The Courage To Love Her Army Doc

After they ground the kava, it was strained through a cloth bag into a large wooden bowl. It looked like muddy water to her but the chief drank it down without hesitation, as did Peter and Joe. She was thankful for the advice when it came to her turn. Requesting ‘low tide’ ensured the coconut shell she was offered was only half-full.

It didn’t taste any better than it looked. Like mud. Bitter, peppery mud. Definitely an acquired taste but she drank it in one gulp and did the happy, clappy thing which seemed to please everyone. For unknown reasons the proud look from Joe was the one that gave her tingles.

In fact, it wasn’t long before her mouth and tongue seemed to go completely numb.

‘Whath happenin’?’ she lisped to Peter as her tongue suddenly seemed to be too big for her mouth.

‘That’ll be the kava kicking in. It’s a very mild narcotic but don’t worry, it’ll pass soon.’ Something that wasn’t bothering her God-fearing brother as he accepted another bowl.

She declined to partake in any further rounds, which her hosts accepted without any offence. Clearly she’d already proved herself as a worthy guest. Thank goodness. Any more and she’d either pass out or lose control of the rest of her faculties. All she wanted now was for Joe to take her to bed. Home. She meant home...

* * *

Joe had become accustomed to the bitter-tasting celebration drink to the point even a second bowl had had no effect. He was aware, however, that it might not be the same for Emily, especially as she was probably tired and hungry and currently running her fingertips across her lips. Numb no doubt from the small taste she’d had. He watched as she darted her tongue out to lick them, drawing his attention and thoughts to where they shouldn’t go.

Emily was his best friend’s sister and obviously running away from her demons to have come somewhere so clearly out of her comfort zone. She wasn’t, and couldn’t ever be, someone he could hook up with. Normally he didn’t hesitate to act on his attraction to women on his travels. Life was too short and so was his stay in their company when he was always on the move. This was an entirely different situation. Peter would always be part of his life and he wouldn’t jeopardise that friendship when he invariably moved on. There was no point thinking of her as anything other than a hindrance, a soft soul who’d probably never left her cosy office and would only get in his way. A liability he didn’t want or need.

Now she had been fully accepted into the community the villagers soon let their curiosity shine through and asked the questions he already knew the answers to.

‘Do you have a husband?’

‘What about children?’

The first question had thrown her, he could see it in her wide aquamarine eyes and knew why. Peter had confided in him about her marital problems long before her arrival because he’d worried how she might’ve been affected by it all. He’d taken her acceptance to help out on the mission as the first step to her recovery and had sworn Joe to secrecy. Not that it was any of his business anyway and he’d no wish to embarrass her by answering for her now. This was her call.

She took her time in finding an answer she was happy to give them. ‘No husband or children.’

It didn’t surprise him to find her divorce wasn’t a subject she intended to discuss. She wasn’t the only one who preferred to keep private matters out of the public domain. Only Peter knew about his past in the army and the fallout from the IED, and that’s the way it would stay. Much like Emily, he’d decided he didn’t need sympathy or pitying looks.

The gathering and the kava seemed to relax her more as the evening wore on, and she fielded their questions about her work without giving away too much personal information. A single, female doctor was something of a novelty out here and he understood their fascination. He was caught up in it too.

As usual, the evening ended with music and dancing, with both he and a yawning Emily watching from the sidelines.

‘You can go any time you’re ready.’

‘Really? They won’t mind?’ In contrast to her earlier attempt to cry off from proceedings, she now seemed apprehensive about potentially upsetting her hosts. That was the beauty of the people here. They were so warm and friendly it was impossible to feel like an outsider for too long.

‘Sure. You’ve done everything right and they’ll understand you’re tired. This could go on all night.’ He got up and helped her to her feet.

‘Peter?’ She waited for her brother to join her but he wasn’t as ready as his companions to leave.

Joe couldn’t wait for some time out from the crowd. Sometimes the white noise could be a bit overwhelming when he couldn’t pick out individual conversations.

‘You could see Emily to Miriama’s, couldn’t you? It’s on the way back to the medical centre.’

He couldn’t fault Peter’s logic since he was staying with the chief anyway but it meant prolonging his role as escort a while longer. This was beyond the remit of his volunteer medic/best friend duties and he didn’t want it to become a habit. He’d only known Emily a few hours and for someone who considered himself a lone wolf he’d already taken on too much responsibility.

‘Fine.’ He sighed with just enough sulkiness to let Peter know he wasn’t happy playing babysitter any more.

The only thoughts in his head about Emily should be to do with the clinic and how they were going to make it work together. Now there was no chance of forgetting how beautiful she’d looked, sitting cross-legged, utterly transfixed with island life, if she was going to be the last thing he saw before going to sleep.

CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_bf03b705-4a6c-552f-ad16-cd6ba0b19bc6)

EMILY WAS STILL trying to shuffle back into her shoes as she trailed after Joe. If it wasn’t for it being completely pitch-black outside without the streetlights she took for granted back home and the sense of direction that meant she shouldn’t be allowed out of the house unsupervised, she’d totally have made her own way back without him. Joe’s term as ‘leader’ had clearly ended given his reluctance to see her home. Not that she blamed him. She’d imposed long enough and as soon as she had five minutes alone with her brother she’d tear strips off him for palming her off on him all night.

Peter should have understood what a big deal it had been for her to come here and gone out of his way to look after her. She needed some TLC after everything she’d gone through, not being frog-marched home as if she’d broken curfew. This was supposed to build her confidence, not reaffirm that idea she spoiled everyone’s fun.

‘I’m sorry you’ve copped babysitting duties for the nuisance little sister again.’ She made sure she spoke loudly and clearly for him to hear. She didn’t know the full extent of his hearing loss. He wasn’t wearing a hearing aid but he was the type of guy who wouldn’t be seen with one even if he needed it.

‘No problem. We can’t have you stumbling about here alone in the dark. It’ll take a while for you to get your bearings but you’ll be able to walk this island with your eyes shut in no time.’

She didn’t correct him by admitting another of her weaknesses since he was probably pinning his hopes on it so he wouldn’t have to do this again. However, without her chatter, the sound of his heavy footsteps dominated the night, reminding her he was trying to ditch her as soon as possible.

‘So what was with all the questions back there? They’re not planning on marrying me off to the chief’s son, are they?’ It was a pseudo-concern in an attempt at small talk. Mostly.

The footsteps stopped and she could hear him grinding the dirt underfoot as he spun round.

‘You’ve watched way too many movies. These people are no different from you or me. They simply have a sense of tradition. They’ve accepted you as one of their own, there’s no ulterior motive.’

She was caught so off balance by his passion as he spoke of his new friends that she stumbled. She made a grab for him in the dark to steady herself and found a nice sturdy bicep beneath her fingers.

‘Sorry,’ she mumbled, eventually letting go once the shock of coming into contact with bare male body parts wore off. Or at least when she thought the prolonged touching was entering the awkward and desperate phase. He may be lean but he was one hundred per cent solid hunk.

She was nodding her head and apologising as he defended his friends, in an attempt at a mature response, which probably shouldn’t include going back for another squeeze.

‘You’re right. I...er...was thrown by the level of attention. I’m not used to it.’ If anything she tried to avoid those kinds of situations where she was the focal point of interest in case people studied her too closely and spotted her secret shame.

She caught the glint of his smile in the moonlight as he looked down at her. Compared to her last port of call, she should’ve been more at ease under the cover of darkness but her birthmark may as well have been blazing under his night vision she felt so exposed here with him.

‘You’re beautiful and smart. Of course they want to know your story.’ The tone of his voice was soft enough to snuggle into, never mind the unexpected compliment almost bringing her to a swoon.

Except he was back on the move again, not lingering for a romantic smooch under the stars. She definitely watched too many movies. Probably because reality was too damn anticlimactic. She sighed, forced to gather herself together and remember this was no holiday romance, as much as she wanted to get carried away as far from real life as possible.

He didn’t elaborate on what had prompted the ego boost and she had to hold her tongue to stop herself from pushing for more praise. How had he reached the conclusion she was either of those things? And did he have any interest in her beyond work and doing favours for her brother? Would it matter if he did?

The resulting silence between them stretched out to Miriama’s house, giving her time to get her head back out of the clouds. He hadn’t seen her true, vivid, scarlet colours. His assessment of her looks and personality was based on a lie. He knew nothing of the scarred woman beneath who’d been rejected time and time again.

By the time they reached her doorstep she’d firmly landed her backside back on earth with a thud. All he’d been trying to do was illustrate how ridiculous her assumptions had been. He probably hadn’t even meant what he’d said but it had been so long since a man had paid her a compliment she’d taken it and twisted it into something it wasn’t. She blamed the kava. Apart from the numbness and the tingles, she’d add delusions to the list of side effects. She’d have to remember to ship a crate of the stuff back to England with her.

* * *

To Joe, the short walk to Miriama’s seemed twice as long as usual. That was the trouble with island life. It was too easy to get caught up in the beauty of the surroundings. They should really think about investing in some streetlights here. The electric hum and fluorescent orange glare might have made this feel less like a walk home after a first date than the moonlight and the sound of the sea.

All he’d intended to do was put her mind at ease that the people here weren’t perhaps as...duplicitous as those she may have encountered recently. Instead, those careless few words had given away his less-than-platonic thoughts about having her here. Now he was watching her in the dim light of the doorway, pouting and tracing the outline of her lips with her fingertips.

‘What are you doing?’ He cocked his head to one side, fixated by her fascinating courtship display. If this was designed to pique his interest even further, it was working. His whole body was standing to attention as he followed the soft lines of her mouth, envying the manicured nail that got to touch them.

‘Just checking my lips are still there since I can’t feel them any more.’ She poked her pink tongue out, parting her lips to dampen them, leaving them moist and a temptation too great to ignore any longer.