Buch lesen: «For You I Will»

For You I Will

Donna Hill

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Copyright

Prologue

The air over Sag Harbor was charged and ready to joust with the storm that loomed on the horizon. A blanket of gray and white hung over the treetops and roofs of the homes that dotted the landscape. The residents of Sag Harbor were accustomed to the sudden spring storms and after two years away from the frenetic pace of New York City, Dr. Kai Randall had gotten used to them, as well. So well in fact that she no longer closed herself inside her quaint home during these outbursts but welcomed them, capturing nature’s power from behind the lens of her camera.

For Kai, picking up stakes and leaving New York Presbyterian Hospital wasn’t a matter of a simple getaway; it was to save her own sanity. The bureaucratic pressure, the fourteen-hour days, and being a constant witness to pain and suffering had begun to take its toll on her physical and mental well-being. And after ten years on the front lines as chief of the E.R., she packed her stethoscope, her skills as a surgeon and returned to her ancestral home on Sag Harbor in the neighborhood known as Azurest. Kai’s great-great-grandfather Isaiah Randall had fought side-by-side with Warren M. Cuffee, a soldier in the black regiment of the Union Army who championed the liberation of blacks from slavery. Isaiah built his home on Azurest when he married Kai Seneca, a Native American who was said to have stolen Isaiah’s heart with one look from her luminous black eyes. Decades later, Kai was named after her great-great-grandmother whose name means “willow tree.”

Kai had visited the two-story family home with the wraparound porch that faced the water off and on during her childhood and fewer than a dozen times as an adult. Her hectic schedule didn’t allow for much downtime. And even then, she could never be too far away from the hospital in the event of an emergency. Finally deciding she needed a better quality of life, Kai sold her condo on the Upper East Side, traded in her Lexus for a Ford Explorer, her scrubs for jeans and flip-flops, and planted new roots in Sag Harbor Village. It took her a while to grow accustomed to the quiet and the slower pace, to realize that businesses closed at dusk and all the residents knew each other by first name and they didn’t text all day long but actually had conversations and made phone calls.

Now, more than two years later, Kai Randall was a fixture in Sag Harbor Village. With the urging of Melanie and her own restless need to “fix things,” Kai had converted her detached garage into a small medical office, complete with state-of-the-art equipment, from X-ray machines to nebulizers to sonogram machines. She ran the place herself. There wasn’t much need for a staff. Actually, most of her doctoring was done in house calls. That was Melanie’s doing as well. She referred all of her clients, family and guests to Kai, who was more than happy to pay them a visit when they were under the weather.

It was a good life. Easy. And for the first time in longer than she could remember, she was able to pursue her other passion of photography. She took real pictures, the old-fashioned way, and developed them herself in the attic that she had converted into a darkroom. She’d even donated a few to the Grenning Gallery in town, and Desiree Armstrong, a renowned artist in her own right, had suggested that Kai put up a show of her own.

But Kai hadn’t left the demands of the big city to get caught up in the demands of a small town. She liked things the way they were. No complications. No deadlines. No demands on her time or ability. Besides, most of the pictures that she took were of the people in the Village. She couldn’t begin to imagine the headache that would come as a result of needing people’s permissions to use their images. No thanks. Life was fine just the way it was.

Kai stood in the archway of her front door, her eyes lifted to the darkening sky. She estimated that she had an hour, maybe two, before the rains came. She hurried up to her attic studio and gathered up her equipment.

It was a great day for shooting. While many photographers preferred sunshine and blue heavens, Kai did some of her best work during storms and overcast skies, capturing scenes in stark black and white juxtaposed against the silhouettes of buildings or crashing waves. Today was one of those days.

She packed up her equipment in her car along with her dog, Jasper, and headed into town. From the mouth of the town proper, Kai parked her car and took out her equipment. The outline of the businesses, turn-of-the-century streetlights and the masts of the sailboats docked at the pier set against the backdrop of the overcast skies formed the perfect composition. She shot a quick roll of film and then strolled down Main Street to capture the silhouettes of patrons beyond the glass windows, just as the rain began to fall. She put in another roll of film, snapped her final shots and hurried back to her car with Jasper hot on her heels just as the skies opened up.

