Читать книгу Sarah Morgan Summer Collection - Sarah Morgan - Страница 18

A FRESH start.

Evanna Duncan drove her little car off the ferry, hearing the familiar clunk as the wheels left the ramp and hit the concrete of the quay. She waved at Jim, the ferryman, and then drove a little way down South Quay before pulling into a vacant parking space overlooking the harbour.

The city had been hot and sticky, the air trapped between the tall buildings with not a breath of wind to lighten the atmosphere, and she’d crawled through holiday traffic for hours to reach the ferry. She was hot, tired and desperate for the peaceful haven provided by her cottage on the cliffs. But first she had things to do. She was meeting a friend and she was already late.

Climbing out of her car, Evanna breathed a sigh of relief as she felt the wind lift her hair and cool her skin. At last.

Home.

Glenmore Island. Being a practice nurse on a remote Scottish island had its challenges, but she loved it and she could never imagine living anywhere else. She’d only been away for a month but it felt like longer.

‘Good trip, Nurse Duncan?’ A boy of about twelve strolled up to her, licking a towering ice cream in danger of imminent collapse. A baseball cap was pulled low over his eyes and he wore shorts, scuffed trainers and an ancient T-shirt that had been faded by endless washing. Two of his friends hovered in the background.

‘Well, hello, Fraser. Are you enjoying the holidays?’ Evanna slammed the car door shut. ‘How’s that head of yours doing?’

Fraser obligingly whipped off the hat and lifted his hair to show her. ‘What do you think? Dr MacNeil says he thinks it’s going to be the most amazing scar. Wicked.’

It was typical of Logan MacNeil to have turned a negative into a positive. Evanna ignored the way her heart jumped at the mere mention of his name. ‘I’m sure he’s right. Amazing.’ Instinctively she reached out and took a closer look, noticing how well it was healing. Logan had done a good job with the stitches. ‘And I hope you’re staying away from the castle.’

‘Sort of. But you’ll never guess what’s happened, it’s so cool.’ Fraser’s voice was earnest as he filled her in on the local gossip. ‘They’ve decided to open up the dungeons. Some archeologic—archolo—’ He stumbled over the word and then gave up. ‘Someone really important is coming to take a look and poke around. They think there might be stuff down there. Stuff from the Celts or the Vikings or something, you know? Like treasure. We’re going to go up there and watch.’ His eyes gleamed as he rammed the cap back on his head.

‘That’s great, Fraser.’ Evanna slipped her keys into her bag. ‘Just make sure you’re careful. Those ruins can be dangerous and you’ve given all of us enough grey hairs this year. Your ice cream is dripping. You need to lick. Fast.’

Fraser grinned and caught the drip with his tongue. ‘I’m careful.’

‘I’m sure you are.’ Evanna’s tone was dry as she recalled the rescue effort that had been required to extricate him from the dungeon some weeks earlier. She flicked the brim of his hat with her finger. ‘I’m meeting Nurse Walker. Have you seen her?’

‘She’s in the café by the window eating a massive triple chocolate fudge ice cream with extra chocolate flakes. She made me promise not to tell anyone because she says it’s pretty hard to lecture people on eating a healthy diet when you’re seen in public stuffing yourself with rubbish.’ He frowned. ‘Actually, she might not have actually said “stuffing yourself”, but I think that’s what she meant.’

‘Disgraceful behaviour for a practice nurse.’ Evanna’s eyes sparkled with laughter. ‘I’ll go and tell her off, shall I?’

‘Yeah. The ice cream looked good, though, and it’s the only thing that really works in this heat. Bye, Nurse Duncan. See you around.’

‘Bye, boys. Be careful, now.’

She was still smiling when she pushed open the door of the café and joined her friend at the large round table by the window. It had a view of the harbour and was a perfect place from which to observe the various comings and goings of Glenmore Island. ‘You know, if you’re going to eat that artery-clogging gloop you should at least do it behind a newspaper or at a table around the back. Eating it in the window is just asking for trouble. I’ve just heard all about it from Fraser.’

‘You’re late.’ Kyla dropped the spoon and stood up to give her a quick hug. ‘You saw Fraser? He’s a cheeky monkey. With most of the summer holidays still ahead of us, I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re pulling him out of another hole soon. It’s so good to have you back. We’ve missed you.’

‘You’ve been too busy being newly married to miss me.’ Evanna dropped her bag on the floor and pulled out a chair. ‘I still haven’t quite got over the speed with which you fell in love with our new doctor. You certainly didn’t hang around.’

