Читать книгу The Australian's Bride - Алисон Робертс - Страница 9

THE distance between the beach and the cabin took very little time to cover at the speed Susie moved, but it was quite long enough to think the worst.

Why was Stella locked in the bathroom? Was she injured? Unconscious, even? Had her father been so preoccupied with writing an impressive speech that he hadn’t realised how long she’d been absent?

Or had he climbed back on that paternal soapbox and told his daughter what kind of morals her chosen outfit was advertising? If he had, he was going to get an earful of how clueless Susie considered him to be.

He would also get an eyeful of her own choice of attire. She had picked the soft, clinging, low-cut top deliberately and teamed it with hip-hugging, pale denim jeans that he would probably disapprove of more than a skirt. Not that she had expected to come across Alex at the disco. This had been more of a statement of support for Stella.

It was tempting to put her hands on the band of those jeans that marked her hips and tap her foot impatiently as she waited for Alex to open the ranch slider for her. He looked so calm, dammit! Crossing the room with the same kind of casual grace she had noted when he’d walked down the jetty that afternoon. As though he was in complete control of any space he entered.

His smile and greeting were as courteous as if nothing untoward was happening.

‘Thank you for coming,’ he said.

Accusations of provocation or neglect tumbled around Susie’s brain, vying for utterance, but as she stepped inside and looked up, the words died on her lips.

That aura of control was an illusion. He may still be wearing his white shirt but the careful rolling-up of the sleeves was coming unravelled and the cuffs were hanging loose. Another couple of buttons at the neck were undone and his feet were bare. Eyes that she remembered as being dark were positively black right now. Bottomless pits she could fall into if she wasn’t careful. Muscles in his jaw were bunched tightly enough to make day-old stubble very obvious, and how many times had Alex pushed stiff fingers through his hair to make it stand up in spikes like that?

She was looking at a parent who was worried sick. At the end of his tether.

Helpless, even.

It was the last impression she had expected and Susie could actually feel her early judgement of this surgeon split wide-open. She could move through the channel created and establish a connection if she wanted, and she had to make a conscious effort not to reach out and touch him.

Alex would hate that. This was not someone who was used to asking for assistance and instinctively Susie knew that stepping even a fraction over a professional line would be deemed patronising. Making that telephone call to ask for help had probably made him feel disturbingly vulnerable. It had also given Susie the power to either antagonise him irreparably or get a lot closer.

A choice that was made instantly. With her heart, not her head.

‘What’s happened?’ she asked gently. ‘How can I help?’

‘She went into the bathroom, oh…’ Alex flicked his wrist to glance at his watch. ‘Two hours ago. I thought she was doing something with all that make-up you saw fit to provide.’

Susie opened her mouth but then snapped it shut and merely raised her eyebrows encouragingly.

‘When she didn’t come out after half an hour, I knocked on the door and asked if she was all right.’

‘And?’ Susie didn’t like the cold trickle that ran down her spine. ‘Is she?’

‘She told me to…’ Alex’s face twisted into an expression of extreme distaste and then he demonstrated exactly how he’d managed to spike his hair so effectively. ‘Let’s just say she let me know my presence in the near vicinity was less than desirable.’

Susie dragged her gaze away from the way some of the soft black spikes were settling. But she couldn’t help the way the corner of her mouth twitched. She could be quite confident that Alex wouldn’t be used to being sworn at. Then the embryonic smile faded. Had he got angry and shouted back? Hammered on the door and terrified Stella? Anyone that could exude the kind of power Alex did would be terrifying when really angry. It took rather a lot of courage to even ask her next question.

‘Is the door locked?’

‘You think I didn’t try it?’ The tone was scathing. Susie’s heart tripped but then her hackles rose. There was no reason for this man to have any power over her and any emotional involvement she was feeling came from the notion that he needed her. Maybe he wasn’t so helpless after all.

Then Alex shook his head wearily and his expression squashed any doubts. ‘Sorry, but I’ve tried everything. The window’s closed and too opaque to see through. The door bolts from the inside so it’s no use sending for a skeleton key. Short of breaking the damn thing down—and, yes, I did consider that—the only thing I’ve been able to do is try talking to her.’

‘And she’s not answering?’