After drying off, she went straight to her studio and removed the film from the camera. This was the part of the process that she enjoyed the most, watching the images come to life.

As she took the last photograph from the solution and hung it up to dry, she was once again fascinated by the transformation that happened in measured increments, an image coming to life right before her eyes.

All at once the profile of a man, with his head slightly bowed, his fist pressed against his forehead and seated alone in the coffee shop, emerged, and something inside of her shifted. She barely remembered taking the shot, but obviously she had. Her heart pounded as she looked closer. But it was more than his face through the plate-glass window that unsettled her. It was the aura of aloneness that wafted over him like the storm clouds. Everything within her wanted to fix him and make whatever it was that weighed down his spirit go away. How ridiculous, she thought. It was only a picture.

Yet, days later, she found that at the most inopportune moments, his image floated in front of her or that jumpy feeling in the center of her stomach wreaked havoc. At night she thought of him, and during the days she found herself hoping to catch another glance of him. But as the days turned to weeks and spring into early summer, Kai cataloged the image away.

Chapter 1

“You’ll be fine, Mrs. Anderson.” Kai snapped off her rubber gloves and pulled her stethoscope from her ears. “It’s your allergies.”

“Are you sure it’s not the flu? I feel like it’s the flu.” She sniffed hard and blinked against watery eyes.

Kai’s amber-toned eyes crinkled with humor. “No, Mrs. Anderson, it’s not the flu.” She handed her a tissue. “With all the rain we’ve been having and with the blooming flowers and grass, I’m surprised you haven’t been bothered before. I’ll give you a new prescription for your allergy medicine.”

Mrs. Anderson almost looked disappointed. Kai tucked away her smile. “You can get dressed and then come to my office for the prescription.”

“Are you sure?” she asked again.

Kai stopped at the door and glanced over her shoulder. “Positive.”

Mrs. Anderson huffed and Kai closed the door softly behind her. When she stepped out into the small waiting area that was really only equipped to handle six people including her, she was stunned to see all the seats occupied. Mr. and Mrs. Hanson and their three children were huddled together as if they’d recently been washed ashore.

“Oh my goodness.” Kai looked from one to the other and instantly saw the flush in their faces and the wan look around their eyes. “I’ll be with you all in one moment.” She started off toward her office but stopped when she remembered Mrs. Anderson, who already believed she had the flu. If the Hanson family had anything contagious she needed to get them out of the front room as soon as possible. Her triage skills from her years in the emergency room kicked into gear.

The office was small. She had three exam rooms, a tiny office and the waiting area. She quickly ushered Mr. Hanson into a room with the oldest son who was on the verge of turning six. Mrs. Hanson was placed in the adjacent room with the twin three-year-old girls. Today was a day she could use an assistant.

After getting them settled, she went to her office to write the allergy prescription for Mrs. Anderson and was just finishing when Mrs. Anderson knocked on the partially opened door.

“Come in.” She tore the prescription from the pad and handed it across the desk. “Get this filled as soon as possible and I guarantee you will feel much better.”

Mrs. Anderson took the rectangular piece of paper and placed it in her purse. “Thank you so much, Dr. Randall. I appreciate it.”

“Of course. Never hesitate to come in if you’re not feeling well. It could have been something more serious, but fortunately it wasn’t.” She smiled.

“Thank goodness for that.” She turned to leave. A wail from one of the twins pierced through the walls and halted her step. “Oh, my. That’s some cry. Must be something terribly wrong.”

Kai got up from behind her desk and ushered Mrs. Anderson out. “Kids cry. That’s what they do,” she said with a placating smile. “You be careful going home.” She gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Mrs. Anderson was a sweetheart but everyone knew she had the biggest mouth in the town of Azurest. If she even thought for a moment that an entire family was ill she would create panic in the streets of Sag Harbor before lunchtime.

Kai secured and locked the door and put her closed sign in the window then quickly went into the room with the wailing baby, who had in turn, gotten her twin involved in the symphony. Kai went to the sink and thoroughly washed her hands, put a disposable smock over her clothing and snapped on rubber gloves.

