Sarah Morgan Summer Collection

She stared at him and then at the saucepan on the hob. ‘I’m eating soup.’

‘Not any more. You’re eating in the pub with me.’

Her eyes narrowed. ‘What if I don’t want to eat in the pub?’

‘You’d rather eat congealed soup of indeterminate origin?’ He watched her shudder and gave a smile. ‘Come on. We both know that a stranger walking into that place is going to be given the third degree. If you’re so committed to helping people in the community, the least you can do is give me some moral support.’

She looked at the soup and then back at him. ‘It isn’t that hard a choice.’

‘Good.’ He glanced down at her feet. ‘Just put some shoes on or the locals will talk.’

And he hoped she’d change out of the jeans in order to allow his blood pressure to settle.

Kyla walked into the pub ahead of Ethan and felt every pair of eyes in the room fasten themselves on her.

Let them talk, she thought cheerfully, elbowing her way to the bar through the crowd of locals. It had been a long time since anyone had had reason to gossip about her. It would do them all good. ‘Coming through,’ she sang out as she wiggled and pushed her way to the front. ‘This is a medical emergency. Starving hungry and gasping for a drink.’

The man behind the bar grinned and opened a fridge. ‘So this is for medicinal purposes?’

‘Of course, Ben. What else?’ She settled herself on a stool at the bar and rested her arms on the bar.

Ben handed her a glass of white wine. ‘We were all shocked to hear about Doug.’

‘Logan spoke to the hospital today and he’s doing all right. He’ll be home before you know it.’

‘All the same, I feel responsible.’ Ben scratched his head awkwardly and Kyla looked at him quizzically.

‘How can you possibly be responsible?’

‘He was lugging my crates around,’ Ben said roughly, and Kyla gave a soft smile.

‘And from what I heard, you were the one to take him straight to the surgery, so you did him a good turn. Stop fretting.’ Kyla glanced behind her and noticed that Ethan was hovering on the edge of the crowd. On impulse, she ordered for him and pushed her way back through to a vacant table, clutching the glasses. ‘I ordered you a pint of the local brew. Hope that’s OK. We’ll sit here.’

‘I feel like a zoo animal on display. Do they ever stop staring?’

‘Only when someone more interesting walks in. Here. Try this.’ Kyla handed him the drink. ‘It will put hairs on your chest.’

His eyes met hers and she felt her heart skip a beat.Now, why had she said a stupid thing like that when she was trying so hard not to think about his body?

‘Unless you want the whole island gossiping, I suggest you stop looking at me like that,’ he suggested in a soft tone, and lifted the glass and drank.

‘I am not looking at you. You’re looking at me. And if I walk into the pub with a man, people are going to gossip. It’s a fact of life.’

He put his drink back down on the table. ‘Sorry. I’m not used to being the centre of attention.’

Wasn’t he? Kyla was willing to lay bets that wherever he went women stared at him, but perhaps he just wasn’t aware of that fact. ‘Does it bother you?’

‘No. Does it bother you?’

She smiled. ‘I’ve lived here for most of my life. I’m used to it. But I know that it drove Catherine potty sometimes.’

He looked at her. ‘What was she like?’

‘Oh …’ She wondered why he was interested. ‘Lively, a bit on the wild side, flirtatious, quite amusing. She had a sharp tongue and she wasn’t terribly patient.’

‘How did she meet Logan?’

‘She was travelling and arrived on the island one day. They met. Hit it off. Catherine became pregnant. They got married—and, yes, that was all in the wrong order so don’t start my mother on that topic—and then …’ Kyla broke off and sighed. ‘And then it all went wrong.’

‘And that’s why Logan doesn’t encourage women to have home births?’

‘Can you blame him? Not that Catherine was booked to have a home birth, anyway, but, given what happened, Logan wants every woman safely on the mainland the moment she starts to dilate.’

‘And Evanna disagrees?’

‘Evanna is a midwife. She wants to give every woman the birth experience they want. But she accepts the limitations of living somewhere like this. You can tell yourself that the helicopter can come and fly you out in an emergency, but what if the weather is bad, or there’s been another accident somewhere and they can’t get out to you?’

‘I can understand Logan’s reluctance.’

‘He won’t even consider it, and the women here respect that. To be honest, most of them want the reassurance of giving birth in a consultant-led unit so we don’t get that many requests. I am completely starving. I need to order before I faint.’ She turned and squinted over her shoulder towards the blackboard on the wall. ‘The food here is amazing. See anything you fancy?’

‘Why don’t you choose for both of us? But I ought to warn you that I hate haggis.’

‘That’s because you’re a soft Englishman.’ She caught the eye of Jim, the ferryman, who was downing a pint with one of the local fishermen. He winked at her and she smiled broadly. ‘Have the beef Wellington. It’s amazing.’

‘I feel as though I’m in a goldfish bowl,’ Ethan said mildly. ‘How does anyone ever have a relationship in a place like this? It’s impossible to keep anything private.’

‘The relationship bit is all right,’ Kyla said easily, reaching for her wine. ‘It’s the private bit that presents more of a challenge. You just have to ignore it. And, anyway, we’re not having a relationship. We’re just colleagues, out for a civilised meal.’

His eyes held hers. ‘That’s right. So we are.’

It was impossible to look away. Impossible not to feel the powerful spark of chemistry that drew them together. She saw his mouth tighten and sensed his growing tension. ‘We should order.’

‘Yes.’ He dragged his eyes away from hers and glanced over to the bar. ‘I presume I have to fight my way through the crowd for that pleasure?’

‘Actually, you don’t.’ Ben, the landlord, was standing next to them, a grin on his face as he looked at them. ‘After what you did for Doug this morning, you’re right at the front of our queue.’

‘We’ll both have the beef,’ Kyla said quickly, ‘and the treacle tart. Thanks, Ben.’

He scribbled on the pad in his hand. ‘How’s young Shelley?’

‘Fine.’

‘Mary’s worrying herself sick.’

‘I know that.’ Kyla’s voice was quiet. ‘We’re dealing with it as quickly as we can, Ben. As soon as we know anything, we’ll be in touch with Mary.’

He nodded. ‘Call me when you hear anything.’ He walked off and Ethan stared after him in amazement.