A floppy straw hat and sunglasses hid my gaze. Cal’s revelation had surprised me, because I’d have guessed him to be a serial heartbreaker, the sort of man I’d avoid. Looks were deceptive. In a holiday venue like this I’d imagined him free and easy with his favors. Just goes to show, you can’t tell a book by its cover. And what an enticing cover.
On our second day he wore boardshorts and a bright blue rashi shirt. Blue suited him. Yesterday, his bare-chested surfing demonstration displayed toned muscles with a smattering of chest hair. Good looks, great body and sexy deep voice. No wonder women swooned over him. And there were plenty of them out to catch his eye again this morning.
‘I wonder how much work it’d take to get a body like that.’ Eddie mused as we strolled hand in hand to buy lunch from a kiosk.
‘I bet he’s not a gym junkie,’ I mused, ‘just really fit from teaching water sports.’
‘Maybe, but if I wanted a body anything like his, I’d have to go to a gym,’ he said, pausing for another glance back at Cal. ‘We don’t live anywhere near the sea.’
Cal taught windsurfing and parasailing in the afternoons.
‘Do you want to give either of them a go?’ I asked. ‘I did windsurfing in my teens. It’s hard work, but loads of fun.’
‘You did?’
He looked skeptical.
‘Sure. And lots of sailing. Mostly on lakes.’ I looked out at the surf. ‘It’d be a challenge out there.
‘You never told me that.’ He watched the newbies trying out windsurfing. ‘Nah, not today, anyway. Let’s go back and relax.’ He waggled his eyebrows. ‘I’ve got other things on my mind.’
I grinned. ‘Chop-chop.’
Back in our room I forgot Cal as Eddie swept me into his arms, lowered me onto the bed, freeing me from my scant clothing.
‘You taste of salt and sunshine,’ he said, between lingering kisses, lowering his head to continue exploring, his hand sliding down between my legs, feeling my readiness. I groaned, arching into his fingers, pulling down his boardshorts, breath coming faster, urging him into me, both of us gasping in familiar pleasure.
✽ ✽ ✽
After we’d showered and dressed we sat, cocktails in hands, chatting about our day.
‘What would you think about upping sticks and moving here to do that sort of stuff?’ Eddie asked, eyes focused on his glass, slowly turning it in his hands, flicking a quick look at me.
‘What? You’re joking, aren’t you?’ I laughed, eyes incredulous.
‘No, well, I’m just saying. But it’d be fun, wouldn’t it?’ His mouth turned down, face sullen, disappointed by my response.
‘Eddie Gallagher, we’re ordinary people with ordinary jobs. You’re an accountant, for Pete’s sake! I’m a nurse. What would we do here? You’ve had three days of lessons and now you want to teach water sports!’ I shook my head, softening at his dejected face.
I laid a consoling hand on his arm. I’d wounded him, he didn’t respond well to disappointment.
‘Sorry, Eddie. I love it here, too, but we’re only here on holiday. I know everyone’s real friendly, but it’d be different if we lived here. Just think of the first hurdle, I bet you have to get a green card to work in this part of America. I bet we couldn’t even afford a single room to rent. Eddie, we’re seeing the upbeat touristy stuff here, but I’m sure if we looked harder we’d see people living lives, just like us, struggling to meet financial commitments and it wouldn’t seem like a holiday if we were barely surviving just to make ends meet, now would it?’
His body untensed and he turned to face me, forcing a smile. ‘Sorry, you’re right, I know. I just feel like I’d like to break out of our humdrum daily lives and do something more exotic. Don’t you ever feel like that?’
‘Yeah, maybe,’ I said, without really meaning it. ‘But I’m not ready for more than being married to you just yet. That’s nice and shiny and new. Maybe when we’re bored with each other,’ I said with a grin, ‘Maybe that’s when we could consider a change.’
‘You boring? Never!’ Smirking, he picked me up and carried me back through to our bedroom.
We didn’t eat dinner that night. But I’d remember this conversation.
The next day’s surfing lesson was late afternoon, with Eddie progressing fast. I watched from the beach, wrapped in a sarong. With no other students, Cal sat with me.
