About That Night...

Evan could see Violet’s face pale. Was she frightened? Maybe she hadn’t been expecting this. He moved next to her and placed his hand over hers. Frank was still talking, outlining the things they should or shouldn’t do. He almost expected Violet to snatch her hand away. But she didn’t.

Instead she twined her fingers with his, while keeping her breathing slow and steady. She was scared.

And it scared him too. He was going to be team leader again. He was going to be out in the field, with a whole host of unknowns. A whole host of things he might not be able to predict or control.

What if something happened to one of his team again?

The guilt had almost destroyed him last time. What if something happened to Violet? It almost didn’t bear thinking about.

He pressed his fingers closer to hers and gave her a little smile while Frank continued with the briefing.

He would keep her safe. He had to.

He couldn’t think beyond that.

“Wow. What did you think of all that?”

It was an hour later and they were sitting in the dining room in the HWF building.

“So much for having a last supper before starting on the job.” She glanced around at her surroundings. They’d been advised not to leave the building at night, and neither of them had wanted to ignore the security brief.

“It’s probably for the best. We’ve got an early start tomorrow with the flight to Natumba.”

He was pushing his food around the plate, his mind obviously on other things.

“So, how do you feel about it?” She felt as if something was caught in her throat. Would he feel the same way she did? Sick with nerves? She hadn’t expected this. She hadn’t planned for it.

His eyes met hers. And she could almost see the shutters go down. It was apparent he wasn’t going to tell her how he was feeling about it all. After all, he hadn’t even wanted to come here, had he? He’d been more or less pushed into this.

She’d chosen to come here. She should have been better prepared for what she was getting into. The briefing today had knocked her for six. Would she even sleep tonight?

Sleep. That other issue.

“Did you manage to get the sleeping arrangements sorted out?” Evan had said he would try and talk to someone about finding another room.

He looked up from his plate, a smile dancing across his lips. “Yes and no.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I’ve got us some extra pillows.”

“And what are they for?”

“To put down the middle of the bed.” She almost dropped her fork. They were still sleeping in the same bed? Oh, no.

Her skin was starting to tingle. The hairs on her arms were standing on end. Sharing a bed with Evan Hunter? Pillows or not, she wouldn’t sleep a wink.

“You okay with that?”

He seemed so cool. So calm and collected. His mind was obviously focused on the job and not doing a merry dance around the thoughts of a heated kiss a few months ago.

Not the way hers was.

“I’m fine with that.” She put her fork down. “I’ve had enough. I think I want to get to bed early.”

She’d said the words. She hadn’t meant them to come out sounding like that. Sounding as if she was hinting at something. She wanted to die of embarrassment and felt the rush of blood to her cheeks.

Evan kept his eyes fixed on his dinner plate. He handed over the key to the room. “I’ll let you go on ahead. I’ve got some things to work out with Frank. We’ll probably be talking late into the night. Leave the door on the latch. I promise I won’t wake you when I come up.”

She nodded and just about grabbed the key from his hand, thankful that he seemed to have missed the implication of her words. “Good night, then.” She sped off to the room. The sooner she had her head under the covers the better.

This was going to be a long night.

Evan watched her retreating back. In the artificially lit room he could see her silhouette through her thin yellow dress, showing the curve of her bottom and hips. He did his best to look away.

This was all going to end in disaster.

He’d lied. He didn’t have to see Frank about anything. He’d been given all the information he could possibly need.

The worst thing was that he’d left all the paperwork in the room. He was going to have to hang around and kill time with nothing to do.

It had seemed easier to make something up. To let her slip away and get to the room without him pretending not to watch her every move.

Leave the door on the latch. He cringed at his words. It was like something an old married couple would say to each other. Where had that come from?

Everything about this situation was just too uncomfortable.

He’d caught a waft of her floral perfume the other day and it had invaded his senses, instantly taking him back to that night in the bar.

