‘Ah well, that would depend on how they were lying in the womb,’ he answered as his doctor’s training came to the fore. ‘If one of the babies was lying behind the other two heartbeats wouldn’t always be detected.’

‘Hm.’ She nodded in agreement and they slipped into silence as they sipped at their tea, both feeling slightly ill at ease.

‘So … what will you do now?’ David asked eventually and when she raised an eyebrow he hurried on, ‘What I mean is, will you be coming back to work?’ He desperately wanted to ask if there was any chance that she and the babies’ father might get together again but decided to keep the conversation on safer ground.

Kathy sighed. ‘I haven’t really thought about it yet,’ she admitted. ‘I suppose when they’re a little older I might like to return to nursing if I can get someone reliable to look after them. I know my mother would, of course, but she isn’t getting any younger and I wouldn’t like to impose on her.’

‘I can understand that.’ His eyes strayed back to the sleeping infants and for a second Kathy thought she saw a look of longing in them but then he shocked her when he said, ‘In the meantime … I hope we can be friends again. I’ve hated us avoiding each other and if … Well, if you need any help, financially or otherwise, I want you to know I’m here. I’d hate to think that you or the babies would be going without anything.’

‘Oh.’ Kathy felt a lump form in her throat. He was so kind and she had missed him, so what harm could there be if they became friends again? Just friends of course. They could never be more when there was still a chance that Ben might come home.

‘I’d like that,’ she said softly. ‘And thank you but we’ll be very comfortable financially. Mum had more left over after selling Treetops and settling Ben’s debts than she’d initially thought she would, and I always saved a bit of my wages so we should be fine.’ Oh Lord, she thought. I’m turning into a softie! Since having the babies her emotions seemed to be all over the place, but then she supposed that was the old hormones kicking in.

‘Right well, er … I ought to be thinking of going now. I’m on duty this evening and I don’t want to overtire you. But would it be all right if I called again? I’d like to see how those two are coming along.’ He rose, placing his cup and saucer back on the tray, and she nodded.

‘I’d like that.’

He hovered uncertainly for a moment and she had the awful feeling that he was going to kiss her but instead he seemed to think better of it and turned to the door. ‘Goodbye for now.’