by Lynda Renham
‘There.’
He points to a dirt runway and I see a small group of men watching the plane eagerly. They’re undoubtedly waiting for it to crash. It is probably their only entertainment. Then I see the hospital and a small flutter of excitement rushes through me. Suddenly it all seems worth it. At last my dreams are coming true. Julian and his irresponsibility is now far behind me, as are the Jacks. I needn’t fear bumping into Brice Edmunds. I imagine what he would think of me volunteering to work in Angola. I find myself thinking how wonderful it would have been to have worked with him but quickly push it from my mind as the plane descends. I close my eyes and grip the seat. The little aeroplane lurches up and down as Jose fiddles with the knobs. My mind flashes back to the helicopter descent at Glenwood. We hit the runway with a bump and bounce up before going down again. Jesus, I feel the sweat run from under my armpits and my knuckles turn white. Only when the plane finally comes to a halt do I release my grip. I step from the plane into scorching heat, and am so relieved to be back on terra firma I have to stop myself from kneeling down to kiss the ground. A sea of black faces stare at me and I smile nervously. A young white man pushes through the crowd and waves to me. Thank God for a white face, not that I’m racist or anything.
‘Harriet Lawson?’ he shouts.
I nod, relieved that he speaks English.
‘Hello I’m Travis, coordinator for Medical Aiders. Fantastic, you’re on time. That doesn’t happen very often.’
I try not to show my disappointment. I had hoped he was Dr Beadu.
‘Where’s Doctor Beadu?’ I ask.
He takes my cases and tips the pilot.
‘We’ve had an emergency. I say emergency, to be honest that’s pretty routine around here, but he said he does hope you will join him for dinner. Let’s get you to your room shall we? Sorry to seem in a rush. I’m getting the plane back. We need some supplies and you can’t trust anyone around here. I know it doesn’t look like much but it is one of the best compounds.’
He smiles apologetically. My bedroom is cool and furnished with a single bed and a small dressing table. There is a door to a bathroom.
‘I’ll get someone to send coffee over,’ he says.
I look around and fall onto the bed. I cannot believe I have done this. I stretch back and before I know it I am asleep.
Chapter Forty-Two
A light tapping on the door wakes me. I open it bleary eyed and with wild hair to see a boy standing there.
‘Missy, doctor said please come for dinner in fifteen minutes.’
The sun is setting and I calculate that I must have slept for three hours. I rub my eyes.
‘Yes of course, where do I go?’
He points to a building at the far end of the hospital. I throw things out of my suitcase and find a suitable summer dress. The bathroom has a bucket of lukewarm water and a bowl, and I rinse my hair and quickly wash. I towel dry my hair when I realise there are no mains to plug in my hairdryer. I use my handbag mirror to apply my make-up. It will be wasted on this Belgium, or was it Danish doctor, but first impressions and all that. I try to check my dress in the little handbag mirror but it’s impossible. Picking up my bag I head to the building that the boy pointed at. The only lights are those from the hospital and the outbuildings. The one I’m heading to seems to be well lit and I walk carefully, looking around as I do. No doubt there are worse things to be had here than demented cats. Why is it everything I do somehow reminds me of Glenwood and Brice? The door is open and soft music reaches my ears. I push it open further and gasp. The room is filled with candles. The boy I had seen earlier ushers me in.
‘Has there been a power cut?’ I ask. ‘Does this happen often?’
He pushes me further into the room. A table is beautifully laid. There are two plates and a small stove in the middle.
‘It’s not homemade curry but I did my best. Hi I’m Dr Beadu, but you can call me Sku,’ he says.
I gasp and grab one of the chairs for support. Oh my God, why didn’t I realise, Scooby Doo. What a bastard.
‘But you’re in Laos,’ I say stupidly.
‘Is that man impersonating me again?’
I can’t take my eyes off him. I want to but I just can’t. He’s looks so gorgeous I feel like I may faint. He is wearing a white shirt and knee-length linen trousers which show off his deep tan. His warm hazel eyes are shining and I feel hypnotised by them. His hair is damp, like mine, and I desperately want to run my hands through it. He pulls a chair out for me and I fall into it.
‘I’m surprised you of all people didn’t get the Scooby Doo bit.’
‘I’m not staying,’ I say in a shaky voice.
My body is trembling so much that I’m afraid to lift even a glass to my lips.
‘I didn’t think you would,’ he replies calmly, placing a casserole dish onto the table.
‘It looks like the dogs bollocks,’ I say before I can stop myself.
‘No, they were sold out of those at the market this morning,’ he smiles cheekily. ‘It’s chicken, with an assortment of vegetables, sorry it isn’t grander but things are sparse around here and …’
He stops and I look up at him.
