Outback Surgeon

by Leah Martyn

  Lauren chuckled. 'Actually, he's had rather a good day. I could even say a riotous day.' She paused for effect. 'He's learning to paint.'

  Abbey looked stunned for a moment and then her face lit up with a wide smile. 'But that's wonderful! Who's teaching him? One of the OTs?'

  'Mmm, Amanda Steele. She reckons our Todd has real potential.'

  Abbey bit the inside of her cheek. 'This may not be the right time to tell you my news, then.'

  'About Todd?'

  'By a remarkable coincidence I was, uh, introduced to Nicholas Tonnelli today.'

  'The surgeon, Tonnelli?' Lauren's eyebrows shot up into her long fringe.

  'Sounds a bit incredible, doesn't it? I arrived at the TV studios this morning to take part in their usual Countrywide programme.'

  'And?' Lauren leaned forward, her expression expectant.

  Abbey gave a huff of uneasy laughter. 'When I arrived, the producer was hovering. Asked me if I'd mind a slightly different format. In short, what he called an impromptu debate.'

  'What?' Lauren squawked. 'And he threw you in against Tonnelli? How did you fare, for heaven's sake?'

  Abbey grimaced. 'Actually, I think I did better off camera. But I made sure he got the message on the state of rural health.' She coloured faintly. 'He asked me to lunch. And I found myself telling him about Todd...'

  'I get the picture Abbey,' Lauren said with some perception. 'Is Dr Tonnelli suggesting a transfer to Dennison by any chance?'

  'He suggested the possibility.' Abbey was cautious. 'And there seems no doubt he could get Todd admitted.' She hesitated, suddenly feeling her relative inexperience in this field of medicine. 'But if Todd's formed a special rapport with his new occupational therapist and is doing better, maybe it's not the right time to move him...'

  Lauren shrugged philosophically. 'I think the decision is out of our hands, Abbey. We're all aware Todd is special but we can't go around with our collective noses out of joint if someone of the calibre of Tonnelli suggests he can be better rehabilitated elsewhere.'

  'You all do amazingly dedicated work here, Lauren,' Abbey jumped in supportively. 'But I guess I have to agree with you.'

  'I presume Dr Tonnelli will want to see the case notes and talk to us first, before he sees Todd?'

  'Oh, yes,' Abbey hastened to clarify. 'He's already mentioned that's the way he likes to work. He wants to be as unobtrusive as possible.'

  'Yeah, right.' Lauren snickered. 'Like a tiger going unnoticed amongst the deer.' She got to her feet. 'You'll find Todd on the verandah, I think. I'm off duty in two minutes. Oh—any idea when we can expect the dashing surgeon?'

  'Not really.' Abbey explained about Nick's involvement with the biker. 'I have no idea of his movements while he's here in Hopeton. In fact, apart from a courtesy phone call to tell me what he proposes for Todd, I don't expect I'll be seeing him again.'

  'I see...' Lauren's eyebrows lifted in mild conjecture. Surely that wasn't a blush on the face of the usually so cool Dr Abbey Jones, was it?

  Back in her motel room at the end of the day, Abbey took a shower and then planned what she'd do with the rest of the evening.

  Not much, she thought wryly, pulling on a pair of plain denims and a peasant top. Taking up her brush, she scraped her hair back into a casual knot, leaving several strands to feather out in the current fashion. Her motel was only half a block from the hospital so she'd walk over and hopefully find out the condition of the young biker, Bryan Weaver. After that, she'd pick up a take-away meal of some kind.

  The hospital was well lit and Abbey drifted inside with a group of early-evening visitors and began making her way towards Reception.

  'Hello again, Dr Jones.'

  Abbey stopped as if she'd been struck. 'Nick...' Soft colour licked along her cheekbones and she did her best to ignore the swift jolt of pleasure at seeing him. 'What are you doing here?'

  'I could ask you the same question.' Slipping a hand under her elbow, he gently drew her aside. 'I imagined you'd have been well on your way to Wingara by now.'

  Abbey feigned lightness. 'Oh, it got too late so I decided to stay overnight. I'm really here just to enquire about our biker.'

  'Snap.' Nick's eyes seemed to track over her features one by one before he went on. 'I've had a chat with the surgeon. The boy's stable and they're pretty hopeful there'll be no residual damage to his leg.'

