But he was waiting for her to put her hand in his. He was smiling down at her, laughing with his eyes, and there was no choice at all.
He tugged her to her feet and he kissed her. The kiss deepened and it didn't matter at all that they were standing on the bridge and anyone on shore could see them. It didn't matter at all that she was kissing him back, taking as well as giving, feeling that her world was righting itself somehow, that miracles could happen, that a happy ending wasn't just for fairy-tales.
It didn't matter at all that her ice cream slipped sideways and then fell, a mound of blueberry ice cream dropping to sit by the chocolate on the riverbed, and her cone disintegrating to make a thousand minnows below them delirious with delight.
Second time around and maybe it was the right time. Maybe.. .just maybe...
CHAPTER TEN
He had to figure it out.
Effie was coming on Friday. Doris was adamant about her three day rule and there was nowhere else to stay on the island. So he had to get it sorted before she came.
Susie was trapped. He had to get her untrapped. But to take her off the island...
He couldn't do it. Neither did he want to. He spent each evening with Joel and Robbie, and the little boys crept into his heart with almost ludicrous ease. Sure, they were family. Their resemblance to him was uncanny. But it wasn't just that.
He'd never had much to do with children. He had no extended family—cousins, nieces, nephews. His specialty was adult orthopaedics so even in his work he seldom met kids.
He and Marilyn had discussed—in theory—the possibility of a family, but to Marilyn it had been a remote possibility, something that might happen if there was a chance she could take a few months off from her career. Sam had always thought he didn't much care either way.
But now...these little boys had blasted into his life with energy and enthusiasm and a joy that blew him out of his indifference.
The night after he'd kissed Susie on the bridge he was reading them a bedtime story while Susie folded washing— yeah, corny and domestic, but for someone with his background it was more joyous than being given a free feed in a Michelin-rated restaurant. Joel was bouncing and bubbly, but Robbie was quiet.
'Is something wrong?' he asked gently as he tucked the little boy in, tod Robbie looked up at Sam and sniffed. Manfully. Trying not to cry.
'My volcano won't spurt,' he confessed.
On closer investigation it seemed the boys were involved in science projects for school. Joel was making a marble race— exciting and successful. Robbie had made a plaster-of-Paris volcano, and he thought he'd be able to tuck a box of matches inside, drop a lighted match and watch it spurt.
It hadn't worked, and where Joel would have told the world his problems, Robbie was silently despondent. His despair and his silence hit a nerve within Sam, echoing his own childhood.
So two a.m. saw him sitting up in Doris's attic, playing with matches. The next night—after extensive reading, a bit of blind luck and a practice in Doris's kitchen—their nightly beach cricket match was replaced by lava-creating. While Susie and Joel watched, entranced, he and Robbie lined Robbie's scooped-out crater with plastic, then filled it with warm water thickened with flour and a generous dollop of red food colouring. When it came time for the volcano to erupt, he helped Robbie mix a little water with bicarbonate of soda. Robbie inserted it via a medical syringe—filched from a bemused Susie's medical bag—and then gave the volcano a gentle shake.
The result was truly spectacular. Robbie whooped with joy, Susie and Joel and Brenda cheered, and Sam thought it felt great to make this tiny family happy.
More. It made him happy. Even the scary Brenda was getting under his skin, demanding her own turn at lava-making. And Susie was glowing.
He loved Susie glowing. He just loved Susie. And he loved the kids. Dammit, any minute now he'd decide he loved Brenda. He had it bad.
He wouldn't leave them. More and more he realised that he couldn't. And to ask them to leave the island was equally impossible.
On Wednesday he asked Nick to take him across to the mainland.
'Getting claustrophobic on the island?' Nick teased as they made the crossing. Donna's husband was a big, silent fisherman who was starting to seem a friend. Hell, Sam thought as he stood by the wheel of Nick's boat and headed across the river. The whole island was starting to seem like friends.
'I can't see myself bandaging Dottie's toes for the rest of my life, if that's what you mean,' he told Nick, half joking, but Nick didn't smile in response.
