She opened her mouth to speak but Sawyer wasn’t finished. “Sticking to the plan doesn’t always work. Helen and I stuck to the plan. The plan didn’t cover what to do in a surgical emergency with no equipment in the middle of nowhere. Because that’s all it was—a plan. Nothing more, nothing less. Just another tool to have in your box. Life has a funny way of making its own plan, no matter what’s down in black and white.”
“And if you don’t like it?”
“That’s the beauty of having a plan, Callie. Knowing when to use it and knowing when to drop it.” He crouched down in front of her, “Thinking of Isabel, does it still hurt?”
She hesitated. “Yes.” Her voice was barely audible.
“Callie, if Isabel were here right now, what would she say to you?”
Callie shifted in her seat. “She’d tell me to get my act together.” She looked Sawyer in the eye, “She’d tell me not to get distracted by other people. She’d tell me not to waste the last nine years of my career by throwing away my role in the DPA now.” Was she trying to convince him or her?
“And if she could see you now—if she could feel how you felt every day at work? Do you honestly think that’s what she’d say?”
Callie sighed and he could see light dawn across her face. She was finally going to stop giving the answers she was expected to give. “No. She’d give me a boot up the ass and ask me why I hadn’t said something sooner.”
He smiled at her. “I think I would have liked Isabel.”
She buried her head in her hands. “What will my parents think if I tell them I don’t want to do this any more? They’ll be so disappointed.” Her voice drifted off and he could see pain flit across her eyes again.
“Callie, they’ve lost one daughter. They’ve gone through the worst pain imaginable. All they could want for you is to be happy.”
He put his hand back on her heart. “Think of me as your own Aladdin’s genie. I’m going to grant you a wish. And I’ll do everything in my power to make it happen. What is it that you want, Callie?”
She was looking into his eyes, searching his face. He could tell she was terrified of revealing what she really wanted. He prayed he wasn’t making her take a step too far.
But this felt right. It wasn’t just him who needed to move on—it was her too. And they could do it together. Because nothing else could feel as good a fit as they did.
She sat for a few minutes. He could hear her deep breaths. He didn’t want to push her any more. He knew how he would have reacted if someone had tried to push him too hard a few years ago.
She needed to be ready. She needed to be sure.
She lifted her eyes and they took on a determined edge. This was the Callie Turner who’d swept into his E.R. and told him she was in charge. This was the Callie Turner who’d made the decision to start vaccinating. This was the Callie Turner who hadn’t blinked an eye at him watching her change her clothing. “I want more than one wish.”
He felt relief wash over him. “Cheat. I’ll give you two.” His heart was thudding in his chest. He could only hope where this might go. “The first for work, the second for life.” He felt his lips turning upwards, praying he wasn’t reading her wrong.
She sucked in a breath and held it for a few seconds.
“The first for work,” she repeated.
He nodded.
“I want to leave the DPA.” As she said the words her shoulders immediately relaxed. It was almost as if someone had released the pressure in her and it had escaped. “I want to leave the DPA.” She repeated the words again, this time more determinedly, with a smile starting to form on her lips.
The smile progressed, reaching across her face until her eyes started to light up. “I want to retrain. I want to work in family practice.”
“You do?” He couldn’t have picked that lottery ball if he’d tried.
She nodded. “I do.” Those words sounded ominous. She met his eyes again and laughed.
“And your second wish?”
She stood up and pulled him up next to her. “This could be a difficult one.”
Sawyer felt his heart plummet. “How so?”
She wrapped one arm around his waist. “I’m going to need some help while I retrain. I’m going to need some support.”
He could see where this was going. “And where do you think you could get that support?”
“I’m kind of hoping I can rely on a friend.”
“A friend?” His voice rose.
She stood on tiptoe and murmured in his ear. “It would have to be a special kind of friend. One who doesn’t mind helping me study.” She dropped a little kiss on his ear. “One who could make dinner and tidy up after himself because I’m going to be really busy.”
He nodded. “Really busy. And where do you think you could find someone to meet all these demands?”
She ran her fingers down his chest. “I’m kind of hoping my genie can arrange it.”
“Oh, you are?” He pulled her closer. She molded her body to his and wrapped her arms around his neck.
He got a waft of her raspberry shampoo. This was going to drive him crazy. Hopefully for the next fifty years.
She pulled back a little. “Come to think of it, most genies grant three wishes. I guess mine kind of short-changed me.”
“Why, what would be your third wish?”
She stood on tiptoe again and whispered in his ear, with a sparkle in her eyes and a pink tinge to her cheeks.
“Now, that I can make happen straight away.”
And he took her by the hand and led her down the corridor.
EPILOGUE
IT WAS A perfect day.