  'That's good news.' Abbey felt relief sweep through her. 'Did you happen to find out why he was travelling like that, so out of control? I mean there are wheelies and wheelies.'

  Dark humour spilled into his eyes and pulled a corner of his mouth. 'As a matter of fact, I found his girlfriend waiting like a wilted flower outside Recovery. She told me they'd had a fight and our Bryan had stormed out minus his leathers. Young idiot. He could have killed himself.'

  'Yes.' Abbey's look was sober for a moment, before she began to cast a restive look towards the entrance. 'Well, now I know he'll be OK, I won't bother the staff...'

  'Have you eaten?' Nick asked sharply.

  'Ah...no.' Abbey felt her throat dry. 'I thought I'd just grab a burger or something and take it back to my motel room.'

  'That sounds like a crummy way to spend your evening.' His eyes narrowed on her face and suddenly the intensity of his regard hardened, as though he'd made up his mind about something. 'Why don't we link up, then? Have dinner together?'

  In a quick protective movement, Abbey put her hand to her heart. 'I...wasn't counting on a late night.' She heard the slightly desperate note in her voice and winced. 'And you don't have to keep offering to feed me, Nick.'

  His made a dismissive gesture with his hand. 'It's no big deal, Abbey. Do you have a problem with two colleagues having a meal together?'

  Oh, about a thousand, she thought, with the kind of uncertainty she was feeling around him. 'Put like that, I—guess it would be all right, then.' She shrugged her capitulation. 'But I'm not dressed for anywhere grand.'

  'No more am I.' He tipped her a lopsided smile and Abbey blinked, taking in his appearance. He was wearing comfortable cargo pants and a cream lightweight sweater, the sleeves pushed back over his tanned forearms.

  'I walked over,' Abbey explained, as they made their way outside to the hospital car park.

  'Makes things simple, then.' Nick slowed his strides abruptly. Then, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, he stretched out his hand towards her. 'I'm round the corner in the doctors' car park.'

  Feeling somehow as though she was taking a giant leap into the unknown, Abbey slipped her hand into his.

  They agreed on a small pub a few kilometres out of town, mainly because Nick said they did a decent steak.

  'I have an appointment first thing in the morning at Sunningdale,' he told her as they drove.

  Well, he hadn't wasted any time. Abbey turned her head on the car's cushioned leather headrest and addressed his darkened profile. 'I had a chat with the nurse manager, Lauren Huxley, this afternoon. They'll be expecting you.'

  He grunted a non-committal reply.

  There were only a smattering of patrons at the pub.

  'Mid-week,' Nick surmised gruffly, placing a guiding hand on her back as they descended the shallow steps into a sunken lounge-cum-restaurant.

  'It's nice,' Abbey said perfunctorily, gazing around her at the exposed timber beams and the rich oaken sheen of the furniture.

  Seated, they studied the wine list. 'They serve a nice local red here,' Nick said. 'Like to try it?'

  'Fine.' Abbey managed a faint smile.

  With their wine served and their steaks ordered, Nick leaned back in his chair, his green gaze travelling musingly over her face and dropping to the soft curve of her throat. 'Life plays strange tricks on us from time to time, doesn't it?'

  Abbey swallowed. 'In what way?'

  He seemed to think for a moment, before reaching out and taking her left hand. 'Well, when we woke this morning, we hadn't met.' Turning her hand palm up, he stroked the in
side of her wrist with his thumb. 'We seemed to have packed quite a bit of getting to know each other in the past eight hours, wouldn't you agree?'

  Abbey's heart rate had begun rocketing at the intimacy. 'I suppose,' she conceded, every nerve in her stomach tightening. She wanted to reclaim her hand without appearing like a frightened adolescent. Which was how she felt, she fretted, more than a little unnerved by the arousing effect his stroking was having on her senses.

  She took in a fractured little breath, hoping frantically their steaks would arrive so that at least his hands would be occupied with his cutlery.

  As if he'd sensed her unease, Nick released her hand abruptly, changing position to fold his arms across his chest. 'What time will you start back in the morning?' he asked, one dark eyebrow arched, the trace of a provocative smile touching his mouth.

  'I'll be long gone before you even open your eyes.' Abbey touched the small medallion at her throat. 'I have to be back for surgery at ten.'

