Eternal Island (Book 1 in the Eternal Series) (35 page)

Jacob smiled shyly. “Okay. Are you pretty? I bet you’re pretty, you have a pretty voice.”

Ariana laughed. “Maybe, one day, you’ll be able to tell me yourself.”

“Thank you for taking the time. It means a lot,” the boy’s mother said to Ariana.

“Becky, will you get Ms…”

“Barker, Janine Barker.”

“…Ms. Barker a hot drink, please? We’ll be in room 1.”

Ariana scrutinized the woman’s face carefully, but there wasn’t any resemblance that she could see. Her maiden name had been Barker, as well.

“I’m on it, Ariana.” Becky said as she grabbed a clipboard and ushered Ms. Barker down the hall to the waiting room.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

Ariana looked up as a man and a woman walked in the door. Behind them she could see two more vehicles pulling in the parking lot. It’s going to be a long shift, she said to herself.

Ariana locked the door to the clinic fifteen minutes after eleven and her and Becky walked toward the Porsche. The big black Hummer was parked behind it. Abe was leaning on the hood. When he saw her, he had her in his arms in less than a second.

“You said you got off at eight. I was so worried about you. You wouldn’t answer your phone or the clinic’s phone or any of my texts. What has been going on?”

Ariana raised her heavy head up to him. “Will you please chew me out tomorrow, Abe? I’m exhausted.” She slumped in his arms.

“Oh God, Ariana? Ariana!”

“She used a whole lot of magic tonight, Abe. A good, long nap is probably all she needs to recharge.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. She was like this after she healed Lidia. I’ll take her home. You drive her car.” He slipped the keys out of Ariana’s hand and tossed them to Becky.

“Sweet! You care if I take it for a spin around the island first?”

“If you don’t think she’ll mind, I don’t.”

“See you tomorrow,” Becky said as she got in the Porsche without delay.

Abe quickly put Ariana in the passenger seat and buckled her seatbelt. He got behind the wheel and drove to the palace, careful not to jolt her too much. Abe carried her to his room and laid her on the bed, then went to the bathroom to get a wet wash cloth. With shaking hands, he applied the cloth to her forehead. She opened her eyes, and Abe’s breath caught in his throat.

“Thank you,” was all she said before her lids slid shut again for the night.

C
HAPTER 52

When Ariana opened her eyes she could feel Abe’s warm body beside her. She smiled to herself; she could definitely get used to this.

Abe’s eyes shot open, as if he could sense her gaze on him. He searched her face, concerned. “Good morning, beautiful. You feeling any better?”

“Like a million bucks.”

He smiled. “Well, according to my bank account, that’s quite poorly.”

Ariana frowned. “Just how well off are you, Abe? Let’s get that shock out of the way now, shall we?”

He grinned at her. “As of this Saturday night, at approximately ten fifteen,
we
will put Bill Gates to shame. I don’t count it, but somewhere in the ballpark of four hundred billion…”

“Holy cow, Abe! How did you –”

“I have a very good, and very loyal, personal psychic. Rainey goes to the mainland and plays the lottery once or twice a year, always under a different identity. She also enjoys the Vegas life, apparently. Plus, when I became High Vampire, I acquired the island’s assets. I got the money, too, but I already had more than enough when I came here, so I gave that to Lidia when her mother split and left her on the palace doorstep, aged thirteen.”

“Lidia’s mother is still alive?”

“Yes, and she will be forever more. She chose to be turned by a young vampire when Lidia hit her teens. She brought Lidia to the palace before she ran off with him. I’ve always sort of felt like a father to her, and that is another reason why I don’t want Jonah to realize how she feels about him. I would have to kill him if he ever hurt her, the way I’m going to kill Max if he ever shows his face around here again. You and Jonah could get together and find him, but Lidia wants it to be forgotten and, as long as she’s pregnant, I won’t upset her.”

“That explains a lot.”

“Now, back to you. We are going to have to figure out a different work schedule for you, before the people on this island kill you with exhaustion. I don’t want to be the only High Vampire in history accused of genocide, because I will revenge you – you know that, right?”

“I’m fine, Abe. I’m happy to help.”

“Yeah, but can’t you do it like a normal doctor and schedule appointments? Please. Think about it. Could you only do one major case a week, or something like that? What healing did you do yesterday?”

