Hawaiian Sunset, Dream Proposal Read online

  ‘I doubt it,’ Amber said in a resigned tone. ‘It’s too late now to sort anything out. All the specialist positions that would have interested me will have been filled by now. The most I can hope for is that I can apply for a locum post. I might be able to fill in when people are sick. It means going from one hospital to another, where I’m needed, perhaps, or working for short stints on contract—a few months at a time, maybe.’

  ‘It might not be so bad as you imagine,’ her mother commented. ‘Perhaps something will turn up.’

  ‘Let’s hope so,’ Amber murmured.

  They chatted for a little while, about her mother’s work as a graphic artist, and Amber enquired after her father, who worked as a general practitioner at the local health centre.

  ‘He’s out on call, at the moment,’ her mother said. ‘There seems to be a spate of people going down with flu. I think he’s overworked and stressed just now—one of the doctors is off sick, and another is away on leave, so the practice is under a bit of a strain. He’s had to take on a good share of his workload, as well as his own. We’re both under a good deal of pressure at the moment and things are a bit tense between us at times. I have deadlines to meet, and nothing quite goes the way I want it. I told him what we both need is a good holiday.’

  Amber could see how that prospect would be tempting. She could do with a break herself. She had a picture in her mind of boats tethered on a gently sloping beach, while waves lapped desultorily at the shore, leaving white ribbons of foam to fringe the golden sand. Exotic birds would fly from one palm tree to another…and there, in the forefront, gazing at the vista before him, stood a tall, bronzed figure, his blue eyes half-closed against the glare of the sun.

  She pulled herself together with a jolt, frowning as she said goodbye to her mother. Why on earth would an image of Ethan Brookes come into her mind that way? Didn’t she have enough problems to deal with, without him popping into her mind every other minute?

  CHAPTER THREE

  ‘YOUR temperature’s way too high, Jack,’ Amber told her patient, ‘so I’m going to give you something to try to bring it down, along with medication to stop you from being sick.’

  ‘Thanks. I feel really rough.’

  ‘I can imagine how bad it must be.’ She glanced at his arm. ‘That’s a really nasty sore you have there,’ she said with a frown as she examined him. ‘Do you recall how it happened?’

  Jack grimaced. ‘I was bitten by an insect of some kind—a sandfly, I think.’ He was a man in his early twenties, a man who should have been full of vigour and zest for life, but at this moment his skin was sallow, and there were beads of sweat breaking out on his brow.

  Amber nodded. ‘I don’t suppose that it happened in this country, did it? Have you been overseas at all, lately?’

  ‘I was in South America,’ Jack said. ‘I worked there for a couple of months until recently.’ He glanced at her. ‘Do you think that’s what’s causing my illness—the fact that I had an insect bite? That’s what my mates think.’ His face contorted as another spasm of nausea washed over him and he struggled to overcome the urge to vomit. ‘I didn’t feel too bad until I arrived home in the U.K.,’ he managed. ‘I seem to have gone downhill ever since then. I’ve never felt as ill as this before.’

  ‘It does seem quite likely that’s what happened,’ Amber told him. ‘I’ll do a biopsy, and take some blood for testing. Once we have a clear idea what we are dealing with, I’ll be able to treat you more specifically.’

  Jack looked worried. ‘Some of my co-workers have been telling me that this sort of illness can be hard to treat. Some even said that people don’t always recover. Is that true?’

  ‘What kind of friends are these who say something like that?’ Amber asked, raising a brow in astonishment. She gave him a reassuring smile. ‘Let’s wait until we have the results, shall we? What I will say is that I haven’t lost a patient yet to an insect bite.’

  Sarah mopped his brow with a cool flannel. ‘She’s right,’ she said with a faint chuckle. ‘We only bring in lay-consultants after we’ve been scratching our heads for a couple of weeks, because we reckon after that length of time anybody’s guess is as good as ours.’

  ‘You’re making fun of me,’ Jack said. He gave them a weak smile. ‘You wouldn’t be doing that if you felt the way I did.’

  Sarah patted his hand. ‘Only kidding,’ she murmured. ‘Dr Shaw knows what she’s doing. She won’t let you down.’

