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But Keanu’s heart quaked at the thought of Caro losing her brother. They might not have been physically close but there’d always been a special bond between them. Even as a child, if she woke with a nightmare in the night his mother would be sure to get a call the next morning to say Christopher wasn’t well.
Poor Caro.
Would she let him comfort her? Take whatever support he could offer her?
Or had he hurt her too badly for that?
Once at the hospital, he asked a friendly receptionist if he could leave his bag behind her counter, then enquired about Christopher’s whereabouts.
‘He’s in Room 22 on the second floor, but I think it might be family only. Dr Lockhart and his sister are in with him right now. He’s very frail.’
The woman blinked back tears, and Keanu realised just how special Christopher was to all those who’d come in contact with him.
He tapped gently on the closed door of Room 22 then eased it open. Max was asleep in a big chair by the bed, while Caroline was sitting close to the bed, Christopher’s hand clasped in hers, her head bent over it, possibly dozing as well.
He opened the door wider, and a slight squeak made her turn.
‘Keanu?’
She mouthed his name, set Christopher’s hand down on the bed and got up stiffly from the chair, easing out the door and closing it behind her.
‘What are you doing here?’ she demanded, but fairly weakly as her exhaustion clearly showed in the shadows under her eyes and the taut lines drawn in her skin.
‘I hadn’t said I loved you, really loved you—the now you not the past or anything else, just you,’ he replied, and realised how lame it sounded when he saw the puzzled look on her face.
‘I just wanted you to know. I know I don’t deserve your love after the way I treated you, but somehow it seemed important to tell you anyway. We talked all around it at times, but on my way to Atangi it came to me that I’d never said the words. Not properly …
‘There, I have more I need to talk to you about, much more, but that’s the crux of it,’ he added a little later, when the only reaction from the woman he loved had been a bewildered stare.
‘Now, how bad is Christopher? You look exhausted and I’ve never seen your father look so grey. Why don’t you take him home for a proper sleep and I’ll sit with Christopher? I’ll call you the moment there’s any change and don’t bother about that stuff I said, just go home and rest for a while.’
‘You’ll sit with him?’
Teardrops sparkled on her eyelashes, and it was all he could do not to kiss them away.
‘Of course I will. Don’t you remember when he had measles at the island that time and I’d had them so I was okay and I sat with him every day? We like each other.’
Caro reached up and kissed his cheek.
‘I’ll get Dad,’ she said, nothing more, but somehow Keanu felt it was enough.
For now …
Max and Caro left, Max shaking Keanu’s hand in welcome, and thanks and goodbye.
‘We won’t be long,’ he promised, ‘but don’t hesitate to call if there’s any change.’
‘I won’t,’ Keanu promised, then he watched them walk away, Caro turning at the door to give him a puzzled look.
Keanu took his place in the chair Caro had been using and took Christopher’s hand in his, holding what was little more than a bag of frail bones and skin very gently.
He massaged the skin, just rubbing it, and, remembering himself and Caro sitting with Alkiri, he began to talk, quietly but clearly.
‘It’s Keanu, mate. I’ve sent the others home to sleep. You’re causing them a bit of worry at the moment. Anyway, I’m glad I’ve got this chance to sit with you because there’s a lot I have to tell you. I love her, you see, your sister, though I’m not sure how she feels about me. For a while there, back on Wildfire, I thought she might love me back, but I’ve made a bit of a mess of things so it’s hard to tell.’
He paused, then continued, this time gently rubbing Christopher’s withered arm, spreading cream on it he’d found on the table by the bed.
‘If she does love me, mate, I want to let you know that I’ll never let her down. I did before because I didn’t want to hurt my mum, and then again, recently, when I told her I’d married someone else. But you have to believe me, that part of my life is over, it’s really over now that my divorce has finally come through. And I swear to you, Christopher, that I will never do anything to hurt her again. She’s so special, your sister, that she deserves the very best, and although I know I’m not that, I’d do my darnedest to become it just for her.’
Was it his imagination or had Christopher’s eyes fluttered open, just momentarily?
