Читать книгу Sarah Morgan Summer Collection - Sarah Morgan - Страница 25

LOGAN’S house was in darkness.

Could he already be in bed? She was later than she’d planned, but by the time she’d sorted Sonia out and completed all the paperwork, several hours had passed. Reluctant to knock on the front door in case she woke Kirsty, Evanna walked round the back of the house and opened the garden gate.

She’d just take a look. If there were no lights on then she’d give up and go home. But she wasn’t comfortable about just going home.

Not until she’d checked on Logan. The whole experience must have been completely harrowing for him and she wanted to give him a chance to talk about it. But there was no sign of life in the house. Just one small light burning in the hall.

Could he be out?

Perhaps he’d found a babysitter and gone down to the pub to celebrate the birth of Rachel Evanna, along with the rest of the locals.

She walked into his garden, intending to look through the back door, but then she spotted him sprawled in the hammock at the end of the garden. The moon provided just enough light for her to see that he was holding a bottle of beer in his hand.

‘Logan?’ Perhaps he didn’t want to be disturbed. It was a stiflingly warm summer’s evening, but his garden was cooled by a breeze drifting in from the sea. It was peaceful and tranquil and the perfect setting for quiet contemplation. And she was fairly sure that she knew what he was thinking about. Or who.

Catherine.

Feeling like an intruder and wishing she’d never come, Evanna was just wondering whether to melt back through the garden gate and into her car when he spoke.

‘I thought you’d be in the pub with the others.’ His voice was low and impossibly sexy and she walked across to him on shaking legs, wondering why she continued to torture herself like this.

‘I wasn’t in the mood for celebrations.’

‘Why not?’ He lifted the bottle and drank. ‘You did a good job.’

‘So did you.’

‘Me?’ His mouth twisted into a smile and his blue eyes glittered with an emotion that she didn’t recognise. ‘You did all the work, Evanna.’

‘I’m the midwife. I’m supposed to do all the work. If you’d taken over, I would have resigned on the spot. Goodness knows, I get little enough opportunity to deliver babies on this island—that’s why I go to the mainland once a year. Otherwise I’d forget how to do it.’ She kept her tone light and then sighed. ‘All right, let’s stop being tactful and be honest. I was worried about you. That’s why I’m here. It must have been completely hideous to have to cope with that. I can’t even begin to imagine—and I wasn’t able to give you any support because of Sonia, and all the time I knew that you were in agony and I just wanted to give you a hug. So I’m here to check you’re all right.’ The words tumbled out of her and she felt horribly self-conscious. They hadn’t had a proper talk since he’d caught her coming out of the shower and their whole relationship seemed to have changed since then. What if he didn’t want to talk to her any more?

What if things were different?

He stirred and the hammock swung gently. ‘I’m sorry if I gave you a fright back there. You needed support and I wasn’t any help at all.’

‘That’s not true,’ Evanna said quickly. ‘You were great.’

He gave a twisted smile that was loaded with derision. ‘I froze. If you hadn’t given me that look, I probably would have just turned and run. Yesterday was the first time in my entire medical career that I panicked.’

‘And is that really so surprising? No one who had been through what you went through would have found that situation anything other than difficult.’

There was a long silence and then he put the empty bottle down on the grass and stretched out a hand. ‘Come and sit down.’

Evanna eyed the swaying hammock. ‘In that?’

‘Of course. There’s plenty of room for two.’

‘That’s when one of the two is a toddler.’

‘Just be careful how you climb in or you’ll tip me out.’ He closed his fingers over her wrist and gave her a gentle tug so that she tumbled off balance and landed on top of him.

‘Logan!’ Thoroughly embarrassed, she rolled off him and lay on her back in the hammock. They were hip to hip, shoulder to shoulder and, for a moment, she couldn’t breathe. Then she looked up and gave a murmur of delight. ‘Oh—the stars are amazing.’

‘You’ve never lain in this at night?’

‘You know I haven’t.’