  'Do you take any special precautions for the journey?'

  'I make sure my vehicle is always in good running order. And I let the police sergeant at Wingara know when I'm about to leave. From that, barring mishaps, he's able to gauge my ETA. And why the sudden interest in my lifestyle?' she challenged, lifting her glass and taking a careful mouthful of the deliciously smooth merlot. 'I'm just a rural GP, Nick. I work my tail off with incredibly long hours.'

  'Are you suggesting I don't?'

  Oh, for heaven's sake! She didn't want to keep getting into these kinds of endless comparisons with him. She looked down at her fingers locked painfully tight around the base of her glass. She wasn't naive. And she was not about to deny the wild kind of physical chemistry lurking between them—but other than that, they had nothing in common at all.

  They each belonged in vastly different areas of medicine. Nick Tonnelli would be like a fish out of water in her world—just as she would in his.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Their steaks arrived, grilled to perfection and accompanied by a huge pile of mixed salad on the side. Abbey's mouth watered at the lushness of three kinds of lettuce, fresh tomatoes, chopped black olives and bits of avocado and red pepper thrown in for good measure. 'This is fantastic, Nick. How come you know all these places?'

  His mouth tipped at the corner. 'Hopeton is my home town. I'm here for a few days R and R visiting my nonna.'

  'Your grandmother?'

  'I can see you're surprised.' He grinned and Abbey caught the pulse of deep laughter in his voice. 'Did you imagine I just leapt into life from somewhere? As a matter of fact, I have quite an extended family. Parents, two sisters, brothers-in-law, a niece and two nephews. They all live in Sydney now but my nonna, Claudia—' he made it sound like Cloudia '—still lives here in the old family home. She's almost eighty-five,' he said proudly.

  Abbey thought painfully of her own diminished family and asked quietly, 'Is she in good health?'

  'For the most part.' His face softened into reflective lines. 'She's still feisty, demanding when I'm going to find a wife and continue the Tonnelli line.'

  Abbey huffed a laugh. 'That's a bit archaic.'

  'Hey, she's our matriarch! She's allowed to.'

  'Have you ever been in love?' she asked suddenly, prompting raised eyebrows from the surgeon.

  'I'm thirty-eight, Abbey. Of course I've been in love. Have you?'

  The question hung in the air between them.

  'I was engaged once.' Abbey's downcast lashes fanned darkly across her cheekbones. 'He was my trainer. Such an honest, generous man. But when it came down to it, I couldn't set a wedding date. And I realised I didn't feel about him the way I wanted to feel about the man I intended to marry.'

  'And how is that?' Nick asked softly. Gaze lowered, he began to swirl the ruby-red wine in his glass.

  Suddenly Abbey felt vulnerable. She blamed the wine and Nick Tonnelli's clever probing questions. She came back lightly with, 'Well, if I knew that, life would be a doddle, wouldn't it?'

  They went quietly on with their meal.

  Nick chewed thoughtfully on his mouthful of prime rump steak. He could hardly believe his luck in running into her again. OK, so maybe they had little in common except their medical training, but he knew enough about himself to realise he had to get to know Abbey Jones better. Though at the moment, how and where seemed insoluble questions.

  But he hadn't got to where he was without overcoming a few stumbling blocks. He'd think of something. And it would all be worth it. He had a distinct gut feeling Abbey was as disturbed by his nearness as he was by hers. His gaze lifted, straying momentarily to the enticingly sweet curve of her mouth...

  'We'd better exchange phone numbers, hadn't we?'

  Nick kept his tone deliberately brisk. 'I imagine we'll need to consult about Todd over the next little while.'

  'Oh— OK.'

  Nick thought she sounded cautious and hastened to reassure her. 'You have my word I won't steamroller anyone, Abbey.' He placed his knife and fork neatly together on his plate and casually swiped his mouth with his serviette. 'I'll study Todd's case notes and take into account all you've told me before I make an assessment about whether the Dennison can benefit him.'

  'But you're reasonably certain it can, aren't you?'

  He shrugged a shoulder. 'I truly believe what they can teach Todd there will give him a new lease on life. Granted, not the kind of life he's been used to but, even as a differently abled person, there have to be possibilities for the sports-fit young man he once was.'

