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She gave the clerk her father’s details. ‘He’s gasping for breath and I believe he needs urgent treatment. His medication doesn’t seem to be working properly.’
The clerk glanced over to where Katie’s father was sitting. ‘I’ll see if we can have him looked at fairly quickly, Dr Logan. If you’d like to take a seat, I’ll have a word with the triage nurse.’
‘Thanks.’ Katie went back to her father and sat down. ‘We shouldn’t have to wait too long,’ she told him. ‘Just try to relax.’
In fact, it was only a matter of minutes before they were called to go into the doctor’s room, and Katie was startled to see Nick coming along the corridor to greet them. He looked immaculate, as ever, with dark trousers that moulded his long legs, a crisp linen shirt in a deep shade of blue, and a tie that gave him a businesslike, professional appearance.
She hadn’t expected to run into him so soon after their meeting at the hotel. It threw her, coming across him this way, and for a moment or two she wasn’t sure how to respond.
‘I didn’t realise that you worked here,’ she said, frowning. ‘I’d somehow imagined that you worked at one of the bigger city hospitals.’
He smiled. ‘I prefer this one. It has all the up-to-date-facilities, and I’ve been familiar with it since childhood. It’s become like a second home to me.’
He lent her father a supporting shoulder. ‘I’m sorry to see that you’re having problems, Jack,’ he murmured. ‘We’ll go along to my office where we can be more private.’ He turned and called for a nurse. ‘Can we get some oxygen here, please?’
‘Of course.’ The nurse hurried away to find a trolley, while Nick led the way to his office.
Nick waved Katie to a leather-backed chair by the desk, and then turned his attention to Jack.
‘Let me help you onto the examination couch,’ he said quietly, pumping the bed to an accessible height and assisting Jack into a sitting position, propped up by pillows. ‘I see you have your inhaler with you. Is it helping?’
Jack shook his head. ‘Not much.’ He leaned back against the pillows and tried to gather his breath. His features were drawn, his lips taking on a bluish tinge.
Nick handed him the oxygen mask and carefully fitted it over his nose and mouth. ‘Take a few deep breaths,’ he said. ‘We’ll soon have you feeling better, don’t worry.’
Katie watched as Nick examined her father. He was very thorough, listening to his chest, taking his blood pressure and pulse and asking questions about the medication he was taking. All the time he was efficient, yet gentle, and she could see that he was a doctor who would put a patient’s mind at ease whatever the circumstances. He set up a monitor so that he could check Jack’s heart rate and blood oxygen levels. Katie saw that the results were way out of line with what they should be.
‘Excuse me for a moment,’ Nick murmured. ‘I’m going to ask the nurse to bring a nebuliser in here. We’ll add a bronchodilator and a steroid to the mix to reduce the inflammation in your airways, and that should soon make you feel a lot more comfortable.’
He went to the door and spoke to the nurse then returned a minute or two later, coming to stand beside the couch once more. ‘Your blood pressure is raised,’ he said, ‘so I think we need to adjust your tablets to bring that down… and also perhaps we should question what’s happening to bring that about.’
‘I dare say I can give you an answer on that one,’ Katie remarked under her breath. Her tone was cynical, and that must have alerted Nick, because he began to walk towards her, obviously conscious that she wouldn’t want her father to hear.
‘You know what’s causing it?’ he asked.
‘I think so. You and your father have been pushing him to sell the vineyard, and he’s worried about making the right decision. It’s tearing him apart, thinking about giving up the one thing that has kept him going all these years.’
Nick raised dark brows. ‘You’re blaming my father and me?’ He, too, spoke in a lowered voice.
‘I am. Who else would I blame?’ She returned his gaze steadily. ‘His health is failing, yet you bombarded him with paperwork and tried to persuade him to hand it over. He was looking at the papers this morning when he was taken ill. The vineyard means everything to him, and you’ve set him a huge dilemma. I don’t believe he’s in any state to be dealing with matters such as this.’
‘I hardly think you can lay the blame at our feet. Jack has been ill for a number of years, and his lung function is way below par. As to causing him any distress, all I can say is that if he didn’t want to consider our offer, he only had to say so.’ His eyes darkened. ‘He’s perfectly capable of making his own decisions.’
Katie stiffened. He hadn’t added ‘without his daughter’s interference’, but the implication was there, all the same.
