by Sarah Morgan
‘Yes. I’m off to Venice next week with my friend Diane from Glasgow. We’re having a city break.’
‘Well, that will be a change from island life. You have a good time and don’t forget your inhalers.’ She blushed, always uncomfortable discussing health topics with her old headmistress. Usually she left it to Kyla, who was much bolder.
‘I won’t. I had a long chat with Kyla about what I should be doing with them on holiday and Dr MacNeil wrote me a new prescription. What about you, dear? Are you getting away?’
‘No. I’ve just had my bathroom done and it’s left a hole in my bank balance.’ Evanna laughed as she straightened up. ‘Does that sound sad?’
‘Not at all. Very indulgent. You’ll be able to enjoy it the whole year round.’
‘It doesn’t feel indulgent at the moment when I’m stepping over dust and rubble. Still, I hope it will be finished soon.’ It didn’t matter how old you were, she reflected, your headmistress was always going to be your headmistress.
Miss Carne adjusted her glasses, as she’d always done at the beginning of every lesson. ‘Are you going to the beach barbecue on Saturday?’
Why was everyone suddenly so interested in whether she was going? ‘Yes, I think so.’ Evanna brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and tried to remind herself that she was an adult now, with a responsible job. ‘Well, I’d better go. I have afternoon clinic starting soon and I want to call in on Sonia on the way.’
Miss Carne gave an indulgent smile. ‘Little Evanna. You were always such a star at English.’
‘But hopeless at maths,’ Evanna murmured, and the other lady smiled.
‘You would have done a great deal better if that little monkey Kyla hadn’t always been talking to you instead of letting you concentrate! I always knew you’d be a wonderful nurse. If someone fell in the playground, you were always there, patching them up, delivering a hug.’
Evanna blushed. ‘Well—it’s good to see you, Miss Carne.’
‘You take care, dear. Oh, Evanna—I’ve been meaning to ask you.’ She frowned. ‘Do you know the little Price girl? Helen. She moved here in the spring with her family. She joined my reception class.’
Evanna recalled Kyla pointing out a little girl on the beach earlier in the summer. ‘Vaguely. I haven’t actually met them. Why?’
Ann Carne looked thoughtful. ‘She just seems quite a delicate child. And I noticed during sports day that she was terribly out of breath. I thought she might have asthma.’
‘Have you mentioned it to the parents?’
‘Well, the father’s hardly ever around. He’s a journalist, I think. Travels all the time. And the mother is quite shy. Not mixing that well.’
‘To my knowledge she hasn’t been to see us, but obviously I was away for a month so I can’t be sure. I’ll dig out her records and have a check. And I’ll have a word with Logan.’ Evanna dodged a group of tourists and slid into her car. ‘Bye, Miss Carne.’
‘You shouldn’t be parking there, Nurse Duncan.’ Nick Hillier, the island policeman, stuck his head through her open window. ‘I ought to book you.’
‘Now, why would you do a thing like that when you’ve so many other better things to be doing?’ She smiled at him, wishing that she could find him attractive. Kyla always said that it was because he’d tied their plaits together in school but Evanna knew that wasn’t true. At least, not for her. The reason she couldn’t find Nick Hillier attractive was because she was crazy about Logan and always had been.
‘Nick, can I ask you something? When you see Miss Carne, does she make you feel as though you’re back in primary school?’
He grinned. ‘Every time. Even when I have her in a cell in handcuffs.’
Evanna laughed at the ridiculous image that his words created. ‘I always feel very uncomfortable with her.’
‘I don’t know why because you were always her favourite. In fact, you were pretty much everyone’s favourite,’ Nick said gruffly, and Evanna looked at him, startled.
‘Nick—’
He lifted a hand and gave a rueful smile. ‘I’m not going to ask you on a date because I know you’ll only refuse me, and there’s only so much rejection a guy can take, but are you going to the beach barbecue on Saturday?’
‘Yes.’ Evanna fastened her seat belt and started the engine. ‘Although why everyone is so interested in whether or not I’m going is a mystery to me.’
