sleeves in a mouthwatering way. The black trousers fitted perfectly. He had a body to die for. She grinned. She’d been doing a lot of that since arriving here. But who could blame her? Then Ben’s left eyebrow rose and she switched the grin off.
Riley slowly approached, shy of Ben today. ‘You read me a story last night.’
Ben bent down to his level. ‘Hey, kid, good morning.’
Those trousers stretching across Ben’s butt accentuated the very tidy shape. A shape she’d love to cup with her hands, to feel his hot flesh against her palms. Rachel closed her eyes briefly. To stop herself staring. To prevent Ben seeing the lust she knew would be gleaming there. To get herself back under control. What was wrong with her this morning? One glimpse of a man in a uniform and she was having X-rated thoughts. Oh, no. She wasn’t a uniform follower, surely? Jamie had always looked dashing in his and she’d loved ogling him. Clearly it was the uniform and not Ben that had her in such a stew. Thank goodness she’d said no to the ride.
But Riley wrecked everything by suddenly opening up to Ben, a big, peanut-butter-smeared smile on his face. ‘Can I have a ride with you in the police truck? Can we have the lights flashing?’
Ben looked bamboozled at the onslaught. ‘No lights.’
Rachel reacted without thought. ‘No, Riley. You’re not racing around the island in a police car. Taking a ride with Ben is one thing but I’ll not have you thinking you’re playing cops with him.’ Her son was not going to be a policeman. He would grow up with a balanced outlook on helping people. He would not think he had to rush in fearlessly to save people while putting himself in danger at the same time.
‘All boys want to be a policeman or fireman. It goes with the genes.’
Obviously she was meant to take him seriously. ‘Not my boy.’
‘Your call.’ Ben shrugged eloquently, letting her know he didn’t agree. Too bad. Riley was her responsibility.
Riley looked from Rachel to Ben and back. Then an abrupt subject change. ‘I’m going to play with Harry today.’
Rachel’s throat blocked. Riley had turned to Ben as though it was the most natural thing in the world. Which it definitely was not for her sad little boy. But for some inexplicable reason Ben seemed to touch a chord with Riley that no other man had since Jamie’s death. Because Ben didn’t try too hard? Fear gripped her. Was this a good idea? What if Riley got too close to him? It would break his little heart all over again when they moved on. This wasn’t a permanent destination for them. At least she hadn’t planned on it being so.
Ben glanced at her. ‘I’m leaving in five.’
Yes, so? ‘We’re going to the hospital.’
‘I go past the front door.’
The main road did not go that close to the hospital. But it would be easier to catch a ride with Ben and not have to walk up the hill to the hospital with her bag while towing Riley along as well. ‘Then thank you, I accept.’
‘Okay.’
‘Can I throw a box of medical books in your vehicle?’
‘No problem.’ He headed back down the path.
Rachel stared at his departing back. That’s it? The man had no conversational skills whatsoever. Or was that something he’d deliberately cultivated to keep people at bay? If so, why?
Come to think about it, why was someone as obviously bright and ambitious as Ben living in Rarotonga? She had nothing against Rarotonga, but she couldn’t imagine that the police department in a community this size had a lot of complex cases for him to sink his teeth into. Something about this scenario did not ring true.
But, hey, look who’s talking? You’re here, aren’t you? Lissie may have sweet-talked her into giving it a try, but she hadn’t come here because she couldn’t keep up with the best of them back in London. And she definitely wasn’t going backwards by working for a small country. If anything, her qualifications would be enhanced with the women’s clinic she was setting up.
So she had no place speculating on Ben’s reasons for being here. But she was interested in him and wanted to know what made him tick. Her mouth twitched as she fought a grin. A perfect excuse to be nosy. Better be a little cautious, though. He might bite. Now, there was a thought. Her skin cells danced in happy anticipation even though that wasn’t going to happen.
Ben carried the doc’s box of books into her office while she jabbered on with the woman who’d taken up the post as the doc’s secretary, Colleen. In her fifties, Colleen and her husband, Ed, had moved over from Wellington for the warmer climate in the hope it would ease Ed’s arthritis. According to Lissie, Colleen was efficiency personified, and would have the doc so organised the only thing she’d have to do on her own was breathe.
A huge vase of red-and-yellow hibiscus blooms sat in the centre of the desk. New pens and a large pad had been lined up neatly. The doc probably wouldn’t realise how much she was wanted and needed here.
‘Wow, are those for me? What a lovely surprise.’ Rachel spoke up behind him, making him start. Brushing past him, her arm slid across his and he had to fight the urge to haul her against him. Imagine if he did. There’d be fireworks for sure.
‘They’re all yours,’ he croaked.
‘Makes me feel very special.’
‘Watch out for ants.’ When her exquisitely styled eyebrows arched at him, Ben added, ‘Off the flowers.’
She placed her medical bag on the desk.
His warning obviously hadn’t sunk in. ‘Your bag. Ants.’
Her pale face turned a dusky pink. ‘Okay, slow learner.’ Her bow-shaped mouth curved into a sweet smile that twisted his belly and flooded him with warmth. Rachel’s glance checked the empty shelves, the hospital bed pushed against one wall, and she chuckled. ‘Well, here we go. First day of my new job. It’s quite exciting to be practising in such a different environment.’
‘It won’t be easy.’ In case she’d missed the point last night, she needed to be warned that there’d be no fancy diagnostic equipment, should be told that second opinions came via the phone or email. At the end of the day the buck stopped with her. There were going to be times when she’d feel very isolated. How she dealt with that would be a test of her mettle. Somehow Ben didn’t think she’d be found wanting. But he was only guessing. Her needlework last night had been fine, but that had a degree of difficulty of one on a scale of one to ten.
‘There’ll probably be moments when I’ll wish I was back in London, but right now I see this as a challenge. It’s all too easy to take everything for granted when you work in a very modern hospital with all the equipment and staff you need available at the push of a button.’
Should he tell her he’d happily discuss any diagnosis problems she might have? Icy bumps lifted the skin on his arms. No way could he do that. Not now, not ever. What was happening to him that he’d even consider such a thing?
‘Ben, Rachel, there you are.’ Lissie bounced into the room, her smile wide, her eyes filled with happiness. ‘Glad you brought Rachel in, Ben. I ran out of time with Jason arguing that he shouldn’t go to school when Harry and Riley didn’t have
