The Last Temptation Of Dr. Dalton

He frowned. “Is it as hard to raise cash for a school as it is for a hospital?”

“It’s all hard. But I’m working on getting a donation from a church group in the States that’ll help us hire a new teacher and have enough food for the kids’ lunches. I’m excited. It looks like it’s going to come through.” Charlie smiled at Trent, but his expression stayed uncharacteristically serious. “We hate turning families away, but can’t just endlessly accept kids into the program, you know? It’s not fair to the teachers or the students to have classrooms so big nobody gets the attention they need. So I’m sure hoping it works out.”

“How soon will you know?”

“In the next day or two, I think.”

His expression was oddly inscrutable. “Be sure to tell me if the donation comes through or not, okay?”

“Okay.” She had to wonder why he wanted to know, but appreciated his interest. “As for the hospital, I’m supposed to get a giant check from the Gilchrist Foundation as soon as the new wing is ready to go, thank heavens.”

He stopped dead and stared at her. “The Gilchrist Foundation?”

“Yes. You’ve heard of them?”

“Yeah. You could say that.”

CHAPTER FOUR

“HAS THE GILCHRIST Foundation donated to hospitals you’ve worked at before?” Charlotte asked. “Did they come through with their support? I’m a little worried, because we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel just to get the wing finished.”

Trent looked into her sweet, earnest face before turning his attention to the verdant landscape—not nearly as vivid and riveting as the color of her eyes. “They’re a reputable organization.”

“That’s good to hear.” She sounded slightly breathless, her footsteps squishing quickly in the mud, and he slowed his stride. He resisted the urge to grasp her arm to make sure she didn’t slip and fall. “I heard they were, but they’re making us jump through some hoops to get it.”

He almost asked what hoops?, but decided to keep out of it. The last thing he wanted was to get involved with anything to do with the Gilchrist Foundation. Or for Charlotte to find out his connection to it. “It’ll be fine, I’m sure. So, this is it.” He looked up at the one-storey cement building painted a golden yellow, the windows and door trimmed in a brick color. “Looks like you’ve done a nice job restoring it.”

“It took a lot of money and manpower. It was basically a shell, with nothing left inside. The windows were gone and there were bullet holes everywhere. John Adams and I are pretty proud of how it turned out.”

As they reached the wooden door of the school he saw Charlotte glance up at the sky, now filling with dark-gray clouds. “Looks like rain’s coming, and I wasn’t smart enough to bring an umbrella. Sorry. We won’t stay too long.”

“I’m not made of sugar, you know. I won’t melt,” he teased. Then the thought of sugar made him think of her sweet lips and the taste of her skin. It took a serious effort to turn away, not to pull her close to take a taste.

They left their muddy shoes outside before she led the way in. Children dressed in white shirts with navy-blue pants or skirts streamed from classrooms, laughing and chattering.

“Mr. Trent!” Cute little Patience ran across the room, the only one in a sleeveless dress instead of a uniform. “Mr. Trent, you bring me candy?”

“Sorry, Miss Impatience, I don’t have any left.” She wrapped her arms around his leg and the crestfallen expression on her face made him wish he’d brought a whole lot more. Too bad he hadn’t known he’d be here longer than a few days.

“How about gum?”

He laughed and swung her up into his arms. “Don’t have any of that left either.” He lowered his voice. “But, next time you’re at the hospital, I’ll sneak some pudding out of the pantry for you, okay?”

“I heard that.” Charlotte’s brows lifted. “Since when are you two best friends? Dr Trent just got here a few days ago.”

“Mr. Trent and me are good friends, yes.” The girl’s arms tightened around his neck, which felt nice. Kids didn’t want or expect anything from you but love. And maybe candy too, he thought with a smile. There weren’t too many adults he could say that about.

“Patience and I share a fondness for that chocolate pudding.”