“Christine, I’m going to check out the twins first.” She picked up one of the girls from her mother’s arms and sat her on the exam table. “I can never tell them apart.”

“That’s Cara. This is Carmen,” she said, indicating the baby in her arms.

Kai talked softly and soothingly to Cara while she made a game of placing the child thermometer in her ear. “How long has everyone been sick?”

“This is the second day. The only one who hasn’t been sick is my husband, Mike. But I know taking care of a house full of sick people is going to catch up with him at some point.”

“She has a slight fever.” She tossed the disposable tip of the thermometer in the trash. “Any vomiting?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm,” Kai murmured deep in her throat while she checked Cara’s ears, nose and throat. She listened to her chest and then did it all over again with her sister, Carmen. She pushed out a breath. “They both have low-grade fevers. And with the vomiting, I’m concerned about dehydration. When I’m done with my exam of Monty, I’m going to give my colleague over at General a call. He’s a pediatrician. I’ll see what he suggests. Okay?” She offered an encouraging smile. “I’m sure it’s only a virus and it will run its course, but until it does, I want to make sure we’re doing all that we can.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

“Sure. I’m going to examine Monty and then I’ll come back and check you out.” She took off her smock and gloves and ditched them in the trash then went into the next exam room.

An hour later she sent the Hanson family to the local pharmacy and also advised that they get to bed early.

Kai went about cleaning and sterilizing the rooms and was ready to call it a day when the office phone rang. One of these days she might actually hire a receptionist, she mused as she hurried to the front desk.

“Dr. Randall. How may I help you?”

“What’s up, doc?”

His corny greeting always made her laugh. “Dr. Drew.”

“I’m calling to check up on my virtual patients.”

She leaned her hip against the desk. “They should be on their way home by now and following your advice.”

“Good. I so love doing business with you, Dr. Randall.”

She could hear the laughter in his voice. That was a unique quality of Andrew Clarke. He was always upbeat and could make anyone around him feel the same way. It was probably why he was such an incredible pediatrician.

“I aim to please.”

“The real reason for my call is that there is an author reading at the Grenning Gallery tonight. I know how much you love thrillers and mysteries and it’s the mystery writer—Harlan Coben—that will be the guest.”

Her eyes widened. “Right! I totally forgot. Harlan Coben is a favorite of mine.”

“So...you’ll go with me?”

She hesitated. They’d been out together before—casually—with a group of his colleagues from the hospital. But she always had the sense that if given the chance, he’d want more. This would be the first time they would actually be going out “together.” Is that what she wanted? He was good-looking, and smart and funny and available...

“Sure. I’d love to go. I can meet you there—”

“Don’t be silly. I can pick you up. I’m out of here early today for a change. Reading starts at eight. Maybe we can grab something to eat first or afterwards.”

Oh, so this really was a “real date.” “Uh, okay. I’ll be ready.”

“You want to grab something first or after?”

She was having momentary brain freeze. If they had dinner first then went to the reading it wasn’t as romantic, whereas a late dinner gave off all kinds of signals. Didn’t it? It had been so long since she’d been on a date, she really didn’t know.

“I guess we could eat first.”

“No problem. How ’bout I pick you up at six?”

“Works for me,” she said, forcing cheer into her voice.

“See you then.”

“See ya,” she chirped. She slowly hung up the phone. Her right eyebrow rose ever so slightly. A date. Well, stranger things had happened.

Chapter 2

“You finally gave in to Dr. Feelgood. It’s about damned time,” Tiffany teased Kai as she sipped her iced tea during their etched-in-stone Wednesday afternoon brunch. They’d decided several years earlier that with their hectic lives they needed time for themselves and designated Wednesday afternoon for just that. They would always have brunch and when time and opportunity allowed they either went window-shopping or to a movie. Although Tiffany’s import business of fine jewelry and fabrics often took her out of town to shop, she and Kai made it a point to keep their Wednesday afternoon dates. In the early days it had taken a bit of getting used to, with one or both of them often forgetting about their “date.” But once they got into the swing of it, not hell or high water would keep them from getting together for some girl time.

