The Army Doctor's Wedding (11 page)

Alice pulled off her hat, leaned
back against the counter, and stared at him. Her blue eyes were so big in her
face, her expression pensive and vulnerable. "Can't you imagine yourself
here with us?"

"Yes," he said firmly.
But he would only have two days with them before he left. Most of the time
Alice would be here alone, caring for Sami, trying to sort out the adoption,
living her life without him.

A hollow sense of loss filled him
as if he had already gone. He caught Alice up and sat her on the counter so
they were eye to eye. Then he kissed her and drew her close against him beside
Sami.

He'd always rolled his eyes at
his mother's tears when his dad went away. Now he understood how she felt.

***

Alice stood behind Cameron as he changed Sami's diaper,
wrapped her arms around his waist, and pressed her cheek to his back. This was
the last time he would change Sami for months, the last time she would be able
to hug him like this. In thirty minutes he'd be gone.

Pain fisted around her heart. She
breathed slowly through her mouth until the urge to cry went away. She had
promised herself she would not make a fuss when he left. The army was his job,
something very important to him. She didn't want to make him feel bad about
leaving.

"Here you are." Cameron
turned and passed Sami to her. "I'll just wash my hands, then I can give
him a bottle before I go."

Alice wandered out to the tiny
landing while the water ran in the bathroom. She rocked Sami as she descended
the stairs, the motion soothing her as much as the baby.

Cameron's footsteps thudded down
behind her. He took Sami from her arms and gathered him close again.

"Sit down. I'll bring you
the bottle." She had prepared it a few minutes ago, made sure she had
everything laid out and ready so he had no interruptions just before he left.

With the bottle in hand, she
dropped onto the sofa at his side and snuggled against him, watching her son's
mouth as he latched on to the nipple. The nurse had warned that Sami might take
a few days to adapt to the change in his lip, and he could have trouble
feeding.

That hadn't happened. Sami
carried on as though nothing had changed. That was what she must do when
Cameron left.

Carry on.

The pain in her chest flared
again, leaving her nauseated. "I'll miss you," she whispered.

"I'll miss you too, love. So
much." Cameron finished burping Sami and laid him on a baby play mat on
the carpet. He pulled Alice onto his lap and held her close, kissing her until
they were both out of breath.

She touched the bare third finger
of her left hand. He'd never gotten around to buying her an engagement or
wedding ring. It wasn't really important, but the oversight made her feel
insecure. She had wondered if he was less bothered about the impeding
separation than she was. His kiss reassured her.

The doorbell rang. Alice's
emotions flared almost out of control. Tears flooded her eyes. She swallowed
hard to fight them back.

"That'll be Rad,"
Cameron said. His brother was dropping him at RAF Brize Norton to catch his
flight. "I'd better not keep him waiting."

Alice released him and he kneeled
to kiss Sami one last time. "Be good for Mummy, bud. Daddy will be
thinking of you."

Alice knotted her fist in the hem
of her oversized T-shirt, struggling for control. She followed Cameron to the
front door where his bag lay packed and ready.

Turning, he took her in his arms
again, pulling her tight against him. She tried to memorize the sensation of
his hard masculine body against hers.

"Remember, you can text me
or e-mail me anytime. I won't have my phone with me all the time, but I'll
reply as soon as I can."

"Okay."

"Let me know if there are
any developments in the adoption saga."

She nodded, unable to answer,
sure that if she opened her mouth to speak she would blubber instead.

"If you need anything,
Radley and Olivia are just up the road. All right?"

Alice nodded again, her face
pressed to Cameron's shirt front. Dressed in his sandy-colored T-shirt, desert
combat pants, and boots, the sight brought back memories of the time she spent
with him in the field hospital. Good memories.

His fingers found her chin and
tilted her face up so he could see her. "I love you, Alice. I'll be home
for Christmas. I promise. I have leave booked and Dad will make sure I get
it."

He kissed her again, slowly and
tenderly, his fingers sliding into her hair. Then he drew back and blew out a
breath. He picked up his bag and opened the door.

Alice grabbed his sleeve. "I
love you too."

He quickly kissed her once more,
then went out and shut the door between them.

