Marrying the Millionaire Doctor
Alison Roberts
Enter into the world of high-flying Doctors as they navigate the pressures of modern medicine and find escape, passion, comfort and love – in each other’s arms!Millionaire Dr Vavunis has everything – except a mother for his child Susie Jackson has come to Crocodile Creek kids’ camp to work. She’s not here to fall in love – and if she did it wouldn’t be with brooding Dr Alex Vavunis. It’s one of the young kids that catches her heart – a girl desperately trying to reach out to her father…Single father Alex needs help to bond with his daughter, and Susie knows she can help. As she grows closer to the millionaire doctor she sees she was wrong about him. Underneath the surface is a perfect father…and husband in the making!CROCODILE CREEK A cutting-edge medical centre. Fully equipped for saving lives and loves!
It wasn’t because of the way Susie felt about his daughter. That had simply opened a door he had considered locked. Made it a possibility that he could trust again. Allowed him the undeniable thrill of the prospect of more of what he had shared with Susie last night.
He wanted her.
He wanted her more than he had ever wanted any woman, and allowing himself the possibility that it could work was fuelling a spark of passion that felt as if it could become…huge.
Big enough to last a lifetime?
CROCODILE CREEK
A cutting-edge medical centre.Fully equipped for saving lives and loves!
Crocodile Creek’s state-of-the-art Medical Centreand Rescue Response Unit is home to a team ofexpertly trained medical professionals. Thesededicated men and women face the challenges oflife, love and medicine every day!
Last month gorgeous surgeon Nick Devlinwas reunited with Miranda Carlisle A PROPOSAL WORTH WAITING FOR by Lilian Darcy
Now meet dedicated neurosurgeon Nick Vavunisas he sweeps beautiful physiotherapist Susieoff her feet MARRYING THE MILLIONAIRE DOCTOR by Alison Roberts
In November sexy Angus Stuart comes face to facewith the wife he thought he’d lost CHILDREN’S DOCTOR, MEANT-TO-BE WIFE by Meredith Webber
And December sees Crocodile CreekMedical Director Charles Wetherby’sfinal bid to make nurse Jill his longed-for bride A BRIDE AND CHILD WORTH WAITING FOR by Marion Lennox
Alison Roberts lives in Christchurch, New Zealand. She began her working career as a primary school teacher, but now juggles available working hours between writing and active duty as an ambulance officer. Throwing in a large dose of parenting, housework, gardening and pet-minding keeps life busy, and teenage daughter Becky is responsible for an increasing number of days spent on equestrian pursuits. Finding time for everything can be a challenge, but the rewards make the effort more than worthwhile.
Recent titles by the same author:
HER FOUR-YEAR BABY SECRET THE ITALIAN SURGEON CLAIMS HIS BRIDE CHRISTMAS BRIDE-TO-BE THE PLAYBOY DOCTOR’S PROPOSAL
(Crocodile Creek)
MARRYING THE MILLIONAIRE DOCTOR
BY
ALISON ROBERTS
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
CHAPTER ONE
THIS was…weird.
As though reality had become a dream. Of course, Wallaby Island usually had that effect on new arrivals. The largest of a collection of tropical islands off the coast of North Australia, it was a picture-perfect mound of exotic rainforest greenery, bordered by white sandy beaches, surrounded by a warm turquoise ocean and almost always bathed in brilliant sunshine.
Susie Jackson was not a new arrival, however. This environment was reality for her and the anticipation created by watching the privately chartered seaplane come in for a smooth landing and taxi to the pontoon at the end of the jetty was due purely to an empathy with the young girl standing by her side. Pressed close enough for the tremor to feel like her own. She tightened the arm around the girl’s shoulders with a quick, reassuring hug.
Figures emerged from the small aircraft. The pilot stayed to secure the mooring and it was a single figure who began to walk down the timber slats of the narrow jetty.
That was when it happened.
When the edges of reality began to blur.
So much for the generic ‘parent’ figure she had expected to greet. Any last-minute words of encouragement for the girl beside her died on Susie’s lips and she could only stare as the man striding towards them turned the jetty into a catwalk.
Modelling the latest Armani suit, perhaps, with an appropriate aura of elegance and power. Beautifully tailored dark trousers. A dark tie that had been loosened and a pristine white shirt with the top button undone. The suit jacket slung carelessly over one arm and a slim, black briefcase dangling from that hand. A mobile phone was in his other hand, held to his ear.
Was it the way he was walking? A mixture of casual grace but purpose with an unmistakable air of being very accustomed to attracting a spotlight. Demanding it, almost.
OK, maybe the man was a highly acclaimed neurosurgeon from Sydney and maybe he was a key figure in tomorrow’s opening ceremony because he had donated enough money to help make the new, fabulous medical facilities on Wallaby Island a possibility in the wake of Cyclone Willie, which had devastated the area six months ago, but this wasn’t about him right now, was it?
It was about Stella. The girl nervously standing beside her. Without the aid of her crutches. Waiting for the most important person in her life to applaud what was, quite literally, a huge step forward.
The nerves were contagious. Or maybe it was a trickle of apprehension that made Susie’s stomach tighten and her mouth feel dry as Alex Vavunis strode closer. The phone was snapped shut and he was close enough now for Susie to take in the clearly defined lines of his face, the jaw softened slightly by heavy shadow and far more by a charming smile. Dark hair, dark eyes, olive skin. Lines on his forehead that suggested this man was used to frowning.
Not that he was frowning right now. Susie was invisible, standing outside a kind of forcefield created by the palpable bond between this father and daughter. What would it feel like, she wondered a little wistfully, to be so important to a man like this?
But then the lines deepened, confirming Susie’s impression, and the smile of pride and delighted greeting faded as he focused intently on his daughter’s face. For the briefest moment he looked taken aback. As though he didn’t quite recognise the person he was looking at. Almost as though he was seeing a ghost.
‘Stella! What’s all this?’
Stella’s tentative smile widened hopefully. Look at me, Daddy, it said. Tell me it’s OK to feel this proud of myself.
Susie’s smile widened, too. She did this by herself, it said. Isn’t it wonderful?
But Alex Vavunis didn’t even seem to notice the absence of the crutches. He was staring at Stella’s face. Susie watched, transfixed by the changing expression on his face, not wanting to believe what she could see happening. Pleasure giving way to a blink of readjustment. Pride being tarnished by what could only be interpreted as disappointment. Surely not. How crushing would that be?
‘You’re…’ Alex paused, and the transformation from loving parent to authoritarian figure appeared complete. ‘Are you wearing make-up?’
Stella’s smile wobbled. ‘I… It’s the camp disco tonight. I told you…’
‘And what are you wearing? Whose clothes are they?’
‘Mine.’
Her father made a faint sound—of irritation perhaps. As though he knew every item of clothing in his teenage daughter’s wardrobe and didn’t recognise these.
