The Australian's Bride: Marrying the Millionaire Doctor / Children's Doctor, Meant-to-be Wife / A Bride and Child Worth Waiting For

‘Antibiotic of choice?’

‘Benzylpenicillin. IV. She’s going to need half- hourly neurological checks. Response to light and verbal commands, hand grip on both sides—you know the drill. Fluid restriction for the moment, as well, until we get a better idea of what we’re dealing with.’

‘We’ll get the samples away on the next ferry or flight,’ Beth confirmed.

‘Mike can take them now.’ The command was issued with a vehemence that made everybody look at Charles, and his grin was a little embarrassed. ‘I know. But this is my kid. I help fund the service—it cares for my kid.’

Beth was smiling. ‘That’s great. It’ll mean we should get the first results back later today.’

Susie was still helping Jill settle Lily so Alex got her to keep the girl’s arm still while he slipped a small IV cannula into place. Again, Beth had the tubes ready. Lily barely noticed the procedure and seemed to be listening to what Beth was saying to Jill.

‘It’s so good you got over to be with Lily. Poor little Robbie Henderson’s come in with a bug and his mother’s a single mum and there’s no way she can leave four other children to be here.’

‘What’s wrong with Robbie?’ Lily asked. ‘Is he sick like me?’

‘Kind of. Susie, do you know Robbie? Is he one of your patients?’

‘Robbie? Ten-year-old with dark hair? Cerebral palsy?’

‘That’s him.’

Alex had the line secure and the giving set attached. The necessary blood samples had been drawn and the antibiotics started. There was no reason for him to stay and listen to this conversation but he didn’t want to leave quite yet. Was that because of the sound of Susie’s voice? The way her ponytail swung when she shook her head?

‘I do know him,’ Susie said. ‘There were no requests for any special programme for him. He did join in with my swimming pool group once but camp activities have been enough to keep his joints mobile. Has he got flu?’

‘He started vomiting in the night. He’s running a temperature and complaining of a headache and sore eyes.’

‘I’ve got sore eyes,’ Lily said. ‘But I haven’t vomited.’

Charles was moving away from the bedside. ‘You probably won’t,’ he reassured her. ‘I’ll see you later, Lily. I’ve got to go and get things ready for our big opening this afternoon. Jill’s going to stay with you, aren’t you, Jill?’

‘Of course.’

Alex had been listening to the exchange about the new inpatient. ‘Maybe it’s the same thing. You want me to take a look?’

‘If it gets any worse, yes, please,’ Beth responded.

‘If you have an influenza virus doing the rounds, it’s not that uncommon to get meningoencephalitis. It should be self-limiting and only require supportive measures.’

‘But I want to know straight away if we have any more cases,’ Charles instructed. ‘There’s been a couple of staff off colour over the last two days. If there’s a flu bug…’

‘The last thing we want is for it to spread to our sick kids,’ Beth added.

Alex nodded at the array of samples Marcia had finished packaging. ‘We’ve done everything we can to find out what this is. It’s a matter of waiting and watching for a while.’

But Charles didn’t seem to be listening any longer. He rolled over to the bed, gave Lily a kiss and whispered something to her.

Susie followed Charles, Alex and Beth out of the room a minute later.

‘Perhaps I should see Robbie now,’ Alex said. ‘While I’m here.’

‘Busman’s holiday,’ Susie commented, but Alex could see approval in her eyes.

He liked that. Almost worth giving up a morning on a glorious tropical beach for.

‘Leave it with me at the moment,’ Beth decided. ‘Hopefully I won’t need to call you but at least we’ll give you a party tonight to make up for it if I do.’

Alex was careful not to look directly at Susie. To make his query general. ‘Is everybody going to the gala dinner?’

‘Of course,’ Susie said. ‘We never miss a good party in this neck of the woods, do we, Charles?’

‘No.’ But Charles sounded as though enjoying himself was the last thing he was thinking about, which was hardly surprising given Lily’s illness. ‘And that reminds me, I’ve got a meeting with the restaurant staff to talk about seating arrangements. You want to have a look around the resort, Alex?’

Alex shook his head. ‘I’ll see it at lunchtime. I might go and see what Stella’s up to as soon as I’ve got a free moment.’

‘I think she’ll be on the beach,’ Susie told him. ‘She’s been roped in to help judge a sandcastle competition later.’

‘Oh!’ Beth checked her watch. ‘Are you going in to see Jack, Susie?’

‘On my way. He needs a good physio session to get his lungs clear.’

‘Remind Miranda of the time. She wants to go and admire Josh’s sandcastle.’

Alex paused for a moment as he left the medical centre, pulling his sunglasses off his head to cover his eyes and enjoying the touch of sunshine on his bare legs and arms. Funny that it didn’t seem remotely unprofessional to be dressed in casual summer clothing here, even when seeing a patient.

The warmth was as sensuous as the heady smell of some tropical flowers growing nearby and Alex found himself stretching, letting his muscles go as he took a deep, appreciative sniff before setting off on what felt like a lazy ramble.

The spell of island magic had caught him. This was a place where senses were heightened and the ones he normally relied on, like sight and sound, were strangely less important than taste or smell or touch. A seductive environment that stirred all sorts of desires to explore those senses further.

Alex let his breath out in a contented sigh as he entered the shade of the forest walk. He had a few minutes to himself, which was a rare pleasure. He had most of the rest of the day to spend focused on the most important person in his life—his daughter. For the duration of this walk, however, there was no harm in letting his thoughts drift back to where they were being irresistibly drawn, was there?

No.

It couldn’t hurt to think about Susie.

As he had been, rather a lot, since last night.

She couldn’t have known how desperate he’d been. Desperate enough to ask for help for the first time in his adult life.

He’d never done it before. He hadn’t done it when his world had turned upside down with his young wife dying so suddenly and tragically, leaving him with an infant daughter. Help had been offered, of course. Too much help, but Alex had needed to deal with his grief by taking control. Using instinct and sheer willpower to learn to care for a baby and to try and put his life back together.

He hadn’t asked for help even when a second, potentially lethal blow had been delivered by fate and his beloved daughter had been diagnosed with cancer. It had been easy to take control then. To use his knowledge and contacts to put together the best possible medical management.

But last night he’d lost it. There had been no way to win by force or willpower, and instinct had completely deserted him. He’d had to ask for help from someone he wasn’t sure he could trust. He’d handed an alarming amount of power to a woman who could have used it to pay him back for his rudeness on their introduction. Or to strike a cruel blow to his confidence as a parent. But she hadn’t used that power for anything other than the benefit of Stella.

In fact, Alex was quite sure Susie would be incapable of cruelty. He had seen her concern. Her understanding. Her willingness to help.

Somehow, magically, as they’d shared that glass of wine, she’d slipped through a barrier he’d considered impenetrable. Mistrust had evaporated and it was possible to see her as a genuine person with no personal agenda. A very beautiful person.