by Joanna Neil
‘And I imagine there are probably a few things that you need to deal with here on the mainland if you’re going to be staying a while.’ Craig got to his feet and started to clear away the empty plates.
‘Like bringing my suitcases over here,’ she murmured. ‘Yes, you’re right. I’ll have to get things organised.’
‘Would you like me to take you over to the island so that you can retrieve your belongings? I can imagine that you don’t want to fly over there, but I could take the car and drive it onto the ferry, so there shouldn’t be any problem…It’s just that going over there that way will take up most of the day. We wouldn’t be home until late evening.’
‘Getting back late doesn’t bother me, but are you sure about taking me there? Would you mind doing that for me?’ Rebecca pushed back her chair and went to help him with the crockery. It seemed like a lot to ask of him.
‘Not at all, but we need to keep an eye on the time we’re to catch the lunchtime ferry. At least we’ve made an early start with breakfast.’ He began to stack plates in the dishwasher. ‘Besides, the weather is beautiful today, and the view of the islands from the deck of the ferry is quite spectacular, so it would be a break in itself. And we could always get a meal or a drink on board.’ He smiled, thinking about it. ‘I quite like the idea of spending an hour or so exploring Islay. We could take time out to wander along the shoreline. I think it would do you good to have some downtime.’ He threw her a quick glance. ‘How does that sound to you?’
Rebecca stared at him, her eyes widening. For the first time in a long while she felt a slow wash of happiness ripple through her. ‘I think…’ The breath snagged in her throat and she tried again. ‘I think that sounds wonderful.’
He pushed the door of the cabinet closed and turned away from the dishwasher to face her. ‘Good,’ he said.
He moved towards her just as she stepped forward, and in that instant they were so close to one another that it seemed altogether a natural gesture for her to lightly rest her palm on his upper arm.
‘You’ve been such a strong support to me, right from the first,’ she said softly, looking up into his blue-grey eyes. ‘And now you’re being so good to me, all over again, helping me out this way…letting me stay here and offering to take me over to Islay. I’m so grateful to you. I don’t know how I would have managed without you.’
‘I’m sure you’d have done very well for yourself, left to your own devices.’ His mouth softened and he reached for her, returning the simple embrace with a gentle hug, his arms folding around her and bringing her close into the shelter of his body. ‘I can’t help thinking about how brave you’ve been. I had to admire the way you clung onto Connor’s stretcher when we were about to ditch. You were determined not to let go of him, and afterwards I could tell that his well-being was the first thought that crossed your mind.’
He smiled down into her eyes. ‘You would have coped under any circumstances. You were prepared for any eventuality, and you were determined to succeed. Those are two great qualities to be blessed with when you’re faced with a crisis.’
‘Maybe.’ She was finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate on what he was saying. His hands were making slow, sweeping movements along the length of her spine, setting up a spiral of tingling sensation to run throughout the whole of her body, and somehow he seemed to sense that.
He drew her against him, so that the softness of her breasts was crushed against the hard wall of his chest, and that was her undoing. It felt so good to have him hold her this way that she lost all thought of time and place, giving herself up to the tender rapture of being in his arms.
He bent his head towards her, and even as she wondered if this was a kind of madness that had overtaken her and that maybe she should think before throwing caution to the wind, his mouth claimed hers in a whisper of sensation. Her lips softly parted beneath his and she gave a tremulous sigh, giving herself up to the joy of that gentle kiss.
She sensed the quickening of exhilaration within him, too. She felt the thud of his heartbeat against her breast and heard the soft rasp of his breathing as it caught in his lungs. His hands stroked her, lightly tracing the line of her hips and sliding around to linger for a while in the curve in the small of her back.
This was madness, though, wasn’t it? The thought spiralled through the haze of excitement that clouded her mind, and the tiny niggle of doubt caused her to ease back from him a fraction. Why was she allowing her emotions to run out of control? Hadn’t she learned that relationships were a minefield of trouble and she had to be crazy to even think about going on with this?
