by Maggie Mundy
Brett went to reception and paid his bill. What is the good doctor’s first name? He picked up the practice pamphlet. Doctor Autumn Blake. What a beautiful name. He loved autumn, or fall, as his American friends called it. It was his favorite time of year, especially in the Blue Mountains. The eucalypt trees stayed green but there were lots of deciduous trees that gave the landscape a brown and gold hue. Perhaps that was why he loved his job so much—he had a passion for trees, whether growing in the ground or being carved into something new through his carpentry.
His mind went back to the lovely doctor. Brett would not stand a chance with someone like her. Brett was rough and ready, swore, drank too much beer, and she was now aware he messed around. There was something about her though. Alluring—that was the word. Hell, he did not know where it came from but that was her.
Three hours later and he could not get those dark brown eyes out of his mind. He imagined pulling the pins out of that neat little bun and letting her hair fall around her shoulders. That British accent was such a turn-on. It would be much better for him if Doctor Wilson came back or he might be making an indecent proposition to his temporary doctor. That was enough daydreaming for now because he needed to get back to work.
He had a job on, fixing a handrail for Mrs. Jenkins across the street from his cottages. The steps down to her beloved rose garden at the front were getting a bit wobbly and she was not as steady on her feet these days. Her name was Dorothy and she would supply him with biscuits and tea while he worked. As usual, he would not charge her full price, which was mad as her house was probably worth a million dollars. His dog, Bluey, had sat and watched him work with an occasional bark of encouragement.
Once Brett finished the steps, he would spend the afternoon working on his place. It had been a great investment to buy the two rundown miners’ cottages next to each other. One was finished and the real estate agent had said they had someone coming this afternoon who might rent it. Brett had spent a lot of money, time, and energy on it, so he was keen to get some cash back to put it into his place. He was currently living in a tip with building materials all over. If he didn’t get next door rented soon, he would be moving back in there just for the comfort.
It was getting on four when he called it a day. His work was done and he was packing up his pickup when a car pulled up across the road. The vehicle had the real estate logo on the side. Dereck got out and waved as he walked across to him.
“Glad to catch up with you, Brett. I have someone keen to rent the cottage. They’re looking for six months to possibly a year rental, which would be perfect.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Give me a call later and let me know how you go.”
Brett grabbed his tools and headed back across the road to his cottage. He got Bluey his food and then grabbed a beer from the fridge and went out into the rear garden to sit. Both cottages backed onto a paddock and the bush beyond. It could be a bit scary in a bushfire, but he reckoned they had enough of a firebreak. He had had a friend come around from the local country fire service and he said it was all good. If a fire got really bad, he would get out early.
Brett sat on the bench he had made a while ago and listened to a kookaburra. Life was good and he could not complain. He just hoped his results came back clear.
Voices drifted over from the garden next door. One he recognized as Dereck, and the other one sounded British and female. Brett couldn’t keep the grin off his face. Surely the prim doctor was not moving into his cottage? If she was, he might ask if she would pay him an after-hours visit. Then again, his place was a mess and she would probably tell him to take a hike.
Brett stared out at the paddock as he took another gulp of beer. There was a kangaroo and her joey hopping past the end of the gardens. The mother stopped and looked up as if to check out who was there and then bounded off with her baby following behind.
“Oh, my God. That’s it. I have to rent this place. Trust me, it’s just what I need. I can sit here with a cup of tea and watch the local wildlife go by,” the good doctor said.
The kookaburra cackled away again and flew over and landed in the gum tree in the next-door garden. It was as if Brett had ordered and trained the local wildlife to gain him a tenant. It wouldn’t have worked with an Aussie though. They would have been aware there were plenty of animals around if you only went looking. Some of them not so cute as a kangaroo. The bird remined him he needed to get some chicken wire to go on the pond in the backyard next door before he put fish in it again. The bloody kookaburra had eaten all the last ones before he’d had a chance to cover it. Bluey was crap at protecting them.
The back door shut and Brett finished his beer. As he wandered inside to shower, his cell phone pinged. It was his mate Drew. There was a bunch of them meeting at the local pub at seven. Brett did not need an excuse for a drink. The place was only a ten-minute walk away so he wouldn’t have to worry about being pulled over by the cops for drunk driving.
When he came out of the shower, there was another message. This time it was from Dereck.
Dereck: You have a new tenant who has signed a contract for six months with the possibility of extending to a year. She should be moving in tomorrow afternoon. Let me know what time I can pop by to get you to sign the contract. Obviously, from now on you will need to arrange any visits for repairs to the property through me.
This was great. With the extra money coming in he could get his place finished. Damn. The back-door lock on next door’s cottage was broken.
Brett had bought the darn thing weeks ago and had kept meaning to do it but had forgotten. He would pop in tomorrow morning and replace the old one before she moved in.
Yep. A new tenant, a new lock and most likely a clean bill of sexual health.
What could possibly go wrong?
Brett’s alarm went off. Shit. He had left the curtains open and the light was streaming in. That was what happened when you had a beer too many and fell asleep as soon as your head hit the pillow. He had a busy day of jobs and wanted to get next door sorted before he headed off. Brett let Bluey out the back to do his business.