The nurse appeared just then with a trolley, and Nick broke off to go and set up the nebuliser. ‘Just try to relax and breathe deeply,’ he told her father, his manner soothing. ‘It’ll take a few minutes, but your blood oxygen levels should gradually start to rise. In the meantime, I’m going to go and glance through your medical notes and see where we can make changes to your medication.’ He halted as a thought had occurred to him. ‘Katie’s obviously concerned about you. Do you mind if I discuss your medical history with her, or is it something you would rather I kept private?’
Jack shook his head. ‘That’s fine. Go ahead. There’s nothing to hide.’
‘Okay.’ Nick checked the monitor once more, before saying quietly, ‘I’ll also arrange an urgent appointment for you with your respiratory specialist.’
‘Thanks,’ Jack said. He looked exhausted and seemed relieved to be able to just lie back and let the drugs do their work.
Nick came back to the desk and glanced towards Katie as he sat down.
‘He should start to feel better once his airways expand.’ He accessed her father’s medical notes on the computer, and then said quietly, ‘You seem very concerned over this matter of the vineyard. Have you been out to see it?’
She nodded. ‘He took me on a tour a few days ago. I was very impressed, completely bowled over by it, in fact. So much work has gone into making it what it is now. It’s something to be proud of.’ She looked at him through narrowed eyes. ‘I can’t see any reason why he would want to let it go.’
His mouth made a crooked shape. ‘I’d say it was possibly becoming too much for him to handle, but it’s probably better if we leave off that discussion for a while. It isn’t getting either of us anywhere, is it?’
She clamped her lips shut. Nick glanced at her briefly, and then said, ‘Your father’s heart is taking a lot of strain—the effect of years of lung disease.’ He lowered his voice as he studied her. ‘I wonder if you realise just how precarious his situation is becoming.’
She nodded, her mouth making a downward turn. ‘I’d guessed. I suppose I just needed to have it confirmed.’
He checked the drug schedule for a moment or two on the computer, and then stood up and went back to her father. ‘How are you feeling?’ he asked.
‘Much better.’ Jack managed a smile. ‘You’ve taken good care of me, as always. Thank you for that.’
‘You’re welcome. It’s what I’m here for.’ Nick glanced down at his chart. ‘I want to prescribe some tablets to ease the workload on your heart, and I think we’ll arrange for you to have oxygen at home. If you give me a few minutes, I’ll go and see if the respiratory specialist is around. It’s possible he might be able to come and see you while you’re here, and that way we can finalise the details of your medication in one go.’
‘Okay.’ Jack nodded. ‘I’m not going anywhere for a while.’
Katie could see that he was looking much better. ‘The colour is coming back into your face,’ she said, going over to him as Nick left the room. ‘You had me worried there for a while.’
His glance trailed over her. ‘You worry too much. Your mother was the same. I used to say to her, life’s too short to be fretting about this and that. Seize the day—as they say. Make the most of it where you can.’
Katie’s mouth flattened. ‘I suppose that was back in the days when you were getting along with one another… before it all went wrong.’
‘I… Yes..’ He hesitated, shooting her a quick, cautious glance. ‘It hasn’t been easy for you, has it, Katie? We tried to make a go of things, you know, your mother and I, but there were problems… For one thing, my job took me away from home so much.’
Katie was unconvinced. ‘Your job obviously meant more to you than we did, because one day you went away and never came back.’ Even now, her heart lurched at the memory. ‘Mum was devastated, and I could never understand why you left us that way. You were living thousands of miles from us. I was eight years old, and suddenly I’d lost my father, and my mother was in pieces. You disappeared from our lives. For a long time I thought I’d done something wrong and it was all my fault that you’d gone away.’
He frowned, his grey eyes troubled. ‘I’m sorry, Katie. I should have handled things differently; I know that now.’ He pulled in a deep breath. ‘But your mother and I were going through a bad time, and the atmosphere was incredibly tense between us. There were lots of bitter arguments. Back then I thought it would be for the best if I stayed away. I thought it would be easier, less painful.’