Keanu kept talking, moving to the other side of the bed to put cream on the hand and arm over there. He talked of the island, of how well the hospital was doing and how much his family had done for the people of M’Langi.
He talked about the day outside, cool but cloudless so the sun sent sparkly diamonds of light dancing across the waters of the harbour.
‘I guess you’ve seen it like this before if they always put you in this room, but it’s magic to me. I’d like to buy her a diamond, but then I think of her eyes and wonder about sapphires. I don’t suppose you have any idea of her stone preferences? Not that she’s likely to want anything from me. I kind of did something that upset her.’
And this time the eyelids definitely fluttered, and Keanu could have sworn he’d felt a tiny bit of pressure from the claw-like hand clasped in his.
‘But I guess if she doesn’t love me, there’s not much I can do.’
Definite pressure this time. Keanu looked up at the nurse who’d remained in the room to do the regular obs and update Christopher’s chart.
‘Did he move his fingers?’ the young man asked. ‘I’m sure he did, and his eyelids fluttered as well.’
‘I’d better get the family back,’ the nurse said.
‘They won’t have had much sleep.’
The nurse was obviously torn.
‘I’ll give them another ten minutes and phone the house. The housekeeper will know whether to wake them.’
‘Maybe suggest she wake Caroline. I’m sure Dr Lockhart has been more sleep deprived than she has.’
The nurse did his checks, agreed that all the signs were that Christopher might be improving, then left the room.
‘Of course you’re improving,’ Keanu said. ‘I’ll want you around for the wedding, you know. That’s if she’ll have me.’
He took a deep breath and put all thoughts of love and weddings out of his mind.
‘Do you remember,’ he said, letting go of his hand and moving down to massage Christopher’s toes now, ‘how we took you swimming in the lagoon that time you were visiting? Mum put you in a life jacket and we all lay on our backs in the water and looked up at the sky through the canopy of the rainforest.’
Christopher’s eyes, so like Caroline’s, opened slightly and Keanu could swear he was actually looking at him.
Christopher’s smile might be but a shadow, but Keanu’s answer was a broad grin.
‘And what about when we took you down to Sunset Beach in your wheelchair but the path was too steep and we tipped you out, and when we got you back in, we had to spend ages wiping red sand off you so your nurse and Mum wouldn’t know?’
Open eyes and a smile!
Keanu’s hand surged with joy.
‘Oh, Christopher, we had such fun!’
‘Didn’t we?’ a quiet voice said, and Keanu looked up to see Caro on the other side of the bed.
‘Where did you come from? I thought the nurse was going to let you sleep for ten minutes before she rang the house.’
Caroline came into the room and sat down in the chair she’d been in earlier. She took Christopher’s other hand in hers, leaned forward to kiss his cheek, then finally looked at Keanu.
‘I never left,’ she said. ‘I went as far as the lift with Dad then thought of something.’
She hesitated, heart pounding, knowing what she wanted so much to say, but still held back by uncertainties she couldn’t name.
‘Thought of something?’ Keanu prompted.
She nodded, saw Christopher’s eyes open, looking at her, urging her on, it seemed.
‘I hadn’t told you I loved you either. I’d wanted to but I hadn’t. I was upset about the mine business—stupid really when it’s a good idea—then Dad phoned to say he’d sent the plane to bring me home and all I could think about was Christopher. Then, when I came back just now, I heard you talking to him—I stood and eavesdropped and put my finger to my lips so the nurse wouldn’t betray me and now I want to tell Christopher something too.’
She lifted his hand and pressed her lips to it.
‘I love this man Keanu, Christopher, and I do hope you approve because without him I don’t think I could go on. He is part of me, part of my heart and soul, and always has been, and now that I understand why he broke away, well, I love him even more, because that was done from love—love for his mother.’
She reached across the bed and took Keanu’s hand in hers.
‘And in case Christopher didn’t tell you, I like sapphires.’
Max, alerted by the nurse, came in to a surprising tableau. His son, who’d been lingering close to death for days, was not quite alert, but definitely had his eyes open and a lopsided smile on his face, while his daughter shone with luminous radiance, sitting with her hand linked in Keanu’s across the bottom of the bed.