Kai had hit it off with Tiffany Howard from the moment Tiffany had sought Kai’s medical assistance when she needed a prescription for the morning-after pill. Tiffany was so warm, friendly and open that Kai had taken to her right away. They found themselves talking and laughing and finding more and more things in common long after the prescription had been written, and they hadn’t stopped sharing confidences ever since.

Kai gave her the bug-eye. “Very funny.” She cut her Caesar salad into smaller bite-sized pieces, and made sure that every slice of lettuce was sufficiently coated with dressing before putting it in her mouth.

Tiffany observed this ritual with wry amusement. “I swear you are the only person that I know that can actually make a major production out of eating a salad.”

“Would you stop?” She cut up some more pieces. “What should I wear?”

Tiffany pursed her lips in contemplation. “Hmm. Gallery. Evening. First date. Famous author. Sexy doctor. I say wear the navy wrap dress.”

“You don’t think that dress is a little too low-cut?”

“Low-cut? You’re kidding, right? Of course it’s low-cut. It’s supposed to be. That’s the point. If you would ever come out of hospital garbs and sweat suits, you would know that.”

Kai made a face. “I don’t want him to get the wrong idea.”

“And what if he did? Would that really be so bad? What would be so wrong with a handsome, sexy, intelligent man showing you how much he wanted you?”

Kai studied her salad. “It’s just...I don’t know if I want things to go that way.”

“But you’ll never know if you don’t at least open yourself to the possibility. You said yourself that he’s a really great guy.” She smiled at her friend. “And he’s been after you for a date for forever.”

Kai giggled. “True.” She released a long breath. Her eyes sparkled in the afternoon light. “I do kinda like that blue number and haven’t had a chance to wear it.”

“Now you’re talking.” Tiffany pointed a well-manicured finger at her friend. “And don’t forget heels...the higher the better!”

“Girl, you are a mess.”

After leaving Tiffany, who had an appointment with a client who wanted to buy some of her imported jewelry, Kai took a walk down to the nail salon and treated herself to a well-deserved and long overdue mani and pedi. She was enjoying the feeling of the warm sudsy water bubbling around her feet when pedestrians strolling past the plate-glass window caught her attention. She jumped up so quickly she splashed water all over the floor and the manicurist.

“Oh...I’m so sorry.” Kai snatched up a towel and dutifully wiped the young woman’s damp arms. “I’m really sorry,” she repeated.

“Don’t worry about it. Is everything all right?” She stared at Kai whose attention was glued to the window.

Slowly, Kai sat back down. In that split second of confusion he was gone. Poof, like an apparition. But she was certain it was him—the man she’d seen in the photo that she’d taken. She lightly shook her head and offered a half smile. “Thought I saw someone...”

The young woman continued to massage Kai’s feet. “Must be someone important,” the woman prompted.

“Just someone,” she said absently, even as her entire body was consumed with an inexplicable heat from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, and it wasn’t from the water. Just someone.

* * *

Kai took a final look in the bathroom mirror, dropped her lipstick in her purse and returned to her bedroom just as the front doorbell rang. Self-consciously she pulled on the deep V of her dress to no avail. She drew in a breath and went to the front door.

“Andrew,” she greeted, pasting a broad smile on her face, a combination of nerves and more nerves.

For an instant his eyes widened with pleasant surprise. “Wow.” He grinned. “You look...great.”

Her face flushed. “Thanks.” She swallowed. “So do you.”

“Guess doctors can clean up pretty good, huh?”

“Guess so.” She stepped aside. “Come on in for a minute. I need to get my purse.”

Andrew came inside. Kai shut the door behind him. “Have a seat. I’ll be right back. Can I get you anything?”

“No. Thanks.”

“Be right back.”

He took a slow look around the airy living area, which was dominated by a soft taupe-colored sectional couch with a bronze-and-gold stripped throw that looked like it had been meticulously hand-sewn. One wall held a bookcase filled with a cross-section of titles that included medical journals, British classics, contemporary thrillers, romances and a full shelf on photography. A flat-screen television was mounted on the wall. But what drew his attention was above the mantel. It was a near life-size black-and-white photo of the beach during a storm. The composition was breathtaking. Andrew could feel the fury of the surf as it roared toward the shore. Beyond the shoreline, the inky black sky was illuminated by a flash of lightning that exploded from an angry gray cloud and sliced through the horizon. He stepped closer to see the name of the photographer.