  Amber made quick work of collecting the samples she needed. ‘If it’s true that you were bitten by a sandfly,’ she said, ‘especially a female sandfly, then it’s quite possible that you have a parasitic infection. They can be really nasty and make you feel truly awful, because they attack your immune system and lower your resistance. If that’s what has actually happened, we’ll put a drip in your arm and treat you with a medication that will kill off the parasite. It won’t happen overnight, though. Sometimes it can take several weeks for the treatment to take effect.’

  Jack made a face. ‘I’m not going anywhere in a hurry,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t have the energy.’

  Amber left him with Sarah a few minutes later. She had been working for a good part of the day in A and E, but now it was time to go and check up on her patients on the surgical ward.

  She called in on Martyn first of all. James was there, talking quietly to Caitlin, while Martyn was sitting in a chair at the side of his bed, balancing a laptop computer on his knees and frowning in concentration. He looked weary, a few lines of strain showing around his mouth and forehead, and Amber was immediately on the alert. James and Caitlin were oblivious to anything around them, smiling and sharing anecdotes with one another about life at university.

  ‘I thought I’d drop by to see how you’re getting on,’ Amber said, greeting Martyn and nodding towards James and Caitlin. ‘I see you have company, though, so I’ll make this a quick visit.’

  James got to his feet. ‘I’ve been looking for you all morning,’ he murmured. He came over to her and gave her a hug. ‘I heard about the job,’ he said quietly. ‘That was really bad news. I was so sure you would get it. The whole system is chaotic.’

  ‘I suppose I can’t complain,’ she said. ‘A lot of us are finding ourselves in the same boat, unfortunately.’ It felt good to have his arms close gently around her. It was a light, comforting embrace that showed her he cared, but she couldn’t help thinking it had come too late. A couple of days had passed since she had received the letter, and this was the first time he had mentioned the subject. She returned the embrace and then, much as she would have liked to prolong the contact, she gently broke away from him, turning her attention towards Martyn. It didn’t seem right to be hugging, however brief and innocent the gesture, in front of a patient and his relative.

  ‘I hear you’ve been trying to walk about a bit,’ she said, giving Martyn a brief look to try to assess how he was doing. ‘That’s good. Try to do things gradually, though. We don’t want you to tax yourself too soon and end up having a relapse.’ She frowned. ‘Sarah tells me you’ve been making a lot of phone calls these last few days…and that’s fine, if it’s to keep you in touch with family and friends to generally cheer yourself up—only Sarah has the idea that you’ve been talking to people at the office and getting yourself into a state.’

  He looked at her, very much like a little boy on the receiving end of a telling-off. ‘It’s just that I’m feeling so much better,’ he said, using a placatory tone. ‘And it’s all down to your care and attention. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m doing really well. You saved my life and I’m always going to be in your debt. I wouldn’t dream of doing anything to undo all your good work.’

  Amber sent him a knowing look. ‘Don’t even begin to think you can wind me around your little finger,’ she admonished him. ‘I’m onto your tricks. Your nephew warned me about you.’

  ‘That was very well said.’ Ethan’s deep, male voice came from across the room, causing Amber
to give a startled jump. She frowned at the screen that showed his image. Was that man forever going to be sneaking around and putting in an appearance when she least expected him?

  She glanced at the watch on her wrist. ‘Aren’t you up and about again at an altogether unsociable hour?’ she asked. Why couldn’t he turn up when the night shift was on duty and she was safely out of the way? But perhaps he had always been an early riser…and that thought only added to her discomfort. What business did he have looking so fit and energetic when the sun was barely up in his part of the world?

  ‘Do I detect sour grapes?’ Ethan said, lifting a dark brow. ‘I guess you’ve been hard at work for several hours by now. How is it that you’re still looking after my uncle when your job is supposed to be in Accident and Emergency?’

  ‘Professor Halloran asked me especially to look after Martyn,’ she explained. ‘But, in fact, my work is divided between A and E, the surgical ward and various other wards. I like it this way, because it gives me the chance to follow up on people who have been admitted to hospital from A and E. That doesn’t usually happen with these senior house officer jobs, but I’ve found I really like being able to do that. It gives the training more depth, and that’s why I applied for this particular rotation.’

