Second Chance with Her Island Doc by Marion Lennox

Author:Marion Lennox
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-06-05T11:51:04+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

TOVAHNA’S CASTLE HAD been built and fortified to defend the island from barbarians. If I’d been leading them I might have fought harder, Anna thought. This island was worth fighting for.

She was sitting in the passenger seat of Leo’s ancient Fiat. The roads were appalling, a potholed mess, but decrepit roads and old cars couldn’t detract from the beauty around her.

The coast road alone was enough to take her breath away. The sea was sapphire-blue, the cliffs were low, white stone or sandy, and there was bay after bay that screamed, Stop, paddle or swim, now.

They’d left the single row of shops that served the town, and were now on the sparsely populated far side of the island. Ancient stone cottages were set far apart, but people were still around, working in the olive groves or in veggie gardens, mending nets on the beaches, walking along the road from farm to farm. Leo’s faded red Fiat was obviously well known, because every islander waved or called as he came into view.

He waved back but he was mostly silent. Letting Anna see the place without a running commentary?

For which she was grateful. She felt ill at ease with this man but she did want to see the island. It would have felt petty to knock back his offer, especially since her alternative chauffeur was Victoir.

But she had to find words soon. It was as if he was waiting for her to take it in, waiting for her verdict.

‘It’s beautiful,’ she said at last as they topped a crest and miles of olive groves and the sparkling sea beyond spread out before her. Masses of wild roses—a species apparently endemic to the island—lined the road sides, breathtakingly beautiful. ‘I can understand why you wanted to come back.’

‘Needed to come back,’ he corrected her. ‘Don’t let the beauty fool you. It disguises desperate need. Anna, would you mind if we stopped for a few moments? Dino Costa’s ninety and he’s pretty much bedbound. If I could check on him now it might save me a trip next week. There’s a cove below the house. You might like to sit on a rock and watch the water, or take a stroll.’

‘Of course,’ she said, and then said diffidently, ‘Unless you need some help.’ She thought of the elderly, housebound clients she’d treated in her years of family doctoring. Social contact was the best medicine. Sometimes an interesting visit could do more good than any medicine she could prescribe.

So say it. ‘Unless you think Dino might like to meet me,’ she added, and Leo flashed her a look of surprise.

There was a moment’s silence, and then, ‘You mean it?’

‘If you think it could help.’

And he got it. She saw his faint smile. ‘For Dino...meeting you? Not only would he love it, it’ll bring in every neighbour to hear all about it. For Dino that’d be gold.’ He hesitated. ‘He won’t be polite, though. If you can take it...’

She grinned at that. ‘Hey, I’m a family doctor.

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