discard onceshed outlived her usefulness. Although neither of them had allowed for the fact that she mightget pregnant, it hadnt made any difference toBens plans.

She took a deep breath and made herself facethe truth as she had faced it many times in thepast few years. Ben had never wanted her. Andhe didnt want their son either.

Mills & Boon Medical Chapter Sampler

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