Found: A Mother for His Son
A child in need of tender, loving care. . .Dr Dermott Callahan has devoted his life to his work, and to giving his five-year-old son Max all the love and care he needs so desperately. Dermott only has room in his heart for his brave and motherless little boy. . .For Jenna, being loved has always seemed completely out of reach ; that's why, six years ago, she knew she had to walk away from Dermott. She never expected to find herself working with the love of her life once more. . .Dermott and his adorable little boy light up her life. And Jenna finds herself wondering if she dares to reach out and risk her heart with them ; for ever.
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“Max!” Dermott gasped, running through the door.
He stopped short of the bed, breathless, his face drained of all color. “I heard from downstairs.”
“And we’re just fine,” Jenna said. She was still rocking back and forth with Max in her arms, stroking his hair, holding onto him as tightly as he held her. He had quieted down, and seemed content to stay right where he was now. She was content to have him there, too. “He had a bad dream, but it’s over now, and he’s doing better—aren’t you, Max?”
Max nodded, but didn’t look up at his dad. His head was still tucked into Jenna’s chest, and Jenna held him protectively, the way a mother would. To anyone looking on who didn’t know Jenna might have been his mother, the way she comforted him. Dermott saw that. Saw that she had become a fierce protector of Max.
Now that her children have left home, Dianne Drake is finally finding the time to do some of the things she adores—gardening, cooking, reading, shopping for antiques. Her absolute passion in life, however, is adopting abandoned and abused animals. Right now Dianne and her husband Joel have a little menagerie of three dogs and two cats, but that’s always subject to change. A former symphony orchestra member, Dianne now attends the symphony as a spectator several times a month and, when time permits, takes in an occasional football, basketball or hockey game.
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CHAPTER ONE
“DERMOTT?” Jenna Lawson stopped half way into the elevator, blinked twice, then smiled. “Dermott Callahan? Is that really you?” Wow, he looked good. Better than she remembered, except he’d aged a little. Of course, it had been, what? Six years, or maybe closer to seven? Well, time had been kind to him. Very kind, except he had a distant look in his eyes, one that didn’t fit the Dermott Callahan she remembered, and for a moment Jenna actually wondered if this was a case of mistaken identity. The Dermott she used to know couldn’t have possibly looked as serious as this Dermott did.
But this Dermott spoke, and the voice was still the same. Deep, smooth, so sexy it was lethal. Yes, this was definitely Dermott. “Jenna. I’d heard you worked here. Wasn’t sure that was still the case. But it’s so nice bumping into you this way.”
He gave her a long, intense stare, causing a tingle to work its way up her spine. Or maybe it was the memory of former tingles and that brief time when they’d been together. Nice time. Good memories.
By now the elevator was sounding a shrill warning to get out of the door, or else, so Jenna stepped inside and let it bang shut behind her. Except for one little old lady who kept her eyes glued to the punch buttons for each floor, she and Dermott were the only ones in the elevator, and yet he made no move to…to what? Hug her? Shake her hand? Be a little bit friendly? What was the proper protocol for two former lovers to meet again after so many years? “Technically, that is no longer the case. As of about ten minutes ago I’m a free woman, professionally speaking.” As well as personally, but that was a long-standing, well thought-out condition.
Dermott arched his eyebrows, indicating mild interest, yet he didn’t ask the obvious question most people would have, given what she’d just blurted out, and the silence between them in the elevator was almost deafening, it was so pervasive, as they moved slowly downward, from floor to floor. Even the old lady sharing the ride with them looked over to see if either one of them would take up the conversation.
“I was fired,” Jenna finally supplied when he didn’t ask, more to hear a human voice in what had turned into something akin to a vacuum. “Or, actually, prompted to find another position. That’s what you get for…” No, she wasn’t going to just blurt out that she’d talked her way out of her job. What was the point? It wasn’t the first time, and probably wouldn’t be the last.
“For what?” the old lady snapped. “For heaven’s sake, don’t leave us hanging this way. Tell us what happened.”
Dermott arched his eyebrows again, and this time Jenna noticed a little sparkle under them. It was brief, but it had been there—the Dermott she used to know. The spark she’d loved. Although once, it had been permanent, not fleeting, like she’d just seen. So what was that about?
“For challenging the boss one too many times. She overworked the nursing staff, required that we work too many hours to make up for nursing shortages, which put patient care in jeopardy. I suggested she put her nursing uniform back on and come help us out on the floor and, well…” She shrugged.
Dermott finally cracked a smile. “You always did have a tendency to challenge authority.”
“Only when it needs to be challenged. Today, that’s what it needed.”
“Good for you!” the old woman exclaimed. “You won’t get anywhere in this world if you don’t stand up for what you want.”
