Sienna lifted her chin. ‘It’s not my backyard and I’m not invited.’
They looked glumly at each other. ‘Seems a shame,’ Alma said, starting to feel dejected. Then she brightened. ‘Never knew a man who could refuse bacon and eggs on a Sunday morning. You should ask him. One last chance before you dive back into work on Monday.’
Finally, as if to keep the peace, Sienna said, ‘Sure. I’ll text him.’ Alma decided she looked a smidgen brighter than before.
Chapter Nineteen
Sienna
Sienna hid her surprise when Douglas appeared for breakfast. He strode in with his dark-blue jeans hugging his impressive thighs as he scanned the room for her. Then he turned back to listen to something Alma said, and Sienna’s eyes drifted down to his backside. She shook her head. Not fair.
Then he was coming towards her, a small smile still on his lips as his presence eclipsed her corner of the room. And her.
‘Good morning, Sienna.’
She pushed the bubbling nerves back down into their pocket and indicated the seat. ‘Good morning, Douglas.’
‘Alma says it’s our day off and we have to leave town today and have fun.’ He quirked a brow at her. ‘How does that sit with you?’
It sat very well. ‘Does she?’ Sienna cast a slightly bemused glance at her unexpected ally.
He did seem less careworn this morning and Sienna could feel her own mood lift the way his beautiful mouth had just lifted.
‘Would you like to leave town and have fun with me today, Sienna?’
There was something in his tone that hadn’t been there yesterday and certainly hadn’t been there last night. She studied him. What had changed? Had Alma been offering him hope where he hadn’t seen any?
The clothes had changed. No uniform. He looked relaxed in a cream shirt with the sleeves rolled up past the powerful forearms. Maybe that was what it was. She didn’t think he’d been this relaxed since she’d arrived.
She’d kill for relaxed. A tiny starling of hope spread its wings low in her belly and swooped upwards. Just for today they both could let go. She’d play along. There weren’t a lot of places on offer, but the company was great. ‘Sure. Where would you like to go?’ She certainly couldn’t think of anywhere.
‘It’s a nice drive to Winton. Dramatic landscape on the way and you seemed to enjoy the wildlife yesterday. We could drop in on the Age of Dinosaurs Museum when we get there?’
Dinosaurs? Old bones. Good grief. She searched for something complimentary to say. ‘You certainly know how to show a girl a good time.’
The lines at the side of his eyes deepened. He knew what she thought and it amused him. She could handle that. ‘The museum is impressive,’ he drawled.
He was impressive. And she could do with getting out of Spinifex, even if it was just for the day. Then she could come back, focus on the task ahead and hopefully get home by the end of the week or the middle of the next. ‘Douglas, I’d love to see the dinosaurs with you on a Sunday in forty-degree heat. How far is it?’
‘About two and a half hours each way.’
Typical. ‘Is that normally the time it takes or just the way you drive?’
He arched one brow at her. ‘Unlike you, I stay within the speed limits. Probably two hours the way you drive, but I would have to remove your licence.’
She’d like to see him try. ‘I’m looking forward to our adventure,’ she told him, tongue-in-cheek.
He smiled. Glanced at Alma, who approached with two loaded plates. ‘And I’m looking forward to breakfast.’
Seems Alma was right about men and food on a Sunday morning. Sienna smiled at the wonderful woman, who looked far too smug.
The road to Winton stretched red and dry with dusty gravel for ever, but the light changed constantly, and despite the lack of trees the colours had a stark desert beauty that even Sienna could see. And the company made it perfect. Douglas had been almost chatty and Sienna sat back and enjoyed the show. Who was this man?
She gestured with one French-polished finger. ‘What road is this?’
Douglas threw her a look. ‘The Kennedy Development Road, but some people call it the Min Min Byway.’
She sat up a bit straighter. ‘Alma’s seen the light from the Min Min,’ Sienna quipped.
‘Hmm. So I’ve heard.’ Douglas sounded unconvinced. ‘Seems the light has upped its social skills and is getting out more.’
