Dr. White's Baby Wish

by Sue MacKay

  ‘Dr White is more attuned to sewing than digging.’ That deep, husky voice came from behind her. The edgy tone had lightened a little.

  It seemed she might almost be back in favour, though why she’d actually slipped out of it because of something Tim had said, she had yet to find out. ‘And colour co-ordinating,’ she risked. Looking directly at Cody, she was rewarded with a small smile, and knew everything was right between them again. Until she took him to task about his earlier reaction. That had not been good and, if the staff hadn’t been aware they’d seen each other over the weekend, they certainly would be now.

  ‘Mr Gregory.’ Cody glanced at the older man. ‘What colour would you use for your bedroom if you were painting it?’

  ‘Aw shucks, lad, ask the missus. She says I’m hopeless at that stuff, though I don’t see anything wrong with a bit of strong colour myself.’

  That set Mrs Gregory off on another tirade.

  Harper hastened to finish suturing the wound, then left Cody to put a gauze cover over it while she went to print out a prescription for antibiotics and a mild analgesic for her patient.

  ‘That chin looks sore,’ Karin said. ‘You must’ve hit the board hard.’

  ‘It was the paddle that got me.’ She signed the prescription. ‘How was your weekend?’

  ‘Quiet. Studied a lot, saw my sister for a bit, caught up on washing. Nothing exciting. No paddle-boarding with a hunk, for sure.’

  Harper’s teeth snapped tight. Then she forced herself to relax. This was no different from any other Monday morning except that she’d been with Cody over the weekend and didn’t want everyone gossiping about them. ‘I don’t think I’ll be doing it again.’

  ‘What? Paddle-boarding or spending time with Hottie?’

  Harper’s brow tightened and she opened her mouth with a retort, only to be talked over by Karin.

  ‘You shouldn’t have left the pub looking like you were totally lost in each other if you didn’t want people to know you’d get together.’ The annoying woman nodded at her with a warning in her eyes. ‘Stop letting everyone get to you and they’ll soon find something or someone else to talk about.’

  ‘But I haven’t said anything.’

  ‘Only yelled at Tim, stuck up for Cody and ignored Jess when she asked you about your weekend.’ Karin laughed lightly. ‘So not like our well-mannered, polite and fun consultant at all.’

  Harper pushed up from the chair. ‘Thanks for the warning. I guess I did get a bit carried away.’ But she’d been rocked by Cody’s outburst. Would he tell her what it had been about? If they saw each other this week out of work, that was. ‘Are you free to do dinner and a movie one night this week?’

  ‘I am. Are you?’ Karin winked and headed for the resus room.

  I have no idea, Harper wondered as she headed back to Mr Gregory. Yes, I will be. I can’t cut off other friends because of one particular man. She slipped into the cubicle and the breath caught in her throat at the sight of that man gently helping their patient back into his trousers while keeping the old man’s dignity in place. ‘Where have you been all my life, Cody Brand?’

  ‘On a fishing trawler, getting on with my life,’ he drawled as they watched the elderly couple walk towards the exit, Mrs Gregory giving her husband an earful about being more careful in the future.

  Harper would’ve felt sorry for the old man if she hadn’t noticed Mrs Gregory slip her hand into her husband’s for a brief moment. Then she really heard Cody and her head shot up. ‘Did I say that out loud?’

  He nodded. ‘You did. I’d ask what you meant by it but there’s a waiting room full of patients, and a load of staff around here with ears bigger than their backsides.’ He leaned over the counter for the patient files. ‘Now, who’s next?’

  ‘My ears aren’t that big.’ Jess nudged him as she strolled past.

  Harper took the file from Cody. ‘I’ll get this one. You two continue your discussion on ears and butts.’ She was back to normal, feeling relaxed and happy to be at work. The weekend had been one out of the box; it might or might not be repeated, minus the chin whack, and right now she was ready for anything.

  As if to prove a point, the emergency phone screeched as she walked past. Though it was Cody’s job to answer it, she automatically picked up the receiver. ‘Wellington ED. Dr White.’

