by Margaret Way
Maxi suppressed a shiver. ‘How close?’
‘Stop worrying, Doctor.’ Jake began to cut back on his speed as a thin line of spindly she-oaks came into view. ‘The rangers will have it sorted.’
‘Well, I hope so.’ Maxi didn’t sound convinced. ‘Is that our picnic spot over there?’
‘Mmmm.’ Jake took a well-worn track off the road. ‘There’s a spring-fed creek still in existence, green grass to sit on, even a rock pool if you want to swim.’
She sent him a wary look. ‘I didn’t bring a swimsuit—did you?’
Jake didn’t answer but his grin was wicked and the glint in his blue eyes was even more wicked as he eased the Land Rover down a short incline and braked.
Maxi felt her heart skitter. Surely he wasn’t thinking of skinny-dipping? They may be in the middle of nowhere and they may be no strangers to one another’s nakedness, but there was no way she was ready for that!
‘This is as good a spot as any,’ Jake said, swinging out of the four-by-four and busying himself spreading a groundsheet and rug on the grass.
‘What can I do to help?’ Maxi hovered uncertainly.
‘Drag out the esky, thanks. Most of our picnic is in there. The ice-box,’ he clarified as she hesitated. ‘And there’s a large paper bag with some bread rolls.’
Maxi dropped to her knees on the rug and peered inside the esky. ‘Oh—this looks good, and I’m famished. Should I start putting stuff out?’
‘Give us a minute, Max. I’m going for a swim.’ Raising his face to the sky, he inhaled a long breath, then another. ‘Smell the eucalypts?’ He’d turned to her, a teasing glint in his eyes.
Maxi scrambled to her feet. Following his action, she breathed in. ‘I’m not sure—but it’s lovely, whatever it is.’
‘Ah, Max.’ Jake moved closer and gently took her by the shoulders. ‘You’re such a diplomat. You can’t discern a damn thing, can you?’
‘I can, so! It’s a bush smell—nice.’
He chuckled. ‘Like that tells me anything. Look over here.’ He guided her closer to the waterhole. ‘See those red blossoms dipping down into the water? They’re bottlebrush. The birds swing on them to get the nectar. Now, over there are the gum trees, or eucalypts.’
Maxi tipped her head back, her gaze travelling up the long mostly white treetrunks, some of which looked more than a hundred feet high. ‘They’re gumtrees?’
‘Ghost gums. Did you happen to get up to the Blue Mountains while you were in Sydney?’
‘No.’ Maxi shook her head. ‘But your mum mentioned them. A real tourist spot, she said. Are they really blue?’
‘Oh, yes. No mistake about that. Their blueness is caused by the natural light catching the evaporating oil from the leaves of the gum trees. Come on.’ Jake tugged her hand. ‘There are young leaves shooting out of the main trunks all over the place, we’ll break off a leaf and you can smell the real thing.’ Reaching up, Jake snapped off a couple of the pale green gum leaves and rubbed them between his hands. He held them out to her. ‘Now, smell.’
Maxi sniffed the leaves obediently. ‘Oh, yes!’ Her eyes were shining. ‘It’s gorgeous! A bit pungent but nice …’
‘You’ll do.’ Jake knuckled her cheek playfully, then dropped his hand as if he’d been stung and turned away quickly. ‘Uh—I’m for that swim now.’ In a jerky movement he peeled his shirt over his head and flung it on the ground, his trainers and jeans following quickly until he was down to his black boxer shorts. Throwing his watch down on the heap of clothes, he sent her a rakish grin. ‘Care to join me?’
‘Not this time.’ She gave a breathless little laugh, pulling back the almost overpowering urge to reach up and run her hands from his neck to his wrists, up to the bareness of his chest and around to encircle his back. She swallowed deeply. His body seemed just as blindingly beautiful as she remembered, hard and tanned and male. And once it had belonged exclusively to her. ‘I’ll, um, settle for a paddle,’ she said quickly, and kicked off her shoes.
‘The rock pool’s too deep to paddle,’ he said. ‘But there’s a handy log you can sit on and dangle your toes in.’
‘Sounds good.’ Maxi grabbed at the reprieve, following him across to the edge of the pool. ‘Do you come out here a lot?’