Maybe he did, in which case Susie might label him as a control freak rather than a caring parent. It was possible to give him the benefit of some doubt, though. What Stella was wearing at the moment was very different to anything she had brought with her to camp but, then, variations on a theme of denim jeans, oversized T-shirts and baseball caps were hardly what a girl would want to wear to her first disco, were they?
‘There’s a shop at the resort,’ Stella was continuing bravely. ‘You said I could buy anything I needed and put it on your room account.’
‘Yes, but…’ Alex took another look at his daughter’s attire and sighed.
The sigh seemed to hang over them. The sound of a man who was capable of dealing with any amount of stress and decision-making in matters of life or death but who had not expected and certainly did not welcome having to deal with this particular issue.
Stella didn’t sound so brave now. There was uncertainty in her voice. ‘What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?’
‘Nothing,’ Susie muttered.
The skirt was gorgeous. Layers of brightly coloured gypsy ruffles that ended at mid-calf. The perfect length and shape for making the first public appearance of that prosthesis discreet.
The lacy white camisole top was also perfect. Just what most teenage girls wore, and while the shop hadn’t run to much in the way of lingerie, Susie knew Stella had been secretly thrilled at the boost from the lightly padded and underwired white bikini top.
‘It looks like underwear,’ Alex Vavunis decreed. He shook his head in a single, incredulous movement. ‘Good Greek girls do not appear in underwear in public, Stella.’
‘But…’
Susie could feel Stella’s confidence draining. All the excitement and anticipation from revealing her progress and new, grown-up look was evaporating like the hiss of air from a pricked balloon. She glared at Stella’s father. How could he do this? Did he have any idea how hard it had been to get to this point? How fragile his daughter’s self-esteem was?
A degree of disapproval would have been understandable. Acceptable even. She had been prepared for that after more than one reference from Stella about how strict her father could be, but Susie had brushed aside the warnings. She had heard enough to convince her how proud Stella was of her famous father and how much she loved him. Any parent who inspired such loyalty had to be doing something right and it had been easy to convince herself that he would be as thrilled as she was at the extraordinary progress Stella had made this week.
Oh, Lord! This was her fault.
Susie still had her arm around Stella’s shoulders and she could feel the gathering tension. Any second now and her arm could be shrugged off as blame was apportioned. There would be tears, no doubt. What should have been a joyous reunion would be a scene of misery and confrontation for everybody concerned.
‘Charles Wetherby was supposed to meet me and arrange transport,’ Alex said. ‘We’ll go straight to the hotel and you can get changed.’ He frowned at his mobile phone then looked over Stella’s shoulder.
Susie followed the glance. Sure enough, there was Charles in his wheelchair a little further up the path that led to the medical centre. How long had he been there? How much had he overheard?
Enough, she suspected, aware of a wash of relief. The medical director of Crocodile Creek Base Hospital had earned his position as the heart of this community. He never ceased to keep his fingers on the pulse of his realm. Not just the running of a large base hospital that provided a rescue base for the whole of far North Queensland. Or its satellite and now considerably upgraded facilities on Wallaby Island that meant they were able to expand the camps run for sick kids and their families. He also seemed to know anything important that was happening in the lives of his staff.
Susie sent a smile in his direction. A probably unnecessary plea for assistance in defusing this situation. Charles had been the point of contact for the neurosurgeon two years ago when Alex Vavunis had been checking out the possibility of a respite for his daughter who had been undergoing intensive chemotherapy for a type of bone cancer. He would know more about the man’s personality than Susie did, so he would be aware of the undercurrents.
And everybody had seen how Susie had been drawn to this prickly teenager in the first week of this current camp. Charles had commented only yesterday about the extra hours Susie was spending on the island this time, but the twinkle in his eye had been approving.
He had seen what Stella’s father was apparently blind to. Susie’s smile suddenly felt crooked. Maybe Charles had also seen that the project was helping Susie as much as Stella. That she’d been drawn to the teenager because some of the events of this week had left her feeling just as forlorn and left out of the good things in life as Stella clearly did.
Charles rolled onto the planks at the land end of the jetty. The seaplane pilot had finished securing the moorings and was walking towards them from the other end, carrying a suitcase. She and Stella were a little island of femininity getting closed in by men. No wonder Stella trembled and seemed to lose her balance. Standing unaided was new enough without this sense of threat. That was why Susie had the elbow crutches clutched in her free hand. Hidden behind her back.
Amazingly, though, Stella straightened. Regained her balance. Susie loved the way her chin rose defiantly.
‘No,’ she told her father.
‘No?’ The echo was dumbfounded. ‘What do you mean, “No”?’
‘I’m not going to the hotel.’
‘It’s all arranged.’ The words were impatient. ‘We have a suite. You didn’t want to stay in the dormitories with the other children, remember?’
Of course she didn’t, Susie thought angrily. She has to take her prosthesis off at night, doesn’t she?
‘You refused to even come to camp this year,’ Alex continued. ‘You only agreed because I’d already gone to considerable trouble to create a window so I could attend the opening of the medical centre.’
Charles raised an eyebrow. It had been an invitation to a major sponsor, the gesture suggested. A courtesy, not an edict intended to create inconvenience.
‘You liked the idea of the luxury suite,’ Alex concluded firmly. ‘And that you could fly back with me on Sunday instead of staying for the second week. It’s all arranged, Stella.’
And that was that.
Or was it?
‘I’ve changed my mind,’ Stella said. She gulped in a breath of the warm tropical air. ‘I like the dormitory now… And I like my new clothes…and…and I can wear makeup if I want to. I’m nearly fourteen and Susie said—’
‘Susie?’ The interruption was a snap. A low and dangerous sound. ‘Who the hell is Susie?’
‘Me,’ Susie said. Oh, God, did it have to come out like the squeak of a cornered mouse?
For the first time Alex looked directly at her and Susie felt the eye contact like a physical blow. Sharp and penetrating. She felt like a bug pinned for inspection, and she couldn’t escape. Couldn’t—for the life of her— tear her gaze away.
Not that she really wanted to. Stella needed an ally here and she was it. She would just have to ignore the way her heart had begun hammering and the odd, prickly internal sensation that felt horribly like fear.
‘Susie Jackson.’ It was Charles’s voice. Calm and strong. A reassurance all by itself. ‘Our esteemed physiotherapist, Alex. She and Stella have made a formidable team this week.’
‘Charles!’ Alex slipped his mobile phone into the pocket of his trousers and extended his hand to greet the man now beside Stella. ‘Good to see you.’
‘And you, Alex. We’re delighted you were able to make it.’
‘Good timing, having the opening on while Stella’s here for camp. It’s about time I saw the place that’s made such a difference to my only child’s life.’
‘Not to mention meeting the people.’ Charles’s smile drew Susie into the exchange. ‘We’re lucky there were no last-minute emergencies to keep you in Sydney this time.’
