Sarah Morgan Summer Collection

‘The car is fine, but you’re too big for it.’

Ethan winced and tried to ease his legs into a more comfortable position. ‘I’m aware of that fact.’ He shifted down in the seat to give himself more head room and found his knees under his chin. ‘Well, this is comfortable. Drive on. Wherever we’re going, we’d better get there quickly or I’ll need physiotherapy at the end of the journey and I don’t suppose that’s available on an island this remote.’

‘Don’t you believe it. Glenmore may be remote but we’ve a thriving population here. Physio is Evanna’s division. Especially massage. She’s great with crying babies and pretty good with moaning adults, too.’ She started the engine, checked her rear-view mirror and started up the coast road at a frightening pace.

‘Evanna?’ Ethan wondered how a car so small could go so fast. ‘I heard you mention her to the lady who spoke to you back on the quay. She’s the other practice nurse?’

‘That’s right. We each have different responsibilities. Evanna is a midwife as well as a practice nurse and she’s had some basic physio training. We all do a bit of everything if we can. It saves folks travelling all the way to the mainland.’

To one side of him the coast flashed past and he had a glimpse of rocky coves and sandy beaches. The island had a dramatic history, he recalled, with a good number of wrecks littering the seabed. He stared out to sea, his mind wandering. There were so many questions he wanted to ask but to do so would reveal too much so instead he turned back to look at her, studying her profile. From this angle he could see that her nose turned up slightly and that her eyelashes were long and thick. She had a sweet face, he decided. A happy face. There were no lines. No shadows. Nothing to suggest that life had sent her anything that she couldn’t handle.

‘You’re staring at me, Dr Walker, and it’s putting me off my driving.’

‘Then I’ll keep my eyes straight ahead.’ He gave a faint smile. ‘Given the proximity of this road to the edge of the cliff, I certainly wouldn’t want to put you off.’

‘I’ve lived here all my life. There’s not a kink in this road that I don’t know. And I’m a jack of all trades. I’m the dietician, the asthma specialist and the diabetes nurse. I’m trained in family planning but we’re not exactly encouraging that at the moment because the population of the island is dwindling. If anyone comes to me for contraception, I send them away to have more sex and make a baby. We need babies on the Island or the next thing you know they’ll be taking away a doctor and trying to close the school.’

Despite the dark clouds in his head, Ethan found himself laughing. ‘Well, that’s a novel approach to family planning. Are you serious? Is the school under threat of closure?’

‘No, not yet.’ She glanced towards him with a quick smile. ‘Actually, this is a thriving, busy island and we’re doing all right. But populations dwindle. It’s a fact in rural areas like this. People find the life hard and they leave for the bright lights of the big cities. And they don’t come back. They marry a mainlander like you and have their babies somewhere else.’

She changed gear and took a corner at an alarming speed.

‘Do you always drive this fast?’

‘I do everything fast. It means I can get through twice as much in the day, which is a definite advantage in a place like this. But that’s enough about me. What brings you here? What are you running from, Dr Walker?’

He felt his body tense. ‘Why would I be running from anything?’

‘Because mainlanders don’t generally choose to spend their summer up here in the wilds unless they’re running from something,’ she said cheerfully. ‘Unless they’re locals, people come here for space and to regroup. Was it work or something more personal? Love?’

His head started to throb. He’d expected questions. He just hadn’t expected them this quickly. And he hadn’t prepared his answers. ‘Are you always this direct?’

‘On an island, it’s impossible to keep secrets.’ She opened the window a crack and the breeze blew in and lifted her hair. ‘They have a habit of following you. Better to get it all out in the open.’

Ethan stared at her profile and then turned his head away to stare out of his own window. If she knew his secret, she’d probably stop the car and push him off the cliff. ‘I’m not in the habit of talking about my sex life.’

‘Right.’ She shifted her grip on the steering-wheel. ‘But I wasn’t asking about your sex life, I was asking about your love life.’

It occurred to him that she would have got on well with his last girlfriend. You don’t have a heart, Ethan. You’re not capable of intimacy.

‘I’m here because you advertised for a doctor. Logan told me he needed help.’

‘He does need help. But that wouldn’t be enough to attract a mainlander to a place like Glenmore. And Logan told me that you’re a hotshot. First in everything. Top of your class.’

‘Being a good doctor isn’t about exam results.’