“Hmm.” A mock frown creased Charlotte’s face as she leaned close to them. “I didn’t know you were stealing supplies, Dr Dalton. I’m going to have to keep an eye on you.”

“What’s the punishment for stealing?” His gaze dropped from her amused eyes to her pink lips. Maybe if he stole a kiss he’d find out.

“I don’t think you want to know.” Her eyes were still smiling and he found himself riveted by the glow of gold and brown flecks deep within that beautiful green.

“Miss Edwards!” Several kids ran their way. “You coming to see our play this Wednesday? Please come, Miss Edwards!”

Charlotte wrapped her arms around their shoulders in hugs, one after another, talking and smiling, making it obvious she wasn’t a distant director around here; that she put in a lot of face time, truly cared about these kids. That impressed the hell out of him. He’d seen a lot of hospital directors in his day, even some in mission hospitals, who were more focused on the bottom line and making donors happy than they were about helping the patients they existed for.

Trent set Patience back on her feet. “Have you been doing any more drawing? You know I like to see your art.” Nodding enthusiastically, her short legs took off running back down a hall.

He watched Charlotte with the kids. He’d never worked at a mission hospital that included a school in its compound. He hadn’t been able to resist a chance to peek at it and see what they were accomplishing, even when he knew it wasn’t the best idea to spend much time with Charlotte.

The whole reason he’d come was to see the school children, but he found it impossible to pull his attention from the smiling woman talking to them. He’d teased her about picturing her naked, but the truth was he couldn’t get the vision of her out of his mind at all: clothed or unclothed, smiling and happy or ready to kick someone’s ass.

Damn it.

Time to get his mind on the whole reason he was here—to find out what the kids were learning and how the school helped them. Charlotte patted a few of the children and turned her attention to him.

“Is this where we’re going to eat?” he asked. The room was filled with folding tables that had seats attached, and some of the children were already sitting down.

“What, are you hungry? And you were making fun of me wanting lunch.”

He grinned at her teasing expression. Man, she was something. A fascinating mix of energy, passion and determination all mixed in with a sweet, soft femininity. “I haven’t eaten since five a.m. But I still wouldn’t knock someone over in a hallway in search of a meal.”

“As if I could knock you over, anyway.” She took the binder from him and gestured to the tables. “Find a seat. I’ll be right back.”

Standing here, looking at all the bright-eyed and happy kids, he was annoyed with himself. Why hadn’t it hadn’t ever occurred to him to donate some of his fortune to this kind of school? He’d focused on giving most of his anonymous donations to the kind of hospitals he worked in. To those that medically served the neediest of humans in the world.

But that was going to change to include helping with education—a whole other kind of poverty. Not having access to learning was every bit as bad as having no access to health care.

“Here’s my picture, Mr. Trent!” Patience ran up with a piece of construction paper crayoned with smiling children sitting at desks, one of them a lot bigger than the others.

“Who’s this student?” he asked, pointing at the large figure he suspected just might be a self-portrait of the artist.

“That’s me.” Patience gave him a huge smile. “I sit in class sometimes now. Miss Jones said I could.”

“I bet you’re really smart. You’ll be reading and writing in no time.” And to make that happen for a lot more kids, he’d be calling his financial manager pronto.

“Yes.” She nodded vigorously. “I go to read right now.”

She took off again and he chuckled at how cute she was, with her little dress and pigtails flying as she ran. He sat at one of the tables and saw the kids eyeing him, some shyly, others curious, a few bold enough to come close. Time for the tried and tested icebreaker. He pulled a pack of cards from his pocket and began to shuffle. “Anybody want to see a card trick?”

Faces lit, giggles began and a few children headed over, then more shoved their way in, until the table was full and the rest stood three-deep behind them.

“Okay.” He fanned the cards face down and held them out to a grinning little girl with braids all over her head. “Pick a card. Any card.” When she began to pull one out, he yanked the deck away. “Not that one!”

Startled, her grin faded and she stared at him.

