by Margaret Way
‘It’s a bit soon for that,’ Lily said defensively. ‘But maybe someday …?’
‘Well, that’s a good start,’ Maxi said. ‘And something positive for you to take away. Now, about getting off to sleep. I’ve a tape here I can loan you. It’s relaxation music. Do you have a player?’
Lily nodded.
‘And I’d like you to go along to Mrs Maynard’s shop, when you leave here and ask for some scented candles you can burn. Lavender is good. And while you’re there, select some comfy cushions and whatever else you’d like to make your new room cosy.’
Lily bit her lip uncertainly. ‘I don’t have much pocket money …’
‘That’s OK.’ Maxi waved away the youngster’s disquiet. ‘The CWA’s funds will cover that. Care and concern for families is a large part of their brief.’ And if it came down to it, Maxi herself would pay for Lily’s little comfort items. ‘Just select what bibs and bobs you fancy. I’ll call Liz and tell her to expect you and if the parcel is too bulky for you to carry, I’m sure she’ll deliver it for you. If not, I’ll pop over with it to the hostel some time this evening. OK with you?’
‘Thank you.’ Lily gave a tentative smile. ‘For the talk and everything …’
‘You’re very welcome, Lily.’ Maxi’s eyes were gentle. ‘Now, what about popping back to see me in a couple of weeks for another chat?’
‘I can do that.’ Lily swung gracefully to her feet. ‘I’ll make an appointment now, as I leave, shall I?’
‘That would be good,’ Maxi smiled, the intense nature of the consult lifting. ‘Now, just hang on a tick and I’ll get that tape for you.’
As soon as she’d seen Lily out, Maxi called Liz. The matter of Lily’s shopping settled, she replaced the receiver and thought for a moment before she picked it up once more. This time her call was to Bron. ‘Can I come and see you on a confidential matter?’ she asked when Bron answered.
‘Of course you can. I’ll put the coffee on.’
Maxi drove across to the Walkers’ home, knowing Bron was taking the week off to spend it with Katie.
‘You look like you could do with this.’ Bron’s mouth turned up in a wry smile as she took the tray of refreshments out onto the back deck.
‘Ah …’ Maxi looked around anxiously. ‘I was hoping for somewhere a bit more private, Bron …’
‘Not to worry.’ Bron rested the tray on the outdoor table. ‘There’s just us chickens here. David’s at the hospital and Katie’s spending the day at the McCalls’. Brand called and picked her up this morning. She’s staying out there for tea so I don’t expect her back before nine or so.’
Maxi gave a jagged laugh. ‘Sorry to sound paranoid but it’s to do with a patient and I wouldn’t like her to think I’d broken her confidentiality.’
‘Discretion’s my second name,’ Bron said, deadpan. ‘Now, try one of my jam drops.’
After a few leisurely minutes, while they talked and drank their coffee, Bron refilled their cups and said, ‘Now, what did you want to run by me?’
Maxi outlined Lily’s situation, divulging only as much detail as she felt the teenager would be comfortable with. ‘Do you know the family at all, Bron?’
‘Well, I know of them,’ Bron said thoughtfully. ‘They’ve a small property out at Willow Bend. Myles Carpenter has been in to Casualty now and again. Needed a tetanus jab once, I recall. Seemed an OK guy. Janine, the wife, I don’t know at all. She came to a few things at the school when they first moved here but she didn’t get involved. I do know Lily, though. She’s a year ahead of Katie. Sweet kid. Very bright, from all accounts.’
‘That’s what I wanted to ask you about,’ Maxi said quietly, and their eyes linked in a moment of feminine understanding. ‘Lily mentioned she’d love to go away to school but that the fees would be a problem. I just wondered about the possibility of her applying for a scholarship somewhere in Sydney. Somewhere … nice.’
‘Lots of the private schools offer scholarships,’ Bron said helpfully. ‘It would be just a matter of doing a quick search on the net. I’ll collate some names for you, if you like.’
‘That would be a great help.’ Maxi looked thoughtful. ‘You’re happy with Katie’s school, aren’t you?’