‘No.’

‘You don’t think she’s hurt herself, do you?’

‘No. She’s been crying but it doesn’t sound as if she’s in physical pain.’

‘Have you got any idea what’s upset her so much?’

Alex sighed heavily, spreading his hands in an eloquent gesture of frustration. ‘I have absolutely no idea. I’d told her she could wear what she wanted to the disco.’ His gaze travelled over Susie, as though only just registering what she was wearing. She saw him swallow with what appeared to be something of an effort. ‘I said I hoped she was going to have a great time. And that… that if that boy didn’t think she was stunning, he had rocks in his head.’

Susie grinned. ‘You said that? Really?’

‘Really.’ Alex returned the smile and the heavy lines of his face softened. ‘She…I…I feel as if I’ve stepped onto a new planet here, Susie. I sent a little girl away to camp and I came here to find a young woman. One that seems to think I’ve suddenly become the enemy.’

Susie was still smiling. ‘I do understand, Alex. Don’t worry. You’re feeling like every parent of every teenager has felt at some point.’ She turned towards the closed door on the far side of the living area. ‘Right. I was a teenager myself once. I’ll see what I can do.’

‘She was so happy when she went in there.’ Alex stayed where he was, still close to the ranch slider, watching Susie. ‘I simply don’t understand this.’

Susie tapped on the door. ‘Stella?’

No response.

‘It’s Susie,’ she continued. ‘Are you OK, hon?’

Stupid question. No wonder it provoked a muffled sob.

‘I can help,’ Susie offered, hoping fervently that the statement was accurate. ‘Whatever it is that’s bothering you.’

Silence again but Susie had the feeling that Stella might be listening.

‘It’s just me,’ she added. Turning, she flapped her hand at Alex and he hesitated for only a moment before giving a curt nod and stepping out onto the veranda, sliding the door shut behind him. ‘I’m not going anywhere, Stella. You can talk through the door if you want, but it might be better if you let me come in.’

Susie had to bite her lip to allow the next silence to continue long enough for Stella to think it through. Finally, when it seemed she might have failed already, she heard shuffling sounds and then an odd thumping on the door.

‘What’s happening? You haven’t hurt yourself, have you?’

‘I’m using my crutch.’ Stella’s voice was thick. She had been crying long enough to make it sound like she had a heavy head cold. ‘To open the lock.’

Another thump then a bang and then Susie heard the metallic clink of the bolt moving. She tried the handle of the door and it opened.

‘Lock it again,’ Stella ordered.

‘OK.’ Susie obliged after a quick glance at the girl sitting on the floor in the space between the toilet and the bidet in the well-appointed bathroom. She looked exhausted and upset but not injured.

Having locked the door, Susie closed the lid of the toilet and sat down, leaning forward to try and make eye contact with Stella.

‘What happened, sweetheart?’ she asked carefully. ‘Why didn’t you go to the disco?’

Stella burst into tears again and Susie reached out automatically. And then Stella’s head was in her lap and all she could do was stroke the sparse dark hair under her hand as the teenager sobbed uncontrollably.

‘It’s awful,’ she choked out finally. ‘My new skirt is ruined…’

‘What’s wrong with it?’

‘It’s…it’s…’ Stella’s voice dropped to an almost inaudible groan. ‘The blood!’

Susie’s heart skipped a beat. Stella had hurt herself. Then something clicked into place. No wonder Alex hadn’t been welcome.

‘Is it your period, hon?’

Susie’s jeans were wet from tears and now Stella’s nose was being rubbed on her leg as she nodded miserably.

‘Your first one?’

‘They said…it might not happen for ages because of the chemo. I didn’t think it would happen on camp. And not tonight!’

‘No.’ Susie went back to stroking. ‘It sucks, doesn’t it? I’m so sorry you missed the disco.’

‘I bet Lauren was there.’

Susie smoothed back fine wisps of hair from Stella’s face. ‘It’s you that Jamie likes,’ she said.

‘How do you know that?’

‘He came here, didn’t he? To check that you were going to the disco?’

Stella had stopped crying. She raised her head enough to give Susie a suspicious glance.

‘I’ll tell you a secret,’ Susie continued. ‘Boys only use a nickname for girls they really like…Star.’