‘God, it’s good to see you. Amazing in fact,’ he says softly.
‘I wanted to go to Asia,’ I say stupidly, holding a glass of water, ‘but I didn’t want to see you. Isn’t that ironic?’
‘Don’t you just love irony,’ he smiles.
‘Jane Austen might, but I’m not so keen,’ I say, struggling to breathe. This is terrible. I can’t even walk out, not that I really want to. I look around at the candles and realise there hasn’t been a power cut at all.
‘How can this happen?’ I say.
‘Brice Luck,’ he grins, sitting opposite me.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry, to be angry or to be happy.
‘I’ve missed you,’ he says softly and I feel my knees tremble.
‘You told Phoebe you weren’t interested in me and besides we have nothing in common. I’ll fly home tomorrow,’ I say, knowing the last thing I want to do is fly anywhere except, maybe, into his bedroom.
‘Harriet, you never fail to make me laugh. We have nothing in common? We’re both sitting in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by mud huts because we both want to help the needy, and you say we have nothing in common. There aren’t many women who would be here. As for Phoebe …’ he breaks off and leaves the table and returns with a bottle of wine.
‘Homemade, not by me I hasten to add. My translator enjoys doing it. It’s a bit potent. Phoebe is,’ he says pouring the liquid into the glasses, ‘an interfering, stuck up little cow who likes to cause trouble. I wasn’t going to tell her my feelings for you. She is the last person on earth I would share my intimate feelings with. I’m disappointed you would think me so shallow.’
My body aches to touch him, to feel his lips on mine, his hands on my breasts. I take a sharp breath as he moves towards me.
‘Harry, there isn’t another woman on earth that could have more in common with me. From the moment we met outside the church I knew you were something special.’
I feel tears prick my eyes.
‘I don’t think you’re shallow. I just can’t imagine what you see in me.’
‘Fishing for compliments are you?’ he smiles. ‘Well, I see your lovely nose which twitches at certain times. I see your fabulous sense of humour which matches mine. I see your honesty and your beauty. I see a woman I want to spend every day and every night with. I see a woman I can work with. A woman who not only understands my work but one that can also help with it, in fact I see my perfect woman.’
‘Oh,’ I say feeling my body tremble. ‘I’m out of debt,’ I add stupidly.
‘I’m more interested in whether you’re available,’ he says, desire hanging thick between us.
‘Oh yes,’ I say feeling my breath becoming more ragged by the second.
I’m in his arms with no idea how I got there. His lip
s cover my cheeks, chin and neck before landing urgently on my lips. His hands grasp my buttocks and I sigh heavily, feeling my legs give way.
‘If you don’t mind Miss Lawson, I think I shall have you for a starter,’ he says huskily, his hands sliding down the front of my dress. ‘Or maybe I shall just make you my three course meal.’
‘Oh yes please,’ I moan as my hands circle his hardness.
‘Don’t you just love Brice Luck?’ he whispers into my ear as he lifts me from the ground and carries me across the compound. ‘Or do you want to diss it again.’
‘Just shut up,’ I laugh, kicking open the door of his room.
Pink Wellies and Flat Caps
Alice Lane has everything; a wonderful fiancé, a responsible job and a lovely flat in Chelsea, but after she has a bra fitting her life goes tits up. Homeless, and with just a sparkling engagement ring as a memory of her previous life Alice accepts a live-in farm manager’s job and discovers that things actually can get worse. Come with Alice as she makes her hilarious career change and struggles to cope with her moody employer, Edward. But can Alice turn her back on romance and resist the dashing Dominic or will the past come back to surprise her?
Coconuts and Wonderbras
Literary agent Libby Holmes is desperate for her boyfriend, Toby, to propose to her and will do anything for him and if that means dieting for England then she’ll have a go. However, when Libby’s boss introduces her to her new client, Alex Bryant, her life is turned upside down. Alex Bryant, ex-SAS officer and British hero, insists Libby accompany him to Cambodia for a book fair. What she hadn’t bargained for was a country in revolt. Libby finds herself in the middle of an uprising with only Alex Bryant to protect her, that is, until Toby flies out to win back her affections. Come with Libby on her romantic comedy adventure to see if love blossoms in the warm Cambodian sunshine or if, in the heat of the day, emotions get just too hot to handle.
Croissants and Jam
Annabel Lewis (Bels) has two days to get to her wedding in Rome, but her journey is beset with one disaster after another as fate takes its turn. Will the stranger she meets on the way get her to her wedding on time or will he change her life forever? Come with Bels on her humorous romantic journey to see if she marries Mr Right or if destiny takes her in a different direction.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Other Books