by Ann Mcintosh
His sarcasm almost pushed her over the edge. She went so far as to take a step toward him, as though ready to physically lay into him.
“What the hell do you know about it?” she snarled. Literally snarled, with her lips curled back, teeth exposed. “How I choose to spend my time is my business, not yours.”
Nodding, as though in agreement, would make her even angrier, so he did it.
“True, but when have I ever stayed out of your business? I’m offering you a chance to continue to do something with your medical career, and you’re acting as though I’m asking you to single-handedly do spinal surgery on the Pope, with the Swiss Guard watching over your shoulder.”
She froze. Went completely and utterly still, staring at him with an expression of something like bewilderment on her face.
“What did you just say?” she asked, almost whispering.
“I said, I’m offering you the chance—”
“No. No. After that.”
He thought back, wondering what she was getting at, then slowly said, “You’re acting like I’m asking you to single—”
Horrified with himself, he stopped. How could he have been so thoughtless, so careless? There were a million other expressions he could have used. Why the hell had he picked that one?
Her lips twitched.
Tears filled her eyes.
Kiah got up, ready to apologize, once he got his voice back from wherever the heck it had gone.
Then Mina burst out laughing, the sound so unexpected, so sweet, it rocked him back on his heels.
“Oh, God,” she howled. “Single-handedly...”
Relief washed through him like a heated wave, and Kiah couldn’t help but laugh with her, even though his legs felt shaky.
Then they were in each other’s arms, holding themselves up by the combined effort, laughing until Kiah got a stitch in his side.
Once they regained some kind of composure, he leaned back and looked at her.
“So I take it this is a yes?”
She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and snorted.
“Of course not.” His stomach sank, until she gave him a grin and continued, “But I’ll think about it.”
And he knew, right then and there, that he had her.
So he grinned back and said, “All right, think all you want, but we leave next Thursday.”
CHAPTER THREE
MINA WAS SURE Kiah’s plan was one of the stupidest she’d heard in a long time, but despite her misgivings, less than a week later she was heading to the small Caribbean island of St. Eustace.
Every time she voiced an objection to the trip, Kiah had an answer.
“We need your help.”
“No use wasting that expensive medical degree.”
“You hate winter, anyway.”
That one brought her up short, and she gave him a narrow-eyed glare.
“I do not hate winter. I taught you how to ski, remember?”
He’d snorted, a derisive sound he’d mastered by the age of thirteen and always knew just how to use to best effect.
“Actually, it was your dad who taught me how to ski. And I remember you grumbled the entire time about the cold. Après ski is more your style. Admit it, you’re a bit of a disgrace to your Swedish heritage.”
That led to a heated argument she knew she couldn’t win but also couldn’t resist engaging in.
Kiah had that effect on her, and she had to admit she loved it.
He’d also done something no one else had been able to do for over a month: he’d got her out of the apartment, and back into life. Between taking her out to eat and forcing her to go and get her hair done, Kiah wouldn’t let her languish at home the way she wanted to.
Yet, through the laughter and teasing, the rehashing of times past and the inevitable questions of “Whatever happened to...?” there remained a painful, raw spot in her chest. There was no way to avoid the awkward moments that arose, like when the salon owner asked if she wanted a manicure, or people stared when they realized she was an amputee. Grief welled inside her every time, reinforcing the little voice whispering, You’re no longer whole. You’re deficient.
The only person who didn’t look at her differently was Kiah. Being around him somehow took her beyond the place of pain she was living in.
Now, looking out the window of the plane as it banked to come in for a landing, the sight of the verdant land ringed by aquamarine water along the beaches and rocks made her heart sing. She’d always loved the island and its people, and it felt amazing to have something to anticipate with joy rather than trepidation. After all, if she didn’t feel up to the task of working at the hospital, she just wouldn’t complete the paperwork Kiah told her the administration had prepared.
Despite his bullying her into the trip, filling out her paperwork was one thing Kiah couldn’t do for her, and she considered it her ace in the hole. Her plan was just to stay a few weeks to catch her breath and, if she decided not to take up the offer of work, head back home. She still wasn’t sure she’d be doing anyone any favors by pretending her amputation hadn’t made a massive difference in her abilities.
When they landed and disembarked, she paused to take a deep breath of warm air, her spirits rising even more.
St. Eustace lay southwest of Grenada, just a little more than halfway to Trinidad, and was a little-known tropical paradise. Being back on the island, seeing the backdrop of lush, rolling hills in the distance, standing under the bluest sky imaginable, caused a bubble of happiness to rise into her chest.
Okay, so she had to admit the trip was a great idea. Not that she was inclined to share that information with Kiah.
But when she looked at him, caught him grinning at her, she realized he knew already.
Suddenly feeling like a two-year-old, she stuck out her tongue at him, and his smile turned to laughter.
They would have gotten through customs and immigration a lot quicker if every other person hadn’t stopped, wanting to greet Kiah, or Dr. K, as he was known. And every one of them gave Mina the once-over too, many outright asking who she was.