‘He won’t like me now.’

‘He’ll be disappointed that you didn’t make it tonight but he’ll get over it.’ Susie smiled. ‘Playing hard to get isn’t always a bad move, and at least he got to see you wearing your new clothes.’

Stella pushed herself upright. ‘You reckon he’ll still talk to me?’

‘Go to the beach in the morning. Smile and see what happens.’

‘But I can’t!’

‘Why not?’

‘Because…of…you know.’

Susie shook her head. ‘Periods are a nuisance but they don’t need to stop you doing anything you want to do. Let’s get you sorted.’ She eyed the vanity unit. ‘These bathrooms come stocked with just about everything. I wouldn’t recommend trying tampons this time round but there’ll be something else. And why don’t I go and find your pyjamas? You can give me your skirt and knickers and I’ll get them washed and back to you tomorrow as good as new, I promise.’

‘Thank you so much.’

Susie accepted the glass of red wine and sank back onto the comfortable veranda chair. ‘My pleasure. I’m just happy I was able to help.’

‘Which is probably directly attributable to the amount of time you’ve spent with my daughter in the last week.’ Alex was pouring himself a glass of wine. ‘You’ve obviously built up quite a rapport.’

‘She’s a great kid. You must be very proud of her.’

‘Of course.’ Alex put the wine bottle down. ‘You sure she’s all right now?’

‘She’s sound asleep. I’ll check in on her in the morning but we’ve had a good talk about everything.’ Susie’s smile escaped as she tried to make it sound as though she had tackled the situation in a professional manner. ‘She has an action plan.’

Alex folded long limbs to sit down on the adjacent chair. ‘It didn’t even occur to me that it could be something like her period.’

‘Why should it? You’re a bloke.’

‘That’s no excuse. I’m a single parent. I’m supposed to think of everything.’

‘You get more than your fair share of things that need thinking about. Don’t beat yourself up, Alex.’ It was getting easier to use his name. Nothing like a bit of a crisis to get to know someone. ‘Even if you had thought of it, Stella would probably have been excruciatingly embarrassed. Maybe even more than she already was.’

‘Is it always like this? The first time, I mean?’

‘Depends.’ Susie took a thoughtful sip of her wine. ‘Mine wasn’t great. It was one of the only things I beat my twin sister Hannah at, but we were on a school camp at the time. I was only twelve and didn’t have anything with me and it was a girls’ school. There was this weird philosophy that only losers went to ask the teachers for help.’

‘What did you do?’

‘Coped. With wads of very scratchy toilet paper.’ Susie hurriedly took a larger swallow of her wine to try and wash away an inward cringe. Why on earth was she sharing a piece of history that personal with Alex?

‘Not something teenage boys have to deal with, thank goodness.’ Alex was sounding far more relaxed. He still hadn’t combed his hair or changed his shirt or shaved but, instead of looking like a distraught parent, he now looked rather deliciously dishevelled. ‘I guess the closest I got would have been my first—’

He stopped abruptly, his gaze flicking up to meet Susie’s and his eyes widening enough to let her know he had spoken without thinking and was disconcerted, to say the least, at what he’d been about to confess.

She knew what it was. The jolt into puberty that a boy’s first wet dream represented.

The unspoken words hung between them, creating the most astonishing sexual awareness Susie had ever encountered.

Oh, help! The heavy tropical darkness surrounding them was suddenly devoid of oxygen. Closing in on them like a blanket.

Wrapping them up.

Both of them.

The loud night song of the frogs, the rustle of small creatures and the flap of wings from owls and bats vanished. Susie could hear a faint humming sound.

The sexual energy crackling around her?

More like the pulsing of her own blood, which had quickened rather noticeably. That would also explain the flush she could feel colouring her cheeks. Thankfully, it was too dark for Alex to have noticed.

She drained her wineglass. ‘I’d better go.’

Good grief! She had to clear her throat to get rid of an embarrassingly obvious huskiness. She scrambled to her feet. ‘It’s a big day tomorrow, with the opening and everything. Did you get your speech written?’

‘No.’ Alex followed her example and stood up. ‘I’d better get on with it now.’ He also cleared his throat. ‘Sorry,’ he murmured. ‘I didn’t mean to…’

What? Embarrass her by talking about things normally kept private?

