His lack of faith gutted her, made her feel hollow and bereft. Without his trust, could they even maintain the friendship they had?
And now she realized making love with him had been an even bigger mistake than she’d suspected. It had tied her to him in ways she could never truly undo.
Well, the joke was on her, wasn’t it? She’d made the mistake of falling for her best friend, only to realize the relationship, even the friendship, wasn’t what she’d thought. She’d always love him, but had to accept they were at the end of the road.
Grabbing some more tissue from the dispenser, she mopped at her eyes and blew her nose.
She’d put off making a decision about her future for too long, and now she had a clear direction.
There was no way she’d stay on St. Eustace and potentially see Kiah every day. If she were being brutally honest with herself, she’d been leaning heavily toward staying. She loved it here, loved being around Charm and Miss Pearl, and felt she could do a lot of good, professionally, on the island. Real work that would make an impact on those around her, and maybe even for years to come. The thought of going back to the rush and scurry of Canada hadn’t held much appeal, even with the prestigious job on offer.
She was a different woman from the one who’d have jumped, just over a year ago, at the deputy chief position and worked herself into the ground to be successful at it. Now, if she did decide to take it, she had to be assured she could still maintain a healthy balance between the job and the life she knew she wanted.
There was a high probability she wouldn’t even take the job at all. After all, no one needed to know whether she was going to, or not. She just had to turn down the job here, and tell them she was going back, once she’d fulfilled her obligations to the hospital.
How was she going to manage for the rest of the time she was on the island, without doing or saying something to Kiah they’d both regret? As angry as she was with him, she knew she’d get past it, but nothing would ever be the same. She’d have to hide behind a mask of friendly laughter, so as not to upset Charm, or get Miss Pearl on her case.
It all felt untenable, made her want to run away. Just curl up somewhere alone, like she’d done after the divorce and the loss of her hand.
But that wasn’t an option.
She was committed to staying on St. Eustace, at least for a little longer, and not even Kiah’s foolishness was going to stop her from doing what she’d promised.
If there was one good thing about the situation, she thought, as she made her way out of the stall and over to the sink to wash her face, it was that it no doubt put paid to the physical relationship with Kiah.
She couldn’t share her body with a man who couldn’t trust her when the chips were down. Couldn’t trust her to be a good custodian of his niece’s life.
No matter what arguments her wayward libido and her breaking heart might come up with.
Bracing herself to see him again, Mina went back to Charm’s room. Kiah wasn’t there and Charm was asleep under Miss Pearl’s watchful eyes.
The older lady got up as soon as Mina came in, and pulled her in for a hug. How was it that Miss Pearl suddenly felt frailer than she had before, as though the fright of Charm’s illness had sapped the strength from her body?
“Mina, child, thank you for being there for Charm,” she whispered. “And for acting so promptly. I’m so glad you were with her, although I know it must have been hard.”
Mina hugged her back, thankful that at least someone appreciated what she’d done, and been through.
“It wasn’t easy, but she’s going to be all right, and that’s the important thing.”
Miss Pearl leaned back and cupped Mina’s cheeks, her gaze searching.
“It is, child. It is. But you must be exhausted from all this drama and excitement. Hezekiah hasn’t come back yet, and I’m going to stay with her for a while. Why don’t you go and get some rest? You can come back later and sit with her, if you want.”
Glad for the excuse to go, Mina nodded.
“Call me and let me know what time my shift is, and I’ll come back. I’ll take a cab and leave the car here, so Kiah has it to use.”
“You drove yourself and Charm here?” The expression of shock on Miss Pearl’s face would normally be comical, but Mina had no energy left for laughter.
“Yes. I didn’t want to wait for a cab or an ambulance,” she said, fishing the keys out of her bag and putting them on the table.
“Well,” said Miss Pearl quietly, as Mina bent to kiss her cheek, prepared to take her leave. “What doesn’t happen in a year happens in a day. You’re well on your way to full recovery, and it makes my old heart glad to see it.”
As Mina walked toward the door, Miss Pearl said, “Mina, do me a favor before you go?”
Mina paused, almost too weary to turn back, but doing it anyway. “Of course.”
The elderly lady hesitated for an instant, and then said, slowly, “Hezekiah said he was going to get Charmaine something to eat, but I’m worried about him. Could you check on him, please?”
Tears threatened, but Mina held them back. “I saw him. I think he’s okay. Just angry, I guess because of the lumbar puncture.”
Miss Pearl shook her head. “No, child. That’s not why he’s angry.” She sighed, lowering herself back into the chair. “Ever since his father died, he’s taken the weight of this family onto his
