The Army Doctor's Christmas Baby (9 page)

Epilogue

Kelly laughed with anticipation as she jumped out of the
rental car outside her sister's house in Perth. She and Sean had left the cold
temperatures of England to celebrate the New Year under the hot sun and blue
skies of Australia.

"You go on ahead," Sean said to her. "I'll
get the girls out."

"Yay, Kelly!" Joanne burst through her front door
and dashed down the path to meet Kelly as she opened the gate. They hugged for
a long time, the years melting away as if they had seen each other only
yesterday. "It's been too long, you dirty stay-away."

"It was you who moved to the opposite end of the
world."

"Darling, you're here." Kelly's mum and dad
hurried out and grabbed her for hugs.

She held on to her mum for a long time, blinking back tears
at the sight of all the gray in her mum's hair. The years had whizzed past. If
it hadn't been for Sean, she might not have come to see her parents again.

"So, where's this fiancé of yours?" her father
said.

Sean appeared at the gate with a little girl clutching each
hand and the changing bag over his shoulder. He gave a crooked grin, his golden
hair gleaming in the sun, his eyes as blue as the Indian Ocean shimmering in
the distance.

"Holy cow." Joanne gaped at Sean. "Where on
earth did you find him and does he have a brother?"

"You're married, Jo." Kelly smacked her sister's
arm.

Sean shook her father's hand and politely swapped hugs and
kisses with her mother and sister.

"How absolutely adorable." Her mother leaned down
to see Zoe and Annabelle. "You two darlings are the prettiest twins I've
ever seen."

"Come on in. The kids are out back with Eric. We're
going to eat outside on the deck by the pool." Joanne turned a bright
smile on Kelly. "We've cooked a New Year's turkey since you missed
Christmas with us."

Kelly met Sean's gaze. He gave her a wry grin. Neither said
they had already eaten enough turkey this Christmas to last them all year.

"Sounds great," Kelly said. "Lead on."

She lifted Zoe into her arms while Sean picked up Annabelle.
Both babies had slept for much of the time on the second leg of their flight,
after a twenty-four hour stopover in Singapore.

They walked through the house and emerged into the grassy
backyard. Luxuriant shrubs covered in bunches of golden blooms and red spiky
bottlebrush flowers bordered the deck. The sun blazed down. It was a shock to
the system after leaving an icy UK.

Kelly was relieved to step under the shady canopy over the
table. A Christmas tablecloth and a fat gold candle surrounded by plastic holly
sprigs gave a festive touch to the dinner setting.

On the corner of the deck, a traditional Christmas tree
blinked with lights and sparkled with baubles. "It seems so weird having
Christmas in the summer," Kelly said.

"I know. I long for snow sometimes. Not for long,
though." Joanne gazed across the garden and raised her voice. "Marty,
Tina, Niki. Come here, you three. Say hello to your auntie Kelly."

A dark-haired boy of six and two little girls of four and
three dashed across the lawn from where they were playing in the swimming pool to
give Kelly wet hugs.

Fresh tears filled her eyes to see her nieces and nephew.
The last time she visited here, Marty had been two, and the girls hadn't been
born. She had only seen photographs of them.

"It's wonderful to meet you all." She sat with Zoe
in her arms and Sean crouched at her side, holding Annabelle. "Say hello
to Zoe and Belles." The children were so cute all hugging each other.

"Hi there." Joanne's husband carried out the
turkey and set it on the table before shaking Sean's hand and kissing Kelly.
They took their seats, Kelly's mother claiming Zoe to sit on her lap.

"Oh, Kelly, they're adorable. You're a very lucky
girl." Her mother threw an arm around her shoulders, pressing her cheek to
Kelly's. "I'm so happy for you, darling, and thrilled that you found the
time to come all this way to see us."

"I won't leave it so long next time, Mum."

"That's all right, sweetheart. All that matters is
you're here now and you're happy."

"I am. Really happy. Sean is wonderful."

She held out her left hand to show off her ring before gripping
Sean's fingers. His gaze met hers, the corners of his lips lifting in an
affectionate smile, his eyes alight with pleasure.

"I love you, darling," she said, leaning close to
kiss him. This man hadn't just welcomed her into his family, he'd helped her find
her own family again, encouraged her to take a chance and come to Australia to
reconnect with her parents and sister. Now that she was here, she couldn't
understand why she had stayed away so long.

"I love you too," he said.

"Love, love, love, love," Annabelle chanted and
Zoe joined in.

Everybody burst out laughing.

"Yes, we do love, love, love." Kelly kissed both
her adorable babies and their wonderful daddy. She had been blessed with the
very best Christmas present in the world, a family to love.

