Rescued by the Single Dad Doc by Marion Lennox

Author:Marion Lennox
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-10-09T15:27:43+00:00

* * *

How seldom was it that Tom Lavery enjoyed himself nowadays? Really enjoyed himself, without the constant niggles of worry that continued to surface?

Answer—hardly ever.

He used to, he conceded. When Claire was well, he’d immersed himself in the role of best buddy to these kids. But when he’d collected the boys for an afternoon’s soccer, she’d been waiting at home, ready to take over the moment he was called back to the hospital, or when the demands of his social life took over. He’d enjoyed his time with the boys with no strings. He’d been a joyful pseudo uncle, immersing himself in their fun and laughter, indulging as he liked and then handing them back at will.

He’d lost that, almost the moment Claire had collapsed at work. Sure, he still messed around with them, played with them, but there was always the overriding knowledge that the buck ended with him. If there was a problem, he couldn’t mention it to Claire as he was handing them back. He had to fix it himself.

So now...he couldn’t play until Claire rang—‘Tom, it’s school tomorrow. Are you feeding them junk food? They’ll be hyped and it’ll be impossible to get them to sleep. Get them home.’ Now, he had to judge for himself. Now, he had to face the consequences.

But not this afternoon.

Not with Rachel.

He was rested. He’d organised spaghetti for dinner. Who knew that deciding on what meal came next was such a drag? But, with the afternoon free, he’d sorted it before he’d gone to sleep. Now there was no pressure. The boys were delighted to see him. The competition to see which surfer dude would ride the longest was intense—and Rachel was right there to help.

She was a noticer. He’d had to practically haul her to the water’s edge but, once she’d committed, once Henry had handed over Wipe-Out Wally and asked her—tentatively—if she could throw it for him—she’d waded right in. Tom’s role turned out to be helping Kit throw Tip-Off Tony. Rachel’s first toss went further than his. The boys whooped with excitement and the challenge was on.

But, no matter how much she was immersed in their fun, he saw Rachel constantly monitoring the kids, watching their expressions, seeing that no one was feeling left out. When Henry started to droop, she put Wipe-Out Wally into his hands, lifted him up and carted him waist-deep so he could throw it even further. Tom, who’d worn trousers to the beach—how dumb was that?—was stuck in the shallows. Kit and Marcus headed out too, so it was game on between the four of them, with Tom watching from the sidelines.

Rachel might be whooping with the kids, but still he saw that watchfulness. The care to shield Kit’s hand, to edge around Kit so Marcus’s wild swings didn’t make contact.

He thought of her as she wanted to be, a radiologist isolated in her technical world, not needing to interact, and he thought, What a waste.

She was lit up, vivacious, laughing, her reserve set aside, and she fascinated him.

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