Suddenly Last Summer (27 page)

Her hands were shaking as much as her knees. “Which? Knife or fork?”

“Either. I just need something to tighten this. Pressure isn’t enough.”

“Am I going to die?” Sam’s eyes were fixed on Sean’s face. “My dad said I’m going to die.”

“You’re not going to die, Sam. You’re going to feel pretty rough for a few days, but you’re going to be just fine.”

“Why would he say that if it isn’t true?”

“Because he was panicking. You’re his boy. He loves you.” He moved the scarf and tightened it. “It’s hard to see someone you love in pain.”

“But you’re not panicking, right?”

“Nothing to panic about.” Sean looked almost bored. “You’ve cut your leg, that’s all. No big drama.”

Élise looked at the blood and the child and decided she never wanted to witness Sean’s idea of drama.

Sam clutched Sean’s arm. “I heard you say it’s an artery. That’s bad, right?”

“Well, if we leave it, it’s bad. But we’re not leaving it. We’ve stopped it bleeding and now we’re going to get you to a hospital and the doctors there will fix it.”

“Will you fix it? I want you to be the one to fix it.”

“There are doctors who are better trained at this sort of thing than I am. If you’d broken your leg, that would be different. Then I’d be your man.”

Élise would want him to be her man. If she were in trouble, she’d want that.

Suddenly she understood his total commitment to his work. He was gifted. Focused. When he went to work in the morning he saved lives. What did she do? She cooked pastry. No wonder he hadn’t understood that she was stressed about a delay to the opening of the Boathouse. What did the café matter compared to the life of a child? What did anything matter compared to that?

He did something few other people could do. He had skills few other people had. It was right that he put them to good use.

Sam’s eyes closed and then he forced them open again. “Will you come to the hospital with me, Dr. O’Neil?”

“I’ll be there.”

“Will you stay with me the whole time, even when I’m asleep?”

“I’ll stay with you the whole time.” Sean didn’t hesitate. “I’ll be there when you go to sleep and I’ll be there when you wake up.”

“Do you promise? Pinky swear?”

“I don’t know what pinky swear is, but I won’t leave you. That’s a promise.”

“Cool.” Sam finally allowed his eyes to close, his eyelashes the only color in his ashen face.

Élise swallowed down the lump in her throat.

She’d never seen this side of Sean before. Or maybe she had. Hadn’t he been the same with his grandfather? Cool and calm while everyone else was panicking? And last night, when she’d spilled all her secrets, he’d been cool and calm then, too.

And after the party, when he could easily have walked away, he’d cared enough to come after her. Cared enough to carry her to bed and tuck the covers around her.

“I got a signal.” Sam’s father arrived back, red in the face from running. “They’re coming. They’re coming right now. They reckon five minutes. Is that too long? How long do we have before— Oh, God, is he unconscious? That’s bad, right?” He was shaking with fear and shock, sobbing with it, and Sean’s gaze flickered to Élise and she understood his meaning immediately.

He couldn’t deal with the father and the boy.

He wanted Sam’s father away so that he couldn’t make things worse.

“We’ll walk down the trail and meet them.” Almost stumbling because her own legs were wobbly, she took his arm and steered him gently away. “It will speed things up if they see us. Sean has this under control. Come with me.”

This time Sean didn’t look up and she didn’t expect him to.

He was trying to save the boy and nothing,
nothing
was more important than that.

And Élise knew that if the child died it wouldn’t be because Sean O’Neil hadn’t done everything he could.

* * *

“B
OTH
HIS
PARENTS
are here now. The surgeon is just talking to them and they’ll be able to see Sam real soon. I guess you can go, Dr. O’Neil. You’re the hero of the hour.” The nurse was pretty, her smile interested.

Sean didn’t even notice. His eyes were on the child who lay pale and still in the bed. It had been the longest six hours of his life. “I’ll stay until he wakes up.”

“You don’t have to.” The nurse eyed him. “Do you want to change? Your clothes are covered in blood. I could put them in a bag and lend you some scrubs.”

