funny?’
‘I don’t know, but I intend to find out. I’m going to take a blood sample and send it off,’ Ethan told Kyla, reaching for a blood bottle. ‘I want a more accurate blood glucose level.’
By the time he’d taken the sample and labelled the bottle, Kyla had fed Aisla several chocolate biscuits and she was rapidly recovering.
‘I can’t believe I let that happen,’ she groaned, struggling to her feet with Ethan’s help. ‘It was such a sunny evening yesterday I just couldn’t resist a trip to the beach. And then when I got there I thought I’d do some exercise.’ I was going to eat as soon as I got in but Fraser’s uncle rang and then I sort of lost track and just went to bed. I’m so sorry. How did you find me?’
Ethan opened his mouth to give the honest answer, but Kyla jumped in. ‘We were passing,’ she said quickly. ‘I wanted to introduce you to Dr Walker.’
‘Well, this isn’t the way I would have chosen to meet you,’ Aisla said with a weary smile, ‘but thanks. I owe you both. If you hadn’t called, goodness knows what would have happened.’
Ethan saw Kyla glance towards Fraser. Saw her smile of reassurance and praise.
Aisla followed that look. ‘Fraser?’ Her voice was gentle. ‘Are you all right? Didn’t you say something about feeling sick?’
‘I’m feeling a lot better now,’ he said firmly. ‘Ever since I had that fresh air on the beach.’
‘Fresh air can be a miracle-worker,’ Kyla said blithely, and Fraser breathed an audible sigh of relief.
‘I can’t believe that this is an average working day. Do you ever get any time off for good behaviour?’ Ethan slid into the car beside her and Kyla smiled.
‘The nature of this island is that we’re permanently on call. But it isn’t usually this bad, honestly. And now you definitely deserve some time off. I’ll drop you home on my way to the clinic. But have dinner with Logan and me tonight. It’s the least we can do, having pushed you straight into the deep end.’ She saw his expression change. Saw surprise flicker in the depths of his dark, dangerous eyes.
‘You eat dinner with your brother?’
‘Of course,’ Kyla said comfortably. ‘We’re family.’
‘But not all families eat together and socialise.’
‘Well, we do. Usually several times a week. Is that so strange?’ Kyla looked at him in confusion, wondering why that would seem odd to him. As far as she was concerned, it was so normal it wasn’t even worth commenting on. ‘I love seeing my niece and usually one of my aunts or cousins are there. It’ll probably be a pretty noisy evening but it will be nice for you to meet some of the islanders. One of my aunts runs the café on the quay and another has a knitwear boutique in Glenmore village. Two of my other cousins are fisherman. They also man the lifeboat when it’s necessary.’
‘What about your parents?’
‘They moved over to the mainland two months ago to be with my other aunt. My uncle died and she needs help on the farm, so my parents moved in and took over. But we still get together all the time.’
‘You’re a close family.’
‘Are we?’ She frowned and then gave a shrug. ‘A pretty normal family, I would have said. We have our rows and disagreements and we’re pretty noisy but, yes, we like each other’s company and we’re in and out of each other’s lives. Why wouldn’t we be? What about you? Are you a big family? Brothers? Sisters?’ She saw the immediate change in him. His dark eyes were blank. Shuttered—as if something had slammed closed inside him.
‘Just me.’ His tone was cool and his eyes slid away from hers. ‘My parents divorced when I was eight and my father’s second marriage didn’t last long either.’
‘Oh.’ Kyla tried to imagine not having her family round her and failed. Maybe that explained why he was reserved and slightly aloof. ‘That must have been pretty tough on you.’
‘On the contrary, it was a relief from the
‘I don’t know, but I intend to find out. I’m going to take a blood sample and send it off,’ Ethan told Kyla, reaching for a blood bottle. ‘I want a more accurate blood glucose level.’
By the time he’d taken the sample and labelled the bottle, Kyla had fed Aisla several chocolate biscuits and she was rapidly recovering.
‘I can’t believe I let that happen,’ she groaned, struggling to her feet with Ethan’s help. ‘It was such a sunny evening yesterday I just couldn’t resist a trip to the beach. And then when I got there I thought I’d do some exercise.’ I was going to eat as soon as I got in but Fraser’s uncle rang and then I sort of lost track and just went to bed. I’m so sorry. How did you find me?’
Ethan opened his mouth to give the honest answer, but Kyla jumped in. ‘We were passing,’ she said quickly. ‘I wanted to introduce you to Dr Walker.’
‘Well, this isn’t the way I would have chosen to meet you,’ Aisla said with a weary smile, ‘but thanks. I owe you both. If you hadn’t called, goodness knows what would have happened.’
Ethan saw Kyla glance towards Fraser. Saw her smile of reassurance and praise.
Aisla followed that look. ‘Fraser?’ Her voice was gentle. ‘Are you all right? Didn’t you say something about feeling sick?’
‘I’m feeling a lot better now,’ he said firmly. ‘Ever since I had that fresh air on the beach.’
‘Fresh air can be a miracle-worker,’ Kyla said blithely, and Fraser breathed an audible sigh of relief.
‘I can’t believe that this is an average working day. Do you ever get any time off for good behaviour?’ Ethan slid into the car beside her and Kyla smiled.
‘The nature of this island is that we’re permanently on call. But it isn’t usually this bad, honestly. And now you definitely deserve some time off. I’ll drop you home on my way to the clinic. But have dinner with Logan and me tonight. It’s the least we can do, having pushed you straight into the deep end.’ She saw his expression change. Saw surprise flicker in the depths of his dark, dangerous eyes.
‘You eat dinner with your brother?’
‘Of course,’ Kyla said comfortably. ‘We’re family.’
‘But not all families eat together and socialise.’
‘Well, we do. Usually several times a week. Is that so strange?’ Kyla looked at him in confusion, wondering why that would seem odd to him. As far as she was concerned, it was so normal it wasn’t even worth commenting on. ‘I love seeing my niece and usually one of my aunts or cousins are there. It’ll probably be a pretty noisy evening but it will be nice for you to meet some of the islanders. One of my aunts runs the café on the quay and another has a knitwear boutique in Glenmore village. Two of my other cousins are fisherman. They also man the lifeboat when it’s necessary.’
‘What about your parents?’
‘They moved over to the mainland two months ago to be with my other aunt. My uncle died and she needs help on the farm, so my parents moved in and took over. But we still get together all the time.’
‘You’re a close family.’
‘Are we?’ She frowned and then gave a shrug. ‘A pretty normal family, I would have said. We have our rows and disagreements and we’re pretty noisy but, yes, we like each other’s company and we’re in and out of each other’s lives. Why wouldn’t we be? What about you? Are you a big family? Brothers? Sisters?’ She saw the immediate change in him. His dark eyes were blank. Shuttered—as if something had slammed closed inside him.
‘Just me.’ His tone was cool and his eyes slid away from hers. ‘My parents divorced when I was eight and my father’s second marriage didn’t last long either.’
‘Oh.’ Kyla tried to imagine not having her family round her and failed. Maybe that explained why he was reserved and slightly aloof. ‘That must have been pretty tough on you.’
‘On the contrary, it was a relief from the
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