“I helped a blind kid see again. That felt really good. When he opened his eyes, Jacob told me I was beautiful.” A tear rolled down her cheek and Abe brushed it away with his thumb.

“How old is this Jacob? Do I have to worry about competition?”

She laughed. “He is eight, Abe. Besides, my heart belongs to you.” She kissed the tip of his nose and he wrapped her up in his arms in a hug.

“I cured one lady’s psoriasis. I didn’t know there wasn’t a cure for it before. There is now: me.”

“I know what you’re thinking, Ariana, and it’s not going to happen. You’re not going to go around the world, healing everyone’s diseases. You mean too much to me. I can’t let you go alone and I can’t go with you. I thought you wanted to try for a baby. When you do get pregnant, would you risk the child you’re carrying to save someone else? If your answer is yes, you’re going to be highly pissed off at me for seven and a half months, because I’m not going to allow it. As far as I know, you are one of a kind. We don’t know how healing people will affect you, much less you being with child. So, if and when you get pregnant, you go on maternity leave, agreed?”

“I won’t argue with you. I wouldn’t put my child’s life in danger for anybody.”

Abe started kissing her neck and pulled her against him tighter. Ariana laughed and squirmed against his chest.

“What are you doing? Don’t you have business to take care of in the palace?”

“First of all, I am taking care of business. I’m trying to make a baby so you can go on maternity leave – that’s my first priority. And second, it’s one o’clock in the afternoon. I’m supposed to be in bed, taking care of the business here, and then sleeping.

“One o’clock? Abe, why didn’t you wake me earlier? I’m going to be late for work!” She scrambled out of bed.

Abe tried to grab her arm, but she jerked it out of his grasp. “Ariana… Your health is more important than anyone else’s on the island.”

She shot him a look. “To you, maybe, but not to me. Don’t fight me on this one, Abe. You know I’ll win.” She slipped on her flats and ran out the door without so much as a good-bye kiss.

It hurt to leave him like that, but she knew that if she got closer to him he would hold her down so she couldn’t go to work, and she would really hate to get fired on her second day. Of course, she could use magic to tie him in a knot and leave him there, in bed, but she didn’t know what effect her magic would have on him and, as much as she wanted to keep her job, she wanted to keep Abe happy and sane, too. She may have bolted out of his room, but she was still madly in love with him.

He did have a point though, about the appointments. She would deal with emergencies and then look at everything else in order of importance. She wouldn’t do a bunch of major illnesses in one day; it drained her too much. If she wasn’t bombarded with patients when she got there, she would set up some sort of schedule.

Becky was sitting at the computer desk when she walked in their room, a welcome change from her and Jonah in the shower.

“Hey, girl, you feeling better? Here, look at this. I typed up our hours to tape on the clinic door. You were pretty worn out last night, so I thought something like this would help.” She handed the paper to Ariana.

This was just what they needed. It was perfect.

Hours and scheduling for Ariana Cambridge and Becky Smith

Monday – Friday 3 p.m. till 8 p.m.

Saturday – Sunday 5 p.m. till 7 p.m.

Must call ahead for appointment.

Emergencies Welcome Anytime.

Ariana Cambridge 699 – 4994

Becky Smith 699 – 2586

Clinic 699 – 0312

“That’s perfect, Becky. I was going to do something like that when we got to the clinic. You’ve saved me some time.” Ariana hugged her. “Thank you.”

“I picked up this appointment book at the mall and told Brandon to get us a bigger one. This was the last one they had and it isn’t very good, but it will help till he gets some more in.”

“Great thinking, Becky. I’m so glad you wanted to be my assistant. I’ve gotta jump in the shower. I didn’t wake up as early as I would have liked to, and Abe can’t be relied on to help with that one, so I’m running a little late. Have you eaten anything?”

“No, I was waiting for you to get here. Anything special you want? I’ll go and get us something now.”

“Whatever looks good, Becky, I’m not picky. And thank you,” Ariana said as she turned the shower spray on and stepped under the jets.

C
HAPTER 53

Ariana was drying her hair when she heard a knock at the door. “Come in!” she shouted over the hairdryer noise and the CD Becky was playing a little too loud in the bedroom.

