‘THE ISLAND POPULATION is around five hundred and sixty now—we’ve had a huge growth spurt with the new development round at South Cove. But that number easily quadruples, and more, in the summer with holidaymakers, day-trippers and boat races swelling the numbers.’ Mia, the nurse practitioner, put a tray of steaming mugs of tea down on the white plastic table in the surgery staff’s lunch-cum-meeting room. ‘Although, we have such a great microclimate here, we have visitors all year round. Have you been to the island before?’
Owen shook his head. ‘I tried to get over a couple of times, but the trips were cancelled because of lockdowns. I even interviewed online.’
‘Thank goodness those lockdowns are well and truly in the past. So, it’s your first time here.’ She clapped her hands. ‘Oh, you’ll love it. Everyone’s so friendly. It’s such a happy community.’
Apart from the scary lady, clearly.
It had taken the best part of their boat journey home for Owen to get over the grumpy way she’d spoken to them. Although, she had let Mason play on the swings—her one redeeming feature. Not counting the amazing legs and pretty face, obviously. Hopefully, their paths wouldn’t cross again.
He realised Mia was staring at him, waiting for a response. Not wanting to let her know he hadn’t been listening, he cleared his throat and put the grumpy woman out of his head. ‘It’s definitely different to the city practice. We were rushed off our feet all day, every day.’
‘Then you’ll soon start to enjoy this slower pace of life.’ Mia nodded.
‘I already am.’ It had been a busy morning, trying to get Mason ready for kindergarten and then getting himself into work on time, so Owen was relieved they’d closed his appointment template for the day so he could orientate to the computer booking system and get to know the staff and routine. Now it was lunchtime already, and the time had flown by.
‘We have appointment slots every morning. Monday to Friday.’ Anahera, the elderly receptionist, put a large plate of raspberry lamingtons on the table, then sat down across from him. ‘Then you’re free to do paperwork and home visits if necessary.’
‘Home visits? Not something we did in the city.’
‘We have a very different approach here. Much more of a community feel. We help each other out.’ Anahera picked up the plate and offered it to him. ‘Please, take one. Take two. You’ll be doing my waistline a favour. And you’ll be on call every alternate day, just for emergencies. Mia’s on call the other days. You’ll get the hang of it all.’
And that was the team. Him, a nurse practitioner and a receptionist. No handy X-ray machine. Blood tests were sent by the last ferry every day. But at least the results came back via email, and there was a small pharmacy on the island that doubled up as a souvenir shop. It seemed every business here did double duty. The yacht club was also the postal service, and the tiny supermarket did takeaway hot food.
He took a bite of the bright pink cake covered in coconut and sighed at the pillowy softness and sweet fruity flavour. ‘I could get used to lunch like this every day.’
‘Only for special occasions. But we like to think most days on Rāwhiti are special, eh, Mia?’ Anahera winked at the nurse.
‘I’m all for that.’ Owen laughed and kept his thoughts about healthy eating to himself. ‘At the interview I was told I’d have babysitting back-up if I needed it.’
Anahera grinned. ‘That’ll be me. I can come over any time at all. I’ve had six of my own and have three grand-babies. That’s why I wasn’t here on Friday to welcome you. I had to go to the mainland to see my newest. A wee preemie. Wasn’t due for another six weeks and took us all by surprise. We had a mad dash to get my daughter over to hospital before little Aroha made her dramatic entrance.’
‘Congratulations.’
‘And I was dealing with an asthmatic who needed an urgent evac to City hospital,’ Mia added. ‘We’ve had a run on evacs recently. Sometimes we can go for weeks without anything, then we get a rush on.’ She smiled apologetically. ‘I’m sorry no one was there for the big welcome. I hope we’re making up for it now?’
‘It was fine—’ He was interrupted mid-speech as the door was flung open.
‘Anahera! Mia! Anyone home...? Yoo-hoo! Oh.’
Oh, indeed.
The scary lady from the school camp was standing in the doorway, breathless, her pony-tailed hair dishevelled. She had a faded yellow T-shirt on today and a pair of denim cut-off shorts above those gorgeous, toned legs. He drew his gaze up to her eyes. She glared intense brown back at him.
