English Rose in the Outback

by Lucy Clark

  ‘I did. Although what I didn’t need was a roster of people coming to check up on me almost every hour.’

  ‘Every hour?’ He chuckled at this. ‘I only asked one or two of them to look in on you a few times.’

  ‘More like four or five of them.’

  ‘It’s only because they care about you.’

  ‘But they don’t even know me.’

  ‘They know you’ve come halfway around the world to offer your services. That’s enough for them. Still, I hope you’ve managed to rest.’

  ‘I have. I had all my meals brought to my chair, as well as a constant supply of iced drinks. Tori popped in at two o’clock and did my obs, pleased everything was normal.’

  ‘I did receive that report.’

  ‘Good. I hope you’re satisfied with my progress because tomorrow I will be at work.’

  ‘We’ll see. Besides, at the moment, everything is quite calm.’

  ‘No. Don’t say that. That’s a rather dangerous thing to say, Oscar.’

  He smiled at her words. ‘Superstitious, Dr Daisy?’

  ‘It’s perfectly fine if you call me just Daisy.’

  ‘OK, Just Daisy, do you honestly believe that by me saying that things are calm, they’re automatically going to go haywire?’ No sooner had he finished his sentence than his cell phone rang.

  ‘I rest my case.’ She laughed a little and was amazed at how her body seemed to groan with the effort.

  ‘Take it easy,’ he remarked, obviously seeing her wince a little. ‘As I’ve said, rest for the remainder of today and tomorrow, remain cool and drink lots of fluids. Then you’ll be as right as rain.’ He connected the call before she could say another word. ‘Hello?’ He listened for a moment, then glanced at the clock on the wall. ‘Sure. What time will you be picking me up?’ Another pause. ‘Good. I’ll be able to get about four or five hours’ sleep so that’s just perfect. Do you have all the equipment?’ Pause. ‘Excellent. See you then.’

  He was just about to disconnect the call when he thought of something. ‘Oh, and, Scotty, don’t beep the horn when you pick me up.’

  Clearly Scotty had asked why because Oscar continued with, ‘Because the new doc has arrived from England and she’ll be sleeping.’ Pause. ‘Yes she’s a female. You knew that.’ Another pause, one that had Oscar’s eyebrows rising as he fixed Daisy with an intrigued glance. ‘As a matter of fact, Scotty, yes, she is exceptionally pretty.’ His lips curved up into a smile as he watched Daisy’s eyes narrow with indignation. ‘I’m not sure. I’ll ask.’ He took the phone away from his mouth for a moment, then asked softly, ‘Are you single? If so, Scotty wants to know if you’d like to meet him in the pub for a drink some time this weekend.’

  Daisy crossed her arms over her chest and huffed with impatience. ‘Please inform this… Scotty person that I am here in Meeraji Lake to work. I am a medical health professional and I’m not the slightest bit interested in meeting anyone at the pub for a drink.’

  Oscar completely surprised her by throwing his head back and laughing. A second later, he returned the phone to his ear. ‘She said no, Scotty. Sorry, mate, and besides, I don’t think Tori will take too kindly to you dating someone else and why you even broke up with her is beyond me. Tori’s amazing.’ Another pause. ‘Fine. I’ll drop the subject. See you when you get here—and remember, don’t beep the horn.’

  ‘So that was Tori’s boyfriend, Scott?’ Daisy slowly edged out of the chair, waving away Oscar’s help. ‘I’m all right.’

  ‘Yes. That was Scotty.’

  ‘She was lamenting about him when she came to check on me. It sounds as though he’s not as serious about her as she is about him.’

  Oscar shrugged. ‘Scotty’s a farmer, an outback farmer through and through. All his training in life is from the land, from his father and grandfather. Sometimes, I think he feels a little intimidated that Tori has a few university degrees behind her.’

  ‘He thinks she’s too smart for him.’

  ‘Yes.’

  She placed the empty glass on the table then slowly stood up, standing still for a while in order to steady herself. ‘Other people’s love lives allow us to be philosophers and to wax rhapsodic that we would never conduct ourselves in such a way.’

  Oscar grinned at her and nodded. ‘Well stated, Dr Daisy.’ Now that she was standing, they were almost eye to eye.