The pocket holding the cellphone got patted. ‘There are always emergencies, Charles, as I’m sure you know only too well.’ A determined intake of breath suggested resolution. Had he been dealing with difficulties in his unit even as he’d been taking his first steps onto the jetty? ‘This time I told them they’d just have to cope without me.’
The charming smile was back but it had no effect on Susie. She wasn’t prepared to make allowances for professional hassles. She was getting a rather clear picture of how important this man considered himself and his career and, in her opinion, Stella should be a long way further up his list of priorities.
It was, quite simply, not good enough.
‘I might even turn my mobile off,’ Alex said.
Susie almost snorted.
‘Good thinking,’ Charles said mildly. He swivelled to look over his shoulder. ‘There’s a cart on the way to take you to the resort but if you’re not too hot, I could give you a quick tour of the centre.’
Susie found herself nodding agreement. Disappear for a while, she encouraged silently. Let me see if I can repair the damage here.
No such luck.
‘We’ll go to the hotel first,’ Alex said crisply. ‘I can’t have my daughter out looking like—’
‘Like what?’ Stella’s voice rose and there was more than a hint of tears in it. ‘What’s so wrong with the way I look, Dad? Susie said…’ Her voice trailed away. Was it too hard to utter the notion that she looked gorgeous?
‘Susie said what?’
Alex flicked another glance at his daughter’s physiotherapist. His gaze dropped from her loose, shoulder- length hair, which always went a bit too curly with salt water and sunshine, to take in the soft singlet top she wore beneath an unbuttoned shirt, the sleeves of which were rolled up past her elbows. Dropped again, to denim shorts with frayed hems that did nothing to hide the length of her well-tanned legs.
Susie flushed. It wasn’t a particularly professional- looking uniform but things were never overly formal in Crocodile Creek, and she was on an island right now with a bunch of kids who were having a holiday. A break from lives that centred around debilitating and sometimes fatal illnesses.
They were here to have fun and her role was to help them only as much as necessary. To encourage severely asthmatic children to keep up their breathing exercises. To provide maintenance therapy to those suffering from cystic fibrosis and cerebral palsy. And, yes, she had stepped over the boundary of maintenance therapy with Stella, but if she hadn’t, Stella would have stayed on the outskirts. Hiding from the other children. From life. From having any fun at all.
And her father wanted to send her back into that dark space? Susie’s chin went up the same way Stella’s had. She cleared her throat and was pleased with how firmly she spoke.
‘I said she looked absolutely gorgeous.’
Her defiance was clearly infuriating.
‘She looks,’ Alex hissed, ‘like a tart.’
Stella gasped. ‘That’s a horrible thing to say. How could you?’
Alex closed his eyes for a moment. He took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, his expression had softened. He raised his hand in a gesture of apology. ‘I’m sorry, latria, but you’re thirteen years old and I find you wearing underwear in public and with your face plastered with make-up. What did you expect me to think?’
It wasn’t plastered. The make-up was discreet and enhancing. The result of rather long girly time in Susie’s cabin that afternoon. She opened her mouth to protest but Stella got in first.
‘I wish you hadn’t even come.’ The girl twisted under Susie’s arm, having either not registered or not accepted her father’s attempt at an apology. She was fishing for her crutches.
Should Susie try and hang on to them? Let Stella show her father she could now manage to walk on her prosthesis—something she had refused to even attempt until this week?
No. Stella was far too upset to remember how to keep her balance. To fall over now would only make her humiliation unbearable. Susie helped her fit a crutch to each arm, which took only seconds.
Tears were streaming down Stella’s pale face as she looked up at her father.
‘Go home,’ she shouted. ‘I hate you.’
With that, she turned deftly and manoeuvred herself past Charles, heading towards the end of the jetty.
‘Stella!’ The word was a command.
One that was blatantly ignored. Stella was picking up speed now that she had reached the path. She was running away as fast an anyone could with a pair of elbow crutches and a below-knee amputation. The state-of-the-art prosthesis that looked so wonderfully realistic wasn’t touching the ground. It was back to being what it had been since its procurement. An aesthetic accessory.
Susie rounded on Alex.
‘How could you?’
His face emptied of an expression worn many times by any parent of a teenager. That baffled kind of look that asked how on earth things had got so out of hand. As he focused on Susie, his face became completely neutral. ‘Excuse me?’
‘Your daughter walked nearly fifty metres this morning without using those crutches. She couldn’t even stand without the crutches a week ago and we’ve worked incredibly hard to get this far.’ The words were tumbling out. A release of all the hurt and disappointment she felt on behalf of Stella. ‘That’s exactly what she was doing when you arrived and that’s what you should have noticed. Not the bloody make-up!’ Susie gave an incredulous huff and put all her own fury into the glare she was directing at Alex. ‘How could you?’ she repeated.
There was a long moment of stunned silence. Susie had seen him flinch. She knew her words had found a target. Clearly, he was considering how to deal with such a personal attack.
The pilot had stopped approaching some time back, obviously disconcerted by the sound of angry voices. He was peering at something over the edge of the jetty with studied interest.
Tiny sounds became magnified. The lap of gentle waves breaking on the nearby beach. The cry of exotic birds in the rainforest. A distant shout and then the laughter of children.
The heat was intolerable.
It wasn’t a tropical sun that was burning Susie right now, however. The heat was emanating from the man in front of her. His sheer energy was overpowering. Not simply anger. Anyone could get angry, especially a parent who had been publicly defied and then criticised. No. The power here came from anger underlined with a heady mix of intelligence, position and…and the most potent masculinity Susie Jackson had ever encountered.
She had never met anyone like this in her entire life.
What the hell did she think she was doing?
His voice encapsulated every lightning impression she had just catalogued. It was a low, dangerously calm rumble.
‘Stella is my daughter, Miss Jackson. I have raised her alone since she was three months old.’ A tiny pause for effect. ‘I don’t think I need anybody telling me how I should be doing it.’
Obviously he did, but the defiant response refused to come out. Susie’s mouth was too dry and she felt alarmingly close to tears herself. It was tempting to turn and run, as Stella had done, but she wasn’t going to.
No way!
A purring noise broke this silence and it came from the small, electrically powered vehicle that chose that moment to arrive. Slow moving and environmentally friendly, these island vehicles had two seats and could tow a small trailer for luggage.
‘Ah…my transport.’ Alex turned away, giving Susie the impression that she was a nuisance that had now been dealt with. He sounded slightly less sure of himself when he focused on the new arrival, however.
‘What in God’s name is that?’
‘Garf,’ Charles told him succinctly. ‘The camp mascot.’
As was often the case, empty space in a cart or trailer had been gleefully occupied by the large, woolly dog.
‘But what is he? I’ve never seen anything like it.’
‘Labradoodle. Labrador poodle cross. Hypoallergenic. We had to be careful with pets and avoid anything that could trigger asthma attacks. He’s still on parole as far as close contact with some of the children.’
