Excerpt of Gift of a Family by Sarah Morgan

"JUST look at that girl."

Josh Sullivan strolled casually along the beach with his
brother, his eyes fixed intently on a female surfer,
balanced on her board.

His brother shot him an impatient glance. "Look where
you're going, will you? You're worse than the dog and,
believe me, that's saying something." He whistled to his
dog who bounded happily off into the distance, barking
with excitement while Mac watched in exasperation. "I
swear that dog needs a psychiatrist."

"What a babe." Josh ignored his brother, his eyes fixed on
the girl who was standing steadily on her board as she
swept down the waves with effortless ease, arms
outstretched, her long hair streaming down her back. Even
from the shore he could see her lush curves, clearly
outlined by the black wetsuit. And he admired her style.
She was good with the board. And she looked amazing.

"It should be against the law," he muttered, stumbling
over an elaborate construction that had been left in the
sand by an enthusiastic group of children.

This time his brother's remonstration was stronger. "Will
you look where you're going? Some poor kid spent hours
building that." Mac shook his head and then followed his
brother's gaze with a concerned frown. "She shouldn't be
surfing on that part of the beach, anyway. The currents
are lethal. Hasn't she read any of the notices? She should
be further over."

Josh glanced at his brother and wondered if he knew how
much he'd changed since he'd married Louisa. "She's good.
And the surf is fantastic."

For a moment he was tempted to sprint back to his house,
pick up a board and catch a few waves himself, but then he
remembered his plans. After a busy week at the hospital
he'd promised his stomach a decent lunch and himself an
entire afternoon working on the boat. He looked at the
foaming surf and wished there were more hours in the day.

Mac squinted out to sea. "There are some pretty young kids
out there. What the hell are they playing at?"

Josh yawned. "Having a good time, I should think. Loosen
up, will you? You used to do dangerous things, too. Before
your wife tamed you, you would have been out in those
waves, flirting with death and danger."

As he himself did. He saw enough in the hospital to know
that life was to be lived, every moment of every day.

Mac stopped dead. "My wife has not tamed me." A broad
smile spread over Josh's face as he slapped his brother on
the shoulder. "She's got you on a lead, bro'," he said,
using a sympathetic tone guaranteed to drive his brother
mad, "and it's a short one at that."

It was one of his favourite weekend occupations. Goading
his more serious older brother. Seeing just how far he
could push and needle before Mac exploded out of that air
of mature responsibility.

Judging from the dangerous glint in his brother's eye, it
wasn't going to take long today.

"A lead?" Mac virtually growled the words. "Louisa never
stops me doing anything…"

Not long now.

Josh gave him a pitying look. "You just don't get it, do
you? And that's the skill of women." He spread lean
bronzed hands to emphasise his point. "They sneak around
and tie you up in knots and before you know what's hit
you, your life is over."

"In a minute you're going to know exactly what hit you and
it's going to be me! And your life might well be over."
Mac's dark eyes flashed a warning and the muscles in his
shoulders bunched. "Are you suggesting Louisa stops me
from doing things?"

"Not openly, oh, no, no, no." Josh waggled a finger but
took a step backwards in readiness. "Women are so much
cleverer than that. They make it look as though it was
your decision. And it's such a gradual thing you don't
even see it happening. One night you're joining your mates
in the pub for a few beers and the next your feet walk
straight past that same pub on your way home for an early
dinner. And there's not a decent beer in sight." He looked
sorrowful. "Just candles, fancy glass and fancy wine. What
sort of a life is that?"

"A pretty good one," Mac said dryly, stepping to one side
as a child sprinted past clutching a bucket and
spade, "and do I really need to point out that you love
fancy wine almost as much as you love women?"

"I also love sport and fast cars, and women just don't get
either of those things," Josh muttered sadly, rubbing a
hand over his rough jaw and noting that he'd forgotten to
shave. "Take cars. When you're dating, women pretend they
love them, although the truth is they're always grabbing
at their hair and sneaking a look in the mirror when they
think you're not looking just to check the wind hasn't
messed them up in some way. Then you marry them and before
you know it you're driving some bizarre vehicle that looks
like a coach and comes with thousands of doors and child-
friendly gadgets designed to bring a guy out in a rash."

"My car does not look like a coach." 'It will do soon."
Josh threw him a look and gave a dramatic shudder. "Look
at that enormous bump your wife is carrying around. That
baby has got to go somewhere."

Mac frowned. "She's not enormous." 'I never said she was
enormous," Josh said mildly. "I said that her bump is
enormous. And so it should be. She's eight months
pregnant."

"She's not enormous." There was a flicker of panic in
Mac's eyes and Josh struggled to keep his expression
straight. "You know —" he kept his tone casual ' — I read
an interesting report in one of the medical journals last
week about this mother who unexpectedly produced twins.
Something to do with the lie of the babies — they'd missed
one on the scan. Imagine the shock of that."

Mac opened his mouth, caught something in Josh's
expression and the next thing he knew, Josh was lying on
his back on the sand, with his brother glaring down at him.

"Next time you decide to irritate me, step out of the way
first," he growled. "And if you say anything similar to
Louisa and panic her, I won't be responsible for my
actions."