‘Has it?’
‘Apparently. Because young Jacob saw it, too, a few months ago.’ He looked thoughtful. ‘That would be around the time you were looking for unusual events. That’s Maddy’s man.’
She doubted a fictitious light could cause microcephaly, and she’d have liked to have asked why the negative tone in his voice when he spoke of Jacob, but she didn’t want to destroy his mood. Or think about microcephaly today.
Instead, she’d save those ones for later. ‘Tell me about where we’re going.’
He obliged. ‘Winton is a nice town. Historic. It’s where Qantas was originally registered as an airline.’ After a brief dissertation on the birth of Qantas – it was a damn shame she couldn’t fly in and out of there then – he told her that Winton also had artesian water. So it was smelly showers for everyone, Sienna thought.
Then Douglas began on the dinosaurs with definite enthusiasm in his voice.
She shifted in her seat. ‘Hang on a minute. I’ve just realised. You must have been one of those dinosaur-obsessed pre-teens who took his plastic tyrannosaurs to school and knew the names of all the species.’
Douglas glanced across with a small smile on his too-darn-sexy mouth. ‘I could have been.’
She sat back. ‘Bet you were,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘Clouds and dinosaurs.’ It made her feel just a wee bit protective of the younger Douglas. A dreamy lad she could barely see when she looked at the man. She studied his profile. Admired the strong planes, slashing brows, dark eyes and that mouth.
She thought about what they’d shared in brief windows over the last twelve months and the bare minimum she knew of his earlier life. Earlier than a year really. All she knew was that he’d lost his sister who’d been pregnant at the time and he felt guilty about that for some reason.
She knew he’d spent time in special ops in the army until his head became screwed completely. So, he’d retreated to the outback to ground himself, protecting small towns as a policeman. She had to admit, like those small towns, she always felt safe with Douglas around.
‘Where did you grow up?’
The conversation screeched to a halt as a big red Ford utility swung around the bend and towards them in a blur of roaring music, spraying dirt, and speed, and Douglas had to swerve skilfully to avoid a collision. The thick cloud of dust rolled over them and the cacophony departed as wildly as it had come.
‘Idiot,’ Douglas muttered fiercely as their own vehicle hit the heavier gravel at the side of the road and skidded briefly until he brought it firmly back under control. ‘He’ll be a white cross on the road if he keeps driving like that. Hopefully he won’t take anyone else with him before we rip up his licence.’
Sienna’s heart rate had doubled at the near collision on such a deserted road, and she could feel the thump under her fingers as she pressed her chest. That had been too close, she’d actually seen the whites of the young man’s eyes. Rolled inside a metal ball was not the way she wanted to solve her dilemmas.
She felt Douglas’s concern as he looked her over. ‘You okay?’
‘Sure.’ She said it quickly to reassure him, but it had made her rethink his driving skills and the fact that in his job Douglas did save lives by catching the stupid risk-takers. And now the lovely mood would be broken. She sighed at the loss. ‘I guess there’s nothing you can do? He’s gone in a cloud of dust and we didn’t get his number plate.’
‘I have the first three letters.’ To her surprise his mouth twisted in wry humour. ‘At least it’s appropriate. K.O.K.’
She grinned back a
t him. This was the Douglas she loved. No. Not loved. Enjoyed. She didn’t love him. The Director of Obstetrics in Sydney Central Hospital could not afford to love him.
Douglas went on and she was glad of the diversion from her own circling dismay. She heard him distantly as she stared blindly out the window at the swirls of dust settling around them, along with the influx of dread for the state of her heart.
‘One thing about the distances around here,’ he said. ‘When I get to Winton, I can call in to each of the three possible towns out of here with a description and he won’t disappear off the radar. We’ll get him in the next couple of hours.’
She couldn’t miss the tinge of satisfaction in his voice. She had to admit she shared the sentiment, but she had other things to worry about.
She didn’t love Douglas. And more to the point, he didn’t love her. He fancied her, which was a very good thing, but he was way too smart to fall in love with a city doctor when a real relationship between them could never work.
