The Consultant's Adopted Son Read online

  BACHELOR DADS

  Single Doctors…Single Fathers!

  At work they are skilled medical professionals, but at home, as soon as they walk in the door, these eligible bachelors are on full-time fatherhood duty!

  These devoted dads still find room in their lives for love…

  It takes very special women to win the hearts of these dedicated doctors, and a very special kind of caring to make these single fathers full-time husbands!

  Look out for the next book in this mini-series—coming soon from Jennifer Taylor and Medical Romance™!

  Jennifer Taylor lives in the north-west of England with her husband Bill. She had been writing Mills & Boon® romances for some years, but when she discovered Medical Romances™, she was so captivated by these heart-warming stories that she set out to write them herself! When not writing, or doing research for her latest book, Jennifer’s hobbies include reading, travel, walking her dog and retail therapy (shopping!). Jennifer claims all that bending and stretching to reach the shelves is the best exercise possible. She’s always delighted to hear from readers, so do visit her at www.jennifer-taylor.com

  Recent titles by the same author:

  IN HIS LOVING CARE

  Bachelor Dads

  NURSE IN A MILLION*

  THE FOREVER ASSIGNMENT*

  A SPECIAL KIND OF CARING

  THE CONSULTANT’S ADOPTED SON

  BY

  JENNIFER TAYLOR

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER ONE

  HE KNEW who she was as soon as she came through the door. Even though they’d never met before, he recognised her. Her hair was the exact same honey-gold colour as Daniel’s was, and the way she tilted her head to the side as she looked around the bar was exactly what his son would have done, too.

  Owen Gallagher’s hand clenched around his glass. He’d tried to prepare himself for this meeting, but seeing the resemblance between this woman and Daniel made him realise how dangerous the situation really was. If he wasn’t careful he could end up losing his son, and the thought was more than he could bear. He loved Daniel more than anything in the world and he wouldn’t allow anyone to take him away from him!

  A crowd of people suddenly came into the pub and the woman disappeared from view. Owen cursed as he stood up and tried to see where she had gone. He should have made himself known to her as soon as she’d arrived instead of sitting here, worrying about what might or might not happen.

  Normally, he wasn’t someone who hesitated. He couldn’t afford to be in his job, when he needed to make life-and-death decisions. He was used to trusting his instincts, yet he was afraid to trust them now. He was too closely involved in this situation and it would be foolish to hope that instinct alone would guide him down the right path. He needed to follow his head, not his heart, although it wasn’t going to be easy to detach himself emotionally when Daniel’s whole future depended on him making the right decisions.

  The crowd suddenly parted and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the woman walking to the bar. He made his way towards her, using the few seconds it took to take stock. She was taller than he’d imagined, and slimmer, too. She was wearing a black trouser suit with a white blouse and a pair of low-heeled black shoes. Although her clothes were very neat and tidy, he could tell they weren’t expensive from the cut of the jacket—it was a little too loose around her waist and the sleeves were an inch too long. She stopped at the bar and he paused, too, needing another few seconds before he introduced himself.

  Her face was in profile now, and his heart lurched as he studied the smooth curve of her brow, the straight line of her nose and the fullness of her lips. She was even more like Daniel in profile, and it was unsettling to see the familiar features on her face. It wasn’t easy to control the feeling of panic that was creeping up on him, but he’d never been a coward and he refused to behave like one now. This woman had the power to disrupt Daniel’s life. If he had to conquer his own fears to ensure that wouldn’t happen, that was what he would do.

  Owen’s gaze moved on as he made himself take stock of the glossy fall of honey-gold hair that swung around her shoulders. Her hair was very thick and straight, like a golden waterfall as it shimmered in the lights above the bar. When she bent over to take her purse out of her bag, he half reached towards her, curious to see if her hair felt as cool and as smooth as it looked, before he realised what he was doing.

  His hand fell to his side and he breathed in sharply to clear his head. It didn’t matter how her hair felt. It only mattered how it looked, and it looked exactly the same as Daniel’s did, apart from its length. The sooner he accepted these similarities, the easier it would be to discount them. He couldn’t afford to focus on the resemblance between them otherwise he wouldn’t be able to separate himself emotionally from what needed to be done. He might not know anything about her, but he did know one thing: she was a threat.

  She suddenly turned, and Owen felt a rush of panic assail him when her eyes locked with his. He wasn’t mentally prepared yet to speak to her and wasn’t sure what he should do. Should he introduce himself now, or should he wait a while longer?

  ‘Excuse me.’

  Her voice was low, husky, and the hair on the back of his neck lifted when he heard it for the very first time. So far, they’d only communicated by letter—a terse little note from him suggesting they should meet, an even shorter reply from her, agreeing to the idea. He hadn’t thought about how she would sound, so it came as a shock to realise that he found the husky tones very appealing.

  He stepped aside to let her pass, feeling goose-bumps break out all over his skin when she murmured her thanks. All of a sudden it felt as though there wasn’t enough air in the pub and he couldn’t breathe. He hurried to the door. His only thought was to escape from a situation that was turning out to be far more stressful than he’d anticipated it would be. But even as he reached for the handle he knew he couldn’t leave. Not yet. Not until he’d made her understand what was going to happen.