Kyla settled back at the table and dug her spoon into the ice cream. ‘When something is right, it’s right. And Ethan is perfect.’ She waved the spoon. ‘At least marrying him meant that he’d stay on the island permanently. Logan is pleased to have another doctor at the surgery.’

‘Yes.’ Evanna struggled to keep her tone casual. ‘So, how is he? Logan is normally hideously busy at this time of year.’

Kyla considered the question. ‘OK, I think. I don’t know how he does it. It’s only just over a year since his wife died but he’s holding up really well. I just wish he’d talk about it more.’

Evanna thought of the conversations she’d had with him long into the night. He’d talked about it with her. ‘I suppose everyone handles things in their own way.’

‘Well, Logan always was tough and work keeps him going. That and having a thirteen-month-old daughter.’ Kyla leaned back in her chair and called across the café. ‘Aunt Meg, can we have another spoon here please? Evanna’s tongue is hanging into my ice cream.’

‘No, it isn’t.’ Evanna eyed the ice cream wistfully. ‘I’m not like you. Fat never gives you a second glance. If I even look at ice cream, I put on a kilo.’

‘That’s rubbish and if eating ice cream gave me your fantastic curves then I’d eat it for every meal. You look great in that red top. A bit like a flamenco dancer.’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘Sort of sexy and sultry. All dark hair and dark eyes. But you need to wear your hair loose to complete the effect.’

‘It’s too hot.’ Evanna ran a hand over the back of her neck. ‘And the only reason I’m looking sultry is because we’re in the middle of a heat wave. I’m boiling.’

‘Was it hot in the city?’

‘Unbelievable. I honestly don’t know how people can live their lives in a place like that. It’s all so—’ Evanna frowned as she searched for the word ‘—closed in. There’s no air. It’s like being in a forest of buildings and everyone is busy, busy, busy. There’s no room to breathe, whereas on Glenmore there’s just so much space.’ She shuddered at the memory and Kyla smiled.

‘So you didn’t enjoy yourself?’

‘I enjoyed the work. It was fantastic to be back on the labour ward. You know I loved my midwifery and I don’t exactly get the chance to practise much on Glenmore.’

‘What are you complaining about? It’s like a rabbit colony here.’ Kyla waved the spoon. ‘Both Sonia Davies and Marie Tanner are pregnant. And Lucy Finch’s baby is only four days old, so you’ll be visiting her for a while.’

‘I know.’ Evanna gave a soft smile. ‘I actually delivered Lucy in the labour ward on the mainland. It was amazing and, of course, it’s great that Sonia and Marie are pregnant. But it’s hardly enough to make up an entire workload.’

‘Well, Sandra King had a far-away look on her face this week and I know that she and Paul have been trying for ages, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s in the surgery soon. And we don’t just want you for your midwifery skills. This island needs two practice nurses. I know midwifery is your first love, but don’t even think about abandoning me!’

‘I wouldn’t leave you. I love it here and I love the variety.’ Evanna glanced out of the window and caught sight of Janet, the practice receptionist, who was walking past, carrying two bags of shopping. She smiled and waved.

‘But you love midwifery most of all. You’re totally soppy about babies.’ Kyla gave a wry smile. ‘Go on. Has working on the labour ward made you broody?’

Evanna felt a grey cloud drift across her happiness. ‘Of course not,’ she lied, turning back to Kyla with a smile. ‘How can I be broody when I don’t even have a boyfriend? You know I believe in doing things in the right order.’

‘You always were an old-fashioned girl.’ Kyla watched her for a moment and then looked up as her aunt approached. ‘Aunt Meg, Evanna needs feeding.’

Meg was a plump woman with a generous smile and a mass of curling blonde hair. ‘Good to have you home, Evanna.’ She wiped her hands on her apron and reached for a pad. ‘What can I get you? Same as Kyla?’

‘Just a coffee, thanks. Americano. Decaff, no milk.’

‘That’s all? I’ve a chocolate cake that’s enough to make a woman cry.’

Evanna ignored temptation. ‘Just coffee.’

‘And how’s that going to give you energy through a long day?’ Meg tutted her disapproval as she put the pad back in her pocket. ‘You need flesh on your bones, lass.’