‘It’s so hot indoors that I’d sleep here at the moment if it weren’t for Kirsty. So why did you come, Evanna?’

His quiet question flustered her. ‘I wanted to check on you.’

‘I’m not one of your patients.’

‘I—‘ What did he want her to say? ‘I know that. But I care about you.’

‘And that’s why you wanted to hug me?’ He turned to look at her, a dangerous glitter in his blue eyes. ‘Because you care about me? You care about everyone, Evanna. You always have. At school you were the one who broke up fights, smoothed everyone’s feathers. You always hated conflict. Caring is part of your personality.’

His face was close to hers. So close. Evanna’s heart lurched. Had he guessed how she felt about him? Had she failed to hide it? ‘Of course I care about you.’ Her voice came out as a whisper, as if anything else would have punctured the perfect stillness of the garden. ‘We all care about you, Logan.’

For a moment he didn’t respond and it seemed to her that the air around them thickened with tension. ‘So the whole community is still keeping an eye on me.’

‘You make it sound patronising, but it isn’t like that.’

‘Isn’t it?’

‘No.’ His eyelashes were really long. And dark. Such a contrast to his blue eyes. ‘You’re not an object of pity, if that’s what you mean. No one could ever pity you because you’re so strong, but that doesn’t stop them feeling sad for you or wanting to protect you from any more pain. The situation with Sonia this afternoon must bring it all back and that must be hard.’ She felt the hard muscle of his leg brush against hers and felt crazy flutters of excitement in her stomach.

‘What’s hard is realising that I’m nothing like people’s image of me.’ There was a harshness in his tone that disturbed her.

‘What do you mean?’

He gave a faint smile. ‘People look at me and see a dedicated doctor. Grieving widower. Single father. Doting dad.’

‘I suppose. Maybe. Aren’t you all those things?’

He stared at her for a long moment and then dragged his eyes away and stared up at the sky. ‘Am I?’

He was frustratingly uncommunicative. ‘What are you thinking? You’re obviously upset. Talk to me,’ she urged, and he gave a cynical laugh.

‘You know that men aren’t great at talking.’

‘But you are. When you want to be. I’ve seen you spend hours with patients who are worried about something. You’re amazingly intuitive and a fantastic listener.’

‘Not such a great talker.’

Evanna swallowed. ‘You’ve always talked to me.’

‘That’s true. Funny, that, isn’t it? I’ve said things to you that I’ve never said aloud before.’ There was a long, throbbing silence and then he turned to look at her again. ‘The truth is that I’m not feeling what I’m expected to feel.’

‘I don’t think anyone expects anything, Logan.’

‘Don’t they? I’m supposed to be devastated and far too grief-ridden to even contemplate—’ He broke off, swore softly and ran a hand over his face. ‘I think of Catherine, that’s true, but lately.’

‘Lately?’

He paused and then reached across and took her hand in his. ‘Lately—well, let’s just say that lately a lot of things have changed.’

Evanna didn’t know whether to snatch her hand away or hold on tight. It felt impossibly intimate to be lying together in the dark, touching, even if she knew that, for him, that touch was only a symbol of friendship.

The air around them was still and the heat was stifling, despite the lateness of the hour. They were enclosed by the garden and the silence of a summer evening, disturbed only by the faint barking of a dog from the farm across the fields.

Reminding herself that the whole point of coming up here that evening was to listen to him, she forced herself to ignore the firm press of his fingers against hers. ‘What’s changed, Logan?’ She struggled to sound casual and Logan gave a short laugh.

‘I have. I’ve changed.’

‘Well, I’m sure that’s to be expected. No one could go through what you went through and not change. And I don’t think that there’s a right and a wrong to cope with anything. You just have to do what feels right for you. We all struggle through life in the best way we can, and you do brilliantly.’

‘Do I? Tell me, Evanna, what is the required time for remaining celibate after the loss of a wife? A year? Two years? More?’

