morning flew by as Anahera treated her patients. Whenever she went outside to call the next person in, it was impossible not to look around to see how Luke was passing the time.
She’d been very unwelcoming, telling him his help wasn’t necessary. She could imagine the look that Sam would give her if he found out. Or what he would say.
You had a doctor there and you made him just sit and wait for you? That’s crazy, Ana. We need all the help we can get here. You know that.
She did know that. So the new guilt, added to what was already there, was taking the shine off a day that she normally loved. But she remembered how well they had worked together all those years ago. How they’d felt like the perfect partnership right from the first case they’d shared, and she didn’t want to feel that professional rapport again. Things were hard enough as they were.
And Luke didn’t seem to be feeling bad about being left out. When she went outside with Lani and looked at the long bench under the fig tree, he was no longer sitting there. In fact, half of the waiting patients weren’t there any more either. A burst of laughter and a child’s gleeful shriek revealed what was going on. A game of barefoot football. Village children had gathered and it seemed like the captains of the two teams were Jack and Luke.
For a moment Anahera watched the game, a smile spreading over her face, and, for the first time today, the knot in her stomach eased a little.
Luke looked so happy. He didn’t need to speak an island dialect to connect to these children and they were loving this game. Could they tell that the way he was trying to block their access to the improvised goal was all for show and he was actually making it easier for them? The triumphant shouting when Luke was dramatically waving his fists in the air to indicate frustrated defeat suggested that they didn’t and the joyful laughter meant that it didn’t matter even if they did know.
And then a small boy tripped as he was running and fell hard, raising a cloud of dust from the bare patch of ground. Luke was there before the dust even began to settle, scooping the child up and settling him on one hip as he checked for any injury.
Anahera could see the concern on his face. The gentle way he was examining small limbs. And then he tickled the little boy and they both burst into laughter.
The stone in Anahera’s belly seemed to turn into jelly.
She had forgotten how great Luke had been with children. That instant rapport that paved the way for making it easy for him to care for them. That patience and kindness that always won over even the most frightened children in the end.
It had been one of the first things she had loved about him.
She had thought about what a wonderful father he would make one day and how his children would adore him.
It wasn’t the heat or dust that was making her throat close up.
It felt more like overwhelming sadness.
Luke set the child down on his feet and he ran off to join his friends. Luke was still grinning and he wiped dusty hands on his already smeared white shirt and then he looked around and caught sight of Anahera and the grin faded. He looked wary rather than happy now.
As if his change in mood was contagious, the game broke up. Anahera had to blink back tears. The happiness had been snuffed out and it felt like it was her fault.
‘Alika? Can you come inside now, please? It’s your turn …’
Finally, the clinic was over.
Luke watched as Anahera locked the door of the simple hut. Jack picked up the supply bin, which was almost empty, in one hand. He had the chilli bin that had held the sandwiches and cold drinks they’d had for lunch in the other.
‘I’m going to drop these back to the chopper and then have a swim,’ he said. ‘Luke’s already had a dip but I’m still filthy from that game of footy. Take your time in the village, Ana, but it’d be nice to get back to Wildfire before dark.’
‘I thought you were going to come with us. Didn’t you want to show Luke the shipwreck?’
‘You know where it is.’ Jack began to walk away. ‘Have fun.’
Luke eyed Anahera. She met his gaze but neither of them smiled.
‘Let’s go, then,’ he said. ‘I’ve got all the snap-lock bags I need for samples and a notebook for recording information about the tea brewing.’
‘Okay.’ Anahera’s nod was brisk. ‘It’s not too far to the village but we’d need to take a slightly longer route if you want to see the shipwreck.’
Did he want more time with Anahera?
This was an unexpected opportunity as he’d also thought that Jack would be joining them for the visit to the village. And it could well be the only chance he was going to get to have a private conversation with her.
‘Yes.’ His hesitation had been brief. ‘I would like that. Very much.’
Their path took them uphill along a forest track, and Luke wasn’t bothered by the silence between them because it added to the magic of the rainforest. It had been so long since he’d walked a track like this and he’d forgotten how intricately intertwined the plant life was. Spaces between the tall, smooth trunks of the trees that stretched to form the canopy were crowded with tree ferns and palms and ginger plants. There were dense tangles of vines that were a startling contrast to spectacular bursts of colour from orchids. Overhead branches had epiphytes and aerial moss competing for room. The raucous screech of parrots and a hum of insects were the only sounds other than twigs breaking beneath their feet.
They emerged from the forest into an area that had been cleared enough for grass to grow. There were some goats farther up the hill but Anahera led him towards a rocky patch that looked disconcertingly close to where the ground fell away steeply.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
