ALTHOUGH HEARTENED BY what he saw as Mina’s improved outlook on life, Kiah couldn’t help worrying about how she’d fit in at the hospital. Not that she was difficult, or hard to work with, but small Port Michael Public Hospital was a far cry from the huge Toronto South.
Which was why he didn’t interrupt when he heard Miss Pearl telling Mina, “It’s going to be different from what you’re used to, because all our doctors play as many roles as necessary. You’re here in an advisory capacity as an orthopedic surgeon and trained instructor, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help out in other situations.”
Mina had just nodded and murmured her agreement, but Kiah had seen the skepticism in her expression, and knew she was probably wondering what that entailed.
And if she could be of help with only one hand.
By the end of her first week, though, Kiah felt more relaxed about the way things were going.
“It really is different,” she told him as they were driving home together. “A lot more paperwork than I’m used to, and a slower pace, until there’s an emergency. And they’ll call me in to consult as soon as there’s even a hint that I might be useful. I oversaw a student nurse wrapping a sprained ankle today.”
“Not something you’d usually be bothered about, is it?”
“Nope. But I kind of like it. It’s like going back to the beginning. Getting a reset.”
“Like residency all over again, huh?”
That made her chuckle. “But at least I get lots of sleep this time around.”
The household, too, settled into a routine that Kiah found all too easy to appreciate. Leaving home in the morning with Mina and Charm, and Miss Pearl on the days she was going to the hospital early, too, made him happy. It felt way too much like the way family life should, and he had to keep reminding himself it was only temporary.
And he couldn’t help noticing how Charm gravitated to Mina, asking her opinion or getting her to help with homework. At first he worried that Miss Pearl would be upset, or think her role was being usurped. But the old woman didn’t say anything, and Kiah often saw her smiling over at the pair, as though happy to see them together.
Then he worried about how Charm would react when Mina left.
She’d lost so much in her young life already. Would Mina’s return to Canada distress her?
He already felt as though it would break his heart to see Mina go, and didn’t want his niece going through the same thing.
But it was too late to wonder if he’d done the wrong thing by inviting Mina to St. Eustace. She was here, and he’d just have to live with the fallout of his decision.
To add to his concerns, there was a difference in the dynamic between him and Mina, and he was at a loss to pinpoint it, or figure out why. All he knew was that although they talked and laughed and teased as usual, he sensed a reticence about her, as though she was withholding something from him.
Part of him wanted to find out what was going on in her head, but his ego wouldn’t let him ask. For most of their relationship, he’d prided himself on being able to read her every mood, and it irked him when he couldn’t.
Just as the surging desire he felt for her shocked and annoyed him, although perhaps it shouldn’t. If he’d had his way, she’d have been his first girlfriend, but that definitely hadn’t been in the cards for them. For all these years, that young boy’s crush had been pushed to the furthest recesses of his mind, never to be thought about.
Having her around all the time now, though, brought all the old awareness and emotions swirling to the surface.
He caught himself watching her when she was oblivious, noticing again the graceful, bouncy way she walked, hips and hair swinging; the way light and shadows played across her face. The sweet curve of her lips when she smiled, the siren’s call of her laughter.
But he couldn’t avoid also hearing his mother’s voice in the back of his head.
“Hezekiah Langdon, don’t you dare touch that little girl, or I swear on your father’s grave I’ll beat you within an inch of your life and send you back to your granny. You don’t deserve someone like that.”
It didn’t matter that she’d said it twenty years ago, or that the threat shouldn’t mean anything to him now. Back then it had been the worst punishment she could come up with, and she knew it. By then he’d decided he wanted to study medicine, and if he was exiled back to St. Eustace, that probably wouldn’t be possible.
He’d also come to rely on Mina and her family to keep him sane and help him learn how to survive, and thrive, in Canada. They’d opened their home to him, let him know he was always welcome. He’d gotten Mina to admit she’d told them about the abuse he suffered at home and, for a while, he’d felt as though Mr. and Mrs. Haraldson were only kind to him out of pity. Eventually, though, he’d realized they treated him like one of their own kids and had grown to depend on their emotional support. There was no way he was risking losing that because he fooled around with their daughter.