His kisses were intoxicating, though. They plunged her into a heady whirlwind of desire and made her want to taste forbidden fruit…
But that was where all her problems would start, wasn’t it? She had made up her mind never to trust a man again…not until she had known him long enough to reassure her that he would never do her any harm…And how long had she known Craig?
Five minutes, that was all.
‘Becky?’ The word came out as a ragged sigh, his breath warm against her cheek, but he must have sensed her withdrawal from him and slowly he let her go.
‘That was my fault,’ she said. ‘I wasn’t thinking clearly. I…I didn’t mean any of this to happen. I just wanted to let you know that I really am thankful for all that you’ve done for me.’
‘I know that, and it’s OK.’ He looked at her guardedly. ‘Anyway, I should have known better. I don’t know what came over me. It’s just that you were so close to me and you looked so vulnerable, so much in need of a hug.’ He shook his head as though to clear it. ‘I should never have done that. You’ve been through a lot and this is the last thing you need right now.’
He straightened his shoulders. ‘Let’s get you over to the hospital,’ he murmured. ‘You could visit your aunt while I go and talk to Admin about the job.’
‘Yes, all right.’ Rebecca’s lips flattened momentarily. She broke away from him and went to gather her things together. It was just as well that they were getting ready to leave, wasn’t it? She needed time and space to allow her head to clear. Her nervous system was already shot, and it was doing her no good at all, dallying with a man as compelling as Craig.
‘Actually, I think Heather would probably like to meet you,’ she said. ‘The nurses told her what had gone on with the trip here, and I gather she’s curious about you.’
‘That’s all right. I’ll pop my head round the door and say hello.’
Heather was sitting in a chair by the bed in a side ward when Rebecca arrived at the hospital and went in to see her. Craig introduced himself and brought a smile to her eyes when he inspected her lunch menu. ‘“Home-made steak pie with a selection of fresh vegetables”,’ he read aloud. ‘Whatever will it be next—caviar and toast? I think I’ll have to come and join you.’
He talked with Heather for a few minutes before excusing himself. ‘I have to go and see a man about a job,’ he said. ‘I’ll drop by and see you again, if I may?’
Heather nodded, a hint of colour running along her cheekbones. ‘I like him,’ she said, when he had left the room.
‘Yes, he has that effect on people,’ Rebecca said in a rueful tone. ‘For myself, I’m trying not to get hooked. I’ve been down that path before.’
She looked her aunt over. ‘How are you getting on?’ she asked. ‘Is there anything that you need?’
‘Only to be able to get out of here and go back home,’ Heather said haltingly. She managed to add in a painstakingly slow way, ‘They say it will be a while before I’m up and about.’
Rebecca nodded. ‘I imagine you’ll need physiotherapy to help you along a bit.’
‘They’re going to start it as soon as I’m feeling more up to it.’
‘You’ll probably start to feel a little stronger every day,’ Rebecca said. ‘I bought you a newspaper, but I expect you’ll have some trouble reading the print, won’t you? I wasn’t sure how much your v
ision had been affected.’
‘It’s not too good. I can’t watch the television very well, but the nurse has sorted out the radio for me.’
‘That’s great.’ Rebecca held her aunt’s hand in hers, and said quietly, ‘I’ll see what I can do about getting you some taped copies of the newspaper. I know how you like to keep up to date.’
She stayed with her aunt for a while, until the nurse came to say that the doctor was doing ward rounds and would be along in a few minutes. ‘After that,’ the nurse told Heather, ‘the speech therapist is coming in to see you, to see if we can get you talking again properly,’ She smiled. ‘Then later on there’ll be physiotherapy each day. I hope you didn’t think you would be able to lie back and take it easy. People think they come into hospital to have a rest, but sometimes it’s busy, busy, busy.’
Heather nodded. ‘I guessed as much.’