“Ready.”

He turned and his heart knocked hard in his chest at the sight of her. She was so gorgeous. “Yep. Incredible photo,” he said, hooking a thumb over his shoulder. “Who’s the photographer?”

She gave a shy smile. “Me.”

“What!” He chuckled. “You. Are. Good.”

“Thanks.” She gave a slight shrug of her right shoulder.

He crossed the gleaming wood floors to stand a few feet in front of her. “How long have you been taking pictures?”

“Years. It was always a hobby of mine, but with patients, working at the hospital for an inhumane number of hours a week, there wasn’t much time to indulge in my little hobby.” She drew in a breath and smiled. “When I moved here and my life slowed down...” She shrugged again.

“Well, you definitely have skills, doc.”

“Thanks.”

They stood facing each other in an odd moment of silence.

“Guess we better get going,” Andrew finally said, snapping them both back to the moment.

“I’m looking forward to meeting Mr. Coben.”

“You have quite a few of his novels on your shelf.”

“Ya think?” she teased as they walked to the door and out.

* * *

Andrew held the door for her and she slid onto the smooth leather of the Mercedes-Benz CLK. The interior still smelled showroom-fresh and she briefly wondered how long he’d had it.

“I made reservations at Drummonds, the new place on Main. Have you been there yet?”

“No, I haven’t.” She settled herself in the car and fastened her seat belt.

“Good, it’ll be a first for both of us. A colleague from the hospital said the food was great and they usually have live music.”

“Really? Sounds great.”

“I can’t remember the last time I’ve been out for dinner where I could simply relax and enjoy myself. Dinners always seem to invariably revolve around business, patients, and hospital administration.” He cut a quick look in her direction as he pulled onto the narrow two-lane road. “So I hope you won’t mind if we don’t utter a word about anything that has to do with patients and health care.”

Kai laughed lightly. “Fine by me.”

They drove for a few moments in silence. “I’m really glad you decided to go out with me,” Andrew said, his normally assured voice laced with a hint of uncertainty.

Kai stole a look in his direction. His profile was set against the backdrop of the darkening sky. “Thanks for asking...again.”

They both laughed at the obvious implication. Andrew had lost count of how many times he’d asked Kai out and she’d always found a reason to gently say no.

“Had I only known that all it would take to lure you out was a Harlan Coben book signing, I would have found a way to get him here long before now.”

Kai laughed. The dimple in her right cheek deepened. “Was I really that bad?”

“Yes. Good thing I have a healthy ego or I would be permanently scarred.”

“I doubt that very seriously.” She relaxed in her seat, glanced briefly at the crest of the horizon beyond her passenger window then turned slightly toward Andrew.

“Do you even like mysteries?”

He gave a slight shrug. “I’m more of a Stephen King kind of guy.”

She gave a fake shudder and a little frown. “Horror! Really? I would have never thought that in a million years.”

“Why?” He stole a quick look at her and was delighted to see the amusement in her eyes.

“Hmm, I’m not sure. I guess I figured you for a history or a biography buff.”

“Real straight, no rough edges.”

“Not exactly but...”

“I get it. I totally get it. That’s why it’s more important than ever that you get to know the real me. I’m much more than a pretty face and brilliant mind, you know.”

Kai tossed her head back and laughed. “That’s to be determined.”

Drummonds was everything that Drew had said and more. The circular tables were draped in brilliant white linen, with sparkling crystal glasses and gleaming silver. One entire wall was smoked glass from end to end and looked out onto the pier, giving view to the gently flapping sails of the docked boats undulating on the water. The circular bar was a mixture of chrome, dark red wood and marble. Every stool was taken.

“Welcome to Drummonds. Do you have a reservation?” the slim hostess donned in all black asked.

“Yes, two for Clarke,” Andrew said.

The hostess checked her reservation list, looked up and smiled. She took two menus from the rack. “Right this way. Your table is ready.”