Garf didn’t know that. He had obviously been waiting for the cart to stop. As soon as it did, he bounced off the seat and loped off in the direction Stella had taken. Susie smiled. Garf had an inbuilt antenna when it came to unhappy children and he was probably the best medicine for Stella right now.
Alex gave a satisfied nod as the dog vanished up the track. ‘I’ll meet you back here in half an hour if that suits,’ he said to Charles. ‘Now, where is Stella’s dormitory?’
Susie opened her mouth and then shut it again as she caught the flicker of Charles’s eyebrow.
‘Let me offer you a nice cold drink,’ he said to Alex. ‘I don’t know about you, but I could do with one.’ He smiled. ‘Don’t forget we’re on island time here. Nobody’s going anywhere and nothing needs to be rushed.’
Diplomatic, Susie conceded. Far more so than she would have been in suggesting that Stella needed some time to herself before seeing her father again.
And Charles was not someone who could be dismissed. He might be in a wheelchair but that did nothing to diminish this man’s presence, and he had the upper hand right now. They were on his patch.
Alex had the grace to concede at least a reprieve. He inclined his head. ‘Wouldn’t say no to a cold beer. I have to admit it’s been rather a long and difficult day already.’
Was that some kind of backhanded apology? Inferring that Susie’s earlier impression might have been valid and his reaction to Stella’s appearance had been the last straw on a stressed camel’s back?
Charles was gracious enough to assume something along those lines. ‘I’ll bet,’ he said sympathetically. ‘Let’s send your luggage off to the resort and we can see what the fridge in my office has to offer.’
‘Lead the way.’
‘We’ll go via the centre if you don’t mind. I need to pop in on Lily.’
‘Lily? Your daughter?’
‘She’s not very well.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that.’
‘Nothing too serious but you know how young children can go down in a heap with a virus. I’m keeping her in the medical centre this afternoon so we can keep a close eye on her.’
The voices of the two men faded as they moved away. The pilot took it as a cue to finish his journey along the jetty.
‘Bloody suit,’ he muttered. ‘Thinks he’s God’s gift, doesn’t he? You OK, Susie?’
‘I’m fine, thanks, Wayne.’
‘Poor kid.’
‘Hmm. I might just go and see where she is.’
‘You do that.’ Wayne hefted the smart black suitcase onto the back of the electric cart and greeted the driver. ‘There’s a couple of dead birds floating under the jetty, mate. Those noisy shearwater things. Someone might need to do something before they wash up on the beach or the kids go swimming or something.’
The driver unhooked a radio from the dashboard. ‘I’ll call it in but I think the rangers are still out with the kids on some forest trek.’
The rainforest buggy ride was actually over, Susie realised as she walked back towards the camp facilities. Already groups of children and their parents or carers were heading to the beach for a late-afternoon swim. She waved at Benita Green, a nurse with a small group of her cancer patients in tow, and then found herself returning the wide grin of little Danny, who was still completely bald from his chemo.
It was hard to stay angry in this environment. Hopefully Stella had found a private spot and the island was working a similar magic on her. Or would she be angry at Susie for orchestrating the confrontation, albeit unwittingly? More likely, she was simply feeling utterly miserable.
Unloved and unlovable.
Where would she have gone?
Not to the dormitory with the others returning and racing in to get their togs and towels. The older ones would be looking forward to the disco this evening and probably discussing it, and that would certainly rub salt into Stella’s wounds.
Would she have gone to the cabin Susie had been allocated because she was staying for the opening ceremony tomorrow and the gala dinner the five-star resort restaurant was hosting later? Stella knew the location because that was where they’d excitedly taken the purchases of new clothes and make-up for the styling session that afternoon. But she also knew that Susie was going to be sharing the cabin with other staff from the base hospital. She would hardly want to explain herself to strangers if they had already arrived.
No. Susie turned off the wide track that led from the beach, one fork going to the camp dormitories, dining hall and activity rooms, the other leading to the newly built eco-cabins in the rainforest. She doubled back towards the beach on a much smaller track, confident she knew one of the best thinking spots around.
Sure enough, hidden between the overturned timber hulls of a couple of ancient dinghies, Stella was sitting. A hunched figure scraping a meaningless pattern in the sand with a piece of driftwood, oblivious to the view of the ocean and small islands that advertised their presence in paradise. Beside her, with big brown eyes peering anxiously beneath golden dreadlocks, sat Garf. Close enough to cuddle but respectfully keeping his distance for now. The dog seemed, in fact, to be enjoying the view Stella was ignoring.
Susie slid down the side of a dinghy to a squat rather than a sitting position, being as careful as Garf not to intrude too forcefully into Stella’s space. She couldn’t assume she was welcome. Maybe it was only on her side that the relationship had become so much more than that of therapist and patient.
‘Hey,’ she said gently. ‘You OK, hon?’
The only answer was a sullen sniff.
Susie picked up a handful of the fine white sand and let it drift through her fingers. ‘Dr Wetherby’s taken your dad off to see the medical centre. He thought you might want a bit of time to yourself.’
‘I do. Go away.’
‘I think your dad’s had a stressful day getting here,’ Susie offered. ‘He got a bit of a shock seeing you all dressed up, that’s all. He’ll get over it.’
‘No, he won’t.’
‘We won’t let him stop you going to the disco.’
‘I don’t want to go.’
She didn’t really expect Susie to believe that, did she? Maybe she didn’t realise that her exchange with fourteen-year-old Jamie had been overheard that morning.
‘You going to the disco?’
‘Dunno. Maybe.’
‘You should. It’ll be choice.’
‘Yeah… OK…’
‘Cool. See you there, then.’
Even if she had been aware of Susie listening, Stella wouldn’t have known that, in the wake of Jamie’s grin, her face had been the picture of every teenage girl in existence who was experiencing her first crush.
And Susie had used that secret as an emotional key to get through the last barrier and get Stella walking properly. The day had snowballed from then on. The hugely successful physio session, the shopping and the make-over. A crescendo of excitement that had just been shredded.
A flash of anger resurfaced.
‘Your dad’s wrong,’ Susie said firmly. ‘He only said that about how you look because he doesn’t realise you’re growing up. It’s not what the other kids will think, believe me.’ Not what Jamie would think, but she couldn’t say that.
Stella hunched into a tighter ball. ‘It doesn’t matter. I don’t care.’
Using the side of the other dinghy as a climbing frame, Stella clambered upright awkwardly. She picked up her crutches without looking at Susie. ‘Who wants to go to a stupid disco anyway?’
The hunched shoulders, resentful tone and total lack of eye contact was achingly familiar.
They were right back to where they’d been at the start of this week.
Back to square one.
Susie watched miserably as Stella moved slowly over the sand.
Something wonderful had been happening in the last few days. Something that had filled a lonely space with magic and created more joy than she had known her career could provide, but that new, hopeful space had just exploded, thanks to a human bomb. Even Garf’s head on her knee wasn’t enough to comfort her.
