by Joanna Neil
She stopped to forage in her bag. ‘I brought some reading for you.’ She placed some fresh newspapers on the table at the end of his bed. ‘It’s a difficult situation, and in a way I feel guilty about holding out against Jake, but I don’t want to give up the house. After all, it’s not as though he’s far removed from his birthplace, is it? He sees it every day.’
‘You should stick to your guns. You have as much reason to be there as he does.’
She nodded. ‘I tried to make him see that, but I’m not sure he was convinced.’ She straightened, and braced herself, getting ready to leave. ‘Anyway, I must get back to work. Just remember to give me a call when the consultant says you can go home, and I’ll come and fetch you. I’ve made your old room ready for you so you can stay there until they sort out what’s going on with your heart and what needs to be done about it.’
‘Thanks, Lacey. You’re an angel.’
‘Yeah, sure I am.’ She grinned and left the room, getting ready to finish her stint in the emergency department.
It was business as usual. ‘Non-stop trauma all day,’ Emma greeted her, with a frown. ‘You’d think people would take more care, wouldn’t you…? But, no, we have traffic accidents, industrial accidents and disasters at sea, day in and day out.’ She handed Lacey a chart, along with an X-ray film. ‘Broken ribs in treatment room two. His breathing’s poor and he’s very uncomfortable. Shall I call a surgeon to consult?’
Lacey flipped the film into the light box. She nodded. ‘Yes, call the surgeon. It looks like a flail chest, where a segment of the rib cage has come adrift, and it seems there’s some damage to the lung underneath. In the meantime, I’ll need to put in a chest tube to clear the blood that’s accumulating and help him to breathe more easily. Will you be free to help me with that?’
‘Yes, I will. I’ll go and set up the equipment.’ Emma glanced at Lacey before leaving. ‘I hear you rescued a woman the other day out on the reef. She’s recovered well by all accounts.’
‘So I heard, though actually it was my neighbour, Jake, who did the rescuing. He was brilliant from start to finish, taking the situation in hand and saving the day. He didn’t even stop to think, but everything he did was smooth and efficient and made a real difference to the final outcome.’
‘Jake Randall, is that right? I know him. He used to work here. He was a great doctor, one of the best, but he quit at the end of the year and didn’t come back, and I was so sad when he left. He got on well with everyone.’ She made a faint smile. ‘There were some broken hearts among the female staff around here, I can tell you.’
‘I can imagine. He seems to have that effect on people.’ Lacey didn’t want to think about how many women had fallen for Jake. It was his easygoing manner, his inherent charm and dry sense of humour, perhaps, that caused the domino effect, and she was certainly not immune. Still, it was interesting to learn that he had worked here.
She removed the X-ray from the light box and went with Emma to tend to her patient. Keeping busy was the best thing to do. That way her head wasn’t being constantly overloaded with thoughts of Jake and his exploits. Fortunately, too, it meant that the rest of the day rushed by until finally her shift came to an end.
‘I won’t be in tomorrow,’ she told Emma. ‘I have a four-day break and when I come back I’ll be on the early shift. In the meantime, Dr Mayfield will be in charge. If there are any problems with any of my patients, refer them to him, or to Mike, the attending physician…but you have my number in case of any queries, don’t you?’
Emma nodded. ‘We’ll be fine.’ She smiled. ‘It’s great having you around, Lacey. You’ve slotted in here as though you’ve been here all your life.’
‘It feels that way sometimes.’ Lacey grinned. ‘See you.’
She drove home along the main highway, contemplating the day’s events. It was deeply satisfying working in Emergency, and as each day ended she was tired and ready to fall into a deep sleep. She was looking forward to these few days off, though. Grace was coming over with the children, and it would be great to get together again as a family.
Once she was home, she went into the kitchen and made herself a cup of coffee and a toasted sandwich. She took them out onto the deck and sat looking out over the garden, which was dimly lit in the moonlight. Beyond the garden were several acres of land that belonged to her, land that was still in its natural state, bounded by woods and mangrove swamps. It was eerie in the darkness, even though the lamp on the deck sent out a golden pool of light.
