Bride for Glenmore (9 page)

‘I can’t even bear to sleep at night in case he needs me.’

‘That’s natural, Leslie. It’s still very early days. You may not believe me now but that feeling will ease. You
will
grow more confident and both of you will eventually be back on your feet again. It won’t go away but you’ll be surprised how you manage to live with it. I’ve seen it happen before. I know at the moment this thing is dominating your lives, but as the weeks and months pass it will start to take more of a back seat.’

‘Will it? I just keep picturing him lying on that couch with the oxygen mask on his face. I keep hearing all those machines beeping. I keep thinking of our little Andrea being left without a father—’ Leslie broke off and covered her mouth with her hand, fighting back the tears.

‘She still has her father,’ Kyla said softly, ‘and what you have to remember is that everyone is looking out for you. Both the doctors here and the hospital will be monitoring Doug and that’s a good thing.’

‘I hated those machines beeping in the hospital.’ Leslie gave a humourless laugh. ‘Now I’m missing them. At least when they were beeping I knew he was alive.’

‘It’s natural to feel a bit insecure when you’re first discharged from hospital, but you’re not on your own, Leslie. That’s why we’re here.’

‘Leslie? Is that Kyla?’ Doug’s voice came from the garden and Leslie cleared her throat and turned on the tap to splash her face with cold water.

‘Don’t you go telling him I’m worried,’ she said gruffly, drying her face with a towel and straightening her dress. ‘I don’t want him having any extra anxiety.’

‘Do you think he doesn’t know? Of course he knows you’re worried!’ Kyla shook her head and smiled. ‘I’ll go and chat to him while you take a moment for yourself. Maybe you can bring that tea out when you’re ready.’

‘I’ll do that. And, Kyla…’ Leslie’s voice stopped her before she went through the back door.

‘Yes?’

‘Thank you, lass. You’re a good girl.’

Kyla buried herself in work in an attempt not to think about Ethan.

She visited the McDonalds’ most days on her way home and popped in on Aisla to check on her. She filled her clinics to the brim and saw everyone who wanted to be seen, usually on the same day. At night she fell into bed, exhausted.
And dreamed of Ethan.

All his earlier reluctance to socialise with Logan and Kirsty seemed to have disappeared and he frequently joined Logan for supper, often in the garden and even turned up at Kirsty’s first birthday party with an oversized stuffed teddy, which the little girl loved.

In order to avoid him, Kyla took to visiting Kirsty during the day and spending the occasional evening with her aunt who ran the café on the quay.

‘You’ve been visiting us more than usual,’ her aunt observed gently as she placed a bowl full of steaming home-made soup in front of Kyla. ‘Is something wrong?’

‘Nothing at all.’ Kyla sniffed the bowl ‘Smells fantastic. Can you blame me for visiting? Given the choice of eating here or cooking for myself, there’s no contest.’

‘Kyla?’ Her aunt sat down opposite her, ignoring the customers who had just streamed into the café from the ferry. ‘I’ve known you all your life. There’s something the matter, I can tell.’

‘It’s nothing.’

‘And does this “nothing” happen to wear a suit and drive a flashy sports car?’

Kyla lifted her eyes from her soup. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘Don’t you? This is an island, Kyla. It’s hard for things to go on without anyone noticing.’ Her aunt’s voice was gentle as she stood up. ‘You’re entitled to your privacy, if that’s what you want. But I’m reminding you that even though your mum’s not around, you’ve still family here, Kyla Mary MacNeil. Family who love you. Don’t you forget that.’

Kyla swallowed hard. ‘He isn’t interested, Aunty Meg.’

‘Strikes me that he’s a man with a great deal on his mind.’

Kyla gave a lopsided smile. ‘You sound like Evanna. She thinks he has “issues”.’

‘Maybe he has. Maybe he just needs a bit of space to work a few things out and this is a good place for that.’

Kyla shook her head. ‘I’m not pushing myself on him.’

‘So is that why you’re eating me out of house and home?’ Meg pushed some more bread towards her. ‘Because he’s spending time with your brother and you’re avoiding him?’

Kyla felt guilty. ‘I love eating here and seeing you.’

Meg gave a snort. ‘And do I need to be told that? Of course not. I’m not offended, lass, just worried about you.’

‘You don’t need to worry about me. I’m fine, really.’ Kyla stood up to give her aunt a hug. ‘Thanks.’