'That's what our Susie does.'
'I know.'
'She's never had a chance to do much else.'
'Do you seriously think she'd leave?' Sam asked, and Nick thought about it and shook his head.
'Nah. She's got too much conscience. But Donna says she's going to break her heart over you.'
'She's not,' Sam said shortly, and that was that until they reached the jetty on the mainland. Sam had pre-ordered a taxi, and the driver was already waiting for him.
'Donna knows Susie real well,' Nick said as he held the boat steady while Sam climbed off. He sounded unhappy. 'Sam, you're a mate, but to mess with her...'
'I'm not.'
'Maybe you already have,' Nick said bluntly. 'So what're you doing today?'
'I'm buying some clothes for a start,' Sam said. 'I need to sort out the insurance on the car. And a few other things.'
'You mean fixing flights out of here?'
'I'm not sure,' Sam said. 'Maybe not yet.'
'Doris only has you booked until next Monday.'
'Yeah,' Sam said. 'So I have to work fast.'
One day without Sam and her world was empty. He'd said he had things to do on the mainland and of course he did. He didn't have clothes, a car, his paperwork, everything had sunk with the bridge, and of course he'd have to get it sorted. But his little clinic was closed and it wasn't just Susie who missed him.
'I had a toe check-up this morning,' Dottie told her, incensed that she'd left her chooks and come into town for nothing.
'I can check your toe.'
'You're not the same as Dr Sam.'
'I'm better than nothing,' Susie said, trying to sound positive, but Dottie shook her head.
'No, dear, you're not, and maybe that's what the problem is. Maybe the government doesn't think they have to provide a doctor because you're here.'
'You're thinking if I leave they might send a doctor?' Susie asked, bemused.
'Sam likes it here,' Dottie said. 'Only last night I was telling him the best spot to fish for mulloway. They don't run for another couple of months and I told him that, but he still wanted to know where to fish for them. So I reckon he might stay.'
'If I left.'
'Doris says he's sweet on you,' Dottie said. 'But you've got the littlies and he's a single man who could have anyone. What we need is for him to meet a nice young local girl with no ties. Then you could go back to the city.'
'He's gone to the mainland today,' Susie said shortly, trying not to sound grumpy—but not succeeding. A sense of humour could only go so far.
'Well, he'll have to go into the police station—the police said they wanted him to file a report. Bethany's the receptionist there and she's a taking little thing.'
'So he'll bring back a bride tonight and I can leave tomorrow.'
'Now you've taken offence,' Dottie said, not perturbed in the least. 'It's not that we don't appreciate you, dear, we do— very much. It's just. ,.Dr Sam's really special. And I say things as I see them.'
'Sit down and let me take off your bandage,' Susie said shortly. 'He might be special but until he comes home bearing a bride, you're stuck with me.'
Sam didn't return that night. He texted her on his cellphone. 'There's official stuff I have to cope with. I need to take a quick trip to Melbourne.'
She shouldn't be disappointed.
She was.
Beach cricket wasn't the same. Robbie and Joel had got their marks for their sci
ence projects and Robbie had topped the class. Even Joel was happy for him, and they both wanted to tell Sam.
They could ring him, Susie thought, but then...but then...
She didn't ring. She put the twins to bed early and then caught up on a mound of medical paperwork that had built up because every night since he'd been there she'd spent with Sam.
She went to bed that night and stared at the ceiling, aching for Sam.
'Which is just dumb. I haven't even slept with him.'
'He hasn't even asked you to sleep with him.'
'That's good. He's not Grant.'
The conversation with herself was getting her nowhere. She got up and walked out onto the veranda to stare across at the distant mainland.
Where was he?
He could walk away now and never come back, she thought. He was a free agent. She might never see him again.
The thought was dreadful.
'Grant left me,' she told the sea.
'Grant promised you the world and then left you. Sam's promised you nothing.'