Andrew placed his hand at the small of Kai’s back and guided her behind the hostess who wound her way around the tables, dance floor and up one level to their table in front of the window. She placed the menus on the table. Andrew helped Kai into her seat then took his.

“Can I get you anything from the bar before your waiter arrives?”

Andrew looked to Kai with a questioning rise of his brow.

Kai glanced up at the waitress. “A glass of white wine.”

“Anything for you, sir?”

“Why don’t you bring us a bottle of sauvignon blanc?” He gave Kai a quick look of inquiry.

She offered her assent with a shadow of a smile. “Please.”

The hostess tipped her head. “Right away.”

Andrew turned his full attention back to Kai.

“I had no idea Drummonds was anything like this,” Kai said.

“Very Upper East Side Manhattan,” he joked.

She laughed. “Exactly. I mean the restaurants here are very nice but mostly quaint and cozy.” She gazed around in appreciation.

The waiter arrived with their bottle of wine and filled each of their glasses then took their dinner order before leaving as quietly as he’d arrived.

Andrew lifted his glass. “To a wonderful evening.”

Kai lightly tapped her glass to his.

“So tell me some more about your photography.” He took a sip of his wine then set his glass down.

Kai wrapped her long, slender fingers around the stem of her glass and gazed into the crystal depths of its contents. “I suppose I always had a thing for seeing things in parts.”

“In parts?”

“Yes. This may sound a little quirky but...” She pushed out a breath. “To me, I see things in pieces, not as a whole. It’s like looking at what’s in front of me in...frames. I compartmentalize.” She looked at him from beneath her long lashes.

A line of concentration etched itself between his brows. “All the time?”

“Pretty much.”

He thoughtfully sipped his wine. “So you’re not the ‘big picture’ kind of a girl.”

Kai grinned. “Nope. Guess not.” She sipped her wine. “What about you when you aren’t doctoring?”

Kai listened while Andrew talked about his love of the outdoors, the yearly camping trips with his college buddies and the marathon that he ran every year. She listened, nodded and “mmm-hmmed” in all the right places and wondered if she could ever put Andrew into one her compartments and label it “her man,” “significant other,” or “husband.” For whatever reason, she simply could not see him fitting into any of those spaces in her life. Maybe she had been out of the relationship game for so long that she no longer knew how to play.

When Kai and Andrew arrived at the Grenning Gallery there was a line waiting to get in.

“Looks like it’s going to be pretty crowded in there,” Andrew said as he guided Kai onto the line.

“This is so exciting. I can’t wait to meet him.”

“You and a lot of other fans.”

They inched along on the line and finally made it inside. Andrew was right. The Grenning Gallery was packed, upstairs and down. The reading and signing were set up on the upper level. The lower level was for appetizers and refreshments. The crowd was an eclectic blend of the die-hard fan and the curious, garbed in everything from jeans and sneakers to evening wear.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Andrew asked, leaning close to be heard over the mild din.

“Hmm, sure. A glass of white wine.”

“Stay put. I don’t want to lose you,” he said and flashed Kai a look that gave his words much more meaning.

Kai held her small purse to her chest and took in her surroundings. It had been a while since she’d been to the gallery, partly because she’d totally run out of excuses why she would not exhibit her photography and couldn’t bear disappointing the owner again. She’d donated a couple of her photos months earlier for a fund-raiser and the owner had been after her to do a show ever since.

Hopefully with all the people at the gallery, they wouldn’t cross each other’s paths.

Her gaze slowly moved around the room, capturing images of the art, the people and the movements, and forming a montage of sorts in her mind. With each blink of her eyes, another image was snapped. Then there was a big hum in the air, the buzz of excitement that always preceded a major event. The author had arrived, accompanied by his publicist and a photographer. The surge of the crowd moved her along in their wake.

The bevy of guests began taking cell-phone pictures as Harlan Coben made his way through the throng, smiling and shaking hands along the way as he was led upstairs.

Kai peered over the sea of heads and shoulders trying to locate Andrew when her gaze landed on him. Heat rushed to her head and her heart banged in her chest. It was him. He was partially turned in her direction. His profile was identical to the one she’d snapped months earlier. He was turning in her direction. Something or someone drew his attention and he turned and walked in the opposite direction.