about the woman she’d become. The doctor he was going to be working alongside for the foreseeable future.
In the four weeks he’d already spent in this island paradise she was the most beautiful sight he’d seen yet. With the golden waves of her hair shining in the sunlight, her turquoise eyes the colour of the water and her slender form draped in azure, she could’ve stepped out of a shampoo advert. It was too bad she was his mate’s little sister and nursing a broken heart. Two things that immediately put her off limits. Even if hearing-impaired ex-army docs were her thing.
He’d let enough of his army buddies down without failing Peter too. Neither was he in the market for any sort of emotional entanglements. Emily was literally carrying more baggage than he was prepared to take on. He was more of a backpacking guy, travelling light with no intention of setting down roots. Although he helped out with these outreach programmes now and then when people were in dire need, he was better off on his own. It meant no long-term responsibility to anyone but himself.
The last time he’d been charged with the welfare of people close to him, it had cost two of his colleagues their lives. When the IED had knocked him to kingdom come he’d failed to be there for the men he’d had a duty of care for. Next to the young families left without fathers, his loss seemed insignificant. These days he preferred to keep his wits about him rather than become too complacent and safe in his surroundings.
‘Are we there yet?’ Emily was smiling as she jogged to keep up with him.
At least when she was close he could hear her or interpret her facial expressions. He only had a six per cent loss of hearing but sometimes it meant he missed full conversations going on in the background. More often than not he chose to let people think he was an arrogant sod over revealing his weakness. He and Emily had their pride in common.
‘Very nearly. Now, there are a few protocols to be aware of before presenting the yaqona for the kava ceremony. You’re dressed modestly enough so that shouldn’t be a problem.’ He took the opportunity for a more in-depth study of her form, though he wasn’t likely to forget in a hurry how she looked today.
‘What’s the kava ceremony?’ She eyed him suspiciously, as if he might be luring her to the village as some sort of human sacrifice.
‘Basically, it’s a welcoming ceremony with the most senior tribal members present. They grind the yaqona, or kava, and make it into a drink for you to take with them in a traditional ceremony. All visitors are invited to take part when they first arrive on the island.’
‘It’s not one of those hallucinogenic substances you hear about, is it? I don’t want to be seeing fairies dancing about all night in front of my eyes. I’m not even a big drinker because I don’t enjoy that feeling of being out of control.’ She was starting to get herself into a flap for no reason.
Joe hadn’t even asked questions when he’d taken part in his first kava ceremony, he’d just gone with the flow. He embraced every new experience with gusto, whereas Emily seemed to fear it.
‘Don’t worry. It’s nothing sinister, although the taste leaves a lot to be desired. There shouldn’t be any fairy visions keeping you awake. If anything, it’s known to aid sleep, among other things.’ He kept the claims of its aphrodisiac properties to himself rather than freak her out any further.
‘I don’t think that’s something I’m going to have a problem with tonight.’ She set her case down and rubbed her palms on her dress before lifting it again. The heavy labour in less-than-ideal circumstances was something she was going to have to get used to and only time would tell if she was up to it.
He, on the other hand, had a feeling his peace of mind here had suddenly been thrown into chaos.
It was just as well he thrived on a challenge.
ALL EMILY WANTED was a familiar face and familiar things around her. It wasn’t a lot to ask for and the sooner she got her bags unpacked and her clinic in the sun set up the better. Then she might be able to finally relax. She’d had all the excitement she needed just getting here.
Her pulse skittered faster as the ramshackle buildings with their corrugated-iron roofs came into view. This was as far from her humdrum life as she could get and a definite two-fingered salute to her ex.
‘Can I refuse to take part in this kava thing?’ She’d used up her quota of bravery already. Drinking unknown substances with strangers was the sort of thing that could make her the subject of one of those ‘disappearances unsolved’ programmes.
Her idea of living dangerously was putting an extra spoonful of sugar in her cuppa at bedtime, not imbibing a local brew of origin unknown to her. It wasn’t that she’d heard anything but good things about these people, she was just scared of all this newness. This would’ve been so much easier if Peter was here with her instead of the scowling Joe.
‘You have free will, of course you can refuse. It would, however, show a distinct lack of respect for your hosts.’
That would be a no, then. It was going to be difficult enough fitting in here, without incurring the wrath of the community from the get-go.
Trust and respect were vital components between a doctor and her patients. It had taken her a long time to gain both from her colleagues and the locals when she’d first joined the GP practice at home. Only years of hard work, building her reputation, had moved her from being last option to first choice for her patients.
With only two weeks to re-create that success here she’d have to take every opportunity available to ingratiate herself. Even if she was breaking out in a cold sweat at what that meant she could be walking into.
They passed a white building, larger than the rest, which her tour guide informed her was the village school. Although lessons were surely over for the day, the children were congregated on the patch of green surrounding it, playing ball games. There was a chorus of ‘Bula!’ as the youngsters waved in their direction.
Unfortunately, one boy by the volleyball net was too distracted by their arrival to see the ball coming straight for him. The loud smack as it connected full in his face even made Emily flinch. As the child crumpled to the ground, for a split second she wondered if there was some sort of protocol she should follow as she hadn’t been officially introduced. Common sense quickly overrode her worry and she dropped her bags to run to him. It was only when she was battling through the throng of children to reach him that she realised Joe had followed too. They knelt on either side of the boy, who was thankfully still conscious but clearly winded.
‘If you could just stay still for us, sweetheart, we want to give you a check over. That was quite a hit you took there.’ She couldn’t see any blood or bruising as yet but she wanted him to stay flat until they’d given him a quick examination.
‘Hi, Joni. This is Emily, the new doctor. You know, Pastor Peter’s sister?’ Joe made the introduction she’d omitted to do herself, and was already checking the boy’s pupils with a small torch he’d retrieved from one of his pockets.
She’d bet her life he had a Swiss Army knife and a compass somewhere in those cargo shorts too. He was the type of guy who was always prepared, like a rugged, muscly Boy Scout. The only survival essentials she carried were make-up, teabags and chocolate biscuits, none of which were particularly useful at present. The few medical supplies she had with her were packed somewhere in her abandoned