She could just make out shadows of the shrubbery, and in the distance the trees of the orange grove. Their scent wafted faintly on the air. Earlier in the day she had plucked grapefruit, mangoes and oranges, and her fridge was filled with fruit that would refresh her throughout the following week. Being here was like living in paradise, with nature providing everything she might need.
Now, though, her thoughts were distracted by an odd sound coming from somewhere in the far reaches of the property. She couldn’t quite make it out. There were muffled thuds and an odd scraping sound like a shovel breaking into earth or faintly clanging against tree bark. Then the tree branches in the distance seemed to move, and in a break in the undergrowth a black shadow flitted against the skyline.
‘Jake, is that you?’ She called out into the darkness. Why would Jake be roaming the boundaries of her land? ‘Jake?’
There was more rustling. She thought she heard a muffled curse, and then there was the crackle of vegetation underfoot. ‘Jake? Are you out there? What’s going on? What are you doing?’
Silence. Nothing stirred and then a bird startled her, flapping its huge wings as it took off from a mangrove tree, making a stark silhouette against the night sky.
Lacey’s heart was beginning to pound. Why wasn’t Jake answering? Who was out there? If it wasn’t Jake, why were they on her land? Ought she to go and take a look?
For the first time she was truly conscious of how far she was from the nearest property. Jake’s was the only house for at least a mile, and he wasn’t answering her. How would she protect herself if anyone meant to do her harm?
She picked up her phone from the table and hesitated. It was one thing to face up to an intruder in an area that was well lit, but darkness gave the venture a very different perspective and she didn’t want to blunder about in the shadowy undergrowth, not knowing where she was going or what she might run into.
A shiver ran the length of her spine, and she realised that her hands were shaking. What was the matter with her? Surely, she was imagining things? It must have been a simple night noise, an animal, a deer, perhaps, that had been wandering about in the woods and had blundered onto her land.
Anyway, if there really was an intruder, she could ring Jake at home, couldn’t she? Hearing his voice would at least put her mind at ease. He would probably think she was being foolish, but that didn’t matter too much, did it?
He wouldn’t hesitate to come and help out, she was certain, and with him by her side she could face up to anything. Between them they could find out what was going on.
She dialled his number and waited. The phone rang for some time, but there was no answer, and tension began to build up inside her. She frowned. Was he out? Suddenly, she felt truly alone.
In the end, she cut the call and went inside the house, locking all the doors and making certain that everything was secure. She would check the fences in the morning. Her nerves were a mess. Perhaps it came from drinking too much coffee, and the fact that she had been at work all day, and her thoughts were taken up with this business of the house. She was overtired and her mind was playing tricks on her. What she needed was a good night’s sleep.
It was just as well she had come inside the house, she decided. She wasn’t up to dealing with problems right now. She felt apprehensive, insecure and totally unlike her usual self. Even in bed she was haunted by night terrors.
Her slumber was fitful, her dreams filled with shadowy figures and feral screeches,
and in the morning, when she clambered out of bed, she felt decidedly rough.
A shower didn’t help very much, neither did her first cup of coffee of the day, but she had promised that she would go and fetch Rob from the hospital at the earliest opportunity so she steeled herself to get organised. She made do with a cereal bar for breakfast, not wanting to keep him waiting. Knowing Rob, he would be packed and ready and chafing at the bit to get out of there.
He was in much better spirits than she might have expected when she arrived at the hospital. ‘It’s just so great to be getting out of this place,’ he said. ‘No offence, but hospitals freak me out. I don’t like being cooped up, and I can’t stand the smell of antiseptic.’
‘A lot of people feel the same way,’ Lacey conceded. ‘Still, if it saves your life or puts your health back on track, who’s to complain?’
‘Me?’ He grinned, raising a brow in query. ‘I know I’ve been grumbling a lot lately. It’s just that I have strong opinions and I like to be on the move, so being stuck in hospital brought out all my frustration and turned me into a grouch. I shouldn’t do it. I know it isn’t fair…especially when you’ve been so great, coming to visit, and now you’re having to act as a taxi service.’ He glanced at her, his eyes narrowing a fraction. ‘Actually, you’re looking a bit peaky. Are you okay?’