‘I’ve never thought about it.’ Startled by the question, she hoped that the darkness hid the sudden rush of colour to her cheeks. ‘I suppose it depends on the individual. You’re a normal, healthy guy, Logan, and surely it’s to be expected that you’d—I mean of course eventually you’re going to—It’s natural to—’

‘Want sex?’ He didn’t let go of her hand. ‘Is it? Is it natural to be interested in another woman? To be honest, the feeling took me by surprise.’

Was he telling her that he wanted to have sex with someone?

Her heart flipped and she struggled to squash down the sick feeling of disappointment that rose up inside her. This wasn’t about her, she reminded herself swiftly, this was about him. Of course he was going to want sex. He was a healthy adult male in his prime. ‘You’re telling me that you’re interested in other women? I think that’s.’ She hesitated over the word. ‘Great,’ she said firmly. ‘Really great. It means you’re moving on.’

‘Does it?’

‘Of course.’

He turned his head to look at her. ‘You’re not shocked?’

‘That you want a relationship? Of course not. I’m thrilled for you.’

His mouth moved into a slow smile. ‘I didn’t say I wanted a relationship,’ he murmured softly. ‘That might be more complicated. I’m just talking about sex.’

‘Oh—yes, of course.’ Suddenly flustered, Evanna struggled for the right thing to say. ‘Well, I think that—that it’s fine. Whatever works for you. More than anyone, you deserve happiness, Logan.’ Despite the darkness, she could feel him watching her.

‘You’re so sweet. And generous.’ His voice was soft and his hand held hers firmly. ‘You never judge, do you?’

She mustn’t mind that he thought she was sweet. Sweet was a compliment, she told herself firmly. ‘What is there to judge?’

‘Plenty of people would.’

‘And does that bother you?’

He gave a soft laugh. ‘What do you think?’

‘I think that you’ve never minded what people say about you. You’ve always done your own thing and, frankly, that’s the only way to be able to live on an island this size. So what’s the problem?’ She tried to put her own feelings aside and respond in the way that she would have done had she not been emotionally involved. ‘Is there someone you like? Someone special? Obviously there must be, or you wouldn’t have suddenly started thinking about … sex.’ She tried to sound relaxed, as if conversations about sex were an everyday occurrence for her. He wanted to talk about it, she told herself, and she should allow him that. It was the least she could do.

The darkness of the garden folded over them, creating an atmosphere of intimacy that seemed to mock her. Here she was, lying in the darkness, on a perfect summer’s evening, holding hands with the man she loved while he told her about another woman that interested him.

‘Maybe. I don’t know. I’m in dangerous territory.’

‘Because you feel guilty about Catherine?’

‘Strangely enough, no. I don’t feel guilty. I probably should, but I don’t. If there’s one thing that I learned from Catherine, it’s that life is to be lived.’

‘That’s true.’ Evanna smiled. ‘She was a very adventurous person. A bit wild. If she were standing here now, she’d probably just want to know why it’s taken you so long. So, if you don’t feel guilty and you’re not worried about what anyone thinks, why is it dangerous territory? What’s holding you back?’

He was looking at her and he still hadn’t let go of her hand. ‘Because I’m not sure that the woman in question is interested in me.’

‘Logan MacNeil, I never heard such nonsense! Women have been falling over you since you first learned to walk. And you’ve never been one to hold back! Just ask her!’

‘You think I should ask a woman for sex?’

Evanna laughed to hide her embarrassment. ‘I think you might need to be a little more subtle than that or someone might slap your face.’

‘So what should I do?’

Just smile, she wanted to say. That’s all it would take in her case. One smile and she’d be his for ever. ‘Give her one of your hot looks! I don’t know, you’re the expert,’ she mumbled. ‘If ever a man knew how to put the moves on a woman, it was you. There were more broken hearts in our school than in a coronary care unit.’

He smiled at her analogy. ‘That was a long time ago. In my wild, reckless youth.’