Or make her achingly aware of just how attractive she found him?

Susie shook the thought away with a flick of her head. ‘It’s fine,’ she interrupted dismissively. ‘Not a problem.’ She stepped back as Alex took a step towards her. An unconscious reaction, as though her body knew there was some kind of magnetic pull going on and the only sensible thing to do was to stay out of the danger zone.

‘Good luck with the speech.’ Susie headed for the steps. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’

The sighting didn’t come as soon as she might have expected.

Or hoped for?

Susie had to give herself a good mental shake due to the level of disappointment she experienced on finding the Vavunis cabin deserted at 8:00 a.m. the next morning.

Even being careful not to make any new assumptions about Alex, it seemed unlikely that he would have chosen to share the noisy, crowded camp dining room in order to have breakfast with Stella. More likely, they had taken a cart back to the hotel to sample the astounding array of food available in the main restaurant or something simpler in one of the cafés that had provided the superb cup of coffee Susie had indulged in.

They could easily have gone past her unnoticed. Susie had left her bicycle in the rack outside the medical centre, choosing to walk along the beach, carrying her sandals so that she could enjoy the wash of the gentle waves. She’d been careful not to wade out too far and dampen the only really decent pair of shorts she owned.

The denim cut-offs of yesterday had been discarded in favour of these sand-coloured cargo shorts that came almost to her knees. No skimpy singlet top, either. In order to look as professional as possible, Susie had donned her brand-new ‘official’Crocodile Creek Camp T-shirt. It was white and featured a picture of the latest camp mascot—a brown toy dog that had arrived with Beth a few weeks ago. It had spaniel’s ears, a top hat, black boots and a white-topped cane. With the flick of a switch, he could tap dance to the tune of ‘Putting On The Ritz’ and he never failed to make children laugh. The real camp dog, Garf, was in danger of being toppled from his position of leading the popularity stakes.

Susie had hoped it would make Alex smile. It certainly made a lot of the children smile when she went into the dining hall.

‘We want Ritzy,’ a small girl told her. ‘Can he dance on our table today?’

‘That depends,’ said the aide in charge. ‘He will if our group is the first to finish breakfast and we all remember to put our dishes onto the trolley.’

Susie was scanning the room. There were lots of adults—parents who were here with their children, camp leaders, instructors for special activities and medical personnel like the nurse Benita Green, who was here with the group of children suffering from cancer.

There was no sign of Alex but Stella was at a nearby table. Sitting beside Jamie, no less.

‘Hi, Stella!’ Susie was deliberately casual. ‘What have you done with your dad?’

‘He’s gone to meet some guy from the medical centre. That one in the wheelchair.’

‘Dr Wetherby.’

‘Yeah. They’re having breakfast and a meeting. I’m supposed to go and have lunch with him at the hotel.’

‘That’s cool. We’ll have finished our session well before that.’

Stella shook her head. ‘I don’t want to go to lunch. I’m going to the beach.’

‘I’m helping with surfing lessons for some of the older kids,’ Jamie said. ‘Not that there’s anything like a real wave up here, but they can practise trying to stand on the boards and maybe catch a tiny wave. Hey, Star, you could have a go. Body-surfing, anyway.’ He spoke as though missing part of a limb was simply an inconvenience rather than an obstacle. Susie beamed at him.

‘I might just watch,’ Stella muttered. ‘Dr Miranda asked if I could help judge the sandcastle competition the little kids are having later.’

‘Let’s get your session done now,’ Susie suggested. ‘I need to get back to the medical centre myself soon and see how the sick kids are getting on.’

Stella was using her crutches as they left the dining hall but Susie was pleased to see she wasn’t putting much weight on them. An insurance policy, perhaps?

‘I like the way you’re walking,’ she said. ‘And that you came to breakfast and sat with Jamie. You really are a bit of a star, aren’t you?’ Susie smiled at the girl hopping beside her. ‘I think I might start calling you that myself.’

‘Jamie came to sit with me,’ Stella confided. ‘He said he was worried I was getting flu or something, like the other kids, and that was why I hadn’t shown up last night.’

‘What did you tell him?’

