The Secret Doctor by Joanna Neil Page B

mine.’
    â€˜By putting your stamp on it, you mean?’
    â€˜That’s right.’
    â€˜So you’re not having second thoughts about sellingup?’ His gaze was thoughtful. ‘I was kind of hoping you might have reconsidered by now. I’d be willing to offer you way above the market price.’
    She frowned. ‘I don’t really understand why you’re so keen on buying me out. I know you said it was to do with the land, but I imagine you could extend in the opposite direction if you wanted. I know it would take some work, clearing the land, and so on, but it is a possible option, surely?’
    â€˜I think the work would be too much to take on.’ He leaned back in his seat. ‘The truth is, my grandfather built the house you’re living in now, some fifty or more years ago. It was the family home through three generations. When my father married my mother, my grandparents moved out and went to live in the house next door…where I live now.’
    He frowned. ‘My brother and I grew up in your house as kids. We loved it. All our memories were there, and there was a huge sense of satisfaction and appreciation because my grandfather had designed and built it especially for us. It was a bitter blow when the family decided they had to sell up.’
    â€˜Why would they do that, if it meant so much to them?’
    â€˜Because my grandfather’s dream was to make the family’s fortune by finding a wreck that he could salvage, and he needed funds to make one last attempt. He felt he was really close to finding what he was after. It was a passion that drove him on through a good many years, and it cost him a huge amount of time and money to fund the diving expeditions. He wouldn’t give up. Heknew his prize was out there somewhere, and he was determined to find it.’
    â€˜So your father sacrificed his home to fund your grandfather’s dream? Wasn’t that a lot to ask of him?’
    Jake nodded. He lifted up his glass of chilled spritzer and took a long swallow, tilting his head back a fraction. Lacey watched in fascination as his throat moved, and then he laid the glass momentarily on his hot skin, taking relief from the coolness of the glass.
    â€˜It was,’ he said, ‘but in the end it was a family decision. They would all benefit if my grandfather’s efforts were successful, and they backed him to the hilt. In the meantime, we all moved into the big house and waited to see what would happen.’
    â€˜And eventually your grandfather…’ Lacey broke off as a commotion started up somewhere in the distance. She and Jake both glanced around to see what was going on, and it appeared that the shouting was coming from a boat moored across the bay.
    â€˜It looks as though someone’s being pulled out of the water,’ Jake said. ‘A woman. She’s wearing scuba equipment.’
    â€˜Is that blood I can see?’ Lacey peered at the people on the boat, putting a hand to her forehead to shade out the sun.
    â€˜It looks like it.’ He frowned. ‘Perhaps we’d better go over there and see if we can help. The key to the medical cupboard is in the storage compartment alongside the wine chiller. We might need dressings and tape if they don’t have any aboard their own boat.’
    She nodded. Jake untied the boat and then took the helm, while Lacey went to check supplies. She was puzzled to see that he had a full stock of emergency medical equipment on board…the sort that qualified doctors might use.
    She took the medical case out on deck. ‘I don’t understand,’ she said. ‘This equipment is so advanced. There are oxygen masks and suture kits…why would you have all this on board? I was expecting to find just first-aid dressings and antiseptic.’
    He glanced at her briefly. ‘I thought it might come in handy.’
    Lacey frowned, but said no more as they moved alongside