“It doesn’t matter,” he muttered, turning back to her.
She attempted to sit up, only to realise that, still numb from the epidural, it was impossible.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Would you mind holding her for a moment?”
“Me?” His eyes widened. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather call a nurse?”
“Oh, come on,” she said. “Surely you’ve held a baby before.”
He hesitated, the colour draining from his face. “Never.”
“You’ll be fine,” she reassured him, though she knew he was far from convinced.
She tucked her breast away, and he approached, gingerly taking the baby into his arms. He may not have realised it at the time, but he was a natural.
Daisy watched as he paced the room, speaking softly. “Well, Miss Daisy,” he said, stroking the baby’s face, “I have to say, she is beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.”
Then, all at once, it had come rushing back. Callan. The call from the casualty officer. His accident.
“Callan was in an accident,” she blurted out, closing her eyes as a searing pain spread through her pelvis. She tried to get up, frantically searching for her phone. “His vehicle was struck by an IED.”
He froze mid-step and turned to face her. “When?” he asked. “When did this happen?”
“Yesterday. I…I found out yesterday.”
“Where is he?”
“Birmingham. I need to…I need to go and see him.”
“You can’t.”
“Watch me!” she fired back, her eyes landing on the I.V. line still snaked into her arm.
“If you go, I’m coming with you.”
“No, Logan, you most certainly are not.”
“You can’t go alone. You’ve just had major abdominal surgery, and not to mention, you have a newborn.” He lifted the baby slightly, his gaze unwavering. “Let me help you.”
She turned away, unable to meet his gaze any longer. Whether it was the hormones or the overwhelming weight of everything that had transpired, one thing was clear to her: a new chapter of her life had started, and it was one he couldn’t be a part of.
“I need you to leave,” she whispered at last, tears slipping down her cheeks. “I can’t see you anymore. Whatever this is, it has to end.”
“What are you doing?”
She gestured between them. “I am ending this. Whatever this is.”
“I understand that,” he said, his voice barely audible. “I just want to know why.”
“Because I’m married,” she replied. “Perhaps because I think about you, Logan, in ways I shouldn’t. But mostly because I have a husband who is going to needallof me for his recovery. I can’t do that if you are around.”
For a while, he said nothing. Then, finally, five words escaped his lips, though they weren’t the ones she’d expected.
“I’m sorry,” he said, placing the baby back in her arms. “Truly, I am.”
And then he left, without so much as a glance back over his shoulder.
