later. The bar was made of wooden decking and built over a shallow tidal strait where mangroves emerged in a dense tangle of arching roots from the flood plain left by the ebb and flow of salt water. There was lush greenery all around, and the sounds of the forest mingled with the lively music coming from speakers positioned under the solid awning. Tables covered in white cloths were set out alongside the balustrade, so that customers could sit and eat and look out over the water.
William was smiling, wearing a T-shirt and knee-length cut-off shorts. ‘Hey, it’s great to see you again,’ he said, giving Rebecca a quick hug and nodding amiably to his cousin. ‘And this must be Emma …’ He turned to Emma. ‘Hi, there. Becky told me you’re a nurse? It must be a whole new experience for you to come out here and work in the Caribbean. How are you finding it?’
‘It’s great …’ Emma said. ‘It’s very different to what I’ve known before, back in the UK, but it’s really good—most of the time. Some things can be a bit frustrating—like equipment shortages or breakdowns—and of course everything tends to move at a slower pace.’
He nodded. ‘I know what you mean. Food stores can run out of staples like bread and milk, if you don’t get there early in the day, and the Internet can go down when you’re in the middle of something.’
‘And if your truck breaks down you might have to wait for a part to be sent over from one of the other islands,’ Cade put in, with feeling. ‘That’s happened to us more than once.’ He smiled and led them over to the bar. ‘I’ll get the drinks in. Mojitos, was it?’
‘That would be lovely.’ Rebecca glanced at him. ‘So, did you talk with your estate manager about getting a new truck?’
‘I did. It’ll take a while to sort out, but things will start to run a lot more smoothly for us once it arrives.’
They took their drinks to a table by the rail and the four of them chatted while they looked at menus and decided what they wanted to eat.
‘We could share a seafood and chicken platter?’ Cade suggested after a minute or two, and they all agreed. It sounded appetizing … saffron rice with grilled spiced chicken and mixed seafood.
Rebecca looked out over the water and watched graceful white egrets searching for titbits in the shallows. In the distance, where the mangroves gave way to tall dogwood trees, she saw a blue-and-gold macaw spread its wings and take flight.
She smiled. ‘I love it here,’ she said softly. ‘It’s so restful.’
‘It’s good to see you looking relaxed,’ William commented. ‘You were a bit stressed after your journey yesterday.’
Smiling, she said, ‘Well, twelve hours on a plane and then finding they’ve lost your luggage can do that to you.’
Cade lifted a dark brow. ‘Have your cases still not caught up with you yet?’
‘Not yet. I rang the airport this morning, to check, but nothing doing so far. They don’t seem to have any idea where they might be.’ Rebecca’s mouth curved a fraction. ‘It pays to have a sister who’ll share her clothes with you.’
‘Yeah, I guess so.’ He leaned towards her and added quietly, so that only she could hear, ‘If that’s Emma’s dress it certainly suits you … and it fits like a glove.’
Warm colour flooded her cheeks. ‘Thanks.’
William was still thinking about the boat journey. ‘Actually, I thought there was more to it than lost luggage … there were a few moments when you were off guard and you went a bit quiet.’
‘I was fine,’ she said. ‘I’m still fine. Who could be stressed in a place like this?’
He grinned. ‘You’re probably right.’
Rebecca sent him a fleeting, thoughtful glance. Was it possible William was more perceptive than she’d given him credit for? Maybe through his own experiences William understood deep down how it was to be out of sync with everything around him and his general air of good humour was something of an effort for him.
She was conscious all the time, though, of Cade’s watchful gaze. He still wasn’t happy about her getting to know William to any great extent—she could feel it in her bones—and he’d even managed to arrange the seating at the table so that his cousin was placed next to Emma and sitting diagonally across from Rebecca. Of course that could have come about in the natural course of events—maybe she was reading too much into things.
Cade said now, ‘Perhaps you were quiet because you were thinking about that man on the plane—the one who was taken ill?’
‘Yes, that was probably it.’
William and Emma listened interestedly as she quickly recounted what had happened.
‘That must have been so worrying.’ Emma frowned. ‘I wonder how he’s doing?’
‘His condition’s stable,’ Rebecca said. ‘I phoned the hospital this morning. Apparently he’s been assessed, and they’ve made the decision to do heart bypass surgery tomorrow.’
‘That must have cheered you up—to know that you enabled that to happen.’ Cade smiled. ‘It’s good that you followed up on him—I was wondering how he was doing, too.’
‘From the way the nurse spoke, I’m sure he’ll be fine. I think he’s in good hands.’
William was momentarily subdued. ‘I’m surrounded by medics,’ he said, in a voice tinged with awe. ‘What I do is nothing in comparison.’
‘You shouldn’t feel that way,’ Emma said. ‘We all have something to offer.’ She studied him briefly. ‘You work on Cade’s plantation, don’t you? What do you do there?’
‘I help out in all areas—getting to know the job from the bottom up, so to speak. Cade thinks that’s the best way for me to start.’
He told them about his role in ordering new seedlings and supervising the planting.
‘When we took over the plantation there were a number of mature trees that were viable—a lot of them are ready for harvesting now,’ Cade put in. ‘They have to be at least three years old before they produce pods—five years is best for a good crop—but we want to plant seedlings every year to ensure quality and continuity. You’ll be able to see what we’re doing when you come and take a look around tomorrow.’
‘I’ll look forward to that,’ Rebecca said.
Emma nodded. ‘Me, too … Provided I’m not called away to work.’ She pulled a face. ‘I’d arranged to take a few days off, with Rebecca coming over, but we’re not sure if there’s some kind of outbreak happening up in the hills.’
A waitress brought their food over to the table and they spent the next hour or so talking about this and that while sampling the delicious dishes on offer. Rebecca ate shrimp sautéed with peppers and onions in a spicy ginger and lime sauce, along with crab cake and rice accompanied by a tasty green salad. Dessert was a delicious concoction of caramelised pineapple with a drizzle of lime, vanilla and rum syrup, and a scoop of ice cream.
‘Mmm … that was heavenly,’ Rebecca murmured, pushing away her plate when she had eaten her fill. She laid a hand on her stomach. ‘I don’t think I’ll be able to eat another morsel for at least a week!’
William laughed. ‘Let’s hope it’s not as long as that. I was thinking of tempting you with my own recipe for melt-in-the-mouth chocolate tart when you come over to the plantation tomorrow.’
‘Oh … chocolate … you’ve found my weak spot—stay away from me!’ She laughed with him. ‘So you’re planning on being there, too? That’s great. But what about your friends on holiday in the north of the island? I thought you would want to be with them?’
‘They’re going back to Miami,’ he said, his mouth turning down a fraction at the corners.