Alice stood for a moment, frozen
in denial, her stubborn brain refusing to accept he was gone. She hurried back
to the sitting room where Sami lay on the floor, and rushed to the window in
time to see Radley's big black 4x4 drive away. She caught a glimpse of Cameron
in the passenger seat, then the car disappeared from view.

Hot pain exploded in her chest
and seared along her nerves.

He'd gone.

He'd ripped out a vital part of
her and taken it with him. How had Cameron become so important to her in such a
short time?

At least she had his things. The
whole house was full of Cameron's possessions: his furniture, his family
photographs, his sports trophies. And she loved that. She might not have him,
but she was surrounded by the mementos of his life.

He would come back. She just had
to be patient.

Chapter Eleven

The ever present dust tasted gritty in Cameron's mouth as he
took his seat in the Merlin helicopter with the other soldiers and two medical
technicians.

The captain shouted orders to his
men as the chopper took off and headed out over the desert. A patrol vehicle
had come under fire and there were casualties.

Cameron's heart thudded as the
captain spoke to the pilot and another update on the attack came in.

"There are two men down,
Major," the captain said to him. "When we land, you wait for the
signal before you exit, please, sir."

Cameron nodded. He followed the
safety protocols more closely than he had in the past, and didn't take
unnecessary risks. Danger didn't give him the buzz it used to. Now he had more
to lose.

He stared down at his hands, let
his gaze drift, and pictured Alice and Sami as they'd looked that last morning
in bed. He'd made love to Alice, then they'd brought Sami into bed with them
for a cuddle before they got up.

Alice and Sami might be a few
thousand miles away, but they were always in his heart, affecting everything he
thought and everything he did.

The front- and rear-mounted
machine guns both opened fire, the deafening rattle beating against his ear
drums in the enclosed space. The firing ceased abruptly, leaving Cameron's ears
ringing. He wiped gritty sweat off his upper lip as he leaned forward to peer
out of the doors at the landscape below.

"Major Knight, hostile
forces are in retreat but there are multiple casualties," a corporal said
to him.

A few minutes later the Merlin
touched down and the soldiers poured out. The
rat-tat-tat
of gunfire sounded
from all directions.

Cameron unbuckled his safety
harness and grabbed his medical kit, watching for the signal it was safe for
him to jump out. The intermittent gunfire quieted, leaving a tense, eerie
silence as hot sandy air blew in the open doorway.

"All clear, sir," the
corporal shouted. Cameron paused at the door to survey the area, then dashed
out, stones crunching under his boots as he headed for the nearest man down.

An infantryman lay behind a rock
with his commanding officer. He was bleeding heavily, his uniform soaked with
it, but he still had a gun in his hand.

The officer had multiple
fragmentation injury from the blast when an IED took out the Snatch Landrover
at the head of the convoy. It had torn through his uniform and caused numerous
wounds on his arms and chest, but he wasn't critical. He switched his attention
to the other man.

The infantryman dropped his gun,
closed his eyes, and flopped back. Cameron pulled open metal closures and
ripped apart Velcro to open his jacket, then cut away his T-shirt beneath. When
he mopped up the blood, he found two gunshot wounds.

The heat beat down on him. He
licked dry lips as he tuned out the shouts of the soldiers and the odd burst of
gunfire to concentrate on stabilizing his patient so he could be moved. The two
medical technicians brought a stretcher, loaded the man on, and carried him
back to the Merlin. He helped load the wounded officer on another stretcher and
two of his team took him.

Cameron moved to continue his
search for wounded, but the unit captain signaled him back to the helicopter.
"The rest are walking wounded and they're already aboard."

Cameron ran back to the
helicopter, dumped his medical pack, and crouched to check his patients while
the medical technicians treated the less seriously injured. The officer was
unconscious but the other man's eyes opened.

"It hurts."

"What's your name?"
Cameron asked.

"Hugo."

"Well, Hugo, we're on our
way back to Rejerrah now." Cameron squeezed the man's shoulder, trying to
hold his attention. He didn't want to give him anything for the pain just yet.
They would operate as soon as they reached the hospital. "Hang in there,
Hugo. Ten minutes and we'll have you back." There would be a team ready to
operate. Once they got an injured man into the OR, his chances of survival were
excellent.

