by Sarah Morgan
‘I remember. It was my brother’s frog. He was pretty annoyed with me.’
‘And he came thundering in to steal it back.’ Ann sighed. ‘I still think of myself as young, you know. I don’t feel any different. It’s only when I look in the mirror that I realise how many years have passed. And when my body starts letting me down.’
‘Your body is still ready to work perfectly well if you give it the little bit of help it needs.’ Kyla reached into her drawer for a leaflet. ‘Read this. A bundle arrived last week and I think it’s good. It talks about living with a condition rather than being ruled by it. You wouldn’t dream of not using a toothbrush and toothpaste, would you? All part of body maintenance. Well, your inhalers are the same. Body maintenance.’
Ann took the leaflet and gave a thoughtful smile. ‘Body maintenance. That’s a nice idea, Kyla.’
‘For the next two weeks, promise me you’ll use your inhaler as we agreed. Then come and see me and we’ll discuss how things are. But don’t hide it from the children. We try and teach the children that it can become a normal part of life. Something they can live with. If they see you hiding it then it won’t do much for their own acceptance of asthma.’
‘I hadn’t thought of that but you’re right, of course.’ Ann stood up and gave her a grateful smile. ‘You’ve come a long way since you made a mess of your geography books, Kyla MacNeil. Can I ask how Doug is or will you tell me to mind my own business?’
‘I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to tell my old headmistress to mind her own business.’ Kyla laughed. ‘But the truth is that it’s too soon for us to say.’ The entire island had obviously noted the arrival of the helicopter. ‘Our new doctor went with him. Hopefully we’ll have good news when he arrives back. I’ll remind Ben to pin a bulletin to the door of the pub.’
‘You do that.’ Ann gave a brisk nod. ‘We all care, you know.’
‘I do know,’ Kyla said with a soft smile. ‘That’s why I choose to live on Glenmore, Mrs Carne. Have a good day, now. And don’t let any of those little monsters bring frogs into the classroom.’
Ethan arrived back towards the end of her surgery, about an hour after her brother had returned from seeing Janet’s mother.
Kyla showed him into his consulting room and together the three of them swiftly cleared the remaining patients in the waiting room while Evanna played the role of receptionist.
‘Any house calls?’ Logan stifled a yawn as they finally collapsed at the reception desk.
‘Just the one. Helen McNair. Had some bad news from the hospital and wondered if you’d call.’ Evanna picked up the book. ‘I managed to persuade the rest of them to come to surgery this afternoon to save you going out again. I thought you’d need some time to show Dr Walker around.’
‘You talked someone out of a house call?’ Logan’s drawl was tinged with humour. ‘Evanna, consider yourself promoted, my angel. From now on you’re officially our receptionist and my favourite woman.’
Kyla noticed the betraying pink of Evanna’s cheeks and glanced towards her brother with sudden interest, but he’d picked up the latest copy of a medical journal and was flicking through the pages, apparently oblivious to the effect that his endearment had had on her friend.
Shaking her head with frustration, Kyla resisted the temptation to hit him over the head with a blunt object. Didn’t the entire Island population praise Logan for his amazing sensitivity? Didn’t everyone think her brother knew everything about everything and everyone?
Well, there were some things that he was totally dense about, Kyla thought wearily as she tucked a set of notes back into the cabinet. It had been almost a year since Catherine had died. Long enough. Sooner or later she was going to have to interfere.
Looking at the wistful expression in Evanna’s kind eyes, Kyla decided that it might just be sooner. ‘I had a visit from Ann Carne this morning.’ Dragging her mind back to the job in hand, she handed a set of results to her brother.
‘Did you, now?’ Logan leaned back in his chair, his long legs stretched out in front of him. ‘And how was our favourite headmistress?’
‘Still in denial. If she doesn’t learn to use those inhalers, she’s going to find herself in trouble.’
Logan nodded thoughtfully. ‘And did you speak to her about it?’
Kyla lifted an eyebrow. ‘What am I—stupid?’
‘You want me to answer that?’