‘Eat your supper.’ Her aunt squeezed her gently and then released her. ‘Before it gets cold.’

She loved her family.
Kyla finished her soup, wondering if everyone else had noticed that she was suddenly spending all her time at the café instead of just strolling into Logan’s garden in her usual fashion.

She thought about it all that night and the next day and when Evanna invited her to join them for a picnic on the beach that evening, she agreed.

She didn’t want Logan making sarcastic comments, she thought as she slipped her feet into sandals, grabbed a cool-box and strolled down onto the sand.

Evanna was spreading a picnic out over a tartan rug while trying to control a thoroughly over-excited toddler. ‘Don’t eat sand,’ she scolded gently, but there was a smile on her face as she scooped the little girl onto her lap and cuddled her. ‘Go to your Aunty Kyla for a moment while I sort out the food.’

‘I bought some things. It’s just quiche and salad.’ Kyla put the cool-bag down by Evanna and stooped to kiss her niece.

Logan strolled over to her, his body glistening with seawater. ‘It’s fresh.’

‘In other words, it’s freezing.’ Evanna laughed, handing him a towel. ‘Quick. Dry yourself off. We don’t want you developing hypothermia. It’s a bad advert for the practice.’

Logan cast a questioning glance in Kyla’s direction. ‘Well, if it isn’t my long-lost sister. Where have you been all week?’ He dried himself and pulled a shirt over his head. ‘I’ve hardly seen you.’

‘I called in to see Aunty Meg a few times,’ Kyla said casually, eating a tomato and then pulling a face. ‘Ugh. Sand. Remind me whose idea was it to have a family picnic on the beach when it’s windy? It always sounds such a great idea, but then you start to eat and you realise that everything is crunchy because it’s full of sand. I think I prefer the garden.’ She looked up to say something to Logan and saw Ethan strolling towards them. The words stuck in her throat.

‘Kyla.’ Evanna’s voice was gentle. ‘You’re dropping food on the rug.’

Flustered, Kyla glanced down and realised that her hands were shaking so much she’d dropped the tomatoes. ‘Sorry.’
She’d had no idea he was joining them.
Her heart skipped and danced and she gave herself a severe telling-off.

She’d avoided him for most of the week. She’d made a concerted effort not to look out of the window in the mornings and watch him run, and she’d even managed to forget about the kiss for at least five minutes at a stretch.

She’d thought she was doing well.

Only now, feeling her heart hammering hard against her chest, she knew that she wasn’t doing well at all.

He affected her just as much as he ever had.

‘Sorry I’m a bit late.’ He was wearing cut-off shorts and a soft, loose T-shirt that had obviously been washed a million times. His jaw was dark with stubble, his eyes were tired, and Kyla thought she’d never seen a sexier man in her life.

‘Late? That’s a real city-boy remark. I don’t think you can be late for a picnic on a beach.’ Logan handed him a beer. ‘Here. You can drink. I’m on call tonight.’

Ethan took the beer with a nod of thanks. ‘I hope you have a better night than I did.’

Logan gave a wry smile and glanced at his daughter. ‘I probably won’t, actually, but for different reasons. I gather you were up several times.’

‘For a small island, they certainly keep you busy,’ Ethan drawled, lifting the beer to his lips, and Kyla found herself watching as he drank.

That mouth had been on hers. Those hands had—

Ethan caught her gaze and lowered the beer slowly, his eyes on hers. Neither of them spoke and the tension rose between them until Kyla was aware of nothing but him. She couldn’t have looked away if she’d tried, and she sensed that he was experiencing the same inner struggle.

And then Kirsty crawled into her lap and reached for her hair.

‘Ow.’ The spell broken, Kyla gently prised open Kirsty’s chubby fist and removed her hair. ‘We need to teach you a new trick.’

To her surprise, Ethan put down his beer and leaned towards Kirsty. ‘I’ll take her.’ He dropped down onto his haunches and smiled at the little girl.

‘Fancy a paddle in the waves?’

Kirsty looked uncertain and when Ethan scooped her gently into his arms she went stiff and turned to look at Logan.

‘She’s a one-man woman,’ Logan said smugly, reaching out a hand and smoothing his daughter’s silky blonde curls to reassure her, but Ethan spoke softly to the child, pointed to a passing seagull, and Kirsty’s face broke into an approving smile.

She forgot her reservations about the tall, dark stranger and with a gurgle of enthusiasm she grabbed a hunk of Ethan’s hair in her fist.