So, although Mina was the only girl he’d really wanted back then, he’d decided their friendship and his future were more important, and had put thoughts of being with her aside.
And of course, there was Warren the Worm, who’d swooped in when Mina was just barely sixteen, and never left.
He’s gone now.
No. He couldn’t afford to think that way. Nothing had changed, really. He still couldn’t afford to lose her friendship, albeit for much different reasons. He also couldn’t offer her anything she couldn’t find, get, or have on her own.
If it were anyone else, he’d be sending out feelers, trying to see if they were interested in an affair. But this wasn’t some random woman he could sleep with and then walk away from without it leaving scars.
In fact, even having these thoughts was shocking. He’d invited her to the island to help break her out of her funk, not to complicate her life, or his, further.
Putting it to himself that way helped, if only minimally.
Partway through her second week at the hospital, she sought him out for some advice.
“I got a call from a coach in Trinidad, asking me to examine one of his players—a youngster named Yanique Smith—who’s been having issues with his shoulder. I told him I’d call him back, but I wanted to check to see what the protocol is.”
Kiah whistled. “Smith plays on the Trinidadian under-sixteen national cricket team and is being touted as the next Andy Roberts.”
Mina’s blank stare made him chuckle. Canada may also be an ex-British colony, but they didn’t share the rest of the Commonwealth’s obsession with cricket, as her befuddlement made clear. “Who on earth is Andy Roberts?”
“He was a top fast bowler for the West Indies, and this young man is said to be on his way to being as good, if not better.”
“Be that as it may, I don’t know how to handle this. I don’t even know how his coach heard I was here, or whether it’s against hospital protocol to have patients fly in from outside for private consultations. Besides, I don’t want to step on any toes. I’m sure they have perfectly capable orthopedic specialists in Trinidad.”
“I’m guessing it’s one of two things,” Kiah said, turning her toward the executive offices. “Either word has got out that you’re here, through the Clinicians’ Union, and the coach wants to have Smith looked at by the best doctor he can, or he doesn’t want it to get out that Smith is injured. Taking him out of Trinidad to get treatment could make it less likely that the public finds out.”
“Okay,” she said slowly. “So what do I do?”
“Check with Dr. Hamilton. As the hospital director, he can advise you better than I can.”
It was the first of several calls from other islands, and even South America, with patients wanting to be seen by Mina—some for diagnosis, others for second opinions.
Passing Dr. Hamilton a couple days later in the hallway, Kiah found his arm grasped, and himself the recipient of a huge grin.
“Kiah, this idea of yours to have Dr. Haraldson come here was brilliant. She’s already increasing our profile, and revenue.” The older gentleman gave Kiah’s arm a shake and continued, “Please start working on her to get her to stay on permanently. At this rate, we would be devastated to lose her after only a short time.”
Kiah could only smile weakly and say he would, although he had no intention of doing any such thing. He couldn’t even think about her staying permanently with any equanimity, much less broach the topic with her.
Worse, he was starting to think she was staying too long as it was.
No matter how he argued with himself that physical attraction had no place in their relationship, he couldn’t stop wanting her.
How was he going to resist her much longer?
Mina found herself far busier than she’d ever expected.
She’d thought they’d stick her in an office and mire her down with paperwork, only trotting her out when they needed to show her off to the Clinicians’ Union, but it wasn’t like that at all.
Instead, she found herself doing all kinds of things she hadn’t done in years, not all of which included anything to do with the musculoskeletal system. And it was always a joy when she was called on to work with Kiah.
Somewhere along the line, she’d forgotten just how good his technique and bedside manner were. Watching him put patients at ease or comforting someone in pain just made her heart ache a little. Yet, hadn’t she been the recipient of his tender care all these years? Funny how she’d taken it all for granted.
Trying to put a little distance between them hurt, but seemed completely necessary. Her longing for him, which she’d tried repeatedly to put into perspective and set aside, wasn’t abating. Achieving that distance was, however, more difficult than ever, since they were both working and living together.
That was, until a slew of requests for consultations came into the hospital, and it was rare she and Kiah actually shared patients.