  ‘You really are tall.’

  She angled her head to the side. ‘Stating the obvious, Dr Oscar.’

  His smile increased at the way she’d mimicked him and she really wished he hadn’t because that smile of his was starting to have an effect on her fragile body. It was only because she was weak, only because she was still recovering, only because he’d been considerate of her, especially yesterday and today…and last night? ‘Uh…strange question. Did you check on me last night?’

  ‘Several times. You drank when I asked you to, swallowed paracetamol when I asked you to. All in all, you were a very accommodating patient.’

  ‘Did you…did you help me to the bathroom?’

  ‘I helped you to the door of the en-suite but you insisted you could manage the rest by yourself and you did.’ He was instantly by her side as she started walking towards her part of the house, just in case she overbalanced. ‘You don’t remember?’

  ‘Not really. Everything’s sort of hazy. I remember dreaming that I was floating in a cloud and that your face was in the cloud.’

  He chuckled. ‘A cloudy Oscar. I like it.’ When they reached her room, he switched on her overhead fan and checked the air vents, ensuring she wasn’t too hot or too cold. ‘Are you hungry? I’m more than happy to bring you in a tray of food.’

  ‘I’m actually rather full. Every volunteer who came in to look after me insisted on feeding me something they’d spent all day making. It seemed churlish to refuse.’

  Oscar seemed pleased by her response. ‘You’ll go far in this town, and no doubt you’ll be getting a few more meals dropped in to help you out.’ He rubbed his hands together. ‘Which means there will also be enough for me. Good.’

  As she lay down in the queen-sized bed, which was an old wooden frame with matching side tables, the fresh vase of flowers someone had brought her today filled the air with the relaxing scents of lavender and something else she couldn’t quite distinguish. She pulled the light cotton quilt, which had clearly been handmade, over her, unable to believe how her eyes were already starting to close. ‘You’re clearly exhausted,’ Oscar murmured softly. ‘Sleep, Dr Daisy. I’ll come by and check on you. Later, I’ll run you a bath with some bath salts, which will help those muscles of yours to relax even more.’

  ‘That’s not necessary. I can take care of myself. I’m almost fully—’ she yawned ‘—recovered.’ Then everything went silent. She wasn’t sure where Oscar had gone but what seemed like only a few moments later, she heard her name being called.

  Daisy sat bolt upright in bed and looked around but there was no one there. She could hear water running. Had Oscar started running her a bath? She quickly walked to her en-suite to turn off the taps, but when she got there it was to find the bath completely empty but the water still running. He’d forgotten to put the plug in. When she turned to leave the bathroom, she almost doubled over in pain. She clutched one hand across her abdomen and reached for the towel rail with the other, trying desperately to steady herself but it wasn’t to be. She was spinning around, falling towards the ground, the pain in her gut increasing. She was going to be ill again but when she looked around for a bucket, she found that the tiled bathroom floor had disappeared and in its place was hard, dirt ground.

  When she looked up, it was to see the canvas roof of the temporary army surgery that had been set up so she could operate. The sound of a plane droned overhead and she and the rest of the staff in the operating room braced for impact. Thankfully none came. They were safe…for now.

  Neglish made a comment in his native language and they all smiled, but for
some reason Daisy couldn’t understand him. That was odd because she spoke the language fluently—it was one of the reasons why she’d been stationed in this country.

  She continued to operate on her patient, pleased she was no longer in pain, but when she looked at the patient’s face she gasped and dropped the scalpel. It wasn’t one of her usual patients. No. The face on the patient…was her own. She’d been operating on herself. Was that why her abdomen was sore? Had she been stupid enough to remove her own appendix?

  ‘Daisy. Daisy.’ The soft, insistent hand on her shoulder forced her to open her eyes. ‘Wake up, sleepyhead. You were having a bad dream.’

  ‘Where am I?’ The words were a choked-out whisper and she couldn’t disguise the terror in her tone.

  ‘Meeraji Lake.’ At the blank look he received from her, he continued, ‘The Australian outback? You had heatstroke. Don’t you remember?’ Oscar instantly placed the back of one hand against her forehead. ‘You don’t feel hot.’ He looked around the room. ‘Where is that thermometer?’