Despite the humour in his tone, she decided not to point out that he’d still been breaking hearts up to the day before he’d met Catherine, which had only been two years previously. ‘Well, I’m sure it’s like riding a bicycle,’ Evanna joked weakly. ‘Just get back out there. Go for it. There are no end of possible candidates. Loads of women who aren’t your patients. Polly in the pub. She’s very pretty. Or Mary Simon, who helps Meg in the café. Any woman would want to be asked out by you.’

He didn’t release her hand. ‘Would they?’

His thigh was pressed hard against hers.

‘Of course.’ His features seemed dark and unfamiliar and she swallowed hard. ‘What do you think?’

It was a moment before he answered. ‘I think that sometimes when something is incredibly familiar, we don’t always notice it. We think something is a certain way and then suddenly we discover that we were entirely wrong. And that takes some adjustment.’

He was talking in riddles. Her eyes slid to the empty bottle on the ground but it was a small bottle and there was only the one so it couldn’t be that. And, anyway, she hadn’t known Logan to drink to excess since that one occasion on the beach on his seventeenth birthday when she and Kyla had spent an entire night holding his head over a bowl while he’d been sick. ‘You think Polly and Mary don’t notice you? Because I can tell you now that they—’

‘I’m not talking about Polly or Mary.’ His gaze was steady on hers and her stomach performed a series of elaborate acrobatics.

Determined not to read something into his words that wasn’t there, she kept her tone matter-of-fact. ‘Well, if you’re suggesting that people see you as a widower and not as a man, I don’t think that’s true, Logan. If you’re interested in someone then you should just go for it.’

‘You think so? You think I should go for it?’

‘Definitely.’ She ignored the new surge of misery that flooded through her veins. Here she was, advising the man she loved to go out and find another woman. But he deserved happiness and so did Kirsty. And he deserved a sex life. But it was impossible not to feel envious of the woman who was going to find herself burning up the sheets with Logan. ‘Find the right moment and go for it.’

His eyes dropped to her mouth and for a wild, crazy moment she really thought he was going to kiss her. She even found herself leaning towards him.

And then she remembered her promise to herself, snatched her hand from his and struggled out of the hammock, almost twisting her ankle and landing flat on her bottom in the process. ‘It isn’t easy to stand up from one of these with dignity,’ she said in a strangled voice, horrified to realise just how close she’d come to kissing him.

‘Evanna, you don’t have to—’

‘I should really be going,’ she said in a bright voice. ‘I mean, I just came to check up on you. And you should be going. Inside, I mean. Because you can’t go anywhere because you’re already here. Obviously.’ Nerves made her babble incoherently and she almost groaned as she listened to herself.

What must he think of her?

No wonder he didn’t find her sexy. She didn’t have the first clue about seducing men.

Logan simply watched her, his handsome face unsmiling. ‘So that’s it? You’re leaving?’

What did he expect? Did he want her to pull out a pad and pen and start drawing up a list of possible candidates for his sexual pleasure?

‘It’s late.’ She waved a hand in the vague direction of the gate. ‘I should be going, and you should be—’

He scooped up the empty bottle and stood up in a smooth, athletic movement that was a complete contrast to her own tumbled exit from the hammock. ‘I should be getting back to the woman in my life. My daughter.’

There was an awkward silence and Evanna chewed her lip, wishing that she was better at talking about sex. Kyla would have lain there and chatted quite comfortably about any topic of his choice, but she’d been gauche and stiff.

‘I haven’t helped much, have I?’ she mumbled, and for a long moment Logan didn’t answer.

Then he gave a sigh. ‘You always help. Thanks for coming round, Evanna,’ he said gruffly, and she gave a helpless nod as she backed towards the garden gate.

‘You’re welcome. I’m sorry I didn’t—I mean, I hope it works out the way you want,’ she muttered, and then gave up trying to say the right thing and just made for her car.

Find the right moment.

Find the right moment.

Logan paced the floor of his bedroom, battling with a growing frustration. Hadn’t that been Evanna’s advice to him? But when exactly was the right moment to tell a woman that you wanted to strip her naked and have wild, abandoned sex with her?