And Keanu’s face wasn’t exactly doleful either.
‘You two got something to tell me?’ he asked.
‘I’d like to marry your daughter,’ Keanu said.
‘But not right away, Dad,’ Caroline assured him. ‘There’s a lot of stuff to sort out at the island and when we’re married there, I want it to be the perfect, happy, heavenly place it used to be.’
‘I presume you’ll let me know a date,’ Max said, smiling at the pair. ‘Now, I’m sure you’ve got plenty to say to each other so leave me with my son, and go make your plans.’
Praise for Alison Roberts
‘ … the author gave me wonderful, enjoyable moments of conflict, and truth-revealing moments of joy and sorrow … I highly recommend this book for all lovers of romance with medical drama as a backdrop and second-chance love.’
—Contemporary Romance Reviews on NYC Angels: An Explosive Reunion
‘This is a deeply emotional book, dealing with difficult life and death issues and situations in the medical community. But it is also a powerful story of love, forgiveness, and learning to be intimate … There’s a lot packed into this novella. I’m impressed.’
—Goodreads on 200 Harley Street: The Proud Italian
Dear Reader,
If you were asked to think of the most romantic setting ever, where would it be? A candlelit dinner? A walk in a forest with dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy? In front of a crackling fire on a winter’s night? Or maybe a beach on a tropical island—at sunset?
Those all work for me, that’s for sure, but there’s obviously something about the tropical island beach that puts it closer to the top of the list for many people—which probably explains why travel agents use those stunning images of couples on beaches to advertise islands.
I’ve been lucky enough to visit Hawaii, Fiji and Samoa. I’m also lucky enough to have writer friends who love island settings for romantic stories as much as I do, so when the opportunity came up to work together we were all excited.
Wildfire Island is the star of our fictitious archipelago of M’Langi. It has a beach that is so famous for its amazing sunsets it gave the island its name. It also has a hospital, and a team of people who all have their own stories.
This is Luke and Anahera’s story. They’ve both kept huge secrets from each other and have to deal with the repercussions of having them revealed. What are those secrets and how do they do that?
Read on and find out …
With love,
Alison xxx
ALISON ROBERTS is a New Zealander, currently lucky enough to live near a beautiful beach in Auckland. She is also lucky enough to write for both the Mills & Boon Romance and Medical Romance lines. A primary school teacher in a former life, she is also a qualified paramedic. She loves to travel and dance, drink champagne, and spend time with her daughter and her friends.
For Meredith and Linda with very much love xxx
CHAPTER ONE
STEPPING OFF A plane could be more than stepping onto unfamiliar ground.
Sometimes it was like stepping back in time.
The heat of the early evening was the first thing that Luke Wilson noticed. The kind of heat laced with moisture that felt like the anteroom of a sauna. Why on earth had he chosen to fly in a suit?
Because that was what internationally renowned specialists in tropical diseases wore when they were invited to be a keynote speaker at an exclusive conference?
The smell was the second thing that hit Luke as he walked from the plane towards the golf cart that was clearly waiting to transport him to his accommodation at Wildfire Island’s newest facility—a state-of-the-art conference centre.
He’d already shed his jacket on the small private plane that he’d boarded in Auckland, New Zealand—the last leg of a very long journey from London. Now he loosened his tie and rolled up his shirtsleeves as he breathed in the scent of fragrant blossoms like frangipani and jasmine being carried on a gentle, tropical breeze.
And it was the smell that did it.
It smelled like …
Oh, man … it smelled like Ana.
The emotional reaction slammed into him with far more force than he had anticipated. A mix of guilt. And loss. And a longing that was still powerful enough—even after so many years—to make him wonder if his knees were in danger of buckling.
He shouldn’t have come back here.
‘Let me take that for you, Dr Wilson.’ The smiling young island lad held out a hand to take his small suitcase. ‘Hop on board and I’ll take you to your bure. You’ve got just enough time to freshen up before the cocktail party.’