  The thought of Todd's world being shaken on its axis all over again gnawed at Abbey, He was at such a vulnerable point in his young life. But at least she had Nick's promise that he would act with sensitivity. She could only hope Todd would speak up if felt he was being pressured.

  'Time to go?' Nick had seen her quick reference to her watch.

  'If you don't mind.' It was only when they walked outside into the foyer that Abbey realised his guiding hand at her back had shifted and now she was warmly pressed to his side. Her nerve ends pinched alarmingly. She didn't want this—an involvement with a big-time surgeon like Nick Tonnelli was crazy thinking. It could go nowhere, lead to nothing.

  Yet she couldn't pull away.

  'Oh—it's raining!' She held out a hand to the light sprinkle.

  'Let's move it, then.' Nick grabbed her hand and they sprinted across the car park and threw themselves into the Jaguar. 'OK?' He arched a questioning eyebrow.

  'Hardly damp.' Releasing the scrunchie holding back her ponytail, Abbey finger-combed her hair into a semblance of order and then bent to fasten her seat belt. 'How much longer will you be in Hopeton?'

  'Only another day or so.' The engine came to life with an expensive purr and within a few moments he was nosing the car out through the exit and onto the road. 'Basically, I had a few days to call my own and I decided to spend them with Nonna. I like to keep an eye on her.'

  Abbey could understand he would. He seemed to care a great deal about people in general. How much more would he care about his own family? His wife? If he had one—

  'I have to be back in Sydney on Friday anyway to attend a charity do at the Opera House.'

  Probably with one of those women he was always being photographed with on his arm. Abbey's fingers interlinked tightly and she wondered why the mental picture caused her so much anguish.

  'It just occurs to me...' He sent her a brooding look. 'What do you do about a locum when you have to be out of the place?'

  'Were you thinking of offering?' Abbey shot back with the faintest hint of derision. Run-of-the-mill rural medicine wouldn't interest him at all. He'd really consider himself slumming.

  'Think I couldn't handle it?'

  Abbey flicked him a puzzled glance, not sure where he was heading. She answered levelly, 'My predecessor, Wolf Ganzer, fills in for me. He retired in the district. And he keeps himself fit and in touch so it suits us both.'

  Nick nodded and after a minute enqu
ired softly, 'How about some music to carry us home?'

  It seemed to Abbey that the journey back to her motel took very little time. One part of her was thankful, wanting it over. The other part, the silly, romantic part of her, wanted to prolong the evening, the contact with Nicholas Tonnelli.

  When he nosed his car in behind her Range Rover in the parking bay outside her unit, she released her seat belt and looked at him. 'Thanks for this evening, Nick. And for agreeing to see Todd.'

  'I don't want thanks, Abbey.' His eyes were broodingly intent and he lifted his hand to knuckle it across the soft curve of her cheek. 'But I wouldn't mind a coffee, if you have the makings?'

  Abbey stiffened, the faint elusive scent of his aftershave catching her nostrils. She swallowed heavily. 'Um...it'll have to be instant out of those sachet things.'

  'Instant's fine.' He sent her a slow, teasing grin. 'I love instant.'

  'And my room's a mess.'

  'Do I look like I care?'

  Abbey could hardly breathe. This was the last thing she'd expected—or wanted, she told herself. She'd thought he'd just drop her off and—

  'Come on, the rain's stopped.' Nick broke into her thoughts, releasing the locks. 'Got your key handy?'

  She fished the tagged piece of metal out of the side pocket of her jeans and handed it to him.

  'Nick...perhaps this isn't such a good idea,' she backtracked huskily. 'I mean, we should probably just say goodnight and...' She stopped and swallowed, his gravity making her frown. 'Why are you doing this?'

  'I don't want the evening to end,' he said simply. 'Do you, Abbey?'

  A beat of silence.

  Abbey felt she was trying to walk through sand knee-deep. But she couldn't lie. 'No...'

  Out of the car, she waited while he unlocked the door of her motel room. Nick ushered her inside and then followed her in.

  Abbey had left the standard lamp burning and now its soft glow was drawing the small space into an intimate cosiness. She sent a disquieted glance at the double bed littered with her clothes, and pointedly crossed to the tiny kitchenette on the far side of the unit. 'Coffee won't be long.' Feeling as though her hands belonged to someone else, she filled the small electric jug, and set it to boil.