Evanna’s life was so tidy and neat. Everything planned. He’d seen the way that she’d blushed when he’d mentioned sex. How much deeper would that blush have been had she known that the woman he was interested in was her?

Any other woman would have picked up his signals, but not Evanna.

Evanna didn’t do wild love affairs and she never had.

She was sweet and conservative and a bit shy. The sort of woman who blushed when she was caught coming out of the shower.

And, as far as he was concerned, that just made her all the more appealing.

They’d been sitting in the dark in his garden, talking about life. Talking about the future. Surely there would never be a better moment to tell a woman that you were interested in her, and yet had he spoken up? No. He’d lain there like a tongue-tied, hormonal teenager on a first date. Dropping hints. Skirting around the subject.

Logan walked over to the window and stared out over the garden.

He hadn’t really thought about sex for a year and suddenly he couldn’t think about anything else. But there was only one woman that interested him. And he had absolutely no idea how to go about telling her. And this lack of confidence with the female sex was an entirely new experience for him.

Never in his life could he recall being anything less than confident with a woman. He’d seen. He’d wanted. He’d taken. It had all come so easily to him.

But Evanna was different.

He ran a hand over his face and sat back in his chair. There was so much more at stake than rejection and damage to his ego. If he got this wrong then a lifelong friendship would be damaged. Glenmore was a small, close-knit community. If it all went wrong, they wouldn’t be able to avoid each other. It could be hideously awkward.

Was it really worth the risk?

Given the choice of Evanna as a friend or Evanna out of his life, which would he choose?

Without question, he’d rather keep her as a friend than lose her. Which meant that he now found himself in an extremely delicate situation.

He’d just have to work harder at forgetting her, he promised himself, sprawling on the bed without any expectation of actually sleeping.

Somehow, he’d get their relationship back to the place where it had always been.

‘I’ve got Jenny Price in Reception with Helen.’ Janet’s voice was crisp and efficient on the phone. ‘Can you fit her in?’

Helen Price. ‘Well, that’s a bit spooky because I promised Ann Carne I’d take a look at her notes this week.’ Evanna ran through the conversation in her head. ‘Send them in, of course. Do you know what the problem is?’

‘No. But Jenny Price is very quiet. Shy. Keeps herself to herself. But she looks worried and there’s something about that child that doesn’t seem right to me.’

Evanna tucked the phone between her shoulder and her ear so that she could finish printing off the letter she was writing. ‘What’s that?’

‘That child is small.’

Evanna took the paper out of the printer and sighed, remembering Ann’s concerns. ‘She’s five years old, Janet. Little girls of five are often delicate.’

‘Maybe. Maybe not.’

Evanna smiled. ‘OK, I’ll take a look. If I’m worried, I’ll get Logan to examine her. Is he still around or has he gone out on calls?’ She’d successfully avoided him all week and buried herself in work, trying not to think that he might be out there seducing one incredibly lucky woman.

‘He’s just finishing his list.’

‘Send in Jenny and Helen whenever they’re ready.’ They appeared at her door only moments later.

Jenny was a slender, nervous-looking woman with mousy hair caught up in a clip at the back of her head. She looked pale and harassed. ‘Nurse Duncan, I know I should have made an appointment, but—’

‘It really doesn’t matter at all, Mrs Price.’ Evanna interrupted her apology with a dismissive wave of her hand and a friendly smile. ‘We try to be quite informal on Glenmore if we can.’

Jenny pulled a face. ‘Where I was living last you were lucky to be able to get an appointment within a fortnight.’

‘By which time you’re either dead or cured.’ Evanna smiled with understanding and brought up Helen’s notes on the computer. ‘How can we help you today?’

Jenny hesitated and then glanced towards her daughter. ‘It isn’t anything specific. Well, I suppose it is in a way. I mean, she gets incredibly breathless when she runs around and that’s starting to worry me because a young girl of her age surely shouldn’t be that unfit.’

