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CHAPTER ONE

THE LAND OF the Midnight Sun. Hayley had been stunned by the sheer quality of the light from the moment she’d arrived at the airport; everything seemed brighter in Reykjavik.

Evan would’ve loved this, she thought with a pang. Especially the whale-watching trip she’d chosen to do this morning. Now the boat was out in the middle of the open sea, the temperature had dropped quite sharply, but the sun was bright and she leaned against the railing at the side of the boat, listening to the guide and trying to spot the tiny puffins with their bright orange beaks.

‘There are lots of birds just above the water ahead of us, and that often indicates cetacean activity—they’ll be picking up bits of fish the whales have left behind,’ the guide said. And then, a couple of minutes later, she called, ‘Spout at nine o’clock!’

Hayley could actually see the spout of warm, moist air blown up by the whale; to her amazement, it really was like you saw in TV documentaries. A perfect misty funnel.

‘And here’s our minke!’ the guide said.

The ship drew to a standstill, and Hayley could see just the dark back of the whale, like a slight hump above the surface of the sea. And then a fin appeared, bright white against the sea and the sky, almost as if the whale was waving to them.

This was magical.

She took a few shots on her camera, hoping they’d come out. And then, to her sheer joy, the whale breached, its snout coming up out of the water and then its body performing a perfect arc, revealing its white belly before the whale splashed back into the sea.

She’d never seen anything so awe-inspiring. The whale’s snout came up again, and then a fin; then she saw the divided end of the tail as the whale dived down again.

‘I’m sure you could all see the flukes then—that’s the whale’s tail—and this usually indicates that the whale’s diving more deeply,’ the guide said. ‘So we’re going to move on.’

This was a truly humbling experience, Hayley thought; it made her feel glad to be alive.

But then, a few minutes later, the guide called, ‘Do we have a doctor on board?’

Her heart skipped a beat. When a tour guide put out that kind of call, it could mean a true emergency, and right now they were almost an hour’s sail away from Reykjavik. She had no idea how the emergency services worked here. Would they send out a helicopter to the ship, or would the tour guide have to cut the trip short and they’d have to sail straight back to the city?

She made her way to the guide’s post. ‘I’m Hayley Clark, a doctor from England. Can I help?’

‘My husband’s having an asthma attack,’ an American woman said, looking anxious and wringing her hands. ‘And we don’t have his inhaler with us.’

Just as well she worked in the emergency department, Hayley thought. ‘Can you put out a call to see if anyone has a reliever inhaler we could borrow, please?’ she asked the guide. ‘Even a preventer inhaler would help.’

‘Will do,’ the guide said.

She turned to the woman. ‘Would you like to take me to your husband? My name’s Hayley and I work in the emergency department of a London hospital.’

‘I’m Lulu Adams and thank God you’re on board,’ the woman said, leading her towards the next deck down. ‘I can’t believe Milton’s having an attack out here. Normally it’s pollen and cat hair that sets him off.’

‘Cold can set off asthma, too, and the air’s quite cool out here,’ Hayley said, ‘so it’s always a good idea to keep a reliever inhaler with you—even if you don’t think you’re going to come across your usual triggers. Does your husband take his preventer inhaler regularly?’

‘He’s a man. You can’t tell him anything,’ the woman said with a sigh.

So this was probably an attack that had been brewing for a while, Hayley thought, with a patient who didn’t bother taking his preventer inhaler that often. Milton Adams’s doctor definitely needed to talk to him about the importance of asthma control. She just hoped she could keep him stable until they managed to get some proper bronchodilator medication for him. ‘Does he have any other medical conditions?’ she asked.

‘Just the asthma.’

Which was tricky enough to deal with, by the sound of things. ‘OK. Thanks.’

* * *

Do we have a doctor on board?

There were maybe a couple of hundred other people on the boat. The chances were, Sam was the only doctor. Plus this would be a test. Had he done the right thing in accepting the job at a London hospital, or had his experience in Manchester soured his love affair with medicine to the point where he really didn’t want to go back to it?