‘I’m fine,’ she said. ‘I’ve a bit of a headache, that’s all. Anyway, let’s head for home and you can edit your films to your heart’s content. Everything’s ready for you in the guest bedroom.’
‘That’s great. You don’t know how much it means to me to be able to come back to your place for a while. The consultant wanted me to stay local until this problem with the heart is diagnosed properly… And, of course, that means monitoring what’s happening. It’s like finding an intermittent fault in an electrical system…until the unit fails, you don’t know where the problem lies. At least, that’s how he explained it to me.’
‘Not that we’re expecting your heart to fail.’ She laughed. ‘It’s just that the wiring seems to be a little faulty right now.’
‘True.’ He settled back in the seat of her car and watched the scenery go by. The journey didn’t take long, and soon they were back at the house.
She poured cold drinks from the fridge, and they talked for a while in the living room, until Rob asked, ‘Do you mind if I go along to my room and sort through my work stuff? I’ll come and join you in a while, but there are one or two jobs I need to get on with. I haven’t had access to a decent computer for a while and it’s been driving me crazy.’
‘You go ahead,’ she told him. ‘I can see you’re itching to get back to work, and I have lots of things to do. I’ll give you a shout when lunch is ready.’
‘Thanks, Lacey.’ He hurried away to the bedroom, leaving Lacey to catch up with chores around the house. She wanted to prepare the other two bedrooms for Grace and the children. They should be arriving later on today, and she was keen to have everything ready for them.
A couple of hours later, she was back in the kitchen, trying to decide what she should prepare for lunch. Tiredness was rapidly getting the better of her, and she realised it was probably lack of food that was contributing to her lacklustre manner.
Rob, sitting at the kitchen table, leafing through a camera magazine, was no help at all.
‘Anything would be good after hospital food,’ he said. ‘When I lived here on my own, I survived on pizza and takeaways and whatever convenience foods I could find stashed in the freezer.’
‘You’re a culinary wasteland,’ she said with a wry smile. ‘It’s a good thing I have a couple of weeks to reeducate you on the right way of doing things.’
The doorbell rang as she gazed into the fridge for inspiration. Lacey frowned. ‘I don’t know who that can be,’ she murmured. ‘Unless, of course, it’s Jake.’ Her brow knotted. Why would Jake be here?
She went out of the room and hurried along the corridor to the front door. Sure enough, Jake was waiting in her porch, and she gazed at him for a moment or two, wondering what he was doing there. He, in turn, gave her an assessing look and frowned.
‘What’s wrong, Lacey? You’re very pale.’ He looked at her more closely. ‘There are shadows under your eyes. Are you coming down with something?’
She shook her head. ‘No, I’m fine. It’s lack of sleep, that’s all. Perhaps I was sitting out on the deck too late last night.’
‘If you say so.’ He gave her a doubtful look. ‘Is anything in particular stopping you from sleeping? Is there anything I can get you to perk you up a bit?’
‘No, to both of those questions, thanks all the same.’ There was no point in telling him about her fears from the night before. He would put it down to her imagination, or a stray animal, much as she had done. She frowned. ‘Why are you here, Jake? Was there something you wanted?’
‘Ah, yes. I brought you a small offering.’ He lifted up a cool-bag, adding, ‘My housekeeper, Jane, made you a seafood platter and a fruit tart for afters. She was really pleased that you were kind enough to compliment her on her food after the boat trip the other day, and she wanted me to give these to you. She made them specially.’
Lacey looked inside the bag at the huge platter of food and the colourful fruit tart with its perfect glazed finish. ‘Oh, how lovely.’ She lifted her gaze to Jake. ‘It was so thoughtful of her to do that.’
‘Well, the added factor is that she heard that Rob might be coming home today, and she knows he’s partial to seafood. I think she has a soft spot for him and wants to make sure he’s looking after himself properly, so from time to time she bakes him a pie, or whatever.’