‘Yes, it’s lovely. In fact, I think their scholarships are about to be advertised for next year’s intake. Lily could try there, along with any others she fancied. There would be an entrance exam involved so she’d need to speak with her form teacher and take it from there. And have her parents’ permission, of course.’
Well, they could get round that somehow. Maxi chewed on her bottom lip. Should she be getting so involved with her patient, though? Jake would probably tell her to back off and let the family sort themselves out. She gave a silent huff. They hadn’t done much of a job of it to date. And Lily deserved so much better.
‘Do you know, I still have all the guff from when Katie applied last year.’ Bron got to her feet. ‘I think I’ve stashed it in the so-called file cabinet somewhere. Take it home and read through it. Then you could run it by Lily when you see her. It will be a starting point at least.’
Jake came out of his office and placed the last of his patient files on the counter at Reception. Ayleen looked up and he asked, ‘Maxi still about?’
‘She left ages ago.’ Ayleen took the files and tapped them neatly together. ‘Said she had some urgent business to attend to.’
Jake felt the tentacles of fear grip his insides and squeeze. Was she about to do a runner home to England? He didn’t know where her head was any more. Sure, they’d made love but now they seemed further apart than they’d ever been. He shook his head. He couldn’t wait any longer. As soon as she got home, they’d talk. And they’d sort things out—even if it took all night.
‘Oh, poor baby,’ Maxi crooned, as Chalky came joyfully to greet her when she arrived home. She glanced at her watch. There was still time to take him for a run before dark. Collecting her medical case from the boot, she ran lightly up the back stairs to the verandah. And stopped. Jake was leaning back on one of the loungers, a can of beer propped on his chest.
‘Hi.’ Maxi took a dry swallow. ‘You’re home early.’
‘I am allowed an early mark sometimes.’ Dark humour spilled into his eyes and pulled at the corners of his mouth.
‘That’s not what I meant.’ Soft colour licked along her cheekbones and she added throatily, ‘I think I’ll change and take Chalky for a run.’
‘The dog’s fine.’ Jake gave an impatient twitch of his shoulder. ‘I ran countless laps of the yard with him when I got home. Get yourself a glass of wine and come join me.’
Suddenly Maxi felt vulnerable. There was something implacable about his manner that had her antennae twitching uncomfortably. ‘Oh …’she said after a moment, then cleared her throat and tried again. ‘Fine. I’ll do that.’
‘Good result?’ Jake asked innocently.
‘Result?’
‘Ayleen said you were off about some urgent business.’
Jake watched as the smoky hue in her green gaze disappeared, instantly replaced by something else—not guilt exactly but something akin to it.
‘Oh, that.’ Maxi flapped a hand as if to dismiss his question. ‘Tell you all about it in a minute.’ With that, she beat a hasty retreat across the verandah and into the kitchen beyond.
Jake looked after her moodily. Then he lifted his arm in a swift, jerky movement, draining the last of his beer. His thoughts were churning at the speed of light. Had she already made plans to leave? And when the hell was she going to tell him?
As Maxi poured her wine, she realised her hand was shaking. She had to calm down. But her tummy was turning back flips at the possibility of perhaps another confrontation—like the one they’d had over Brandon McCall.
But surely this time it was different. There’d been nothing on Lily’s file to suggest caution. Unless, like Brandon, the information was still in Jake’s head. But surely she had some autonomy when it cam
e to treating her patients?
Hardened by this resolve, she picked up her glass and made her way back out to the verandah. Seeing Jake’s crushed beer can on the table, she said with false brightness, ‘I could have brought you another from the fridge.’
‘One’s my limit when I’m on call.’
Well, she already knew that. She gave him a guarded smile and decided to plunge straight in. ‘Do you know the Carpenter family?’
Jake seemed taken aback by the question. His head came up and he thought for a second. ‘As the doctor, you gradually get to know most everyone in a small town. I’ve a slight acquaintance with Myles and the daughter …’
‘Lily,’ Maxi supplied. ‘She came to see me today. She appears to be carrying the weight of a very dysfunctional family on her young shoulders.’
‘Fill me in.’ Jake frowned a bit, straightening to sit upright in his chair.
Maxi outlined what Lily and she had spoken about, ending, ‘So that’s what I’ve done.’