He made his way to the bridge to talk to the guide, and on the way he heard her ask if anyone had an asthma inhaler that another passenger could borrow.

‘My name’s Sam Price, and I’m an emergency doctor from England. It sounds as if you have a passenger who’s having an asthma attack and doesn’t have an inhaler. Can I help?’ he asked.

‘There’s another doctor gone to see him already, if you want to join her,’ the guide said. ‘You’ll see her on the deck below. She’s wearing a yellow raincoat.’

‘OK. Thanks. Has anyone come up with an inhaler?’

‘Not yet, but I’m going to put another call out,’ she said.

Asthma attacks could be tricky. If nothing else, Sam thought, he could help calm down whoever was with the patient, so the other doctor could get on with treating the patient. He headed down to the next deck, and saw a woman wearing a yellow raincoat. She was talking to a man who was clearly panicking and wheezing, and the woman with them was wringing her hands and looking equally panicky.

‘Hello. I’m Sam Price, and I’m an emergency doctor,’ he said as he joined them. ‘Can I help?’

‘Hayley Clark—also an emergency doctor, from London,’ the woman in the yellow raincoat said.

He noticed how blue her eyes were—like an Icelandic summer sky—and her sun-streaked blonde hair was caught back at the nape of her neck, with soft tendrils framing a perfect oval face.

What the hell was he doing, noticing the colour of her eyes when there was a sick patient who needed their attention? Besides, even if he was looking for a relationship—which he wasn’t, after Lynda—she was probably already spoken for. Cross with himself for getting distracted, he paid attention to what she was saying.

‘This is Milton Adams and his wife Lulu,’ Hayley continued. ‘He doesn’t have his reliever or preventer inhaler with him, and we think the cold air probably brought on his asthma attack. He doesn’t have any other medical conditions.’

‘The guide’s putting out a second call to see if anyone on board has an inhaler with them,’ Sam said. ‘But even if there isn’t anyone, we can help you, Mr Adams.’

The man continued to wheeze, fighting for air, clearly panicked by the tightness in his chest.

Really, they needed to get him away from the cold air that had triggered the attack and into a warm place. But, given the state of his breathing right now and the fact that he was quite overweight, no way would Mr Adams be able to cope with the steep stairs to go back inside the ship. First, Sam thought, they needed to get Mr Adams stabilised so he was calm, and breathing more slowly. Anxiety released cortisol in the body, constricting the bronchial tubes even further, and panicking that you couldn’t breathe caused a vicious circle: it tightened the chest muscles, which made it harder to breathe, which in turn made the patient panic more and then the chest muscles tightened even further.

‘Mr Adams, can you sit up straight for us?’ Sam asked. ‘It’ll help you breathe more easily, because bending over constricts your breathing.’

Milton Adams continued gasping, but to Sam’s relief, he did as he was told.

‘I’m going to loosen your tie and undo the button of your collar,’ Hayley said, ‘because that’s also going to help you breathe more easily. Is that all right?’

The man nodded.

‘I told him he ought to bring his inhaler. I told him,’ Mrs Adams said, almost in tears.

Hayley reached over and squeezed her hand. ‘Mrs Adams—can we call you Lulu?’ At the woman’s nod, she continued, ‘I know how worried you are about your husband, but right now I really need you to do an important job for me and count. Can you do that for me?’

‘Yes,’ Mrs Adams said, her voice slightly quavery.

Brilliant management, Sam thought—she’d acknowledged the woman’s fears and distracted her by making her feel useful. What Hayley had just said about counting told him that she’d intended to use the same method he would’ve used.

‘Mr Adams—can we call you Milton?’ At the man’s nod, Sam continued, ‘We want you to try to take some really long, deep breaths for us. I know right now it’s scary, but I promise we can make you feel better. I want you to breathe in through your nose for a count of four and out through your mouth for a count of six. Can you do that for us?’