She gave a short, harsh laugh. ‘You were wrong. It might have been better for you, maybe, but as far as I was concerned a card here and there at birthdays and Christmas was hardly going to make up for the lack of a father. Did you really think it would? And as for presents that you sent—well, they were great but it just made me realise that you didn’t even know me. I appreciated the gifts, but I couldn’t help thinking that a visit would have been more to the point. But it never happened. I thought perhaps you didn’t care.’
It was as though her words had cut into him like a knife. He caught his breath and seemed to slump a little, his features becoming ashen, and Katie looked on in dismay, a rush of guilt running through her. What was she thinking of, having this discussion with him in here, of all places? She had gone too far way too far... He might have a lot to answer for, but he was ill, after all, and she was layering him with anxiety that could bring on respiratory collapse. She ought to have known better.
‘That was thoughtless of me,’ she said in an anxious voice. ‘I didn’t mean to do anything to aggravate your condition.’
‘It’s all right.’ He paused, sucking in another breath. ‘It was something I struggled with all the time—leaving you. I kept meaning to come back to see you, but somehow the longer I left it, the harder it became. I thought… if I came back to see you…’ he started to gasp, fighting against the constriction in his lungs ‘…you might be all the more upset if I left you once more. You were very young.’
Katie’s expression was bleak. ‘Let’s not talk about it for the moment. You’re ill, and we should concentrate on making you more comfortable. Keep the mask over your face. Take deep breaths and try to relax.’
‘What’s going on here?’ Nick came into the room and hurried over to the bed. ‘What happened?’ He checked the monitor, and Katie could see that her father’s heart rate and respiratory rate had increased to dangerous levels.
‘It was... We were just talking. It’s my fault,’ she said in a halting tone. ‘I said some things I shouldn’t have said.’ She had berated Nick for causing her father stress, and then she had done exactly the same thing, hadn’t she?
She pressed her lips together. Wasn’t this all part of the problem she had battled with since she had come out here? There was so much resentment locked up inside her, but none of it could gain release… not when her father was so ill. It was frustrating, an ongoing dilemma that could have no end. No matter what he had done, she would have to be inhuman to ignore his condition, wouldn’t she?
‘No, no…you mustn’t blame yourself,’ her father said, cutting in on her thoughts. ‘It’s only right that you should say what’s on your mind. I let you down.’
Nick gave her a thoughtful glance. Perhaps he was curious about what was going on between them, but he said nothing. Instead he checked the monitors once more and handed her father a couple of tablets and a drinking cup. ‘Take these,’ he said. ‘They’ll bring your blood pressure down and calm your heart rate. Then you need to rest.’ He sent Katie a warning glance and her face flushed with heat.
‘It isn’t Katie’s fault,’ Jack said, after he had swallowed the tablets. ‘The old ticker isn’t what it used to be. There isn’t much more that you doctors can do for me—you know it, and I know it.’
‘I never give up on a patient,’ Nick said, his tone firm. ‘You’ll be fine if you take things easy. Lie back and give the medicine time to take effect.’
They sat with her father for several more minutes, watching as his breathing slowly became easier.
‘I feel much better now,’ he said, after a while. ‘I’ll be okay.’
‘Maybe, but you can stay where you are for a bit longer,’ Nick told him. ‘The specialist will be stopping by as soon as he’s finished dealing with a patient. He’ll sort out your medication and make sure that you’re in a good enough condition to go home.’
His pager went off and he turned to Katie. ‘I have to go and deal with an emergency that’s coming in,’ he said. ‘Maybe we could meet up some time soon for coffee or dinner? I feel there are things we need to talk about.’
He was probably thinking of her father’s illness, and she acknowledged that with a slight inclination of her head. ‘Actually, I have the test results on Mrs. Wyatt, back in my office—the lady who fell and injured herself at your hotel. She gave me permission to share them with you, although I haven’t had time to look at them properly yet. I suppose we should arrange a time to get together to talk about them.’
He nodded. ‘Would it be too much of an imposition for you to come over to my beach house with them, say, later this afternoon? I have to be there because I have some people coming to do some work in the courtyard. Just say if it’s a problem for you.’
She thought about it and then shook her head. ‘It’s not a problem. I’m off duty, and you don’t live too far from my place.’
‘That’s great. I’ll see you then.’ He glanced towards her father. ‘I’m glad you’re feeling better, Jack. Take care. I’ll see you again before too long, I expect.’
He left the room, and Jack sent Katie a questioning look. ‘There was a problem at the hotel?’