The night when Violet had drunk too many glasses of wine and had virtually propositioned him in the corridor leading to the back exit. The night when he’d had too many whiskies and had no resistance to her in her red dress and spiked heels, her hair all mussed up on her head.

The feel of her hungry lips on his had made him forget where they were and the consequences of his actions.

By the time someone had interrupted them, he’d practically had her dress up around her waist.

Hardly the ideal position for a DPA team leader and a member of his staff.

And the next day it had been as if nothing had ever happened. He sometimes wondered if Violet even remembered the incident.

Surely she hadn’t been that drunk? Because that thought made him sick to his stomach. That would mean he’d taken advantage of her. Something he would never do.

But in the meantime her floral scent lingered around him.

How could he sleep in a room tonight with that aroma and all it conjured up in his mind?

There was no question about it.

Violet Connelly was going to drive him crazy.

CHAPTER THREE

THE LIGHT AIRCRAFT touched down in a cloud of dust.

“We’re here.” Violet pressed her nose up against the glass window, trying to take in the wide landscape ahead of her.

Natumba state covered more than eighteen thousand square kilometers, and they’d landed in the northernmost tip, at the three local government areas most affected by polio. Only a few days ago there had been another two diagnoses of wild poliovirus.

Part of her was relieved they weren’t going to be based in the capital, Natumba. There was another team already based there.

But the wide open landscape and vast terrain made her realize the huge task they were undertaking and the number of miles they’d need to cover. All in the blistering heat.

There were a few figures dressed in white next to the landing strip, along with a whole host of multi-terrain vehicles—some looking a little worse for wear.

“That must be Dr. Yusif. He said he would meet us here and take us to the campsite.”

“I didn’t expect it to be so green. I expected it to look more barren.”

Evan turned as he unloaded their bags and all the supplies from the plane. “Natumba is quite an agricultural state—they produce a lot of groundnuts. The land is supposed to be well cultivated and irrigated.”

“And the villages?” She left the question hanging in the air between them.

Both of them had read as much as they could about the surrounding area. Only half of the population in the area had access to portable water and appropriate sanitation. Health care was limited and the education system in a state of neglect.

Although the government had launched national campaigns to raise awareness about polio, the reality was the message wasn’t reaching the villagers.

“Nigeria isn’t all savannah. The far south has a tropical rainforest climate and good rainfall. There are also areas of saltwater swamp and mangroves. The border with Cameroon has highlands and a rich rainforest. It’s not the dry desert wasteland that some people expect.”

Dr. Yusif was striding across the ground to meet them. He was dressed in a white shirt and trousers with a white kufi cap on his head. “Welcome, welcome.” His smile reached from ear to ear. “I’m so glad to see you.” He shook hands with them both and guided them over to the vehicles. “Grab your bags and let’s get on the move. It will be too hot to travel if we don’t start now.”

“How far away is the campsite?” Violet asked as she slid into the backseat of the four wheel drive. The upholstery of the seats were ripped and scorched by the sun. She pulled her skirt down to stop her skin from sticking to the surface. It must be around one hundred degrees in here, nothing like the comfortable, air-conditioned vehicles they’d had in the city, or that she took for granted back home.

“It’s only around an hour, but the roads can be rough. Hold on to your hat!”

Evan slid in next to her and they listened as Dr. Yusif filled them in on some of the background to where they’d be working. Violet clung onto the grab handle on the roof as the car pitched over the uneven terrain—anything to stop her sliding across the seat and landing in Evan’s lap.

He was managing to look as cool and calm as ever. How did he do it? The sweat was already starting to trickle down her spine and she was wishing she had pulled her hair off her collar with an elastic band.

Dr. Yusif seemed to talk constantly. It seemed that he’d been here, without support, for some time and was relieved that they’d arrived. He was moving on to another area and would introduce them to the team covering the three local areas, which Evan would be leading.

Every now and then he turned and spoke to the driver of the car in another language. “What language is that you’re speaking?” Violet queried.

