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‘That’s what I want.’ He settled back in the chair, flicking the pen around and around in those long fingers. ‘At the time I proposed the plan, it seemed to be mutually beneficial. A financial boost for you in return for access to the children for me. It seems you don’t need my help after all.’
Becca swallowed hard. ‘It has nothing to do with money, Morgan. I could be a billionaire and still want to work out a way to co-parent with you that works for both of us.’
Did he seriously think he had nothing to offer apart from the financial incentive?
He avoided looking directly at her and she wondered if he resented her independence. Yet he’d been happy for her to cope with the usual expenses of running a family, only contributing to the accommodation.
Her thoughts were stalled by his sudden jerk to his feet. ‘If you’re happy to continue with the plan as we discussed, I’ll go ahead with our arrangements. I’ll let my parents know tonight.’
‘Do you think Grace will approve?’
His cold eyes gave off a don’t touch signal. ‘It isn’t up to her. She’s no longer in a position to make those kinds of judgements. This is between you and me.’
Becca suspected Grace wouldn’t see it that way. But the time was getting on and she gathered herself together and headed for the door.
‘Becca?’
She stopped with her hand on the knob.
‘What do you think of Michael Long?’
It took a moment to get her head around the abrupt change of subject. ‘He’s an excellent surgeon and I’m told he’s a good diagnostician.’
‘I’m talking with him about joining the clinic. He’ll be able to take over a lot of the surgery and I can focus on clinical work once we have more patients taking up the opportunity to be treated locally.’
‘I thought you were qualified as a surgeon.’
He flexed his fingers, attracting her attention to his hands. ‘I can only do so much. It would work well to have someone to spread the load. He already does a major percentage of the hospital work.’
Once again she was wondering about his health. He’d already done a number of minor surgeries in the clinic and helped put Tory Dibble back together to ensure she could be safely flown to Sydney. He was more than capable.
She gripped the doorhandle. ‘If you think it will work, it sounds good. He already knows the area.’
Morgan smiled at her like a teacher commending a pupil. He’d really wanted her approval for the change. It was a small thing, but it brought back the glow she’d lost at his less than enthusiastic receival of the news about her good fortune regarding the house.
Then she remembered he was telling Grace tonight about the plan to share the house. Settling into her office, she flicked open her laptop.
As Morgan said, it wasn’t Grace’s decision. It didn’t mean she wouldn’t have an opinion. And Grace having an opinion usually meant trouble if it conflicted with anyone else’s.
Chapter 11
Becca locked up the clinic with a feeling of inevitability. Today would be the first time she met Grace after Morgan was supposed to have told her of their plans last night. She’d broached the possibility with Gabby and Edward the previous night after the meal and they’d been ecstatic at the idea of living with their father, even in a separate part of the house.
Morgan hadn’t been in today, having organised a locum while he travelled to Bialga for a specialist’s appointment at the hospital and more meetings with people about the clinic expansion. She’d been tempted to call him to ask about his mother’s reaction but chickened out when it came to it. They’d come a long way since he’d returned, but he was still keeping a noticeable distance with any personal relationship.
Her own feelings hadn’t changed. Not in more than thirteen years. She’d loved him then, her childish adoration morphing into something more as she’d grown up, and her love was stronger than ever.
She’d wondered if seeing him would change things, but it had only confirmed nothing about her feeling for Morgan had altered. Nothing except the maturity of her feelings for him. Grace tried to convince her it was the type of youthful infatuation that fades with the years, but deep in her heart, Becca had known differently. Her love overlaid years of quiet friendship and an understanding built on solid foundations. No matter the differences of years apart, that core of friendship couldn’t be dismissed.
Morgan might have left it behind, but Becca could never forget.
How could she have forgotten him when she was confronted every day of the last twelve years by her children? Gabby, who was the image of him in looks, if not in personality.
She sometimes wondered if her daughter’s friendly personality came from the Becca Walters who might have been if life hadn’t pummelled all her self-confidence out of her. But it was Edward who carried the deepest imprint of his father.
The quiet determination, the shyness, the meticulous intellect. All those things she recognised in the youthful Morgan and confirmed in his fully-formed adult self in recent weeks.
How could she not love the man who’d gifted her with the two people she loved most in the world? How could she not love the qualities in him that she loved in her children? There was no way to extricate the two things, though she’d loved him long before her children were born.
