DAVE dropped into a chair at the kitchen table and slumped forward. He felt like a first-class heel for bawling Rosie out like that, but she’d got him so mad with her ice-maiden attitude he’d felt like throttling her.
He sat up and shook his head in disbelief. One minute she’d been smiling at him and the next snarling. Perhaps it had just been delayed shock? She’d been through enough and he didn’t blame her if she felt a little overwrought. Maybe that’s all it had been and she’d simply been venting her frustrations at her own inadequacy on him.
He allowed himself to believe it whilst he stood and grabbed a long cool beer from the fridge, accidentally kicking against a chair on his way back to the table. He only drank light beer as he never knew when he’d be needed at the hospital or at an emergency, but right now the coolness of the liquid was what he wanted most.
‘Can’t you keep it down?’ Mick mumbled from the doorway. ‘It’s after three in the morning.’
‘Sorry, bro’.’
‘Tough night?’
‘Yeah. I suppose you’ve heard,’ Dave said. The locals had an amazing grapevine. In fact, it was worse than any hospital he’d worked in previously. The thought made him smile. Their concern was always genuine and they could always be relied upon to help out in any emergency. Here in the outback, it was often man against the elements.
‘Yep. Libby and John’s kids. How are they doing?’
‘They’ll get through.’
‘Both off to Adelaide?’
‘Yes. Thankfully Penny had just finished her operating list when the call came in so she was able to come out on retrieval with us.’
‘She’s back in Adelaide now?’
‘Yes.’
‘Sam will be pleased. Oh, hey, did you manage to get that piece of artwork Penny was after?’
‘Yes. She was ecstatic when I told her, and Sam will love it when she gives it to him.’
‘Yeah. Hope my wife is as devoted as Penny is to Sam. How did you get the artist to part with it? I thought it wasn’t supposed to be for sale?’
‘Let’s just say he owed me a favour or two,’ Dave replied, tapping the side of his nose.
‘Most of the people in this district owe you a favour or two.’
‘Happens when you save their lives.’
‘And now you’ve got Libby and John to add to the list.’
‘It would seem that way.’ Dave grinned at his brother before finishing his beer. ‘Think I’m about done in.’
‘I guess this means you won’t be getting up in two more hours to give me a hand with the cattle?’
‘You’ve got it, little brother.’ Dave smiled at him and headed towards his room.
‘Hey—I almost forgot,’ Mick added as he trailed after him. ‘Mags called.’
Dave stopped in his tracks at the mention of his ex-wife and turned to face his brother, all traces of humour gone from his face. ‘What does she want?’
Mick hesitated.
‘Spit it out.’
‘All right, but don’t shoot the messenger.’
Dave nodded.
‘She said she’s getting married on Saturday and wants you to know she’ll be putting Mel into an exclusive boarding school so the fees will be more expensive than before.’
‘What? While she’s on her honeymoon? It’s school holidays! How long is she going away for?’
Mick shrugged. ‘Not sure, but from what she said, it sounds as though it’s going to be quite a few months. Her new husband, Julian Moncrief, will be working overseas for a while.’
‘Mags is marrying Julian?’ Dave was astounded and then wondered why he should be surprised.
‘They deserve each other. Two peas in a pod.’
‘How can you say that, Mick? You only met him once.’
‘Twice,’ Mick corrected. ‘And he was a creep both times.’
‘The first would have been at our wedding. When was the second?’
‘When I came to Sydney one time. It wasn’t long before you and Mags separated.’
‘Why don’t I remember?’
‘You were working all sorts of hours, trying desperately to block out Mags’s continual manipulations. I remember you came home one night—aw, it was probably around three or four in the morning and you were dead-dog tired. We sat on the floor on your very expensive rug and just talked. Mags came out just after five and told us both to shut up or get out.’
Dave nodded. ‘That I remember. Soon, I was back here on the farm.’
‘Where you belong, mate.’
‘Exactly. So when did you see Julian again?’
‘He picked Mags up for work. She said her car was on the blink and as his office was across the road from hers, he was…you know… “helping her out”.’
Dave didn’t miss the underlying meaning. ‘Typical.’
‘Surprised?’
‘I knew about ’em, mate. I confronted her, she didn’t deny it, we separated. I’m also sure Julian wasn’t the only one.’
‘Hurt?’
‘Way past it, bro’.’ Dave thought for a moment. ‘Julian was married then.’
Dave nodded. ‘Perhaps you’re right, Mick. Perhaps they do deserve each other.’
‘And good riddance to them.’
‘Yeah, but what about Melody? She’s my daughter, too. If Mags thinks she’s going to dump Mel into a boarding school, she’s got another think coming!’
‘What else should she do?’
‘Mel can come here.’