Susie straightened her legs, giving Garf a quick scratch under his chin as she stood up. She watched as two boys ran onto the beach, past Stella. They weren’t camp kids but Susie had seen them hanging around in the last day or two and she didn’t like the look of them at all.
‘Hey, Zach, look!’ One of them shouted. ‘It’s one of those cripples from the kiddie camp.’
‘Crip-ple!’ His mate taunted loudly. ‘Hop-along! Go back to the forest with all the other freaky frogs!’
Laughing, the teens in their designer board shorts kept loping onto the beach, oblivious to the hurt they might have caused.
Susie’s hands bunched into fists. She started moving, intending to intercept the boys and give them a piece of her mind, but from the corner of her eye she could see another group of young people arriving. These were camp kids and Jamie was leading them.
He must have heard the taunting and Stella would have to know he’d heard it, which would only have made it even more cutting. The tall, lanky body of the teenager, bronzed by so many hours in the surf, was gathering speed. Tousled, blond-streaked hair bounced. Susie could see why he was catching the attention of the girls.
And not just the girls. With a delighted woof and an apologetic glance up at Susie, Garf abandoned her to join the fun.
She watched the way Jamie bent to welcome the dog by ruffling his soft coat. Should she try and enlist the boy’s help in boosting Stella’s self-esteem? Could she do it without making it look contrived? Should she even try? Susie knew the answer to that one but desperation might have tipped the balance if her thoughts had not been interrupted by the ringtone of her mobile.
It was Charles.
‘Could you spare a few minutes to come to my office?’ he asked. ‘Alex would like to talk to you.’
‘I’m not at all sure I would like to talk to him.’ Susie was still watching Jamie. He had caught up with the strange boys and was clearly saying the kind of things Susie had been planning to say. She smiled. Stella knew how to pick them, didn’t she?
‘Susie!’ Charles’s tone had a glint of amusement. Understanding. But it was also a reprimand. Charles wouldn’t have suggested the meeting unless he thought it would benefit the people he cared about.
Like her.
And Stella.
Susie sighed. ‘I’m on my way.’
CHAPTER TWO
‘IT’s the perfect solution.’
‘I agree.’
The latest arrival in the office wasn’t looking quite so convinced.
‘Let me get this straight,’ Susie said slowly, still looking at Charles. ‘You want me to spend the weekend in the penthouse suite at the resort that was reserved for Stella and Mr Vavunis? And Mr Vavunis is going to use my cabin?’
‘Call me Alex.’
He hadn’t noticed how astonishingly blue Stella’s physiotherapist’s eyes were but, then, he hadn’t taken much notice of her physical appearance at the jetty, had he? Or was it because they were now tucked away in the neutral décor of this air-conditioned space in the new medical centre and the competition from the vast blueness of the sky and ocean had been removed?
Whatever. The expression in those eyes was not impressed and she made no acknowledgement of the invitation to use his first name. Dammit! He knew he’d been rude earlier but it could hardly be considered unprovoked and he certainly wasn’t going to jump through hoops in order to call a truce.
‘It’s the closest eco-cabin to the girls’ dormitory,’ Charles said calmly. ‘A compromise that would allow Stella to spend time with her dad but still be close to her mates.’ An eyebrow quirked. ‘It’s also the last available two-bedroomed cabin.’
‘But what about Mike and Emily?’
Alex suppressed a sigh. He had anticipated a delighted acceptance of the plan he and Charles had come up with over their beer. What woman wouldn’t want to exchange a simple hut in a forest for the ultimate in luxury? But no. Miss Jackson was going to be difficult.
Again.
He tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair. ‘Mike and Emily?’ he queried.
‘Mike’s one of our helicopter pilots,’ Charles supplied. ‘Also a paramedic. Emily’s an anaesthetist at our base hospital.’
‘My best friend,’ Susie put in.
‘And?’ Alex couldn’t see the relevance but he couldn’t miss the note in Susie’s voice that spoke of fierce loyalty to the people she called friends. He could approve of that.
‘And they’re coming over for tomorrow’s opening,’ Susie continued. ‘They’re going to be sharing my cabin.’
‘Already sorted,’ Charles told her. ‘Don’t worry.’
Even, white teeth appeared as Susie chewed her bottom lip. ‘But the resort’s right down at the south end of the island. It’s a long way from the kids’ camp.’
‘Precisely,’ Alex said with satisfaction. If Stella was determined to stay at the camp, it would effectively put him on a different planet, wouldn’t it? Perhaps he was already as far as his daughter was concerned. What the hell had happened on this camp so far?
‘It’s not as far as the mainland,’ Charles reminded Susie. ‘And you’ve been trekking back and forth all week. How about I organise a cart for your personal use?’
Susie flashed him a grin. ‘A bicycle would do.’
Alex let out his breath. ‘Thank you very much, Miss Jackson. I appreciate your cooperation.’
The corner of her mouth twitched but it wasn’t a real smile. Not like the one she’d given Charles. It was more like a subtle putdown of his formality.
‘Call me Susie.’
‘I will.’ He could go even further in cementing this new accord. He could offer a new beginning. Alex stood up and extended his hand. ‘Pleased to meet you, Susie.’
She followed suit, standing as she put her hand into his, but the response was tentative. As though this formality was also out of place. Her hand was warm. And soft. The grip was surprisingly firm.
Why was she still not smiling? Blue eyes were regarding him with mistrust. She may be conceding a truce but he wasn’t going to be given the benefit of a completely clean slate. He would have to earn any respect.
Alex Vavunis was not used to being mistrusted.
Quite the opposite, actually. Most women didn’t even wait for an invitation to get closer. They used whatever means they could to attract his attention.
Including, on more than one occasion, his daughter.
It should be refreshing that someone was prepared to antagonise him on Stella’s behalf, but Susie was not the only one capable of mistrust. What was it Charles had said? That Susie and Stella had made a formidable team this week? Alex had yet to gauge the strength of the relationship between this woman and his daughter and, given the unfortunate family spat on his arrival, it might be prudent to avoid any further antagonism until the emotional lie of the land became clearer.
If what Charles had been telling him was true, he owed this woman rather a lot and he was not a man to leave debts unpaid, but he would need to satisfy himself regarding motivation first. To make sure nobody was being used.
The vow may be years old now but nobody was ever going to use Stella like that again.
‘Can I leave it to you to show Alex where the cabin is?’ Charles was saying now. ‘Jill’s wanting to come over to help look after Lily. It’s too late for the usual ferry or seaplane transfers but I said I’d try and sort out some transport.’
The black suitcase had already been whisked away to the resort hotel.
‘I’ll have it sent back,’ Susie told Alex. ‘As soon as I can tear myself away for the champagne and caviar.’
He didn’t smile. He turned away, in fact, to stare at the ocean view as they began their walk towards the cabin. Did he think she was being critical of such an affluent choice of accommodation? Or, worse, that she was being serious?
