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‘We’ll both have the beef,’ Kyla said quickly, ‘and the treacle tart. Thanks, Ben.’
He scribbled on the pad in his hand. ‘How’s young Shelley?’
‘Fine.’
‘Mary’s worrying herself sick.’
‘I know that.’ Kyla’s voice was quiet. ‘We’re dealing with it as quickly as we can, Ben. As soon as we know anything, we’ll be in touch with Mary.’
He nodded. ‘Call me when you hear anything.’ He walked off and Ethan stared after him in amazement.
‘How did he know about Shelley? And how does he know so much about Doug? And how do you ever honour patient confidentiality in a place like this?’
‘Doug works for him and Ben is Mary’s cousin, but you’re right that most people find out who’s ill with what about five seconds after you’ve found out yourself. Anyway, Ben is on the crew of Glenmore lifeboat so he’s an important part of this community.’
‘The island has a lifeboat?’
‘Yes. It has a berth by the quay. Haven’t you seen it?’
‘I haven’t been down here since the day I arrived. Do they have a lot of callouts?’
‘Unfortunately, yes. Especially in the summer. Usually walkers on the cliffs who drop down to pretty bays and then get stuck when the tide comes in. And if it’s a medical emergency, they call on Logan. So, you see, we all work together and, yes, people are interested in one another, but we don’t betray a confidence. There’s a way of responding without giving anything away. But I can assure you that the moment you’ve spoken to Mary about the results, she’ll be on the phone to at least five other people and they’ll be on the phone to another five. But that’s their business.’
Ethan shook his head. ‘It’s so different to London.’
‘Of course. That’s why we live here.’ She tilted her head to one side, challenging him. ‘You’re missing all the positives. Like the fact that almost everyone on this island is part of an informal support network and that counts for a lot. When Fraser was in hospital with pneumonia when he was younger, everyone rallied round to help Aisla, even though she’d only just arrived on the island and knew no one.’
He sat back in his chair, his expression watchful. ‘Go on.’
She shrugged. ‘When Mrs Linton tripped down her stairs someone phoned us within the hour because they’d noticed that her bin hadn’t been taken in. In London she probably would have been on the floor for a week before it occurred to anyone that something might be wrong.’
‘Probably even longer than that,’ Ethan said dryly, finishing his drink and sitting back as their food arrived. ‘All right, you’ve convinced me. I can see that it has its advantages.’
‘But it isn’t somewhere that you could ever settle for good.’ The words left her mouth before she could stop them and she froze, appalled at herself for being so indiscreet.
Why had she asked that question? What was the matter with her? It wasn’t even as if she wanted him to be there for ever. She just wanted—she wanted—
A fling, she acknowledged finally, looking away from his searching gaze so that she didn’t reveal any more. She wanted a wild, abandoned fling with an incredible-looking, intelligent man, and Ethan Walker fitted that description.
‘What about you?’ His voice was even as he handed her a knife and fork and reached for his own. ‘You’re obviously an extremely skilled nurse. Have you ever considered leaving here?’
‘What’s that supposed to mean? That the people on the island deserve less than mainlanders?’
‘That wasn’t what I meant.’ His tone was wry. ‘You’re very touchy. Stop jumping down my throat. I just wondered whether you might be bored.’
‘I trained on the mainland and that was enough for me. Here I have a great deal more autonomy than I would have on the mainland. I happen to think that anonymity is vastly overrated.’ She poked the food on her plate for a moment and then looked up. ‘I like people, Ethan. I like knowing what they’re up to. I don’t even mind the fact that they know everything that I’m doing before I even do it. I like the feeling of belonging. I like the knowledge that there is a whole community out there, pulling together, trying to improve each other’s lives. In cities all you read about is stabbings and muggings, whereas here—’ She broke off and gave an embarrassed shrug.
‘I sense that we’re back to caring again.’
‘They probably care in the city, too, it’s just that life is so fast and busy that no one has the opportunity to show it, and before you know it you don’t even recognise your neighbours.’
‘Is that really an excuse?’ Ethan gave a short laugh. ‘You’re not exactly kicking your heels here and you manage to know everyone.’
‘But we have a pretty static population except for the tourist season. Live in a city and people come and go. Here, everyone we see here is known to us. It’s different. And I love the challenge of having to work with limited back-up. It makes you more resourceful.’
They’d both finished eating and Kyla suddenly realised that she’d been too absorbed in their conversation to even notice the food. ‘Did you enjoy it?’
His surprised glance at his empty plate told her that he’d been similarly distracted.