‘I suppose we’re all hoping you’re going to make an extra-big batch of your double chocolate brownies.’ Nick grinned and stood up. ‘If you don’t, I just might have to give you a night in the cells handcuffed to your old headmistress.’
‘If you saw the current state of my house you’d realise that the cells are currently an attractive option. I have to go, Nick. I want to call on Sonia.’
Nick frowned. ‘I saw her earlier. She looked pale.’
‘I’m going to check on her now.’ Evanna felt a flicker of unease. ‘I really have to go. Take care of yourself and make sure you arrest anyone who isn’t using sun cream. We’re fed up with treating burns.’
He laughed and stood back so that she could pull out.
Evanna drove away from the harbour and took the turning that led inland to Sonia’s house. She should just have time to call in, reassure herself that everything was all right and that the call had been about something trivial, and still make it in time for her afternoon clinic.
And then she saw another car close behind her. An open-topped sports car with a dark-haired man at the wheel.
Logan. And he was flashing his lights.
She pulled up outside Sonia’s house and hurried out of her car. ‘What are you doing here? Sonia tried to phone me and—’
‘Her waters have broken.’ Logan’s tone was grim. ‘Steve called me five minutes ago. There’s a ferry leaving in ten minutes. Damn it, Evanna, we’d better get her on that boat because I am not delivering another baby on this island.’
‘Calm down,’ Evanna said softly, reflecting on the fact that she’d never had to use those words to Logan before. In all the years they’d worked together, she’d never seen him panic. ‘It’s her first baby so I’m sure there’s plenty of time. Given that she’s only thirty-six weeks, I agree that we should transfer her to the mainland. Is she having contractions?’
‘Not according to Steve.’
Evanna looked at his face and saw the tension. She put a steadying hand on his arm. ‘It’s going to be fine, Logan.’ And then she realised what an utterly stupid thing that was to say because it hadn’t been fine for Catherine. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Don’t be.’ His voice was harsh. ‘And I’m sure it will be OK but I’d rather it was fine on the mainland and not on this island. I’m not delivering another baby here, Evanna. Unless the head is actually showing, she’s going on that ferry. And if the head is about to be delivered, I’m calling the helicopter.’
‘Logan …’ It was so unlike him to be anything other than entirely relaxed that for a moment she didn’t know how to respond and she wasn’t given a chance to work out the right thing to say because Steve appeared in the doorway, the phone in his hand.
‘Thank goodness you’re here. She’s having contractions.’ He spoke rapidly and there was panic in his voice. ‘Strong ones. Every minute.’
Evanna grabbed her bag from the car and sprinted down the path. ‘Where is she?’
‘Up in the bedroom. She was having a lie-down when it all started. She stood up to go to the toilet and her waters broke. Then nothing for a while and then suddenly all this pain and she keeps yelling at me and telling me she feels sick.’ Steve jabbed his fingers through his hair. ‘Her bag’s packed and everything. Should I take her to the hospital?’
‘Yes. Get the car out of the garage,’ Logan said tersely, but Evanna intervened.
‘We’ll just look at her first,’ she said quickly, catching Logan’s eye to prevent him from arguing with her. It wouldn’t help Steve to know that Logan was worried. ‘Ca
n I go up?’
‘Of course. You know where it is. First on the right.’
Evanna ran up the narrow staircase and pushed open the bedroom door. ‘Sonia?’
She was on the floor, kneeling, her elbows on the bed. Her hair was sticking to her forehead and her eyes were scared. ‘Nurse Duncan. Thank goodness. I tried to call you.’
‘I know. I had a missed call and then you didn’t answer. But I’m here now. Goodness, you look hot. Let’s get a cool flannel on your head.’ Evanna dropped her bag on the floor and knelt down next to Sonia. ‘You’re going to be fine, I promise. I just need to wash my hands and then I can take a look at you and we can decide what to do. Can I use the bathroom?’
‘Through there.’ Sonia waved a hand and then gave a howl of pain and buried her head in her arms. Steve came thundering up the stairs and slid an arm round her.
‘There, love. You’re doing well,’ he said in a bracingly cheerful tone.
Evanna emerged from the bathroom in time to hear Sonia snap, ‘Get away from me.’
