by Margaret Way
End! Maxi’s gaze flew wide. Was this the kiss of goodbye? Had he finally made the decision? Was he actually sending her away? Well, she wouldn’t go. Even if he dragged her to the plane, she wouldn’t get on. Her throat convulsed as she swallowed. ‘End?’ she said thickly. ‘How, end?’
‘End the uncertainty between us,’ he said softly. ‘If that’s what you want, too.’
‘Oh! Yes … I thought …’
‘What did you think?’ His mouth lowered to her throat, his lips on the tiny pulse point that beat frantically beneath her chin.
She thumped him on the chest with a small fist. ‘That you were about to truss me up like a chicken and dump me on the plane out.’
At that, a wave of laughter rose in his chest and he gathered her in. ‘I want you to stay, Max. Let’s find out if what we shared in England has some basis for something more than a holiday fling.’
If she was being perfectly honest, it wasn’t exactly what she’d wanted to hear, but for now it was plenty to be going on with. A frown touched her eyes. ‘It wasn’t a fling.’
His head tipped back and he looked at her, the expression in his eyes fathoms deep. ‘No … but in hindsight it was a bit surreal, wasn’t it?’
‘I suppose it was,’ she admitted slowly. ‘We tried to pack too many emotions into so little time.’
Well, that was one way of putting it. Jake’s jaw worked for a second. And it was probably the reason she’d panicked about following him to the other side of the world. Although it didn’t explain why it had taken her two years to change her mind and come to him. But she was here now and that was all that mattered.
‘Let’s do the real deal, then.’ Leaning forward, he pressed a brushstroke of a kiss on her lips. ‘Give ourselves time to see what we’ve got going for us.’
‘Fine with me,’ Maxi responded jerkily, suddenly feeling vulnerable and uncertain under his gaze. Gently, she pushed away from him and collected their tea mugs. ‘Would you like some breakfast?’
His eyes crinkled in soft amusement. Breakfast didn’t rate on the scale of what he’d really like. But he wouldn’t ask for anything she was unready to give him. It would probably kill him but he’d waited for two lonely years. He could afford another little while, until it was absolutely, perfectly right. ‘Uh, just some toast, I think.’
‘And you should probably allow yourself a stress-free kind of day.’ Maxi had her doctor’s hat on again. ‘I’m on call anyway.’ And if she got a call to somewhere at the back of beyond, she’d have to go, she decided resolutely. She was an outback doctor now and she’d do whatever it took to keep the privilege.
With the uncertainty of her tenure in Tangaratta lifted, Maxi threw herself into preparing her talk on men’s health. Jake still didn’t want anything to do with it so she decided to approach David and Bron with her ideas. She glanced at her watch. It seemed as good a time as any to go across to the hospital and sound them out. She found them at the nurses’ station.
‘What exactly did you have in mind?’ David looked up from the files he was sorting, his expression wary.
‘Something non-threatening, low key but informative. And I want to cover all age groups. The general word out there is most men only see their doctor after being encouraged by a female.’
‘Well, how pathetic is that?’ Bron gave her husband a knowing look.
‘Fair go!’ David held up his hands in self-defence.
‘I’m a nurse. I know when I need to see a doctor.’
Maxi leaned her elbows on the countertop. ‘But you’d have to agree, men of all ages, even when they have symptoms, put off seeing their doctor.’
‘Of course they do.’ Bron clicked her tongue. ‘Or they front up when it’s far too late for anything useful to be done or complications have set in. Anyway, I think what you’re suggesting is worth a go, Maxi. I’ll help.’
‘Thanks. I’d hoped you would.’ Maxi’s tone was heartfelt. She’d had visions of having to pull the whole thing together on her own. ‘David, are you in?’
‘Ah …’ He scrubbed a hand across his cheekbones, looking ambushed. ‘I’ll help in the background—whatever’s needed in the way of organising seating and whiteboards, portable screen.’
‘That would be a great help. Then I can run most of the audio-visual stuff from my laptop.’ Maxi paused. ‘I’m not sure of a suitable venue, though …’
‘What about the local hall?’ David warmed to his newly created role.
‘Hmm.’ Maxi’s mouth turned down. ‘Jake said he tried to run something similar there but hardly anyone showed up. There’s plenty of room here at the hospital but I don’t imagine the guys would turn up if we held it here.’