The deep blue water was lapping up onto Osterman beach. Callie wiggled her feet and felt the sand shift under her toes. The ocean breeze blew her hair around her face, one side catching more of the breeze than the other. She grabbed a few strands and tucked them behind her ear.
The white canopy above her swayed in the wind, shading the guests from the early morning sun. She sighed and relaxed back into her white canvas chair and closed her eyes.
There hadn’t been time for much sleep last night. Sawyer had just arrived back from his latest conference for the DPA and had been anxious to show her how much he had missed her. His new role as a DPA lecturer had been a surprise for them both. But he’d embraced it with more enthusiasm and vigor than he’d apparently possessed in years.
She could hear the ripple of voices around her. The ceremony was due to start in few minutes. There was a thud as Sawyer flopped into the chair next to her.
“How are you doing, beautiful?” He leaned over and dropped a kiss on her lips. She caught a whiff of his aftershave and touched his newly bare jaw.
“You’ve shaved. I was kind of liking the jungle warrior look.” His hair was still slightly damp from his shower and she pushed it back from his eyes. “Next thing, you’ll be having a haircut. Then I really won’t recognize you.”
He gave her a cheeky smile. “Never gonna happen.”
She kept her hand on his face as she ran her eyes up and down his body. He was wearing a pale blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up and white cotton chinos. She stared down at his feet, at his toes pushing the sand around like her own.
“What happened to the shoes I bought you?”
He let out a laugh. “I decided to go native.” He held out his hands at the beautiful scenery, “Somehow I don’t think anyone will notice.”
His phone buzzed and he pulled it from his pocket, a smile instantly appearing on his face. He handed the phone over. It was a text message with a photo of Jack and Ben, complete with Stetsons, on vacation in Texas. Jill had added the words “With thanks to you both. xx.” Jack still looked a little frail and both boys still had pockmarks on their arms.
<
br /> Callie sighed. “They look so much happier. I’m so glad they’re doing well.”
The music started and they both stood, turning to watch Alison, her husband and three kids walk down the sandy aisle between the chairs. Jonas, her eight-month-old, was held in her arms. He was wearing a white and blue sailor suit and hat and was chewing on his thumb.
He was older than the average baby who was christened, but Alison had wanted to wait until she could arrange something special. This was truly a baby to celebrate.
Callie felt a surge of warmth in her chest. He was the picture of health. It had been great relief to everyone that Alison had never shown any symptoms of monkeypox.
“Can we have the godparents, please?”
She felt a sharp nudge as Sawyer stood and held out his hand towards her. “Shall we?”
She slid her hand into his. It still gave her the same little tingle along her spine that it had all those months ago when they’d met.
Time had flown past. She’d handed in her resignation to the DPA and had started to retrain for family practice. From the first day and hour that she’d started, she’d known she’d made the right decision.
Family practice was so much broader than any other specialty. She got to see a little of everything and she loved it—from young people to old, from runny noses to lumps and bumps. More than anything she got to spend more time with her patients and follow through on their care. It was a better fit than she could ever have imagined.
She smiled and straightened her flowery summer dress before joining the family at the front.
The ceremony was over quickly. The family gave thanks and Jonas was officially named, with Callie and Sawyer the proud godparents.
Just when she thought it was time to head for the buffet lunch, Alison turned to face her friends and colleagues. “If you’ll just give me a few more minutes.” She waited for people to settle back into their seats.
She smiled at Sawyer and Callie. “Most of you will know how I met Jonas’s godparents. And I’m delighted that they agreed to take the role today and join us in this beautiful location.”
She paused, before giving Callie a knowing smile. “And it seems such a waste to let this be over so quickly.” Then, in the blink of an eye, she sat back down.
Callie was stunned. Had she missed something? What had just happened? Was that it? Were they supposed to head off to the beautifully decorated buffet tables for lunch?
A glass was pressed into her hand, the cold condensation quickly capturing her attention. Sawyer was grinning at her. She took a quick sip. Champagne with a strawberry at the bottom. Delicious.
She watched as waiters appeared and passed glasses to all the guests. How nice. Had Sawyer arranged this to drink a toast to the baby?
He straightened up and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry for stealing Alison’s thunder, but she gave me a severe talking to a few weeks ago.” He gave her a little nod. “About not wasting time.”
Callie felt her heart start to flutter in her chest. No. He couldn’t be.
But he was. He’d dropped to one knee.
“Callie Turner, I’ve only known you for twelve months. And it’s official—you drive me crazy.”
The guests started to laugh.
“I’ve never met anyone who can burn mac n’ cheese like you can. Or who can take up an entire closet with shoes.”
She felt herself blush. Maybe she had gone a little overboard in making him build her a special shoes closet, particularly when she wasn’t wearing any right now.