‘To the farm?’ Mick asked. ‘It’s no place for a kid, Dave. You know that. The last few times Mel has been here, she’s been miserable.’
‘No, she hasn’t.’
‘Yes, she has, Dave. If you want Mel to come here for a few months, you’ll need to move closer to town.’
‘We’re only twenty minutes from the town centre and this is my home, too.’
‘Mel needs to be with other kids her own age, and if she’s coming here to live for a while, it’ll take you for ever to get her to school in the morning before you’re due at the hospital.’
Dave nodded and rubbed his fingers along his temple ‘What exactly did Mags say?’
‘She said she’d be putting Mel into the school in the next few days as she had too much to concentrate on with the wedding.’
‘This is so like her.’ Dave slapped his hand against his thigh. ‘She fought for custody of Melody when I would have had her at the drop of a hat but, no, Margaret had to have everything her way and couldn’t possibly have people thinking she wasn’t a good mother. This isn’t being a good mother and I object to not having a say in what happens to my own daughter. I won’t pay those fees.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because Melody’s coming to Broken Hill and that’s final.’
‘You think that’s wise? You know, to rip her out of her environment?’
‘She’s six years old, Mick. Kids adapt. You and I adapted when our dad walked out on us.’
‘Yeah, but we had Mum. We still had a constant in our lives.’
‘Don’t you remember what mum was like when he left? She fell to pieces,’ Dave growled. ‘She crumbled into a woman half her previous size and never fully recovered. That’s not the point. I won’t let Margaret dictate like this. Melody is my daughter, too, and I’ll go to court if I have to. I’ll do whatever it takes, but I will not have my daughter thrust aside in some snotty boarding school, growing up with the belief that neither of her parents wanted her. I want her and, believe me, mate, I’m going to get her.’
‘What are you going to do?’
‘I’ll call Mags first thing in the morning and arrange to fly up there in the next few days to pick Melody up.’
‘That’s the Dunbar fighting spirit,’ Mick added, then stopped and looked thoughtfully at his brother. ‘You don’t think this is what Mags originally wanted? That she’d want you to get on your high horse and demand to take Mel?’
Dave felt his anger rise at Mick’s question. He was right. Mags was more than likely manipulating him again. Well, if she wanted to play the game, then it was going to be played by his rules. ‘If she persists in going through with this, I’m going to file for full custody and I’ll fight her with everything I’ve got.’ He clenched his jaw in determination. ‘Mel is my daughter and I love her, Mick. She may not like coming to the farm but I know for a fact that she also loves me.’
‘And me! I’m her favourite uncle.’
‘You’re her only uncle, Mick.’
His brother grinned at him. ‘You’ll need to get a nanny as well. Or a housekeeper or something. You work such odd hours, mate, you’ve got to think about Mel’s needs.’
Anger surged through Dave at the way his ex-wife still managed to get to him. ‘I can’t believe Mags would be so…so…Ugh!’ He thumped his fist into the wall and was surprised when it went straight through the old plaster-board.
‘That was smart,’ Mick remarked ironically, as Dave cradled his hand. ‘Get it under some water.’
‘It’s fine.’
‘Don’t be a drongo, Dave.’
‘I am not an unintelligent, stupid fool.’
‘Yeah? Then stop acting like one!’
Dave stormed past his brother, knowing he was right. He shoved his hand under the tap and rinsed it carefully, pleased to see he’d only grazed the skin in a few places. Other than that, all phalanges and the metacarpus seemed to be unbroken.
‘How’s it look?’
‘It’ll be fine.’
‘You’re lucky.’
‘Yeah.’ He pushed passed Mick and headed to his room. ‘Thanks for passing on the message. I’ll think about what you’ve said.’
‘Once you get custody of Mel, you shouldn’t need to see Mags again.’
‘Hadn’t thought of that. Maybe she’d want access visits?’
‘You think so?’
‘Anything’s possible with Mags. I’ve learned never to underestimate that woman. She’s capable of anything. It might suit her in years to come to fight for custody of Melody again.’
‘Mel’s a smart girl, Dave. Hopefully, by then she’ll be able to make up her own mind. After all, she’s a Dunbar!’
‘That she is. Thanks, bro’.’ Dave shut his door and lay down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. What had happened to his well-ordered life? In the last few weeks, it was as though his world had started to spin on an uneven axis.
First Rosie had come along, invading his dreams. Her sweet, pliant lips so delicious to kiss, but that had been before she’d turned into the ice queen. He still had no idea what had happened there.
Now there was Melody. His gorgeous little girl with her long blonde hair and Dunbar blue eyes. He’d seen her just a few weeks ago—at Christmas time. They’d spent the weekend together in Sydney and it had been wonderful.
Mags had seemed glad to have Mel out of the way and now he knew why. Even so, she’d never said anything about getting married again, although it was just like Mags to do things at the last minute like this.