  ‘Didn’t I hear you saying that you’d missed out on getting a job to go to after this one?’ Martyn looked up from his laptop, a faint line indenting his brow. ‘Most of the junior doctors’ contracts come to an end soon, don’t they?’

  Amber sent him a fleeting glance. Although he had appeared to be engrossed in what he was doing, he had obviously been listening in to her earlier conversation with James.

  ‘That’s true,’ she told him. ‘Somebody mislaid my application and by the time it turned up, the job I applied for had been filled. Now it looks as though I’m going to be joining the ranks of the unemployed.’

  Martyn shook his head. ‘I don’t know what the world is coming to,’ he said. ‘Now, if I was in charge—’

  ‘You’d be running us all around like a bee after honey,’ Ethan interjected. He strode across the veranda of his property, his body long and lean, exuding health and vitality. ‘You need to learn to take a back seat. Don’t think I haven’t heard about all the requests for changes at the plantation. You seem to forget that I’m in charge right now. I’ll make the decisions so you don’t need to worry about anything.’

  ‘But you need me to guide you,’ Martyn insisted. ‘You haven’t been involved with the day-to-day running of things up to now, and you have enough to do with the practice back home. You can’t possibly do two full-time jobs, and if we don’t get the new machinery up and running we’ll be falling behind schedule.’

  Practice? What practice would that be? Amber wondered, but Caitlin began to speak just then, diverting her thoughts. ‘You know you shouldn’t be getting involved with any of this,’ Caitlin told him. ‘Ethan is perfectly capable of dealing with everything. You just don’t like to let go, do you?’

  ‘It isn’t that at all,’ Martyn said, using an appeasing tone. ‘It’s just that I can see from all these work logs that the technicians haven’t been on the site yet. We need them to service the equipment.’ He nodded towards his laptop screen. ‘Someone needs to gives them a nudge to get things moving.’

  ‘So you’ve logged into the company’s intranet, have you?’ Ethan murmured. ‘Is there no stopping you?’ He was frowning, his blue eyes darkening like clouds rolling in off the sea. Behind him the sky was lit up with the glow of sunrise, colouring the landscape with a burst of flame-coloured light.

  ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ Martyn said, assuming an innocent air. ‘After all, I’m not back home at the plantation, or in the U.K. office, so I have to keep in touch with what’s going on, one way or another.’

  Amber walked over to him and peered down at the computer. ‘This is a top-of–the-range laptop, isn’t it?’ she murmured, sounding impressed. ‘A super-duper internet machine with all kinds of bells and whistles. May I take a closer look?’ When he acknowledged her with a nod, she carefully placed her hands on the computer, turning it lightly so that she could see what was on the screen. ‘Oh, so you’re not using this for playing solitaire or amusing yourself with films…that’s what you told Sarah you wanted the laptop for, wasn’t it? But, then, you weren’t exactly being upfront with her, were you?’

  She looked sternly down at him and Martyn’s face took on a faintly sheepish look. ‘I do want to do those things. It’s just that I haven’t quite found the time just yet.’

  ‘Well, I’m afraid it’s too late now, because your office is closing, as of this minute,’ she informed him. With one swift movement Amber lifted the computer from him and closed the lid. ‘I’m confiscating this,’ she said, moving away from him. ‘You’ll get it back when I’ve decided you’ve had sufficient rest.’

  ‘You can’t do that,’ Martyn protested, his jaw dropping open. Clearly, no one had ever thwarted him in such a way before.

  ‘Can’t I?’ She studied him thoughtfully. ‘I believe I just did.’

  She heard a stifled chuckle and glanced in the direction of the video link. ‘I do believe he’s finally met his match,’ Ethan said, giving her an appreciative look. He made a thumbs-up sign. ‘Perhaps Professor Halloran wasn’t so far off beam in keeping you in charge here after all,’ he added in a musing tone. ‘I had wanted to bring in our own consultant, and I’d have gone ahead and done it if Martyn hadn’t vetoed me.’

