A wave of exhaustion overcame him. His long hours and primitive living conditions must be to blame. That sinking feeling certainly couldn’t have come from the thought of possible rejection. His ego wasn’t that big, was it?
If so, his brothers would soon set it to rights.
Niko opened the door to his home away from home for the next three weeks. While not a huge cabin, it was certainly bigger than the tent he’d been sharing with a nurse and an anesthetist for the last month.
The private veranda was big enough to dine on—and do other things on, too. Yes, this cabin would do just fine.
The quick shower he took refreshed his energy as well as his attitude. The restorative powers of hot water and a bar of soap were nothing short of miraculous. Fresh underwear was a close second.
He picked out the least wrinkled casual dress shirt and pants from his rolling bag, shaking out the mustiness. Not too bad. Packing was a skill he’d had a lot of practice with.
From the connecting door he heard a hesitant knock.
“Uncle Niko, is that you?”
“Yes, Sophie, it’s me.”
He finished with the last of his shirt buttons then unlatched and opened the door between them and immediately gathered up an armful of six-year-old girl. Her bouncy black curls smelled of baby shampoo and her breath smelled of sugar and spice. Too much sweetness? A hint of fruitiness? Juvenile diabetes sucked.
“Sophie, when was the last time you checked your blood sugar?”
Before Sophie could answer, a voice worn with age but sharp nevertheless, said, “What? Not even a hello first, grandson?”
He looked past Sophie, snuggled on his shoulder, to the four-foot-ten-inch paragon who ruled the Christopoulos family with an iron skillet in one hand and baklava in the other.
“Hello, Yiayia.” He put down Sophie and bent to give a hug to the one woman who had always been there for him. “I’ve missed you.”
“There’s a way to prevent that. No one is making you stay away.” Despite her prickly words, her hug was warm and comforting. She took a step back to look up into his face, keeping both her gnarled hands on his arms as if she could hold him in place. “Wanderlust, like your uncle and your grandfather. At least you have sense enough to keep yourself from getting killed. If I hadn’t won this trip, I don’t know when we would have seen you next.”
Niko squirmed inside while he kept his smile brightly in place. “Livin’ the dream, Yiayia.”
His mercy missions meant everything to him. But his family would not be pleased if they knew he put himself in such danger, risking his life in areas where lives were lost in wars over water wells as frequently as they were from malaria. His thigh throbbed in memory.
The life of a an overworked, barely paid medical relief doctor was not the life his family had envisioned for him as they’d all sacrificed to send him to college and on to medical school.
He owed them so much. Could he do it? Could he follow his passion, leaving his family with loans and bills and kids to put through college—like they’d put him through all those years.
Yiayia pointed her bony finger at him. “The Christopoulos men are all lucky in love. Someday soon you will find the perfect woman and give me beautiful great-grandbabies.”
“Maybe someday, Yiayia.” It was easier to agree with her than to argue. And he certainly didn’t want to start off a three week vacation on her bad side.
He was so unlike his three brothers in so many ways. Not being cut out to be a family man was the one that hurt the most. He’d dated his fair share of women and then some but he’d not found one he wanted to spend a week with, much less a lifetime.
He flashed the smile that always worked with her. “You’ve set my standards too high, Yiayia. No other woman can compare.”
Yiayia reached up and pinched his cheek. “How can I stay mad at a face like this?”
Sophie had waited as long as she could. She jumped up and down to get attention. “I’m hungry. Ice cream, Yiayia! Ice cream!”
Yiayia’s eyes sparkled as bright as Sophie’s. “It’s included in the trip, Niko. Did they tell you that? Any time we want some. And fine dining each evening, too. Such a dream come true.”
It felt good to give back to the family that had sacrificed so much to give him his dream. They would have never accepted repayment for all the support they’d given him through the years. And they all certainly needed a break after the year and a half they’d just been through. If only he hadn’t had to set up such an elaborate ruse …
“All right, little one. Let me get my room key.” Yiayia turned to find the key.
Niko stopped his grandmother with a gentle hand on her arm. “Wait, Yiayia. What’s Sophie’s blood-sugar level?”
Yiayia had always made her little ones feel better through food and didn’t understand why it had to be different with Sophie—which was one of the main reasons why Niko had agreed to oversee Sophie’s care while onboard ship. All his brothers concurred that he had a way with Yiayia that none of the other three had.
“How do I know, Niko? You’re the doctor in the family.” She switched to Greek, a language Niko heard rarely and only among his grandmother’s contemporaries who had immigrated to the United States when she had. But he understood the gist of it.
Yiayia was resistant to taking the disciplined stance needed to protect Sophie’s health, thinking everyone was blowing it all out of proportion when her great-granddaughter looked just fine to her.
Niko gave her a stern look. “Where’s her blood-glucose meter?”
“In my luggage. I haven’t had a chance to unpack yet. She has to check in with the ship’s doctor thirty minutes before supper, anyway.”
Niko glanced down at Sophie, who was looking scared behind that pout she was sporting. The kid had been through even more than the rest of them.
In addition to being diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, her mother had lost a baby and almost her life through miscarriage when their restaurant had had the kitchen fire. All the trauma had been straining a marriage that had been made in heaven. Sophie’s home life had been tense day in and day out for a long time.
The only reason Niko’s oldest brother and sister-in-law had let their daughter come without them was because they were on the verge of emotional exhaustion and Sophie’s doctor had insisted it would be better for Sophie to be away from the stress and tension for a while. So they had stayed behind to keep the restaurant open and work on their relationship, knowing Sophie would be surrounded by aunts, uncles, cousins and Yiayia, who would all watch out for her.
“I’ll take her, Yiayia.” He checked his watch. “We’re a bit early but we’ll stop in and say hello to the doctor while you look for that meter.”
He’d promised his brother he would take care of Sophie. Who could have known his solemn vow would have the side benefit of bringing him together with the good doctor? Niko knew enough about life to make use of good luck when it presented itself.
And now he intended to take full advantage.
CHAPTER TWO
ONCE SAFELY IN her medical suite, Annalise took a deep breath, the first one she’d managed since that man had crowded her in the line boarding the ship.
Surrounded by the tools of her trade, she found her inner balance. If she could relive those brief moments as she boarded the ship …
But, then, going back in time wasn’t possible, no matter how hard she wished for it.
She