  He took a deep breath, filled his lungs with the heavy, turgid air, then turned around. If ever there was a time when he needed to be in control of himself, it was now.

  Rose found an empty table and sat down. Taking a cardboard coaster out of the ashtray, she carefully placed her glass on it. She really hadn’t wanted a drink. She’d bought it simply because it had been expected of her. When you went into a pub you bought a drink. That was it, all nice and tidy—unlike her life, which was turning into such a mess.

  A spasm of dread shot through her and she picked up the glass and sipped a little of the wine, hoping it would steady her. Ever since she had agreed to this meeting she’d worried about what was going to happen. She’d gone over it in her head, time and time again, but it had been pure guesswork, of course.

  She had no real idea what Owen Gallagher wanted to see her about, except that it had something to do with Daniel—the child she’d given up for adoption eighteen years ago. Not a day had gone by since then when she hadn’t thought about him, worried about him, wondered where he was and if he was happy. Was that what Owen Gallagher wanted to know—if she ever thought about the child she’d given away?

  She hoped so, because it would be the easiest thing in the world to tell him the truth. She’d never stopped thinking about Dan
iel, had never stopped regretting the circumstances that had forced her to give him up. Even though she was sure that she’d made the right decision, she had many regrets, but was that really what Owen Gallagher wanted to hear? Or was there another reason why he’d contacted her?

  Rose put the glass back on the coaster as her hand began to tremble. She’d refused to allow herself to go beyond this point before, refused to consider the idea that Daniel might be ill and that was why Gallagher had tracked her down. One read about such things all the time—mothers and the children they’d given away reunited through illness—but she couldn’t accept that was the reason for this meeting. She simply couldn’t bear to imagine that her precious child might be desperately ill…

  She shot to her feet, unable to sit there while thoughts like that tormented her. Gallagher had asked her to meet him at seven o’clock and it was ten minutes past the hour now. Maybe he’d decided not to come? In that case, there was no point her sitting here in this noisy pub…

  ‘Ms Tremayne? I’m Owen Gallagher. Thank you for agreeing to meet me.’

  All of a sudden he was standing in front of her and Rose gasped. ‘But I just bumped into you at the bar!’

  ‘Yes. Please, sit down.’

  He gestured towards the chair she’d vacated. Rose sat, simply because she couldn’t think what else to do. Why hadn’t he introduced himself before? she wondered. Why had he stood there, staring at her that way?

  Oh, she’d noticed him, of course. Who wouldn’t? Even in this crowd he stood out. Tall and dark, with the kind of cleanly hewn good looks that would have appealed to any woman, Owen Gallagher wasn’t a man one could ignore. She shot him a careful look as he sat down, taking note of the beautifully tailored grey suit, the crisp white shirt, the silk tie and aura of affluence that surrounded him, and shivered. He wasn’t a man to be ignored—or crossed, for that matter—and it wasn’t pleasant to wonder what he wanted with her.

  ‘I may as well get straight to the point, Ms Tremayne. Eighteen years ago my late wife and I adopted your son.’

  ‘Your late wife?’ Rose put in hurriedly. ‘You mean she’s dead?’

  ‘Yes. Laura died two years ago, after a long illness.’ He didn’t appear unduly upset about having to relay the news, but Rose had dealt with too many people who’d suffered a loss to take that at face value.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said quietly. ‘It must have been a difficult time—for you and for Daniel.’

  ‘It was.’ Something flashed in his pewter-coloured eyes, a hint of surprise, possibly, because she’d realised that he was still grieving. Nevertheless, his tone was just as brisk when he continued.

  ‘Daniel was very close to his mother and Laura’s death was a massive blow to him. I think that’s what set him on his present course, in fact.’ He shrugged, his broad shoulders moving lightly under the expensive fabric. ‘If Laura had still been alive then I’m sure that things would have been very different today. Daniel certainly wouldn’t have got this ridiculous idea into his head about getting in touch with you.’

  ‘Getting in touch with me?’ Rose felt the room tilt and grasped hold of the table. Owen Gallagher had asked her to meet him not because their son was ill but because Daniel wanted to see her?

  Her heart ricocheted around her chest as the thought sank in, although it wasn’t just the fact that Daniel had decided to contact her that shocked her. It was the way she had linked herself and Owen Gallagher together with that phrase: their son. It made her feel very odd, but she didn’t dwell on it because he was speaking again.

  ‘That’s right, and before we go any further, Ms Tremayne, I may as well tell you that I am totally opposed to the idea. You have played no part in Daniel’s life to this point and I cannot see any reason why you should play a part in it in the future. That’s why I wanted to see you tonight—so there would be no mistake about this.’

  ‘What do you mean by that?’ Rose sat up straighter. Maybe she was overreacting, but there’d been something in his voice that had turned that statement into a threat.

