‘Yes…’ She unconsciously began to fidget with the card in her fingers. ‘I saw him just before Jack Gordon came in.’ Just as well, she thought wryly as she recalled the amount of blood the farmer had trailed in his wake. If what Noel had said was true about his aversion to blood, he might have totally freaked out, which would have terrified the patients in the waiting room, not to mention Karen.
Cameron’s gaze slipped to the nervous actions of her fingers before returning to her eyes. ‘Did you have any trouble with him?’
She decided against telling him of the one incident when Noel had seemed so threatening. ‘No…he was…’ She hunted for a word or phrase to describe her impression of the patient. ‘He was…not quite what I was expecting.’
One of his brows lifted slightly. ‘Meaning?’
When she didn’t answer immediately he asked, ‘Have you ever treated an indigenous patient before?’
Holly couldn’t help feeling a little annoyed by the tone of his question. Was he assuming that her North Shore upbringing and training had made her totally ignorant, or even racist?
‘Yes, as a matter of fact I have,’ she answered. ‘I spent three months in Alice Springs on an infectious diseases rotation.’
He didn’t seem either impressed or surprised by her answer, which for some reason made her feel even more annoyed. That three months had been one of the most difficult and heart-wrenching terms she’d ever experienced but she’d come through it feeling as if she had grown as a result. She felt she now understood some of the issues that indigenous people faced and had grown far more tolerant as a result.
‘Noel Maynard has spent a very long time in prison and has only been back in town a short time,’ Cameron said. ‘If you have any concerns about him at any time please don’t hesitate to discuss them with me. Rob Aldridge, the local cop, will be keeping a very close eye on him. But if at any time you feel uncomfortable about being his doctor then I will happily take over.’
‘Karen said he wanted to see me and only me.’
‘I know. But we’re talking here about a man who killed a young girl when he was just nineteen years old. He might be totally rehabilitated and I certainly hope and pray he is, but you are a single young woman, new to the district, and I wouldn’t want you to be exposed to unnecessary risks until we know for sure if he is going to re-enter society appropriately. For all you know his supposed aversion to male doctors could be a complete ruse. He might have only insisted on seeing you because you are female and vulnerable.’
‘If he doesn’t see me he won’t see anyone else,’ she said. ‘He told me that himself.’
‘So you agreed to be manipulated just like that? Come on, Holly, next you’ll be telling me you believe he’s completely innocent.’
Although she’d had no real intention of defending Noel Maynard, something about Cameron’s censorious tone incited her to shoot back, ‘Not everyone who goes to prison is guilty. The legal system is far from perfect.’
‘Evidence is evidence and if you want to see it first hand, why not ask Rob Aldridge to access the photos taken of Tina Shoreham after her murder? I haven’t seen them personally, but her mother is my patient and what Noel Maynard did to that young girl was brutal. Lisa has had at least three nervous breakdowns and Grant Shoreham hasn’t worked in years; his life ended the day his daughter was murdered. Before you go championing Maynard’s cause around town you should consider the Shorehams’ feelings. They now have to live with the possibility of running into their only child’s killer on a daily basis.’
Holly opened her mouth to respond but he’d already turned away, his long strides eating up the corridor, until she was left staring at the doors down the end swinging shut as he disappeared through them.
CHAPTER SIX
HOLLY sat on the back porch of the cottage later that day and breathed in the salty sea breeze coming in from the bay. The sun was still hot and high in the sky and the thought of a quick refreshing dip in the cool blue water was suddenly irresistible.
Her first day had been exhausting and she dreaded to think what the rest of the year would be like if things continued in the same way.
The beach was only a few blocks away so she slipped on her yellow and white daisy-topped sandals and a pair of denim shorts and a cotton T-shirt over her bikini and headed towards the shore.
A small group of young surfers were lying on their boards way beyond the breakers like a pod of dolphins waiting for the next wave. At the far end of the beach Holly could just make out the solitary figure of a girl walking a small dog.
Holly left her towel and outer gear on the sand and walked tentatively into the sea, sucking in her breath at the first lap of cool water around her thighs. She wasn’t a super-confident swimmer in the surf but she knew if she kept close to shore the chance of being dumped by a wave would be less likely.
She splashed around in the white foamy wash, ducking under the water up to her shoulders to cool off but not feeling game enough to go right under. She was glad no one was watching; she’d been meaning to take some stroke improvement classes for ages but ever since she’d qualified as a doctor there just hadn’t been time. Her ex-fiancé, Julian, of course, was a fabulous swimmer and had even trained with the Olympic squad until he’d pulled out to pursue his career in plastic surgery. She’d gone to the local swimming centre with him a few times but he hadn’t been particularly patient as a teacher and she’d headed to the kiddies pool and waterslide instead so he could get on with his lengthy training swims.
She turned her back on the ocean for a moment to look at a figure who had just wandered down the rocky path to the beach. The tall frame of Cameron McCarrick was easily recognisable even though he’d exchanged his casually neat working clothes for his faded board shorts and reflective sunglasses, a beach towel slung over one broad shoulder.