‘Used to, when I first came to Tangaratta. Now I hardly get time to do much else besides doctoring.’ That said, he pointed out the log where she was to sit and with the caution ‘Don’t fall in’ he lowered himself into the water and began striking out strongly to the other side.
‘This has been such a lovely afternoon, Jacob.’ Maxi looked up, her face dappled by the shade from the canopy of leaves. They’d eaten their crusty bread rolls stuffed with ham and cherry tomatoes and finished with coffee from the flask he’d brought and some chocolate biscuits. ‘Thank you.’
Jake shrugged her thanks away. Today his thoughts were all over the place. One part of him wanted to lower his guard, let her back in. The other part cautioned him to take things slowly. His gut clenched with uncertainty. Had he after all been way too judgmental about her? He’d thought back then she’d simply not cared enough—not as much as he had. Perhaps he’d been a bit arrogant in his thinking. Perhaps, perhaps …
‘I guess we’d better head back.’ He got abruptly to his feet, holding out his hands to help her up from the rug. ‘Had fun today? he asked, brushing the backs of his fingers gently across her cheek.
She nodded, her throat suddenly too dry for speech. Time had slowed and there was an almost tangible sense of expectation hanging in the drowsing late-afternoon air. A tingle flooded her spine.
She looks so beautiful, Jake thought, looking down at the little flecks like gold dust in her eyes. He wanted to kiss her again. And again. But kisses weren’t going to solve anything. Only prolong the uncertainty of where they were heading. If anywhere.
His chest rose in a long sigh and he slowly let his hands drop. ‘It’ll be dark soon. We should get back.’
‘Could we come again some time?’
‘Yes,’ he said simply. Lifting a hand, he ran a finger lazily down from her throat to the edge of her little top. ‘And perhaps next time you’ll swim with me.’
CHAPTER SIX
IT WAS a Friday two weeks later and there was a full waiting room at the surgery. Maxi scattered a quick smile among the patients on her way through to Jake’s consulting room. Knowing he hadn’t started for the day, she tapped and went in. ‘Hi, got a minute?’
Jake finished something on his computer and then his dark head came up. ‘Yep.’ He waved her to a chair.
Maxi shook her head. ‘Can’t stay. I just wanted to run something past you.’
He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. And waited.
Maxi got straight to the point. ‘It occurs to me, in this environment, I may come across a case of snakebite. What’s the latest in the way of treatment?’
‘This may take a while. Sit down so we can talk properly,’ Jake said a little tetchily. ‘I can’t keep craning my head to look at you.’
She all but rolled her eyes but did as he asked.
‘If you’re not doing it already,’ he said, ‘you should be carrying a broad bandage in your medical kit.’
‘I’ll check but I don’t think I have one.’
‘Then ask at the hospital. They’ll set you up. The bite usually occurs on one of the limbs. So you bandage the whole limb, groin to toes or alternatively armpit to fingertips, according to where the puncture wound is located.’
‘So …’ Maxi spread her hands in query. ‘In the case of a bandage not being available, then clothing torn into strips would do the job, right?’
Jake nodded. ‘Anything like that. Even pantyhose will suffice. It’s essential to immobilise the limb. Whatever you do, don’t allow the wound site to be washed. The venom is used to identify the snake.’
Even though she’d settled in and found her niche here, Maxi freely admitted there were some things about working in an ou
tback practice that terrified her. ‘Have you treated any cases while you’ve been here?’
‘A few. The hospital keeps a supply of anti-venin and usually the patient recovers after a few days in hospital. But where they haven’t responded in a reasonable time, we don’t take chances. We chopper them out for specialist treatment in the city.’
‘Thanks.’ Maxi got to her feet and stepped round her chair, placing her hands across the back. ‘Ayleen tells me we have a full list.’ She smiled. ‘Should be a good day.’
Jake felt something shift in his chest. Hell, she was practically glowing at the prospect of her morning’s clinic. ‘Haven’t forgotten it’s Friday, have you?’ he reminded her dryly. Swinging off his chair, he moved to stand quite close to her.
‘The dreaded scones?’ she said in a stage whisper.
Jake made a cutting motion across his throat.
