‘I will,’ he said staunchly. ‘And I’ve got your lucky clover too. Look after Edith, won’t you? Well, of course you will. And then as soon as I can I’ll come home to you. Until then, we’ll carry on. I’d better go. Goodbye for now, Alice.’
‘Goodbye, Joe.’ The line went dead at the other end and she replaced the receiver in its cradle.
She knew her first patient would be expecting her soon but she needed a second to gather her thoughts. What a year it had been. Moving to Dalston, meeting the Banhams, war breaking out, and now Joe, and maybe something more – but was she ready for what was coming next? Yet she knew she had come on in leaps and bounds as a district nurse, confident that she could now cope with most situations, maintaining a calm and efficient composure no matter what she encountered on her rounds. She realised she might have to draw on that in the months to come, not knowing what they would all have to face. Then again, if Edith had the willpower to do so, even when in the depths of sorrow, she herself must face the challenges ahead.
They would manage; that was what they did. Her head went up and she touched the Queen’s Nursing Institute badge that she wore so proudly at her throat. The sun was shining, the air was warm, and she picked up her Gladstone bag, took it to her bike and tucked it into the basket, ready to pedal off on her day’s round.
Also by Annie Groves
Winter on the Mersey
Child of the Mersey
Christmas on the Mersey
The Mersey Daughter
About Annie Groves
Annie Groves is the pen name of Jenny Shaw, an accomplished writer of fiction who has been published previously under a pseudonym. She lives with her family near the Western Approaches, where she enjoys exploring local history and walking by the sea.
Annie Groves was originally created by the much-loved writer Penny Halsall, who died in 2011. The stories drew on her own family’s history, picked up from listening to her grandmother’s stories when she was a child. Jenny Shaw has been a big fan of the wonderful novels by Annie Groves for many years and feels privileged to have been asked to continue her legacy.
Also by Annie Groves
The Pride Family Series
Ellie Pride
Connie’s Courage
Hettie of Hope Street
The WWII Series
Goodnight Sweetheart
The Grafton Girls
As Time Goes By
The Campion Series
Across the Mersey
Daughters of Liverpool
The Heart of the Family
Where the Heart Is
When the Lights Go On Again
The Article Row Series
London Belles
Home for Christmas
My Sweet Valentine
Only a Mother Knows
A Christmas Promise
The Empire Street Series
Child of the Mersey
Christmas on the Mersey
The Mersey Daughter
About the Publisher
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HarperCollins Canada
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United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
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United States
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http://www.harpercollins.com