Seeing the hurt and confusion on Steve’s face, she put a hand on his arm. ‘Women in labour always say things they don’t mean,’ she said softly, kneeling on the floor next to Sonia and rubbing her shoulders.
‘I just want to help,’ Steve said helplessly, and Evanna nodded.
‘Could you fetch a jug of iced water? And a cool flannel would be welcome, I’m sure. This heat is stifling.’
‘I put the fan on her but it seemed to make her cross.’
‘Don’t tell the whole island I’m moody!’ The contraction eased and Sonia groaned. ‘This is agony. Why don’t any of the books tell you that it’s this painful? There’s all this rubbish about breathing through the pain and when it hits it’s so bad I can’t breathe at all!’
‘How often have the pains been coming?’
‘It feels continuous,’ Sonia groaned. ‘My waters broke and there was nothing and then suddenly, wham. Agony.’
‘Evanna.’ Logan’s tone was sharp and Evanna looked up to see him standing in the doorway, his knuckles white as he held onto his phone. ‘We need to get her to the hospital. Jim is holding the ferry.’
‘I’ll go and get the car,’ Steve began, but at that moment Sonia turned her head and was violently sick into the bowl that Steve had left by her side.
‘She can’t go on a ferry like this, Logan,’ Evanna remonstrated softly, sliding a hand over Sonia’s shoulders to support her, ‘neither can she go on a helicopter. I need to examine her, but I think she’s in transition.’
‘Transition?’ Logan repeated the word as if he’d never heard it before, and Evanna felt a twist of unease deep inside her.
Since the death of his wife in childbirth, Logan had always been careful to transfer every woman to the mainland in time for delivery.
Was he going to be able to cope with this?
‘She’s not going anywhere, Logan. She’s going to have the baby here, and that’s fine.’ For everyone’s sake, Evanna kept her voice calm and steady. She didn’t want to frighten Sonia. Logan’s jaw tightened and he glared at her as if she were personally responsible for the fact that Sonia had gone into labour a month early while still on the island.
Understanding the reason for his tension, Evanna wanted to reach out and hug him. She wanted to tell him that she understood. She wanted to reassure him and talk it through with him, but Sonia gave another groan and writhed in agony.
‘Breathe in now, Sonia,’ Evanna instructed, her eyes still on Logan’s face as she coached Sonia through the contraction. ‘That’s good. Well done. Just as we practised in class.’ She was talking and encouraging but her attention was on Logan.
His face was white and drawn and suddenly she felt tiny fingers of panic slide down her spine. If this turned out to be a normal delivery then there would be no problem, but if she needed a doctor, would Logan be able to help?
She’d never known him like this before—never known him anything but completely calm and in control. Normally it was Logan who led everything. The time Michael King had crashed his tractor and suffered a severe head injury, it had been Logan who had managed to keep him alive. When Barbara Mullond’s baby had developed meningitis, it had been Logan’s quick actions and incredible instincts that had prevented a disaster. He was never anything less than confident and skilled and she was used to turning to him.
As Sonia’s contraction eased, Evanna rocked back on her heels and snapped on a pair of gloves.
Was it her fault? Should she have sent Sonia into hospital sooner? But even as she asked herself the question, she knew that the answer to that was no. She’d looked at the guidelines, she’d discussed Sonia’s case with the hospital and she’d monitored her regularly. She’d done all the right things, but the truth was that, no matter how careful they were, childbirth was occasionally unpredictable. They couldn’t transfer everyone just because they lived in a rural area.
But Logan certainly didn’t need this particular outcome.
Why did life have to be so complicated? Why couldn’t Sonia’s delivery have been straightforward? Logan’s face was white and drawn and Evanna felt awful for him, hardly daring to imagine what he must be thinking. After what had happened with Catherine, he didn’t need this. And she wasn’t in a position to offer the support he deserved because she had a labouring woman to deal with.
Afterwards, she promised herself, forgetting the awkwardness that had suddenly emerged between them. After this was over she’d make sure he had the opportunity to talk.
Before she could examine Sonia, another contraction consumed her and suddenly Evanna was in absolutely no doubt that the arrival of the baby was imminent. There was going to be no time to get her to the mainland. No time even to track down Ethan, the other island doctor.