‘What’s up?’ Mia jumped up. ‘Got a problem?’
‘Not until now.’ Carly’s fixed stare on Owen grew into a smile the moment she looked at the younger woman. ‘I was just grabbing some things from the shop and remembered I need some extra supplies of EpiPens and Steri-strips until my order comes through from the wholesalers.’
Anahera stood up. ‘Sure thing, honey.’ Then the receptionist turned to Owen before going into the back supply room. ‘Dr Owen Cooper, this is Carly from the island outdoor camp. Our designated first responder in the event of any major incident. We all take orders from her then.’
He imagined she’d be very good at bossing people around in the event of an emergency and, from his experience, just for breathing or enjoying the outdoors on a boat.
‘Dr Cooper?’ Carly pressed her lips together as her eyebrows rose. He sensed her surprise wasn’t exactly positive. ‘Signed up for the class yet?’
‘You’re going to do paddle-board lessons?’ Mia laughed. ‘That was quick work.’
Carly just frowned. ‘Day skipper lessons. Crucial for round here, don’t you think?’
Mia’s gaze slid from Carly to Owen. Her eyes narrowed. ‘What’s going on? What am I missing?’
Carly shrugged. ‘Just trying to keep everyone safe.’
‘Okay.’ The nurse frowned suspiciously at them both and then hauled a large bag onto her shoulder. ‘I’ll leave you two to whatever it is that you’re not telling me. I’ve got to pop over to kindy and drop off Harper’s lunch. Silly me left it in my bag. Then I’m popping over to do Winnie’s dressings and to check in with Nicky Clarke. She’s not due for another couple of months, but after last week’s preemie adventures I’m not taking any chances.’
Call him a coward, but Owen nearly yelled at Mia to take him with her. Instead, he stood up and put his hand out to the camp woman. ‘Hello. We should probably have done this on Saturday, but hi, I’m Owen. New doctor.’
She fitted her hand into his and shook tightly. Her eyes sparked and glittered. He got the feeling she was irritated and amused by him, or by the situation, and he had no idea why. ‘Carly Edwards. Although, I think you probably gathered that the other day.’
No ‘pleased to meet you’ or other niceties.
He let his hand drop from hers but not before noticing her warm, soft skin and assured grip. ‘So, we’re going to be working together.’
‘Only in an emergency.’ Her gaze caught his and held.
He got the message loud and clear. Back off. We’re not as friendly as we say we are here on Rāwhiti Island.
‘And the camp’s up for sale?’
‘Yes.’
‘So, will it still be a school camp when it’s sold?’
‘That depends on the new owner.’ A frown settled again across her forehead. ‘Why?’
‘Just interested in what my new neighbours are likely to be doing.’
‘A lot of the bush on the property is covenanted so they won’t be able to change that. But I suppose they’ll have free rein to do what they like with the buildings. Develop the whole place, probably, but we’re trying to find a buyer who’ll keep it as a camp first and foremost.’
‘We?’
‘Me and Mia.’ Carly nodded towards the spot where Mia had stood moments before. He detected a frisson of pride tinged with something else. Her demeanour softened and she smiled, almost sadly. There was clearly a lot more to this story. ‘We own the camp.’
Oh. Not what he’d expected, although he wasn’t sure what he’d expected...a husband-and-wife team perhaps? Plus, Mia was a New Zealander, and Carly very definitely had an English accent. ‘Right. Okay. So, are you two married or something?’
Carly’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head and she spluttered on a chuckle. ‘Something, yes. We’re sisters-in-law.’
But so far no husbands mentioned or seen... ‘And Mia lives at the camp too?’
‘No. She and her little one have their own place just round the corner, near the marina. A few houses along from the yacht club.’
‘I haven’t ventured along there yet.’
‘You should. Wiremu does a good pint.’ She gave him a stiff smile that he chose to decipher as polite friendliness. Then, ‘But, anyway, I doubt that whatever the new owners do will make much difference to you. There’s a hill between us.’
There’s a lot more than that.