‘That I just had a guts ache.’ Stella sounded defensive.

‘True enough. Did…um…your dad say anything this morning?’

‘No. He was really good.’ Stella sounded surprised now. ‘I thought he’d be mad at me for swearing at him. Did you tell him not to be?’

‘No. He probably understands more than you think. Or maybe he’s just a nice guy.’

Stella snorted. ‘He’s just Dad. Hey, what’s the hotel like?’

‘Gorgeous. The bed’s so big I could sleep sideways.’

Not that Susie had slept much at all. Far too much of that odd energy had stayed with her and made for a wakeful night haunted by images of Alex. Of his black eyes and tousled hair. The sound of his voice and—most of all—that appealing vulnerability she’d seen for the first time.

A glimpse of a real man under the image and reputation. A man that clearly blew every other male on the planet out of the water as far as being attractive went.

‘There was champagne in an ice bucket and a big bowl of tropical fruit,’ Susie continued. ‘Chocolates on my pillow and brochures about all the cool stuff you can do at the resort.’

‘Like what?’

‘Ooh, luxury stuff. Like day spas and personal trainers in the gym. Scenic flights in a seaplane or helicopter. Paragliding, scubadiving, private picnics on a deserted island. You name it, they’ll make it happen. Oh, and a really good laundry service, too. Your skirt’s in a bag on the veranda chair at your cabin.’

‘Thanks.’

‘No sweat.’ They had reached the part of the administration building Susie used for her physiotherapy sessions. The equipment was minimal but adequate and included a set of parallel bars for standing and walking practice. ‘How about leaving those crutches by the door, Stell—I mean, Star. If you can do as well as yesterday, we might head out and try the track. Maybe even some steps or sand.’

‘You’ve done the right thing, admitting her.’

‘Not… We’re not overreacting?’ asked Jill Shaw. She was the woman responsible for the little girl on whom Alex was just completing the neurological examination Beth had asked him to do. Charles’s partner. Apparently Lily was their ward. Jill had a sticking plaster on a reddened cheek, which looked odd, but this was no time to ask her what had happened.

‘Not.’ Alex put down the reflex hammer but kept Lily’s leg bent at the hip, supported by his arm. ‘Can you straighten your leg for me, Lily?’

She could and that was good. A negative Kernig’s sign. Alex put the leg down and pulled the cover back over the sick little girl, whose eyes were closing again.

‘She started showing these symptoms yesterday, is that right?’

‘Yes.’ The word was almost a growl from Charles, whose wheelchair was positioned right beside the bed that was in what passed for the medical centre’s emergency room. ‘But it looked like any run-of-the-mill viral illness. She had a bit of a temperature. She was a bit sniffly. That’s all.’ He sounded defensive.

Jill said nothing. She was standing at the head of the bed, holding Lily’s hand. Alex caught the look she directed at Charles. Tentative. There was an undercurrent of tension between these two. Understandable, of course. They were worried about Lily and Alex was only too aware that he might not be able to allay those fears. Not yet, anyway.

‘Beth says she was having nightmares.’

‘More like hallucinations,’ Jill whispered.

‘It was a nightmare,’ Charles interrupted Jill. ‘I told you she was upset by that dead bird she found the other day.’

‘But she saw it flying around the room.’

‘She’s running a temperature. She’s in a strange place.’

Lily had opened her eyes again. She looked from Jill to Charles and back again. Her bottom lip wobbled. ‘I want to go home,’ she said plaintively.

Alex leaned closer and smiled at the frightened child. ‘We’ve got you here so we can all take extra-special care of you,’ he said. ‘Do you remember my name, Lily?’

She shook her head. The over-brightness of her eyes and the two red spots on her cheeks were indicating the high temperature she was now running. It was the listlessness and drowsiness that was more of a concern right now, however. Alex had the impression her level of consciousness was down a point or two.

‘How’s your neck, poppet?’ He slipped his hands behind Lily’s head. ‘In here.’

‘It hurts.’

‘It’s just her glands,’ Charles said sharply.

Alex caught his gaze. They both knew better than that. ‘Let’s not take that as read,’ he said mildly as he straightened. ‘Let’s step outside so we can let Lily go back to sleep,’ he suggested. ‘Marcia, can you stay with Lily, please? She could have that dose of paracetamol now.’