‘You’re in favour, Ethan,’ Evanna said cheerfully, reaching for the breadsticks. ‘She only pulls the hair out of people she
really
loves.’

Ethan winced and extracted himself from that deadly grip, his dark eyes amused. ‘Can I take her to the sea?’

‘Of course. She loves it. Did you make any of your peanut chicken, Eva?’ Logan leaned forward and studied the picnic, reaching into a bowl and helping himself to a slice of fresh mango. ‘This looks delicious.’

‘That’s Caribbean fruit salad and it’s for afterwards.’ Evanna pulled the bowl of fruit away from him. ‘Leave it alone. You always try and eat my picnics in the wrong order.’

Judging that this would be a good time to leave the two of them alone for a few minutes, Kyla scrambled to her feet and reluctantly followed Ethan towards the sea.

She didn’t really want to approach him because then he’d think she hadn’t listened to his ‘hands-off’ message. But she badly wanted to give Logan and Evanna some time on their own.

Frustrated that she suddenly felt so uncomfortable on her own territory, she walked a few paces and then stopped, her attention caught by the scene in front of her.

Ethan had removed Kirsty’s shoes and socks and tucked them into the pockets of his shorts. He held her firmly round the waist, dangling her feet gently in the water, dipping her in and out of the breaking waves while she chortled with excitement and kicked her legs.

Kyla smiled at the delight on her niece’s face and then found herself looking at Ethan. And couldn’t look away. She’d seen him smile before, but not like this. That cool, remote look had gone. Instead, his eyes were gentle and he looked more relaxed than she’d ever seen him.

He lifted Kirsty quickly to avoid a slightly bigger wave, laughing and talking to her quietly, clearly enjoying her company.

He wasn’t a man she associated with softness and Kyla watched, transfixed, as the two of them played together, each entertaining the other.

It was only when she tried to swallow that she realised she had a lump in her throat. There was something incredibly moving about watching this strong, reserved man transformed by his interaction with an innocent child.

And then he lifted Kirsty into his arms and she saw something else in his face.

A yearning. And an immense sadness.

Instinctively Kyla moved towards him and then she stopped herself. How could she offer comfort and support when he’d already rejected her? Any gesture like that on her part would be misconstrued. And, anyway, Ethan had already proved on so many occasions that he wasn’t a man to open up and confide. What had he ever told her about himself? Hardly anything.

‘Kyla!’ Evanna’s voice came from behind her. ‘I’ve put some food on a plate for you and we’re ready to eat.’

Kyla took one last, lingering look at Ethan’s broad shoulders and turned away.

She had no idea what was wrong with him but she did know that he wasn’t hers to comfort.
He didn’t want what she was offering.

And suddenly she wished she’d never joined them for the picnic.

Maybe, in time, she’d be able to treat Ethan like nothing more than a colleague and friend. Eventually she’d be able to laugh alongside him and enjoy a drink and a casual chat, but she hadn’t reached that stage yet. She was painfully aware of him and it was only by a supreme effort of will that she managed not to just sit and stare at him.

Dropping onto her knees on the picnic rug, she reached for the plate. ‘Thanks for this. I need to eat quickly and make a move.’

‘What’s the hurry?’ Logan handed her some French bread. ‘We’ve hardly seen you all week and it doesn’t get dark for hours. What’s the matter with you? You’re behaving very oddly.’

‘No, I’m not.’

‘Well, usually you strip off and swim.’

Usually Ethan wasn’t with them.

She just didn’t know how to behave in his company any more. If she was chatty and friendly then he’d think that she was trying to flirt with him, and if she ignored him he’d think she was heartbroken. She couldn’t win. All she knew was that she needed to put some space between them before she made a fool of herself.

‘I have lots to do in the house. I haven’t had a chance to tidy up this week.’

Logan frowned at her. ‘But you hate tidying up, and—’

‘Logan, shut up,’ Evanna said gently, interrupting him and pushing a plate of chicken into his hands. ‘Stop being so controlling. I’m sure Kyla knows whether she needs an evening at home or not. Why don’t you just eat my chicken? Don’t let Kirsty grab it—I’ve done something different for her.’

Kyla mentally blessed Evanna for her tact and then blushed slightly as she felt Logan’s searching gaze on her face.

He knew.

She could tell by his face that he knew, and she gave a faint smile and a shrug.