He was trying to work out the jigsaw puzzle of her life. Although, why, he didn’t know. First, it was none of his business. Second, he knew from his own experience just how complicated families could be. Third, he had a sneaky suspicion that his interest had a lot to do with her spark and bite. And he could not pursue that. ‘What will do when you sell up?’
‘Travel.’ A curt nod. She was forthright but not gushy. ‘There’s a lot of world to see beyond Rāwhiti Island.’
‘And your husbands...?’
The door swung open again and a portly old man staggered in. ‘Carly!’ he managed. ‘Thank God.’
His words were slurred and his movements sluggish. Then he clutched the doorframe, his knuckles white with the effort. His lips worked but no more words came out. His face drooped like molten wax on one side, then he slumped forward.
Everything else forgotten, Owen jumped up and caught the man before he slid to the floor. ‘Let’s get him onto the examination couch. My room’s closer.’
‘Sure.’ Carly took the other side, ducking under the man’s underarm and holding him up with her shoulder. Together, they manoeuvred him out and across the small waiting room and into Owen’s consultation room, where they propped him up against the couch. He slumped heavily to one side, as if he couldn’t hold that part of himself upright.
Carly swung the man’s legs up and they laid him back on the couch, a pillow under his back and head. ‘Wiremu,’ she said gently but with authority. ‘Wiremu, can you tell me what’s happening to you? Do you have any pain?’
Wiremu. She’d mentioned that name only a moment ago. Owen slipped a pulse oximeter onto Wiremu’s finger then grabbed the sphygmomanometer and started to take the man’s blood pressure.
Anahera bustled into the room, arms full of packages. She stopped short as she recognised the man on the couch. ‘I wasn’t sure where you’d got to, but I heard voices. Wiremu? Oh, Wiremu.’ She glanced worriedly from Owen to Carly and dropped the packages onto the desk. ‘What’s happening? What is it?’
‘Looks like a stroke, but we can’t be sure. His oxygen levels are okay, but his blood pressure is very high.’ Owen fitted his fingers into Wiremu’s clenched fist. ‘Wiremu, can you squeeze my hand?’
The man blinked up at them but said nothing. He squeezed Owen’s fingers well with his left hand, but didn’t seem to register that he had a right side at all.
Anahera fluttered next to them. The capable, calm woman of before had gone and been replaced with worry. ‘What do we do? Can’t you give him something? A blood thinner?’
‘I don’t know if it’s a clot or a bleed, Anahera. If I give him the wrong treatment, we could make him worse. We need to get him to hospital as soon as we can and get some scans done of his brain.’ It occurred to him then that everyone knew each other here. Perhaps this man was a relative. ‘Do you have details of his next of kin? Family?’
Anahera’s eyes filled with tears. ‘He’s my brother.’ She patted Wiremu’s hand. ‘Ae, boy? My little brother. And we’re going to sort you out.’
Carly had the satellite phone in her hand. She was calm, clear and concise, showing no emotion at all and anticipating exactly what Owen had been about to ask her to do. ‘I’m through to ambulance control. They’re dispatching a helicopter immediately and need some more medical information.’
She passed the phone to Owen for medical details. ‘Suspected CVA. Right hemiplegia. Dysphasia. Hypertensive at two hundred and four over one hundred. Needs urgent admission.’
A crackle and then, ‘On our way, Doc. Over and out.’
‘How long?’
‘Twenty minutes, usually.’ Carly took the phone from him and hung up. ‘There’s a helicopter landing pad behind the yacht club. Three minutes away.’
Owen did another round of observations on Wiremu, and tried to engage him in conversation so he could assess his mental and consciousness state, but it was clear he was deteriorating fast.
‘Anahera, go tell Lissy what’s happening. She’s going to need support, especially with those grand-babies staying with her too. Someone’s going to have to go to the hospital.’ Carly wrapped her arms around the older woman and hugged her tightly. ‘I’ll let Mia know what’s happened. Go be with your family.’
‘It’s okay. I’ll call her.’ The older lady’s eyes slid to Owen with regret and sadness. ‘I don’t want to leave the new doctor on his first day.’
Amazed at the dedication of his little team, Owen shook his head. ‘Hey, I can absolutely manage. Go. Please.’