Even though he was in acute pain,
the soldier fumbled to retrieve something from his pocket. When Cameron
realized what he was doing he helped, pulling a photograph out and holding it
up for the man to see.

"My wife and daughter."
Hugo stared at the picture for a few moments, then his eyelids fell again.

Cameron glanced at the image of a
pretty woman with dark hair and a little girl with pigtails. He thanked God
that he'd arrived in time to save this man's life. This woman and her daughter
would get the man they loved back, but it was a close call.

Cameron missed Alice and Sami
every moment, but for the first time since he arrived two weeks ago, he was
glad to be here. He did make a difference. He did help people. That's what he
wanted to do with his life. When he had a moment, he would call his father and
find out if he'd had any ideas about how to handle the adoption authorities. He
really did not want to give this up.

Alice pulled away from a road junction in Olivia's car and
shifted up through the gears smoothly.

"Wonderful," Olivia
said from beside her. "You've picked this up so quickly. You're a
natural."

"Thanks. I'd never even
tried to drive before." Her father had always told her she didn't need to
learn. He had never let her mother learn either.

"You need to go online and
book your practical driving test as soon as possible. There might be a waiting
list."

Alice nodded. She had passed her
written driving test a couple of days ago and had already checked the available
dates for the practical. Her aim was to pass before Cameron came home at
Christmastime. She wanted to surprise him by picking him up from the airport.

At the thought of Cameron, an
ache throbbed inside. It had taken six weeks, but the hollow sense of loss had
faded to a bearable level now. They chatted every day by e-mail, text, or on
the phone. It allowed her to share with him some of the things that happened
and keep him updated on Sami's progress. She made sure to send him a new photo
of Sami every day as well.

She was coping. After a few
years, the separations would be easier to bear. One day down the line, Cameron
would probably be stationed in the UK and they could spend more time together.

"Gosh," Olivia
exclaimed. "Look at the time. We've been out for two hours."

"It doesn't feel that
long." Alice enjoyed driving. It was a liberating experience being able to
get about on her own without needing a bus or train. They had driven all over
the place today, through Oxford, along the motorway, down country lanes—all
good experience.

"I expect it feels like two
hours to my poor husband. He loves the children dearly, and he's very good with
them, but he's probably ready for a break."

Alice turned towards Henford, the
local village, and threaded her way along the narrower roads back towards
Radley and Olivia's house.

Ten minutes later she swung the
car between the stone gateposts and crunched up the drive. An expensive new
silver sports car was parked outside the front door. Alice pulled up beside it.
"Looks like you have visitors."

Olivia frowned as she climbed
out. "I don't recognize the car. Maybe it's somebody Radley knows from
work."

Alice locked the car and handed
the keys to Olivia. "Thank you so much for spending time helping me
practice. I really appreciate it." For the last six weeks she'd taken two
lessons a week with a driving school, and spent as much time as possible
practicing in Olivia's car.

"You're welcome. You're
family and the Knights are all about helping family."

Alice had grown to understand
that sentiment in the three months she'd been married to Cameron. It was so
different from her childhood experience of family. It took a little getting
used to, but she liked knowing that whatever happened she was not alone. Even
with Cameron thousands of miles away, she had relatives to call on when she
needed help.

She followed Olivia inside, her
thoughts turning to Sami. She couldn't wait to see her baby boy again. Radley's
deep laugh sounded from the sitting room, making Alice smile. So much about Radley
reminded her of Cameron. It was a bittersweet thing being around Cameron's
older brother.

Then another male voice joined in
the laughter. Alice stumbled to a halt.

Her father? He couldn't be here.

She strained her ears to hear the
men's voices. Any doubt disappeared as she identified her father's
authoritarian tone.

How had he known to find her
here? The adoption agency must have told him. That meant he knew about Sami.
Her heart lurched, nausea clenching her stomach.

Olivia had already reached the
sitting room door. She pushed it open. "Hello, we're back."

"Good timing," Radley
said. "Alice's parents have just arrived."

Alice smoothed her hands down the
front of her dress, summoning her composure. She would not crawl in there all
meek and submissive. Her father had no control over her now. She was twenty-six
and a married woman. No way would she let him use Sami to control her.