He groaned in exasperation and turned onto his stomach, burying his head beneath the pillow, hoping to stop his mind from being so busy so he could finally get to sleep.
Women—he seemed surrounded by them and they were all a complete mystery to him.
‘Morning, darl’,’ Sadie called as Dave headed onto the ward early Tuesday morning. He’d hardly slept a wink and had got up to help Mick, thankful for the distraction to his thoughts.
‘Good morning, Sadie,’ he replied, and smothered a yawn.
‘What’s up, darl’? You look as though you didn’t sleep a wink last night.’
‘I didn’t.’
‘What’s up? You can tell me, darl’. I was one of your mum’s closest friends. Go on, chew my ear.’
‘Melody’s coming.’
Sadie’s eyebrows shot up to her greying hairline. ‘Is she now? I didn’t think she came in the January holidays.’
‘She’s coming for good.’ He watched as Sadie’s jaw hung open.
‘You sure that’s a good idea, darl’?’
‘The best one I’ve ever had. I should have done it a long time ago.’
‘What does Mags think about it?’
‘I’ll be calling her after ward round to tell her.’ Dave slung a stethoscope around his neck as he spoke. ‘Let’s get the ward round done and get on with the day.’
‘Right you are, darl’,’ Sadie said and patted him affectionately on the back.
True to his word, Dave went to his office after ward rounds and called Mags, surprised to find her awake so early. It would have been close to nine o’clock in Sydney. He didn’t beat about the bush and told her up front what he wanted. When she calmly agreed, he knew for a fact that this had all been part of her plan.
‘Why didn’t you just come right out and say you didn’t want her any more? Why can’t you at least be honest about Mel?’
‘Because then everyone would have thought I was a bad mother. This way, it looks as though—’
‘I don’t give a stuff how it looks, Mags.’
‘Don’t call me that. You know I hate it.’
Dave grinned, glad he’d irritated her. ‘So you’ll agree not to fight me for full custody of Melody?’
‘I agree. In fact, my solicitor has already drawn up papers in anticipation of this. They’ll be delivered to you by tonight.’
‘Geez, Mags. You’re…unbelievable.’ Dave was completely disgusted with the woman, wondering how on earth he’d ever found her attractive in the first place. ‘I’ll be there on Thursday to collect her.’
‘Don’t bother. I’ve arranged for her to fly out to you.’
‘By herself! She’s six, Mags.’
‘Oh, all right, then. I’ll send the current nanny with her, too. Happy now? But you’re paying for the flights.’
‘I’m more than happy to.’ Anything. He’d do anything she said at the moment if it meant he could get custody of Mel.
‘Right, then. I’ve got to speak to the caterers.’
The line went dead and Dave looked at the receiver and shook his head in disbelief. The woman was a piece of work! He called his brother to let him know the progress before heading off to clinic.
Once he’d got through clinic, he grabbed a quick bite of lunch, returning to his office to get his files ready for house calls. The encompassing scent of a very familiar perfume teased at his senses and he looked up to find Rose in his open doorway, her hand raised to knock.
‘Good afternoon, Rosie.’ He stopped his paper-shuffling, letting his gaze slowly travel over the alluring curves of her body, refreshing his memory. She was dressed in another trouser suit, this time pale blue, and she looked stunning. He could have stayed there for hours, simply watching her, but his self-control, thankfully, got the better of him. He cleared his throat and stood. ‘What can I do for you?’
A lot! Rose worked hard at not being affected by the touch of his visual caress but she knew she was fighting a losing battle. How did the man have the power to make her knees quiver and her heart turn over with just one look? Then again, how many other women did he look at like that? The thought was enough to help pull her emotions back on track.
‘I’ve just been told by the secretary that my house call list is the same as yours so it makes sense to go together.’ When he simply stood there, staring at her as though she’d suggested they rob a bank, Rose pointed to his desk. ‘Do you have all the patient files?’
‘Yes.’ Dave couldn’t believe his luck. He got to spend the afternoon with Rosie. Beauty!
‘Fine. I’ll meet you at your ute.’
‘We can take your car if you like.’
‘What? Not intimidated by women drivers?’
‘Not at all.’
‘But I don’t know my way around like you do.’
‘I can direct you.’ He shoved the files into his briefcase, picked up his medical bag, which he’d previously checked, and headed towards her. She quickly stepped out of the doorway, making room for him to pass. ‘Let’s get going, then.’
They walked out of the hospital together, Rose keeping her distance. She unlocked the car and opened the doors to let the heat out. Dave did the same for the passenger side. A minute later, she closed them again, swatting some flies away from her face. ‘Won’t take long for it to cool down,’ she remarked, as she settled behind the wheel and pulled on her seat belt. Dave did the same and after she’d started the engine, she switched the air-conditioner to ‘full’.