  Martyn glowered at both of them. ‘I may yet change my mind,’ he threatened. ‘I’m sure I have the number of one or two specialists who can be relied on to do things my way.’

  Amber wasn’t fazed by his reaction. ‘By all means go ahead,’ she said. ‘You still won’t get your computer back until you’ve had a good, long rest.’

  Caitlin put a hand to her mouth, but whether that was to cover her amusement, or to hide the extent of her shock, Amber wasn’t sure. Either way, James lightly touched the girl’s arm and murmured, ‘I have to go back to work now. It’s good to see that you’re bearing up well.’ He nodded towards Ethan. ‘You can rely on Amber to take care of things. She’s always been a force to be reckoned with.’

  He smiled at Amber, and went with her to the door as she sought to find a safe place for the laptop. ‘Are we on for lunch later today?’ he asked.

  She nodded. ‘That would be good.’ She looked at him closely, but she couldn’t read his expression and she wasn’t at all sure what was going on with him lately. Perhaps he wasn’t able to decide what he really wanted. He seemed to be blowing hot and cold, but then again who was she to judge? These days her emotions were a mishmash of confusion and disappointment, only enlivened every now and again by one of his smiles.

  Once she had disposed safely of the laptop into a secure locker, she went back to Martyn’s private room. Caitlin had gone to get herself a cup of coffee, and Martyn was alone, still sitting in the chair by the bed.

  ‘I need to check your blood pressure,’ Amber said, and Martyn obligingly held out his arm, though he still had a disgruntled look on his face. Amber stared about her to see if Ethan was still online, but the screen was blank, and she wasn’t sure whether she felt relief or disappointment about that.

  ‘He’s gone to work,’ Martyn said, following her gaze. ‘Like you, he’s a doctor, only he has a private practice within the main hospital back home. He trained in emergency medicine. It’s all he ever really wanted to do, but he has other interests besides that, including half-ownership of the plantation. Until now he’s been a silent partner.’ He gave a faint scowl. ‘Only, just lately, he’s starting to have a lot more to say for himself on that score.’

  A doctor…That probably explained a lot, Amber mused. Ethan would understand only too well what was happening with his uncle. It was no wonder that he wanted the very best care for him, knowing how very ill he was.

  ‘That’s because he cares about you, and doesn’t want you to over-extend
yourself,’ she told him as she wrapped the blood-pressure cuff around his arm. ‘He said he’ll sort things out, and perhaps you should let him get on with it without trying to interfere.’

  ‘And what would you know about running a pineapple plantation?’ Martyn said grumpily. ‘My grandfather started the project, and I have to keep up the family tradition. There’s more to it than simply planting seeds and harvesting the crop. If we don’t keep up to date with our research projects, we won’t be able to develop new varieties of fruit, and our produce will become vulnerable to the ravages of pests and diseases.’ He gave her a mournful look. ‘That’s why I need my computer back, or, at the very least, my mobile phone.’

  ‘All in good time,’ Amber said in a peaceful tone. ‘Nothing major is going to happen in the next few hours, except that you’re going to lie back and relax. I’ll switch the TV on for you, if you like, and you can amuse yourself with the afternoon film or a house make-over programme. It’s what you need, something pleasant and unchallenging to send you to sleep.’

  ‘I don’t want to watch a film,’ he said in a terse voice.

  ‘You can’t go on the way you did before.’ She indicated the blood-pressure monitor. ‘Look at that,’ she commanded him. ‘The reading is way too high. You’ve just miraculously come through a very difficult and worrying time, and you’re not doing anything to help yourself.’

  ‘Is everyone in your family the same as you?’ he asked, narrowing his eyes. ‘Is there a stroppy gene mixed in somewhere with all the usual ones?’

  ‘I’m not altogether sure about that,’ Amber murmured, releasing the cuff. ‘My father is efficient, hardworking, always striving to do better, but he’s generally easy to get along with. My mother is usually very calm and sensible, though she does have her moments when she decides enough is enough and makes her feelings clear to everyone around her.’