Page 24 of A Found Family at the Cornish Country Hospital

‘I can’t wait to see what you’ll be like as a dad.’ The smile that had spread over his face felt as though it reached right down inside him. ‘And to have a mini you running around the place.’

‘I’ve been thinking about that, and which one of us should donate the sperm.’

‘We agreed. It’s got to be you.’ Aidan swallowed hard. ‘If the trip to my family didn’t prove that a genetic connection is no guarantee of a close relationship, then I don’t know what does. I’ll love this baby like it’s my own, because it will be, and I’ll love it even more because it’s a part of you.’

‘That’s exactly how I feel, though, and we’ve already got Reuben, who I’ve got a feeling is going to be no slouch when it comes to passing on the Taylor genes. The baby is going to be loved so much by my family, and there’ll be a link there that nothing can break. I know what it’s like to have that kind of bond to people you share a biological connection with, and I want you to have that experience too. Not to mention that the idea of us having a kid that’s even a tiny bit like you fills my heart up. That’s why it’s got to be you.’ Jase held Aidan’s gaze for a moment and then smiled. ‘At least with the first baby, we’ll talk about the second one, when the times comes.’

‘Are you sure?’ Aidan was blinking back tears again, as Jase nodded, pulling him into his arms. He’d have been fully on board with Jase being the biological father, but in that moment he realised his husband might be right; maybe this was something he needed to experience to come full circle with his past. And one thing it proved for certain, was that his husband loved him more than he’d dared to believe anyone ever would.

‘I’m 100 per cent sure, and I’m just as certain that everything’s going to work out okay. I know we haven’t even met the surrogate yet, but it’s my turn to have the feeling that nothing is going to stand in our way.’ Jase sounded so confident that Aidan couldn’t envisage any other outcome either. There’d been times along the way when he’d had to fake it until they made it, with his belief that it would happen. He’d wanted Jase to see his confidence, and for that to give them both the hope they needed. But finding a woman who wanted to be theirsurrogate had been a huge hurdle he hadn’t ever really been sure they’d overcome. Surely nothing could stop them now.

13

Isla had done all she could to try and follow Sandy’s advice and not panic too much about the results of her screening, but she had enough medical knowledge to know what the implications could be. The prospect of cancer was terrifying, but what worried her even more was the thought of having to break the news to her mother, not to mention the rest of her family. She’d witnessed her mum being pushed to the limit when her father was dying, almost killing her too. She’d said afterwards that she wasn’t sure how she’d survived it and, if anyone ever asked whether she might ever want another relationship, she was always resolute in her response that she wasn’t prepared to risk the heartbreak again. It was a sentiment that had rubbed off on Isla, and she couldn’t bear the thought of putting her mother through so much pain, when she had sacrificed the chance to fall in love again, in order to protect herself.

‘I know you’re worried about your mum, my love, but I wish you’d eat a bit more of your dinner.’ Her grandmother put an arm on Isla’s shoulder as she moved to stand behind her. ‘She’s going to be okay you know. Lexi said in her text that theoperation went fine, and she’ll call as soon as your mum is back in the land of the living.’

‘I know, I just wish I was there.’ Isla managed a half smile, as she turned to look at Joy. She was concerned about her mother, but that wasn’t the reason she’d been pushing the food around her plate for the last half an hour. Although it suited her to let her grandmother believe it was. At least for now.

It had taken all her resolve, when she’d first walked into the house and had been folded into Grandpa Bill’s arms, before being on the receiving end of one of her grandmother’s warm hugs, not to tell them everything. Tears had filled her eyes when Joy had remarked, as she almost always did, that Isla looked like she could do with a long rest and a good meal. Normally Isla would have brushed it off, knowing it was just another way in which her grandmother showed how much she cared, but the truth was she had been feeling more tired than usual, and she had lost weight without trying to. Both of those things had been down to her job, or so she’d thought, but suddenly there was a far more sinister alternative whispering its name in every quiet moment.

‘We’ll all be going over there to visit before you know it, after those babies arrive. I just can’t wait!’ Bill was smiling from ear to ear at the prospect, and he held a hand out to his wife, pulling her towards him. ‘When we lost Nicky, I was worried we’d never get this kind of happiness again, but having great-grandchildren is going to be incredible.’

‘One of each, too.’ Joy let go of a long breath, a look of contentment spreading across her face. ‘I love having granddaughters more than you girls will ever know, but holding a little boy in my arms again is going to be so special.’

‘The babies will be really lucky to have you in their lives, just like me and Lexi have been.’ Isla blinked back the tears that were stinging her eyes again. Any thought she’d had of tellingher grandparents about the results of the screening was buried for good now. There was nothing to tell yet anyway and even if there had been, she wouldn’t burden them with it unless it got to a point where she couldn’t hide it. Just like her mother, they’d been through far too much heartbreak already. So, whatever the next round of tests revealed, she’d just have to try and be strong enough to deal with it by herself.

‘Aargh!’ Isla dropped her handbag on the steps outside her flat and clutched her chest, as the figure who’d been lurking in the shadows lurched into view. ‘Bloody hell, Reuben, you scared the life out of me.’

‘I’m really sorry, are you okay?’ He scrambled to pick her bag up, a genuine look of remorse on his face. ‘I thought you were out.’