  ‘I don’t want you interfering in Daniel’s life. He’s been through a rough couple of years and he’s still very vulnerable. At the present time he’s studying for his A-level exams and I don’t intend to allow you to disrupt his life when it’s essential that he remains focused.’

  ‘You won’t allow it?’ she said incredulously. ‘I’m sorry, but you seem to think that you have some kind of divine right over what Daniel does. If he wants to contact me, that’s his choice. It has nothing to do with you.’

  ‘Which proves how little you know about being a parent.’

  His deep voice was harsh, the words biting into her and causing maximum pain, but Rose knew that he didn’t care if he was hurting her. He only cared about his son, or rather what he thought was right for Daniel. He didn’t accept that Daniel had to make his own decision regarding this issue. He wanted to dictate what would happen. However, there was no way that she was letting him dictate to her!

  ‘I might not know very much about what it takes to be a good parent, Mr Gallagher, but I do know that if you prevent Daniel from contacting me, it could backfire on you. He will resent you interfering and that could cause a rift between you.’

  ‘I think I know Daniel rather better than you do, Ms Tremayne. He’s been through a very harrowing time, and what he needs more than anything else is stability in his life. Meeting you—his birth mother—for the first time would be far too stressful for him.’

  ‘But can’t you see that it might help him if he got to know me? He’d be able to get some sense of who he is and where he came from. That could only be a good thing.’

  ‘Or it could unsettle him even more. The fact is that Daniel is in no fit state to make major decisions like this at the moment. It’s taken months of hard work to get him to this stage, and I don’t intend to stand aside and watch you ruin everything.’

  ‘That’s a ridiculous thing to say! Why would I want to ruin anything? I want what is best for Daniel, too. How do you think he’s going to feel if I refuse to meet him? Surely that will cause him far more distress?’

  ‘He might be upset at first, but he’ll get over it. After all, he doesn’t know anything about you apart from the fact that you gave him up for adoption. You are a stranger to him, and that’s how I intend the situation to continue.’

  ‘But it isn’t up to you, is it? It’s Daniel’s decision.’ She stared him straight in the eyes. There was no way that he was going to browbeat her into submission when her son’s happiness was at stake. ‘I’m sorry, Mr Gallagher, but I have no intention of turning my back on Daniel. If he contacts me then I shall arrange to see him.’

  ‘Even though I’ve explained the damage it could cause?’

  ‘Yes, because I don’t agree with your assessment. I think that meeting me might help Daniel come to terms with what has happened.’

  ‘I don’t think that meeting you will make up for losing his mother. Daniel adored Laura, so if you’re harbouring any hopes that he will see you as a substitute you can forget them. It’s far more likely that he will be bitterly disappointed when you don’t live up to his expectations.’

  ‘That’s a risk I shall have to take,’ she said quietly, not wanting him to know how much the comment had hurt.

  ‘But it’s a risk I am not prepared to take, Ms Tremayne.’

  He leant across the table, looking big and intimidating as he stared at her. Rose felt a flurry of fear unfurl in the pit of her stomach. She knew she would regret making an enemy of him but she refused to back down. She’d not been able to do anything for her son apart from making sure that he was well cared for, but she could do this for him now. She could find the courage to fight this man and give Daniel the freedom to choose what he wanted.

  ‘Are you threatening me, Mr Gallagher? Because I have to say that it sounded very much like it to me. However, if it was a threat then you should know that I don’t respond to being threatened.’

&
nbsp; ‘It wasn’t a threat, Ms Tremayne. It was merely a statement of intent. I am not prepared to let you ruin my son’s life.’

  ‘I see.’ She gave a bitter little laugh. ‘You seem to have made up your mind about me, don’t you? You’ve decided that I’m not a fit person to be in contact with Daniel, yet you have no basis whatsoever for thinking that I will cause him any harm.’

  ‘Neither do I have any reason to believe that you will help him,’ he said flatly. ‘You gave him away, Ms Tremayne, so surely that proves how little he means to you? Why bother getting involved at this point when it will only cause a lot of heartache for everyone concerned? And if you are willing to co-operate with me over this, I am prepared to be very generous.’

  ‘Generous…What do you mean?’

  Rose’s head was spinning again. She could scarcely believe what she was hearing. Didn’t he realise how hard it had been to give away her precious child, the baby she’d nurtured inside her for all those months? Even now, eighteen years later, she still woke up in tears sometimes, remembering how it had felt in the weeks following her decision to have Daniel adopted. Only women who had been through such an experience could understand the sense of loss that had filled her. Her body had ached for her child, and her mind, too. She had grieved for her baby even though he hadn’t died, and yet this man had the temerity to accuse her of not caring.

  ‘What do you mean?’ she repeated, her voice rising so that the couple at the next table turned and stared at them.

  ‘Please, keep your voice down.’ Owen Gallagher’s expression darkened as he leant closer to her. ‘You might enjoy making a scene, but I don’t. I came here tonight to tell you that I don’t want you making contact with my son, not to have an argument. Daniel has already written to you. I managed to persuade him to delay posting his letter for a week while he thinks about what he’s doing, but that was as far as I got. However, maybe I can convince you to take a more reasonable view.’