It didn’t take too long and both he and the dog were fed and watered. The pickup was still loaded from the night before which saved him time.
He headed next door and walked through the cottage to the rear then he got to work on removing the old lock and making the hole bigger. His drill powered away until he had made a hole big enough for the replacement. He put the drill down. Damn it, there was water running somewhere.
Shit. That was all he needed. A new tenant and a water leak. If he didn’t find the darn thing now, the place could be flooded by the time she moved in. His cell phone pinged. Brett didn’t have time to check it now. He had a leak to fix, and he had better do it faster than a cut snake.
The kitchen sink seemed okay so that left the bathroom. As he walked down the hallway, someone screamed. What the hell? There was a woman in the house and from the sound of that scream, they were in trouble.
Chapter Three
Autumn adored the cottage so much she didn’t want to spend another night in the motel. The motel owner had found out she was a doctor and a long list of ailments was looming. She wanted to help but needed to relax when she finished work at the end of a day.
In the long run, it would save her money to move. The place was vacant and she had a key, so she might as well take advantage of the fact.
Autumn had loved the look of the cottage from the outside the minute she saw it. It had a picket fence and a beautiful garden full of what she assumed were Australian native plants. One had little white flowers on it and smelled like honey as she brushed past.
Unlike English cottages, it had a weatherboard covering instead of brick. She hoped it had heating and cooling because she had been told the area experienced extreme seasons.
Inside the furniture was modern and functional. The kitchen looked as if it had been made by a craftsman and with love, and she admired the granite worktop. Autumn
was not much of a cook but could appreciate a great workspace when she saw one.
There were two bedrooms and one bathroom, which was plenty as she didn’t intend on having many visitors. The shower was in the bath which was a pain as it meant she would have to struggle to get in and out. Oh well. Beggars could not be choosers. And she was not exactly roughing it, but she was paying a great price, which meant she could do other things like travel.
She only had her suitcase to move. Her trunk with her other items would not be arriving for weeks yet.
Autumn sipped her hot chocolate as her body relaxed for the first time in months. She had found her safe haven. No ex-husbands, no stalkers, and for now, she would forget about the spiders and snakes lurking around the place. She would Skype Simon.
He came online and beamed at her with his gorgeous smile as usual. His strength and happiness had kept her going on more than one occasion over the years.
“Hi, Simon. I had to call you. I’ve found this fantastic cottage. I’ll send pictures—I even have kangaroos out the back.”
“Out the back. You sound like an Aussie already.” He laughed. “I knew it was the right thing for you to do. If I tell Brendan, he will want to come over tomorrow. How is the job going?” Simon asked, as Bridget walked by behind him and waved.
“Hi, Autumn.”
“Hi, Bridget. It’s great, and not too stressful. I think this is going to be just what I need. Thanks for believing in me when I was at the bottom so I could find my way back up again. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
Simon wagged a finger at her. “You can do anything. I don’t have much time to chat as I have to work. Let’s talk again soon and I’ll let you know if we can visit.”
Autumn slept like a log on the comfy queen-size bed. It was amazing, as she never slept through the night. Since the accident and the stalking, she was always on edge, expecting every little noise to be someone trying to break in. She did remember hearing a door shut late at night and a dog barking, but it was probably her neighbor coming home. From what the agent had said, the guy who owned this cottage was living next door and renovating that one as well. She would pop around after work and say hello. But right now, she was running late and needed a shower before she headed to the practice.
She placed a chair from the kitchen next to the bath. Autumn used her crutches to move first thing in the morning. It was easiest to pop her prosthesis on after she had showered. It was next to the bath along with her clothes. It would take a while to work things out in this new space but she would get there.
Autumn stood and wobbled as she pulled back the shower curtain and reached across to turn on the taps. It was her firm belief that everyone in the world hated shower curtains with a vengeance. They always stuck to your body and should be banned. She would also get a non-slip mat to go in the bath. Dear God, she seemed like some old grandma, but had to be practical. Back in her flat in London, she could get in and out of the shower easily. Autumn hated the idea of having to kit out a house with special needs equipment. It was silly, as she told patients to do it all the time but would not admit she needed it herself.
Autumn sat on the chair and put her good leg over the rim of the bath, then pulled herself across so she could stand and balance on one foot. This was good. She was adaptable and could make this work. She could do anything. Had not Simon said that last night?
The water pounded against her skin, helping her muscles relax. This was a new beginning and she would wash away all the tension, along with the bad memories.
“Bugger.” Autumn dropped the soap and leaned down to grab it.
Then everything happened so fast—she was flying backward as her leg slipped forward. A scream left her lips though there would be no one to hear it. Autumn instinctively grabbed onto the shower curtain as she fell. It slowed her fall for a bit. She cringed and watched as each clip at the top of the curtain popped off. Autumn landed hard on her butt and screamed as the pain jolted up her back and through her body.
Before she could think straight, the door to the bathroom swung open and she screamed again.
She never screamed at anything. Well, spiders, but everyone did that.
