Charmed By You ((Destiny Bay Romances-The Islanders 5)) by Helen Conrad Page B

in front of one house that looked like a cartoon version of a Cape Cod cottage. “The Cepeda children have croup,” he told Heather as he gathered his black bag and another flat case. “Want to come in and give me a hand?”
    She tried to read the intention behind his impassive dark eyes, but saw nothing to give her a clue. Why would he want to drag her into a household full of strangers? They wouldn’t want her hanging around, gawking at their illnesses.
    “I’ll wait out here,” she said firmly. “I trust you won’t be in there all day.”
    He shrugged as though it made no difference to him what she did. “You never can tell,” he said unhelpfully. “I’ve got three families to visit in this village today.” He walked toward the house without another glance her way.
    She watched him go, noting as she so often did how he moved like a jungle cat on the prowl. As he climbed the rickety steps to the doorway and disappeared into the house, she closed her eyes, fighting back a wave of anguish.
    She loved him so. It was true. She’d admitted it again. She did love him; she always did. When he’d walked out of her life, he’d taken all the sparkle from the day. She’d never found it again. Sometimes she thought she never would.
    When she began to hear a scuffling sound around the car, she opened her eyes. An audience had assembled around her made up of eight or nine dark-eyed children, all under four feet tall, all dressed in ragged clothes with dirty faces. She blinked, looking from one set of staring eyes to the next.
    “Hi, lady,” the bravest said at last.
    “Hi.” Good grief, what did she call him? She had known few children since she’d stopped being one her self, and she was very uncertain how one dealt with such little people.
    “Are you the doctor’s lady?” another high voice piped.
    “No,” she answered swiftly. “No, I just came along for the ride.” They took in this information solemnly, their eyes wide as they looked her over.
    “You got any pennies, lady?” asked the bold first speaker. As he made his demand, all the others got the giggles, covering their mouths with dirty fists and scrunching up their shoulders as they laughed.
    She shook her head sternly, wondering what visitors had been corrupting these children by handing out money to them. “No, I’m afraid I don’t.”
    She didn’t add that it wasn’t nice to ask strangers for money, but she could see that they felt her disapproval without her having to voice it. Their faces crumpled with disappointment, and they all began to back away.
    Heather bit her lip as she watched them. She wished she could think of something to say that would bring back the giggles. She hadn’t meant to drive them off, but she couldn’t think of how to draw them back. They were so cute, so endearingly wide eyed. But they obviously hadn’t found much to like in her. They were loping off, looking for new adventures.  
    Well, who could blame them? She must have come across as the Wicked Witch of the West. For just a moment, regret settled like a fog around her.  
    She sighed, glancing at the silent house. Mitch might be in there for hours. Why had he insisted she come along, anyway? She certainly wasn’t about to sit here in this hot Jeep for the rest of the morning. Pulling her large shoulder bag from behind the seat, she slipped down onto the coral highway and began to walk toward a cliff that overlooked the sea.
    She never went anywhere without her sketch pad. Maybe she could record her visit by capturing on paper these scattered houses as she’d done with the mansions in Flagstaff. She would try to catch the spirit of the island in the faces of its dwellings.
    While she worked with her pastels, the sun played peekaboo with a thick layer of fluffy clouds, making it difficult to get the lighting right. She finished the house Mitch was working in and held it away from her, studying it critically.
    Nothing. Not a bit of life to it. She chewed