‘So she’s breathless. Anything else?’

‘Well, we had a terrible winter with chest infections.’ Jenny bit her lip. ‘I’m wondering whether it could be asthma. That’s why I came to see you because Miss Carne, the headmistress, told me that you and the other nurse see patients with asthma.’

‘Yes, we do, although in the first instance patients are diagnosed by one of the doctors. Then we usually do the follow-up and make any adjustments to medication.’

Helen wandered over to Jenny and tugged at her sleeve. ‘Mummy, I’m thirsty.’ She was a small, pale girl with soft blonde hair and delicate features.

Evanna watched her for a moment, remembering what both Ann and Janet had said. ‘I’ll fetch you a glass of water, Helen,’ she said gently, walking over to the brightly coloured paper cups she kept for children. ‘Can you just step on the scales for me?’

She weighed Helen, recorded the result and then handed her a cup of chilled water. Then she questioned Jenny in more depth, asking her about Helen’s medical history.

‘She was a normal delivery. No problems. Since then she’s had chest infections. Every winter she starts. Nasty cough.’

‘Does she cough at night?’

‘Not in the summer. Only when she has an infection.’

‘And have you ever seen a doctor about her infections?’

‘Every winter we end up at the doctor’s but they just say that chest infections are normal in winter.’ She gave a shrug. ‘But I know there’s something wrong. When you’re a mother you have a sense about these things. An instinct.’

Evanna glanced towards the little girl but she was playing happily with the basket of toys in the corner of the room, apparently oblivious to the conversation. ‘And you say that she’s out of breath the whole time.’

‘I’ve watched her playing with other kids. She’s different. She’s just so out of breath when she runs around,’ Jenny said quietly. ‘And it seems to be getting worse.’

Could it be asthma? ‘Has she ever suffered from eczema?’ Evanna asked a series of questions and then stood up. ‘I’m going to see if one of our doctors is available to see her.’

She lifted the phone and spoke to Janet who told her that Logan was with his last patient. She waited for his light to flash on and tapped on his door.

‘I wondered if you could see a patient for me.’ She was trying desperately to think of him as a doctor and not as a man. A man who was currently fantasising about some unknown but incredibly fortunate woman.

‘Who is it?’

‘Helen Price. They moved into the Garrett property in the spring. She’s extremely breathless on exertion. Funnily enough, Ann Carne mentioned her to me. She wondered if she was asthmatic and the mother thinks that, too, but—’

‘But you don’t think so.’

‘Well, obviously you need to take a look at her but, no, I’m not sure about asthma. There’s no family history of atopy, no wheezing and no night cough. On the other hand, she is getting chest infections every winter.’ Evanna broke off and gave an apologetic smile. ‘Look, you’re the doctor. I just have a funny feeling about her.’

‘Then I’ll see her, of course. Send her in.’ His eyes lingered on hers. ‘Why don’t you stay while I examine her?’

Evanna nodded. ‘I’ll do that. And I think we ought to invite Jenny, the mother, to the beach barbecue. Her husband works away a lot and I think she’s a bit lonely. Janet doesn’t think she’s really settled into island life.’

‘Invite her. Good idea.’

‘Are you going?’ She didn’t know what made her ask the question. He didn’t usually go. And she shouldn’t care whether he was going or not.

He studied her face, his blue eyes speculative. ‘Probably.’

And suddenly Evanna wished that she hadn’t asked the question. Of course he’d be going. Why hadn’t she thought of that? The beach barbecue would be the perfect opportunity to deepen his relationship with the woman he fancied. And that was good, she told herself firmly. Last year he hadn’t attended and she’d spent the entire evening worrying about him, alone in his beautiful big house with a six-month-old baby for company. She’d left early and taken him a plate of food and they’d sat in his garden, chatting about all sorts of things. Normal things. Things designed to distract him from the death of his wife.

‘I’m glad you’re going.’ She braced herself and smiled. ‘Everyone will be thrilled to see you there.’ She backed towards the door, wondering why he was studying her so intently. ‘I’ll just fetch Helen and her mother.’