Where the hell did this guy come from?
That face. It was one of Doctor Wilson’s patients from yesterday. The guy, Brett, who had requested a sexual health checkup. Dear God, she was mortified. Here she was, naked in the bath with only a shower curtain giving her any modesty as it clung to her like a second skin. She would rather have been on her own and struggle for an hour to get out than face this. They said pride came before a fall—hers was coming after.
“What are you doing here? I’m naked. Get out. Get out,” Autumn yelled.
“It’s obvious to anyone with half a brain you need help. Plus, you saw me naked yesterday, so I say we’re quits.”
“Don’t look at me,” she yelled.
He immediately closed his eyes but still offered his hand to help her out of the bath while he laughed.
Could this be any more embarrassing?
He shook his head. “Seriously, I think I’m going to feel more of you with this braille technique I am using than if I open my eyes and help.”
“Okay, you can open them, but be quick.” She wanted to hide in a corner. “It’s not the same anyway. I saw you in a medical capacity. I’m naked in my bathtub,” Autumn said as she clutched the flimsy see-through shower curtain.
He turned off the water and grabbed a towel from the rack and covered her. For that one action, she would forgive him almost anything.
She still was not happy he was there.
Since the divorce, she had not let anyone see her without her clothes on. Heck, she did not even like looking herself.
Damn it, but she needed him. He pulled the shower certain away as she grabbed the towel. “You’re taking it off me,” Autumn squealed.
“I’m doing the best I can. You did a good job wrapping yourself up like a Christmas present. Put an arm around my neck and lift your butt so I can maneuver the curtain out.”
Autumn placed one arm around his neck while she kept the towel covering her breasts with the other. The curtain fell free but she could feel the cold air on her derriere.
He smelled good now she was close. That sort of all-male smell mixed with a fruity aftershave. Johnathan’s aftershave had always been so overpowering. Why the hell was she thinking that now? She had noticed Brett’s good looks yesterday, but now Autumn noticed the muscles on his arms.
Her rescuer scooped her up, and as he turned around, the reflection in the mirror showed the towel only covering half of her body, with her backside on display in full glory. He grinned as he peeked in the mirror. Her face was red and not from the heat in the bathroom. Why couldn’t the mirror be steamed up?
Brett placed her on the chair next to the bath. As he did so, he kicked her prosthetic foot across the room so it hit the toilet with a clang. He picked it up and placed it next to her. “Oops, I’m sorry,” he said awkwardly as he stared at her wide-eyed, clearly trying to hold back a laugh.
Autumn ached all over and would have bruises coming out everywhere shortly, including a bump on her head. That aside, the look on his face made her crack up. He was like a naughty boy who had been caught with his hand in the candy jar. Autumn started to laugh, just a chuckle at first, but then she could not stop. Brett joined in and the two of them were almost crying with hysterics.
She took in big gulps of air. It had been a long time since she had laughed like that and it felt good.
When they stopped, he stood and the moment was gone. “I’ll wait outside. I was fixing the back door, by the way. I didn’t break in. Now, try and stay upright. Deal?” he said, giving her the thumbs up which looked so corny.
“Deal! And thank you.”
He shut the door. Autumn tried to take in what had just happened. The fall in the bath she understood. It was the laughter. It seemed silly, but she felt lighter. All she had needed to perk up was
to fall over in a bath and have some gorgeous stranger come and rescue her naked butt. That aside, it was time to get dressed and go out and see him. There was no point in pretending he had not seen her boobs, her pussy, and her amputation. This could be the start of a good friendship. She had seen him naked as well, even if only in a medical capacity.
Autumn dried off, put on her prosthesis, and got dressed. She then went and found Brett working on the back door. He stopped and turned his cute smile on her. He probably had women falling all over him.
Brett looked down at her leg. “Sorry about the foot thing. I didn’t break it, did I?”
“No, you didn’t. Can I make you a coffee, and you can explain why you are in my house?”
“Love one. I own it.” He smirked. “That’s why I’m here. So, essentially, you’re in my house. I live next door and I’m doing renovations. To make some cash to pay for it, I’m renting this one out. The agent told me you weren’t moving in until tonight so I came to fix the lock. I just checked my phone and he sent me a message saying you were coming sooner but I didn’t see it. I’m sorry.”
There was something refreshing about Brett. There was no pretense, and he had a ‘what you see is what you get’ air about him. What she could see was extremely handsome.
His medical notes stated he was thirty, but he still had a boyish charm about him. She was the same age and felt twenty years older. It wasn’t just the responsibility of the job. It was her. Her spontaneity had gone out the window a long time ago. If she was going to make the most of this year away, she should attempt to get it back.
“I should be mad, but if you weren’t here, I would still be lying in the bottom of the bathtub, and I could have knocked myself out. I only just moved here and don’t know anyone, so it’s nice to know I have someone who can watch my back.”
“Or butt, boobs, and anything else you have on display.” He winked at her.
“Thanks for pointing that out. If I wasn’t so professional, I’d be calling you back to the surgery for a six-week course of painful injections and rectal examinations.”