  ‘Rescue helicopter service, doctor. Bee attack in the Sounds. Patient male, sixty-five, no known prior allergies. ETA twenty-five.’ The woman called out more details.

  ‘We’ll be ready.’ Harper put the phone down. ‘We’ve got a severe allergic reaction coming in.’

  *

  Cody knew he’d overreacted to Tim’s comment, but hey. He hated when someone went off half-cocked and didn’t bother to find out the real deal. That caused people distress or at the very least unhappiness. It had happened with his mate, Jack: because of false accusations by his girlfriend about hitting her, he’d nearly ended up in jail.

  Cody’s gut churned. Harper had been unhappy with his reaction, and he couldn’t blame her. There’d been searching looks from her all morning that shamed him. He should’ve shrugged Tim’s comments away, as Harper had.

  Come lunchtime, he went for a walk in the blazing sun and fierce wind to get some air to clear his head. He was an idiot not to explain to Harper why he’d reacted like that. It wasn’t that big a deal, but he’d got used to keeping quiet about what mattered most to him after Sadie’s passing. Was now the time to start opening up, start letting Harper in a little?

  Harper. She was getting to him. Sneaking under his skin, rattling his beliefs and worrying him stupid.

  After just one weekend he was ready to spend more time with her. He’d even consider—no, he’d go with—having an affair for as long as it lasted. But that was as far as he’d go. His heart would cope with that, but no more.

  So why did he feel as though he’d known her for ever? Why did the idea that they had a future together keep blindsiding him? Why the feelings of wanting to protect her, to be there for her all the time, to share everything with her? He enjoyed being with her; he wanted more and couldn’t wait to get into bed with her again. All this after such a short time.

  ‘You going to stand there all day looking like someone stole your coffee?’ Harper reached past him to drop a completed patient file on the desk.

  ‘Sorry. Having a rest on my feet.’ He looked around the department and saw nothing untoward. ‘Who’s next?’

  ‘A toddler with a dislocated thumb. You want to go and get him?’

  ‘Sure.’ He loved his job. Even on days like today. Yet right now it would be great to be able to head away and take his confusion out with a hammer as he put the boards back on the railing of his veranda. Or to slop some paint on a couple of walls. Except he had yet to decide on the colour and buy the paint. Harper’s suggestion of deep cream didn’t quite turn him on. Like he knew anything about it. Cream could be anything; what did it matter about the shade he painted the place when he couldn’t tell what it was?

  Except he was determined to make his house something special, to do it up and decorate it in the style it had been built in ninety-odd years ago.

  He returned to Harper. ‘Want dinner at my place tonight? I’d like to run some decorating ideas past you.’

  Surprise filled her eyes, and the smile she found for him was a little lopsided as she nodded slowly. ‘I’d like that.’

  ‘Six o’clock suit you? I need to visit the supermarket and do a couple of jobs before you get there.’

  Her smile widened and tied his gut in more knots than usual while giving his heart a nudge. The fireworks between them were unbelievably intense, like something he’d never experienced. Or had forgotten over the last few years.

  He wanted more of Harper. Hadn’t even begun to have enough of her. It could be that he’d never have enough. Damn it.

  *

  The day was a continuous stream of patients. Harper began to wonder if three o’clock would ever arr
ive, but finally it did. ‘I’m exhausted. That’s got to have been the busiest day in a long while.’

  ‘You said that one day last week.’ Cody had joined her in the staff room.

  ‘Really? I must need a break. It would be cool to go lie on a beach somewhere for a few days.’ A beach, sun, water: it sounded wonderful. Sunburn, paddle-boards knocking her head, mosquitos… It still didn’t sound half-bad if she compared it to drug overdoses, broken bones and cut hands. She checked her phone for messages; she’d got the usual texts from the brats, and one from her sister reminding her about Levi’s birthday. ‘As if I’d forget that.’ She had a present to pick up. She might as well go to town now and then it was done, box ticked.

  ‘Forget what?’ Cody asked as his locker banged shut.

  ‘Levi’s birthday. I’m going shopping.’ Then she remembered Cody had been invited to the party. ‘Will you be joining us on the day?’

  His hesitation made her hold her breath until he finally asked, ‘Would you like me to?’