When she returned, Logan was thorough and professional, questioning Jenny in detail and then examining the little girl.

Finally he unhooked the stethoscope from his ears and gave a brief smile as he handed Helen a colouring book and crayons. ‘Do you want to colour that for me, Helen? I just need to talk to your mum.’

Helen grabbed the book with a delighted smile and a mumbled, ‘Thank you,’ and immediately lay on her stomach on the floor and started colouring.

Logan sat back down at his desk. ‘Has anyone ever mentioned to you that she has a murmur?’

‘A murmur?’ Jenny stared at him. ‘You mean a heart murmur?’

‘That’s right.’ Logan’s voice was quiet as he tucked the stethoscope into his pocket. ‘When I’m using the stethoscope on her chest I’m listening to the sounds that her heart makes. A heart murmur is basically an extra sound.’

‘Are you telling me that you think she has something wrong with her heart? Oh, my gosh.’ Jenny’s face drained of colour and she lifted a hand to her mouth. ‘How can you possibly know that from just listening?’

‘I don’t know, for sure. And a number of young children would be found to have heart murmurs and yet have structurally normal hearts. But given her history of breathlessness and the fact that her weight is lower than average for her age, I’d like to refer her for some more tests. I think we do need to check this out further.’

‘I thought it was asthma,’ Jenny whispered. ‘She gets all these chest infections.’

‘Yes. I read that in her notes.’

‘No one ever mentioned her heart before. Are you saying that chest infections can be linked to heart disease?’ Jenny’s eyes were wide. ‘What exactly do you think is wrong?’

Logan hesitated. ‘It’s impossible for me to give a definitive diagnosis just by listening to her chest. I’d like you to go to the mainland and see the paediatric cardiologist. He’ll do an echocardiogram, which will allow him to look at the structure of the heart. He’ll also probably do a chest X-ray and an ECG, to see how the heart is working. All of that is non-invasive and won’t hurt Helen at all.’

‘I can’t believe this.’ Jenny ran a hand across her face and took several deep breaths. ‘I.’ She struggled with tears and Evanna reached across to borrow Logan’s phone.

‘Janet?’ She quickly spoke to the receptionist. ‘Can you come and take Helen and show her some interesting toys, please? It’s very boring in here for her and she’s finished the colouring Logan gave her.’

Jenny shot her a grateful look and moments later Janet appeared, a wide smile on her motherly features. ‘You come with your Aunty Janet. I’ve all the plants to water and I really need some help,’ she said happily, holding out a hand to Helen, who scrambled to her feet and glanced towards her mother doubtfully.

‘You go, sweetie,’ Jenny breathed, her smile just a little forced. ‘Help Janet with the plants. Then Mummy will come and get you.’

Helen slipped her hand into Janet’s and went without protest.

Jenny reached into her bag for a tissue. ‘That was kind of you,’ she whispered, blowing her nose hard. ‘You try so hard to protect them, don’t you? And then something like this happens. I’m sorry to be a baby, but it’s such a shock.’

‘I can understand that.’ Logan’s voice was kind, his gaze sympathetic. ‘But I’d really like you to try not to worry until you know exactly what there is to worry about. That’s easier said than done, I know, because once you’re a parent all hope of being calm and rational goes out of the window.’

‘Do you have children?’

Logan gave a crooked smile. ‘Little girl. Thirteen months. So I know all about parental worry.’

‘Oh. Yes.’ Jenny blew her nose again. ‘So what happens now?’

‘I’d like to ring a good friend of mine who is a paediatric cardiologist. He’ll arrange for you to have those tests that I described. Then you come back to me and we’ll talk.’

‘But you definitely think there’s something wrong with her heart.’

‘Yes, I do,’ Logan said quietly, ‘and I’m not going to lie to you about that. But she’s a bonny little girl who has obviously done very well up until now. This may be something that is easily solved. They may even decide to wait and do nothing.’