‘She’s right—Rob’s home from hospital. He’s in the kitchen right now.’ She stood aside to let him into the house. ‘Please thank Jane for me again. This has cheered me up so much.’
‘Did you need cheering up? What’s wrong?’
‘Like I said, nothing. Nothing that I want to talk about, anyway.’
‘Hmm.’ He studied her, as though he was trying to fathom her mood. ‘You know I’m always here for you if you need me…if anything troubles you, or spooks you in any way you only have to call on me.’ He paused, thinking things through. ‘You said you were out on the deck last night—we’re a bit isolated out here, and the sounds coming from all around late at night can seem very different from what you hear in the daytime. It can all feel a bit scary, especially if you’re overtired.’
‘Yes, that’s true.’ Lacey’s brows drew together. Why had he mentioned that particular worry? Had he been the one in the woods last night? And if so, why hadn’t he answered her shouts?
They walked through to the kitchen and Jake set the bag down on the table, nodding a greeting towards Rob. ‘I brought a food parcel from Jane,’ he said with a grin. ‘She’s convinced you might fade away without a good helping of her food inside you. I told her she was wasting gourmet food on a pizza and burgers fanatic, but there we are. Who am I to argue with a woman when she’s set her heart on something?’
Rob tried out a smile. ‘I do appreciate Jane’s cooking. I’m sure she understands that.’
‘Maybe.’
Lacey waved Jake towards a seat. ‘We were just wondering what to have for lunch, and now you’ve solved our problem. Will you join us? It looks as though there’s enough food here to feed a platoon.’
She frowned. Rob might not be too happy at the situation…but maybe it was time the two of them declared a truce. If they never sat down together and talked, how were they going to resolve their problems with one another?
‘Thanks, I’d like that very much, if you’re sure it’s all right?’ Jake was asking Lacey, but his glance diverted towards Rob.
Rob gave a negligent shrug. ‘It’s fine by me.’
‘Good.’
‘That’s settled, then. I’ll make a salad to go with it.’ Lacey set about preparing a colourful addition to the meal, using crisp lettuce, croutons, eggs and Parmesan cheese, all combined wi
th a creamy mustard dressing.
‘Were you home last night?’ she asked, looking at Jake. ‘I saw that your lights were on, but that didn’t necessarily mean that you were at home.’
He nodded. ‘I was in my study, looking through the old plans showing the layout of your house. I could let you have them, if you like. My grandfather kept them out of nostalgia, I suppose, since he always hoped that he would one day buy the property back. In fact, he and my parents tried to do that several times, but they were unsuccessful. Still, they never gave up. There was some hope that my brother might bring his family to live here at some point, and that way the whole estate would eventually be combined as one.’
‘Oh, I see.’ She frowned and began to set the food out on the table.
‘Well, no matter,’ Jake said, ‘but the plans are interesting. They show the areas that were once covered in water and the land that has been reclaimed through planting schemes. He even noted the crags and rock formations that form one section of the boundary. There are small caves and inlets where the water once encroached…but I don’t suppose you’ve had time to explore every section yet, have you?’
‘No, I haven’t.’ Lacey pulled a bottle of light white wine from the fridge and handed it to Rob so that he could uncork it. ‘I went over every inch of the place when I was younger, of course, but I think a lot of it is overgrown now, with creepers and new tree growth. I thought about clearing some of it away some time, but actually I’m quite pleased with the natural look of the place.’
She darted him a quick look. ‘I rang you last night, but you didn’t answer.’ Feigning unconcern, she watched his expression surreptitiously while she added the finishing touches to the table.
‘Really? I’m sorry about that.’ He frowned. ‘I sometimes switch my phone off when I don’t want to be disturbed…and for some reason my voice mail wasn’t working… I had no idea you were trying to get in touch. Was something wrong?’
She shook her head, wondering how she would explain her call, especially since she didn’t want to give Rob any cause for concern. ‘I just wanted to let you know that our scubadiving patient was on the mend. They discharged her from hospital the day before yesterday.’