And she was way too smart, too. Really.
‘Tell me more about the dinosaur museum,’ she said, and hoped he didn’t hear the tinge of panic in her voice. She did not love Douglas.
He obliged though she barely heard him. ‘They have a collection room, of course, the largest collection of dinosaur bones and fossils in Australia, where the bones are assembled and laid out, but I admit it’s the laboratory part I’m drawn to.’
Sienna caught the shake of his head, a shake of admiration, and she struggled to stay focused. ‘You can see them painstakingly brush dirt from the bones, finding the contours that are nearly a hundred million years old.’ His big hands were firm and confident, running smoothly up and down the steering wheel like they’d run up and down her body, playing her like an instrument until he hit the top note.
‘That blows me away,’ he mused.
Her heart rate had settled from the second shock. His words sank in. What blows him away? She’d just been thinking about what blew her away. She played back the conversation until she understood.
‘So we’re going to the collection room.’ She said ‘morgue’ in her head. She’d never been one for dead things. Her job aimed to keep everyone alive.
Douglas became more animated as he described the museum and she had to smile. Here was another facet she would never have guessed lay beneath the strict and serious Sergeant McCabe.
Douglas went on. ‘A full tour takes ninety minutes in Winton. If we had more time I’d take you to the stampede.’
‘They have a dinosaur stampede?’ She probably should have known or read up on this stuff, but it stood a long way from what interested her. However, it intrigued her now with Douglas so enthusiastic. Sienna in a dinosaur factory – that would have her sister Eve rolling on the ground holding her stomach from laughing too hard. There was never a dull moment with Douglas.
The museum and the laboratory were both noteworthy and interesting, but for Sienna it was Douglas – watching that hit revelation status. Especially in the gift shop afterwards. She had to drag him in there – trivia and trinkets weren’t his style – but he humoured her.
Sienna picked up the silver-coated necklace with dinosaur bones arranged into a skeletal T-Rex, one of many hanging from a rack. She nestled it against her cleavage. ‘Would this look good on me?’
His eyes widened and she held his gaze. The room didn’t quite fog up, but she found herself lifting her shirt away from her suddenly warm neck and putting the necklace back hastily.
‘Anything looks good on you,’ he said, his tone low and sincere. Then he turned away and picked up something. ‘Although, I like this,’ he said, holding up a florescent pink shower-rose shaped like a dinosaur’s head. The shower water would pour from the mouth in a spray. ‘I can imagine this in Alma’s guest bathroom.’
Composure hastily restored, Sienna raised her brows. ‘There’s already one in there. Or at least one that’s as old as that.’
Douglas laughed. A sexy, teasing laugh. She felt the hairs rise on her arms. Felt her gaze zoom to his mouth where it tilted, lopsided and luscious. ‘Poor Sienna. Slumming it in a shared pub bathroom.’
‘Don’t mock. One morning you’ll find me dripping wet and naked at your house – when it’s all been too much.’
He cocked his head. Dark eyes studied her. And she could tell he was seeing the picture clearly. Heat flared low and smouldering in her belly. How could he do that with a look? He said quietly, ‘I’d have to arrest you for break and enter.’
She held out her wrists. Paused for effect and said in a low, sultry voice, barely above a whisper, ‘Cuff me, Officer.’
Douglas laughed out loud. ‘My schoolboy fantasy.’ He shook his head and picked up a green coffee cup, still smiling. ‘What about a Tea Rex mug?’
She snatched it off him and held it to her chest gleefully. ‘At last we’ve found it. Your Christmas present.’
He grinned and sauntered off to check the other trinkets and treasure as if it had been his idea to come in here. She had the notion that he was having as much fun as she was, and she knew she should run from this place as fast as she could because she was falling a little more in love every second and she couldn’t afford to do that.
His voice called, ‘Over here.’ The thread of amusement was already curving her lips as she followed him. She’d never seen him so light-hearted, so playful, and she wanted to drag him outside to some dark corner and beg him to kiss her. She who never begged for anything.