“Just kidding.” He gave her a teasing smile to let her know it was all in fun, and she giggled in relief as the other children hooted and laughed. He held out the fanned deck again. “Pick a card. I won’t pull it away again, honest. Look at it, show it to a friend, but don’t let me see it. Then stick it back in the deck.”

The girl dutifully followed his directions. He did his sleight-of-hand shuffling before holding up a card. “Is this it?” He had to grin at how crestfallen they looked as they shook their heads. “Hmm. This it?”

“No, that’s not it.” She looked worried, like it would somehow be her fault if the trick didn’t work.

“Well, you know third time’s a charm, right? This is the one you picked.” He held up what he knew would be the card she’d chosen, and everyone shrieked and whooped like he’d pulled a rabbit from a hat or held up a pot of gold.

“How you do that, mister?” a boy asked, craning his neck at the card deck as though the answer was written there.

“Magic.” One of the best parts about doing the trick was showing the kids how to do it themselves. “How about we do it a few more times? Then I’ll teach you exactly how it’s done.”

* * *

Before Charlie and the teachers even got back to the common room, the sound of loud talking and laughter swept through the school’s hall. Mariam, the headmistress, pursed her lips and frowned. “I’m sorry, Miss Charlotte. I don’t know why they’re being so rowdy. I’ll take care of it.”

“It’s fine. They’re at lunch, after all.” Though she was pretty sure it hadn’t been served yet. Curious as to what was causing all the excitement, she walked into the room, only to stop in utter surprise at the scene.

Looking ridiculously large for it, Trent sat at a table completely surrounded by excited children, like some handsome Pied Piper. He was holding up cards, shuffling and flicking them, then handing them to kids who did the same, all the while talking and grinning. As she came farther into the room, she could hear the students bombarding him with questions that he patiently answered more than once.

She hadn’t seen this side of Trent before. Yes, she’d seen his gentle bedside manner with Lionel, his obvious caring for the boy. Still, she couldn’t help but be amazed at the connection she was witnessing. So many of the children in this school had been traumatized in one way or another and a number of them were orphaned. Yet, to watch this moment, you’d think none of them had a care in the world other than having a fun time with whatever Trent was sharing with them.

She moved closer to the table. “What’s going on here?”

One of the older boys waved some cards. “Mr. Trent is showing us card tricks, Miss Edwards! See me do one!”

“I’d love to.” Her eyes met Trent’s and her heart fluttered a little at the grin and wink he gave her. “But you should call him Dr Trent. He’s a physician working at the hospital for a few days.”

“Dr Trent?” Anna, a girl in the highest grade they could currently offer, looked from Charlie to Trent, her expression instantly serious. “You a doctor? My baby brother is very sick with the malaria. Mama Grand has been treating him, but we’re worried. Would you care if I go get him and bring him here for you to see?

“Can your mommy or grandmother bring him to the hospital?” Charlie asked.

Anna shook her head. “Mommy is away working in the rice fields. But I can get him and carry him there if that is better.”

“How old is he?” Charlie asked.

“Six years old, Ma.”

Charlie knew many of these kids walked miles to get to school, and didn’t want Anna hauling an ill six-year-old that kind of distance. Not to mention that she could hear rain now drumming hard on the roof of the school. “How about if I drive and get him? You can show me where you live.”

Trent stood. “It’s pouring outside. I’ll go back and get the car and pick you two up, then we’ll just see him at your home.”

Charlie pulled her keys from her pocket and headed for the door. “It’s okay, I’ll just...”

In two strides, Trent intercepted her and snagged the keys from her hand. “Will you just let someone else help once in a while? Please? I’ll be right back.”

Charlie watched as he ducked out of the doorway into the heavy rain, all too aware of the silly surge of pleasure she felt at the way he insisted on taking on this problem, never mind that she could handle it herself. Well, not the medical part; she was thankful he’d be able to contribute his expertise as well as the nurses and techs at the hospital.