The nurse, Marcia, nodded, moving closer to the bed as everyone else filed out.

‘Beth’s right,’ Alex said, as soon as the door closed behind them. ‘On the positive side, we’ve got no rash and a negative Kernig’s sign, but we can’t rule out meningitis without a lumbar puncture.’

There was a moment’s silence as the implications sank in. Meningitis was a scary word, even to the kind of highly trained medical professionals these people all were.

Charles broke the silence. ‘I’ll do it.’

‘No.’ Beth spoke firmly. ‘You can’t. You know you can’t. You have one of the country’s top paediatric neurosurgeons right here. How many lumbar punctures have you done on children, Alex?’

‘I can’t say. A lot.’

‘I’d be guessing it’s a lot more than Charles or I have done,’ Beth said. ‘I’m sorry, but it’s a no-brainer. You’re her daddy, Charles. You get to hold her hand.’

‘I’m staying with her,’ Jill said quickly.

For just a moment Alex’s attention was being diverted. Further along the corridor they were in, Susie was entering the medical centre. She looked almost prim this morning, with her hair tied back in a ponytail. And she was wearing long shorts and a demure T-shirt with a silly picture on it.

No hint of those endless tanned legs, blonde curls brushing bare shoulders or the lace-covered cleavage that had taunted him as he’d tried, unsuccessfully, to sleep last night. Curiously, the way she was covered up this morning only seemed to spark an even more noticeable ripple of attraction.

Especially when she smiled.

Alex caught himself staring at Susie’s mouth. Fortunately, her attention was on Beth.

‘Sorry to interrupt,’ she said, ‘but have you seen Miranda?’

‘She’s in with Jack,’ Beth told her.

Susie was looking at Charles now. And then at Jill. ‘Is everything all right? What’s happened to your cheek?’

‘It’s nothing. But, no, everything’s not all right.’ For a second it looked as though Jill might lose the extraordinary control she seemed to have. ‘Lily’s sick. She’s about to have a lumbar puncture.’

‘We could use your help, if you’re free,’ Alex said to Susie. ‘We might need extra staff to help position her.’

‘Oh…’ Compassion made her eyes an even darker blue, but Alex couldn’t afford any further distraction. ‘Not our Lily.’ She hugged Jill.

‘Let’s get on with it,’ Alex said brusquely. He didn’t want to stand there watching Susie hug people. No wonder Jill was looking ill with worry. Reminding her that Lily would have to be restrained to make the procedure safe hadn’t exactly helped, had it? He gave her a sympathetic smile.

‘Don’t worry,’ he said. ‘Let’s assume this is a needless test, taken to be on the safe side. I’ll use plenty of local and make it virtually painless. With so many people around who know and love her, she’ll be just fine.’

A few minutes later Alex was gowned and gloved. So was everybody else in the now crowded room. Lily stared at them all, wide-eyed and frightened. The tension was palpable and the sooner they got this over with, the better.

‘What gauge needle have you got there, Beth?’

‘A twenty.’

‘Does the stylet fit the barrel?’

‘All checked. We’re good,’ Beth assured him.

‘Right. Lily, let’s get you lying on your side, sweetheart. We’re going to do a test on your back that’ll help us find out what’s the matter with you. It’ll tell us which medicine is right for you. OK?’

‘OK…’

‘Jill, you stay close to her head and hold her hand. Charles, can you keep a hand on Lily’s hip and the legs? Marcia? Legs for you, too, and Susie, I’ll get you beside me with extra support for Lily’s chest and arms.’ He gave them all a significant nod. They would be responsible for holding the child absolutely still.

Beth swabbed the area of Lily’s lower back with disinfectant and Alex pressed along the spine, counting carefully. He knew Susie was watching him.

‘I’m looking for the space between the third and fourth lumbar vertebrae,’ he told her. ‘Have you seen a lumbar puncture before?’

Susie shook her head.

‘It’s not too major.’ Alex spoke very quietly, and Lily was turned the other way, listening to something Jill was saying. ‘The local’s the worst bit.’ He raised his voice. ‘Small scratch,’ he warned Lily.