“This is my best friend, Mina,” he told one elderly lady, slinging his arm over Mina’s shoulder.
“Best friend? So when you getting married?”
Kiah laughed, and Mina smiled, too, but when he replied they really were just friends, the lady flapped her hands at them.
“If you find a best friend of the opposite sex, and you love them, you need to marry them. You think is so easy to find that?”
Then she stomped off, grumbling under her breath about the younger generation not having any sense.
Kiah and Mina chuckled together, and she couldn’t help teasing him. “You’ve been saying that ‘She’s really just a friend’ thing for more than twenty years. Aren’t you tired of having to repeat it?”
Kiah squeezed her shoulders. “Ha ha. But yes. Sometimes. Especially when people give me that look, as though there’s something wrong with me for having you as a friend.”
He was navigating through the crowds as he spoke, steering Mina along with his hand, which was now on her back.
“I used to get that at university, too.” She sent him a mischievous, sideways look. “But you must have realized that, since the other women on my dorm were always all over you when you came by.”
Kiah pushed his lips out and twisted them to the side in impish derision. “I used to tell them I planned to steal you from Warren, just to get them off my back. Besides, at this point, I don’t dare get married to anyone else. No woman would stand for me having not only a female for a best friend, but a beautiful one to boot.”
Her heart clenched, and for an instant she was overcome with the ridiculous wish that he’d meant it, and they could go back in time so he could save her from marrying Warren.
But he was just joking,
so she replied, “That’s the most sexist thing I’ve heard you say in a long time. You should be ashamed of characterizing all women that way. Besides,” she added, giving him another sidelong look, “that’s just an excuse. You darn well know that’s not the reason you don’t have a girlfriend.”
“Oh?” he said, letting her go to fish out the car keys from his pocket. “So what’s the real reason, Miss Smarty-Pants?”
“It’s because any woman you’re interested in would have to be intelligent, and if she is, she’d be too smart to be with you!”
“Damn,” he said, staggering away from her, clutching his chest. “Straight through the heart.”
And they were still laughing together as they got the luggage and then themselves into the car.
When they reached the house, Kiah’s grandmother, Miss Pearl, greeted Mina like a long-lost child, hugging her so tight she squeezed the air out of Mina’s lungs. Then she beckoned to the young girl standing in the doorway, and said, “Charmaine, come and say hello to Auntie Mina. You remember her, don’t you?”
Charm came forward slowly, not out of shyness, Mina thought, but more cautiously than anything else. The resemblance to Karlene, her mother, was so strong Mina had to fight to keep smiling, suddenly wanting to cry instead.
“Yes,” Charm said, her solemn expression not changing a mite. “I remember her.”
“Well, give her a hug, then,” Miss Pearl insisted.
Mina held up her hand. “You don’t have to hug me if you don’t want to. Why don’t we shake hands instead?”
She saw Charm’s gaze dart to her left sleeve and then back up to meet Mina’s.
“Okay,” she replied, holding out her hand to shake.
“Nice to see you again,” Mina said, glad to note Charm had a nice, firm grip.
“You, too,” the young girl mumbled, before turning away to grab one of the bags and head back inside.
Was she remembering that the last time she’d seen Mina was right after her parents’ deaths? She’d been in shock, frightened and traumatized, but sometimes those were the memories that stuck with you. The aftermath of tragedy. The people who witnessed the worst days of your life.
“Hey,” Kiah said. “Aren’t you going to say hello to your favorite uncle?”
Charm paused and gave him a stare blander than dust. “You’re my only uncle,” she rebutted but stopped to give him a kiss and accept a hug as she went past.
They spent the afternoon settling in, and then it was time for dinner. Mina kept glancing at Charm, often finding the young girl looking back at her. But once their eyes met, Charm looked away.
She wasn’t completely surprised when, as the meal was winding down, Miss Pearl got down to brass tacks.
“So why aren’t you wearing your prosthetic?”
Even though she’d been expecting the hard questions, she still balked when having them fired so head-on. But there was no escape. When she sent Kiah a pleading glance, it was to find him looking down at his plate.
Zero help there.
And she didn’t want to tell Miss Pearl what she’d told Kiah: until there was a prosthetic available that could help her perform surgery, she wasn’t interested.
So, trying to sound upbeat and matter-of-fact, she replied, “I don’t have one yet. I’m still trying to figure out which one will be best for me.”
That was when she found out where Charm got that drier-than-dust look from. Miss Pearl had it locked down.
“Humph,” the older lady said. “You should have had one long ago. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to get used to it. And it’s not as though you can’t afford a really good, useful one, too.”
“Granny,” Kiah murmured. “Could you let Mina have a couple of days before you start lecturing her?”
“Humph,” Miss Pearl replied again, as she got to her feet. “Charm, come help me clean up.”