She nodded and explained what had happened. ‘I think he’s worried in case the woman or her relatives decide to take it to court. They might try to say her fall was the fault of the hotel proprietor.’
He frowned. ‘I can see how he would be worried. It won’t simply be the effect this might have on trade at the hotel—the Bellinis have always taken pride in doing the right thing. Nick’s father is ultra-traditional in that respect. Everything has to be done the proper way. He’s a very private man, and he deplores any negative publicity.’
‘I can imagine. But so far they’ve managed to keep things quiet, and anyway there’s a lot riding on the results of various tests that were carried out at the lab.’
‘And now he wants you to take the results over to the house?’ Jack sent her a thoughtful glance. ‘Do I detect more than just a professional collaboration going on here?’
Katie’s eyes widened at the question, and she gave a faint shrug of her shoulders. ‘You heard what he said. It’s just easier this way.’
She wasn’t going to say any more on that score. Her father hadn’t earned the right to intervene in her private life, had he? Besides, how could she possibly answer him when she didn’t know for sure herself what had prompted the invitation? The deed had been accomplished before she’d had time to give it much thought.
Jack was frowning. ‘I could see that he was interested in you from the outset… but you should be careful how you go, with him, Katie. I know you’re still recovering from what went on back in the UK, and I wouldn’t want to see you hurt all over again.’
He halted for a second or two to allow his lungs to recover. ‘Nick Bellini’s a law unto himself where women are concerned. They seem to fall for him readily enough, but he’s never yet settled down with any of them. Don’t go getting your heart broken over the likes of him. He’s a fine doctor—he’s kept an eye on me over the last few years, just because he was concerned for me—and he’s a great businessman, a wonderful friend and associate, but he’s lethal to the fairer sex.’
Katie frowned. He was only telling her what she’d already guessed. That newspaper headline that had been bugging her for the last few days suddenly swam into her head once more, and this time she could see it with perfect clarity. ‘Tearful heiress Shannon Draycott leaves hotel under cover of darkness. Bellini tycoon declines to comment.’ There had been more. The article had said something about a broken engagement, and there had been a lot of conjecture, along with several interviews with friends of the young woman. They all painted a picture of a tragic heiress who had been left in the lurch.
‘Well, thanks for warning me. I’ll be sure to keep it in mind.’
Was Nick a man who was afraid of commitment, flitting from one woman to another? Katie was determined not to get involved with anyone like that ever again. She had been devastated when her relationship with James had ended. She had trusted him and believed they might have had a future together, but it had all gone terribly wrong, and now she would do everything she could to steer clear of any man who might cause her pain.
She studied her father. He was an enigma. He looked gaunt, with prominent cheekbones and dark shadows under his eyes, and something in her made her want to reach out to him and wrap her arms around him. It was confusing.
All those years he had stayed away, removing himself from her life, and yet now he was acting like a protective father, as though her well-being was suddenly important to him. She couldn’t quite work him out. For so long she had tried not to think about him at all. He had walked out on her and her mother and she couldn’t forgive him for that… and yet now her emotions were torn.
Little by little, as she came to know him better, he was beginning to tug at her heartstrings. She didn’t know how it had happened, but she felt sorry for him and in spite of herself she was worried about him. He looked so thin and wasted, and it occurred to her that he probably wasn’t eating as well as he should.
As for Nick Bellini, she’d already learned to be wary of him, and she had to be grateful that her father had let her know what she was up against. Anyway, surely her fears were groundless? Her relationship with Nick was going to be strictly professional, wasn’t it?
It didn’t surprise her one bit to discover that he had the reputation of a compulsive heartbreaker.
A couple of hours later, Katie dropped her father off at his house and left him in the care of Libby, his housekeeper. ‘I’ll keep an eye on him, don’t you worry,’ the woman said, and Katie immediately felt reassured. Libby was kindly and capable looking, and Katie knew she was leaving him in good hands.
Then she set off for Nick’s beach house. The scenery was breathtaking as she drove along, with the sun glinting on the blue Pacific Ocean and the rugged length of the coastline stretching out ahead of her.
Living here was like being dropped into a secluded corner of paradise, she reflected as she parked her car in Nick’s driveway a few minutes later. She slid out of the car and looked around, gazing out over the bay and watching the surf form lacy white ribbons on the sand. Black oystercatchers moved busily amongst the rocks, seeking out mussels and molluscs with their long orange beaks.
