Liam—he hadn’t given him much thought since. That was rude and he owed that man so much. “No, but he agreed with me when I said we shouldn’t let anyone give birth on the island. Just in case, you know.”
Bradley nodded. “Did he recover from the emergency operation quicker than you did? With that I mean, did it seem to bother him in future operating sessions while you were interning?”
“Uh, no, I don’t think so.”
“In actual fact, didn’t he go on to specialize in anesthetics before you offered him a partnership here?”
Drew paused. “Yes.”
“So would it be fair to say that he was only agreeing with you because of what happened to your mom? He was more than capable of operating and because of his expertise, it was pretty obvious that he would at some stage.”
“I guess.”
“And when April pushed you to operate because you would lose Sally and the baby if you didn’t, what were you thinking?”
“Um, I don’t think I thought anything once I got that scalpel in my hand. Training took over.”
“And you saved them both despite your fears.”
Drew sat up straight. “Yes, we did.” Everyone had congratulated him, but he’d shut off, preferring to wallow in his own pain.
“I think it’s time to let go of the past and give yourself permission to be proud of what you did. Don’t you?”
“I guess so, but I’m struggling with it.”
“Your mother would be proud of you. You became a doctor because of what happened to her, not in spite of it. You did it to help people and you’ve proven you can do that in the most difficult circumstances. I think it’s time to let your mother go, at least the angst of it all. It’s because of her that Sally and her child are alive. Have you thought of that?”
Tears flooded his eyes.
“And because of her, more people will get to know the amazing Dr. Andrew Hope. You’ll change more lives. Gain new friends and make your family proud. All because of your darling mother.” He reached over and patted Drew on the knee. “I think my job here is done. Come on, Rocket.”
The dog looked up at Bradley and then turned his nose to Drew, licking his chin once again before jumping down onto the floor and giving himself a good shake.
Footsteps sounded and Aggie staggered out into the lounge, still dopey from her afternoon sleep. “Hey, Bradley. What’re you doing here?”
“Just popped in for a chat. How are you doing, girl? Still hiding from the world in that bakery of yours?” He kissed her cheek and gave her a quick hug. “You know where I am when you need me.”
He started whistling as he walked out the door and down the steps.
“What’s his deal?” She trudged into the kitchen and opened the fridge, staring at the contents before pulling out a jug of orange juice.
“I have no idea.”
* * *
“Mom, he’s my friend. I want to go and see Drew.”
“He’s tired, Leo. It’s been a huge week and today he’s been a bit out of sorts. I think it’s best to leave him alone for a while. Besides, you have homework to do, young man. Get to it.”
“Aw, Mom. You suck.” He stormed down the hallway and slammed the bedroom door.
“Aren’t you going to go and do something about that, Mom?”
It was tempting to go and ground him for a week, but it seemed too hard to deal with. All April wanted to do was sit down with a big glass of wine and gaze at the water, lose herself in absolutely nothing! “No, I’m going to ignore it the same as I’m going to ignore the mess under your bed. If that was your idea of cleaning your room, young lady, you still have a lot to learn.”
Tilly shrugged her shoulders and stomped off to her room, shutting the door somewhat quieter than her brother had done. April moved to the fridge and poured a wine, took it out to the front porch, and sank down onto the small cane lounge. She tucked her legs up under her butt and sipped the alcohol, sighing in pleasure as it trickled down her throat.
It’d been another stressful day for everyone at the clinic. They’d heard from Paul early on. Sally and the baby were fine. The specialist said Drew and Liam had done a top class job. She knew he would as soon as she saw the focus in his eyes when he’d picked up the scalpel. It was such a shame that his mother’s death had caused him so much pain, but it was understandable. Hopefully, her talking to Bradley wasn’t going to cause any friction between them. She couldn’t bear to see the pain in his eyes any longer. After all she’d gone through with Rob and his treatment and subsequent suicide, she knew how easy it was to talk to the psychologist.
The children had both improved since they’d met him. Being a family friend, Bradley could ease himself into a conversation with Drew and hopefully help lessen his guilt over his mother’s death.
“Starting early, aren’t you?”
April opened her eyes and stared up at Aggie. “Please tell me you’re not here to give me a hard time. The children are working on that overtime today so I don’t need any smart mouthing from you.”
Aggie sat her butt on the couch and wiggled to get comfortable. “Give me some room.”
“Why aren’t you at work?” She took another sip of wine and ignored the exaggerated thumping coming from Leo’s room.
“I’m going. Did you know that Bradley was down talking to Drew?”
“Maybe.”
Aggie nudged her. “You put him up to it, didn’t you?”
She put her glass down and pressed her lips together. Drew would probably also give her grief about interfering. “Yes and no. He was here yesterday talking to the children and had heard what happened. You know how the gossip spreads on this island.”
“And?” Aggie leaned over, grabbed her glass, and took a healthy
