Visiting Drew is a rare trip.

He makes it home on a fairly frequent basis. The twins love the car, and he likes getting Hayley away from it all. Plus, he’s trying to squeeze in as many visits with Mum before it’s too late.

This time, it’s Ginny and me visiting him, but first, we have our appointment with his friend.

I can tell by the bright, shiny, new-looking building we pull up out the front of that this isn’t going to be cheap.

But I’ll do whatever it takes to give my girl what she needs.

We dropped Ava with Hayley on the way. She doesn’t need to sit through a clinical visit. Earlier in the week, Ginny filled in some paperwork so that Doctor Phillips could pull her medical records.

When her previous relationship fell apart, she continued down the treatment path her doctor at the time had set. She’d been offered surgery then, but broken, she’d moved to Copper Creek to start a new life instead. It was my gain, but at what cost to her?

The receptionist gives us a warm smile.

“Ginny Robinson to see Doctor Phillips,” she says.

The receptionist nods. “Take a seat. I’ll let him know you’re here.”

I take Ginny’s hand in mine. Her chest rises dramatically as she takes a deep breath.

“It’ll all be over soon.” I kiss the back of her hand.

“I know. It’s just … I was on the waiting list for a while just to see a gynaecologist. This is so quick.”

I grin. “Pays to know someone in the business.”

She laughs.

“That’s better.” I kiss her on the temple.

“Ginny, Owen,” a tall, blond man greets us.

“Doctor Phillips?” I ask.

“Please, call me Dion. Drew’s told me all about you two.” He holds out his hand, and I shake it, followed by Ginny.

“Don’t believe anything he says.” I let out a nervous laugh.

Dion laughs. “Come through, and we’ll talk.”

He leads us into a luxurious office, and I shoot Ginny a What the hell are we doing here? look. It’s all a bit overwhelming. This might be Drew’s life, but it’s a long way from mine.

We sit on the large black leather couch Dion points to, and he picks up a file from his desk and sits in a matching chair opposite.

“So, I’ll just tell you a little bit about me, and then we can talk about why you’re here.” He smiles.

I nod. Ginny reaches for my hand, and I squeeze it tight.

“I worked with Drew at the hospital, but since leaving there, I’ve specialised in dealing with couples with fertility issues, and specifically endometriosis. That’s where my focus is, and that’s why Drew’s sent you to me.”

“Okay,” Ginny says.

“So, Ginny, I requested your medical files from your previous doctor. You didn’t have surgery when diagnosed?”

She shakes her head. “I had the ultrasound. My life got a bit complicated shortly afterward. The doctor suggested surgery, but I didn’t follow through with it.”

“Well, surgery is the only way to really confirm an endometriosis diagnosis. Although, looking at your symptoms, if I had to guess, they got it right.”

She licks her lips. “Is there anything else you can do?”

He leans forward. “You already know what you’re dealing with, so I’m just going to cut to the chase. In a nutshell, we can perform laparoscopic surgery to confirm the diagnosis and remove the endometriosis. And we recommend after the surgery for you to try to become pregnant in the first six to twelve months of the operation. That’s when you have the best chance.”

“Then we can have a baby?” Ginny’s tone is hopeful.

“There’s a much better chance of it happening if we do this procedure, yes. I know Drew would have told you that I can’t promise anything, but I have a good success rate with this method. At the very least, it’ll give you some relief from the symptoms.”

She shoots me a smile. “I can live with that. It’s worth a go, right?”

He nods. “Definitely. Now, we could do it on the public system, but there’s a wait, and I can’t tell you how long that will be. The alternative is to do it privately.”

I swallow. “How much would that cost? We don’t have medical insurance.”

“I’ll get my assistant to put it all together if you’d like to know. It’s not cheap, but I think it’s your best shot.”

I nod.

Ginny snuggles into my side, and I slip an arm around her waist.

“Thanks for seeing us.”

“It’s no problem. Your brother and I go way back, and whatever I can do, I’ll help.” He smiles. “It’s not going to be easy, whatever you do. But I can promise you that I’ll do the best job I can.”

