Sarah Morgan Summer Collection

‘We should be able to manage it.’ Ethan scooped the woman up and Kyla held the glass to her lips.

‘Aisla.’ Her voice was firm. ‘You need to drink this.’

Aisla murmured something incoherent and tried to push them away, but Kyla held the glass and eventually she took a few sips.

‘More,’ Kyla urged. ‘You’re doing well, Aisla. Just a bit more.’

The woman drank properly and Kyla glanced towards Fraser, who was standing rigid, a look of horror on his face. ‘She’s going to be fine, sweetheart. Do you have any biscuits in the house?’

Fraser looked at her and some of the tension left his little body. ‘Of course.’ A flicker of a smile appeared. ‘Chocolate ones. Really yummy. But I’m only allowed them on special occasions.’

‘This is a special occasion,’ Kyla assured him hastily. ‘And a glass of milk, please.’

‘Can you manage here for a second?’ Ethan reached for his bag. ‘I want to check her blood sugar.’

‘She’s coming round,’ Kyla murmured. ‘Why would she have gone hypo? Fraser, what did your mum do this morning? Anything different to usual?’

‘She was late getting up.’ Fraser was on a chair, reaching for a tin. ‘I had to shake her. Why are you pricking her finger?’

‘We’re trying to find out the level of sugar in her blood.’ Ethan read the result and nodded. ‘Well that’s your culprit. It’s less than three. Perhaps she overdid the insulin. Fraser, has your mum done any exercise this morning?’

Handing the tin to Kyla, Fraser shook his head. ‘No. But she went for a run on the beach last night. I know because I took my book down and sat while she ran up and down the beach. Is that why she’s been acting funny?’

‘I don’t know, but I intend to find out. I’m going to take a blood sample and send it off,’ Ethan told Kyla, reaching for a blood bottle. ‘I want a more accurate blood glucose level.’

By the time he’d taken the sample and labelled the bottle, Kyla had fed Aisla several chocolate biscuits and she was rapidly recovering.

‘I can’t believe I let that happen,’ she groaned, struggling to her feet with Ethan’s help. ‘It was such a sunny evening yesterday I just couldn’t resist a trip to the beach. And then when I got there I thought I’d do some exercise.’ I was going to eat as soon as I got in but Fraser’s uncle rang and then I sort of lost track and just went to bed. I’m so sorry. How did you find me?’

Ethan opened his mouth to give the honest answer, but Kyla jumped in. ‘We were passing,’ she said quickly. ‘I wanted to introduce you to Dr Walker.’

‘Well, this isn’t the way I would have chosen to meet you,’ Aisla said with a weary smile, ‘but thanks. I owe you both. If you hadn’t called, goodness knows what would have happened.’

Ethan saw Kyla glance towards Fraser. Saw her smile of reassurance and praise.

Aisla followed that look. ‘Fraser?’ Her voice was gentle. ‘Are you all right? Didn’t you say something about feeling sick?’

‘I’m feeling a lot better now,’ he said firmly. ‘Ever since I had that fresh air on the beach.’

‘Fresh air can be a miracle-worker,’ Kyla said blithely, and Fraser breathed an audible sigh of relief.

‘I can’t believe that this is an average working day. Do you ever get any time off for good behaviour?’ Ethan slid into the car beside her and Kyla smiled.

‘The nature of this island is that we’re permanently on call. But it isn’t usually this bad, honestly. And now you definitely deserve some time off. I’ll drop you home on my way to the clinic. But have dinner with Logan and me tonight. It’s the least we can do, having pushed you straight into the deep end.’ She saw his expression change. Saw surprise flicker in the depths of his dark, dangerous eyes.

‘You eat dinner with your brother?’

‘Of course,’ Kyla said comfortably. ‘We’re family.’

‘But not all families eat together and socialise.’

‘Well, we do. Usually several times a week. Is that so strange?’ Kyla looked at him in confusion, wondering why that would seem odd to him. As far as she was concerned, it was so normal it wasn’t even worth commenting on. ‘I love seeing my niece and usually one of my aunts or cousins are there. It’ll probably be a pretty noisy evening but it will be nice for you to meet some of the islanders. One of my aunts runs the cafе on the quay and another has a knitwear boutique in Glenmore village. Two of my other cousins are fisherman. They also man the lifeboat when it’s necessary.’