‘Who’s first on the list and which way do I go?’ she asked, as she pulled out of the car park.
‘Left. Mrs McGill.’
‘Mrs McGill.’ Rose nodded. ‘How did she recover from her food-poisoning experience?’
‘All right but it’s really aggravated her intestines. I’ve been watching her closely since just before Christmas when she presented with abdominal pain. When she was brought in with food poisoning, I thought it might have been gallstones, but after doing an ultra sound, I discovered it wasn’t.’
‘Yet her abdominal pains haven’t subsided?’
‘Not from what her GP says. I suppose you’re seeing her because of the bone cancer,’ he stated.
‘Yes. Unfortunately, most of the patients I visit at home have a terminal illness.’
‘Take the next right turn,’ he directed.
She was glad the conversation was kept to medical aspects because that way she could relax a little and enjoy being with him, rather than being forced to remember she was cross with him.
When they arrived at Mrs McGill’s, it was to find her lying in bed, moaning in pain. Her husband was quite beside himself. Dave performed her obs while Rose gave her something for the pain.
‘That should help,’ she said softly. Soon Mrs McGill was more peaceful and started to doze. They headed out to the kitchen, Mr McGill telling them what had transpired that morning and how he’d been about to call the doctor.
‘I’d like to admit her to the hospital so I can keep a closer eye on her and run some tests,’ Dave said to him. ‘Agreed, Rosie?’
‘Yes. She can be monitored at the hospital and until the source of this pain is discovered, it’ll be best for her.’
‘Her oncologist is due here on Thursday so I’ll make an appointment for him to stop by her bed and give her a check-up,’ Dave told Mr McGill.
They organised Mrs McGill’s transfer to hospital then sat down with a cool drink until the ambulance arrived. Once their patient had been handed over to the ambos, they headed to the next appointment.
Three patients later and Rose was ready to call it a day. ‘It’s hot, I’m tired and these flies are driving me insane,’ she told Dave as they waved goodbye at their last house call. ‘Which way?’ she said at an intersection. ‘Once I get back on the main roads, I’m OK.’
‘Go right.’
‘Thanks.’ Rose had been impressed by his relaxed nature towards his patients and it softened her resolve a little. She couldn’t let that happen. Forcing herself to concentrate on her driving, Rose worked hard to keep up her cool façade. Now that the patients were out of the way, it was the only shield she had. She was still annoyed with him. She had to remember that. A man shouldn’t kiss a woman if he’s already involved with another woman. It just isn’t the done thing.
First Julian had thought he could do it and now Dave. She could pick them all right. As far as her taste went in men, it was lousy. She was also cross with him for ruining her sleep last night. Just when she’d thought she’d had enough sleepless nights because of him, along had come another one, leaving her feeling washed-out and cranky.
‘Left here.’ His deep voice broke into her thoughts and washed over her like smooth silk. Rose felt her heartbeat accelerate. Oh, why did he have to have such an effect on her? It wasn’t fair. It should be illegal for a man to have such an effect on women—especially a man who was a two-timing snake!
She fixed the image of him kissing Penny firmly in her mind and clung to it, but she could feel herself losing her grip once more. The truth was, the more she saw of Dave, the more she was coming to like him. He was direct and forthright when dealing with staff and patients. He had great skill as a surgeon and as a colleague she admired him greatly. So why did he have to be such a…such a…male?
‘Rosie,’ he said when they were almost at the hospital. She’d been so wrapped in her thoughts that she jumped a little as he spoke. ‘Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.’
Rose slowed down and turned into the hospital car park, pulling into the space she’d vacated a few hours ago.
‘We need to talk.’ He undid his seat belt and shifted slightly to look at her.
‘What about?’
‘Us.’
‘Dave, there is no us.’ Rose kept the engine going, hoping he’d take the hint and get out. He didn’t.
‘Yes, there is, and you know it.’
She looked at him. ‘Don’t tell me what I know or don’t know.’
‘There you go again, taking what I say out of context and getting all hot-headed about it.’
‘I’m not going to sit here with the engine running and have some hypothetical conversation with you because that’s all a relationship between you and I would be—hypothetical. It’s hot and I’m tired. Please, get out.’
‘Rosie—’
‘Now!’
‘No. We need to talk and if I have to sit here until the morning, you’re going to talk to me.’
‘But people will see us toge—’
‘I don’t care. We need to talk. That’s all there is to it.’
He wasn’t going to budge on this, she could tell. ‘Fine, but…come around to my house where we can at least have some privacy.’
It was obviously an answer he could accept as without another word he got out of her car. ‘See you soon, then.’ He shut the door and patted the top of her roof. Rose headed off, not at all sure she’d done the right thing.