Holly turned around just in time to see a bigger than normal wave heading towards her. She tried to avoid its impact but in her haste her feet tripped over a small sand bar. She stumbled for a moment and almost managed to get upright again when the wave hit her in the back, sending her sprawling head first into the swirling sand of the bottom. She struggled to her feet, eyes and nose streaming, her sinuses shrinking painfully at the influx of briny water forced through them.
She opened her stinging eyes and turned just in time to see the next wave coming at her, but before she could get her feet into gear it too knocked her down, this time filling her mouth with water.
She coughed and choked but couldn’t inflate her lungs properly. Oh, God! she thought. How can I possibly be so stupid as to drown in ten inches of water?
Suddenly a pair of very strong arms hauled her upright and carried her out of the surf. She blinked open her eyes at the same time Cameron let her body slide down the full length of his as he placed her gently on her feet on the dry sand.
‘Are you all right?’ he asked, frowning down at her in concern.
She couldn’t speak—her throat was so raw from the salt—but her stomach did a funny little skip when she realised just how very close his hard male body was to hers. There was almost no space between them. She could even feel the rough masculine hairs of his thighs against hers as he steadied her against him.
‘You must have aspirated some water,’ he said. ‘It’s happened to me once or twice. Just take your time and try and breathe normally. You’ll feel better in a moment.’
She did as he said but it was difficult to concentrate with him holding her so closely. She could feel…no, you can’t, she corrected herself swiftly…you’re imagining it. He’s not getting aroused just because he’s holding you! He doesn’t even like you. He thinks you’re incompetent and you’ve just given him more proof by practically drowning in water shallower than a baby’s bath.
Cameron edged himself away from Holly’s slim frame. His reaction to her surprised him. She was off-limits as far as he was concerned. She was a city chick who had ‘temporary country term’ written all over her, but
no man with a pulse wouldn’t allow himself a second look at her in a bikini.
He permitted himself another quick glance.
Her breasts certainly hadn’t looked quite that generous in her work clothes, the two tiny triangles of hot pink Lycra showing them off to maximum effect. He forced his gaze away from their perfection to her toned stomach and then on to her long and smooth legs with just the right amount of healthy colour.
Yep, definitely worth a second look.
He suppressed an inward grin, however, when he brought his gaze back to her face. She had panda eyes where her mascara had run and her nose was bright pink with a sprinkling of tiny freckles over the small bridge that she very clearly despised if the amount of foundation she normally wore was any indication.
‘Feeling better?’ he asked once she’d stopped coughing and spluttering.
She nodded her head and wiped at her eyes, grimacing when she saw the black smudge on the back of her hand.
‘I must look a complete mess,’ she grumbled. ‘God, I can’t believe I got dumped like that.’
‘It’s not a pleasant experience,’ he agreed, perversely thinking of Lenore, the first time he had in months. ‘Why don’t you sit down for a while and get your breath back? I’m going in for a quick swim. I’ll walk back to town with you.’
Holly watched as he sprinted off to the water, his tall, tanned and lean body slicing through the rough wash so easily she couldn’t help another cringe of embarrassment at her pathetic attempt at swimming.
She stared at her crimson-painted toenails for a moment or two, determined not to watch him carve through the water like an iron-man, which would only make her feel all the more ridiculous, but as if they had a mind of their own, her eyes gradually crept up to follow his movement through the surf.
He was certainly a strong swimmer, she decided. He dived under each incoming wave on his way out and struck out beyond the breakers to swim in a straight line with strong, smooth and even strokes, turning his head alternate sides to breathe. His tanned skin glistened in the afternoon sunlight, his well-developed muscles leaving her in no doubt of his superb physical fitness.
She gnawed her bottom lip for a moment. What was she thinking, looking at him like that? He was a jerk. A practical joke-playing jerk who thought she was a city blow-in with no practical skills.
A tiny voice inside her head niggled that perhaps his assessment of her was right, but she just as quickly squashed it. Yes, her confidence had taken a bit of a hammering with Julian’s defection, but her time at the Mosman clinic had been a rewarding one.
But too secure to really test you, that same little voice niggled at her again. You had expert advice and equipment at your fingertips. You didn’t have to question your judgement for a second. Someone was always there to take over if things ever got out of hand.
She got to her feet in agitation. She had to stop this negative thinking. Before she knew it she’d be a cot case over every sore throat that came in, imagining it to be meningococcal disease.
Her gaze shifted to the other end of the beach. The small dog she’d seen with the girl was sprinting towards her, his little red lead bouncing along behind him, but the girl who’d been with him before was nowhere in sight.
The dog came up to her, panting and yapping, his little brown eyes looking up at her as if to work out if he knew her or not.
‘Hey, what’s wrong, little guy?’ Holly bent down and gave him a scratch under his rough, hairy chin. ‘Where’s your friend?’
The little dog whined and looked back the way he’d come.
Holly usually had no time for people with anthropomorphic notions where their pets were concerned, but somehow this time she felt sure the little mutt was trying to tell her something.