“It’s Hausa, the native language around these parts. Don’t worry. You’ll be assigned a local guide who’ll be able to interpret for you. And it might surprise you, but some of the villagers speak English. It’s one of the official languages of Nigeria. You’ll get along fine here.”

The countryside sped past. They passed some smaller villages, where people were working in the fields, and had to pull over as some livestock were driven along the road toward them.

Violet was feeling nervous.

This was what she’d wanted—a complete change of scenery. A chance to do the job she’d initially set out to do. A chance to test herself again—to get in among real live people and see if she could make a difference to their health and future prospects. A chance to get away from Evan Hunter.

The past few weeks had been a terrible strain. Working with Evan had been hard enough after their passionate interlude. But seeing his reactions to her brother’s involvement in the potential smallpox outbreak had made her throw all rational thought out the window.

She’d thought that by applying for a transfer she’d not only get a new start for herself but also a new start away from him.

But the director had obviously had other ideas.

Being trapped in a room with him last night had been more than a little strange. Of course she’d heard him come into the room.

Her heartbeat had quickened as she’d heard the rustle of his clothes. Willing herself not to imagine what lay beneath.

She’d been very conscious of her own breathing, trying not to let it change to keep up the pretense of being asleep when the mattress had sunk as he’d sat down on the edge of the bed. Then there had been the careful placement of pillows between them.

All the while her mind had been throwing them back off the wall on the other side of the room.

But why did she feel like this? She didn’t want to like him. She didn’t want to find him attractive. It was so much easier when they were arguing and scowling at each other. But this man had crept under her skin in so many different ways that she didn’t even want to think about.

All from that one kiss.

Why had neither of them ever acknowledged it? A relationship would have been frowned on by bosses at the DPA. Particularly if things had gone on a downward spiral and affected the work of the team.

But more importantly, for Violet, it was easier to pretend it had never happened. Because then she would have to deal with how it, and he, had made her feel. And she wasn’t ready for that, not then and not now.

She wasn’t ready for anything other than the job. Thinking about a man would bring a whole host of other emotions to the surface. She was only ready to take baby steps.

Only her first baby steps had been like stepping onto the moon. A giant leap for mankind and a giant leap for Violet.

Working at the DPA had sheltered her for a while. It had almost made her feel safe. Watching the crops and dust speed past was exciting—her first visit to Africa. But it was just so, so different from being based in the DPA at Atlanta.

Could she really handle this? Or was it all just a step too far?

The car jolted to a halt outside a makeshift building. This was obviously the village. Most of it was in a state of disrepair. There was a huge variety of structures from thatched-roof huts to wooden buildings, from brick buildings to some traditionally built husa houses.

Her eyes were drawn immediately to the overhead water tank at the edge of the village. At least this village had one. From what she’d learned, access to improved water and sanitation was a daily challenge for most Nigerians, particularly in the rural north of the country where less than half the population had access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

She jumped out and followed Evan into the building. Although the surroundings were poor, the equipment almost made her do a double-take. Two computers sat on a bench—where the generator was she’d no idea. Her eyes widened at the sight of some mobile phones and GPS monitors sitting on another bench, alongside vaccine transporters and fridges into which the vaccines were already being unpacked.

There was whole host of people to meet. Some of the village leaders, some health staff, community outreach workers, midwives and members of another voluntary organization involved in water aid.

But most importantly, outside stood a row of women with their children. Violet cringed with embarrassment as her case thudded from the back of the car. Three months’ worth of clothes and a whole pile of other things now seemed extravagant and ridiculous.

It didn’t matter that she also had a whole host of medical supplies in her case. The size and weight of her lime-green case now seemed like a beacon of excess. She wanted to send it straight back home.

Evan’s much smaller, navy blue case seemed much more appropriate. Something else to hold against him.

Dr. Yusif was still fussing around them, probably relieved that there were finally some colleagues to hand over to. “Your accommodation is over there. I’ll get your luggage taken over. Would you like to go and freshen up?”