An air of mischief gleamed in her eyes. ‘Prepare yourself for a treat, Doctor. I’m supplying double-chocolate muffins instead.’
Jake’s head went back in disbelief. ‘How did you manage that?’
She put a finger to her lips. ‘Told Ayleen I was missing being able to bake some of my mum’s recipes. She’s such a softie. She insisted I take over the Friday morning tea in future.’
‘Hallelujah!’
‘I made the muffins early this morning when you went out on your call.’
Jake stared at her, his fingers flexing, aching to free her hair from its ponytail. The thought of its silkiness gliding through his fingers was enough to set his body on fire. He took a deep controlling breath. Sweet God, she was lovely. So full of life, her presence like a breath of sweet, clean air in this place. ‘You’re really flying, aren’t you?’
If he meant was she enjoying being part of this bush community, of being able to use her medical skills where they were needed, then, yes, she supposed her spirits were certainly up. And so far their living arrangements were working out and they were communicating—not as openly as she would have liked but then again the wariness he’d displayed around her seemed to have taken a hike. And she was glad about that.
Slowly and surely they were rebuilding their relationship brick by brick and this time she hoped with all that was in her that it would stand the test of time, be good and true … She lifted her chin, the motion a slight challenge. ‘Did you think I’d not fit in?’
‘No …’ His answer came out low and soft. Lifting his hand, he stroked back a tendril of hair from her cheek. ‘Not for a moment.’
Maxi felt the heat flow through her body like a river, so utterly aware of him, of the very essence of him—the sheer power of his body, the faint scent of soap and warm masculine skin, the way his shirt moved over the lean, muscled contours of his shoulders, the neat hips and long muscular legs encased in moleskins so well cut they merely hinted at all that masculinity.
She swallowed heavily. ‘We’ve patients waiting …’
‘Mmm … Shame, that.’ His dark head swooped towards her, his mouth teasingly urgent against her lips, the corner of her mouth, her lips again. ‘Off you go, then,’ he said, regret in his gruffness.
Her legs felt like jelly but she made it to his door.
‘Max?’
She turned, eyes widening in query. ‘Something else?’
Jake’s eyes glinted with dry humour. ‘Just thanks in advance for the muffins.’
She nodded, slipping out and scurrying back to her consulting room as though she was being pursued by those wild dogs he’d told her about.
Maxi’s first patient was Brandon McCall. She opened his file, deciding she’d better try to get a handle on things before she called him in. For heaven’s sake, focus, she directed herself, brushing her fingertips across her forehead.
It seemed that six months earlier the seventeen-year-old had been out riding on his family’s property when his horse, startled by a snake, had bolted into thick bush, throwing Brandon. According to his notes, he’d landed on a tree stump, a branch of which had pierced his chest, grazing the back of his lung and lodging behind his heart.
Maxi shook her head at the bizarre nature of the accident and read on. Brandon had been air-lifted to St Vincent’s in Sydney where surgeons had removed the branch. He was now home, supposedly fully recovered. So had something else gone wrong? Maxi wondered as she went out to the waiting room to call him in.
‘Take a seat, Brandon,’ she said, ushering him into her room and closing the door. ‘How can I help you today?’
The youth sat gingerly on the edge of the chair. He was obviously right out of his comfort zone, batting his Akubra back and forth between his jeans-clad knees. ‘Uh, Mum said I should come in and talk to Doc Haslem.’
Maxi sent him a quick smile. ‘Dr Haslem’s list is pretty full this morning. Will I do?’
The youth coloured, shifted his feet awkwardly and after a long moment said, ‘Guess so …’
Silence again.
Well, this was getting them nowhere fast, Maxi thought. Perhaps it was just youthful male reticence on Brandon’s part but she had a feeling it was something else entirely. On the other hand, she didn’t have all day and they had to start somewhere. ‘Let’s give you a quick check over for starters, shall we? I’ve read your notes,’ she continued, snapping the blood-pressure cuff around the lad’s arm and beginning to pump. ‘That was some accident you had.’
The lad shrugged. ‘Everyone at the hospital said I could have died.’