He felt the girl stiffen as he injected the local anaesthetic and he heard her whimper. He could also feel the change in the firmness of the hold of his assistants. Jill was still talking to Lily but he couldn’t hear what she was saying.

Alex picked up the needle and stylet. Angling the needle in the direction of the umbilicus, he advanced it slowly, withdrawing the stylet often to check for the drip of any cerebrospinal fluid. He knew precisely when he was in the right place, however, with that familiar decrease in the resistance to the needle. Clear fluid dripped easily and Beth had the required three serial tubes ready. Then the stylet was replaced, the whole system withdrawn and a sterile swab pressed to the puncture site.

‘All over,’ Alex said. ‘You were a very brave girl, Lily. Well done.’

‘Well done, you,’ Susie murmured. ‘I barely heard a squeak.’ She helped Jill roll Lily over again. ‘You’re a wee champion, Lily, aren’t you?’

‘What about blood tests?’ Charles asked.

Alex stopped watching Susie smiling. ‘Let’s get an IV line in and collect the bloods at the same time.’

‘Antibiotic of choice?’

‘Benzylpenicillin. IV. She’s going to need half- hourly neurological checks. Response to light and verbal commands, hand grip on both sides—you know the drill. Fluid restriction for the moment, as well, until we get a better idea of what we’re dealing with.’

‘We’ll get the samples away on the next ferry or flight,’ Beth confirmed.

‘Mike can take them now.’ The command was issued with a vehemence that made everybody look at Charles, and his grin was a little embarrassed. ‘I know. But this is my kid. I help fund the service—it cares for my kid.’

Beth was smiling. ‘That’s great. It’ll mean we should get the first results back later today.’

Susie was still helping Jill settle Lily so Alex got her to keep the girl’s arm still while he slipped a small IV cannula into place. Again, Beth had the tubes ready. Lily barely noticed the procedure and seemed to be listening to what Beth was saying to Jill.

‘It’s so good you got over to be with Lily. Poor little Robbie Henderson’s come in with a bug and his mother’s a single mum and there’s no way she can leave four other children to be here.’

‘What’s wrong with Robbie?’ Lily asked. ‘Is he sick like me?’

‘Kind of. Susie, do you know Robbie? Is he one of your patients?’

‘Robbie? Ten-year-old with dark hair? Cerebral palsy?’

‘That’s him.’

Alex had the line secure and the giving set attached. The necessary blood samples had been drawn and the antibiotics started. There was no reason for him to stay and listen to this conversation but he didn’t want to leave quite yet. Was that because of the sound of Susie’s voice? The way her ponytail swung when she shook her head?

‘I do know him,’ Susie said. ‘There were no requests for any special programme for him. He did join in with my swimming pool group once but camp activities have been enough to keep his joints mobile. Has he got flu?’

‘He started vomiting in the night. He’s running a temperature and complaining of a headache and sore eyes.’

‘I’ve got sore eyes,’ Lily said. ‘But I haven’t vomited.’

Charles was moving away from the bedside. ‘You probably won’t,’ he reassured her. ‘I’ll see you later, Lily. I’ve got to go and get things ready for our big opening this afternoon. Jill’s going to stay with you, aren’t you, Jill?’

‘Of course.’

Alex had been listening to the exchange about the new inpatient. ‘Maybe it’s the same thing. You want me to take a look?’

‘If it gets any worse, yes, please,’ Beth responded.

‘If you have an influenza virus doing the rounds, it’s not that uncommon to get meningoencephalitis. It should be self-limiting and only require supportive measures.’

‘But I want to know straight away if we have any more cases,’ Charles instructed. ‘There’s been a couple of staff off colour over the last two days. If there’s a flu bug…’

‘The last thing we want is for it to spread to our sick kids,’ Beth added.

Alex nodded at the array of samples Marcia had finished packaging. ‘We’ve done everything we can to find out what this is. It’s a matter of waiting and watching for a while.’

But Charles didn’t seem to be listening any longer. He rolled over to the bed, gave Lily a kiss and whispered something to her.

Susie followed Charles, Alex and Beth out of the room a minute later.

‘Perhaps I should see Robbie now,’ Alex said. ‘While I’m here.’

