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This is the eighth & final book in the Cheny Duvall, M.D. series.

In the prologue, Dr. Cheney Duvall receives a message from Siloh Irons-Winslow that he will pick her up when she gets off work at 7AM. The flowers he sent remind her of the sunrise from Mount Haleakala in Hawaii. She & Nurse Sisk make smaller bouquets to put in the wards. Cheney had come to realize that she loved Shiloh, but also that there were problems. When he come, she offered to let him see everyone. Cheney agreed to travel with Shiloh on the "Brynn Annalea", and Shiloh was honored that she had.

In the story, Cheney Duvall is traveling on the "Brynn Annaleah over the Tropic of Cancer. As she watched, the seamen were struggling to roll the mail royal sale around the yard. Captain Sloane informed her that she was in a dangerous position. As she moved down the ladder, her stomach started to roll.
When she awoke in Captain Sloane's cabin, she was sick to her stomach. She thought about how when she was ill, she wanted Shiloh to care for her.
When they first left San Francisco, neither she nor Nia had been ill since it was smooth sailing, but the second week the winds caused them problems & both of them were sick, and Shiloh took care of them. When they reached Panama City, both Cheney & Nia were carried to the train. In Aspinwall, where the Steen's clipper ship "Maid of the Caribbean" waited for them.
Nia commented that the color of Cheney's clothes made her look better. Nia thought Cheney looked lovely, despite her sickness. Then suggested Cheney use a rose-colored parasol to hide her paleness. Since the "Maid of the Caribbean" was a more businesslike ship than the "Byrnn Annalea", Shiloh had arranged a place where they could hide & not be in anyone else's way. Cheney commented that the last time she saw him he had been hanging from the rigging. Cheney allowed him to play with her fingers, something she didn't normally do. He reminded her that today was her birthday. Shiloh gave her a copy of "Bleak House" by Charles Dickens...they had been reading "Hamlet" & she was sure he was tired of it. They were dreaming in Shakespearean English! Shiloh started talking about his newly found family, something very different for Shiloh. Then he asked her to marry him. Although she said she was honored, etc, but... Shiloh was shocked that she turned him down! He felt that he was a good man. But Cheney knew that he wasn't a Christian. After she left, he took the ring & threw it into the sea. ( )