‘Don’t start, you two,’ Evanna said hastily, sending an apologetic glance towards Ethan. ‘You mustn’t mind them. It’s just brother-sister stuff. They’re always the same. They bicker and needle. You get used to it after a time. They adore each other really.’
There was no answering smile on Ethan’s face and Kyla frowned slightly as she noticed the grim set of his mouth and the tension in his broad shoulders. Oops, she thought to herself. Trouble there. There was a bleakness and a shadow in his eyes that made her wonder and want to ask questions. Did he object to humour in the work-place? Surely not.
She caught Logan’s eye and he shot her a warning look. ‘Mind your own business,’ he murmured softly in Gaelic, and she smiled and replied in the same tongue.
‘Perhaps I’m wondering whether to make him my business.’
Logan rolled his eyes and stood up, switching to English. ‘Women. I’ll never understand them.’
‘Well, that’s perfectly obvious,’ Kyla muttered, her eyes sliding to Evanna. ‘But don’t give up trying. Believe me, you need the practice.’
‘I’m practising on my daughter. Talking of which, if we’ve finished here I’m going to spend an hour with the girl in my life who should be just about waking up from her nap and ready to dress herself in her lunch. Ethan, I’d invite you to join us but you’d end up covered in puréed vegetables. Take some time to settle in. My sister will show you the cottage we’ve arranged for you. I hope it suits. It’s only a short drive from here. If you need anything, you’ve only to ask.’
Kyla watched as some of the wariness left Ethan’s handsome face. ‘Do you want me to do the house call so you can spend more time with the baby?’
‘No need.’ Logan shook his head. ‘I’ll take her with me. Helen McNair has been asking to see her.’
Kyla gave a soft smile. ‘That’s a clever idea, Logan MacNeil. Give her something else to focus on.’
‘She’s had a hard time lately. It will be good to spend some time with her. And she makes the best chocolate cake on the island.’ Logan strode across the reception area towards the door that separated the surgery from his house.
Kyla turned to Ethan with a smile. ‘Are you ready for another trip in my car?’
‘That was an exciting morning.’ Ethan unravelled himself from the car and followed Kyla down a path that led towards a pair of cottages. The sea stretched ahead of them and he breathed in deeply, enjoying the cool, salty breeze and the freshness of the air. ‘Is it always like that?’
‘Sometimes.’ She pushed open a gate and held it while he followed her through. ‘It’s often all or nothing. You were good.’
‘Was it a test?’
‘No. But if it had been, you would have passed.’ She let the gate swing shut and tilted her head to one side as she studied him. ‘Don’t be angry with me. Working on this island isn’t for everyone. We see everything here, and we’re the first line of defence. Does that worry you?’
‘No.’ What worried him was the hot flare of lust he felt whenever he looked at her. Gritting his teeth, he concentrated on the view of the bay. ‘It’s spectacular. Who lives here usually?’
‘Holiday let. The cottage is usually rented out for the whole of the summer season but Nick Hillier who owns it had a bad experience last year.’ Kyla fumbled for the keys and opened the front door. ‘A group from London had a bit of a wild party and left the place wrecked. So he decided that this summer he’d let it to the locum doctor. He’s assuming that, with all those letters after your name, you’ll know how to behave yourself.’
‘I’ll do my best.’ Ethan strolled into the cottage behind her, trying to ignore her delicious scent and the incredible shine of her honey-blonde hair. ‘Who’s Nick Hillier?’
‘Our policeman. I went to school with him. He used to tie my plaits together.’
For some reason that he couldn’t identify, this piece of news simply racked up the tension inside him and Ethan drew in a breath and rolled his shoulders. He needed a swim. A run. Anything to drive the unwanted thoughts and images from his head.
He watched as she threw open doors and windows, letting in light and air. She was obviously an outdoor sort of person. ‘Did you go to school with everyone on the island?’
‘Not everyone, but most of the people of around my age who were born here. It’s a small community. Mind you, that can be a disadvantage. I sometimes think Ann Carne still sees me as the little horror who led the strike against school dinners.’ She turned and smiled and he felt a vicious kick of lust deep inside him.
Her pretty smile faded and was replaced by something entirely different as they stared at each other.
