He’d asked her to come to his office, and now he gave her a winning smile. “As it is, I’ll like to offer for you the opportunity to join the staff permanently at full salary. We’re offering a two-year contract, with the option to extend whenever you want.”
Stunned, she just stared at him for a moment, trying to think it through. It was completely unexpected. Hell, she’d been at the hospital less than the month she’d initially thought she’d be.
Getting her thoughts together, she smiled as best she could back at him. “Thank you, but let me give it some thought before I say anything. I really wasn’t expecting this, at all.”
Even though he looked a little crestfallen, Dr. Hamilton agreed, but asked that she get back to him within the next couple of weeks, and she agreed she would.
Why she kept that information to herself and didn’t discuss it with Kiah, she wasn’t sure. Maybe because she wasn’t sure how he’d respond. Or perhaps she just wanted to make that decision on her own.
After all, she’d come here because he’d suggested it, and she’d been at too low an ebb to make a plan for herself. It was about time she got back to organizing and running her own life again.
Deciding not to do anything about her physical attraction toward Kiah wasn’t an easy choice, but one she thought best. The worst-case scenario, which was him telling her she was being ridiculous, and then not wanting to be around her out of disgust or embarrassment, wasn’t viable, in her estimation.
The stress of it all was wearying, though, and of course Kiah noticed.
“You okay?” he asked quietly one night while they were sitting on the veranda, and she’d fallen silent, caught up in the questions circling in her mind.
“Sure.” She infused as much jocularity into her voice as she could, but he wasn’t fooled.
“Don’t lie to me, Mina. I know you too well. You’ve been a little off for the last few days. Are you in pain?”
He was referring to her arm, and she knew that, so replied, “No, my arm is fine.”
“So what is it? Are you bored?”
That brought a little huff of laughter. “Are you kidding? I’ve been running up and down the hospital, trying to learn all the systems and develop new ones, plus getting called to consult. I’ve had a rising cricket star with bursitis, a Belizean marine biologist with chronic leg weakness after a fall, and a Grenadian soccer player with a broken coccyx. How on earth could I be bored?”
“I didn’t mean at the hospital, Mina. I meant here. It’s a far quieter life than you’re used to.”
Didn’t he know she’d been happier since being here than she could remember being before? Couldn’t he recognize how having him, and his family, had filled her to overflowing.
With her dreams of motherhood shattered, being on St. Eustace, interacting with Charm, was fulfilling a deep-seated need in her heart. The knowledge that Kiah doubted her ability to fit in with them and be happy was enraging.
She turned to glare at him.
Cognizant of Miss Pearl and Charm just inside, she kept her voice soft but infused it with enough ice to make winter in Toronto seem hot in comparison.
“I’m not two, Kiah. Or even twelve. I don’t need to be entertained by you or anyone. And, for your information, everything is fine, so stop bugging me, okay?”
He didn’t even give her the satisfaction of getting angry with her in turn; he just sat there, nodding slowly, his far-too-knowing gaze searching her face.
“Sure,” he said, as if she’d asked him to take her to the supermarket or something trite like that. “Whatever you say.”
“Ugh,” she said, ready to let loose another salvo.
“Auntie?” Charm’s voice floated out from the living room, forestalling Mina’s next spate of words. “Can you take a look at this project I’m doing?”
“Sure. Be right there,” she replied, still glowering at Kiah.
“Saved in the nick of time,” he murmured, having the nerve to smile as she stood up.
Mina paused just in front of him and said, “Sometimes, Kiah Langdon, I don’t like you very much.”
“But I’ll always love you, sweet girl, so that makes up for it.”
“Ugh,” she said again, turning away so he couldn’t see she’d teared up as his words struck home, and made her feel even worse.
That night, after she’d gotten ready for bed, the phantom pains, which had plagued her for the first few months after the accident and then abated, returned with a vengeance.
CHAPTER TEN
AS WAS MINA’S WAY, she didn’t stay angry for long, and was back to her usual self the day after their argument.
But not really her usual self, in Kiah’s estimation. Despite her denials, he knew something was going on with her, but she wasn’t confiding in him the way she normally would. It hurt him, but he’d learned his lesson and didn’t push. Hopefully, when she was ready, she’d let him in on whatever was bothering her.
“I haven’t had a chance to finish putting the training plans together, with all the consultations I’ve been doing,” she said to him and Miss Pearl that evening. “I hope you don’t mind if I stay on with you a little longer. Maybe just a couple more weeks?”
“Of course we don’t mind,” Miss Pearl replied, before Kiah even had a chance to open his mouth. “Stay as long as you like.”
“Like forever,” Charm said as she came into the room on silent, bare feet.
Miss Pearl narrowed her eyes. “I hope you weren’t eavesdropping on big people’s conversation, Charmaine.”
“No, Granny. I was coming down the hallway and heard you, that’s all.”
But Kiah thought she looked a little sheepish and decided he should talk to her about it later.
More important, he’d noticed shadows growing under Mina’s eyes, and especially with him, she was quieter even than before. Miss Pearl