Bron chuckled. ‘We’d probably be choked by the dust as they stampeded out of town.’ Pursing her lips, she thought for a moment. ‘What about the pub? There’s a reasonable room upstairs where they have the odd wedding reception. Shouldn’t be too difficult to transform it into a suitable venue for a seminar.’
‘Hey, that could work!’ Maxi flicked a querying look between the nurses. ‘Couldn’t it?’
‘As long as the guys don’t take it as an excuse to get plastered,’ David cautioned.
‘That’s easily dealt with,’ Bron countered. ‘We’ll stipulate no alcohol to be brought in and offer only tea, coffee or soft drinks when they arrive. Besides, many of them will be coming in from their properties. They certainly won’t want to be drinking and driving.’
‘OK.’ David spread his hands in compliance. ‘The pub it is.’ He slanted a query at Maxi. ‘Want me to organise that part for you?’
‘Super.’ She smiled. ‘And I may yet get Jake to co-operate.’
Bron lifted a brow. ‘He doesn’t want to be involved?’
‘Not so you’d notice. Said maybe it needed a woman’s approach to get the guys along.’
‘Poor babies.’ Bron rolled her eyes. ‘How soon do you want to do it?’
‘Soon. I’ve collated most of what I need to speak about. And I want to leave time for a Q and A session. Got some great cartoon stuff as well.’
David laughed. ‘About to take the fear out of the rubber-glove syndrome, are you? Heck, if we can get the right kind of publicity out there, you just might get the guys to actually turn up.’
Maxi felt suddenly uplifted, as though she was really earning her place here in this rural setting. ‘Spread the word, then, would you please, Dave? As soon as we confirm a venue, I’ll fix a date.’
‘Then we can get some flyers into the shop windows,’ Bron said eagerly. ‘And if I leave a pile at the post office, Maggie will ask the mail contractor to shove one in all the farm boxes when he delivers their post.’
‘Terrific.’ Maxi beamed. ‘And, Dave, let me know about the pub as soon as you can, won’t you?’
‘No worries, Doc. Leave it with me.’
‘Oh, before you go, Maxi,’ Bron said quickly, ‘Katie’s home. We’re having a barbecue lunch next Saturday. We’d love it if you and Jake could come.’
At the thought of spending some quality time with Jake among their friends, Maxi’s heart gave a little skip of happiness. ‘That sounds wonderful. We’ll be there. Anything we can bring?’
Bron flapped a hand. ‘Just yourselves.’
‘And your bag,’ David chimed in with a dry smile. ‘A mob of teenagers mucking about—anything could happen.’
‘Done.’ Maxi waggled a finger wave. ‘And thanks, both of you. You’ve made my day.’
CHAPTER NINE
IT WAS going to be a lovely day, Maxi decided, surveying her newly styled hair in the mirror and nodding happily at the results. Bron had put her onto Kimberley, Tangaratta’s ‘only decent hairdresser’, who’d understood exactly the look Maxi had wanted.
And today she and Jake would be attending their first social occasion together since she’d come to the outback. It was a delicious yet stomach-churning feeling …
‘Maxi?’
Maxi jerked back to reali
ty as Jake banged on her bedroom door. ‘One second,’ she called, taking a last glimpse in the mirror, before stepping outside into the hallway and almost tripping over a hovering Jake.
‘Ready? ‘He blinked a bit, his eyes widening, darkening, his mouth tucking in at the corners. Hell. She looked amazing. So … sexy. He swallowed the sudden thickness in his throat. Her hair, burnished with highlights, tumbled around her shoulders. Her complexion was glowing, her mouth redder without lipstick …
‘What?’ she managed, her throat drying on the word. The temperature felt as though it had suddenly rocketed up to ten degrees higher, twenty, thirty. Oh, lord … She licked her lips, achingly aware of the almost tangible sense of expectation hanging in the air between them. ‘Sh-should we go, then?’
Jake gave a bare shake of his head. ‘I want you,’ he said starkly.
Maxi’s eyes glazed. ‘Now?’
‘It just seems … right.’ He pressed his forehead against hers and sighed out his breath. ‘As long as you …’
‘Oh, yes …’ Her words spun out on a raspy little cry.