‘I’ll come back and see you later this evening,’ Rebecca told her aunt. ‘I’m going over to Islay to get my cases, so it will take me a while. I’ll call in and sit with you tomorrow.’
‘OK.’
‘And I spoke to Alison on the phone, and she said that she’ll give you a ring later on today. She sends her love.’ Rebecca gave her aunt a hug and kissed her cheek. ‘Try to stay cheerful,’ she said. ‘You’ve always been my strength, and Alison’s, and we’re going to be yours now. We’ll see you through this.’
‘Bless you.’
Rebecca came away from the room feeling that it was going to be some time before her aunt was back on her feet again. If by any chance Craig managed to find her a job at the hospital, it would be a godsend, because then at least she would be here, on the premises, and able to drop by and see Heather every day.
Craig met her out in the corridor. ‘How is she?’ he asked with a faint frown. ‘She seemed to be in reasonably good spirits earlier.’
‘She’s bearing up. But, then, she’s my aunt and she always tries to make the best of things. That’s her way. I think it was a partial stroke, and it could have been a lot worse. This has knocked her back a lot, though.’
She glanced at the clock on the wall. ‘Do you think we have time to go and see Connor before we go?’
He nodded. ‘Yes, of course. It’s still relatively early, but we need to leave here in a few minutes if we’re to catch the ferry on time.’
Connor was doing very well, she saw, when they found him a few minutes later. His eyes were bright, and straight away Rebecca could see that he was on the mend.
‘The nurses say I might be able to get out of here soon,’ he said on a bright note. ‘Only, they’re going to try letting me go out on trips every few days first, to see how I get on.’
His mother was in the room with him, sitting by his bedside. She gave a quick frown, brushing her dark hair back from her brow in a worried fashion. ‘He’s been badgering them non-stop ever since he started to feel better. The only trouble is, his father and I are going to be in hospital for a bit longer, so we can’t let him go home until we can look after him ourselves. His grandparents are around but they’re both getting on a bit, and it seems unfair to put the worry of his care on them.’ She looked over at Connor, her expression serious. ‘The thing is, he’s desperate to get out of here.’
‘That’s understandable,’ Craig said. ‘He’s young, and even though he’s been very ill, he’s getting his energy and strength back.’ He was thoughtful for a moment, and then he said, ‘I suppose there is a way around the situation, but it depends how you feel about it.’
Connor’s mother gave him an enquiring look. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, it occurred to me that as I’m not going to be back at work for a few days yet, I could perhaps take him out and about a bit—with your permission, of course. You could come along, too, if the doctors think you’re fit enough. I could take him to the park perhaps in the first instance. And then maybe if he’s all right with that we could go further afield on another day…perhaps next Saturday? I was thinking of a trip to Loch Lomond…nothing strenuous, just a chance to show him the sights. It’s not too far away from here. I could get hold of a wheelchair and take him around a bit, if you like.’
Connor’s mother was obviously delighted by the suggestion. ‘I’m pretty sure that the doctors won’t release me just yet—I’ve already asked. There’s no reason why Connor shouldn’t go, though.’ She looked at her son and asked, ‘What do you think? Would you like to do that?’
‘Wow, yes, you bet,’ the boy said with enthusiasm. He glanced across the room at Rebecca. ‘Will you come with us, Becca?’ he asked. ‘Please, say that you will.’
Rebecca gave a cautious nod. ‘If that’s what you would like,’ she said, ‘then yes, I will, to the loch at least.’ She didn’t want to let Connor down, but even as she said it she realised that it meant she and Craig would be going on this outing together. How would Craig feel about that?
‘That is,’ she added, ‘if it’s all right with Craig and your mother.’
‘I’d be really pleased if you would go along with him,’ Connor’s mother put in. ‘You’ve been so good with him up to now, and I’d feel that he was in capable hands.’
‘OK, then.’ Rebecca turned to look questioningly at Craig.
‘That’s fine by me,’ he murmured.
