Joanna Neil - Temptation in Paradise

She started to walk towards the side of the house and after a moment’s hesitation and a hasty glance in José’s direction Ben hurried after her.

‘Are you sure we’re doing the right thing?’ he persisted anxiously.

‘Of course,’ she said. She wouldn’t be seeing Dr José Benitez again, so what did it matter? The fact that his brooding stare was burning a hole in her back only served to stiffen her resolve all the more.

‘ARE YOU READY for your first day in the new job?’ Ben refilled his coffee cup and then did the same for Jessie, sliding a mug across the breakfast table towards her.

‘I think so.’ Jessie gave a wry smile. ‘At least, I would be if it weren’t for this throbbing hangover. I knew I shouldn’t have had that last drink at the party. I don’t know what got into me.’ Maybe it had been a nervous reaction after coming face-to-face with a man who had somehow managed to fire up all her defences.

She didn’t want to dwell on the other events of the evening, but the image of the tall, dark stranger insisted on forcing its way into her mind. She’d been upset on Ben’s behalf last night, but perhaps she shouldn’t have reacted the way she had? After all, things might have turned out better for her brother if she’d gone on trying to appease José, instead of challenging him. She’d probably made things much worse, and now it wasn’t very likely he would ever consider taking Ben on again. The pounding at her temples worsened at the thought, and she winced.

Ben helped himself to toast and spread it generously with apricot preserve. ‘It was a touch of the Caribbean getting into you, I guess,’ he said in a soothing tone. ‘It happens to the best of us.’ He watched her drizzle maple syrup on her pancake. ‘Anyway, after the way things have been for you back home lately, breaking up with Lewis and all that, you probably needed to let your hair down a bit.’

‘I suppose so.’ She gritted her teeth, thinking about her cheating ex-boyfriend. How could she have been so blind, so trusting, not to have suspected that while she had been busy working in Accident and Emergency, Lewis had been happily making out with another woman? It had hurt badly when she’d found out the truth, and even now just thinking about it made her whole body tremble.

‘You look good,’ Ben said approvingly, skimming a glance over her. She was wearing a cream blouse teamed with a flower-printed skirt that fell in soft folds over her hips and a short-sleeved, matching jacket completed the ensemble. The colours were soft pastels, easy on the eye.

‘I’m glad you think so.’ She made an effort to pull herself together. Taking her time, she finished off the pancake and drank her coffee, then asked, ‘What are you planning on doing today?’

His expression sobered. ‘I’ll look around for work. I have to find something as soon as possible—I can’t keep sponging off you. You’ve helped me out more than enough already.’

‘Don’t worry about that. Half of the rental income from the house back home is yours by right, so that should keep you going for a bit.’

He smiled. ‘Yeah, I guess. Thanks, Jessie. You’re a lifesaver.’

She left the apartment a short time later and drove her hire car from the village towards the coast on the west side of the island where the hospital was situated. She was a little apprehensive about what lay ahead, starting work in an unfamiliar hospital in a foreign land, but at least for the moment she had the wonderful island scenery to help take her mind off things.

She glanced in the rear-view mirror. Behind her, the dramatic slopes of a dormant volcano dominated the island, with dense green forest carpeting the land as far as the sea’s edge. In the distance a magnificent waterfall cascaded to a deep, wide rock pool and for a dreamy instant she wished she could be there, simply taking in the view.

The sheer beauty of her surroundings helped to calm her and she purposely tried to breathe in deeply. It was all so different from what she had known before … It was awe-inspiring and invigorating, and by the time she’d parked her car outside Mount Saint Helene Hospital, she felt much better able to face up to this new test.

The hospital was a neat, white-painted, two-storey building with a veranda running along one side where patients and their relatives could sit awhile in the warm air. Palm trees provided a modicum of shelter, and the grounds had been planted with yucca and brightly flowering hibiscus.

Jessie pushed open the wide main door and went inside the air-conditioned building, going over to the reception desk.

‘Hello, I’m Dr Heywood,’ she told the clerk. ‘I’m starting work in the paediatric accident and emergency unit this morning.’

‘Oh, hello, there,’ the woman said, with a welcoming smile. ‘It’s good to see you. I’m sure you’ll enjoy your time here with us. You’ll find everyone very friendly and helpful.’ She called over a young medic who happened to be walking by the desk. ‘Hi, Dr Lombard, do you think you could show Dr Heywood the way to children’s A and E? It’s her first day here with us.’

‘I’d be glad to. I’m headed over there now.’ Dr Lombard was a good-looking young man, olive-skinned, with black hair and grey eyes. He wore tailored trousers topped by a palely striped shirt and a subtly patterned tie.

He smiled and put out a hand to Jessie, grasping her fingers warmly in his. ‘I’m Robert,’ he said. ‘If you have any problems or queries, just ask. I expect it will all feel a bit strange to you for the first few days, but we’ll look after you.’

‘Thanks.’ She introduced herself. ‘I’m Jessie.’

She was hoping there would be time for her to get used to her surroundings and maybe meet up with some of the people she was to work with, but as soon as they arrived in the department, a nurse beckoned Dr Lombard over to one of the treatment bays.

‘There’s a little boy in here, a five-year-old, who’s eaten a death apple, we think.’ She frowned. ‘He’s in a bad way. Will you come and take a look at him? His name’s Tyrell Dacosta.’

‘Of course I will, Amanda. Poor little chap.’ He turned to Jessie. ‘Perhaps it’ll help you get settled in if you shadow me for the next hour or so. The boss is busy with another patient or he would have greeted you himself. He asked me to look out for you.’

‘Okay. That sounds like a good idea.’ Jessie couldn’t help feeling anxious about their small patient. She could only hope the fruit didn’t live up to its awful name. It sounded ominous.

Hastily, she followed Robert and the nurse into the treatment room where a small boy lay wrapped in his mother’s arms. He was whimpering and looked wretched, shaking and tearful, with a film of sweat on his brow and cheeks.

Dr Lombard introduced himself and Jessie, and then, as he carefully examined the child, he asked the mother, ‘So you think he’s eaten a fruit of some sort that’s upset him? Did he eat all of it, or just a little?’

‘Most of it.’ The young woman’s face was pale and etched with worry. ‘The tree was growing near the beach where we were walking. I spoke to my doctor on the phone and she said it sounded like manchineel. She told me to get him to drink a couple of glasses of milk and then to bring him straight here.’

She sniffed unhappily, close to tears, and Jessie could understand why she was so upset. There was some blistering in the boy’s mouth and probably in his throat and stomach, too. ‘Tyrell saw one of the apples lying on the ground,’ the woman went on. ‘It smelled good and he said it tasted sweet. I didn’t know what it was so I told him to spit it out but I was too late, he’d already swallowed some of it.’