‘I have flesh on my bones,’ Evanna said dryly. ‘I can’t lecture people on losing weight if I’m overweight myself. At the moment I can still fit into my clothes and that’s the way I want it to stay, especially given that it’s the swimsuit season.’

‘Could you stop being so perfect? You’re ruining my enjoyment of this ice cream.’ Kyla licked her spoon and looked regretfully at the empty dish as Meg removed it and walked back towards the kitchen. ‘So—did you meet anyone gorgeous while you were away?’

Evanna hesitated. ‘Sort of.’

‘Really?’ Kyla’s eyes were suddenly interested. ‘Tell me.’

‘There’s nothing to tell. He was a registrar in obstetrics and he was really … nice.’

‘Nice? What sort of a word is nice? It doesn’t tell me anything. Was he good-looking? Sexy? Intelligent?’

‘All those things. We went out for a few drinks.’

‘And?’

‘There is no “and.”’

‘Did you sleep with him?’

‘Kyla!’ Evanna shot an embarrassed glance across the café but everyone was engrossed in their own conversations. She answered the question in a low tone. ‘No, I did not.’

‘Shame.’ Kyla was unrepentant. ‘If you ask me, you could do with some unbridled passion in your life.’

‘I didn’t ask you, and my life is fine.’ Evanna sat back and gave a smile of thanks as Meg put the coffee in front of her. ‘We just had drinks. But it made me think. And I came to a decision.’

‘What decision?’

Evanna blew on her coffee to cool it and waited for Meg to walk away before she spoke. ‘I’m not doing this any more, Kyla.’ Her voice was firm and steady. ‘I’m not wasting any more of my life pining after a man who doesn’t even notice me.’

Kyla’s smile went out like a light bulb in a power cut. ‘You’re talking about my brother.’

‘Of course. Who else? Who else has there ever been for me?’ Evanna shook her head and gave a derisive laugh. ‘Ever since we played kiss chase in the playground, it’s been Logan. I’ve never even been able to see another man if he’s in the same room as me. And when he’s not in the same room as me, he’s in my head. Even when I close my eyes I can still see him. I can see his smile, I can see that wicked gleam in his blue eyes. I can see the way he walks as if he owns the world. And it’s a crazy waste of time, because he doesn’t even know I exist.’

‘He does know you exist.’

‘I mean as a woman. When it comes to seeing his patients, making his dinner or caring for his child, he knows I exist,’ Evanna said flatly. ‘When it comes to anything more personal, I’m invisible.’

‘He lost his wife, Evanna.’

‘I know that. And I also know that it was over a year ago and, sooner or later, he’s going to find someone else to share his life with. And no matter how much I dream that it might be, that someone is never going to be me. So I’m over him.’ She said it for herself as much as Kyla. To remind herself of all the promises she’d made to herself while she’d been away. ‘No more moping. No more pining. No more wishing for something that is never going to happen. I’m putting plan A into action. I’m moving on.’

‘How can you move on? He’s a GP and you’re his practice nurse. We all work together.’

‘Of course I have to see him at work. And of course I’ll help him with Kirsty. He’s had a horribly rough time and he’s a single father now, so of course I’m going to help with his little girl. But I’m going to have my own life, too.’ She felt the confidence rise inside her and suddenly felt strong and determined. Everything was going to be fine. After all, she hadn’t seen Logan for a month and she’d survived, hadn’t she? There had even been moments when she’d enjoyed herself. A few seconds when she’d managed to forget about him. And she was going to build on that. Seconds would become minutes. Minutes would become hours. ‘I’m going to go out.’

Kyla raised an eyebrow. ‘With?’

‘I don’t know.’ Evanna sipped her coffee and gave a shrug. ‘Anyone who asks me. Nick Hillier?’

‘You fancy Nick?’

‘No.’ Nick was the island policeman and they’d been at school together. ‘Not really. It’s just that.’

‘It’s just that he isn’t Logan. Wow. That’s a really good way to begin a relationship.’

‘I don’t want to spend the rest of my life by myself,’ Evanna said softly, resting her cup carefully back in the saucer. ‘You asked me if I was broody and the answer is, yes, I’m broody. But not for a baby in isolation. I want so much more than that. I want to have a home and a family and a man who loves me, and I’m not going to find that while I’m blinded by your brother. I’ve been stupid about him, I can see that now. The way I feel about him has stopped me even noticing other men, but that’s going to change. When I was away, I managed to talk some sense into myself. I went out with the people from the unit and had fun. It was good. And I realise now that it’s up to me to build a proper life here and I’m going to do exactly that. No more waiting around and hoping. No more deluding myself. I’m really, really over him. Honestly.’

