Feisty Firefighters Bundle

her.

He was attracted to Shelley. What man wouldn’t be? And Shelley Bates had a card Laura could never play. She was Megan’s birth mother. She could take Jason’s now beloved child away from him…or she could use her to pull Jason back into her life.

Which was clearly what her intention was.

‘I’ve never forgotten you, Jason. It was the most wonderful holiday I’ve ever had and the night with you was the best part.’

‘You could have fooled me. You didn’t even bother to meet me at that pub the next night.’

So, Jason had wanted it to be a little more than a one-night stand, had he? Megan made a distressed noise that fitted how Laura was feeling remarkably well. At least the baby’s discomfort could be eased, however.

‘I’ll fix her a bottle, shall I?’

‘I couldn’t,’ Shelley told Jason. ‘We’d taken a boat trip out to Slipper Island and the weather got rough. We had to stay overnight and when I went looking for you the next day, you had gone. I had no idea how to get hold of you.’ The sigh was heartfelt. ‘I tried again when I found out I was pregnant, of course, but all I knew was your name and that you were a fireman. You wouldn’t think New Zealand was a big enough country to make it difficult to find out where someone lives, would you?’

‘No,’ Jason said. Megan cried again, more loudly this time, and Laura simply got up and walked to the kitchen.

‘After Megan was born my b-brother decided he had to help.’

What was that stammer about? Laura wondered sourly, as she stirred formula. Had she just managed to modify ‘boyfriend’ into something acceptable in time? It hadn’t been a ‘brother’ Mrs Mack had seen delivering the box to the station’s doorstep. And where was he now, anyway? She went back into the sitting room a few minutes later and silently handed the bottle to Jason.

‘Thanks.’ The smile Laura received was distracted, however. Jason’s attention was firmly directed to the woman on the couch. ‘Where have you been for the last month, Shelley?”

‘Just travelling,’ she responded sadly, watching as Jason sat down in the armchair and arranged the baby and bottle into satisfactory positions. ‘I was in Dunedin most of the time. My brother, Darryn, has a friend there who’s trying to find a job. I was just filling in time, thinking about you and Megan and wondering whether you would learn to love her if you were given the chance.’

The longer the silence that fell ticked on, the more significant it seemed to become. Finally, Jason cleared his throat.

‘Yeah…well, I guess it worked.’

Shelley’s huge blue eyes radiated joy. ‘That’s wonderful. Now all we need to do is plan our future.’

‘Our future?’ Jason’s incredulity echoed the word that was sounding a strident alarm in Laura’s head.

‘We have a baby, Jason,’ Shelley told him softly. ‘The result of the love we shared.’

‘For one night,’ Jason reminded her. ‘It was sex, not love, Shelley.’

‘For you, maybe. I think it was more than that. I’ve never forgotten that night, and I’ve never forgotten you.’

Laura could understand that, even if she still wasn’t at all convinced of this woman’s sincerity. If she’d only ever had a single night with Jason, it would be burned into her memory banks for ever as well.

‘I want my baby to have a father,’ Shelley whispered. ‘I want her to have her father.’

‘I have no intention of abandoning my daughter.’

‘But I want her to have a real father. Not someone on the other side of the world.’

‘I’m not planning to shift to Britain,’ Jason said firmly. ‘But Megan can stay here. I’m sure she’ll be allowed to stay in the country on a permanent basis once I’m legally registered as her father.’

‘But I wouldn’t be allowed to stay,’ Shelley said softly. ‘And my daughter is staying with me.’

Stick had hit the nail right on the head, Laura realised. Shelley Bates was out to emigrate and Megan was the ace she hadn’t bothered to keep up her sleeve. If Jason wanted to keep Megan in his life, he was going to have to marry her mother. And that wouldn’t be too much of a hardship, would it?

Shelley was obviously too clever to push the point right now. Instead, she stood up, walked towards Jason and held out her arms.

‘I think it’s time I got to hold my baby, isn’t it?’

For a long second, time seemed to stop. Don’t give her Megan, Laura pleaded silently. If you hand her over then she’s already won. Then Shelley wiped away a tear that was trickling slowly down the side of her nose.

‘Please, Jason?’

The lone tear had done the trick. Laura watched the conflict play across Jason’s face. Should he do what he wanted to do and hold onto his child or create further suffering for the woman who was, in all fairness, Megan’s mother? Slowly, grudgingly, he transferred his bundle.

To Laura’s immense satisfaction, Megan took one look at her mother and started howling.

‘Oh, I know, darling.’ Shelley clutched the baby and rocked her back and forth. ‘Mummy’s sorry she left you. But I’m back now. Everything’s going to be fine.’

Laura looked at her. She looked at the overnight bag beside the couch. She looked at Megan. And she looked at Jason, who wasn’t looking back at her.

Everything was not going to be fine but there was very little Laura could do about it. She had competition now for what she wanted most in her life and while she would be prepared to fight if she knew she had any chance of winning, the odds were rapidly stacking against her.

Even Megan seemed to be letting her down as her cries died away. Shelley continued rocking her and another tear rolled down her cheek.

‘I don’t know how I’ve lasted this long without her,’ she sighed. ‘She was all I had left that really mattered.’ She looked up through dewy lashes to smile brokenly at Jason. ‘I have a lot to thank you for.’

He simply raised an eyebrow. An unwanted pregnancy for a teenager wasn’t usually a cause for celebration.

‘When Sharon died I felt so terribly alone,’ Shelley continued softly. ‘To lose a sister is bad enough but being a twin made it unbearable.’

‘What happened to Sharon?’ Jason sounded disconcerted.

‘She had a blood clot that they said was caused by her being on the Pill. It caused a massive pull…pum… something that wrecked her lungs.’

‘Pulmonary embolism?’ Laura suggested.

‘That’s it.’ Shelley didn’t bother to look at Laura. Her gaze was still fixed on Jason. ‘She was put on the waiting list for a heart-lung transplant but it didn’t come in time.’

Jason’s face softened noticeably. ‘That must have been rough.’

Shelley nodded and Laura closed her eyes. Jason was starting to feel sorry for Megan’s mother. Any judgmental attitude was undergoing reconsideration. She could almost feel another chunk of the fantasy future she’d been building being ripped away.

‘When did it happen?’

‘She lived just long enough to see Megan. To…hold her.’ Shelley’s lip quivered and she struggled to maintain control. ‘It was Sharon who chose her name. And she made me promise that I would try to find you and give her a real family. She said my life…and her baby’s had to go on, and what better way to make a new start than in a new country?’

Jason’s expression plainly revealed the level of sympathy she would expect from someone as kind as he was. The story had touched him deeply, which was hardly surprising. Even Laura could feel a lump the size of a small boulder lodged in her own throat. How factual this story was didn’t matter a damn. Shelley had just cracked any barrier Jason had in place and it was only a matter of time before she broke through completely.

Megan must have sensed the tension in the atmosphere because she began crying again.

‘I’ll have to go soon,’ Shelley said. ‘I’ve got nowhere to stay in Wellington so I’ll have to find a motel or