Jake stayed silent, his mouth pursed in thought. ‘If what Lily has told you is only half-true, then what’s happened is not far removed from child abuse.’
Maxi felt a wave of unease. The last thing Lily would want would be intervention from Social Services. ‘I think Lily has been able to handle things so far with her father’s help, and now she’s out of the picture perhaps her parents will manage to start resolving their problems. Ideally, they should be referred along to a psychologist—or at least a family counsellor. But there’s no hope of that happening out here.’
Jake’s lips thinned into a hard seam. There she went again. And he didn’t relish criticism heaped on him about the inadequacies of the system under which they worked. He knew them backwards.
But delivering medicine to rural communities in a country as big as Australia was a hard call, always would be. Unless nature took it into her head to radically change the geography of the place, he thought cryptically. He set a steely look on Maxi. ‘So there are holes in the system. Just what the hell do you expect me to do about it?’
Maxi looked shocked. She hadn’t expected that kind of reaction from him. She licked suddenly dry lips. ‘Nothing, I suppose. I … guess I’m just venting. It’s frustrating, trying to work like this.’
‘Tell me something I don’t know,’ he growled. ‘This kind of situation would be frustrating wherever you worked. Until the Carpenters seek help for their problems, what could any MO do? But for crying out loud, Maxi, by now you should be aware of the shortcomings of practising medicine out here. And if you’re not, perhaps you should be asking yourself what you’re doing here at all?’
Had that been a challenge or a blatant personal attack? Either way, Maxi felt the stinging impact like a hail of stones. Her heart was hammering. But she didn’t let it sway her. If he wanted answers, she’d give him answers. ‘I came to the outback because of our relationship, Jacob. I thought even you would have known that.’
He laughed and it was a harsh, angry sound. ‘After two lousy years of not knowing anything? Just what am I supposed to know now? Only hours ago you made love with me as though you were dying of thirst. Now it’s as though it never happened. You’re off somewhere with the fairies. I may as well be invisible. In my book it doesn’t add up to much of a relationship.’
‘I’ve … had a few things on my mind,’ she defended inadequately. ‘And despite what you think, I did have valid reasons for not coming to you sooner.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘Like what? You’d met someone else in the meantime and you waited to see how it panned out?’
‘No! It was nothing like that. I wanted to come to you.’
In a gesture of a man almost at the end of his tether Jake raised his hands, ploughing his fingers through his hair and locking them at the back of his neck. ‘So, what kept you? If it was money, I’d already offered to pay for your flight.’
Maxi shook her head. She realised she’d come to some kind of watershed. She’d just have to spit it out and let him make of it what he would. But not here with him looking like a jungle cat about to pounce. ‘Could we go inside?’ She got to her feet, leaving her wine untouched on the table. She needed a clear head for what she had to tell him.
They went into the lounge and sat on the sofa, taking opposite ends. Like two combatants, Maxi thought with grim humour. She licked her lips. ‘This may take a while.’
He lifted his hands in a gesture that might have indicated, just get on with it.
She took a shuddery little breath. ‘Barely a week after you left, Luke was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma.’
Ewing’s? Jake’s brows peaked. Oh, hell. The cancer was a rare type that usually began in the bones or soft tissue. But Luke? Her twin? Sweet God. He took in her painfully clamped jaw, a sliver of terrible unease ripping through him. Was her brother … dead? Oh, please, no. He shouldn’t be putting her through this, he thought, ashamed at his unremitting stance. His mouth tightened, before he scooted along the sofa towards her. Reaching out, he touched her cheek drawing his fingers over her skin. ‘I’m so sorry, Max …’
‘It was awful,’ she said thickly, her voice shaking.
Jake’s emotions began to show as well. ‘He’s not …?’
‘No.’ She managed a fluttery kind of smile. ‘We’re a tough lot, it seems. Luke’s still in remission.’
‘Why did you not tell me!’ The words were wrung from him.
Her shoulders lifted in a shrug that spelt desperation. ‘What could you have done, Jacob?’
‘I could have been there for you.’
‘After the way we parted, I didn’t think I had any right.’