At that moment the door to the café opened and a man strolled in. He was taller than average, with lean features and a suggestion of stubble on a firm jaw that hinted at the stubborn. His hair was dark and slightly too long at the back, just touching the collar of the blue linen shirt that he wore tucked into a pair of light-coloured trousers. He had broad shoulders and blue eyes that were sharply observant, and all the females in the café turned to stare as he pushed the door shut with the flat of his hand and strolled towards the counter. ‘Hi, Meg. Can I have a round of toast, please?’ He spoke in a deep, sexy drawl and the coffee cup slipped out of Evanna’s shaking fingers and clattered onto the table, spilling the contents.

Kyla uttered a sharp expletive and reached for a pile of napkins, dropping them on the table as she tried to staunch the flow of coffee. ‘You’re over him?’ She kept her voice low so that no one else could hear. ‘If you’re over him, Evanna Duncan, why are you dropping things when he walks into a room? Plan A obviously isn’t working so I hope to goodness you have a decent plan B worked out in that head of yours, because it might be time to make the shift. For goodness’ sake—how much coffee was in that cup? It’s like a lake here.’ She mopped frantically but Evanna didn’t even notice. She was too busy trying to control the frantic shaking of her limbs.

‘I don’t—I can’t—’

‘Evanna?’ Kyla dropped more napkins on the soggy mess, but her sharp whisper held a note of concern. ‘You’re as white as chalk—are you all right?’

No. She wasn’t all right. Her pulse was thundering at a ridiculous rate and she knew that if she’d tried to stand, she would have sunk to the ground in a heap.

Oh, no, no, no! She’d thought she had her feelings well and truly under control. She’d thought—

Her thoughts froze altogether as Logan strolled over to them, a smile in his wicked blue eyes.

‘So this is where both my nurses are hiding. Now that I’m here, we could have a practice meeting. It’s long overdue.’

Evanna found it almost impossible not to stare. She’d always found it impossible not to stare at him. In primary school, when she’d been just five years old, she’d gazed at him from the corner of the playground—stared at the dark-haired, blue-eyed god who had come to collect Kyla from school. In secondary school she’d drunk in every detail with the dawning awareness that came with the onset of womanhood. And then he’d left the island to train as a doctor and had returned only for holidays and she’d stared at his photograph—the one taken on the beach during the summer that he’d been a lifeguard. His chest was bare and bronzed and he was laughing into the camera.

She still had the photo.

‘Evanna.’ His mouth moved into a smile and her gaze was drawn to his mouth. It was firm and sensual and, in her opinion, designed for kissing. Not that she’d know, she thought miserably as she tore her eyes away, because Dr Logan MacNeil had never kissed her and was never likely to. He’d kissed just about every girl on the island, but never her. He just didn’t think of her that way. In fact, it was probably true to say that he didn’t notice her at all. She was part of the island he’d grown up on, as much part of the scenery as the beaches and the mountains.

‘Can I join you?’ He spoke in that deep voice that always turned her knees to liquid and made her think of sex and seduction.

‘Of course. Hi, Logan.’ She struggled to keep her voice casual and quickly moved her hands to her lap so that he couldn’t see them shaking.

Her reaction was pathetic, she told herself. About as pathetic as hanging onto an ancient, dog-eared photograph.

Kyla scrunched up the saturated napkins and stood up to throw them in the bin, casting a long, meaningful look in Evanna’s direction.

‘Well, I’m certainly glad to see you home, Evanna.’ Logan sat back as Meg placed the toast and coffee in front of him. ‘I’ve missed you, desperately. Every moment that you were away seemed like an hour.’

Evanna’s hands clenched in her lap and she felt an involuntary dart of pleasure at his words. He’d missed her? ‘R-really? You missed me?’

‘Yes, really. How can you doubt it?’ He spread butter on his toast with those long, lean fingers that she knew were so skilled with patients. ‘It’s the summer. Glenmore Island is heaving with tourists and every surgery is packed. Not the best time for one of my precious nurses to go swanning off to the mainland for a month, even if it was part of her professional development.’ He smiled the smile that had every woman on the island reeling. ‘Of course I missed you. Did you think I wouldn’t?’

Professional development.

He’d missed her at work. Evanna gritted her teeth and looked away from that charismatic smile. It was always about work. She was his practice nurse and nothing more.