Mr Adams nodded, still fighting for breath.

‘Can you count for us now, Lulu?’ Hayley asked. ‘Four in, then six out. Count with me for the first set so we can get the rhythm right together. One, two, three, four...’

Mrs Adams joined in with counting.

Sam took the older man’s hand to reassure him. ‘OK. Breathe in—now out.’ Breathing to the counts would slow Milton’s breathing down, making it easier for him.

‘Purse your lips as you breathe out, Milton,’ Hayley said. ‘That helps to slow your breathing and keeps your airways open. That’s it. Keep going. You’re both doing really great.’

Mr Adams was still wheezing, but his colour was improving. ‘Can you place one hand on your stomach, Milton, just below your ribcage?’ Sam asked. ‘Then, when you breathe in, focus on pulling down into your stomach. Use your stomach muscles to help you push out,’ he said. ‘It’s called diaphragmatic breathing and it will really help you take deep, slow breaths.’

Eventually, Mr Adams’s breathing pattern settled and he seemed noticeably calmer.

Sam caught Hayley’s eye. ‘Shall we all go downstairs, so we’re away from the cold air?’

She nodded. ‘And we can ask the crew if they’ll sort out a bowl of hot water and lend us a towel.’

‘Good call,’ he said. They could make a tent with the towel and the bowl of hot water, and then Milton Adams could breathe in the moist air to help him recover.

Everyone else on board was on the upper decks by the railings, watching what sounded like a couple of whales playing in the water, so it made their passage down the stairs a bit easier—even if they were missing out on all the fun. They supported Milton Adams down the steep staircase to the inner deck, but he was wheezing badly again by the time they’d got him sitting down by a table.

‘Could you get your husband a cup of coffee from the bar, please?’ Hayley asked Mrs Adams.

‘He doesn’t like coffee,’ Mrs Adams said. ‘Or tea. Only hot chocolate.’

‘Maybe make the coffee milky and sweet?’ Hayley suggested. ‘The chemical structure of coffee is similar to theophylline, which is in most asthma medications, so a hot cup of coffee can help with wheezing, shortness of breath and chest tightness. Plus the warmth of the liquid will help break up the phlegm and mucus, making breathing easier.’

‘I’ll drink the coffee,’ Mr Adams wheezed.

‘Great. Are you OK to sit with Milton while I sort out a towel and hot water?’ Hayley asked Sam.

‘Sure,’ he said. ‘What I’d like you to do, Milton, is to sit up straight for me again, and count the number of blue things in the room.’

‘Blue things?’ Mr Adams looked nonplussed.

‘Blue things,’ Sam confirmed. ‘Count them, and keep breathing like we did upstairs. I’ll count while you breathe. In for four, out for six.’

As he’d hoped, the small task of looking round the room for blue things distracted the older man enough to help calm him further, and by the time Mr Adams had drunk the coffee and Sam and Hayley had arranged the bowl of hot water and towel as a temporary recovery tent so he could breathe in warm, moist air, he was looking in a much better condition.

When the boat arrived back at the dock, they were met by an ambulance. The guide came to join them as Sam and Hayley explained the situation to the paramedics.

‘Thank you both so much for all your help.’ Mrs Adams bit her lip. ‘And you missed most of the trip and the whales because of us. I feel so bad.’

‘We can arrange a replacement trip at no charge,’ the guide said. ‘And I’d like to thank you both, too. We have trained first aiders among the crew, of course, but we really needed a doctor to help us in this case.’

‘No problem,’ Hayley said.

‘Call into the office whenever suits you best,’ the guide said, ‘and we’ll rearrange your trip.’

‘I ought to give you something for helping us,’ Mrs Adams said.

‘There’s really no need,’ Sam said. ‘It’s what doctors are supposed to do—help people who need it.’

‘Agreed. Though if you really want to give us something,’ Hayley added, ‘then I’d like you to promise you’ll talk to your asthma specialist about what happened today, Milton, and that you’ll take your preventer inhaler regularly—even if you don’t think you need it, because taking it regularly is what helps to keep you well.’