‘Well, it’s good to know we agree on something.’ She shifted gear and slowed down to take a corner. ‘Anyway, we’re just pleased to have you here. It’s been a tough few months. I don’t know whether Logan mentioned it but he lost his wife almost a year ago.’

Ethan stiffened and the throb in his head intensified. ‘Yes,’ he said quietly, forcing his body to relax. ‘He mentioned it.’

‘It was a hideous time.’ Kyla’s voice was soft and her hands tight on the wheel. ‘Awful.’

Ethan felt the sickness rise inside him. ‘How did she die?’

‘Having the baby.’ Kyla shook her head slowly. ‘It seems so wrong, doesn’t it? In this day and age to die having a baby. You read about maternal mortality rates but you don’t actually think it’s going to happen to anyone you know. You think that if you monitor carefully, everything will be all right. But it wasn’t all right. And I know Logan still blames himself even though he did absolutely everything that could have been done. She had an undiagnosed cardiac condition.’

Ethan took a deep breath. ‘And how’s he managing with the little girl? It must be difficult.’

‘How did you know they had a girl?’ She shot him a surprised look, her blue eyes narrowed. ‘Did I mention it?’

‘Logan mentioned it,’ Ethan said, correcting his mistake swiftly. ‘Kirsty. Eleven months.’

‘That’s right. She’s a sweetie. She isn’t walking yet but her crawling could earn her a speeding ticket and she’s into everything. Gives us all grey hairs. And Logan manages. He’s a great father and he has a lot of help from the islanders. One of my aunts runs the cafе on the quay along with one of my cousins, and they often take Kirsty for him during the day.’

‘One of your aunts?’

‘My grandmother was obviously preserving the future of the island. My mother was one of six.’ She grinned at him. ‘I have five aunts and eleven first cousins. Some of them have moved away, of course, but most of them still live on the island, which is handy for Logan. He hasn’t cooked himself a meal for months, lucky creature. It’s useful to have family around, isn’t it?’

It was a concept so alien to Ethan that he found it impossible to answer. To avoid the inevitable questions, he took the conversation off on a different tangent. ‘You don’t like cooking?’

‘Not one of my skills, but I do like eating.’

‘And Logan has worked here since he finished his training?’

‘No. He worked in London for a while, gaining the experience he needed to be able to work in a place like this. Out here it’s the real thing, Dr Walker. No back-up. It takes skill and confidence to deal with that. Most islanders escape for a while just to see if the grass is greener on the other side and when they discover that it isn’t …’ She gave a slight shrug of her shoulders as she flicked the indicator and turned the car into a small car park ‘… they come back again. We’re here. This is Glenmore Medical Centre.’

It was larger than Ethan had expected, a modern building with clean lines and glass, attached to a stunning house, painted white and with several balconies that faced towards the sea. ‘Your brother lives here.’

‘Yes. The surgery is attached to the house and, of course, people take all sorts of liberties, banging on his door when he’s in the bath and that sort of thing.’ She smiled and switched off the engine. ‘But he loves it here.’

‘From what I’ve heard, your brother is well qualified. He could have worked anywhere.’

‘That’s right. He could.’ She reached into the back seat for her bag, her movements swift and decisive. ‘And he chose to work here, where he grew up—where his talents really count for something. On Glenmore you’re not one of hundreds of doctors, you’re the only one. Sometimes you’re the only person who can make a difference. You’re truly needed.’

‘And you love it.’

‘Oh, yes.’ She pulled the bag into her lap and then paused, a wistful smile on her face. ‘As it happens, I’ve tried leaving. I’ve tried living in other places but they never feel right. When I’m here on Glenmore, somehow everything falls into place and I know I’m home.’

‘It must be nice to feel that way about a place.’

‘Everyone has somewhere that feels like home,’ she said cheerfully as she opened the car door. ‘Where is it for you? London?’

Ethan sat in silence, thinking about the question. ‘That depends on your definition of home. Is it the place where you were born or the place where you grew up?’

She paused with her on the door as she considered the question. ‘It’s not necessarily either. Home is the place where you feel completely comfortable. You arrive there and suddenly you can’t remember why you ever left because it’s the only place you really want to be.’

Ethan studied her face for a moment. ‘Then I don’t think I have a home,’ he said quietly, ‘because I’ve never felt that way about anywhere.’