She swallowed down the disappointment, reminding herself that she’d always known that. Hadn’t she just spent an entire month dissecting their relationship in minute detail? Hadn’t she been brutally honest with herself about the way he saw her? The answer was yes to both questions, so why did hearing him confirm her analysis hurt so much? If anything, she should take it as confirmation that she was doing the right thing. And no matter how hard it turned out to be—and she knew it was going to be incredibly hard—she was going to move on.

Kyla sat down again. ‘Evanna had a good time on her refresher course.’ Her tone was cool and pointed, and Logan glanced up from buttering his toast.

‘Good.’ He bit into the toast and lifted a hand in greeting to one of the locals who was strolling along the quay. ‘It’s busy out there today. Day-trippers as well as the usual tourists. The lifeguards are going to be busy on the beach. Let’s hope it’s a quiet one. There’s a wind blowing so I wouldn’t be surprised if the lifeboat sees some business today.’

Kyla’s fingers drummed on the table. ‘She met lots of people.’ She emphasised each word carefully, as if English wasn’t his first language.

Logan dragged his eyes from the window, obviously alerted by something in his sister’s tone. ‘Who did?’

‘Evanna. On her course on the mainland, she met lots of people.‘

Evanna blushed. ‘Kyla.’

But Kyla was still looking at her brother, a dangerous light in blue eyes that were exactly like his. ‘She’s been away for a month, remember?’

‘You’re moody today. Of course I remember.’ Logan buttered the second piece of toast. ‘Why wouldn’t I? We’ve all been covering her clinics because the agency nurse they sent was hopeless. As I said, it’s good to have you back, Evanna.’

Kyla gritted her teeth. ‘She went out a lot. Met a lovely registrar. Really nice guy. Good-looking. They got on brilliantly.’

‘That’s good to hear.’ Logan finished his toast, licked his fingers and rose to his feet, his eyes on the street. ‘There’s Doug McDonald. Excuse me. I’ve been trying to catch up with him all week. Since he had the heart attack he’s afraid to push himself and I think he needs to do more. Perhaps he could go to your exercise class, Evanna? People always seem to like doing that. I suppose they have confidence because the instructor is a nurse. See you in surgery this afternoon. Janet’s booked you a full clinic.’ He patted her arm and walked towards the door, pausing by a table to exchange a few words with the couple that ran a small guesthouse near one of the island’s best beaches.

‘You see?’ Evanna’s voice was soft and she blinked several times to clear her vision. ‘I’m just a piece of medical equipment. His practice nurse. He feels the same way about me as he does about the ECG machine. We’re both useful tools that help his life run smoothly. If he could, he’d plug me into the electricity supply to make me function more efficiently.’

Kyla was simmering with frustration. ‘I’m starting to think my brother is thick.’

‘He isn’t thick. He’s very clever, you know that. He just isn’t interested and that’s fine.’

‘It isn’t fine. How can you say that it’s fine?’

Because it had to be. What choice did she have? ‘You can’t make someone love you, Kyla,’ Evanna muttered, reaching down to pick up her bag. Suddenly she just wanted to go home. Back to the peace and tranquillity of her little cottage. She needed to get her thoughts back together before she started work. Needed to rediscover some of the strength and resolve she’d found during her time on the mainland.

She dropped some money on the table for her coffee just as the door opened and Fraser stood there, his hat askew and his face scarlet. ‘Dr MacNeil!’ He was breathless from running. ‘I saw—You have to come—now … He snatched in another tortured breath and Logan turned swiftly, concern in his eyes.

‘Fraser? What did you see?’ He strode over to the boy and put a hand on his shoulder. ‘You must have run like the wind to be this out of breath. It’s all right. Calm down. Now, what’s happened?’

Fraser waved a hand towards the beach beyond the harbour. ‘Drowning.’ He sucked in a breath. ‘Kid in a rubber dinghy thing. Fell in.’

Without wasting time on questions, Logan left the café at a run with Fraser at his heels.

Evanna and Kyla followed, dodging the throngs of tourists ambling along the quay before sprinting down the steps onto the sand.

‘He’s gone!’ A young woman holding a tiny baby was running up and down the sand at the edge of the waves, frantically scanning the water. ‘He was in the boat and now he’s gone!’

