Chapter Nineteen
The air around the clinic smelled of cooked meat and wood smoke. Cameron sat at a picnic table, watching as the men pulled the pig Edmund had begun cooking the night before from the hot coals. Finally, his masterpiece was ready to be enjoyed.
Cameron took in the scene around her. After two weeks, the clinic was empty of patients and the beach had been cleaned of most of the debris. The treetops and bark still bore the scorch marks from the fires that had tried to ruin her island. Luckily, she’d always found scars charming. They served as proof of a story that lie behind whatever they covered. Her gaze drifted to her daughter, playing with Esme and Brodie’s daughters. Ara carried her own scar now.
Sitting close by, Brodie watched his daughters play as he cradled his son against his chest. His eyes appeared darker than they had only weeks ago. Cameron hoped after he received his prosthetics and realized he could still live a full life that the old gleam would return.
“You’re thinking too hard, Doc.” Luci slid onto the bench across from her. “This is supposed to be a celebration.”
Right. They were celebrating Brodie’s and Ara’s recoveries and the birth of the newest Hunte child. But they were also saying goodbye to the doctors who’d helped facilitate those recoveries. Tomorrow, Wes and Ian would board a boat for the big island where they’d catch a plane for their journey home. Under the circumstances, she found celebrating difficult.
Luci took Cameron’s hand, giving it a soft squeeze. “Are you okay?”
Not trusting herself to speak, Cameron nodded.
“She’s going to miss the doctors.” Cameron hadn’t noticed Esme’s approach, but apparently her friend had noticed her.
Luci turned her attention to where Wes and Ian stood with Edmund and Pauler by the coal pit. “The doctors? Why?”
Cameron and Esme shared a glance. With all that Esme had had to occupy her over the past week, Cameron hadn’t confided in her friend that she’d slept with Ian. Although from the wicked gleam in Esme’s eye and the way her lip quirked, Cameron assumed the other woman had figured it out.
Not catching the look they shared, Luci continued, “They seem very capable, but there’s nothing they can do that you can’t.”
As much as she appreciated the old woman’s faith in her, Cameron could think of a laundry list of things each man did better than she did. Still, her reasons for not wanting to see the men depart had much more to do with how much she’d enjoyed seeing them again. Over the past five years, she’d convinced herself she didn’t miss either of them. Now, she recognized the blatant lie she’d told herself.
Esme sighed; exasperation clear in every movement. “Luci. She’s in love.”
“Esme,” Cameron chastised at the same time Luci replied, “I know.”
Cameron and her friend gaped at the older woman. “You know?” they asked.
Luci nodded. “I might be old, but I can see. From the moment he saw you, he’s been fascinated. Of course, you were unconscious, so I thought his interest was only medical.”
Cameron could only imagine what the others thought when she fainted at the sight of Ian. Sometimes she was surprised she didn’t do it more often with the way he took her breath away.
“So,” Luci turned her mischievous gaze to Cameron. “Have you had sex with him yet?”
“Luci,” Cameron gasped, but a giggle built in her chest. “I can’t believe you asked me that.”
The older woman nodded. “Because the answer’s so obvious?”
Esme tried to cover her laughter behind her hand but failed. “Don’t blush
“I’m not.” Cameron tried.
Luci waved her off. “You light skin girls are so obvious.”
Cameron could feel the heat rising up her neck and face.
“It’s okay,” Luci continued. “Esme can’t be the only woman on the island getting pleasured.”
Esme’s laughter choked off as she lifted wide, round eyes to Luci. Now Cameron got the chance to laugh.
“Luci,” Esme chastised.
The older woman smiled, exposing her sparse set of teeth. “Like we thought you were the Virgin Mary. We all know how those babies keep ending up inside you.”
This brought a fresh round of giggles from Cameron, who doubled over, holding her aching sides. She loved these women. Over the years, they’d become her chosen family. Even if she could go back to her old life, would she choose to leave them behind?
