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.
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