THREE
‘CIAO.’
Kelly waved goodbye to a couple of nurses who worked on her ward and headed along the path to the staff quarters. It had been a busy day and she was glad it was over. Once she had finished in the clinic, she’d had notes to write up and that had taken the best part of the afternoon. She’d barely finished in time for the afternoon ward round, in fact.
Letizia had made a point of drawing everyone’s attention to her when she’d rushed into the ward with just a couple of minutes to spare, but Luca hadn’t said a word. In fact, he had ignored her for the next hour and that had been far worse than any reprimand. Even a cutting remark about her tardiness would have been better than the indifference he’d shown her.
She groaned when she realised how stupid she was being. Keying in the security code, she let herself into the building. The air-conditioning was switched on full and she groaned with pleasure when she felt the cool air playing over her skin. The weather had been extremely hot ever since she’d arrived in Sardinia. The temperature regularly hit the mid-thirties and she would have found it very uncomfortable in her apartment without air-conditioning. As she made her way up the stairs, Kelly couldn’t help thinking how lucky she was to have been offered an apartment here. From what she could gather, there was a waiting list for staff accommodation, and she had no idea how she’d managed to jump the queue. Unless Luca had arranged it for her?
Her heart lurched at the thought of him going to so much trouble on her behalf before she battened it down. She doubted if he even knew where she lived let alone had played any part in getting her a flat here. She let herself in and went straight to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of mineral water then took it into the sitting room and sat down.
All the apartments were decorated in the same neutral shades of grey and cream. The furniture was standard too, light beech built-in cupboards and cabinets, a small sofa plus an armchair. She’d added a few personal touches—some photos of her and Katie with their parents, a couple of ornaments—but the place still didn’t feel like home. It was just somewhere she came to sleep after a busy day. Until she found a place of her own, she would continue to feel like a visitor, although it might be wiser to forget about setting down roots until she decided if she was going to stay.
Kelly sighed when she realised that she was going round in circles. She would have to make up her mind soon about what she intended to do but she was too tired to think about it right now. One of the nurses was celebrating her birthday that night and she had invited Kelly along. They were meeting at a restaurant near the harbour so once she had showered, she changed into white cotton jeans and a black vest top. Her hair always took ages to blow-dry so she scooped it into a ponytail and left it to dry on its own rather than waste time toiling with the hairdryer. Half an hour later she was on her way out again.
She left the hospital and headed towards the harbour, taking the road that overlooked the bay. It was a beautiful evening and the sun was glinting off the azure blue sea. There was a cruise liner anchored in the bay and she could see a flotilla of tenders scurrying back and forth as they ferried the passengers ashore. The air was redolent with the scent of the pine trees which lined one side of the narrow, twisting road. There were a number of luxurious villas built into the hillside, although they were well hidden behind the trees.
It was wonderfully peaceful after living in the centre of busy Manchester and she hated the thought of going back there, but she might have to if she couldn’t find a way to work with Luca. Although the day had gone better than she’d feared, she’d felt extremely tense whenever he’d been around and that was hardly conducive to a healthy working relationship. All she could do was wait and see if it got any easier.
Kelly was halfway down the hill when she heard a motorbike roaring along the road behind her. There was a bend coming up so she decided to let the motorbike pass her. A lot of the young men in the area rode motorbikes and they usually rode them at a breakneck speed, so it was safer to keep out of their way.
She’d just stepped onto the grass verge when a movement suddenly caught her eye. A little boy had appeared from the drive of one of the villas and was riding his tricycle down the middle of the road. He was oblivious to the danger he was in and Kelly realised that she would have to do something if she was to avert an accident.
Hurrying forward, she swept the child into her arms just a moment before the motorbike came careering down the road. There was a squeal of brakes as the driver tried to stop, but she didn’t wait to see if he succeeded as she hurled herself and the child onto the verge. Pain shot through her when her elbow struck a lump of rock but she barely registered it because she was more concerned about the child. Her legs were trembling as she scrambled to her feet and hurriedly checked him over.
‘Good boy,’ she said as she ran her hands over his chubby little limbs. Apart from a small graze on his cheek, he appeared unscathed so that was something to be grateful for, although she dreaded to think how the driver had fared.
Picking the child up, she ran over to the young man. He was lying at the side of the road, moaning. Crouching down beside him, Kelly could tell immediately that his right arm was broken. It was an open fracture, too, and she could see a section of bone sticking through the flesh. Setting the little boy on the grass beside her, she took a clean handkerchief out of her bag and placed it over the wound to prevent any infection getting into the tissue. Once that was done, she quickly examined the young man, but he didn’t appear to have broken anything else. However, the fact that he wasn’t wearing a safety helmet meant that she couldn’t rule out the possibility of him having suffered a head injury.
‘I’m going to fetch help,’ she told him, knowing there was very little else she could do for him. The most important thing now was to get him to hospital as quickly as possible.
He broke into a torrent of rapid Italian and she shook her head. Although her grasp of the language was more than sufficient to deal with the patients she saw at the hospital, he had a thick local accent which made it difficult to follow what he was saying. ‘I don’t understand.’ She pointed towards the villa. ‘I’m going for help—aiuto.’
Thankfully, he understood what she meant and nodded. Picking up the little boy, Kelly ran back up the road. Hopefully, there would be someone at the villa who would allow her to use their phone to ring for an ambulance.
‘Matteo!’
Kelly ground to a halt when a man suddenly appeared from the driveway leading to the villa. She gasped when she recognised Luca because he was the last person she’d expected to see. He came racing towards her and swept the child into his arms.
‘What happened?’
‘There’s been an accident,’ she explained as she watched the little boy cling to him. The child obviously knew him, although she had no idea what their relationship was.
‘An accident,’ Luca repeated, staring at the child in concern.
‘Yes, but he’s fine. There’s just a graze on his cheek—see.’ She brushed a dark curl off the little boy’s face so that Luca could see what she meant then hurried on. Determining Luca’s relationship to the child really wasn’t important at the moment. ‘This little chap was riding his trike down the road when a motorbike came along. The driver managed to avoid him but he’s broken his arm. I was on my way to fetch help when you appeared.’
‘I see.’ Luca’s mouth thinned as he digested what she had told him. Kelly could tell that he was angry and didn’t blame him. The child couldn’t have been more than two years old, far too young to be out on his own.
‘Go