Somehow she was going to have to do this by herself but make it look as though Logan was helping. She didn’t want the inhabitants of the island gossiping.
‘I don’t want to do this any more! I’ve changed my mind.’ Sonia started to sob and thump her husband. ‘This is all your fault. All of it. I hate you. I really hate you. You were the one who wanted children!’
‘You said you wanted them, too. Sonia.’ Stricken and helpless, Steve tried to take her in his arms but she thumped his chest and pushed him away.
‘Get away from me! Don’t touch me! I hope you wanted an only child because this is the last baby we’re going to have!’ Sonia gave a gasp and then leaned over and vomited again.
‘You poor thing,’ Evanna soothed, holding the bowl and gently stroking Sonia’s damp hair away from her face. ‘You’re in transition, Sonia. Do you remember that we talked about that stage? This is often the most uncomfortable bit of the whole process, but you’re nearly there. When this contraction passes I’m going to examine you and I’m willing to bet that you’re almost fully dilated and ready to push.’
Sonia’s face was blotched with tears and she clutched at Evanna’s hand. ‘I’m scared,’ she confessed, her face crumpling. ‘It wasn’t supposed to be like this, was it? I know it’s dangerous—’
‘It’s not at all dangerous,’ Evanna soothed, her voice calm and level. ‘People have babies at home all the time. It’s perfect.’
‘But they don’t have babies stuck on Glenmore Island! You didn’t want me to have this baby at home. Dr MacNeil didn’t want me to have it at home.’
‘Doctors never do, but that doesn’t mean that Dr MacNeil isn’t perfectly capable of assisting in a delivery if he has to,’ Evanna said firmly, hoping that Logan wouldn’t contradict her. She slid a hand over Sonia’s abdomen, feeling the tightening. ‘You’ve got another contraction coming now, Sonia. Lovely deep breath for me.’
‘It’s all going wrong.’
‘Everything is completely normal. Nothing is going wrong.’ Evanna glanced towards Logan, willing him to say something to support her—something encouraging—but he was frozen to the spot, his face an expressionless mask. She felt her insides twis
t in sympathy. She could only imagine just how terrible this situation must be for him. It must bring everything back.
Perhaps some fresh air would do the trick. ‘Logan.’ She kept her voice light and confident. ‘Can you go to the car and fetch the delivery pack from my boot, please?’
For a moment he didn’t respond and she wondered if he’d even heard her. What should she do? Uneasily, she repeated her question.
‘Logan—the boot’s open. Can you fetch the delivery pack, please?’
‘I’ve called the helicopter.’ His voice was hoarse and Evanna gave a nod and a smile, trying to look as though they were having a routine conversation.
‘That’s great. Good idea. But I do need the delivery pack from my boot.’ Please, Logan.
‘Dr MacNeil?’ Sonia’s voice faltered and she looked pleadingly at Logan. ‘Is everything all right? You look a bit funny.’
Evanna discreetly slid a hand into her pocket and removed her mobile phone. This wasn’t going to work. She was going to have to call Ethan. She needed medical back-up and Logan obviously wasn’t able to give it. His face was grey with strain and she hadn’t seen him look so drawn since Catherine’s death.
Sonia must have seen it, too, because she gave a whimper of panic. ‘Dr MacNeil?’
The fear in her voice must have penetrated Logan’s brain because he suddenly stepped forward. ‘It’s all right, Sonia.’ His voice gruff, he moved across to them and sat on the edge of the bed.
Sonia’s eyes were terrified. ‘You don’t want me to do this here, do you? You’re afraid that.’ The words lay unspoken in the air and Logan hesitated for a moment and then took her hand in his.
‘I’m not afraid of anything,’ he said roughly. ‘Of course I would have rather you had the baby in hospital because I’m a doctor and we’re only ever comfortable if we’re surrounded by technology that beeps at us. Ask Evanna. Midwives despair of us doctors because we always try and turn childbirth into something medical because that’s all we understand. But women have been having babies successfully by themselves for centuries. And Evanna is the best midwife I’ve ever worked with. You don’t need to worry.’