Jenny was still struggling with tears. ‘My husband, Bobbie, is away so I can’t even talk to him.’

Logan leaned forward and covered her hand with his. ‘You can talk to us,’ he said gruffly, glancing towards Evanna. ‘Anything. Any time.’

Jenny gave a dismissive laugh. ‘You’re suggesting I make an appointment just to discuss how worried I am about my daughter’s heart?’

‘Yes. Why wouldn’t you? Being a GP is about caring for the whole family.’ Logan’s eyes were kind. ‘Let’s have those tests done and then talk again. If there are any decisions to be made, I’ll help you weigh up all the pros and cons.’

‘You’re incredibly kind.’ Janet shook her head. ‘I—I’m just not used to having a GP who encourages me to come back. The practice we were in before had eighteen GPs. I never saw the same person twice and they were never interested in anything other than hurrying me out of the door as fast as possible.’

Logan nodded. ‘Different pace of life,’ he said easily, ‘and different priorities. Glenmore is a small community, Jenny. And when you moved here, you became part of that. I’m going to call the cardiologist now and I’ll phone you with an appointment time. Will you be able to get her to the mainland?’

‘Oh, yes, I have a car and I travel across once a week anyway, to see my sister.’

‘Good. Here’s my home number and my mobile.’ Logan scribbled on a piece of paper. ‘Call me if you need to. Otherwise I’ll see you when we have some results.’

Jenny slipped the piece of paper into her bag and stood up. ‘Thank you.’ She looked at Evanna and gave a faltering smile. ‘And thank you, too.’

‘You’re very welcome.’

Evanna took Jenny to find her daughter and then returned to Logan. ‘You really think she has a heart defect?’

‘Yes. But obviously it needs to be confirmed by the cardiologist. She needs an echo.’

Evanna looked at him. ‘But now that it’s just you and me—tell me what you think.’

He didn’t hesitate. ‘I think she has an ASD. Atrial septal defect.’ He was sure and confident. ‘The second heart sound is split. It’s fairly characteristic.’

‘But why hasn’t it been picked up before now?’

‘There are often no symptoms in early childhood. But in Helen’s case I’m fairly sure that her breathlessness, the chest infections and the fact that her weight is below the tenth percentile …’ He shrugged. ‘I could be wrong.’

‘You’re not usually wrong, Logan,’ Evanna murmured, and he studied her for a long moment.

‘Are you leading my fan club?’

‘You’re a good doctor. You don’t need me to tell you that. So what will they do? Surgery? Or did I read somewhere that they sometimes close on their own?’

‘It’s unlikely that Helen’s will close on its own. By the time a child has reached the age of three it’s extremely unlikely that it will sort itself out, and she’s five and a half.’

‘Which means surgery, then.’

‘Not necessarily. There are some new techniques that can be done by an interventional cardiologist, rather than a surgeon. Basically they attach a device to a catheter and they can put it in place without having to stop the heart.’

Evanna pulled a face. ‘Which still sounds scary when it’s a child. Poor Jenny. And her husband away, too. How quickly can you get her an appointment?’

‘I’m going to call him now.’ Logan opened a file on the computer and scrolled down a list of phone numbers. ‘We worked together in London and he’s a really bright guy. I’m hoping he can fit her in this week. Did you call the hospital about Sonia?’

‘Yes. They’re very happy with her. Baby is a bit jaundiced so they’re going to keep her in for a few days but they hope she’ll be home by the middle of the week.’

‘A good outcome, then.’ Logan reached for the phone and then looked at her. ‘You asked me about the beach barbecue, but what about you? Are you going?’

Did she want to spend the evening watching him with another woman? The answer was very definitely no, but to not go would draw attention to herself. And anyway she lived on an island. No matter how she felt about Logan, she had to get on with her life. ‘I’m going.’

The beach was big enough, she reassured herself. There would be volleyball and football and a barbecue going, not to mention swimming. It should be easy enough not to have to stand staring at him.