It was enough for Jake. His hunger for her glittered in his blue eyes, and his impatience showed in his hands as he wound her hair through his fingers, using the impetus to draw her close and find her mouth.
And she went to him, needing his strength against her body. ‘Jake …’ she murmured against his mouth. ‘Jacob …’
‘You taste like fresh mint from the garden.’
‘So do you …’ She felt his smile on her mouth, until his lips firmed, opened, deepening the kiss, tangling his tongue with hers. It was wild. Like the charge of an electric current between them. Urgency shot through her and she wanted to pull off his clothes and wrap herself around him, claim him again, feel his heat, hold him and never let him go.
‘I’ve so wanted you …’ His voice husked on the words as he slid the straps of her top from her shoulders, peeling them lower with aching slowness.
Maxi mewed a tiny inarticulate sound in her throat. Soon, soon he would touch her breasts and feel just what this was doing to her.
‘We need the bedroom,’ he murmured, raw emotion carved into his features. ‘Yours?’
She swallowed dryly, nodding assent.
In seconds they were naked. And Jake was drawing her down with him onto the bed. She shivered, feeling the slick of his skin against hers, felt his body tensing with the effort to control it. So close but not close enough. Not yet. He made a deep, dry sound in his throat. ‘Protection?’
Maxi pressed her mouth into the hollow of his throat. ‘All covered.’ And then the rapturous journey of rediscovery began.
They were both achingly aroused, hungry for the taste and touch of each other and thinking only that after the long seperation they were about to be become lovers again.
But through the haze of her ecstasy Maxi felt ragged memories pushing at her that wouldn’t be held back. She stiffened in Jake’s arms.
His face close to hers, Jake felt her warm tears. ‘Max, what is it?’
Nothing. Everything. She trembled against him. ‘I keep remembering … that awful day at the airport …’
‘Don’t!’ He spoke in a fierce undertone. ‘It’s gone. Forget it and come to me … please.’
In an instant their passion was recharged and his body claimed hers. Filling her. The long nights of longing faded into insignificance.
Maxi arched under her lover, urging him to take her even more deeply, wrapping her legs around him. When his final thrust touched her soul, she heard his groan of release, whirlpools of sensation dragging them both under, before tossing them higher than the highest star.
For a long time they lay silent, replete. Jake had shifted to lie on his back, curving his arm round her so her head was pillowed on his chest.
Maxi draped her arm across the flat plane of his stomach, curving into him. She felt almost weightless, drenched with feelings she couldn’t begin to describe. Good, though. All good. For both of them.
At least she hoped so, prayed so. Because she loved him in every way a woman should love her man. And would do so for the rest of her life.
Finally Jake spoke. ‘You OK?’
‘Mmm.’ She sniffed the last of the tears away on a strangled laugh, tiptoeing her fingers along his chest. ‘We still make great music together, don’t you think?’
‘Magic.’ His chest rose as he chuckled. ‘Symphony orchestra stuff.’
She sighed happily. ‘We’re going to be awfully late for the party.’
‘Doctors are notoriously late for social functions.’
She gave a soft laugh. ‘Is that so?’
‘Mmm.’ He turned to her, brushing her lips once and then again. ‘Goes with the lousy profession we’ve chosen.’
‘Poor us.’ She burrowed against him. ‘I’ll need another shower.’
‘And I’ll join you …’
Almost in slow motion, she lifted a hand, running her forefinger over his mouth until he parted it and gently bit her on the nail. ‘Jacob …’ Her voice trembled on a jagged little breath and suddenly their passion was reignited as swiftly and as forcefully as a shooting star into the heavens.
Jake lowered his head and they kissed slowly, completely. Until kissing was no longer enough.
‘We’re so late,’ Maxi lamented as they drove towards Bron and David’s home.
‘Stop worrying.’ Jake reached out a hand to her thigh and squeezed. ‘They’ll have kept us some food.’
Maxi felt her stomach lurch. Food was the last thing on her mind. Surely everyone would know she and Jake had been to bed. She knew for a fact that she herself had that look about her.
Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were shining. And she couldn’t stop smiling. Oh, help. She bit her lips together but the smile just wouldn’t go away.