‘What about your parents?’

‘They moved over to the mainland two months ago to be with my other aunt. My uncle died and she needs help on the farm, so my parents moved in and took over. But we still get together all the time.’

‘You’re a close family.’

‘Are we?’ She frowned and then gave a shrug. ‘A pretty normal family, I would have said. We have our rows and disagreements and we’re pretty noisy but, yes, we like each other’s company and we’re in and out of each other’s lives. Why wouldn’t we be? What about you? Are you a big family? Brothers? Sisters?’ She saw the immediate change in him. His dark eyes were blank. Shuttered—as if something had slammed closed inside him.

‘Just me.’ His tone was cool and his eyes slid away from hers. ‘My parents divorced when I was eight and my father’s second marriage didn’t last long either.’

‘Oh.’ Kyla tried to imagine not having her family round her and failed. Maybe that explained why he was reserved and slightly aloof. ‘That must have been pretty tough on you.’

‘On the contrary, it was a relief from the interminable rows. And it made me independent.’ He frowned, as if he hadn’t even considered the subject before. ‘I had a very free and easy childhood because everyone was too busy fighting to be remotely interested in what I was doing. From my point of view, it was a good thing.’

A good thing? It didn’t sound like a good thing to Kyla. ‘But one of the joys of childhood is being fussed over. Knowing that someone cares. It’s about loving and being loved.’ Puzzled by his observation, she lifted her eyes to his and saw the faint gleam of mockery there.

‘Perhaps it depends what sort of person you are. Don’t feel sorry for me, Kyla,’ he advised in a soft drawl. ‘I’ve never been touchy-feely. I don’t need hugs.’

‘Everyone needs hugs.’ Even people like him. He was tough and aloof. Independent.

‘I prefer to handle my problems myself. In private.’

Kyla laughed. ‘Actually, so would I sometimes. But it’s virtually impossible if you live here. On Glenmore, people not only know everything about your problems, they all think they know the best way of solving them. And they let you know. Loudly and quite often in the pub when you’re trying to have a quiet drink. Come for supper tonight. Really. It will be a gentle introduction to the realities of living on an island. Sort of sanitised nosiness.’

Her humorous observation drew a smile from him. ‘I thought you didn’t cook.’

‘I don’t. But luckily for you, Evanna does. Extremely well. And tonight it’s seafood. You should come, it will be fun. If the weather holds, we’ll eat in Logan’s garden and no doubt my niece will create havoc.’ She tried to keep her voice light. Tried not to stare. His hair was rumpled and his jaw was dark with stubble, but she’d never seen a more attractive man in her life.

‘The baby will be there?’

Kyla dragged her eyes away from her surreptitious study of his mouth. ‘Well, she’s not really a baby any more. More of a toddler. Life has grown a great deal more complicated for everyone since she started crawling. But, yes, she’ll be there.’ She noticed the sudden tension in his shoulders. ‘Is that a problem?’

‘Why would it be a problem?’

‘I don’t know.’ But she sensed something. ‘You just seem …’ There was something in his cool gaze that she found intimidating and she broke off and gave a small shrug. If he came from such a small, fractured family then he probably just wasn’t used to children. ‘Nothing. Anyway, you’re welcome if you want to join us. I can give you a lift.’ Her heart was pounding hard against her chest and she wondered what it was about him that had such a powerful effect on her.

‘I think my relationship with your car has reached its conclusion,’ he drawled with a sardonic lift of his eyebrow. ‘My own car is arriving this afternoon. I’ll give you a lift.’

‘Does that mean you’re coming?’

His hesitation was fractional, but it was there. ‘Yes. If you’re sure your brother won’t mind.’

‘The more, the merrier.’ Her heart gave a little skip and she lectured herself fiercely. She shouldn’t care whether he was coming or not. This was not a man to get involved with. There were too many shadows around his eyes. And the little he’d revealed about himself hinted at an extremely scarred childhood. And any man who didn’t need hugs was never going to suit her. ‘Can you pick me up at six? We eat early because Logan puts Kirsty down around seven o’clock and I like to have some time with her.’

He sat for a moment without moving. ‘How does he manage?’