‘Don’t need to teach him too much,’ Cal said, with a smile. ‘He’s a quick study. He’s catching those smaller waves with no trouble. Bit different for the big waves over at Maui.’
‘Oh?’
‘Yeah, the pros ride those monsters. Worth a look if you’re ever here at the right time of year.’
‘Which is when?’
‘Mostly winter. The waves here, Australia, South Africa and California are a clarion call for the big wave riders. Some of the best surfing happens when you’re towed out by jet-ski, catching the wave as it peaks and ride it as long as you can.’
His eyes were faraway and dreamy.
‘You’ve done this?’
He nodded.
‘How big are the waves?’
‘Anything between thirty and fifty feet.’ He half-smiled as my mouth dropped open. ‘Or up to a hundred feet at Nazare, off Portugal.’
‘Do you have a death wish?’ I shuddered, horrified at the idea of that much water.
‘Not anymore.’ He turned to me, shadows in his eyes. ‘Not after my last crash and burn at Waimea a few months back. Now I’m strictly safe and sedate. I broke a few ribs and learned that life is worth living after all. Nearly drowning and realizing you don’t want to die can change you, believe me.’
‘And therein lies a tale I bet you don’t tell,’ I said.
‘Not worth telling.’
Sensing his need for privacy, I tried a different tack.
‘What’s Cal short for? If you don’t mind me asking.’
‘That’s okay. It’s short for Caleb. I don’t mind my name, but no-one ever uses it, except for my father.’
‘I like it.’ I studied him for a few moments. ‘It suits you, it’s a nice, strong name. But Cal’s better than my nickname growing up.’ My lips twitched. For some reason I wanted to hear him laugh, so far I’d only seen him smile.
‘Okay, hit me with it. It can’t be too bad, you’re too pretty for ugly names.’
‘Oh, you think so, do you? Hah! My nickname was slug.’
His eyebrows shot up and he laughed. He had a great laugh, a rich, deep rumble, and I found myself liking him immensely.
As a friend, of course, nothing more.
I giggled at his look. ‘With a name like Rose Gardener, which I’ve actually become attached to, it was inevitable kids at school would try for something offensive. I got dirtbag, worm, beetle, black spot, weed, snail and a whole lot of other names. It bothered me at first, but kids have to develop a thick skin to survive in hostile environments and school was a hostile environment for me. It was only after I’d left school that the endless teasing stopped. Course, I should have gone for the whole ‘who gives a shit’, water off a duck’s back type of reaction, but I was a sensitive little plant.’
He laughed again.
‘I copped it. Didn’t help that my dad was a high court judge and everyone was scared of him. Their dads were regular dads, working in banks, offices, engineers, postmen, that sort of thing. But every time my dad’s name hit the newspapers I was like a leper at school, cos he was putting people in prison, or that’s how it seemed to them.’ I shrugged. ‘Sorry, I just got a bit serious, didn’t I?’
‘No, it’s interesting,’ Cal said. ‘Does it still bother you?’
‘God, no. I think he’s the best dad I could have. I nearly studied law at university, but decided nursing was much more interesting. The human body’s fascinating.’
‘Is that what you do now?’
I nodded.
‘Do you have a specialty field?’
I glanced sideways. ‘You are the
first non-medical person to ask me that. Most people, even in this supposedly enlightened twenty-first century, still think nurses are all about bedpans and changing sheets. And the answer is yes and no. I’ve been working as a midwife for the past couple of years and I love it. Helping bring new life into the world has been a very different experience from my previous work, which was worthwhile in a totally different way.’
‘Which was?’
‘I was an oncology clinical nurse specialist. Cancer was my specialty field.’
‘Really?’ He turned intense blue grey eyes on me. ‘You enjoyed that?’
My lips curved into a small smile. ‘Cal, no-one can enjoy seeing people going through terrible pain and suffering. But,’ I turned unseeing eyes on the ocean, ‘it was rewarding in its own way.’
‘Mm?’
‘You really want to know, don’t you? God, Cal, most people switch off when I describe my work. Even Eddie.’ Frowning, I glanced at my husband. ‘Most people are secretly afraid something like that could happen to them or to their nearest and dearest. They don’t like to hear the big C word.’ I took a deep breath. He nodded, face inscrutable, waiting for me to continue.