“But what I’ve realized in this life is that when you find someone who makes your heart sing like you do, who makes you think about everything that you do, and who you don’t want to spend a day without, then you should never let them go.” His pale green eyes met hers and she could see his sincerity.
“Callie, when I met you I thought I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I couldn’t believe I was so unlucky to come across an infectious disease and be stuck in the middle of it all again.” He shook his head. “I didn’t know how wrong I was.”
“I’d been stuck in the wrong place and the wrong time for the last six years. This time—for once in my life—I was in the right place at the right time. Because it’s where I met you.”
The crowd gave a little sigh.
“Callie, the whole world knows that I love you. I want you to be the first thing I see every morning and the last thing I see every night. Would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?”
He’d opened a small box and a beautiful solitaire diamond glistened in the sun.
She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t say anything. She was too stunned.
Sawyer, the man who couldn’t plan anything, had completely and utterly sideswiped her.
“I can read your mind, I know this isn’t in the plan, honey, but do you think you can say something? I’m getting a cramp down here.” Beads of sweat were breaking out on his forehead.
He was nervous.
For the first time since she’d known him Sawyer was nervous. It was kind of cute. But she didn’t want to prolong his agony. She didn’t want to panic the man she loved.
And she didn’t want to give him a chance to change his mind.
She bent down and didn’t hesitate. “How about a yes,” she whispered.
“Yes!”
He swept his arms around her waist and swung her round.
She was laughing and he was squeezing the breath out of her with his enthusiastic grip. “Wait a minute, there’s one condition.”
He settled her feet back on the sand and slid the diamond ring onto her finger. “Anything, honey, you name it. Your wish is my command.” He gave her a low bow.
She smiled. Plans could work both ways. “Well...” she ran her finger down his cheek “...since you made such good plans for today, I’m thinking that maybe you should be in charge of the wedding plans too.”
His face dropped instantly then he tried to recover with a nervous smile. “If that’s what you want, honey.”
She reached up for him again and planted her lips on his. “Perfect.”
* * * * *
ABOUT THAT NIGHT…
Scarlet Wilson
That night…
When Dr. Evan Hunter had no resistance to Dr. Violet Connelly in her silver dress and spiked heels…
That night…
When her kiss made him forget he was her boss, and the consequences of his actions…
And the next day…
It was as if nothing had ever happened. Because nothing could happen between them. Ever.
Until they are sent to Africa on a vaccination campaign together, where the hot climate and the less than ideal sleeping arrangements make working together difficult—and forgetting that night impossible!
Dear Reader,
This is the second story in my duet, Rebels with a Cause, set around my Disease Prevention Agency. This story looks at another aspect of the DPA and their international role in the fight against polio—a disease that is the subject of a global eradication program.
Violet Connelly has her own reasons for wanting to be part of the program. After hiding away for the past three years at a desk job, she feels the time is right to get back out there. Evan Hunter isn’t so sure. He’s already worked with Violet in the DPA and knows she’s hiding something. But is here, the heart of Africa, the place to find out what’s been stopping her from forming relationships with those around her and, more importantly, him?
There are some serious issues at the center of this story. Stillbirth is a very sensitive issue—particularly for Violet, as her circumstances mean she hasn’t shared with her family what has happened to her. And Evan already has issues with Violet’s brother.
Because—as we all know in the world of Harlequin®—everyone deserves a happy-ever-after!
Please feel free to contact me via my website, www.scarlet-wilson.com, and let me know what you think of these stories. I love to hear from readers!
Scarlet
Praise for Scarlet Wilson
“Stirring, emotional and wonderfully absorbing, It Started with a Pregnancy is an impressive debut novel from a fabulous new voice in category romance: Scarlet Wilson!”
—www.Cataromance.com on It Started with a Pregnancy
“Scarlet Wilson continues to get better with every book she writes! West Wing to Maternity Wing is a tender, poignant and highly affecting romance that is sure to bring a tear to your eye. With her gift for creating wonderful characters, her ability to handle delicately and compassionately sensitive issues and her talent for writing believable, emotional and spellbinding romance, the talented Scarlet Wilson continues to prove to be a force to be reckoned with in the world of contemporary romantic fiction!”
—www.Cataromance.com on West Wing to Maternity Wing
In my late teens and early twenties I had the most fabulous group of friends. We’ve all grown older, maybe a little wiser, and families and continents keep us apart.
So, to the nights in the Metro, Sullivans, Club de Mar and Ayr Beach Promenade with Julie Paton, Gillian Lapsley, Joyce Kane, Jaki Lynch, Shona Kennedy and Marianne Stevenson. I’ve never laughed so much. Whose turn is it to drive?
And to @stephenfry, @justinpollard and the lovely elves at QI who gave me sleeping sickness just when I needed it!
THE MAVERICK DOCTOR AND MISS PRIM/ABOUT THAT NIGHT... Page 16