  ‘I’m fine,’ she mumbled, her senses beginning to return. ‘I’m fine.’ Daisy waved away his words as her new world crashed down around her. ‘I remember.’ She swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up slowly. Blinking a few times, she realised that Oscar had brought her in a tray of food that contained a piece of toast, some fresh fruit and a glass with what looked to be some sort of milkshake.

  ‘What’s that?’ She pointed to the drink, trying desperately to ignore every single aching muscle in her body. ‘You shouldn’t be giving me milky things. I might be sick again.’

  He raised one eyebrow at her haughty tone but didn’t comment. ‘It’s actually a fruit shake with mango, ice, banana and manuka honey, topped up with still mineral water. My sister used to swear by this recipe for hangovers, sunstroke, sunburn, heat exhaustion and just plain old tiredness.’

  Intrigued, Daisy lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip. It was nice and cool and refreshing. She took another sip, a bigger one, sighing as she felt the cool liquid spread throughout her body. ‘That is nice.’

  ‘Excellent. I’ve added some soothing mineral salts to the bath and a few bubbles. It’s ready whenever you are.’

  It was only then Daisy realised the water had stopped running. ‘How long was I asleep for?’

  ‘You call that asleep? I call it restless snoozing.’

  Indignation pulsed through her. ‘You were watching me sleep?’ She stood from the bed, rising to her full height, almost staring at him eye to eye…almost. Good heavens, he was tall. She was trying to intimidate him, trying to put him in his place as she had with so many other men in the past. She was doing her best but she was failing miserably. She could see that twinkle in his eyes, his expression indicating he was both intrigued and amused with her actions.

  ‘I was monitoring my patient,’ he offered, but she’d had enough.

  Clenching her jaw, she forced a polite smile. ‘Thank you for the food, for the bath and for your care. I am now perfectly capable of taking care of myself and would appreciate it if you would kindly vacate my part of the house and return to your own quarters.’

  ‘What was the bad dream about?’

  Had he not heard her? Didn’t he realise she didn’t want to talk about it?

  ‘I beg your pardon but I have just asked you to leave.’ To her utter chagrin, he shifted his stance to a more relaxed position, still not moving from her room.

  ‘I’m not one of your soldiers you can order around, Major Daisy,’ he stated. ‘You’re my patient and, hopefully, my friend. I’m concerned about you. You won’t recover properly from the heatstroke if your sleep is fitful and restless. Therefore, it’s best if you just give in and let me look after you, ensuring you make a full recovery, because if you don’t the exhaustion you’re feeling could lead to chronic fatigue and none of us want that.’

  ‘I know the prognosis, Oscar.’ She sighed, feeling defeated and still unbelievably tired.

  ‘Excellent. Then I’ll be expecting you to eat, drink and then slip into your nice lukewarm bath. I’ll be around for another few hours but if I don’t think you’re well enough to be left by yourself, I’ll cancel my hunting night.’

  ‘Hunting night?’ She’d been inwardly annoyed at him but the last part had caught her completely off guard.

  ‘Yes. There are a lot of vermin out here, destroying crops, stealing livestock and generally being a nuisance.’

  ‘Do you go out often?’

  ‘At certain times of the year, yes.’

  ‘You’re licensed?’

  ‘Completely.’

  ‘And tonight you’re going to Scotty’s farm?’

  ‘Yes. Why?’ He looked at her quizzically. ‘Would you like to come one time?’

  ‘Perhaps.’

  He nodded, clearly impressed by her answer. ‘I’ll see what I can arrange but first—’ he pointed to the tray of food and then the en-suite where the bath was waiting for her ‘—eat, drink and relax. OK?’

  ‘Yes, Doctor.’ Her tone was meek and mild but filled with irony.

  ‘And that’s the most sensible thing you’ve ever said to me.’ He chuckled as he walked from her room and if she’d had the strength she would have thrown a pillow at the closed door. Since she’d met Oscar Price, she’d found him annoying, frustrating and arrogant. She’d also found him thoughtful, considerate and…fun to be around.