If you enjoyed
The Army
Doctor's Christmas Baby
, you might also enjoy these other books by Helen
Scott Taylor

The Army Doctor's Baby

After his wife betrayed him, Major Radley Knight dedicated
himself to becoming the best Army doctor he could be, dedicated himself to
saving soldiers' lives. When he returns on leave from Afghanistan he is ready
for a break. Instead he finds himself helping a young mother and her newborn
baby. He falls in love with Olivia and her sweet baby boy and longs to spend
the rest of his life caring for them. But Olivia and her baby belong to
Radley's brother.

Praise for The Army
Doctor's Baby

"This is a sweet romance with a wonderful happily ever
after. Highly recommend this read!" Luvbooks

*

"I loved this sweet, tender romance about a woman in
need of a father for her baby and the man who falls in love with her..."
Ruth Glick

*

"Loved the twists at the end of the book. Just the
right amount of tension to keep me turning those pages! Totally
recommend." Mary Leo

*

Read a sample or buy The Army Doctor's Baby
HERE

The Army Doctor's Wedding

Major Cameron Knight thrives on the danger of front-line
battlefield medicine. Throwing himself into saving the lives of injured
servicemen keeps the demons from his past away. When he rescues charity worker,
Alice Conway, and a tiny newborn baby, he longs for a second chance to do the
right thing, even if it means marrying a woman he barely knows so they can take
the orphan baby to England for surgery. The brave, beautiful young woman and
the orphan baby steal his heart. He wants to make the marriage real, but being
married to an army officer who's stationed overseas might do her more harm than
good.

Praise for The Army
Doctor's Wedding

"Grab a Kleenex because you are going to need it! This
is one no romance lover should miss!" Teresa Hughes

*

"The book starts out with lots of action and holds the
reader's interest through to the end. It's a great read!" Sue E.
Pennington

*

Read a sample or buy The Army Doctor's Wedding
HERE

Love is All Around: Box Set of Three Contemporary
Romances

Three highly rated contemporary romances in one box
set—excellent value!

Praise for Helen's
Books

"This is the type of book to snuggle up on the couch
with on a slow Saturday afternoon to lose yourself in heartbreak, romance, and
happily ever after." Sandy M, The Good, The Bad & The Unread.

*

"It was incredibly romantic and sweet, and I couldn't
wait to find out how it turned out." Abbey, Wendy's Minding Spot

*

"You'll adore this romance with a charming hero who has
such generosity of spirit and so much love to give the right woman. You'll
cheer Maria on and hope she realizes that sometimes you just have to take a
risk and follow your heart." Joan Reeves, Slingwords

*

Read a sample or buy
Love is All Around
on Amazon
HERE

A Family for Christmas

A heartwarming tale for Christmas.

A lonely career woman stranded in a blizzard, a
disillusioned man who has cut himself off from women. When he rescues her from
the snow and takes her into his home, the spirit of Christmas and his little
girl's love work their magic.

Praise for A Family for
Christmas

"What a delightful novella with appealing characters, lovely
descriptions, and a sprinkle of suspense." Reader Forever

*

"A Family For Christmas is a top-notch holiday
read." Heather Hiestand

*

"If you want to enjoy a heartwarming Christmas story,
you'll love this book." OnTheMark

*

Read a sample or buy A Family for Christmas
HERE
.

About the Author

Helen Scott Taylor won the
American Title IV contest in 2008. Her winning book, The Magic Knot, was
published in 2009 to critical acclaim, received a starred review from
Booklist
,
and was a
Booklist
top ten romance for 2009. Since then, she has
published other novels, novellas, and short stories in both the UK and USA.

Helen lives in South West
England near Plymouth in Devon between the windswept expanse of Dartmoor and
the rocky Atlantic coast. As well as her wonderful long-suffering husband, she
shares her home with a Westie a Shih Tzu and an aristocratic
chocolate-shaded-silver-burmilla cat who rules the household with a velvet paw.
She believes that deep within everyone, there’s a little magic.

Find Helen at:

http://www.HelenScottTaylor.com

http://twitter.com/helenscotttaylo

http://facebook.com/helenscotttaylor

http://
www.facebook.com/HelenScottTaylorAuthor

***

Book List

Paranormal/Fantasy
Romance

The Magic Knot

The Phoenix Charm

The Ruby Kiss

Dreamy Kisses:
Paranormal Romance Box Set

The Feast of
Beauty

Warriors of Ra

A Clockwork
Fairytale

Ice Gods

Cursed Kiss

***

Contemporary
Romance

The Army Doctor's
Baby

The Army Doctor's
Wedding

Love is All
Around: Contemporary Romance Box Set

Unbreak My Heart

Oceans Between Us

Finally Home

A Family for
Christmas

A Family Forever

Moments of Gold

Flowers on the
water

***

Young Adult

Wildwood