“I’m fine.” What the hell did it matter what he was wearing? The boy had almost died and she was worrying about a few bloodstains on his clothes?

“I have a place near here if you want somewhere private to wash and change.”

As invitations went, it couldn’t have been more blatant.

If he’d had more energy he would have laughed.

Who did she think he was? A superhero?

After the emotional pressure of the past six hours, the crazy ambulance ride, the life-or-death rush to the operating room, if someone showed him a bed he’d fall asleep instantly. The whole of the Boston ballet could have danced naked across the room and he wouldn’t have noticed.

He was wrecked.

And then he saw Élise standing in the doorway and his heart lifted.

But instead of the warm look that should have followed the night they’d spent together and the drama they’d shared, her eyes were blank. The expression on her pretty face was frozen. Those green eyes that could start a fire with just a look, as cold as ice.

“I came to tell you that Sam’s parents are here.” Her tone was as cool as her eyes. “I drove them. They weren’t safe behind the wheel. His mother is naturally very anxious. The doctor is talking to them now.”

“Right.” What the hell was wrong with her? She must be in shock. This whole business with Sam had probably scared her to death. It had certainly terrified him.

“I have to go back now. The restaurant is full this evening and I can’t leave them without help.”

“I’d offer to pitch in but I’m going to be tied up here for a while.”

“Of course you are.” Her smile was thin. “I don’t suppose you’ll be able to get away for quite some time.”

He assumed she was referring to Sam. “Yeah. Well, I might see you later.”

“I doubt it. I’ll be working and then you’ll be back in Boston. Good night, Sean.”

She took a last long look at Sam and for a moment her gaze softened. Then she turned and walked out, closing the door quietly behind her.

He had a feeling he was missing something, but he was too tired to work out what it was.

* * *

É
LISE
COOKED
,
SMILED
, served almost a hundred people and tried not to think of Sean tangled up with the pretty nurse.

She’d seen the smile.

Heard the invitation.

The invitation he hadn’t refused.

A week ago it wouldn’t have bothered her. Now?

“Merde.”
She tugged a pan out of one of the cupboards, sending others crashing.

It didn’t bother her now, either. He was a free agent and he could sleep with whomever he wanted. So what if he’d pretended to be all kind and sensitive and it had all been a sham? That wasn’t what upset her. No, what really upset her was that he’d broken his solemn promise to Sam.

He’d promised Sam he’d stay until he woke up but it was obvious that promise had come with conditions and one of those had been not getting a better offer from a sexy-looking blonde nurse who had no sense of timing or appropriate behaviour.

So he lied when it suited him. Why was she surprised? She’d spent long enough with a man who had done just that to know what people were capable of.

She slammed a pan onto the burner and saw Poppy jump.

“Everything okay, Chef?”

“Everything is just fine.” She poured in oil and waited for it to heat before adding garlic and ginger. “Couldn’t be better.”

She didn’t care about herself. She had no interest in whether Sean O’Neil slept with the whole damn female staff in the hospital, all she cared about was that he’d broken his promise to little Sam.

How could he do that?

How could he lie to a child?

That was the lowest of the low. There was no excuse.

“Are you
sure
you’re all right?” Poppy was by her shoulder, looking anxious. “It’s just that you’re burning the garlic, Chef.”

Élise glanced down at the pan.

It was true. The garlic was dark and had that bitter aroma that offended her sense of smell.

She’d burned it, like an amateur. It was years since she’d done that.

With an exclamation of disgust she pulled the pan off the heat and stepped away, hands raised. “I should not be cooking tonight, I am too upset.”

“Of course you’re upset.” Her voice soothing, Poppy reached across and switched off the burner. “You’ve had a traumatic day. We’re all worried about Sam. I’ve been asked a million times how he is. Sometimes you think people are only interested in whether their steak is perfectly cooked, but then something like this happens and you realize they do care. Restores your faith in human nature to be honest.”

Did it? Her faith in human nature had been shattered years before and nothing she’d seen today had done anything to restore it.

It was like Pascal all over again.

Poppy nudged her out of the way and started with a fresh pan. “Go and talk to the guests, Chef. We’re fine here. I’ve got everything in hand.”

