stiffened and the throb in his head intensified. ‘Yes,’ he said quietly, forcing his body to relax. ‘He mentioned it.’
‘It was a hideous time.’ Kyla’s voice was soft and her hands tight on the wheel. ‘Awful.’
Ethan felt the sickness rise inside him. ‘How did she die?’
‘Having the baby.’ Kyla shook her head slowly. ‘It seems so wrong, doesn’t it? In this day and age to die having a baby. You read about maternal mortality rates but you don’t actually think it’s going to happen to anyone you know. You think that if you monitor carefully, everything will be all right. But it wasn’t all right. And I know Logan still blames himself even though he did absolutely everything that could have been done. She had an undiagnosed cardiac condition.’
Ethan took a deep breath. ‘And how’s he managing with the little girl? It must be difficult.’
‘How did you know they had a girl?’ She shot him a surprised look, her blue eyes narrowed. ‘Did I mention it?’
‘Logan mentioned it,’ Ethan said, correcting his mistake swiftly. ‘Kirsty. Eleven months.’
‘That’s right. She’s a sweetie. She isn’t walking yet but her crawling could earn her a speeding ticket and she’s into everything. Gives us all grey hairs. And Logan manages. He’s a great father and he has a lot of help from the islanders. One of my aunts runs the café on the quay along with one of my cousins, and they often take Kirsty for him during the day.’
‘One of your aunts?’
‘My grandmother was obviously preserving the future of the island. My mother was one of six.’ She grinned at him. ‘I have five aunts and eleven first cousins. Some of them have moved away, of course, but most of them still live on the island, which is handy for Logan. He hasn’t cooked himself a meal for months, lucky creature. It’s useful to have family around, isn’t it?’
It was a concept so alien to Ethan that he found it impossible to answer. To avoid the inevitable questions, he took the conversation off on a different tangent. ‘You don’t like cooking?’
‘Not one of my skills, but I do like eating.’
‘And Logan has worked here since he finished his training?’
‘No. He worked in London for a while, gaining the experience he needed to be able to work in a place like this. Out here it’s the real thing, Dr Walker. No back-up. It takes skill and confidence to deal with that. Most islanders escape for a while just to see if the grass is greener on the other side and when they discover that it isn’t …’ She gave a slight shrug of her shoulders as she flicked the indicator and turned the car into a small car park ‘… they come back again. We’re here. This is Glenmore Medical Centre.’
It was larger than Ethan had expected, a modern building with clean lines and glass, attached to a stunning house, painted white and with several balconies that faced towards the sea. ‘Your brother lives here.’
‘Yes. The surgery is attached to the house and, of course, people take all sorts of liberties, banging on his door when he’s in the bath and that sort of thing.’ She smiled and switched off the engine. ‘But he loves it here.’
‘From what I’ve heard, your brother is well qualified. He could have worked anywhere.’
‘That’s right. He could.’ She reached into the back seat for her bag, her movements swift and decisive. ‘And he chose to work here, where he grew up—where his talents really count for something. On Glenmore you’re not one of hundreds of doctors, you’re the only one. Sometimes you’re the only person who can make a difference. You’re truly needed.’
‘And you love it.’
‘Oh, yes.’ She pulled the bag into her lap and then paused, a wistful smile on her face. ‘As it happens, I’ve tried leaving. I’ve tried living in other places but they never feel right. When I’m here on Glenmore, somehow everything falls into place and I know I’m home.’
‘It must be nice to feel that way about a place.’
‘Everyone has somewhere that feels like home,’ she said cheerfully as she opened the car door. ‘Where is it for you? London?’
Ethan sat in silence, thinking about the question. ‘That depends on your definition of home. Is it the place where you were born or the place where you grew up?’
She paused with her on the door as she considered the question. ‘It’s not necessarily either. Home is the place where you feel completely comfortable. You arrive there and suddenly you can’t remember why you ever left because it’s the only place you really want to be.’
Ethan studied her face for a moment. ‘Then I don’t think I have a home,’ he said quietly, ‘because I’ve never felt that way about anywhere.’
CHAPTER TWO
KYLA opened the boot and removed the box, trying not to stare as Ethan Walker uncurled his powerful body from the front seat of her car and stretched.
All the way in the car she’d been aware of him. Aware of the shadow of stubble darkening his jaw, of long, masculine leg brushing against hers and the long, searching looks he kept casting in her direction. She’d felt those looks—felt him looking at her—and something about the burning intensity of his gaze had disturbed her so badly that she’d driven fast to keep the journey as short as possible.
Her nerve endings had snapped tight and she’d been breathlessly conscious of every movement he’d made during the short journey.
She knew everyone who lived on the island. She was used to men who were safe and predictable. And she sensed that Ethan Walker was neither.
When her brother had given her the lowdown on the new island doctor, she’d conjured up a vision of a bespectacled, wiry academic who’d spent his life looking down a microscope and seeing patients from the other side of a large desk.
She hadn’t expected to be knocked off her feet by the sight of him.
It wasn’t just the handsome face and the athletic body that made it hard not to stare at him. It was the air of quiet confidence and the dark, almost brooding quality that surrounded him. She sensed that his emotions were buried deep inside him. Were those emotions responsible for the hard, cynical gleam in his eyes?
And what was he doing up here in the wilds of Scotland?
He’d evaded her question but she wasn’t a fool. If Logan was right, then Ethan had been on the fast track. Hadn’t he said that Ethan had been the youngest consultant they’d ever had in the hospital? A single-minded, ambitious over-achiever? Why would a man with that sort of career ahead of him suddenly leave it to work in a backwater?
It had to be something to do with his love life.
Hadn’t he ignored the question when she’d asked it? Which was entirely typical of a man, she thought to herself, because since when did men ever talk about their feelings? They were all completely hopeless.
She slammed the boot shut, deciding that it would be interesting to get some answers. And interesting to spend some time with him.
The thought surprised her because it had been a long time since she’d found herself wanting to spend time with a man.
The problem with island life, she reflected as she slipped the postbag onto her shoulder, was that she knew absolutely everyone. There were no surprises. She wasn’t suddenly going to look at Nick Hillier, the island policeman, and feel a hot flush coming on. She wasn’t going to go to bed dreaming of Alastair and his fishing boat. She knew everyone on the island as well as she knew her family.
But Ethan—Ethan was a surprise. A surprise that promised to