Violet followed where his finger was pointing at a solid brown building just a few hundred yards away.

“Separate rooms?” she asked. It was the first thing that sprang to mind.

“What?” He looked confused then started laughing. “Of course. There are single rooms for all of our staff. They are small and pretty basic, a single bed with mosquito net, a chest of drawers—” his eyes danced over her bulging case “—and some toilet facilities, but I’m sure you’ll be comfortable.”

“I’m sure we will be.” She was relieved. Being stuck in a room at night with Evan had unsettled her, and she had no idea if that would be expected in their field assignments too. Thankfully not.

She glanced at her watch, unsure what to do first. She nodded at the people outside. “Want me to get straight to work?”

Dr. Yusif looked a little taken aback. “Don’t you and Dr. Hunter want to take some time to settle in? I’ve got a whole host of things to hand over to Dr. Hunter before I leave—it will probably take the rest of the day.”

Violet shrugged. She wasn’t there to be a team leader. She was there to be doctor. And there was no time like the present.

Dr. Yusif’s hand touched her skin. “You do realize you won’t just get to administer polio vaccine straight away? Most of these people are here because their children are sick.” He lowered his voice. “This is where it gets really difficult. People come because you’re a doctor, not because of the vaccine. If you start to treat every problem, you’ll never get the job done that you’re here for.”

Violet looked at the anxious faces. She could already tell where she would fall down in this job. She couldn’t just administer vaccine. She had to look at the whole health of a person, how they lived, their home and their facilities, in order to give them the best advice possible. It was the heart of public health.

“Well, let’s just get me started in the meantime. We can reassess how things are going in a few days. Can you pair me up with an interpreter?”

Dr. Yusif nodded quickly and gestured to a young woman dressed in bright clothing to come over. “Olabisi, come over here please.”

The woman hurried over, her bright orange and red skirts sweeping along the floor. “Dr. Connelly wants to start straight away. Can you interpret for her, please, and show her around the clinic?”

Evan touched her shoulder. “Are you sure about this?”

He was leaning over her, watching her again with those blue eyes. He was close enough to see the gold flecks.

He couldn’t possibly know. He couldn’t possibly know how hard these first few steps would be.

Should she tell him?

Of course not. That would be another fault. Another black mark against her name. She’d already kept one secret from him. What would he say if he found out there were two?

He would undoubtedly question her suitability for the job.

But she wanted this. She needed this.

Even though it would inevitably break her heart.

It was time to move on.

She turned to face him and met his gaze. “I think it’s for the best. If I can get started straight away it will help build some relationships with the villagers.”

She could almost hear his brain tick, trying to decide if it was the best thing to do. “I’ll come and find you in an hour, okay?”

She nodded and smiled. “That’s fine. If there’s anyone needing immunization I can do that as I go.”

“You’re happy with the protocol for recording?”

“It seems straightforward enough. I’ll give you a yell if I run into any problems.”

He seemed to hesitate, as if he wanted to say something else, but she didn’t wait to find out. She walked to the doorway. Olabisi was already talking to some of the mothers waiting outside, forming them into two separate queues.

“Ah, Dr. Violet.” She pointed to the queue on her left. “This one is yours, all these mothers understand English. The other queue is mine. These villagers only speak Hausa. We should be able to get through more this way. Okay?”

Violet smiled. Olabisi was already looking like a professional rather than a local volunteer with rudimentary training. She could learn a lot from these people.

She turned to the first woman in the queue, who was clutching a baby in one arm and holding the hand of another small child with one limb showing clear signs of atrophy. Already they were too late. This child had already been affected by polio.

She gestured with her hand. “Please come in. I’m Dr. Violet.”

The afternoon flew past. Polio had blighted this community. Most villagers had probably never even realized they’d been affected. Ninety percent of sufferers had no symptoms.

But then there were the few poor souls—children and adults alike—where the virus had entered their central nervous system and destroyed their motor neurons, leading to muscle weakness and acute flaccid paralysis.

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