Helpless with laughter, Josh wondered what it was about
fatherhood that turned grown men into gibbering wrecks.
Then he saw the anxiety in his brother's face and his
laughter faded. He hadn't realised that his brother was
quite so tense about the whole thing.

"It was just a joke! I wouldn't tease Lu, you know I
wouldn't. I love her. Hell, I set the two of you up.
What's the matter with you?"

"I don't know. Impending fatherhood, I suppose." Mac let
out a breath and then reached out a hand and dragged his
brother to his feet. "Believe me, no matter how many times
you reassure patients, it's different when it's your own.
I'm a wreck, I admit it." He raked a hand through his hair
and gave a helpless shrug. "I worry about her and I worry
about the baby. Try having a baby of your own and you'll
find out what I mean."

"A baby? Me?" Josh brushed the sand from his shoulders,
appalled by the mere suggestion. "Nappies, sleepless
nights and goodbye two-seater sports car with the top
down? No, thanks. Fatherhood is definitely not for me."

Mac shot him a curious look. "You seriously think you're
immune, don't you? You think you can carry on dating every
woman who takes your fancy and that you're never going to
get emotionally involved?"

Josh gave an easy smile. "Hasn't happened yet," he said
smugly. "Nor is it likely to. Relationships go in stages.
The trick is to recognise each stage as it happens so that
you don't get caught."

"Stages?" 'Yeah, first there's the spark. You see someone,
they see you and there's that special chemistry, something
that makes you want to take it further." He removed his
shades and winked at his brother. "So you do —"

"Well, you do," Mac interjected dryly, "not everyone does."

"Can I help it if women find me irresistible? So you take
it further and then you start seeing each other. Then
there's the passion." He gave a slow smile. "And obviously
that's the best bit."

Mac rolled his eyes but Josh ignored him. "Then at some
point, usually somewhere between the first time she leaves
her toothbrush at your place and the time she starts
staring hopefully into prams, there's a slight shift in
the relationship. Spotting that shift is the key to
remaining a happy bachelor. Miss it and before you know it
the highlight of your life is buying baby car seats to fit
in your people carrier."

He gave an exaggerated shudder and Mac stared at him in
exasperation. "You're thirty-two, Josh. Don't you ever
want to settle down?"

Josh thought of his home, an abandoned lifeboat station
that he'd converted himself, slogging away in what little
spare time he had to lovingly convert it into a stunning
home. He thought of his plasma-screen TV, his high-
performance car and the boat he was restoring. He thought
of the punishing hours he spent at the hospital in the
accident and emergency department and the fact that he
lived life to his own timetable. He didn't want to change
a thing. "My life works well just as it is."

"And does that make you happy? Being on your own…" For a
moment Mac's tone was serious. "Is that really what you
want?"

Josh gave a wicked grin that was totally male. "I'm not
often on my own. And when I am…" he replaced his shades in
a smooth movement '…I'm resting."

Mac laughed and shook his head in exasperation. "So who's
the lucky woman at the moment? I haven't seen anyone
around."

"There's currently a vacancy," Josh said airily, "but I'm
considering a few applicants. I always enjoy the interview
process."

"When are you going to grow up?" 'When Cornwall runs out
of decent-looking women." Josh glanced at a girl running
towards the waves in a minuscule bikini. "Which judging
from today isn't going to be any time soon."

Mac followed his gaze. "You are as shallow as the average
rock pool, do you know that?"

"Me?" Josh planted a hand in the middle of his chest and
looked affronted. "I'm just terribly misunderstood. I'm a
dedicated doctor who needs an antidote to the stress of
daily living. You, on the other hand, have turned so
respectable since I sorted out your love life that I'm
reluctant to be seen in your company in case you damage my
reputation as a heartless playboy."

"You don't choose who you fall in love with," Mac said
mildly, glancing round for the dog, "and one of these days
it's going to happen to you. And I'm going to be there to
rub your nose in it."

Josh turned his gaze back to the waves, wishing he were
out there. The sea glistened and sparkled in the summer
sunshine and the waves curled and foamed as they hit the
beach.

The female surfer was up on her board again and he sucked
in a breath as his eyes slid down the girl in masculine
appreciation. "How the hell does she balance?"

"Same way you do," Mac said wearily, "by using her feet
and her body."

"I haven't got that body." Josh shook his head in
wonder. "She shouldn't be able to balance. According to
the theory of relativity, she should be tipping forward."

"Theory of relativity?" 'Yeah." Josh flashed him a wicked
grin. "The size of her backside relative to the size of
her —" 'OK, I get the message." Mac whistled for the dog,
shaking his head in blatant disapproval. "With you, it's
all about appearance, isn't it? She's probably as thick as
a plank."

Josh narrowed his eyes. "With a body like that, who cares?"

Mac rolled his eyes. "I can't understand why some
thoroughly modern woman hasn't blacked your eye before
now."

"Because I'm irresistible," Josh suggested, his eyes
darkening as the girl jumped neatly off her board and
tucked it under her arm, shaking her wet hair out of her
eyes. "She's coming this way. Any moment now she's going
to notice me. Watch and learn, bro'. I think that vacancy
of mine is about to be filled."

He gave a wicked smile and Mac gave a grunt of disgust.