‘Okay, well, every day I dealt with pain and death and grief. The reward was in the little things, like giving pain relief, being a shoulder for patients to cry on, and for their families. Or maybe seeing beautiful gifts brightening an otherwise awful day for a patient in their last few days. Some of it’s the acceptance of imminent death in people’s faces, or their response to the feel of a human touch, just massaging a sore back, or feet swollen by water retention. Like I said, the little things. It was always wonderful seeing families unite as their loved one neared the end. Sometimes they’d end up nursing them at home for the last few weeks of life. Those people were truly admirable, because looking after the dying takes a special kind of love. At least I think so. Our health system enables families to do that, if they have the stamina for it.’ I looked at him and raised my eyebrows. ‘Does that answer your question?’
He didn’t meet my eyes. ‘Yes, thank you for being honest.’
His voice sounded flat. Had I touched a raw nerve?
‘I’ve wondered how medical staff feel about that sort of work; you know, do they really care about the patients, or is it just a job?’ He met my eyes, sadness in his face.
He didn’t elaborate and I didn’t pry. I guessed he’d lost someone to cancer, someone close.
We paused, I took the opportunity to cheer Eddie for yet another successful small surf ride. Cal gave him a thumbs up. Eddie threw himself onto his board, paddling out again with energy.
He shook himself out of a reverie. ‘You chose to leave oncology?’
‘Yes. I burned out after three years. A lot of people do, but quite a lot are able to dedicate their whole career to looking after the terminally ill. Not me, I’m afraid. Too much sadness. I’d get home from work in tears nearly every day towards the end, and I probably wasn’t working at my best by then.’ I shrugged. ‘I may go back to it one day, but midwifery has seemed like the total opposite. I completed my training and have been happily working with expectant mums right through from early stage pregnancy to post birth.’
He tilted his head. ‘Is it as rewarding?’
I thought for a moment. ‘It’s just different. Of course, seeing new life every day is amazing. There’s rarely a death, so that’s a change for me, too. There’s a reasonable element of annoying stuff, though.’
‘Such as?’
I threw him an amused glance. ‘Cal, has anyone ever told you you’re nosy?’
He nodded, a twinkle in his eyes.
‘Why?’
‘Why what?’
‘Why are you so nosy?’
He smiled. ‘You’ve no idea how many teachers hated me asking so many questions in school, even my parents got pissed off sometimes.’
‘I can imagine.’
‘What’s annoying about your work these days?’
I thumped his arm. ‘You’re like a dog with a bone.’
He winced, rubbing his arm, eyes dancing.
I rolled my eyes. ‘Enough with the theatrics. Hasn’t anyone told you nurses don’t take minor pain seriously? Look at you, a big strong man pretending I could have punched hard enough to hurt you.’
He grinned, one eyebrow cocked.
I heaved a dramatic sigh. ‘What annoys me? Okay, I don’t know why you’re interested at all, but the women who’re too posh to push annoy me. Any job can be annoying, this is no different.’
‘“Too posh to push?”’
‘Yeah, demanding caesarean section births instead of pushing a baby out the hard way. They prefer not to sweat and go through the pain of childbirth.’
‘You mean like pushing something the size of a melon out through something’s that usually the size of a….’ He paused, searching for a word.
‘Uh, oh, Cal, you’ve got two obvious choices here. Don’t be shy. It’s vagina or erect penis, since they tend to be about the same size, at certain times.’ I sniggered at his expression. ‘You should never mix words with anyone in the medical field.’
‘Ah, yes,’ he agreed, his voice dry. ‘Like my mother. She’s a doctor, a GP. We grew up understanding more about the body than most people learn in a lifetime.’
‘Your mother’s a doctor? Did she encourage you to choose medicine when you were growing up?’
‘Thought about it, but that’s all. I have a sister who’s a renal surgeon and another who’s a nurse. My brother lectures in theology at Corpus Christi at Oxford.’
‘Interesting family,’ I said. ‘What about your father?’
‘He’s the vicar of a parish in Oxford.’
‘Are you religious, then?’
