The Doctor She Left Behind

No. She was still there.

Rachel Johnson. Brown hair tied in a ponytail, slightly suntanned skin and angry brown eyes set off by her pink T-shirt.

‘Just when I thought this couldn’t get any worse.’ He pulled his feet off the desk.

Her lips tightened and her gaze narrowed. ‘I’m going to kill Lewis Blake. I’m going to kill him with my bare hands. There’s no way I’m getting stuck on this island with you for three weeks.’ She folded her arms across her chest.

He pointed out at the sky. ‘Too late, Rach. You just missed your ride home.’ The seaplane was heading off in the distance.

Her forehead creased into a deep frown. ‘No way. There must be a boat. Another island nearby. How do they get supplies?’

Nathan shrugged. ‘Not sure. I’ve only been here a day. And don’t worry. I’m just as happy to see you. Particularly when I’ve just looked through the medical notes and saw your lovely ex is one of the celebs. No wonder you’re here.’

He couldn’t help it. When they’d split up years ago Rachel had come to Australia and a few months later been photographed by the press with her new boyfriend—an Australian soap star. It had been hard enough to get over the split, but seeing his ex all over the press when he’d been left behind to take care of his younger brother had just rubbed salt in the wounds. She’d gone to Australia. The place they’d planned to go to together.

‘What exactly are you doing here, Nathan? You seem the last person who’d want a job like this.’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’

She shrugged. ‘I’d heard you were working for Doctors Without Borders. Celebrity Island seems a bit of a stretch of the imagination.’

He tried to ignore the little surge of pleasure that sparked; she’d been interested enough to find out where he worked. He’d never wanted to ask any of their mutual friends where Rachel was. Everyone knew that she’d gone to Australia without him and they were much too tactful to bring up her name.

He folded his arms across his chest. ‘I think you know exactly why I’m here. At a guess I’d say he hoodwinked me just as much as he hoodwinked you.’ He gave his hands a little rub together. ‘But don’t worry. I’ve got three weeks to think of what I’ll do to him when I get back.’

She frowned again. ‘How did he get in touch?’

Nathan’s gaze met hers. ‘I’ve been working with him.’

‘In A & E?’

Nathan shrugged. ‘Seemed the most logical place to work after five missions with Doctors Without Borders. He offered me the job as soon as my feet hit Australian soil.’

She gave a little nod. He could almost hear her brain ticking. He’d been the logical one and she’d been the emotional one. He’d thought they’d counterbalanced each other and worked well together. He’d been wrong.

‘And don’t think I’ve not noticed.’

Her cheeks were flooded with colour. ‘Noticed what?’ she snapped.

‘That there’s information missing from his medical file. What does your boyfriend have to hide?’

‘Stop calling him that. He’s not my boyfriend. Hasn’t been for more than seven years. It might have escaped your notice but he’s actually engaged to someone else. There’s absolutely nothing between us.’ She was getting angrier and angrier as she spoke. The colour was rushing up her face to the tips of her ears. He’d forgotten how mad she could get about things. Particularly when something mattered to her.

He lifted up the nearest folder. It took both hands. ‘Look at this one.’

She frowned and placed her hands on her hips. ‘Who does that belong to?’

‘Diamond Dazzle. Model. Grand old age of twenty-two and look at the size of her medical records. I know every blood test, every X-ray and every piece of plastic surgery and Botox she’s ever had. This one?’ He held up Darius’s records. Paper-thin. ‘I know that Darius had an appendectomy at age eight. That’s it.’

She folded her arms across her chest. ‘And that’s all you need to know. I know the rest.’

‘No physician works like that, Rach.’

‘You work like that every day, Nathan. You rarely know the history of the people who turn up in A & E, and I imagine on your missions you must have had patients from everywhere. They didn’t come with medical files.’

He stood up. She was annoying every part of him now. It didn’t matter that the angrier and more stubborn she got—the more her jaw was set—the more sensations sparked around his body. Rachel had always had this effect on him. He’d just expected it would have disappeared over time and with a whole host of bad memories. The rush of blood around his system was definitely unwelcome. ‘So, you’re going to look after one patient and I’ll look after eight? Is that how we’re going to work things?’

She shook her head fiercely, her eyes flashing. Rachel had always hated it when someone suggested she didn’t pull her weight. After all these years he still knew what buttons to press.

‘No, Nathan. I’ll look after all the patients—just like you will—if required.’

But Nathan wouldn’t be beaten. Not after all these years. He folded his own arms across his chest and matched Rachel’s stance. He couldn’t help but smile. It was like a stand-off. ‘Well, I don’t think I can do that if I don’t have all the facts about the patient.’

The colour of her face practically matched her T-shirt now and he could see tiny beads of sweat on her brow. It was unquestionably hot on the island. But he was quite sure that wasn’t why Rachel Johnson was sweating.

She shifted her feet. It was unusual to see her in khaki shorts, thick socks and heavy boots. She’d obviously been warned about the island paths. Rachel had spent her time as a student and junior doctor dressed smartly. Always in dresses and heels. This was a whole new look for her. Maybe her time in Australia had changed her outlook on life?

‘Of course you can, Nathan. Stop being difficult. Three weeks. I can tell you’ll be scoring off the days on the calendar just like I will.’

She turned to walk away. And it surprised him just how much he actually didn’t want her to. If you’d asked him if he wanted to come face to face with Rachel Johnson again he’d have said, Not in this lifetime. But reality was sometimes stranger than fiction.

She stopped at the door. ‘How’s Charlie?’

The question caught him off guard and his answer was an automatic response. ‘Charlie’s fine. Not that you would care.’

She sighed. ‘That’s not fair, Nathan, and you know it.’

He shrugged. ‘Why? You didn’t want to hang around when I had to look after my little brother for a couple of years. Why bother now?’

She shook her head. He could see her biting her lip. She probably couldn’t find the words for why she’d run out on them both. ‘I always loved Charlie. He was great. Did he finish university?’ A thought must have flickered across her mind. ‘How was he when you were away?’

‘Charlie was fine. He finished his engineering degree and got a job before I left for my last mission. He’s married now with two young children.’

She gave a little nod of her head. ‘Glad to hear it. Tell him I’m asking for him.’

She walked out of the door, letting it slam behind her. Nathan picked up the bottle of water on the table and downed it in one, wishing it was a beer. No matter how he tried to avoid it, his eyes had settled on her backside and legs as she’d walked out of the door. Eight years on and Rachel Johnson was as hot as ever.

And eight years later she still drove him crazy.

I always loved Charlie. The words echoed in his mind. ‘Just as well you loved one of us,’ he muttered.

She’d thought the cabin was hot but outside was even hotter and the high humidity was making the sweat trickle down her back already, probably turning her hair into a frizz bomb.

She stopped for a second to catch her breath, leaning against the metal bodywork and hoping to feel a little of the coolness on her body.

Trapped on an island with two exes. You couldn’t make this up.

A little wave of nausea rolled over her. Nathan Banks. Eight years had done nothing to diminish the impact of seeing him again. Her hands were trembling and every hair on her arms stood on end. She’d never expected to come face-to-face with him again.