I lean my head on Ginny’s. I’m already calculating the figures.

It’s not pretty, whatever the cost.

The car ride back to Drew’s is quiet until we get close to his place.

“Do you think we can do this?” Ginny’s so quiet, and I know she’s thinking what I am.

“Gin, we can’t afford to go private. At least, not for a while. We’ll have to save.”

“Maybe we could get a loan?”

I nod. “Maybe. It’s a lot of money when everything’s tied up in the new house.”

She sighs.

I reach for her hand and bring it to my lips. “Let’s see how much it comes to. We’ll know in a couple of days what it’ll cost, and we can make a decision then.”

Ginny rests her head on my shoulder. “It’s okay. I mean, it doesn’t have to happen now if we can’t afford it.”

“I’m sorry, babe.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. We’re in this together.” She sits back up, and I turn into Drew’s driveway.

“Let’s go and enjoy our evening with Drew and Hayley,” I say.

She nods.

“Love you.” I turn my head as I switch off the engine.

Her face lights up. “Love you, too.”

Drew opens the door and ushers us into the living room.

Ava sits in the middle of the floor. She’s got her big colouring book open, and pencils everywhere. “Hi, Daddy.”

“What are you doing?” Ginny asks.

“I did so much colouring.” Ava’s eyes grow wide. “Logan tried to eat one of my pencils.”

“Yes, he did.” Drew laughs.

I nod at Drew. “Look at you, at home in the middle of the afternoon.”

He shrugs. “Gotta be some perks to working for myself.”

We sit on the couch, and he sits in a nearby chair. Hayley appears in the doorway leading to the hall, a big smile on her face.

“Ava’s been good as gold. She let the twins climb all over her, and Logan did indeed try and eat a pencil.”

“He’s got no teeth.” Ava laughs.

Hayley shakes her head. “No, thankfully he has no teeth. Yet. Do you two want a coffee?”

“I’d love one,” Ginny says.

“I’ll go and sort that out.”

Drew leans forward. “What did he say?”

“He told us about the surgery option.” I sigh. “There’s the waiting list, but at least it gives us a bit of hope.” Turning to Ginny, I squeeze her hand. She smiles at me, all the love in her eyes clear to see.

“I thought he might. So, Hayley and I have been talking about it …”

I cock my head. “Talking about what?”

“We’ll pay for you to go private. It means you could have the surgery in the next few weeks, and—”

“Oh, Drew, it’s so generous, but we can’t accept that,” Ginny says.

“Yeah, you can. Family looks after family, and I can’t tell you how long that wait will be otherwise.” Drew grins. “Maybe Owen can pay us back in bread or something.”

“That’s a lot of bread.” I catch Ginny’s gaze again, and this time it’s so full of hope, I can’t bear it.

“We love you guys,” Hayley says, placing steaming mugs in front of us. “There’s no obligation to pay us back. We just want to help give you the best advantage you can get to end up with what you want.”

I swallow. My pride would usually stop me from accepting something like this, but it’s Ginny, and I want to give her everything. Maybe even after the surgery we’ll still fail, but at least we tried.

“How much do you think it’ll be?” I ask.

“Don’t worry about it.” Drew fixes his gaze on me.

“Well, I am going to worry about it and the clinic will call me and tell me in a few days anyway.”

“I’ll pay it. You just get Ginny to where you’re told to take her on time. That’s all you need to do.”

Beside me, Ginny lets out a pained breath.

I nod. “Thank you. Okay. Let’s do it.”

Ginny’s grip on my hand is vice-like, and she leans her head on my shoulder. “Thank you,” she whispers.

“Thank Drew. He’s the one bankrolling this. Wait—does this make my brother your sugar daddy?”

“What’s a sugar daddy? I have a cookie daddy.” Ava giggles.

Ginny laughs, slapping me on the arm. “Look what you did.”

“We are in so much trouble when the twins are old enough to pick up on the random things Drew says.” Hayley grins. “But seriously, you guys, we’re more than happy to help out. You’ve already got so much on your plate.”

I exchange a look with Drew to try and convey my gratitude.

The truth is saying thanks will never be enough.