Talk to the guests.

Élise blinked. Breathed. Yes, she’d do that.

And she’d stop thinking about Sean.

If anything she should be pleased he’d shown his true colors. For a moment when he’d saved Sam’s life she’d been ready to lay down her own life for him. She’d been in awe. Totally overwhelmed by how amazing he was.

But she had no admiration for a man who broke promises to a child.

She wandered between the tables, a smile fixed on her face, her mind elsewhere.

“Any news on little Sam, Élise?” A family staying in one of the lodges looked at her with somber faces as she walked into the elegant dining room.

“The doctors are very pleased with him.” It always surprised her how quickly bad news spread, but perhaps that wasn’t so surprising given the size of the resort and the fact that some of the guests had been coming to Snow Crystal for years.

“I saw him on that new bike of his with his dad. Looked so pleased with himself. Such a shame.”

“His poor mother. They’re saying if it hadn’t been for Dr. O’Neil the boy would have died. He’s a real hero.”

“Is he doing all right, Chef?” Even Tally, the head waitress whose customer service was second to none, left the table she was serving to get an update.

Élise murmured words of reassurance, expressed a hope that everyone was enjoying their meal despite the events of the day, and moved around the room.

At every table she faced the same questions. The same exclamations. The same talk of Sean’s heroics until in the end she took refuge back in the kitchen.

“All anyone can talk about is Sam and Sean.”

“How is the little guy, Chef?” Antony, her newest recruit, and the most junior member of her kitchen staff, looked up from dicing vegetables. “He was in here last night eating his favorite pizza. And he told me he loved his chocolate birthday cake. Great kid. Good job Dr. O’Neil was there.”

Élise ground her teeth and forced herself not to pounce.

“Sam is doing well. But it’s important that we don’t all lose focus. Our guests will still expect to eat good food. They don’t want the staff to fall apart.”

“Yes, Chef. I mean no, Chef.” Antony looked nervous and she felt a flash of guilt.

She was a perfectionist, that was true. People were paying good money to eat her food and they deserved it to be just right. But she wasn’t a bully.

And she knew that in this case her temper didn’t originate from a fall in standards, but the fact that she kept imagining Sam waking up alone and wondering where Sean was.

I won’t leave you, that’s a promise.

Poor Sam. He was about to learn at an early age that people made promises when it suited them and then broke them without a second thought.

She kept imagining Sean’s long, strong limbs entangled with those of the nurse.

But mixed up with those thoughts was an entirely different vision of him, this time with his hands sure and steady as he worked to save Sam. She kept hearing his voice, reassuring and kind as he’d calmed the panicking child. And then she kept seeing him, sitting by the boy’s bed and smiling at the nurse.

“Merde.”

Antony jumped. “Chef?”

“Nothing. You are doing well. I’m lucky to have you on my team.” She forced herself to get on with her job, furious that she’d allowed herself to be so distracted.

By the time she’d finished her shift, she’d worked herself into such an angry state that she walked the distance to Heron Lodge in half her usual time.

She took the steps to the deck two at a time and stopped dead when she saw Sean sprawled on the chair on her deck.

He was the last person she’d expected to see.

Her heart lifted and then a breath hissed through her teeth and all the anger she’d kept contained throughout her shift burst to the surface. There was no question of reining it in.

“What are you doing here? Get off my deck you ’orrible lying piece of—” She used a French word and saw his expression shift from warm to wary.

“Sorry?”

“You expect me to greet you with open arms after what happened? How do you think I feel?”

He was very still. “I should imagine it was upsetting to witness.”

“Upsetting? That is an understatement. For a while I thought you were a hero but now I know there is nothing heroic about you, Sean O’Neil.” The emotion of the day spilled out unrestrained. “Nothing.”

“I agree. I was just doing my job.” Mouth tight, he rose to his feet. “Look, it must have been pretty shocking for you, I understand that. Why don’t we—”

“Stay away from me.” Furious, incensed, she lifted her hand in a stop sign. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from me. Don’t come any closer.”