that he’d know it because she was stalking away from him, throwing back over her shoulder, ‘Anyway, it was your fault—you started it!’
But hearing the words they’d flung at each other so often in childhood fights, she felt a deep sorrow for all they’d lost …
Or had they?
What about the friendship they’d decided to rediscover? ‘Nice walk?’ Nori asked brightly when they returned to the clinic, any further exploration totally forgotten.
‘It had its moments,’ Caroline replied, then proceeded to ask Nori about her family, marital status and children, a conversation that lasted until Jack returned to tell them they could head back to Wildfire.
Not interested in the brilliance Nori’s three-year-olds were already showing, Keanu had moved into the theatre to check their patient. She was dozing in the big chair, the baby sleeping against her breast.
The sight brought unexpected emotion welling up inside him, bringing a thickness to his throat.
Time he was out of there …
‘Coming back with us?’ Keanu said to Caro, who was still deep in a conversation about Nori’s children.
Which made him wonder as she said, ‘Yes, sir!’ and followed him out of the clinic, why she’d never married the Steve guy and had children of her own.
Apart from their medical ambitions, if he remembered rightly they had been going to get married and have ten children.
Ten?
‘Did you know Nori has six children—three sets of twins?’
Keanu shook his head. She’d been talking to Nori—talking about children—so it was a fairly innocuous thing for Caro to have said. But coming right on top of the thick throat and his memory of the past, it shook him. There were far too many things going on his head that he didn’t want her picking up on, although he wouldn’t have minded having a few clues about her thoughts.
Fortunately, by the time they arrived back on Wildfire he had an excuse to escape. He had to concentrate on the arrangements for Alkiri’s funeral and the first thing on the list was to try entry to the research station via the gate, and get permission from whoever was in charge.
Should he ask Caroline to accompany him?
She’d been anxious to know what was happening at the station but walking with her through the scented tropical dusk with her was too much to contemplate.
He went in to see Sam, inevitably battling paperwork in his office, to check he wasn’t needed at the hospital.
‘You’re free to go, mate,’ Sam told him, ‘and I’ve already got their okay. In fact, the bloke who’s the foreman down there actually contacted me to see if I’d like to come down and see the laboratories, and I asked him about the longhouse. But if you want to check it out, just explain who you are to the gate people. Sounded to me that, now they’ve finished, they’re happy to have people see what they’ve achieved.’
Sam’s eyes slid away from his, and Keanu turned to see Caroline standing there.
‘You want to go with Keanu and see the renovations down the road?’
‘We’re allowed in?’ She sounded so delighted Keanu could hardly say he didn’t want her with him.
‘As of today,’ Sam was assuring her.
At least she wouldn’t be wearing a wet shift, Keanu told himself, but somehow that wasn’t comforting at all. She’d been in the same mid-calf pants and uniform shirt when they’d kissed under the tree …
The foreman’s name was Bill and he was at the gate talking to the guard there when Keanu and Caroline arrived.
‘Sorry about the fence, but the boss wanted the place secure—or as secure as anything can be with so much beach frontage. It was mainly to keep out adventurous kids during the building process, and the fences and guard will remain because the laboratories will have some evil chemicals in them. Not that they won’t be locked as well, and I imagine there’d be more kids coming by boat than down from the hospital, but what he says goes.’
‘Who is he?’ Caroline asked, so excited to be ‘invited’ to the station that she was barely registering Keanu by her side.
Well, almost barely.
‘Some fellow from the Middle East apparently. I get my orders from his—what do they call him?—Australasian manager. He’s from the Middle East as well, but speaks English the same way the Queen does.’
Caroline smiled. Children from all over the world were educated in top English public schools so undoubtedly all of them spoke ‘like the Queen does’.
Keanu was talking to Bill, so Caroline dawdled behind them, trying to identify all the different scents. She saw the jasmine creeping up the fence—soon it would be smothered—and the broad leaves of the ginger plant, their drooping white bulb-like flowers giving out what was probably her favourite perfume. Or did she prefer the frangipani that was dominant now—?
‘You with us?’ Keanu asked, and she realised how far she’d fallen back. He and Bill were at the door of the newly renovated and freshly painted laboratory block.
She caught up as Bill unlocked the door, and she gasped at the difference. Admittedly, it had been thirteen years since she’d been in the lab—back when she’d had her last holiday here with Keanu and Helen.
After they left it had never been the same and she’d used the excuse of spending more time with Christopher to avoid island holidays.
‘It’s been completely redone,’ Keanu was saying. ‘No wonder Sam’s so excited about it. But do you know if there are people booking to come here to use it?’
Bill shook his head.
‘Not my department, but we have been hurrying to finish everything and be out of the way because the boss—the big boss—is planning some kind of exclusive, very clever scientists’ get-together some time soon.’
They went to check the longhouse next, and once again Caroline could only gape in amazement. Rebuilt in the style of the island meeting places, thatched roof—probably with something underneath the palm thatching to stop it leaking—and open on all sides, it was finished with the best of materials, with cedar benches polished to a glowing shine, weavings hanging from the rafters, mats and cushions strewn around the floor. It was an island longhouse for today and for the future.
‘It’s totally awesome,’ she said, shaking her head because it was hard to take it all in.
‘And we can use it for Alkiri’s funeral feast?’ Keanu asked, as if he already knew this had been agreed.
‘Sure thing,’ Bill said. ‘It will be a good test of the fire pits.’
‘It’s even got fire pits?’
She sounded so incredulous both men smiled, but she followed them beyond the building where, sure enough, a deep pit had been dug with a more shallow one beside it, big stones, firewood and white