Milton looked slightly shame-faced. ‘I will.’

‘Good.’ Hayley patted his shoulder. ‘Best of luck, and enjoy the rest of your holiday.’

‘You, too.’

When the ambulance doors closed and the Adamses were taken to hospital, Sam looked at Hayley. ‘Would you like to go for a coffee? Or do you need to get back to whoever you’re travelling with?’

‘I’m on my own,’ she said. ‘So a coffee would be lovely—unless you need to get back to your travelling companions?’

‘I’m on my own, too,’ he said. ‘Do you want to rebook your whale-watching trip first?’

She wrinkled her nose. ‘I saw one come up out of the water and dive back in. Expecting anything more’s probably greedy. Though if you want to rebook yours...?’

He smiled. ‘I’m greedy enough as it is. I go every week.’

‘Every week?’ She looked surprised. ‘Do you work at a hospital here, then?’

‘No. I’m kind of on sabbatical,’ he said. ‘My brother has a tour company out here, specialising in extreme trips—taking people walking on a glacier and that sort of thing. I’ve been helping him. But I go whale-watching every Monday afternoon. It’s the most amazing experience.’

She nodded. ‘It’s something Dani and I always wanted to see.’

‘Danny?’ Well, of course someone as pretty as Hayley Clark would be spoken for.

‘Danielle. My best friend,’ she explained.

How ridiculous that he should feel pleased that Dani was her best friend, not a partner. He was in no position to even think about starting a relationship, not with his new job starting in a fortnight.

Yet something about Hayley Clark tempted him.

Which was weird, because he’d had tourists throwing themselves at him all summer and not one of them had interested him.

What was it about her?

‘She fractured her second and third metatarsal last week, so the orthopods said she couldn’t come,’ Hayley continued.

He’d come across those kinds of fractures before. ‘Your friend’s a runner, then?’

Hayley nodded. ‘She was training for a charity run. Obviously she can’t do that now, so we talked the organisers into letting me run in her place.’

‘You’re a runner, too?’

She grimaced. ‘No. Actually, I loathe running. But the only way to keep her sponsorship money is if I run for her.’

‘That’s good of you.’

‘She’s my best friend, and she’s been through a lot. And doing that for her helps me feel less guilty about coming here while she’s missing out.’ Hayley wrinkled her nose. ‘Though I’m pretty sure she could’ve done the whale-watching—and if we’d asked at the tourist place, they could’ve found us some wheelchair-accessible trips.’

‘But you would both have missed out on a lot. Not all the paths around the waterfalls and the geysers are wheelchair-friendly,’ he said, ‘and some of the slopes would make it seriously tricky going downhill.’

‘That’s what Dani said.’

He should shut up right now. What he ought to do was to suggest a couple of reliable tour operators and let her find her own way round the island. But the pull he felt towards her was too strong, and he found himself asking, ‘How long are you staying?’

‘Until Friday.’

Shut up, shut up, shut up.

But his mouth wasn’t listening to his common sense. ‘Then why don’t you rebook your whale trip for tomorrow morning?’ he suggested. ‘And if you like, I’ll take you on a personalised tour.’

She blinked. ‘But aren’t you helping your brother?’

It was the perfect get-out. He knew he ought to take it. But his mouth was on a roll. ‘He’s had a couple of cancellations,’ Sam said, ‘so I wasn’t doing much this week. I’m free if you’d like to come with me.’

* * *

Hayley could practically hear Dani yelling in her ear, ‘Say yes! It’s the Year of Saying Yes.’

But Sam Price was a total stranger.

Even if he was a doctor and they’d just worked together to help a patient.

And, with that dark hair brushed back from his face and soulful hazel eyes, he was also the most attractive man she’d met since Evan, the first who’d even made her look at him, which made her feel guilty. It was only just over a year since Evan had died. Was she rushing into this?