Back off, Ethan, he warned himself grimly. Not now. And not this woman.
That wasn’t why he was there.
‘You led a strike against school dinners?’ He saw from the slightly questioning look in her eyes that she’d picked up on the rough tone of his voice.
‘I was a fussy eater. I protested loudly about everything they put in front of me and I expected everyone else to protest, too. I told all the other children to fold their arms and refuse to eat until they produced something decent.’
He could imagine her doing it. Imagine her with those sapphire-blue eyes flashing and that chin lifted in defiance. ‘And how old were you?’
‘Five.’ She smiled without a trace of apology. ‘My mother said she’d never been so embarrassed. They called her down to the school. I was given such a talking-to.’
Ethan found himself smiling, too. ‘And did you eat your dinner after that?’
‘No. I used to scrape it into my napkin and then hide the evidence.’
‘And they never found out?’
‘Sadly, they did.’ Kyla opened a door and walked ahead of him into a beautiful glass-fronted living room, her feet echoing on the pale wooden floor. ‘But only because I was stupid enough to slide it into Miss Carne’s handbag on one occasion. I think it was lasagne or something really sloppy. Vile. I’m surprised I wasn’t expelled. After that, they watched me eat.’
‘I don’t blame them.’ He glanced around him in surprise. ‘This is nice.’
‘You should have seen it two years ago. Complete wreck. It had been lived in by the same man for about ninety years. After he bought it, Nick spent every weekend doing it up. We all helped.’ She walked over to the window and stared out across the sea. ‘He was lucky to get it. There was a lot of competition because this is one of the best spots on the island.’
‘So why didn’t you try and buy it?’
‘I didn’t need to.’ She turned to look at him, amusement in her eyes. ‘I own the place next door. You might want to remember that before you run naked into the waves for your morning swim, Dr Walker. Or are you southerners too wimpy to take a plunge into the Atlantic?’
Was she challenging him? He held her gaze with his own. ‘I swim well.’
Her eyes slid to his shoulders, as if she were assessing the truth of his quiet statement and suddenly the tension in the air snapped as tight as a bow and Ethan felt something dangerous stir inside him.
‘So this place is mine for the duration of my stay?’ His voice was hoarse and he cursed himself. Could she feel it, too? Was she aware of the sudden change in the atmosphere?
‘It’s yours for as long as you want it. When you leave it will be winter and no one but the locals brave this island come November.’ She watched him for a moment and then walked over to the French doors, her movements as smooth and graceful as those of a dancer. But then she lifted a hand to touch a switch and he saw that her fingers were shaking. ‘Flick this to the right and the doors open. The garden leads down to the beach. Just make sure you close the doors if there’s a storm or you’ll be sweeping the sand from your living room for weeks.’
‘Storm?’ Ethan fixed his gaze on the perfect blue sky. He needed to stay away from her. Far, far away. ‘Jim, the ferryman, mentioned storms. It’s pretty calm today. Hard to imagine the place in a storm.’
‘You won’t have to imagine it because you’re going to see it soon enough.’ Kyla gave a soft laugh. ‘I hope you like your weather wild, Dr Walker, and I hope you’re not afraid of storms. Because anything you’ve seen up until now will be nothing compared to this island in the grip of a seething temper.’
‘I don’t scare easily.’ He turned, unable to be in the same room and not look at her. ‘How about you, Kyla MacNeil? Do you scare easily? Do you take risks?’ He was playing with fire. Testing her. He saw from the fierce glint in her blue eyes that she knew it.
‘Life is there to be lived to the full. I was born on this island and it’s part of who I am. Nothing about it frightens me. Not the storms. Not the isolation.’ And not you, her eyes said, and he felt a flicker of envy.
What would it be like, Ethan wondered bleakly, to be so sure of everything? To live somewhere that felt like home?
The letter was still in his pocket and suddenly he wanted to read it again. To try and understand.
‘I need to unpack and take a shower.’ His tone was harsher than he’d intended and he saw the faint frown of confusion in her eyes. For a brief moment he wanted to take her arm and apologise, and the impulse surprised him as much as it would have surprised all of the people who knew him because he wasn’t exactly known for gentleness.