A sound of deep laughter came from the fire pit. Cameron turned to find Ian standing with the other men, his head thrown back, and his mouth stretched with laughter. Her own humor faded as she took him in. Yes. As much as she loved Esme and Luci and Brodie and Keso and all the other people who made her life on this island special, if she could leave to make a life with Ian without hurting Ara and Keso, she would. Her eyes grew warm, and her heart turned heavy.
Luci’s weathered hand covered hers. “I think Ara would like to stay with me tonight.”
Cameron lifted her head. “No. She’s still healing. Still…”
Luci lifted a graying brow. “I think Ara would like to stay with me tonight. That is, if you think you’ll be okay alone.”
The warmth behind Cameron’s eyes spread to her chest. Luci was giving her one more night to spend with the man she loved.
Cameron swallowed. “Thank you, Luci. I think Ara would enjoy that.”
Luci’s lips turned up. The wrinkles bracketing her mouth folded on themselves. “He’s a good one,” she whispered. “I can feel it.”
Again focusing on Ian, Cameron could feel it too. If only she knew how to keep him.
* * *
Surprisingly, Ian found himself enjoying the farewell picnic the islanders had prepared for him and Wes. Of course, the picnic wasn’t only to tell the two of them goodbye. They also celebrated the birth of the new baby and Ara’s recovery. They celebrated Brodie as well, but from where Ian stood with Wes and Edmund, the injured man didn’t appear to be enjoying the festivities. Ian hadn’t expected to enjoy them either. He’d much rather spend his last day on the island with Cameron. Preferably in bed.
Instinctively, his gaze went to the woman occupying his thoughts. Earlier, she’d sat at a picnic table with Esme and Luci laughing. Now, she sat cross-legged on the ground with Ara in her lap. Esme’s baby lay nestled in Ara’s arms with Cameron supporting them. The tiny girl’s head swiveled as she alternated between gazing at the baby and grinning at her mother. Ian’s chest tightened until breathing became difficult. This party might be his official goodbye as a doctor, but this island hadn’t seen the last of him. If the ideas he and Edmund had thrown around earlier panned out, they’d end up with one more islander.
Ian stopped by Brodie’s chair. The other man wasn’t completely healed. Far from it. Both his body and his mind still needed time to recover from his accident. Ian had already begun working on getting prosthetics for him. Eventually, Brodie would leave the island to get his new legs and do physical therapy. One day, maybe he’d even have his own boat again. Until then…
“What did Edmund say?” Brodie asked.
“He might know someone.” Hope bubbled in Ian’s chest.
Brodie nodded. “He usually does.”
They sat in comfortable silence, both watching Arabella fawn over the baby. A smile touched Brodie’s lips.
“She was afraid, you know?” Ian ventured.
“Who?” The other man shifted in his chair to face Ian.
He inclined his head toward Cameron. “She thought you’d be mad she kept you alive when she couldn’t save your legs.”
Brodie lowered his gaze, staring into his lap. “Sometimes I do feel that way,” the other man confessed. “But only for a minute. Look at my family.” Lifting a hand, he indicated his wife and girls who’d joined Cameron and Arabella on the grass. “They couldn’t care less if I have two legs or arms or anything else. They love me.” His lips stretched in a genuine smile now. “I worry about how to provide for them. Fishing is all I know. But if I were dead, I couldn’t provide for them at all.” He shrugged. “Do you think Doc understands?”
Ian studied the woman he loved as she snuggled the baby before handing him off to his mother. When she’d last been his, she’d been angry and bitter. Mad that he and Wes had saved her and not her child. Now, happiness radiated from her, and love shone in her bright gaze when she looked at the little girl in her lap and the people surrounding her.
“I think you should talk to her. You’d be surprised at just how well she’ll understand.” And maybe by talking with someone with a shared experience, Brodie and Cameron could both heal.
Vea broke away from the group, then ran to her father. With Ian’s help, she climbed on to Brodie’s lap, careful not to touch his still healing legs. She snuggled into his chest.
Brodie grinned up at Ian. “I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”