‘No right? No right, when I’d asked you to marry me? Had asked you to make a life with me?’ A ragged sigh came up from his boots. ‘You had no trust in me at all, did you, Maxi?’
‘That’s where you’re wrong.’ Maxi felt as though her heart would crack wide open. ‘I always trusted you. It was the situation between us at the time I didn’t trust. The compelling suddenness of how it happened. And whether it had any real substance …’ she ended in a low voice, staring down at their clasped fingers.
A long silence, after which he said quietly, ‘With hindsight, I guess I can see it from your point of view. We were on opposite sides of the world. It was … difficult and I didn’t offer you much reassurance at the time, did I?’
‘No.’ And that didn’t even begin to cover it.
His grip on her fingers tightened. ‘It must have come as a total shock when Luke was diagnosed. Ewing’s usually attacks a younger age group.’
‘Usually.’ Her mouth turned down. ‘But when Luke drew my attention to the lump at the back of his knee, I told him we couldn’t hang about speculating. I got him straight in to see Marcus Blanford at our old hospital.’
‘Good move,’ Jake approved. ‘I guess then it all snowballed into the inevitable practicalities.’
‘Yes.’ In medical shorthand, she outlined her brother’s treatment, the endless hours of sitting with him, watching him try to make light of the wretched aftermath of the chemo. And fighting so hard to get well. Living in a kind of limbo until he was cleared.
Tight-lipped, Jake asked, ‘What’s the success rate of it not recurring?’
‘At present around eighty-five percent.’
‘And he’s in remission now?’
‘Yes.’ She gave a fleeting smile. ‘But with cancer you never really know, do you? But he’s determined.’
‘Like you.’
She laughed in surprise. ‘Perhaps about some things.’
‘About most things,’ he countered. ‘You came twelve thousand miles to me. That had to take some kind of determination.’
If only he knew. But, then, perhaps he did. She moved her hands, shifting them to his forearms and holding on. ‘For a long time I had to put all thoughts of joining you out of my head. I had to stay. I was the one with the medical knowledge so everyone in the family turned to me for answers.’
&n
bsp; ‘Of course,’ Jake said quietly. Knowing Maxi, she would have run herself ragged supporting not just Luke but their whole family. Despite the many joys they brought, extended families could be hard work. Not that he was any authority. Apart from his mother, he had practically no one who gave a damn about him.
Except now, maybe … there was Maxi.
His eyes were fixed on her face, wanting to take the lingering pain from her eyes, faintly ashamed at his almost petulant attitude earlier. He could only imagine the strength she’d had to summon up to be the rock for her whole family. ‘I could have helped, if you’d let me.’
‘With hindsight, I know that.’ Leaning forward, she raised her hand and stroked his shoulder tentatively, ending at the ropey hardness of his forearm. ‘The good part is Luke is back at work—still in the drawing office at the moment, but I don’t imagine they’ll keep him off-site for much longer.’
‘Hotshot architect like him? I wouldn’t think so.’ Jake’s mouth twitched into a dry smile. ‘And everyone’s coping now?’
‘Pretty much. And that’s why I felt free to come to you.’
‘Without knowing just what you’d find when you got here,’ he said, his voice gruff and not quite even. ‘I could have gone and got married.’
‘You could. I had to wait until I got to Sydney to find you hadn’t.’
He looked taken aback. ‘How come?’
‘When I phoned your mother, she asked me to lunch. She told me then.’
‘I see …’
‘I hope you do.’ Maxi felt her eyes drawn helplessly to his. ‘I didn’t come here on a whim, Jacob.’ His blue gaze shimmered over her face and she added silently, I came because I love you. Because I’ll always love you.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THREE weeks on and Maxi and Jake were sitting at the long kitchen table.
‘I can’t believe how quickly things have come together. All we need now is an audience,’ Maxi said. She was speaking about the men’s health seminar that was taking place on the upcoming Friday evening.
Jake’s mouth flickered in a controlled smile. Her face was a study in bright anticipation. He just hoped enough of the local males would turn up to make all her efforts worthwhile. ‘I’ve had my ear to the ground. I haven’t heard anyone say they won’t come.’