“It’s not surprising, Dr. Haraldson,” Dr. Hamilton told her. “Your reputation is wonderful, and, even though you no longer operate, having you diagnose and suggest treatment options is a huge boon for our patients. And the hospital.”
He’d asked her to come to his office, and now he gave her a winning smile. “As it is, I’ll like to offer for you the opportunity to join the staff permanently at full salary. We’re offering a two-year contract, with the option to extend whenever you want.”
Stunned, she just stared at him for a moment, trying to think it through. It was completely unexpected. Hell, she’d been at the hospital less than the month she’d initially thought she’d be.
Getting her thoughts together, she smiled as best she could back at him. “Thank you, but let me give it some thought before I say anything. I really wasn’t expecting this, at all.”
Even though he looked a little crestfallen, Dr. Hamilton agreed, but asked that she get back to him within the next couple of weeks, and she agreed she would.
Why she kept that information to herself and didn’t discuss it with Kiah, she wasn’t sure. Maybe because she wasn’t sure how he’d respond. Or perhaps she just wanted to make that decision on her own.
After all, she’d come here because he’d suggested it, and she’d been at too low an ebb to make a plan for herself. It was about time she got back to organizing and running her own life again.
Deciding not to do anything about her physical attraction toward Kiah wasn’t an easy choice, but one she thought best. The worst-case scenario, which was him telling her she was being ridiculous, and then not wanting to be around her out of disgust or embarrassment, wasn’t viable, in her estimation.
The stress of it all was wearying, though, and of course Kiah noticed.
“You okay?” he asked quietly one night while they were sitting on the veranda, and she’d fallen silent, caught up in the questions circling in her mind.
“Sure.” She infused as much jocularity into her voice as she could, but he wasn’t fooled.
“Don’t lie to me, Mina. I know you too well. You’ve been a little off for the last few days. Are you in pain?”
He was referring to her arm, and she knew that, so replied, “No, my arm is fine.”
“So what is it? Are you bored?”
That brought a little huff of laughter. “Are you kidding? I’ve been running up and down the hospital, trying to learn all the systems and develop new ones, plus getting called to consult. I’ve had a rising cricket star with bursitis, a Belizean marine biologist with chronic leg weakness after a fall, and a Grenadian soccer player with a broken coccyx. How on earth could I be bored?”
“I didn’t mean at the hospital, Mina. I meant here. It’s a far quieter life than you’re used to.”
Didn’t he know she’d been happier since being here than she could remember being before? Couldn’t he recognize how having him, and his family, had filled her to overflowing.
With her dreams of motherhood shattered, being on St. Eustace, interacting with Charm, was fulfilling a deep-seated need in her heart. The knowledge that Kiah doubted her ability to fit in with them and be happy was enraging.
She turned to glare at him.
Cognizant of Miss Pearl and Charm just inside, she kept her voice soft but infused it with enough ice to make winter in Toronto seem hot in comparison.
“I’m not two, Kiah. Or even twelve. I don’t need to be entertained by you or anyone. And, for your information, everything is fine, so stop bugging me, okay?”
He didn’t even give her the satisfaction of getting angry with her in turn; he just sat there, nodding slowly, his far-too-knowing gaze searching her face.
“Sure,” he said, as if she’d asked him to take her to the supermarket or something trite like that. “Whatever you say.”
“Ugh,” she said, ready to let loose another salvo.
“Auntie?” Charm’s voice floated out from the living room, forestalling Mina’s next spate of words. “Can you take a look at this project I’m doing?”
“Sure. Be right there,” she replied, still glowering at Kiah.
“Saved in the nick of time,” he murmured, having the nerve to smile as she stood up.
Mina paused just in front of him and said, “Sometimes, Kiah Langdon, I don’t like you very much.”
“But I’ll always love you, sweet girl, so that makes up for it.”
“Ugh,” she said again, turning away so he couldn’t see she’d teared up as his words struck home, and made her feel even worse.
That night, after she’d gotten ready for bed, the phantom pains, which had plagued her for the first few months after the accident and then abated, returned with a vengeance.