Her car pulled up in no time and, before she and Anna could come out, Trent had jogged to the door with an open umbrella and ushered Anna into the backseat. Water slid down his temples and dripped from his black hair as he opened the passenger door for Charlie. “You’re riding shotgun this time, boss lady.”

“It’s my car. I know how to drive in this kind of weather.”

He made an impatient sound. “Please just get in and stop arguing.”

She opened her mouth to insist, but saw his set jaw and his intent blue eyes and found herself sliding into the seat, though why she let him tell her what to do she wasn’t sure. It must have something to do with the man’s overwhelming mojo.

She wasn’t surprised that he proved more than competent at the wheel, despite the deepening mud and low visibility through the torrential rain. Even in good weather, this thinning road was barely more than a track through the bush. It couldn’t really be called a road at all at the moment.

A group of crooked, heartbreakingly dilapidated zinc shacks appeared through the misty sheets of rain, and the distinctive smell of coal fires used for cooking touched Charlie’s nose.

“It’s up here. That one,” Anna said, pointing.

The car slid to a stop. “Sit tight for a sec,” Trent said. He again grabbed the umbrella and brought it to their side of the car before opening Charlie’s door.

“I’m not made of sugar, you know. I won’t melt,” Charlie said, repeating what he’d said to her earlier as she climbed out to stand next to him.

“You sure about that? I remember you tasting pretty sweet.” Beneath the umbrella, he was so close she could feel his warmth radiating against her skin. The smell of the rain, mud, coal fires and Trent’s own distinctive and appealing scent swirled around her in a sensory overload. His head dipped and those blue eyes of his met hers and held. She realized she was holding her breath, struck by a feeling of the two of them being completely alone in the world as the rain pounded a timpani concerto on the fabric above their heads.

Her heart did a little dance as his warm breath touched her face. Blue eyes darker now, his head dipped closer still until his lips slipped across hers, whisper-soft, clinging for a moment. “Yeah. Like sugar and honey.”

His lids lowered in a slow blink before he straightened, turning to open Anna’s door.

The child led the way as they trudged up to a group of metal shacks, giving Charlie’s heart rate a chance to slow. Why had he kissed her when they’d agreed not to go there? Probably for the same reason she’d wanted him to—that overwhelming chemistry between them that had caught fire the first day they’d met.

They approached a shack that looked as though it must be Anna’s home. A cooking pot sat over a coal fire with what smelled like cassava simmering inside. The shack’s crooked door was partially open, and Anna shoved it hard, scraping it along the muddy ground until they could step inside the dark interior.

A young child lay sleeping on a mat on the dirt floor and another was covered with a blanket, exposing only his or her outline. An older woman with a brightly patterned scarf on her head sat on a plastic chair, stitching some fabric.

“Mama Grand, I bring a doctor to see Prince.”

The woman looked at them suspiciously. “No need, Anna. I use more healing herbs today and Prince will be fine soon.”

Anna twisted her fingers and looked imploringly at her. “Please. The doctor is here, so let him see if Prince is getting better.”

Trent stepped forward and gave one of his irresistibly charming smiles to the woman. “I’m sure you’re doing a fine job taking care of Prince. But the boss lady, Miss Edwards here, will be mad at me if I don’t have work to do today. She might not even pay me. Can I please just take a look at your fine little one while I’m here?”

The woman’s stern expression softened slightly, and after a moment she inclined her head. Charlie had a hard time suppressing a smile. Trust Trent to turn it around to make Charlie look like the bad guy, and to know exactly how to twist it so his being there was no reflection on the older woman’s treatments.

Trent crouched down and looked back at the woman. “Is this Prince hiding under the blanket? May I look at him?”

She nodded again, and Trent reached to pull the blanket from the small, huddled shape. He quickly jerked back when he saw the exposed child.

“What the...?” Trent’s face swung towards Charlie, his eyebrows practically reaching his hair.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.