He smiled, but she had no idea what he was thinking. It occurred to her that she had landed herself with two outings in quick succession, and somehow, from the glimmer that arose in his eyes as he glanced towards her, it felt very much as though she was playing with fire.
‘Anyway,’ Craig said, turning back to Connor, ‘it’s good to see you looking so well. You’ve made my day.’ He paused. ‘Unfortunately, though, we have to leave you now, because we need to be somewhere else in a very short time. I’ll come and pick you up tomorrow afternoon to take you to the park.’
They finished saying their goodbyes, and once they were in the corridor outside the ward, Craig turned towards the lifts and Rebecca hurried alongside him. She wasn’t sure how she felt about these hours that she would be spending with him, and part of her wondered whether she ought to be finding herself somewhere to live, instead of planning leisure activities with someone who might turn out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Why was he doing so much to help her?
He wasn’t giving her time to think about any of that, though. ‘I thought we might collect your cases and then go and take a look at the village around Port Charlotte,’ he murmured. ‘I’m sure you know it well but I haven’t been in a while and it’s a pretty little place with all those whitewashed houses and the rocky coves. I used to go there as a child with my family. My brother liked to watch the birds in flight around Islay, and I loved finding rock pools and searching for crabs.’
She smiled. ‘Just hearing you talk about it makes me feel as though I’m there already. I’ve dreamed of it. I can’t wait.’
It wasn’t too long before the dream became fact, and they were walking along that picturesque part of the island. The ferry trip had been a restful, happy experience. They had stood together by the rail of the ship ferry and looked out over the water, delighting in the beautiful sight of the islands as they’d passed by. Craig had slipped his arm around her waist, drawing her against him, and even with that simple gesture he had managed to turn her body to flame. She had been far too strongly aware of him.
Even so, she had tried hard to ignore the wayward response of her nervous system as he’d pointed out the various landmarks.
‘It’s all coming back to me just how much I miss this place,’ she murmured when they were back on dry land, and she was able to drink in the breathtaking sights and sounds all around her.
‘It was a good thing that you sent your cases over here, then,’ Craig said with a smile. ‘It gave you just the excuse that you needed to come and visit the place.’
She nodded agreement. ‘Now that I’m here, I really don’t want to leave.’
‘I know…I can see that. It’s clear
as crystal in your expression and in the way your mouth softens when you gaze around you.’ He looked at her, his expression a mixture of understanding and mild amusement. ‘There’s something captivating about that look in your eyes. I imagine many a man would want to have you look at him like that, in the hungry way you devour this place with your glance, as though it’s everything in the world that you could ever want.’
She laughed, even as her cheeks filled with gentle heat. ‘Like I said, I’ve always felt as though coming here was like coming home.’
‘Perhaps you’ll do that before too long?’ His glance was quizzical, and she responded with a light shrug.
‘Maybe, when Heather is strong enough…and provided that I have a job to come home to.’
They spent an hour or so walking along the beach, stopping every now and again to watch the waves lap the shoreline, and Craig took time out to skim pebbles out over the water.
They stopped for a while at a little café, taking the air out on the decking and looking out to sea as they sipped ice-cold drinks.
Rebecca bought herself a slender watch from a gift shop in the coastal village, and realised that time was slipping by. ‘I suppose we ought to be starting back,’ she murmured wistfully.
‘You’re right,’ Craig agreed. ‘If we leave now, we should be able to make it back to the ferry in good time.’
They walked back to the car, ready to drive towards the port once more. ‘About the job,’ he said, as he slid behind the wheel and set the car in motion. ‘I’ve arranged for you to come in to A and E and talk things through with the consultant in charge. There’s a position waiting for you if you want it…only it’s with the children’s area of A and E. I don’t know how you feel about that. I know you were beginning to feel that working with very sick children can be too upsetting at times.’
‘Is that the only job on offer?’
He nodded. ‘It’s the post that needs to be filled immediately. There should be another one coming up in a week or so, but that one would be a permanent position, and I’m not sure how you would feel about taking that on.’