Head high, Alice strode into the
room and halted beside Olivia. "Hello, Dad, Mum, how are you?"

Her mother was stunning in a peach
silk dress and matching shoes, her makeup perfect, her blonde hair in a neat
chignon.

"Alice, darling." She
stepped forward and they kissed each other's cheeks.

Alice's father stood beside
Radley, his expression carefully blank. Only someone who knew him well would
notice the tell-tale tightness around his mouth. He was furious with her.

"It would have been nice to
know you were back in the country," he said.

She hadn't told him she'd left.
He must have been keeping tabs on her. Being a High Court judge, he had all
sorts of contacts.

"I'm back safely, thank
you." She was going to be civil if it killed her.

"We came to meet your
husband, but I understand he's out of the country."

"Yes. He's in the
army." She stared at her father's forehead. She had learned not to look in
his eyes.

"We also want to see this
baby you hope to adopt. It seems only fair we should be involved if we're to
become its grandparents." A hint of disapproval crept into his tone and a
chill went through Alice. This was why he'd come. As far as her father was
concerned, the people in his life existed only to serve him or make him look
good. Sami had to pass inspection before he qualified.

"Sami's slept most of the
time you were out," Radley said. "He might be awake now."

Radley seemed to accept her
father at face value, but Olivia was pale and wide-eyed as if she'd seen a
ghost. Maybe she'd met Judge Conway in court. He had the reputation for being
unpleasant to female legal counsel.

"I'll bring Sami down."
Alice might not want to show him to her father, but she was eager for her
mother to meet her baby boy.

She left the room, ran up the
stairs, and entered the bedroom she and Cameron had shared when they stayed
here. Closing the door, she leaned back against it for a few seconds to catch
her breath, her heart thumping. She went to Sami's bassinet to find him lying
quietly, his intelligent brown eyes tracking a mobile hung from the ceiling.
"Hey, baby boy. Were you good for Uncle Radley?"

At the sound of her voice, Sami
gurgled and kicked his legs. He'd started to do mini pushups when she laid him
on his front on his play mat and he reached for toys now. She lifted him and
deposited him on the mat, taking her time changing his diaper.

When he had a clean bottom and
there was no other reason to postpone, she gathered him in her arms and walked
downstairs, pausing outside the sitting room to listen to her father regaling
Radley with stories of when he rowed for Oxford University and won the famous
boat race on the River Thames.

He sounded normal when he was
with other men. Why did he have to behave like a controlling jerk with his
family?

With a sigh, Alice slipped
quietly through the door. Her mother rose immediately and came to her.
"Oh, he's sweet. What happened to his lip, darling?"

"He had a cleft lip, but it
was repaired by a friend of Radley's about six weeks ago. The scar should fade
to almost nothing eventually."

"Poor little poppet."

"Considering his uncertain
start in life, he's a very laid-back baby." Olivia joined them with Emma
in her arms. "I wish my daughter would take a page out of Sami's
book."

"Would you like to hold
him?" Alice asked her mother.

With a rare impulsive smile,
Alice's mother stretched out her hands to accept the baby and cuddled him
against the peach silk of her dress. Guilt whispered through Alice. She'd known
her mother would love Sami. She should have taken him to see her sooner. But it
was a fact of life that her mother could not keep anything from her father. The
moment she'd known about Sami, Alistair Conway would also have known.

That was academic now, of course.
He knew anyway. She sensed rather than saw her father approach. Her skin
prickled, the tiny hairs on her neck raised in warning.

"He's black." Her
father's words fell into the room with a thud of disapproval.

"I know." Alice glanced
over her shoulder at the mask of anger on her father's face.

"This is ridiculous. I won't
allow you to adopt a black baby."

Alice's protective maternal
instinct roused. She gently retrieved her baby from her mother's arms and held
him close, cupping his dear little head against her shoulder.

"Cameron and I don't need
your permission. For your information,
his
parents are thrilled with
Sami."

Her father gave a dismissive
grunt. "Your husband isn't even here to speak for himself. No judge will
allow an absent parent to adopt. And how do we know you're really married to
this man?" He gestured at her bare hand.