The Walkers’ home was a sprawling timber structure with wide verandahs. A lovely, old-fashioned country home, Maxi decided, taking a deep breath. She turned to Jake. ‘Do you have the drinks?’
‘Right here.’ Jake hitched the insulated wine cooler over his shoulder. ‘We’ll go round the back. That’s where the action will be.’
‘There seem to be quite a few cars here.’
‘They’ll just be friends and neighbours. Out here, folk think nothing of travelling miles for a party.’
Maxi’s insides heaved crazily with anticipation and nerves as Jake unlatched the wooden gate that led into the back garden. ‘Perhaps we should have arrived separately.’ She cast a worried look at him. ‘And don’t laugh!’ she threatened, watching him slyly rub the back of his hand across his mouth.
But she had no time to agonise further when their hostess spied them from her position on the deck. ‘Hello, you two,’ Bron called, popping down the stairs to greet them. ‘What kept you?’
‘Uh …’ Maxi drew in a long ragged breath. ‘Something came up.’
Jake gave a slow grin. ‘Bit of an emergency.’
‘Ah, one of those emergencies.’ It was David this time, his blue gaze warm behind his silver-rimmed glasses. He’d strolled across the lawn to greet them, still carrying his barbecue tongs. ‘Plenty of food left, guys. Help yourselves.’
‘Thanks, mate.’ Jake clapped him across the shoulders. ‘I’m starved, actually.’
Maxi felt her skin warm and prayed no one noticed her heightened colour. ‘We’ve brought some champagne,’ she said in a breathless little rush. ‘It’s the good stuff. The last the pub had. Left over from a posh wedding apparently.’
‘Crikey,’ David said blandly. ‘What are we celebrating? The drought hasn’t broken, has it?’
Maxi smiled around a strangled laugh. ‘Just thought we could drink to—to good friends …’
‘And lovers,’ Jake murmured in a low tone meant only for her to hear.
‘Lovely idea.’ Bron stepped in quickly and led the way to where the tables were set out under dark green umbrellas. ‘Now, come and meet our Katie.’
‘You’ve
made such a lovely home here, Bron.’ It was a couple of hours later and Maxi and her hostess were relaxing on outdoor chairs in the garden.
‘Well, we decided long ago that Tangaratta, warts and all, was where we wanted to make our lives together,’ Bron said matter-of-factly. ‘So we went all out to make our home our haven away from our responsibilities at the hospital.’
‘Well, it’s certainly worked. And you’ve gone to so much effort to make it a lovely party.’ Maxi’s gaze took in the white picnic tables with their brightly coloured serving platters and salad bowls, the striped fabric bunting and big rainbow outdoor floor cushions.
Bron’s look was wistful. ‘Well, it’s for Katie, really. All the trimmings, I mean. She’ll be gone again in a few days.’
Maxi looked across to where Bron’s bright, bubbly daughter was the centre of a group of her teenage friends. And she’d noticed something else. Katie’s constant shadow was Brandon McCall. And now and again the two had shyly linked hands and exchanged very meaningful looks.
So that’s the way it was, Maxi thought indulgently. Katie Walker was the girlfriend the young man had referred to. And he looked happy and relaxed in Katie’s company. And that could only mean her young patient was well on the way to recovering his equilibrium in full.
Two seconds later Maxi heard the summons of her mobile. ‘Sorry.’ She made a small face at Bron. ‘I’m on call today.’
She rescued the phone from her little straw basket on the table, listening as Loretta outlined the emergency. ‘That was the hospital, Bron. I’ll have to go.’
‘Of course you will.’ Bron pulled herself upright from the lounger. ‘Loretta’s on duty today, isn’t she?’
‘Yes.’
‘So you’ll be fine. Thanks so much for coming today.’
The two hugged briefly. ‘No, thank you. It’s been a wonderful day.’ In more ways than one, a cheeky imp whispered inside Maxi’s head. ‘Uh, we came in Jake’s car.’ She looked towards the group of men relaxing in an untidy circle near the barbecue. ‘I guess I’ll have to drag him away as well.’
‘Go, then.’ Bron made a shooing motion with her hand. ‘We’ll catch up soon, no doubt. At work, if nowhere else,’ she added dryly.