Maybe the man had no sense of humour.
Not that he really needed one with his looks. Women must fall at his feet in droves, even without the additional attractions of vast wealth and an international reputation as one of the best paediatric neurosurgeons in the southern hemisphere.
Susie gave her head a tiny shake. It wouldn’t be enough for her. A large part of the sheer joy to be found in being alive came through laughter.
On the other hand… Susie stole a quick glance at the man walking alongside her. It was a little too easy to imagine the kind of female response the sight of Alex would generate. She could actually feel an odd frisson of something herself.
Something she hadn’t felt for a very long time.
Good grief!
She was attracted to him?
Susie flicked her hair back with a far more vigorous shake of her head. Not possible. Not when he had made Stella so miserable. And particularly not when she remembered that unpleasant emphasis in calling her Miss Jackson that first time. He’d been so sure she was unmarried, and why was that? Because he’d judged her appearance and personality and decided that nobody would have been interested?
At least he couldn’t possibly know how well the barb had found a target.
The faint bars of a piece of classical music came from nowhere. It wasn’t until Alex stopped that she realised the sound was coming from his pocket.
‘Excuse me for a moment,’ he said, extracting his cellphone. The phone he had said he was going to switch off. ‘I’d better take this,’ he added, after a glance at the tiny screen. ‘It’s my registrar.’
Susie took another pace or two before she stopped, and she didn’t turn around. Her back could be a silent protest that he could still allow priorities other than Stella to claim his attention.
A rapid exchange of medical terminology was easy to ignore but then the tone of the conversation suddenly changed and Susie found herself eavesdropping.
‘Do the parents want to speak to me again?’ A heavy silence as Alex listened. ‘Please, tell them how sorry I am.’
He sounded sorry.
Sincere. And caring.
Susie tried not to let her opinion of this man take a U-turn. Why hadn’t he sounded like that when he’d been speaking to his own daughter?
It was hard to ignore the heavy sigh she heard. Then a silence that seemed to speak volumes. But then Alex cleared his throat and it seemed to be business as usual.
‘Can you give me a quick update on Melanie? I’m going to be unavailable by mobile for a while. What’s the ICP looking like?’
There was another exchange of medical information, a farewell and then Susie heard the phone give a blip that suggested it was, indeed, being switched off.
‘Sorry about that,’ Alex murmured. He moved to catch up with Susie. ‘It’s been a day from hell in the unit.’
‘Has it?’
Susie was only being polite. She didn’t really expect Alex to start talking to her about his professional life. The silence around them was welcome rather than uncomfortable. Then it became too quiet. Where were all the children? All on the beach, perhaps, or rounded up to participate in some pre-dinner activity.
The shade of the patch of forest they were in had also been initially welcome but seemed to become oppressive. It was hot and there was no hint of any sea breeze reaching them now.
Or did the feeling of oppression come from her companion? Susie looked sideways and was startled to catch Alex’s gaze. He was frowning again and Susie felt as if she was under some kind of new evaluation.
‘I operated on a fourteen-year-old boy in the early hours of this morning,’ Alex said abruptly. ‘He and his brother got collected by a drunk teenager who lost control of his car last night. The brother died instantly. We did our best with Sean but we knew by this morning there was no point in continuing life support. There were potential organ recipients in the wings. I was talking to the parents again as I was arriving here. My registrar tells me they’ve just decided to have the ventilator switched off…and they’ve agreed to donate Sean’s organs.’
‘Oh…’ Susie didn’t know what to say. How glib had she been in considering that his day might have been stressful? Nobody could have missed the pain in his voice when he’d relayed his sympathy to the parents of that boy. Alex cared about his patients. A lot. How much of his mind and heart were unavoidably involved elsewhere at present? Beside a bed in an intensive-care unit where a family was gathered to say a final farewell to a child they should not be losing.
For the second time Susie was trapped by her eye contact with Alex. This time—incredibly—it seemed even more powerful. This wasn’t any kind of surface inspection, however. Perhaps he was trying to gauge the effect his words had had. Did Susie understand why he might have been so horrified at the sight of his daughter having been transformed into a teenager in the space of a few days? That these years were enough of a minefield for any parent to contemplate, let alone someone in Alex’s position who got to see the worst of what could happen?
Of course she understood. And she could respect anyone in the medical profession who cared that much about his patients. But Stella was his daughter. His only child. On top of what was almost always a difficult life stage, she was having to deal with things that, fortunately, most teens didn’t have to face. A life- threatening illness. Stella was…special, and if a line in the sand was being drawn, Susie was not about to allow herself to get tugged onto Alex’s side. She didn’t know this man. Maybe he was clever enough to know how to manipulate people around him.
That could also explain why he had gone over the top when confronted by Stella’s apparent misbehaviour.
Susie dampened the warmth that had started to thaw her opinion of Alex. She looked away, helped by the change of scenery as the track veered to the edge of the forest and afforded another spectacular view of the horseshoe-shaped bay to their right.
‘Who’s Melanie?’ she enquired eventually, her curiosity getting the better of her and providing a means to end another awkward silence.
‘Another patient. An only child. She’s ten and she had her surgery this morning. We discovered her brain tumour was inoperable. Unless we can shrink it with chemo, it’ll be a very short space of time before it invades her brain stem. She’s not doing as well as I’d like post-op, either.’
The first of the eco-cabins came into view on their left. On short stilts to protect their inhabitants from some of the wildlife and made from well-weathered timber that blended into the surrounding rainforest, they looked like dolls’ houses. Small and inviting. A fantasy that was a world away from the grim reality Alex had been relating.
Two of the cabins looked half-derelict, with their windows unglazed and no netting around the verandas, but the third was clearly inhabited. A red-and-white canvas chair stood beside a table made from half a barrel. An old couch with brightly coloured cushions dominated the rest of the space, and the barrel top and veranda railing were decorated with shells and driftwood. A windsong made a tiny sound in appreciation of the puff of sea breeze reaching them again.
Alex stopped, turning slowly to take in the view of the sea and then to take another look at the cabin.
‘How lovely!’ he exclaimed. ‘It looks as if it’s been here for ever.’
‘That’s Beth’s cabin,’ Susie told him. ‘She’s the permanent doctor for the medical centre now and she fell in love with that cabin. It’s the only one of the original cabins that was left intact enough to use after Willie. The others are just shells and we use them for the messy activities like pottery. See?’ She pointed at another veranda which was covered with lumpy-looking, as yet unglazed bowls made from coils of clay.
‘The cabin you’ll be using is brand-new,’ she continued. ‘But they’ve been careful to use the same kind of materials.’ She smiled at Alex, a concession that their relationship might be on a better footing now, thanks to his communication. ‘The mosquito netting will probably work a lot better, as well.’