  Fun. Her life had been so serious lately, had she forgotten how to have fun?

  ‘It looks as though Oscar may help you remember,’ she murmured to herself as she headed slowly to the bathroom, a relaxed smile on her lips.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  IT WAS ANOTHER two days before Daisy started to feel more like her old self, rather than someone who had been through the wringer. According to Oscar the jet lag coming from the Northern hemisphere to the Southern hemisphere was far worse than the other way around.

  ‘Once, when I returned from a few months in the States, it took almost two weeks for the jet lag to settle down,’ he’d told her.

  The morning after Oscar had gone out shooting, she’d slowly walked into the kitchen to find him resting his head on the kitchen table, a lukewarm cup of coffee in his hand.

  ‘Will you be able to work this morning?’ Her words had penetrated his dozing and he’d sat bolt upright, spilling his coffee all over his hand.

  ‘I’m awake,’ he’d said, eyes open. She’d been unable to stop the bubble of laughter that had burst from her lips. Oscar’s response had been to smile back, clean up the mess then head out of the door, giving her an easy salute as he went. ‘Keep resting,’ he’d instructed.

  Once more, she’d been inundated with visitors throughout the day while Oscar had run himself ragged doing emergency-department work, clinics and ward rounds. It had made her feel guilty as this was the reason she’d answered the advertisement in the first place. ‘Emergency trained doctor required for hectic small town outback practice.’ And yet there she’d been, drinking iced tea and nibbling homemade biscuits, talking to the residents of Meeraji Lake’s retirement village who seemed to have taken her on as their responsibility.

  ‘Why don’t you look at it from the point of view that you are indeed working,’ Tori had said when she’d stopped by later in the afternoon to take Daisy’s temperature. ‘You’re getting to know your new patients. Most of these people will be on your house-call list and, by the same token, they’re getting to know you, to see if they can trust you when you prescribe a certain treatment for them.’

  ‘Are you saying they’ve been interviewing me?’ Daisy had been astonished.

  ‘In a way, yes.’ Tori had packed up the portable sphygmomanometer and grinned. ‘From what I’ve heard, you’ve passed with flying colours.’

  Oscar had come home late on Thursday night and, as someone had already dropped a meal in for dinner, he’d quickly eaten his portion, checked her temperature and then headed to bed, bidding her a subdued goodnig
ht.

  It had left Daisy feeling a little deflated as she’d been looking forward to having a chat with him, the two of them sitting in the wing-back chairs opposite each other, sipping cool drinks and talking about his day and the patients he’d seen. Clearly, though, he had still been recovering from his early shooting trip.

  When she walked into the kitchen on Friday morning, she was surprised to find a bleary-eyed Oscar yet again.

  ‘Did you go out hunting again last night?’

  ‘You mean early this morning.’ He nodded, then frowned as he watched her move fluidly around the kitchen. She switched on the kettle and took out a teacup. Clearly whether it was hot or not, she was having a cup of tea. ‘What are you doing up and especially looking that chirpy? I prescribed bed rest. You’ll do as your doctor says.’ He sipped his black coffee before resting one elbow on the table and propping his head on his hand.

  ‘I’ve discharged myself,’ she remarked as she went to the fridge and opened it. She stared into it for a moment, taking stock of the contents. ‘As I haven’t had any time to go to the market, I’m presuming it’s all right for me to use the food provided?’

  ‘Yes, yes, of course,’ he snapped.

  She raised her eyebrows and turned to stare down at him. ‘No need to use that impatient tone with me.’

  ‘Sorry,’ he replied sheepishly.

  ‘Clearly you’ve had little sleep—again. Perhaps it’s my turn to look after you.’

  His lips twitched as he continued to stare at her. ‘Are you volunteering?’

  Daisy sighed. ‘Volunteering to boss you around? Most definitely.’ She returned her attention to the open refrigerator, enjoying the coolness it was providing. Although she was dressed in a cotton skirt and light, short-sleeved shirt, it was still warm, even this early in the morning. She quickly removed eggs, tomato, asparagus, cheese and milk. There was silence as she moved around the kitchen, opening and closing cupboards, finding the utensils she needed, but she could feel Oscar’s gaze upon her the entire time.