‘I saw him.’ Fraser backed away from the mother and moved closer to Logan, instinctively seeking protection from the woman’s mounting hysteria and the baby’s howling. ‘We were up on the cliffs. He leant out of the boat with this bucket thing and a wave caught the boat and he fell. Straight down.’

The woman’s wails turned to screams and Logan took Fraser to one side, his tone urgent.

‘Where, exactly?’ He was ripping off his shirt as he spoke. ‘And how long ago did he fall?’

Fraser shrugged. ‘About two minutes? We started running down as soon as it happened. The wind’s blowing off shore so I suppose it was probably there.’ Fraser pointed. ‘You want me to go in and look?’

‘No. I want you to stay right here.’ Logan thrust his clothes into Fraser’s hands and handed him a mobile phone. ‘Call the coastguard on that and then go to my car and get my bag. Here are the keys. Then stay here with Evanna and do everything she says. Everything.’

‘OK.’ Fraser nodded importantly and punched the number into the phone. ‘I’ll give them the details. Be careful, Dr MacNeil.’

Logan looked at Evanna, his ice-blue eyes sharp and alert. ‘Beach duty.’

She nodded, reading his mind. He wanted her to coordinate efforts on the beach. He didn’t want any of the tourists plunging into the waves on a rescue mission, because they were likely to get into trouble. He didn’t want little Fraser going in. He wanted her to give support to the mother and then help the rescue services.

Logan lifted the buoyancy aid that he’d grabbed from the top of the beach and ran with a long-limbed, athletic stride towards the sea. At any other time she would have admired the strength and power of his body but the crisis was unfolding in front of her. The mother was screaming now, a thin, high-pitched panicky noise that cut through the air like a knife. A crowd had gathered in the way that humans always gathered when they scented disaster.

Kyla moved them back. ‘Come on, now. Nothing to see.’ Her tone was clipped. Efficient. ‘Move right back, please. Go to the far end of the beach. Right back. That’s right. We’re going to need to land a helicopter here.’

Fraser was speaking to the coastguard on the phone and Evanna turned to the mother and slid an arm round her shoulders.

‘You poor thing. You must be frantic with worry but try and calm down so that we can ask you some questions,’ she said gently. ‘How old is he?’

‘Six.’ The mother gave a gulp and jiggled the baby to try and soothe it. ‘He’s just six. Jason. He’s so little.’

‘And he was in some sort of boat?’

‘I only turned my back for a minute. I was changing the baby.’ She sucked air in and out of her lungs, her eyes wild. ‘It was just a minute.’

And a minute was more than long enough when water was involved, Evanna thought as she squinted towards the sea. ‘What boat?’ She couldn’t see a boat. Only a small toy blow-up boat of the sort that people used in swimming pools.

‘There! That’s it.’ The mother pointed to the toy. ‘We bought it in the beach shop on the quay.’

‘He was in that?’ Evanna couldn’t quite believe that anyone would have considered such a flimsy toy sufficient protection for a child in open water and her shock must have sounded in her voice because the woman stiffened defensively.

‘He was just playing near the shore. I thought he was fine. It was just for a minute.’ The woman was sobbing again, clutching at Evanna who supported her and glanced towards Fraser with a question in her eyes.

He slipped Logan’s phone into the pocket of his jeans and gave her a thumbs-up.

Evanna smiled her approval and watched as he sprinted across the sand, arms and legs pumping as he went to fetch Logan’s bag. ‘The lifeboat is on its way.’

The baby was red in the face from howling and Evanna glanced towards Kyla. She gave a nod and strode up to the woman.

‘Let me take the baby,’ she offered briskly. ‘One less thing for you to worry about.’

‘I don’t want to let her out of my sight.’

‘Kyla is a nurse at the local practice,’ Evanna said quickly. ‘We both are.’

‘Oh—in that case, I know I’m just upsetting her.’ Struggling with her own sobs, the woman handed the baby over and Kyla expertly tucked the squalling child against her shoulder and walked away.

Evanna calmed the woman as best she could and watched as Logan dived into the waves. He cut through the water with a powerful front crawl, reached the little boat and then made a guess as to where the boy might have fallen.

‘Wow.’ Fraser was standing beside her, Logan’s bag at his feet, his eyes wide with hero-worship as he stared. ‘Dr MacNeil must be diving down to look below the surface. He’s a brilliant swimmer, isn’t he, Nurse Duncan? He got a bronze Olympic medal, didn’t he? And he saved that kid two summers ago and it was all over the papers. I’m going to be a lifeguard when I’m older, like he was. And a doctor. He’s so cool.’