‘I was, but now I’m back. Obviously.’ Isla knew she was being curt, but she was in no mood for small talk. She and Reuben had been chatting on a WhatsApp group that Aidan had set up, which he’d titledEncouraging healthy eating for the chicken nugget kings.It had been a joke after Reuben’s claims that his uncles barely bothered with anything more adventurous than frozen food when they were left to their own devices. Aidan’s first message in the group had been a plea for easy recipes that took less time to prepare than it took Just Eat to deliver. The chat had soon ventured off topic and the four of them had exchanged messages about a wide range of topics. Aidan and Jase would tease their nephew, and Reuben would respond in kind. It had been a lovely window into their relationship and had offered Isla even more reassurance about the wonderful family Aidan and Jase’s child would be born into. Sometimes she’dmake a joke too, or send a meme that summed up the direction the chat was going in.

When she’s been quieter on the group for a bit longer than usual, because work had been hectic, Reuben had messaged her separately to check she was okay and that nothing any of them had been joking about had upset her. She’d reassured him that it hadn’t, and they’d carried on exchanging messages both inside and outside the group. She’d found herself checking her phone far more often than normal, and always hoping that there’d be a message from Reuben. It was strange how much easier it was to open up to someone when you weren’t face to face with them, and how a virtual stranger could so quickly come to feel like a trusted friend as a result. There was only one thing she couldn’t be honest about, but the results of her screening were something she hadn’t told anyone else about either. None of the closeness they’d built up made it any less terrifying to find someone creeping around in the shadows outside her house. She suddenly felt embarrassed, too, at just how candid she’d been with Reuben about her feelings, and it was making her lash out at him in a way she knew was unreasonable, but that she couldn’t control. ‘The fact that you were lurking around here in the dark, because you thought I was out, makes it sound even more dodgy. Why are you here?’

She’d left her grandparents’ place twenty minutes after they’d finally had a video call from Lexi, and a very woozy Clare. Isla had been relieved to see her mother smiling, despite the events of the day, and her grandparents had wanted her to stay over, so that she could have a drink to celebrate the good news. But she wasn’t in the mood for celebrations, so she’d blamed an early shift the next morning for leaving just after 9p.m. The last thing she’d expected was to find Reuben standing outside the entrance to her flat, which had its own front door, where the side entrance to the chapel had originally been. She couldn’t thinkwhat possible reason there could be for him being there, but then he gestured towards the bottom of the door.

‘I brought you these. Aidan gave me your address when I told him I wanted to drop them off.’

‘Flowers? What an earth for?’ If Reuben was labouring under the illusion that she was interested in him,like that,then she was more than happy to put him straight. She’d always known that love would have to find her, if she was ever going to experience it. Actively seeking it out would mean deliberately taking the risk of getting hurt, and admitting her attraction to Reuben would have been doing just that. So she wouldn’t have given him any indication that she liked him, even if she hadn’t had a terrifying call from the clinic.

‘I’ve started stocking some flowers from a wholesaler in Camborne, and I had a couple of bunches left over when I closed the shop. So I thought I’d drop them off with a fruit and veg box, in case my uncles aren’t sharing all the good stuff with you the way they should be.’ Reuben was smiling and he had such an easy manner that made it much harder to maintain a barrier between them now they were face to face, and for a moment she had an almost overpowering urge to tell him about the phone call from the clinic. She had to get rid of Reuben before she made a stupid mistake and opened up to him even more than she had already.

‘Thank you.’ The words might have been appropriate, but her tone wasn’t. She couldn’t afford to let her guard down or it was all going to come tumbling out. Telling Reuben could wreck all of Aidan and Jase’s plans, and she didn’t want to make them worry unnecessarily when she didn’t even have any of the facts yet. She was already worrying enough for all of them.

‘Are you okay?’ Reuben narrowed his eyes as he looked at her, and she bit her lip, trying to steady her voice before she answered.

‘I’m fine.’ Her voice broke on the second word.

‘No, you’re not.’ Reuben’s tone was gentle. ‘And you can tell me to sod off and mind my own business, if you like, but I don’t think I can walk away and leave you like this. If you don’t want to talk to me, is there someone I can call for you?’

‘Have you got time to come in?’ The words were out of Isla’s mouth before she even realised how much she wanted him to say yes. Maybe it was because it seemed easier to talk to someone she barely knew outside the messages they’d exchanged, and who might be able to see the implications of the call from the clinic more objectively than the people who loved her most. But, whatever the reason, she couldn’t deny the urge to confide in Reuben, despite her fears about where that might lead.

‘I’ve got as much time as you need.’

Ten minutes later, Isla had made them both a coffee, opened two different types of biscuits, but she still hadn’t told him about the call from the clinic.

‘As much as I like a chocolate HobNob, and Fox’s Crunch Creams, I feel like I should ask you again if you want to talk about what’s bothering you, because something clearly is. You haven’t stood still from the moment we got in.’ Reuben had such an open face, his green eyes filling with concern when he looked at her, that it would have been impossible for her to lie to him, even if she was capable of it. And he was right, she hadn’t been able to stand still, because her physical movements seemed intent on mirroring the whirring of her brain. She might as well just tell him.

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