He wasn’t sure exactly how he would answer the phones and simultaneously tend to the patients on his own if Mia was going to be out on calls, but he’d do it.
‘Thank you.’ Carly managed a soft smile as she glanced at him, and for a moment he felt wildly happy that he’d made her smile, as if he’d achieved some small victory and put a crack in her armour.
She walked Anahera to the door. ‘Yes, go now. You have to prioritise yourself and your family. I’ll put something on the whanau chat group. There’ll be food in your freezers by this evening. Anything else you need?’
Anahera shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’
‘When you’ve had a chance to think, let me know.’
‘I can’t believe this is happening on the heels of Friday’s hospital dash.’ The receptionist put her hand on Carly’s arm. ‘Thanks, love.’
‘Hey. You did so much for me. You do it for everyone else.’ Carly watched her go and exhaled. ‘She’s always the first to help others but can’t accept it for herself.’
The whanau chat group—‘family’ chat group? ‘She’s your family? Wiremu’s your relative? You should have said.’
‘Not blood family. But we’re all close. You can’t not be, living in a place like this. Mia’s my family. She grew up here and they all adopted me when I arrived. Didn’t you, Wiremu?’ She stroked their patient’s hand, picking it up and examining it, and he could see her eyes glittered with tears.
You did so much for me. Carly had said that to Anahera.
More questions stacked up in his head. What was her story? She was calm and controlled, guarded and forthright. And yet when she’d held Anahera, and now with Wiremu, there was a gentleness and caring he hadn’t expected.
And now, close up, he could see things he hadn’t noticed before too. There was no wedding ring on her slender fingers. No rings at all, in fact. No jewellery, apart from silver studs in her ears. Her hair had strands of red and gold running through it. She had more freckles than he could count running across her nose and kissing her cheeks.
Kissing...
His eyes darted to her sensuous mouth and he dragged them away. It was so inappropriate to think like that.
What the hell was wrong with him?
She lifted her head and caught him looking at her. But, instead of berating him as he expected, she nodded. The smile she gave him was almost friendly. ‘Thanks for the help, Doc.’
She was thanking him? And yet hadn’t he been told she held higher ranking in an emergency? ‘Carly, do you mind if I ask...are you medically trained?’
‘I’ve got advanced first aid training and fire training, plus logistics and civil defence. Which means that if anything happens on this island, be it medical, fire, tsunami or other emergency, I have to deal with it, then send for help. We’ve got emergency response jet-skis to get to any emergency faster, be it on land or sea. The roads here don’t go to every house, and they’re gravel and winding, so sometimes travelling by sea is quicker. I attend first, assess and then get help. It works for most things. Although, we’re grateful to have a doctor here now. First permanent one we’ve ever had.’
‘Why now and not before?’
‘We couldn’t get anyone to fund a doctor, so we raised money for the medical centre, which has always been nurse-led. But with the population growing we needed more. Poor Mia can’t be on call twenty-four-seven, especially with a toddler. We put a case to the health board and they finally agreed to partially funding a GP role. The other funds come from us, the users, just like on the mainland. So here you are.’
Here he was. Wondering how he was going to fit in to such a close-knit community. Would they have room for him in their hearts too and, more importantly, space for his son?
He realised Carly was looking at him with a puzzled expression.
She tugged at his arm and walked him a little away from their patient. ‘Is he going to be okay?’
He made sure they were out of Wiremu’s earshot. ‘With a stroke patient it’s imperative to get them help immediately, before too much damage has been done, and I’m hoping we’re doing that. You did well to stay so calm, given you know him. A lot of people would have panicked.’
She exhaled deeply, sticking her hands into her denim shorts pockets. ‘I deal with hundreds of kids in my job. They provide enough drama and hysterics, closely followed by the parent helpers. I’ve learnt not to get emotionally involved.’
He wondered, briefly, whether she meant just in her job or in her private life too. And it occurred to him that she hadn’t answered his question about husbands living at the camp. But now wasn’t the time to go back to that conversation. He hadn’t come here to get involved with another woman. He was here for his son and that was all.
And then the sound of chopper blades rent the air and the only person in his head was Wiremu.