Strangely, that made her feel better. She sat on the swing for a while and things settled. Sam's smile was still with her. His gentle chuckle. The way he played with the boys, respectful of their needs, treating them as equals, sensing intuitively the boundaries he shouldn't cross.
'He's wonderful,' she whispered into the night.
'Yeah, and you're a moron,' she answered herself. 'You're sitting out here when you ought to be asleep. If you're going to stay awake then go do some more medico-legal stuff for the repat people. And stop thinking about Sam.'
As if.
She went back to her desk to work.
Sam stayed with her every word she wrote.
His last stop before leaving Melbourne was at a jeweller's. Not just any jeweller's, but one Carly Hammond recommended.
In the burns unit at South General, Pete was recovering well, but his wife was hardly leaving his side. Sam looked at Carly's rings and realised she was the lady to ask.
'Hell, we owe you so much. Can we buy something for you?' Pete asked, but Sam shook his head.
'Thanks, but, no, thanks,' he said. 'This is one purchase a man should make on his own.'
'Oh,' Carly said, and her eyes misted over. 'To Susan?'
She'd heard all about the rescue by now and her gratitude was endless.
'If she'll have me,' he said simply.
'She must,' Pete said, holding Carly's hand and tugging her close. 'A loving marriage.. .there's nothing in the world better than that. Even dumb boats..! bought that thing and thought I was the king of the world until I underestimated its acceleration and nearly killed myself. Now it's a heap of charred metal and I couldn't care less. Carly here is what's important. So you go to it, boy, but let us know where and let us know when. I'm going to be off crutches at your wedding if it kills me.'
So all he had to do was ask her.
Effie would be here in the morning: He should stay on the mainland for another night and wait for her but, hell, some questions just had to be asked right now.
Nick was picking him up at the wharf. Then there'd be four more hours until the twins went to bed, and even then there might be medical emergencies.
'The advice will be two aspirins and a good lie-down for anything from cholera to snakebite on the island tonight,' he told himself. 'Tonight just might...happen.'
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Proposing to Marilyn had been simple. He'd been able to organise rosters so they were both solidly off call. Then he'd contacted one of the country's best restaurants and organised a private booth. It had been easy, even if it hadn't felt absolutely right.
But that had been Marilyn. This was Susie. This proposal— or intended proposal—did feel absolutely right, but the ring was burning a hole in his pocket, and private booths were hard to find.
When they tied up at the wharf Susie was waiting for him and her mind wasn't on romance.
'I'm glad you're back. Elsie Barr's got a really bad stomach upset,' she told him. 'I'm worried that it might be appendicitis. Nick, can you not tie up for the night until we're sure? We might have to get you to take her back to the mainland. Sam, can you come and see?'
It was indeed appendicitis. Elsie was relatively young for the island—mid-sixties—but she looked older. She was pale and sweaty, her pulse was racing, and when Sam probed her tummy and then released the pressure she moaned.
'Rebound,' he said softly to Susie, and she nodded.
'That's what I thought. I wanted Nick to take her over to the mainland when he went to get you but she wouldn't go.'
'I don't want to go,' Elsie said helplessly. 'Who'll take care of my cats?'
'My boys and I will,' Susie said, with no hesitation. 'Elsie, you need to have that appendix out.'
'I can't,' she said, tearful. 'Susie, I won't.'
'There's nothing to be frightened of, Mrs Barr,' Sam said, taking her hand. 'We just need to cut a tiny slit into your tummy while you're under anaesthetic, take out your appendix, mop up what's left, give you a bit of antibiotic and then bring you home again.'
'We?' Elsie said, suspicious.
'I mean, the doctors on the mainland.'
'You said we,' Elsie said.
'Of course he said we,' Susie said from behind him. 'This is Sam, island doctor, at least till his aunty comes to take him home. There you go, Sam. You and Elsie pop across to the mainland and bring her appendix home in a jar.'
'A jar,' Sam said faintly, and she grinned.
'I knew you'd agree. I'll just tell Nick you're coming and find you a nice clean jam jar.'
