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if there had been a hospital next door, they couldn’t have done anything more for Cody.”
    “Did that help?”
    “Not at the time,” Beth admitted, “but it does a bit now, especially since we’ve got Paul. At least now I know that there was nothing we could have done to prevent Cody’s death. Everything possible was done to try to save him. But when it happened, I was beyond consoling. I fell to pieces for a while.”
    “Which is understandable. How about Hal?”
    “He was devastated, of course, but in a different way. He’d take himself off to the farm or out to the tool-shed out back for hours on end, fixing things up, building things we didn’t need. He just wouldn’t talk about it to me.”
    “Men generally deal with grief in a different way, Beth. They tend to keep it in, whereas women like to talk.”
    “Don’t we.” A watery smile trembled on her lips. “He didn’t want me to have another baby. He wasn’t sure I’d be able to cope, and it seems he was right. I can’t sleep, I can’t let Paul out of my sight, and now poor Flynn’s gone and broken his arm because I wasn’t watching him properly because I was too scared to leave Paul.”
    Beth’s tears were starting again, and hating herself for her insensitivity, Cheryl sneaked a quick look at her watch.
    “He’s a seven-year-old boy,” she said firmly. “And seven-year-old boys are notorious for breaking bones. Believe me, I see it every day. You need support, Beth.” Cheryl squeezed the other woman’s hand again. “Everything you’ve told me—how you’re feeling, Hal’s reaction, your fears for the new baby—are completely normal reactions, given what you’ve been through. Is there anyone here you can talk to?”
    “I’ve got lots of friends.” Beth shrugged. “My mom’s nearby.” But her expression belied her positive words and she started to cry again. “They just don’t understand, though. Dr. Holland was great. He warned me I’d feel like this. He said he’d call in, and that I could phone him anytime day or night if I was feeling anxious.”
    “He sounds nice,” Cheryl ventured. “He’s the one who just had the heart attack, isn’t he?”
    Beth nodded. “He’s Turning Point’s one and only doctor, but he was more than a doctor to me, he was a friend. Noah’s good—the vet,” she added, and Cheryl nodded. “He comes round for a drink every now and then and lets me ramble on about Cody and that horrible day, but I know, even if he tries not to show it, that he’s not really into babies. Not the two-legged type anyway. He’s only interested in his career.”
    “I know the type,” Cheryl said, deliberately keeping the edge from her voice. But she did know the type—she’d been married to one, after all.
    “There’s no one I can really talk to about it, Cheryl. No one at all.”
    Only then did Beth’s plight really hit Cheryl. God, how she wished she were at work. Piles of leaflets and phone numbers were available at the nurses’ station. A psychiatrist was just a telephone call away.
    But there weren’t such resources here, and even her time was in short supply.
    “Beth, if there was any way I could put things off I’d stay awhile longer, but I really do have to get back.” Cheryl squeezed her hand again. “I have to set Flynn’s arm and return to town, but please don’t think I’m just walking out on you. You really do need some help, and I’m going to do my best to see you get it. Do you want me to ask Mitch to send Hal home?”
    Immediately Beth shook her head.
    “Please, Cheryl, don’t. It will only make things worse. Look, I’m not about to do anything stupid. I just need some help.”
    “Well, you’ve taken the most difficult step—admitting it,” Cheryl said softly.
    “If I could just get a decent night’s sleep—”
    “You need a bit more than that,” Cheryl broke in. “But it would be a good start. Look…” Standing up, Cheryl turned on a smile and hit Beth with a