a couple of years ago, when it was completely run down, and I’m learning a few lessons on the way. It’s taking a lot of effort to get it going once more, but we’ve made a reasonable start, I think.’
‘It sounds as though you have a busy life.’ She wanted to know more about the plantation, but he hadn’t yet commented about leaving his cousin to his own devices. Why had he done that if they were so close? ‘You said, “We’ve made a reasonable start”—is William part of that? Where does he fit in? If you’re so close, I don’t understand why you didn’t want to talk to him on the boat?’
‘He works for me, but he’s on holiday at the moment. As for when we were on the boat—he was with his friends and I didn’t want to intrude … more especially since he seemed to be very taken with you. In fact, I’d say he was smitten … so much so that I doubt he’d have thanked me for getting in the way.’
She looked at him in mock surprise. ‘Smitten? We’d only just met!’ Why would he have reached that conclusion? Was he jealous of the attention William had been giving her? Of course he hadn’t heard the bulk of their conversation, or he would have known they were just going to be friends. William liked her, but he was still getting over the break-up with his girlfriend and wasn’t making any romantic overtures. ‘You’re reading too much into the situation.’
‘I don’t think so.’ Again, that wry smile. His glance drifted over her, taking in her slender curves, the way her camisole top nipped in at the waist and her skirt draped itself over the swell of her hips. ‘What chance did he have against a flame-haired beauty with emerald-green eyes and a come-hither smile? He was done for the moment he looked at you.’ He pulled a face. ‘Heaven knows—I was done for.’
She stifled an uncertain laugh. Did he really feel that way about her? And that was the second time he’d commented on her looks. ‘Well, thanks for the compliment … I think …’ He made her sound like some kind of Delilah … ‘But if it really was as you say, do you imagine he’d have some sort of a problem getting involved with me? I couldn’t help feeling you were keeping a weather eye on him.’
‘I was, to be honest.’
She blinked, startled by his frank admission. ‘You were?’
He frowned. ‘I was … most of the time. At least I was trying to, when I wasn’t distracted by thinking about you. There’s something about you—a vulnerability that I sensed, maybe. I suppose it must have brought out the protective instinct in me.’ He sighed and gave his head a shake, as though he was trying to pull himself together. ‘Perhaps William feels it, too. Either way, I don’t want to see him land in hot water. My aunt asked me to watch out for him over the next few months. He may not look it, but he’s vulnerable, too, right now. He’s easily led and he’s been hurt in the past.’
‘Haven’t we all?’ She said it under her breath, but he gave her a quick, sharp glance before concentrating on negotiating a twisty bend in the road.
Rebecca gazed out of the window, watching the landscape unfold in all its glory. It was easier than trying to fathom him out. She sensed there was a lot more to Cade Byfield than she’d learned so far. He was attracted to her, but he was fighting it, and at the same time she had a sneaking feeling he didn’t trust her around his cousin. She wasn’t at all sure why.
Not that it mattered. Did she even trust herself right now? She was here to chill out, to get over the breakdown of her relationship with Drew and the turmoil that had caused … and hopefully to recover from the aftermath of the illness that had thrown her life into disarray these last few months.
The road wound its way through forested slopes, and their journey of discovery helped to take her mind off things. Beneath the thick canopy of trees she glimpsed the occasional flight of a colourful parrot or a yellow-chested peewee, and on the ground, which was thickly covered with broad-spanning ferns, she caught sight of small green lizards darting through the undergrowth. There were wild flowers hidden among the foliage along the route—waxy lilac anthuriums and the pretty scarlet rosettes of bromeliads peeking out here and there. It was beautiful, and all new to her.
‘You said you often go to Martinique on business?’ she murmured, turning her attention back to Cade. ‘Wouldn’t it be quicker and easier for you to fly?’
He nodded. ‘That’s true. But I like having the chance to unwind on board the ferry. It gives me time to clear my head and maybe get things into perspective. In a place like this you don’t always want to be rushing about. I get plenty of that in my job at the hospital.’
He pointed out the pristine waters of a yachting harbour as they rounded a curve in the road. ‘We must be getting fairly close to where you’ll be staying, I think.’
‘Oh …’ She gave a small gasp of delight as she looked out over the hillside and down into the rocky cove. ‘It’s so lovely. It’s perfection.’ Beyond the shoreline, outlined beneath the deep blue of the sea, she saw the turquoise ridge of a coral reef. ‘It’s even better than the way Emma described it to me.’
‘Yes, it’s an exquisite island—a beautiful place to live … and work. I’ve travelled the world, but I always love to come back here.’ He negotiated a winding road down to the scattering of houses that made up the small hamlet. ‘Yours is the cabin, you said?’
‘Yes … I think I can see it amongst the trees. Emma sent me pictures of it.’
Excitement bubbled up inside her as she caught sight of a timber-clad house with white-framed windows and a white-painted wooden balustrade enclosing a wide veranda. The sun was setting on the horizon, casting a golden glow over the hills as they drew up in front of the house. Everything looked tranquil and untouched by the outside world. She sat for a moment, taking it all in. She could be happy here. She felt it deep inside. Surely this was a place of healing, where she could mend her body and her spirit?
‘Presumably your sister would have been expecting you earlier? How will you get into the property if she’s not here now?’
She frowned. ‘It’s been a couple of hours since her text message—I would have thought she’d be home by now. But she said she would leave a key in a safe place where I’d be sure to find it.’ She laughed softly. ‘Knowing Emma, that probably means it could be under a rock marked “Key is here”.’
He laughed with her. ‘I dare say the locals are all on good terms with your sister. You can rest easy. We don’t get a lot of crime out here.’
He parked the car in front of the cabin a few minutes later. It was set against a backcloth of leafy trees and dense shrubbery, its location completely private, and everything smelled fresh and open to nature.
Cade waited while Rebecca knocked on the door. When there was no answer she stifled her disappointment and went in search of the key.
‘It was hidden in a box under the veranda,’ she told him. ‘Would you like to come in for a drink of some sort? I expect there’ll be juice in the fridge—or coffee?’
‘Thanks. I’ll have a coffee, if you have the makings. I’ll see you settled in and then I should be on my way. I have to get over to the plantation to meet up with my estate manager.’
‘You work late out here?’
He nodded. ‘Occasionally. Sometimes it’s necessary if problems crop up. My manager wants to see me about getting a new truck—the one we have at the moment keeps breaking down. He lives in a cottage on the plantation, so it’s not as if he’ll be put out too much. I need to get it sorted.’
All this on top of his work as a doctor? He obviously believed in keeping busy. She stepped on to the veranda and unlocked the front door. ‘Come in.’
‘Thanks.’
They both took a moment to look around. The living room was simply furnished, with a polished light oak floor, a couple of settees and a coffee table, and opened out into a light and airy kitchen-diner at one end. The units there