So with the ring still in his pocket he went back to the mainland. The ambulance met them at the dock, but Elsie clung on and Sam just knew Susie would expect him to stay until the operation was over. So stay he did.
'But don't you dare go back without me,' he told Nick.
'How long do appendicectomies take?' Nick demanded, startled.
'Seconds,' Sam lied. 'We'll pop Elsie to sleep and next thing you know Elsie's appendix and I will be back here, waiting to return.'
With the box in my pocket, he thought.
* * *
It was eight o'clock. With Nick and Sam both away on medical business it seemed a good excuse for Donna and Susie and the kids to have dinner together. Susie and Donna were now supervising a game of Scrabble in Mrs Barr's living room. Kids and cats were everywhere, but the kids were starting to tire.
'They should be back any minute now,' Susie said cheerfully, emerging from the kitchen with cocoa for all. 'I just rang the hospital. It seems the anaesthetist's home in bed with flu so the surgeon asked Sam to gas for him. Joe, the surgeon, seems to think Sam's anaesthetist credentials are OK.' She flushed faintly and then grinned and added, 'As well as everything else about him.'
Why had she said that? It had come from nowhere and the kids' chatter died, giving the words emphasis. As Donna's eyebrows hiked, she went on hurriedly, 'The operation went fine.' She put down the cocoa tray a bit too hard and concentrated on mopping up splashes. 'Nick and Sam are on their way home. But there's no need for you to stay. The kids and I are fine here. We brought our sleeping bags. Nick can drop Sam at Doris's on the way back to your place.'
'If they're on their way, I may as well wait,' Donna said diffidently, her eyebrows remaining hiked. 'Nick texted me to say he's coming via here.'
'Why?'
'He seems to think Sam wants to see you tonight.'
'Sam can see me in the morning.'
'Nick says he needs to see you tonight.'
'Has he said he does?'
'I don't know. But Nick thinks he does, so Nick needs to bring him here, though why you're babysitting six cats...'
'Come on, Donna, what choice do I have?'
'Lots of choices,' Donna said obliquely. 'Lots and lots. According to my Nick, and he's a fisherman.'
'What's that got to do with—'
'Nick can track changes in the wind,' Donna said wisely,
and then grinned and stood up, setting her cocoa aside and lifting the baby. A car was pulling into the driveway. 'Thanks for the cocoa, sweetie, but we'll pass. OK, guys, here's Daddy. We'll go home with him, and Dr Sam can use my car until morning 'cos it'd never do to have him stuck here with only two seven-year-olds and six cats as chaperons.' She kissed Susie lightly on the nose and headed for the door. 'Lots of choices, sweetie,' she said. 'You remember that.'
'Tell me again why you're doing this?' Sam asked.
Cocoa hadn't cut it in the hunger stakes. Susie had whipped him up an omelette while Sam had tucked the twins into their sleeping bags in Elsie's spare room. He'd had to boot two cats off one bed and four off the other, but he was pretty much sure that the moment he got downstairs the cats would be right back in.
'I told Elsie I would. She'll fret about her cats all the time she's away if I don't. And the boys are used to babysitting people's houses. Sometimes it's even a relief to get away from Brenda's television. Not that Brenda isn't great, but...'
'What happened to Brenda?' he asked. Brenda's IQ was that of about a nine-year-old, he thought. Functionally she was great but there was definitely mental impairment.
'She wandered into the surf when she was two,' Susie said. 'She was resuscitated—it was a major miracle that they saved her life—but she's always had problems.'
'So you'll look after her for ever?'
'Of course I will.'
'You're responsible for everyone.'
'Nope,' she said.
'No? How long have you had off the island?'
'Almost six years,' she said. 'While I trained.'
'Tell me you didn't come home every weekend during your training.'
'I came home every weekend during my training,' she agreed. 'But then I went to London.'
'Which was a disaster.'
'My twins are not a disaster.'
'No,' he said. 'But your only time away from here made you even more tied to the place.'
'I like it here.'
'You'd never move?'
'No.'
'Because you like it, or because you feel responsible?'
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