Evanna tried to look relaxed but the tension gripped her like a vice. ‘He’s a good swimmer, Fraser,’ she agreed, as much to reassure herself as the little boy and the mother.

The woman was clutching Evanna’s hand. ‘We had a terrible night,’ she whispered. ‘The baby cries all the time and my husband and I are both exhausted so I said I’d bring them both down to the beach for an hour to give him a chance to catch up on some sleep. When Jason asked if he could take the boat in the sea, I didn’t even think it would be dangerous. I imagined he’d just stay by the shore.’

‘It shelves quite deeply here and the currents are strong,’ Fraser said solemnly, and Evanna saw the woman’s face pale. And then noticed something.

‘There. Can you see the lifeboat?’ She lifted a hand and pointed. ‘They’ll be able to help in the search.’

‘But if he’s at the bottom of the ocean …’ The woman choked on the words.

Then Logan’s head bobbed above the water for a few seconds before he disappeared again, this time further out to sea.

Three times his head appeared and then disappeared and on the fourth occasion he came up holding the body of the little boy.

‘He’s got him. Cool.’ Fraser’s voice was triumphant but Evanna saw what the mother immediately saw. That the little boy was limp and lifeless.

‘Spread out your rug,’ Evanna ordered. ‘Dr MacNeil is going to need somewhere to put him. And get all the layers you can find.’

‘It’s August.’ The woman looked at her blankly and Evanna saw the shock in her eyes.

‘It doesn’t make any difference that it’s August. The sea is still freezing and we’re going to need to warm him up. Fraser.’ Evanna looked at the boy. ‘You and your friends clear a spot for the helicopter to land. You know the drill. Everyone to secure everything that moves. Go. Move.’

But she spoke the last few words to the air because Fraser had already sprinted off to do what needed to be done.

Logan strode out of the water, carrying the boy level in his arms. ‘I’m going to try tipping him upside down.’ His expression was grim. ‘He was stuck on the bottom. He must have caught his foot in seaweed. It took me several goes to free him.’

‘No!’ The mother was screaming with horror and another holidaymaker took her to one side and put her arms around her, giving the medical team space to work.

‘Evanna?’ Logan’s voice was sharp as he laid the boy flat on the rug. ‘Did you get my stuff from the car?’

‘Fraser did. It’s all here.’ She flipped open the case. ‘His name is Jason and he’s six years old. Do you want to start CPR?’

‘Not yet.’ Logan felt for a carotid pulse. ‘I’m hoping he’s just bradycardic. Come on, Jason. Wake up, for us. Damn. He’s in respiratory arrest.’

‘Logan—’

‘Respiratory arrest precedes cardiac arrest in drowning. He’s got a pulse.’ Logan started to examine the boy more thoroughly, his hands swift and skilled. ‘Did Fraser manage to bring the oxygen?’

‘It’s here.’

There was a clacking sound overhead as the helicopter arrived but Logan was focused on Jason, leaving others to deal with the arrival of the helicopter. ‘He’s breathing but his core temperature is thirty-four degrees. We need to warm him up. What layers do we have?’

Evanna reached forward and covered the boy, noticing that his face was chalky white. ‘Do you want to aspirate his stomach?’

Just then the boy screwed up his face and started to cough violently, and Logan gave Evanna a swift nod. ‘We have lift-off. Jason? Speak to me. You’re worrying your mother. Wake up.’

The boy’s eyes fluttered open and he started to cough again.

Logan turned him into the recovery position. ‘Good boy. You’re all right. You’ve swallowed a bit of seawater but you’ll soon be feeling better. Evanna, this oxygen mask doesn’t fit properly. I need something smaller.’

The paramedic from the helicopter sprinted across to them with a case of equipment. ‘How’s he doing?’

Logan wiped a forearm across his forehead. ‘Better than we could have hoped. He’s breathing but he’s very cold still and he seems to have aspirated water so he’ll need to go to hospital for a check.’

The mother sank onto the sand beside Jason, tears pouring down her cheeks. ‘He needs to go to hospital? Can’t you just watch him here?’

‘This is a small island,’ Logan said gently, ‘and while we are capable of dealing with dire emergencies if the need arises, we do try and anticipate and avoid them whenever possible. I’m sure Jason is going to make an uneventful recovery but, to be on the safe side, I’d rather he made that recovery in the hospital. I’m sure they’ll only keep him in for a night.’