Cocktail party? For a moment, Luke hesitated—his brain fuzzy from a mixture of displacement and the opposing time zone. Oh, yes … this was the ‘meet and greet’ session before this exclusive conference started tomorrow. A chance to reconnect with his esteemed colleagues from all over the globe who shared his passion—the ambition to make a real difference in the world. Harry would be there, too, of course. More formally known as Sheikh Rahman al-Taraq, Harry was a patient turned friend who was bringing that ambition close enough to touch …
Luke’s suitcase was strapped onto the back of the cart and the young man was giving him a curious look, clearly aware of his hesitation.
‘You ready, Dr Wilson?’
Luke gave a single, curt nod, defying jet lag as he focussed on what lay ahead for the next couple of days. The nod dispelled any ghosts as well. Anahera didn’t live here now. She’d moved to Brisbane almost as soon as he’d left Wildfire Island nearly five years ago. The weird sensation—a curious mix of opposite ends of the spectrum between dread and hope—was nothing more than a waste of mental energy.
‘I’m ready.’ He climbed onto the cart, smiling at his chauffeur.
‘I just don’t get it.’ Sam Taylor, one of the permanent doctors at Wildfire Island’s small hospital, shook his head as he stirred his coffee. ‘All the comings and goings and the research centre being fenced off for so long. Now we have private jets coming in and it seems that we have a boutique international conference venue on Wildfire Island. Why here?’
Anahera Kopu shrugged. ‘It’s a gorgeous place. Different. Exotic enough to attract people who might need an inspiring break as a background to sharing knowledge and doing the kind of networking that’s important in the scientific world.’
‘I get that. But I still don’t understand why someone would choose a place as exotic as the M’Langi Islands. How did they even know about us? And can you imagine how much it has cost? Who’s behind it and why has it been such a secret?’
Anahera shook her head. ‘I have no idea. But it’s not the only secret on this island, is it?’
Oh, help … what an idiotic thing for her—of all people—to say. She had been keeping something huge a secret from all the people who meant the most to her—her mother and her colleagues and friends who were her wider family.
Sam grinned. ‘Do tell, Ana … you must know a few more than me. You grew up here and I’m just a newbie.’
Anahera kept her tone light enough to make the conversation impersonal. She’d had plenty of practice at steering conversations in a safe direction.
‘No, you’re not. You’ve been here for years now.’ She turned on the hot tap and reached for some dishwashing liquid. ‘You arrived just after I went off to Brisbane to do my postgrad training, didn’t you?’
‘Mmm … when the research station was just that. A research station. Now we find out it’s been added to and turned into some exclusive resort that’s going to be used for medical think tanks and—not only that—there’s a rumour that apparently there’s been some amazing breakthrough that’s going to be announced. Something that could change our lives. Don’t you think someone might have told us about that? What do you think it is?’
‘No idea. Unless they’ve come up with a new vaccine, maybe?’
‘Doubt it. That takes years and years and more money than anyone would want to throw at an isolated group of Pacific islands. I reckon it’s got something to do with that M’Langi tea they make and how it seems to protect some islanders from encephalitis. Did you know that research started on that decades ago?’
Oh, yes … Anahera had known about that. Not that she was about to share any details. She didn’t want to think about it, let alone tell someone else. Unbidden, a memory surfaced of sitting in a swinging chair as a tropical twilight morphed into night. Of arms—heavy but so welcome—resting on her body as she lay back against the chest of the man who was telling about his curiosity regarding the tea. She shook the memory off with a head shake that was visible but fortunately appropriate to a dismissive comment.
‘I think they’d decided that the only benefit of the tea was some sort of natural insect repellent so that mosquito bites were less likely and therefore people were less likely to contract encephalitis from them. It’s hardly going to change our lives.’
Sam sat down at the table. ‘I guess not. What we really need is for the aerial spraying to happen to control the mosquito problem. I wonder if anyone’s managed to get in touch with Ian Lockhart yet. He’s the person who should be organising it.’
Anahera shrugged. ‘Not that I know of. He seems to have fallen off the face of the earth. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear he’s in Vegas, gambling away any recent profits from the mine.’
‘If it doesn’t happen soon, we could be in for a few nasty cases this year. We don’t want another Hami, do we?’