‘I hadn’t thought about mosquitoes.’ Alex sounded irritated. Did he really expect to keep on top of what was happening so far away in Sydney and still be aware of every potential issue in this environment? ‘How much of a problem are they?’
‘Generally well controlled,’ Susie responded. ‘And you’ll find eco-friendly insect repellent in the cabin.’
‘What about mosquito-borne disease? Like Dengue fever and Ross River virus?’
‘There hasn’t been a case of anything nasty for years.’
‘Complacency is never a good safety net.’ Alex increased the length of his stride. ‘Another good reason to make sure Stella keeps herself well covered.’
He was forging ahead of her now so he couldn’t see the way Susie shook her head. Or hear her resigned sigh.
Much to Alex’s relief, Stella was in the cabin Susie led him to.
He could hear the sound of her voice as they stepped up onto the veranda, part of his brain registering the fact that this was going to be a much nicer place to stay than a penthouse hotel suite. The netting overhead and around the sides of the veranda was so fine it was virtually invisible, and the surrounding trees were so close that sitting out here would be like sitting in the middle of the forest.
The larger part of his brain, however, was hearing the sound of his daughter’s laughter and feeling the tension of his arrival and everything he’d left behind in Sydney fading.
When had he last heard her laugh like that? So long ago, it had probably been before her cancer had been diagnosed, and that was just over two years now. Was this part of what had been happening on this camp? If so, the donation he’d made to kick-start the rebuilding process had just paid for itself tenfold. And the staff needed to know how appreciative he was.
Alex turned his head, intending to catch Susie’s gaze and say something to that effect, but she was moving ahead to enter the main room of the cabin through the open ranch sliders that led to the veranda. She had a huge smile on her face.
‘Mike! Em! What are you guys doing here?’
‘We were looking for you,’ a feminine voice responded.
Alex stepped into a spacious, open-plan living area to see Susie hugging another blonde woman. His gaze flicked past the man beside them, who was grinning cheerfully to where Stella was sitting on a cane couch. Her smile was fading rapidly as she watched her father’s entrance and she looked disturbingly—and inexplicably—nervous. Then her gaze shifted and Alex understood.
He glared at the boy standing at the other end of Stella’s couch. Trying to look nonchalant, with a towel slung casually over one shoulder that did nothing to cover his bare chest or disguise the way his damp board shorts clung to his hips.
‘G’day,’ the boy said. ‘You must be Star’s dad.’
‘What? Who?’
Susie broke away from the hug. ‘This is Alex,’ she said to the group in general. ‘Stella’s father. Alex, this is Mike and Emily, whom you’ve heard about already.’
‘Hiya!’ Mike extended his hand. ‘Pleased to meet you, Alex.’
Emily had a sweet smile and was nodding agreement. Susie was beaming at the boy.
‘Hey, Jamie! Did you have a good swim?’
‘It was awesome.’
Alex pulled his hand free of Mike’s grip and stopped smiling at Emily. He frowned at the boy again. ‘What was it you called my daughter?’
Jamie went red. He started to say something but his voice cracked and he went crimson. Stella glared at her father but Mike was still grinning.
‘Star,’ he supplied. ‘It’s what Stella means in Greek.’
‘Yes,’ Alex said dryly. ‘I was aware of that.’
‘I wasn’t,’ Stella said. ‘You never told me.’
‘Mike’s Greek, too,’ Susie said hurriedly, clearly trying to avert another father-daughter confrontation. Did she really think that he and Stella did nothing but fight?
‘Mike Poulos,’ Mike added helpfully. ‘My parents run the best Greek restaurant you’ll find in North Australia. The Athina. Just over the way in Crocodile Creek.’
‘Spitting distance,’ Emily said. She exchanged a glance with Mike and they both gave the kind of smile that indicated a private joke.
One that excluded Alex. The ceiling fan didn’t seem to be doing much in the way of air-conditioning. He put down his briefcase, dropped his jacket over the back of a cane chair that matched the couch, rolled up his shirtsleeves and gave up any pretence of feeling social.
He wanted a shower. A chance to change his clothes and spend some time with his daughter. Instead, his accommodation was crowded by strangers who seemed to find Greek superstitions a joke, his daughter was still wearing that scanty clothing, and she was currently being ogled by a prime example of testosterone on legs. It was infuriating.
Worse, having caught Susie’s glance, it appeared that she knew exactly how he was feeling and—in her opinion—his discomfort was well deserved.
Then he saw the way she caught her bottom lip between her teeth. It may only have been the second time he’d seen her do that, but he knew a decision of some kind had just been made.
‘Hey,’ Susie said to her friends. ‘You did know you’re not staying here anymore, didn’t you?’
Emily nodded. ‘That’s why we came to find you, to make sure you’d had a chance to talk to Charles.’
‘Your dad’s having the cabin,’ Susie explained to Stella. ‘We’re moving to the hotel. There’s two bedrooms here so you can stay, too.’ She smiled encouragingly. ‘It’s really close to the dormitory and I’ll bet the bed’s a lot more comfortable.’
Stella looked mutinous and Jamie edged towards the door. ‘I’d better go,’ he said. ‘See you at the disco, Stel—’ He grinned. ‘I mean, Star.’
Alex groaned inwardly. The new nickname made his daughter sound like something from a Hollywood gossip column, but it wasn’t worth a battle. Not when Stella was staring at him, clearly expecting one.
‘Am I allowed to go to the disco, Dad?’
It was a challenge. It was also an easy way to defuse any tension between them. It wasn’t the disco that Alex had a problem with, was it?
‘Of course,’ he said.
Stella looked surprised. Pleased but wary. ‘And I can wear my new clothes?’
‘But I’ll have to find another top!’ Emily groaned in mock despair. ‘We can’t be there looking like twins.’
‘Why not?’ Susie was also staring at Alex and her gaze was just as challenging as Stella’s had been. ‘It’s a gorgeous top.’
‘I reckon.’ Mike nodded. ‘What do you think, Jamie?’
But Jamie just grinned again and disappeared with a wave.
Alex was now the focus of everybody’s attention. They were confidently expecting his agreement—even Susie and Stella, who had to know how it would be contradicting his principles. He sighed.
‘Maybe,’ he said. ‘I’ll have to think about it.’
It was too hot to be making decisions that could have unpleasant personal ramifications. He needed a shower. And another beer. And some peace.
‘I’ll get my stuff,’ Susie said into the silence. ‘Why don’t we head over to the resort and give these guys some time to themselves?’
‘Thanks.’ Alex tilted his head towards his briefcase. ‘I’ve got a speech to get written before the opening ceremony tomorrow.’
‘Maybe you could get it done while Stella’s at the disco tonight.’
She wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to tell him how to handle his daughter, was she? Did she really expect him to stay in the cabin and let Stella wander around in her underwear? Dancing with boys?
Except that she couldn’t dance, could she?
Alex moved to go and sit down beside his daughter, the sudden tightness in his throat making it difficult to smile.