  ‘Yes.’ Definitely. ‘Can’t think of any reason why not.’

  ‘Except for your family giving us a hard time, but I guess we can handle them.’ He could have sounded like he wanted that, not uncertain and wary.

  ‘Glad you think so. They’ve been soft on you so far.’

  ‘Really? Can hardly wait for the next instalment.’ He nodded. ‘You want help picking a present? Before I go to the supermarket?’

  ‘I’ve already ordered it. He wanted a wicket-keeper’s glove.’

  ‘Any suggestions on what I can get him?’ Cody looked hopeful.

  She spoilt that straight away. ‘Nope. You’ll have to come up with something yourself. So, let’s take my car and I’ll drop you back here later.’

  ‘Sounds good.’

  Hopefully some time that afternoon or tonight they’d get to talk about what had caused his abrupt mood change that morning. Because she really wanted to know. From his swift reaction to Tim, it was obviously something ingrained in him, what made him the man he was, and she needed to know more about this man who’d caught her when she wasn’t looking. So much so that she wondered if she might’ve fallen a little bit in love.

  A little bit? Or a massive, heart-stopping lot? He wants a family, remember? She wasn’t likely to forget. But it seemed that hadn’t stopped her heart getting involved here. Which could become a problem.

  ‘I’ll come if you promise not to nag me about anything.’ His words were light but his eyes told her he was serious.

  ‘We’re not going to talk about what happened with Tim, then?’

  ‘No. We’re not.’

  That stung. It seemed personal stuff was taboo. She’d gleaned a few bits of information here and there, but nothing deep and revealing. Was she prepared to talk about Darren and his change of heart over her inability to have children? Possibly. But then it was early on in their—their what? It wasn’t a relationship. Not yet. Probably never would be. A fling? As in, meet for sex and fun when there was nothing else going on in their lives? Or something more, that involved sharing meals and movies and her family parties? ‘Whatever.’ She shrugged, knowing she must sound like a petulant teen. There were a few of those around the place today.

  Walking out to her car, they were both quiet. Harper was trying to move past her disappointment. She had no right to expect Cody to talk about private issues when she wasn’t prepared to be totally open with him. That didn’t mean she didn’t want to push the buttons that would make him tell all.

  ‘You’re over-thinking everything.’

  She pinged the locks on her car but instead of sitting inside in the heat that had built up over the day she leaned against the door, her arms folded on the roof, her chin on her wrist, and eyeballed Cody. ‘I do that when I haven’t got any clues to work with.’

  He mimicked her stance from the other side, his gaze firmly on her, as though he was weighing up what to say. ‘I’m sorry for the way I reacted this morning. It was a hangover from the past.’

  Harper waited. That wasn’t enough of an explanation.

  His sigh was loud between them as he gave in. ‘My close mate’s girlfriend got drunk and fell off a balcony into a garden, collecting some massive bruises on the way. She used it against Jack, saying he hit her. Fortunately, her timing was out. We were still on board the trawler tied up at the wharf at the time. As it was, no one believed Jack until someone came forward to say they’d seen the woman fall.’

  ‘That stinks.’ How could anyone do that?

  ‘It screwed Jack’s life. Some people couldn’t accept the truth and kept pointing the finger. He finally moved across the Tasman to settle in Perth.’

  So he’d lost a close friend out of it all as well. ‘I think I can understand your comments to Tim now.’

  ‘But I should be toning them down? I get it. Sometimes I forget I’m not working amongst fishermen any more. He probably didn’t mean anything by it.’ He finally smiled. A tight, sad smile, but a smile.

  Of course, that got him exactly what he wanted. ‘Get in.’

  As she drove towards the sports shop where she’d ordered Levi’s present, her brain was busy thinking over the little that Cody had said. ‘What made you decide to become a nurse?’

  ‘Thought you were being too quiet,’ Cody muttered. At least he was still smiling. ‘You don’t give up easily, do you?’

  ‘I don’t see what’s wrong with asking that.’

  His sigh hissed over his lips. ‘Nothing, I guess.’ He stretched his legs as far as possible, not far at all, considering how long they were. ‘Okay, no. I always wanted to be a nurse right from when I was at school.’ He stopped.