‘They have rooms for parents,’ Evanna said quickly as she found a smaller oxygen mask, ‘so you can be with him the whole time.’

‘I can go with him in the helicopter?’

The paramedic helped switch masks. ‘Of course, but you can’t bring the baby.’

‘I can leave her with my husband. He’ll be fine with her for a day, although the crying will probably drive him mad. We’re in one of the beach houses just up there.’

‘Go and give the baby to your husband and then you can come with us.’ The paramedic squatted down beside Logan. ‘Do you want to get a line in just to be on the safe side?’

‘Yes, ideally, although he’s so cold it’s going to be pretty hard getting in a peripheral line.’ Logan picked up one of the boy’s arms and rubbed the skin. ‘We might be lucky.’

With a last, frightened look towards Jason, the mother sprinted across the beach to Kyla who was still holding the baby. Kyla’s husband Ethan, the other island GP, arrived and immediately took in the situation. ‘You’ve had one trip to the mainland already today. I’ll take this one, Logan.’

‘I wouldn’t mind, if that’s all right with you.’ Logan slid the needle into the vein and gave a nod of satisfaction. ‘Good. Tape it firmly, Evanna. I don’t want to have to try that again.’

Ethan went to supervise the helicopter landing and Kyla turned her attention to the mother.

‘His colour is better.’ Logan checked the child’s pulse again.

‘We’re ready to transfer him.’ Ethan arrived with a stretcher and they carefully lifted the boy, covered him with blankets and secured him. ‘You’d better give me a handover.’

Leaving the paramedics to transfer the child into the helicopter, Logan pulled his colleague to one side, told him what had happened and detailed the first aid they’d given.

Watching the helicopter take off, Evanna suddenly realised that her legs were shaking. ‘What a day. I think I’ve aged twenty years and I’ve only been back on the island for ten minutes!’

Logan sat down next to her. ‘I only came down to the quay because I was trying to accidentally on purpose bump into Doug McDonald. I wanted to see how he was doing without looking too obvious.’

‘If you hadn’t been in the café, the child would have drowned. You were amazing.’

He brushed some sand from his legs and pulled his shirt back on. ‘I was doing my job, Evanna. Stop making me sound like some sort of hero.’

‘First aid for a drowning incident, that’s your job, but going into that water to save a child?’ Evanna’s voice was soft. ‘That’s not your job, Logan.’

But he’d do it anyway because that was the sort of man he was.

Logan stood up and pulled on his trousers. ‘Fraser was the one who saved the boy. If he hadn’t had his eyes open and acted swiftly we would never have found Jason in time.’ He lifted a hand and the boy came running over.

‘Dr MacNeil. I did everything you said.’

Logan put a hand on his shoulder. ‘You’re a hero, Fraser.’ His voice was gruff. ‘You kept a clear head and you didn’t panic.’

‘You never panic.’

‘I’m thirty-one years old. You’re twelve.’

Fraser shrugged. ‘Bet you didn’t panic when you were twelve either. Will that boy be all right? Is he going to die, Dr MacNeil?’

‘Thanks to you, I don’t think he’s going to die.’ Logan ran a hand through the boy’s hair. ‘How’s that scar of yours?’

Fraser grinned. ‘Wicked. The girls all want to look at it.’

Logan winked and grinned at him, man to man. ‘Then let them look. See you around, Fraser.’

‘Yeah.’ Fraser hooked his fingers in the waistband of his oversized surf shorts and scuffed a foot across the sand. ‘The boys and I are going up to the ruins this afternoon. Just to look.’

‘Well don’t go falling into the dungeons.’ Logan watched him go and gave a shake of his head. ‘He’s growing up.’

‘Aisla will be so proud of him.’ Evanna stood up, wiped her damp hands down her shorts and started gathering up their equipment.

‘I ought to be going. I’ve got a surgery this afternoon and I haven’t even been home yet. My luggage is still in my boot.’

He turned to look at her, his blue eyes searching. ‘It’s good to have you back. You’re always good in a crisis.’

Evanna blushed slightly. And that was how he saw her, of course. Sensible, practical Evanna. Good-in-a-crisis Evanna. What would he say, she wondered, if she told him that she didn’t want to be good in a crisis? She didn’t want to be sensible, practical Evanna. For once in her life she wanted to be someone’s hot fantasy.

She wanted to be his hot fantasy.