He barely noticed the others leaving the cabin.
The camp disco was aimed at the older children and wasn’t due to start until 8:00 p.m. when it would be dark enough for the light show to be appreciated on the beach. One of the rangers, Ben, was an amateur disk jockey. He had his own sound and light system and, like many of the staff on the island, was only too happy to use his skills to provide something the kids would enjoy.
There were plenty of adults who were also looking forward to a spot of dancing, including Susie, Emily and Mike, but their bicycle ride back to the north end of Wallaby Island that evening was interrupted by first Mike’s and then Susie’s mobile phones ringing.
Mike finished his call first and was talking to Emily as Susie flipped her phone shut. Emily was frowning.
‘Charles wants you to fly back to Crocodile Creek? At this time of night? Just to pick up Jill?’
‘There’s no other way she can get here before tomorrow morning. Lily’s sick.’
‘How sick?’ Emily asked with concern.
‘I heard Charles say it was just a cold this afternoon,’ Susie put in. ‘It can’t be too serious.’
‘Doesn’t sound as if Charles thinks it’s too serious,’ Mike agreed, ‘but apparently he couldn’t persuade Jill about that. I think he thinks Jill’s overreacting, but it sounds as though Beth’s on his case now—telling him that any kid who’s feeling miserable needs her mother.’
‘Oh…’ Emily nodded. ‘He’s got a point. And we do owe Charles.’
‘Do we?’
‘Of course we do.’ Emily gave her husband a shove. ‘It was thanks to him that we sorted ourselves out, if you remember. Come to think of it, that involved a helicopter ride, as well. To Wallaby Island, no less.’ She grinned. ‘Just think of yourself as Charles Wetherby’s personal pilot. I can dance without you.’ The grin got turned in Susie’s direction. ‘I’ve got my best friend to dance with.’
‘I’m afraid not,’ Susie said apologetically. ‘Not for a while, anyway. My call was from Miranda Carlisle. You met her the other night, didn’t you? She’s a respiratory physician and the coordinator of the camp kids. She’s worried about one of the boys with cystic fibrosis who’s picked up this bug that’s going around. I’ll have to drop into the medical centre and see if he needs help with some extra physio to clear his chest. I’ll try and get there before the dancing finishes.’
‘Me, too,’ Mike promised.
Emily shrugged philosophically. ‘No problem. You guys go and do what you need to do.’
Surprisingly, for this time on a Friday evening, the new medical facilities on Wallaby Island were humming.
There seemed to be people everywhere and the distinctive shape of Charles’s wheelchair was at the centre of a knot blocking a wide hallway Susie needed to use to reach the inpatient rooms.
Even though it was obvious they were trying to have a private discussion, the high-pitched voice of Lauren Allandale’s mother, Kirsty, was also familiar. Lauren was another of the camp children who suffered from cystic fibrosis. The pretty, fragile-looking teenager had been in here only yesterday, having a nasty gash on her chin sutured, but that didn’t seem to be what was upsetting Kirsty at the moment.
‘We’ve got to evacuate her, Dr Wetherby,’ she was saying urgently, still trying to keep her voice down. ‘For God’s sake, she’s on the waiting list for a lung transplant. Any kind of chest infection could be…could be…’ The woman turned, allowing her husband to wrap his arms around her, burying her face in his shoulder to cry silently.
Rick Allandale may not be as overprotective as Lauren’s mother but his determination to look after his family was obvious in the stare he was directing at Charles.
‘She’s not showing any signs of infection,’ Charles said.
Kirsty’s face appeared again. ‘She almost collapsed! Her hands went all numb!’
‘Hyperventilation.’ The calm voice came from Miranda, the respiratory physician standing beside Charles. ‘She’s feeling absolutely fine again now. I suspect it was simply due to the excitement of getting ready for the disco.’
‘She can’t possibly go to that disco,’ Kirsty declared. ‘All those children together when there’s a flu bug going around.’
Judging by the way a nearby door swung open at that point, the subject of the conversation had been eavesdropping. Susie could only hope she hadn’t heard the entire exchange but Lauren certainly looked less than happy.
‘I’m going to the disco,’ she announced. ‘You can’t stop me.’
Lauren was the same age as Stella but so far the only thing the two girls had in common was a crush on Jamie. Rebellion against parental edicts could now be added, Susie thought with a wry smile. Maybe the girls would end up being friends after all.
‘Susie!’ Miranda had spotted her arrival. ‘You helped Lauren with her airway clearance this morning. What did you think of her condition?’
‘No change from yesterday,’ Susie responded. She smiled at Lauren. ‘I think her technique’s improved this week, as well. She’s been trying hard.’
‘DrWetherby?’ A large woman, wearing an impressive selection of gold jewellery, came from behind Susie. ‘Please, could you come and see Eddie again? He’s been sick and he says the pain in his chest is getting worse.’
The wheelchair swivelled. ‘Is Dr Stuart with him?’
‘She did tests. The electric whatever it was.’
‘Electrocardiogram?’
‘Yes. And she took a lot of blood. I think she’s gone somewhere with all the test tubes.’
Charles was moving towards Susie. He paused for just a moment as he left the Allandales. ‘It’s your call,’ he told Miranda. ‘We’ve certainly got the space to keep Lauren in the centre overnight and I’m sure a flight out could be arranged tomorrow if necessary.’
‘No!’ Lauren’s face crumpled. ‘You can’t make me go home. I want to stay here.’
‘It’s too dangerous, darling,’ her mother pleaded. ‘There’s all these bugs!’
‘I don’t care! I’ve never been to a disco. Please, Mummy! What if…?’ Lauren’s eyes widened theatrically. ‘What if it’s the only chance I ever get?’
‘Oh, darling… Don’t say that!’ Kirsty’s arms went round her daughter.
Miranda closed her eyes for a second.
‘Where’s Jack?’ Susie asked her. ‘If I get his therapy done, I can go to the disco myself and keep an eye on Lauren.’
‘Room 4,’ Miranda responded quietly. ‘I’ll join you as soon as we’re sorted here.’ She raised her voice slightly. ‘I’ve got Jack started on a hefty antibiotic regime but his chest isn’t sounding great.’
Rick was frowning. ‘You know, they say the worst place to pick up bugs is in a hospital. Fresh air on the beach might not be such a bad idea.’
‘Is it?’ Kirsty looked fearfully over her shoulder, as though someone was about to pop out of a room and infect them all.
‘I’d better go and see Jack,’ Susie told them. ‘He really is sick.’
That seemed to settle it for the Allandales. ‘Let’s go,’ Kirsty suggested hurriedly. ‘We’ll talk about the disco when we’re outside.’
Jack Havens was twelve and quite independent. He had happily come to camp without any family support and usually managed his own airway clearance techniques by himself, but right now he was feeling rotten.
‘My head hurts,’ he told Susie. ‘And I feel all hot and everything aches.’
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