‘Heavens, no.’ Anahera could feel her face scrunching into lines of distress. She would be in tears in no time if they started talking about the little boy they had lost to encephalitis a couple of years ago. It had been the most heart-wrenching case of her nursing career so far. Almost unbearable, because the little boy had been the same age as her own daughter.
‘Maybe we’ll find out at this cocktail party. You all set, Ana? Got a pretty dress?’
‘I’m not going.’
‘But you’re invited. We all are.’
‘Doesn’t mean I have to go. I want to spend some time with Hana. I haven’t seen her all day.’ Anahera dried the mug and put it back in the cupboard.
‘Bring her, too.’
She laughed. ‘Take a three-year-old to a cocktail party? I don’t think so … Besides, I said I might stay on till ten p.m. if Hettie decides she wants to go before taking over the night shift.’
Anahera could feel a faint flush of warmth in her cheeks as the quirk of Sam’s eyebrow made her realise that she had just pulled the rug out from beneath her excuse of wanting to spend more time with her daughter.
‘I just don’t feel like being social, okay? I had enough of that kind of thing in Brisbane. Not my scene.’
‘There’ll be interesting people to talk to who’ll only be here for a couple of days. Experts on things like dengue fever and encephalitis. I’m looking forward to hearing what the latest research is all about and any improvements to treatment, never mind what the secret announcement is.’
‘And I’ll look forward to you telling me all about it tomorrow.’ Anahera’s tone was firm. Clipped, even. She didn’t want to hear people talking about research into tropical diseases. It was too much of a reminder of conversations long past. Like the ones about the M’Langi tea. And the dreams of someone who had planned to change the world for the better. She’d bought into those dreams a hundred per cent, hadn’t she? Because she’d been going to be by his side while he made them happen. Even now, that sense of loss could tighten her throat and generate that unpleasant prickle behind her eyes.
‘There’s going to be a hangi. You love hangis.’
‘I know. Mum’s in charge of it, which is why she’s left us to sort the patients’ meals tonight.’ A quick glance at her watch and Anahera had the perfect excuse to leave. ‘I’d better go and get on with the observations and medications round so I can feed everyone before they want to go to sleep.’
Sam shook his head, clearly giving up. ‘I’ll help with the obs and do the meds. We’ve only got a few inpatients so it won’t take long. Then I’ll have a shower and get spruced up while you’re playing chef.’
The shower was exactly what he’d needed to clear the jet lag and sensation of displacement but, if anything, it only added to Luke’s amazement.
Like the rest of this luxurious bure tucked into the tropical jungle edging the beach, this bathroom could have been plucked from a five-star resort. The walls were an almost flat jigsaw of boulder-sized stones and the floor a mosaic of grey pebbles inset with white ones that made a tribal design of a large fish. The soap was faintly scented with something that smelled like the island—jasmine, maybe—and the towels were fluffy and soft.
Wrapping one of those towels around his waist, Luke stepped back into the round sleeping area where the mosquito nets, still tied back over the huge bed, rippled gently in the sea breeze coming through the louvered windows. He could hear voices outside. People greeting each other as they made their way from the other bures to the meeting hall where the cocktail party would probably be under way already.
None of these dwellings had been here the last time. There’d been a rustic cabin or two that had been used by visiting marine scientists but they’d been closer to the laboratories and had clearly been demolished to make way for the new meeting hall. Luke had never needed to use one anyway. He’d come here to work at the hospital as part of his specialist training in tropical diseases so he’d stayed in one of the cabins set up for the FIFO—Fly-In-Fly-Out—staff that provided medical cover and a helicopter service for the whole group of islands and managed to keep a surprisingly excellent, if small, hospital running.
Even the local people who helped staff the hospital had been excellently trained. Like the nurses.
Like Ana …
Luke pulled on a short-sleeved, open-necked shirt and a pair of light chinos. He combed his hair but decided not to bother eliminating his five o’clock shadow. This evening, in particular, was a gathering of people who knew each other well and they’d been invited to relax here. For the next couple of days the intention was for them to enjoy a tropical break while they shared new ideas and then brainstormed the best way to use this facility in the future.