Maxi frowned a bit. Who on earth had been responsible for that kind of inappropriate language in front of a vulnerable young patient? But perhaps he’d inadvertently overheard the gossip. Whatever, it was too much information. ‘How are you sleeping?’ she asked, releasing the cuff.
Brandon’s dark lashes made half-moons across his cheeks as he looked down. ‘Not great.’
‘What about when you were recovering in hospital?’
‘No chance. Old guy next to me sounded like he was snoring for the Olympics.’
Maxi smiled in commiseration. ‘What about now you’re home though—any reason you’re not able to sleep?’
‘Keeps going round in my head …’
‘The accident?’
He nodded, his young gaze filled with uncertainty.
Had he not had any counselling? Maxi’s intuition sharpened. She hastily perused his notes again. There was no mention. So were they looking at post-traumatic stress? She was aware it could happen after shark attacks, even dog bites.
So why not, after the extraordinary nature of Brandon’s accident and its aftermath? It was possible. In fact, it was probable. Her bottom lip pursed and tightened momentarily. She had to get this lad to begin the long journey back and start to talk about things. ‘When you were injured, was help long in getting to you, Brandon?’
‘Took a while.’ Suddenly, the youth seemed eager to talk. ‘I staggered to the Berwicks’ place—they live on the farm next to ours and it was closer than trying to make it home.’
‘That was good thinking,’ Maxi said approvingly. ‘But I’m surprised you weren’t out of it.’
He shrugged. ‘Couldn’t let myself go under but I could hardly breathe or talk,’ he replied, with a grin that was more a grimace. ‘Mrs B. got a hell of a fright when I turned up at her kitchen door.’
‘I imagine so. Were you bleeding?’
‘Nah. The paramedic on the rescue chopper told me my shirt had been pushed so far into the wound that—’
‘It automatically sealed it?’ Maxi came in, somewhat in awe of the cool behaviour this youngster had exhibited. ‘That’s amazing.’
He nodded. ‘Doc Haslem came out and stayed with me until the chopper got there. They took me straight to Sydney.’
‘And apart from the sleeping, you’re doing OK now?’
‘Not too keen to get on that damn stupid horse again,’ he drawled.
Well, that was understandable. Maxi put her head on one side and asked, ‘Don’t you usually muster on motorbikes out her
e?’
‘Sometimes.’ For a second Brandon seemed to retreat into himself. ‘Mum’s not too keen on them. Like to see my scars?’ Almost proudly, he pulled up the front of his shirt and Maxi was able to see the curved outline of the scar under his right nipple and another running horizontally down the lower part of his chest.
‘Neat job,’ she approved.
‘I reckon. The doc in Sydney told me the branch had gone about seventeen centimetres into my chest.’
‘Ouch!’ More than six inches. Maxi drew back in her chair. ‘I have to say I’m pretty impressed with your gutsy behaviour when you were injured. I doubt I’d have been so cool.’
‘You’re a woman,’ he dismissed with the brashness of youth, and began tucking his shirt back in.
‘Hey, women can be brave,’ Maxi protested laughingly. ‘Do you have a girlfriend, Brandon?’
‘Kind of …’ He reddened. ‘Don’t see her much. She’s away at school.’
And the school holidays were coming up so in all probability Brandon would quickly regain his equilibrium in the company of someone around his own age. Especially a girl. Suppressing a wry smile, Maxi got to her feet. ‘I’ll just be a minute, Brandon. I need to get something.’
When Maxi returned, she handed her young patient a small plastic bottle. ‘These are some mild sleeping tablets, seven in all, one for each night for a week. Hopefully they’ll get your sleeping pattern back into its normal rhythm. And I want you to come back and see me in a week. It might be a good idea to make an appointment with Ayleen now as you leave. And I think we should let your mum know about this as well—is that OK with you?’
The youth’s expression clouded and he looked down at the bottle resting in the palm of his hand. ‘I won’t do anything stupid.’
‘I know that. But as your mum is the one who sent you in, she’ll want to know how you got on and support you through this rough patch. That is, if she’s anything like my mum,’ Maxi added wryly, a tiny dimple flowering in her cheek as she smiled.
The boy returned a half-grin. ‘No worries. I won’t need the pills for long anyway,’ he ended with a forced kind of bravado.