“I’ll do it,” Kiah said, pushing back from the table. “Your turn tomorrow, Charm and Mina.”
And with a wink Mina’s way, he gathered up the dishes and followed Miss Pearl to the kitchen.
Mina glanced over at Charm and found the young girl looking at her in return. This time Charm didn’t turn away but tilted her chin up in the air.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked, the defensiveness in her voice clear.
“Because I can’t get over how much you remind me of your mom. I’m sorry I’m staring,” Mina added, realizing how rude it must seem.
“In what way am I like her?” Charm shot back, looking as though she didn’t really expect an answer that would suit, and Mina couldn’t help chuckling.
“Well, not just how you look—and you do look a lot like her—but even just then, how you spoke reminded me of her. Do you know what her favorite saying was, when we were young?”
Charm shook her head, still looking skeptical.
“She’d always say, ‘Prove it,’ any time someone said something she didn’t agree with or didn’t know for a fact to be true.” Mina felt a wave of sadness but tried not to let it show. “She didn’t take any nonsense from anyone.”
Charm considered that for a moment and then asked, “Were you good friends with her? Like you are with Uncle Kiah?”
Mina shook her head. “Not as good friends. She was a little younger than us, and...” She hesitated for a moment, and then decided honesty would always be the best policy with Charm. “Well, your grandmother didn’t approve of her hanging out with us. She’d let us take her to the movies or the fair sometimes, but mostly your mom had her own friends.”
She was expecting Charm to ask why, but the youngster just gave a little frown and said, “Did you like her?”
“Your mom?”
Please don’t be asking about your grandmother.
Charm nodded, her gaze intent on Mina’s face.
Heaving a silent sigh of relief, Mina nodded back. “I did. She was the kind of person who was honest with how she felt. You never had to guess what she thought. And she had a great sense of humor. One of those dry, slightly sarcastic ones, you know? But she was never mean. She didn’t say things to hurt anyone, just told the truth, as she saw it.”
A little smile touched the edges of Charm’s lips. Then she glanced toward the kitchen before looking back at Mina once more, the smile fading.
“Granny Pearl and Uncle Kiah don’t talk about her much.”
Mina’s heart ached, and it took everything she had to keep eye contact with Charm and not tear up.
“Sometimes, when something hurts so much, it’s hard to talk about.”
It was the best she could offer, but it seemed to satisfy Charm, who nodded slowly again.
Then, as if she’d had enough of that topic, she tipped her chin toward where Mina’s left arm lay on her lap, and said, “So what happened to your hand?”
Taken aback, Mina didn’t answer right away, and Charm frowned, her eyes narrowing. “Oh, I get it,” she said. “You get to know every little thing about me, but I don’t get to ask about you.”
Mina couldn’t help chuckling, although it came out of a throat that felt too tight for comfort.
“There you go again. You sounded just like your mom.” Then, still being subjected to Charm’s glare, she continued, “My hand got crushed in a boating accident.”
Just saying it out loud again brought a rush of emotions—rage, pain and grief all wrapped up together. Charm’s frown softened, although not totally going away.
“Couldn’t the doctors do anything to fix it?”
Mina shook her head, the irony of it still bitter. “It was too badly damaged, and couldn’t be saved. That’s what I used to do, you know—fix broken, crushed and shattered bones. When I saw the X-rays of my hand, I knew even I couldn’t have done anything other than what the surgeon who worked on me did.”
&nbs
p; There were footsteps in the hallway leading from the kitchen, and when Kiah came into the dining room, both Mina and Charm turned to look at him.
“What are you two up to in here?” he asked, giving them an exaggeratedly suspicious glance.
Totally deadpan, Charm responded, “Plotting to take over the world.”
“Well,” he shot back as Mina sputtered into laughter. “I’m sorry to interrupt the planning session, but it’s time for you to start getting ready for bed. All your homework done?”
“Yes,” Charm said. “I didn’t have a lot. Just some math problems, and they were easy-peasy.”
“Lemon-squeezy?” Kiah tacked on, making it a question.
“You know it,” she replied, pushing back her chair and getting up. “Mrs. Hastings is talking about letting me do some advanced work for the rest of the year. I brought home a note about it but told her she’d have to wait for you to get back before she got an answer.”
“I’ll take a look at it tomorrow,” Kiah said, snagging Charm as she was going by and pulling her in for a hug.
Even though Charm said, “Uncle,” in a disgusted tone, Mina saw how she rested her head against Kiah’s chest and smiled when he planted a kiss on the top of her head.
“Have your shower, and then you can read for half an hour before it’s lights out, okay?”
“It’s still early,” Charm said, ducking out of the hug and heading for her room. “If I hurry up and bathe, can I read for an hour?”
“Bathe properly, and then forty-five minutes.”
“Deal,” came her answer from down the hall.
Kiah gazed after her for a moment, and then turned his smile on Mina. Something about the tender set of his lips melted her heart, and she smiled back.