  As she accelerated away from traffic lights, she asked, ‘So?’

  ‘I was a rebel, having too much fun with outdoor stuff to settle into more study. I was also intent on proving that the snide remarks suggesting I was a girl if I was going to be a nurse were wrong. What testosterone-laden teen isn’t going to react by proving how masculine he is?’ He grinned at her.

  Harper chuckled. ‘There’s nothing girlie about you.’ She knew intimately. Whipping into a vacant parking space right outside her destination, she stopped the engine. How lucky was that? ‘Did you ever consider becoming a doctor?’

  ‘Briefly, but nursing always held more interest for me. Anyway, by the time I was ready to change careers, I’d spent too long doing a very physical job. The extra years and the huge hours studying for a medical degree would’ve stifled me.’

  ‘That makes sense.’ Then, ‘What happened to make you leaving fishing and go after your original dream?’

  ‘Let’s quit the questions, shall we?’ There was a hint of anger in his voice. His door opened and he swung his legs out.

  ‘I’m interested, that’s all.’ What was going on? The man was moody as all hell today. It didn’t seem to matter what she said, she got it wrong.

  He glared at her over his shoulder. ‘Harper, drop it. I don’t need this.’ He stood up and closed the door with a little shove.

  When she clambered out, she said, ‘Sorry. But it was a simple question, nothing more. All part of getting to know you better.’

  ‘You don’t know when to quit, do you?’ He blanched. Stepped back. Shook his head at her. ‘We’ll take a rain check on that dinner.’ Then he walked away, leaving her wondering what had just happened.

  She watched him charge through the crowds of shoppers and office workers, heading back the way they’d come, his shoulders tight, his head forward. Did I really deserve that?

  Maybe. He disliked talking about himself, yet she’d kept pushing. But she wanted to know Cody, as in everything about him. They were getting close, had spent that amazing weekend together; of course she wanted to understand what made him tick, why he reacted to situations like he did.

  So how dared he speak to her like that? She didn’t deserve it; didn’t need him to bite her head off.

  He’d said ‘a rain check’ for dinner. Did he thi
nk she’d be hanging around waiting eagerly for his next invitation? He could go take a flying leap. She didn’t do that for anyone.

  CHAPTER NINE

  HARPER PARKED AT work and shoved the door open, then grabbed it as a gust of wind blew through the car park. ‘Whoa.’ The image in her mind of her door bent back on its hinges was not pretty.

  Not that there was a lot that looked good in there this morning. Cody had dominated her thoughts throughout the long night, and was still there now.

  Her head throbbed with discontentment.

  One weekend with Cody had not been enough. But she’d probably walk into the department and he’d be there with his smile, acting as though he hadn’t walked away from her yesterday. You wish. Was he a man who forgave easily? But then, what was there to forgive? She’d done, said, nothing out of the ordinary as far as she could see.

  During those long hours of the night, she’d begun wondering why he’d reacted so angrily, so quickly, to what she’d asked. Every answer she came up with had no substance—because she didn’t know him well enough.

  Out of the car, the wind caught at her hair, pulling strands loose from the band she’d wound round it earlier. Typical Wellington day—or so the rest of the country thought.

  The roar of a motorbike told her that Cody had arrived. Should she wait for him and risk being snubbed? Or should she head inside and pull on her scrubs in readiness for another day?

  Unwilling to be snubbed, she took the soft option. They had all day for her find out where she stood with him.

  ‘Hey, Harper,’ Cody said as she made her way to shift change-over.

  ‘Morning,’ she acknowledged, watching him walk to the changing room and wondering if that had been a friendly or not-so-friendly tone he’d used. Then thought, this is plain childish. Of me and him. She didn’t do childish. She often growled at the brats for that. Thank goodness they weren’t here to witness her slide from the rules. Right, she’d act as though yesterday hadn’t happened when Cody joined the group.

  She didn’t get a chance to act in any way at all. An ambulance brought in two men from a truck that had gone over the edge of a bridge spanning the motorway. A serious spinal injury took all Harper’s concentration for the next hour and a half.