He snorted. ‘No, not at all. You?’
I shook my head, watching Eddie paddle hard to catch another wave.
‘You grew up in Oxford?’
He nodded.
‘I grew up in Cambridge. Still live there, actually.’
He grinned. ‘Nice town. Oxford’s prettier.’
I snickered. ‘Competitive, are we? Have you studied there?’
‘Nope. I wanted to leave home. Edinburgh University was a good distance away.’
‘What brings you here?’ I waved a hand at the ocean. ‘This is more like a hobby for you, isn’t it? You seem like you’re not entirely engaged in this.’
He turned, eyes shrewd. ‘Now what makes you think that? I could be insulted, you know. What if I was a lousy student and teaching water sports is all the talent I have?’
I narrowed my eyes at him. ‘But I’m not wrong, am I?’
He looked down at his hands, draped over his knees. ‘I’m an architect when I’m back home in England.’
‘Architect. Hm. That’s a long way from all this outdoor stuff. Will you go back to that?’
He shrugged. ‘Maybe, when I’ve sorted myself out.’
There was a lot left unsaid in that statement. He leapt to his feet with a curse and tore over to the water. Eddie was about to tackle a wave a damn sight bigger than the little ones he’d been catching.
With powerful strokes Cal was at Eddie’s side in a matter of seconds, toppling him off the board. Eddie yelped, before Cal lifted him up, yelled something, then pulled him underwater.
Breathless, I shot to my feet. Where were they?
The wave thundered to shore. Even my inexperienced eyes recognized the danger. It rose up and crashed down hard. Anyone trying to ride that would have been dumped, and, close to shore, they could have broken their neck.
There was nothing I could do except stand knee deep in white water, heart in mouth and wait for signs of life. Suddenly, both men popped up gasping for breath a fair distance behind the churning mess of white water running up the beach. Eddie’s discarded surfboard bounced onto the beach with a crack and split in two.
When they waded ashore, I splashed over and threw my arms around my husband, hugging him close, heart s
till pounding, unexpected tears pricking. Eddie shook Cal’s hand fervently, his other arm wrapped tight around me.
‘Sorry, mate, I didn’t realize how bad that was. You just saved my life.’
‘No worries. I should have been watching more carefully. This beach has rogue waves catching people unawares. I should have seen it coming in just after the last set.’
‘Can I buy you a drink?’ Eddie asked, anxious to thank Cal.
Cal glanced between Eddie and me. I nodded.
‘You’re on.’ He grinned. ‘I’ll just put the boards away and meet you up at the bar.’
I clung to Eddie, heart still thundering. ‘I thought you were going to die.’
‘I’m sorry, darling, I know.’ He pulled me to him, stroking my back. ‘I didn’t know what the hell Cal was doing when he tossed me off the board. He yelled at me to take a deep breath and then we were under. It’s like being in a giant washing machine. I think we were both out of air when Cal pulled us up in a hurry.’ He flipped wet hair out of his eyes. ‘Maybe we should do something on land tomorrow, huh? What do you think?’
‘Yeah, sounds good to me. How about a bus tour of the island or a helicopter ride over the volcano?’
No water sports tomorrow seemed like a great idea. I hoped Eddie had given up his idea of teaching surfing.
‘Anything you like, my darling. We can book it through the front desk in the lobby. Let’s go back after a drink with Cal.’
Drinks drifted into the evening luau on the beach, with dancing afterwards. Cal seemed to know almost everybody. Amused, I noted he drew the interest of most of the women, some apparently single and others who clearly weren’t, none of them could capture his attention for more than a casual dance. Cal mostly spent his evening with me and Eddie. I guessed his rationale had more to do with us being a safely married couple rather than our sparkling personalities.
Eddie danced with a number of the women, married or not, his high-wattage smile constant from their ego-polishing compliments. I watched him, a smile lurking, he flattered them but showed no favoritism. He’d never given me reason to mistrust his behavior. His restlessness told me he still hankered for something more exciting than his usual life back in England. Cal’s presence acted as a deterrent to any man who dared make it their mission to flirt with me. He headed them all off.
Promises Made- Promises Kept Page 3
