Jenny blew her nose again. ‘So what happens now?’
‘I’d like to ring a good friend of mine who is a paediatric cardiologist. He’ll arrange for you to have those tests that I described. Then you come back to me and we’ll talk.’
‘But you definitely think there’s something wrong with her heart.’
‘Yes, I do,’ Logan said quietly, ‘and I’m not going to lie to you about that. But she’s a bonny little girl who has obviously done very well up until now. This may be something that is easily solved. They may even decide to wait and do nothing.’
Jenny was still struggling with tears. ‘My husband, Bobbie, is away so I can’t even talk to him.’
Logan leaned forward and covered her hand with his. ‘You can talk to us,’ he said gruffly, glancing towards Evanna. ‘Anything. Any time.’
Jenny gave a dismissive laugh. ‘You’re suggesting I make an appointment just to discuss how worried I am about my daughter’s heart?’
‘Yes. Why wouldn’t you? Being a GP is about caring for the whole family.’ Logan’s eyes were kind. ‘Let’s have those tests done and then talk again. If there are any decisions to be made, I’ll help you weigh up all the pros and cons.’
‘You’re incredibly kind.’ Janet shook her head. ‘I—I’m just not used to having a GP who encourages me to come back. The practice we were in before had eighteen GPs. I never saw the same person twice and they were never interested in anything other than hurrying me out of the door as fast as possible.’
Logan nodded. ‘Different pace of life,’ he said easily, ‘and different priorities. Glenmore is a small community, Jenny. And when you moved here, you became part of that. I’m going to call the cardiologist now and I’ll phone you with an appointment time. Will you be able to get her to the mainland?’
‘Oh, yes, I have a car and I travel across once a week anyway, to see my sister.’
‘Good. Here’s my home number and my mobile.’ Logan scribbled on a piece of paper. ‘Call me if you need to. Otherwise I’ll see you when we have some results.’
Jenny slipped the piece of paper into her bag and stood up. ‘Thank you.’ She looked at Evanna and gave a faltering smile. ‘And thank you, too.’
‘You’re very welcome.’
Evanna took Jenny to find her daughter and then returned to Logan. ‘You really think she has a heart defect?’
‘Yes. But obviously it needs to be confirmed by the cardiologist. She needs an echo.’
Evanna looked at him. ‘But now that it’s just you and me—tell me what you think.’
He didn’t hesitate. ‘I think she has an ASD. Atrial septal defect.’ He was sure and confident. ‘The second heart sound is split. It’s fairly characteristic.’
‘But why hasn’t it been picked up before now?’
‘There are often no symptoms in early childhood. But in Helen’s case I’m fairly sure that her breathlessness, the chest infections and the fact that her weight is below the tenth percentile …’ He shrugged. ‘I could be wrong.’
‘You’re not usually wrong, Logan,’ Evanna murmured, and he studied her for a long moment.
‘Are you leading my fan club?’
‘You’re a good doctor. You don’t need me to tell you that. So what will they do? Surgery? Or did I read somewhere that they sometimes close on their own?’
‘It’s unlikely that Helen’s will close on its own. By the time a child has reached the age of three it’s extremely unlikely that it will sort itself out, and she’s five and a half.’
‘Which means surgery, then.’
‘Not necessarily. There are some new techniques that can be done by an interventional cardiologist, rather than a surgeon. Basically they attach a device to a catheter and they can put it in place without having to stop the heart.’
Evanna pulled a face. ‘Which still sounds scary when it’s a child. Poor Jenny. And her husband away, too. How quickly can you get her an appointment?’
‘I’m going to call him now.’ Logan opened a file on the computer and scrolled down a list of phone numbers. ‘We worked together in London and he’s a really bright guy. I’m hoping he can fit her in this week. Did you call the hospital about Sonia?’
‘Yes. They’re very happy with her. Baby is a bit jaundiced so they’re going to keep her in for a few days but they hope she’ll be home by the middle of the week.’
‘A good outcome, then.’ Logan reached for the phone and then looked at her. ‘You asked me about the beach barbecue, but what about you? Are you going?’
Did she want to spend the evening watching him with another woman? The answer was very definitely no, but to not go would draw attention to herself. And anyway she lived on an island. No matter how she felt about Logan, she had to get on with her life. ‘I’m going.’
The beach was big enough, she reassured herself. There would be volleyball and football and a barbecue going, not to mention swimming. It should be easy enough not to have to stand staring at him.
CHAPTER NINE
EVANNA spent Saturday afternoon getting ready for the beach barbecue in her new bathroom. She opened the windows and lay in a deep bubble bath, soaking away the stresses of the week and enjoying the view of the sea. There couldn’t be many people lucky enough to have a view of the sea from their bathroom, she thought to herself when she finally eased herself out of the suds and reached for a towel.
She dried her hair and put on her bikini, knowing that the evening usually began with a swim. The she pulled on a halter-neck sundress in a deep shade of blue and slid her feet into pretty flip-flops. There was no point in considering elaborate footwear when she knew from experience that she’d be spending most of the evening barefoot.
Her doorbell rang just as she was pushing a towel into a raffia bag.
It was Kyla. ‘Ethan and I thought we’d give you a lift.’
Evanna picked up her key and pulled the door closed. ‘How many people are coming, do you know?’
‘Everyone. How’s Sonia—have you heard?’
They walked to the car and Evanna smiled at Ethan who was lounging in the driver’s seat, a pair of dark glasses shielding his eyes. ‘Sonia is doing very well.’ She squashed into the back seat of Ethan’s sports car. ‘She came out on Wednesday and I’ve already seen her in Meg’s, chatting to Lucy and feeding the baby.’
‘Those two will have a lot in common. Quite nice, really.’ Kyla checked her lipstick in the mirror. ‘A sort of ready-made support group. And how was Logan? I expected him to be traumatised but he’s actually seemed quite