‘I’ve found your gift.’
‘Really? You’ve decided amongst all these stellar choices?’
He nodded serenely. ‘Yup.’ He pointed to a stand where a pair of black pantyhose were modelled by two inflated ladies’ legs. The black tights were opaque to ten centimetres above the knee and then they sheered to see-through, where an appliqued T-Rex chased a femininelooking Brachiosaurus around both thighs. She burst out laughing.
He laughed with her and she realised it was the first time they’d ever really laughed together. ‘Is that another boyhood fantasy?’
‘It could be.’
She chose an unopened packet in her size. ‘I’ll get myself a pair for Christmas.’
‘Now I have to come.’
Driving home late in the afternoon Sienna thought about dinosaurs. Not just the ones on the stockings. Dinosaurs were a little like the outback. They made you made you feel insignificant in the scheme of time, in the same way the outback made you feel in the scheme of place. Concepts Douglas had no problem with, but for her, they sat outside her comfort zone. Or had done.
She rested her hand on his thigh as he drove, her deep need to have that connection surprising her, but every now and then his hand drifted down and stroked her for the few seconds he’d allow it off the steering wheel. She let the peace of the tiny world they inhabited surround her. They drove in a bubble back to Spinifex and she realised that this cocoon of feeling was peculiar to being with Douglas.
She’d felt it before, a feeling of wholeness and serenity that she didn’t know she had in her makeup, like the calm in the middle of a storm after Callie’s accident, and in her home in Sydney after her rotten illness, when Douglas had cared for her. It was not so much the passionate immersion she felt when they made love, though those experiences were also not of her usual universe. This was different.
It was very strange to feel so content after a day looking at old bones and quirky, silly knick-knacks. Her hand lay relaxed against Douglas’s leg and her gaze drifted out over the long golden plains ahead. It had been a good day.
Chapter Twenty
Eight-thirty Monday morning at the police residence, Sienna heard the flying doctor plane go over. The carport that usually held Douglas’s vehicle stood empty. Good thing, too. She needed to shake herself out of this romantic fog she’d come home in last night and do what she had come to do. Easy. Solve the mystery. Return fast to Sydney. Leave the poor man alone.
But they did have a fun day yesterd
ay and she still hadn’t figured out what had brought about Douglas’s change of attitude.
Maybe she should have asked Alma if she knew the reason, but it was just too out of character for Sienna to ask anyone for that sort of help. Last night when she’d come in, Alma had winked and said, ‘See. I knew you’d have a good day.’
Sienna had looked at her and no smart comment had sprung to mind. Instead, again out of character, she’d said, ‘Yes. It was a lovely day. I’m not sure what you did, but thank you, Alma.’
The little woman had blinked and narrowed her eyes. ‘You’re welcome.’ Then with a mischievous nod of the head had said,
‘I found one more young woman with Virginia problems. One of the women from the mission out of town. Any chance of you seeing her?’
Sienna had closed her eyes briefly before saying, ‘Send her down at ten.’ It hadn’t been worth fighting.
So she had an hour and a half before Alma’s next referral arrived. Ten minutes later she heard the plane take off again. So the midwife had been deposited and the Spinifex RN would also be back for today. The clinic started at nine and finished at twelve and Sienna had arranged to interview the midwife from twelve to twelve-thirty. Any new questions she had for the FOG had to be by phone because he wasn’t returning until the next fortnight.
At midday Sienna stopped outside the health centre and read the sign she’d glanced at when she’d first seen the place with Douglas. Read it more slowly. Tried to see what Kyeesha, the woman Alma had sent to her, had objected to when’d she decided not to go there for a check-up.
Opening Hours (for non-urgent consultation) Monday and Wednesday 9.00 a.m. – 12 noon,
2.00 p.m. – 4.00 p.m.
After Hours Emergencies: 000
After Hours Health Advice: 13 43 25 84
Routine health checks and resupply of prescribed medications
Monday and Wednesday ONLY
The Baby Doctor Page 12