‘Katie, I’m glad you could make it,’ Nick said, coming out of the house to greet her. ‘I was on the upper deck when I saw you arrive.’ His arms closed around her in a welcoming hug, and in spite of herself her senses immediately responded in a flurry of excitement. ‘How’s your father?’ he asked.
‘Much better.’
‘I’m glad.’
His arms were warm and strong, folding her to him, and for a wild moment or two she was tempted to nestle against him and accept the shelter he offered. She could feel the reassuring, steady beat of his heart through the thin cotton of her top.
‘It’s good to see you,’ he murmured, stepping back a little to look at her. ‘I hope you didn’t mind coming out here to visit me—it’s just that I have to be at the house to oversee some work I’m having done out back, as I told you. The workmen are installing a hot tub in the courtyard.’
‘That sounds like fun,’ she said, easing herself away from him. She ran a hand over her jeans in a defensive gesture, smoothing the denim. This closeness was doing strange things to her heart rate, and it wouldn’t do to have him see what effect he was having on her. ‘You certainly have the climate for it out here.’
He smiled, his hand slipping to her waist as he gently led her towards the house. ‘I’m looking forward to trying it out. All those jets of water are supposed to make you feel really good, like a soothing massage.’ He grinned. ‘Perhaps you might like to try it with me some time?’
‘I…uh…’ She gave a soft intake of breath. ‘I’d have to think about that.’ She blinked. The prospect of sharing a hot tub with him was much more than she could handle right then. In fact, she’d have to know him a whole lot better before anything like that ever happened.
He laughed softly. ‘I’ll take that as a definite maybe,’ he said. ‘Let me show you around the house.’
‘Thank you. I’d like that.’ She gazed at the beautiful building as they walked along the path. It was multi-storeyed, with sloping roofs at varying levels, the tiles a soft sandstone colour that contrasted perfectly with the white-painted walls. There were arched windows and glass doors, and there were steps leading from a balconied terrace on the upper floor, providing external access to the ground below. Behind the whole edifice was a backdrop of green Monterey pines, and in the far distance she could see lush, forested mountain slopes. ‘This is fantastic,’ she murmured. ‘It’s a spectacular house.’
She turned to look back at the Pacific. ‘I really envy you, living out here by the ocean. It must be lovely to look out over the water every day and gaze at the cliffs that form the bay.’
‘It’s very relaxing. I know I’m fortunate to be able to enjoy it.’ He showed her into the house, and they stepped into a wide entrance hall whose pale-coloured walls reflected the light. The oak floor gleamed faintly.
He led the way into a room just off the hall. ‘This is the lounge, as you can see. I tend to sit in here to read the paper or watch TV of an evening. It’s a very peaceful room, and it looks out over the patio garden. And, of course, with the French doors it’s handy for the courtyard… and, from now on, the hot tub, too,’ he added with a grin.
She peered out through the open doors at the courtyard that was closed in on three sides by different wings of the building. The remaining side was made up of a decorative screen wall, providing a glimpse into the garden beyond. ‘I can see the men are still working on it. It looks as though you have everything you need out there—a place to relax and enjoy the sunshine, a barbecue area, and all those lovely flowers and shrubs to enjoy. It looks like a little piece of heaven.’
She turned to gaze around the room. ‘I like the pale-coloured furnishings in here, too. It just adds to the feeling of light.’ Her glance took in glass shelves and a low table, before trailing over the sumptuous sofa and chairs. Pastel-coloured cushions added a delicate touch.
‘I’m glad you like it,’ he said, claiming her hand and leading her through an open doorway. ‘Let me show you the kitchen, and I’ll make us a drink. What would you like—coffee, tea? You could have iced tea, if you prefer. Or maybe you’d like something stronger?’
‘Iced tea sounds fine, thanks.’ She stopped to look around. ‘Oh, this is lovely,’ she said with a soft gasp. ‘And it’s such a large room, too.’ The cupboards and wall units were all finished in the palest green, verging on white, and marble worktops gleamed palely in the sunlight that poured in through the windows. There were shelves filled with bright copper pans, and corner wall units with attractive ceramics on display.
