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She grabbed a tube of suncream just as it slid off the car bonnet and tried to get it into her bag, but the strap of her bag had started to slip off her shoulder. A moment later her bag and all its contents were scattered on the grimy concrete floor of the car park.
She stared at the mess in utter dismay. It was too much! But somehow she had to get through it because Danny needed her.
‘It’s all right, Danny,’ she said, in a falsely high and squeaky voice. Her words didn’t reassure him or stop him crying at the top of his lungs.
‘It’ll be okay,’ she said again. But as she spoke she heard her own voice crack. She pressed her quivering lips together and squeezed her eyes shut to stop the tears from falling.
She couldn’t bear to hear Danny in such distress. She had to keep it together and think of what to do next.
She squatted down next to the car and started picking up the essentials, like her purse, Danny’s water bottle and the keys to the villa. The suncream and rest of the stuff would just have to roll around under the car until she could deal with it.
The most important thing was to get Danny out into the fresh air, give him some infant painkiller and get him to drink something. Then she would think what to do after that.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ a deep voice behind her grated. ‘Why didn’t you get on the plane with the others?’
She recognised the voice immediately. It was Nikos Kristallis.
‘Oh, thank God you’re here!’ Carrie said, standing up and turning round to face him. Despite the harsh tone of his voice, she had never been more grateful to see anyone. She felt tears of relief swim in her eyes, and she spoke quickly before she really started crying. ‘Danny’s sick, and they wouldn’t let me take him on the plane. He’s burning up, and I need to get him out of this sweltering car park, but I’ve lost the car keys.’
‘What’s wrong with him?’ Nik asked sharply, reaching out to take the child.
‘Chickenpox,’ Carrie replied, letting him take Danny without objecting. She was too hot and sticky, and she knew it was making the fevered baby feel even worse. ‘The first thing we have to do is get him out of here and cool him down.’
‘Come on,’ Nik barked, instantly striding towards the exit. He shot a series of
comments in Greek to his assistant. ‘Leave your things. Spiro will bring them.’
Carrie hurried along beside Nik, keeping close enough so that Danny could easily see her. But he wasn’t really looking. He’d stopped howling and his head was lolling against Nik’s shoulder. She didn’t think that was a good sign.
‘We’ll go to a hotel and call a doctor,’ Nik said. ‘I saw a hotel just down here.’
Carrie was almost running to keep up with his long stride, and it seemed as if only moments passed before they were marching into the foyer of the hotel. Carrie was watching Danny so closely that she hardly registered Nik’s rapid conversation with the receptionist, but they were quickly shown into a large hotel room.
‘The doctor will be here very soon,’ Nik said, turning to face Carrie. She was looking at Danny and biting her lip anxiously. ‘What do we do now, before he gets here?’
She stared up at him with wide green eyes, and for a moment she seemed almost surprised that he had asked her what to do. Then her gaze flicked straight back to Danny.
‘Try to cool him down,’ she said quickly. ‘Get him to sip some water, and it’s time to give him another dose of painkiller.’
Nik laid Danny carefully on the bed and sat beside him to take off his shorts and T-shirt. He stared at him in shock, appalled at the sight of his little body covered with red spots.
It was unacceptable! No Kristallis baby should have to endure this. No nephew of his should be dragged around hot and crowded public places while he was sick. God knows what Carrie would have done if he hadn’t arrived when he had.
‘Oh, no!’ He heard Carrie’s sharp intake of breath. ‘There’s twice as many spots as this morning.’
‘He doesn’t feel so hot as when I first took him.’ Nik lifted Danny and placed him awkwardly on his knee. ‘It’s air-conditioned in here. Maybe that’s helping.’
‘I’m sure it is,’ Carrie said, kneeling down beside them and tearing open a sachet of painkiller. She started to squeeze out the syrupy liquid onto a spoon. ‘It’s very cool in here. That car park was unbearably hot.’
‘Yes,’ Nik said dourly. He didn’t need reminding. Danny should never have been in a place like that in his condition.
‘Here you go.’ Carrie popped a spoonful of pink medicine into Danny’s mouth. ‘That will make you feel better. Now, a few sips of water to wash it down, that’s a good boy.’
Carrie sat back on her heels and studied Danny thoughtfully. She was starting to feel less anxious.
‘He seems a bit better,’ she said after a moment. She reached out and took him carefully from Nik. ‘I mean, of course he’s still sick, but his temperature is not dangerously high any more, and he’s looking at me now and trying to smile a bit. I was so frightened when he wouldn’t respond.’
She hugged him gently, pressing her face against his curls, and looked at Nik, who was still sitting on the bed.