You don’t have a heart, Ethan.
And then he backed off, remembering that he wasn’t in a position to explain anything.
He needed time.
There were things he needed to find out.
Kyla closed the front door behind her and jumped over the tiny hedge that separated the two cottages.
As she let herself into the cottage that she’d converted with the help of her brother and her friends, she considered the powerful chemistry between Ethan and herself. It was there. Pointless to deny it. And yet she sensed that the connection angered him.
He didn’t want to feel it.
Kyla frowned as she flicked on the kettle. And what about her? What did she want?
She’d become so used to leading her own life she hadn’t given any thought to the possibility that things might change.
He wasn’t going to stay, she told herself firmly as she made herself a mug of tea and took it out onto the deck that overlooked the beach. Whatever they shared would be short-term because she would never leave the island.
‘Nurse MacNeil! Kyla!’
She glanced up as she heard her name being called from the beach. Deciding that perhaps the prospect of leaving the island had possibilities after all, she gave a sigh and walked down to the end of her garden, still nursing the mug. At least in inner-city London she might get to drink her tea in peace. ‘Fraser Price. What are you doing on the beach in the middle of a school day?’
Probably bunking off, the way she had as a child.
‘Don’t tell Miss Carne,’ the boy begged, breathless as he struggled in bare feet through the soft sand. ‘She thinks I’m ill.’
‘And you’re not?’ Reminding herself that she was a grown-up now and supposed to set standards, Kyla looked suitably stern. ‘You should be at school. Education is important. Pretending to be ill isn’t a good idea, Fraser.’ She almost laughed as she listened to herself. How many times had she sneaked off to play on the beach?
‘It was the only thing I could think of. And I needed to stay at home.’
‘Why did you need to stay at home?’
‘To look after Mum.’ Suddenly he looked doubtful and unsure. ‘She wasn’t making sense this morning and I didn’t want to leave her. I had a
bad feeling.’
‘What sort of bad feeling?’ Kyla was alert now. ‘Is it her diabetes? What do you mean, she wasn’t making sense? Is something the matter with your mum?’
‘I dunno. She just seemed…different.’ He gave a shake of his head and then shrugged. ‘She’d kill me if she knew I was here. I bunked off last week to take the boat out and she really did her nut. Don’t say I was here. Couldn’t you just call in on her? You know, like by accident?’
‘Fraser, I don’t call on anyone by accident.’ Amusement gave way to concern as Kyla saw the look on his face. ‘OK. OK.’ She lifted a hand. ‘Today I’ll find a reason to call on your mum by accident.’
‘Really?’ He breathed an audible sigh of relief. ‘That’s great. Can the accident be right now?’
Banishing hopes of lunch, Kyla nodded. ‘Just let me lock up here and get my car. I’ll meet you back at your house. You can let me in. And, Fraser, about your mum…’ She caught his arm. ‘Can you describe how she looked? How was she different?’
‘She was a funny colour. And her hands were shaking when she gave me breakfast. You won’t tell on me?’ He looked at her anxiously. ‘I said I felt sick and needed a walk in the fresh air.’
Kyla thought of all the sins she’d committed at school. Didn’t everyone need a little latitude? ‘I won’t tell. Off you go. I’ll be there in five minutes.’
‘What will you say?’
‘I don’t know, but I’ll think of something,’ Kyla said firmly, giving him a gentle push and turning back to her cottage. She noticed Ethan standing in his garden and had a sudden inspiration. ‘Dr Walker!’
He turned and she gave an apologetic shrug. ‘How badly did you want a shave and a shower? If you’re not that tired, I need to enlist your help again. I think I might need a doctor.’
CHAPTER FOUR
‘AISLA PRICE is a single mother.’ Kyla snapped on her seat belt and pressed her foot to the accelerator. ‘She moved to the island when Fraser was a baby because she thought it would be a good place to bring up a child. She has a small knitting business that she runs over the internet. Pretty successfully, I believe. She makes really pretty jumpers covered in bits of lace and beads and things like that. They live in a house right by the water.’