‘Busman’s holiday,’ Susie commented, but Alex could see approval in her eyes.

He liked that. Almost worth giving up a morning on a glorious tropical beach for.

‘Leave it with me at the moment,’ Beth decided. ‘Hopefully I won’t need to call you but at least we’ll give you a party tonight to make up for it if I do.’

Alex was careful not to look directly at Susie. To make his query general. ‘Is everybody going to the gala dinner?’

‘Of course,’ Susie said. ‘We never miss a good party in this neck of the woods, do we, Charles?’

‘No.’ But Charles sounded as though enjoying himself was the last thing he was thinking about, which was hardly surprising given Lily’s illness. ‘And that reminds me, I’ve got a meeting with the restaurant staff to talk about seating arrangements. You want to have a look around the resort, Alex?’

Alex shook his head. ‘I’ll see it at lunchtime. I might go and see what Stella’s up to as soon as I’ve got a free moment.’

‘I think she’ll be on the beach,’ Susie told him. ‘She’s been roped in to help judge a sandcastle competition later.’

‘Oh!’ Beth checked her watch. ‘Are you going in to see Jack, Susie?’

‘On my way. He needs a good physio session to get his lungs clear.’

‘Remind Miranda of the time. She wants to go and admire Josh’s sandcastle.’

Alex paused for a moment as he left the medical centre, pulling his sunglasses off his head to cover his eyes and enjoying the touch of sunshine on his bare legs and arms. Funny that it didn’t seem remotely unprofessional to be dressed in casual summer clothing here, even when seeing a patient.

The warmth was as sensuous as the heady smell of some tropical flowers growing nearby and Alex found himself stretching, letting his muscles go as he took a deep, appreciative sniff before setting off on what felt like a lazy ramble.

The spell of island magic had caught him. This was a place where senses were heightened and the ones he normally relied on, like sight and sound, were strangely less important than taste or smell or touch. A seductive environment that stirred all sorts of desires to explore those senses further.

Alex let his breath out in a contented sigh as he entered the shade of the forest walk. He had a few minutes to himself, which was a rare pleasure. He had most of the rest of the day to spend focused on the most important person in his life—his daughter. For the duration of this walk, however, there was no harm in letting his thoughts drift back to where they were being irresistibly drawn, was there?

No.

It couldn’t hurt to think about Susie.

As he had been, rather a lot, since last night.

She couldn’t have known how desperate he’d been. Desperate enough to ask for help for the first time in his adult life.

He’d never done it before. He hadn’t done it when his world had turned upside down with his young wife dying so suddenly and tragically, leaving him with an infant daughter. Help had been offered, of course. Too much help, but Alex had needed to deal with his grief by taking control. Using instinct and sheer willpower to learn to care for a baby and to try and put his life back together.

He hadn’t asked for help even when a second, potentially lethal blow had been delivered by fate and his beloved daughter had been diagnosed with cancer. It had been easy to take control then. To use his knowledge and contacts to put together the best possible medical management.

But last night he’d lost it. There had been no way to win by force or willpower, and instinct had completely deserted him. He’d had to ask for help from someone he wasn’t sure he could trust. He’d handed an alarming amount of power to a woman who could have used it to pay him back for his rudeness on their introduction. Or to strike a cruel blow to his confidence as a parent. But she hadn’t used that power for anything other than the benefit of Stella.

In fact, Alex was quite sure Susie would be incapable of cruelty. He had seen her concern. Her understanding. Her willingness to help.

Somehow, magically, as they’d shared that glass of wine, she’d slipped through a barrier he’d considered impenetrable. Mistrust had evaporated and it was possible to see her as a genuine person with no personal agenda. A very beautiful person.

Yes. Susie was part of the magic.

A temptation to his senses. All of them. She was beautiful to look at. The sound of her voice and laughter a pleasure. If he, say, kissed her, he would know what she tasted like, wouldn’t he? Whether her hair or skin smelt of any tropical scents. At the very least, if there was any dancing involved with this gala dinner tonight, he could take her in his arms and he would know what it felt like to touch her…

Alex changed direction abruptly, taking a fork of the track that had to lead to the beach.

A dip in the ocean was what was needed here.

He could only hope it would be cool enough.