Marriage Miracle in Swallowbrook by Abigail Gordon

Author:Abigail Gordon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-12-26T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

IT WOULD be Libby’s last day soon and all the staff had been invited to a farewell party that Laura had been asked to arrange on behalf of the practice.

Previous similar occasions had been held at the hotel on the lakeside. John Gallagher, Nathan’s father, and one-time head of the practice, had chosen to have his retirement party there, and so had Laura’s uncle, Gordon Jessup, who had preceded her as practice manager.

But Libby’s choice was one of the launches that sailed the lake with restaurant and bar facilities, and everyone was looking forward to the new venue.

Gabriel had been invited, along with other partners of surgery staff. Josh and Sophie were also on the guest list at Toby’s request, and there had been a suggestion that Sophie bring a school friend for company if she wanted to.

With that event to take place shortly, the other three doctors were turning their thoughts to a replacement for Libby, and along with her other duties Laura was arranging interviews to find a suitable candidate.

Her working days seemed to fly past as summer wended its way towards autumn. Having Gabriel there for Sophie and Josh during the long summer holiday from school was solving what could have been a problem otherwise, though not an insurmountable one with holiday clubs available for children with working parents.

But being with their father, who always had something interesting planned for the three of them, was what they liked best, and until they were asleep in the evening after the day’s activities everything was fine.

After that, with Gabriel doing jobs in the garden and Laura drawn to what was left of the sun, the feeling of living separate lives was still there.

* * *

The four of them went to the barn supper as Laura had told the vicar they would, and it felt good, Gabriel thought when they arrived, as if they were no longer newcomers to Swallowbrook but belonged there.

As the children went to seek out their friends he took Laura’s hand and as they joined the dancers already in Country and Western mood he smiled across at her.

Laura smiled back and it was there again, one of the brief moments of togetherness that came suddenly and went as quickly, but not this time, he hoped. When the caller cried, ‘Swing your partner,’ he swung her into his arms and held her close, and the longing they had for each other was there, vibrant, demanding, and never brought out into the open since the day that Gabriel had told her he was giving up medicine.

When the dance was over, still holding her hand, he led her onto the deserted village green and in the shadow of an old oak tree that looked as if it had been there for centuries he said, ‘When we arrived everyone smiled and waved and I had a fantastic feeling of belonging. It was like coming home, as if this place had always been waiting for me. Do you

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.