“Oh, hey, Lidia. I’m just finishing up in here. You can sit on the toilet and talk to me while I put my make-up on and straighten my hair.”

Lidia sat down with a smile. “I haven’t had a chance to tell you congratulations on the proposal yet. I’m so glad you said yes. He is so much happier with you in his life. How did your first day at work go?”

“Exhausting, but good. How are you doing?”

“The morning sickness is wearing me out and I am so hungry, all the time, but every time I eat…”

Ariana walked over and put her hand on Lidia’s stomach.

“Oh! I didn’t even think of asking you to make it better. I do feel better. Wow!”

“You could probably eat something now without a problem. And the twins are happy. You thought of any names for them yet?”

“Not yet. I’m still in shock, I guess. It doesn’t feel real.”

“They’ll be starting to kick in the next few days; I can tell they’re thinking about it already. It will feel real enough then.”

“Honey, I’m home,” Becky yelled as she walked in the door. “Hey, Lidia. If I’d known you were coming, I would have gotten you something to eat, too.”

“That’s okay. I think I will go into town and find a greasy cheeseburger, since Ariana’s touch just cured me of my morning sickness.”

“Temporarily cured. You will have to come to me every day, I think,” Ariana added.

Lidia got up and walked to the door with a smile on her face. “That’s a small price to pay. Besides, I love talking to you. I feel better now than I have in weeks. Thanks, Ariana. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She lowered her head and opened the door. “Bye, Becky,” Lidia said as she walked out.

“Heh. Is she okay? She seems a little weird around me, like she’s trying to avoid me, or something.”

Ariana thought fast. “Well, can you blame her, with the way you acted Sunday night about her and Jonah?”

“I guess I overreacted. I should apologize to her and let her know I don’t think anything is going on between them.”

“Um… Maybe you shouldn’t say anything. Your mouth tends to phrase things the wrong way sometimes. She will come around.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Becky laughed and took a bite of her mashed potatoes. Ariana let out the breath she’d been holding and concentrated on her own dinner.

When the girls walked out of the elevator, they saw Abe standing beside the Porsche.

He gave Ariana a smile, but she wasn’t giving in to him that easily. It didn’t matter if his smile could melt her heart, or turn her insides into a quivering mess, she was not going to let him win this.

“Abe,” she said as she unlocked her car without meeting his eyes.

“Ariana, I’m sorry. You were right. I’m just worried about you, that’s all.” He held the door in place so she couldn’t open it.

“I’m not mad at you, Abe. I was going to take your advice and put together a schedule when I got to work, so I don’t get overly exhausted, but Becky beat me to it. You were right about that one. Now, can I please go to work?”

Abe looked at Becky. “Thank you, Becky, for taking care of her when I can’t. I have another job for you, though. Make sure she answers her phone.” He spoke through clenched teeth, but still managed to smile.

“Yes, Sir, I’m on it. Ariana, give me your phone and I will answer it and give it to you if it’s important.”

“It’s always important if it’s me,” Abe started.

“Really? So there won’t be any calls that involve ‘I miss you so much’, ‘I love you so much’, ‘I can’t wait to wrap you in my arms’ and…”

“That’s enough, Becky. Here, you can screen my calls for me.” Ariana handed the phone to Becky and smiled at Abe.

He grabbed her up in his arms so fast she didn’t get the chance to make a sound. “I don’t mind talking to Becky, as long as I know that you are okay. Just, someone, please, answer the phone. You are leaving tomorrow morning, so will you please try to get out of there at eight o’clock tonight?” he pleaded.

“I’ll try my best, Abe.”

“Let’s put it this way: if you’re not here by the time the sun goes down, I’m coming to get you and I will physically throw any patient left in the clinic out on their…”

“Okay, Abe, I got the message. I will make sure there are no patients there when you show up.”

“Be careful, please.”

Ariana rolled her eyes. “Are you ever going to stop worrying about me?”

“Yeah. When you let me turn you, I won’t worry about you at all.”

She sighed. “I walked right into that one, didn’t I? I will be careful, I promise.”

“Thank you. Have a good afternoon.” He moved his hand so she could get in the car. “I’ll call you,” he mouthed through her rolled up window, so she laughed and mouthed back before backing out, “I can’t hear you, the window is rolled up.”