She peered into the distance, wishing, not for the first time, that her long vision was better. She could make out the far end of the beach where a rocky outcrop was situated but it was still a blur.
Cameron suddenly appeared by her side, his body still dripping water. He stooped to give the dog a quick scratch. ‘Hey there, Scraps, what are you doing here all by yourself? Where’s Belinda?’
‘The girl he was with earlier was walking down that end of the beach but he’s come back without her,’ Holly said. ‘I think he’s trying to tell me something.’
Cameron flipped his wet hair out of his eyes, his mouth tilting slightly. ‘What exactly did he say?’
She gave him a withering look, knowing she sounded like an idiot, but gut feeling was gut feeling, after all. ‘He looks upset. I think he’s worried. He came from down the end, running at full bore.’
Cameron’s gaze shifted from hers to inspect the far end of the beach, his eyes narrowing in concentration.
‘Can you see anything?’ she asked.
‘I’m not sure, but just to be on the safe side we’d better head down there to check. It’s not like Belinda to let Scraps loose like that.’ He thrust his feet back into his worn trainers and started sprinting down the beach, tossing over his shoulder that she should follow him.
Holly looked down at her bikini top. Running in two rather small triangles of fabric was just asking for trouble. This was definitely a decorative-only bikini, not one suitable for a jog along a beach that was looking longer every second as Cameron ate up the sand with his long, strong legs.
She tossed on her T-shirt and shorts and followed him down the beach at the most comfortable pace she could manage. As she got closer she could see Cameron scrambling up and over the rocky outcrop to get to what looked like a body at the base of a six-foot cliff.
‘Hurry, Holly!’ he called out as she approached. ‘She’s fallen and the tide’s coming in.’
Holly tried to stop herself panicking but she just couldn’t help it. The girl hadn’t looked much older than fifteen or so. How would her parents feel if she had fallen and injured herself seriously? She’d seen depressed skull fractures and c-spine injuries before and lives permanently changed as a result, not to mention the non-survivors. What if Belinda was one of them, her life cut short before she’d had a chance to experience anything?
Stop it! she remonstrated with herself. Don’t be so negative. The girl’s probably just slipped and sprained her ankle. A pressure bandage and a bit of sympathy will fix her.
She scrambled over the rocks to where Cameron was assessing Belinda’s condition, slipping and grazing one of her thighs on the rocks as she momentarily lost her footing. She bit back her cry of pain and struggled on until she landed beside him.
‘She’s fallen about six feet.’ Cameron filled her in as he checked Belinda’s pupils. ‘Her pupils are equal, thank God. She was lying on her side, unconscious, with grazes to her face and shoulders.’
Belinda stirred and groaned slightly as Cameron gently brushed back her hair from her face.
‘Belinda? Can you hear me? What happened?’ he asked.
There was no verbal response.
‘She’s not responding to voice but airway and breathing are OK. GCS looks about eight or nine. We need to get help quickly, Holly.’ He glanced up at her. ‘Do you have your mobile with you?’
She shook her head.
He muttered a curse that she didn’t quite catch. ‘Run back to town and organise an ambulance out here stat, and tell them we’re ultimately going to want another helicopter transfer to Sydney. Tell them we’ve got a head injury. There’s no way we can deal with that down here.’
Holly’s thigh was starting to really sting by now and her legs felt like sandbags as it was. ‘Can’t I stay here with her while you go back?’ she suggested hopefully.
Cameron frowned at her. ‘In case you hadn’ t noticed, the tide is coming in, and rapidly at that. I hardly think your level of confidence in the water is going to be particularly helpful for Belinda. Besides, she’s a solidly built girl; you’d never be able to lift her.’
‘But I—’
‘Do as I say!’ he commanded as a spray of water came over the rocks. ‘An
d give me your T-shirt. I need it for a neck brace.’
Holly stared at him. Her T-shirt?
Cameron rolled his eyes. ‘If it’s not too much bother,’ he added tautly.
Holly ripped it over her head and only just managed to stop herself flinging it at him in anger. She turned on her heel and scrambled back over the rocks, this time giving her knee a decent knock on a sharp edge on the way down the other side. She did her best to ignore the pain and was about halfway up the beach when she heard a whimpering sound and looked down to see the dog was running alongside her, his little pink tongue hanging out.
‘You look as exhausted as I feel,’ she panted and she scooped him up in her arms and half ran, half hobbled, as fast as she could the rest of the way to the clinic.
Once Holly had organised an ambulance she grabbed a sterile gown and covered her near-naked body to wait for the ambulance to pick her up as arranged.
‘I’ve organised for someone to collect the dog,’ Nicola Jessup, the nurse on duty, said.
‘Thanks,’ Holly said gratefully. ‘The poor little chap was exhausted.’
‘I must say, for a new doctor in town you’ve had one hell of a start to your year with us.’
‘Tell me about it.’ Holly grimaced as she caught a glimpse of her face and hair in the reflection of the glass. ‘Is it usually so dramatic around here?’
Nicola shook her head, her tone dry. ‘God, this place is normally so quiet even the church mice have left town for more action. You’ve just struck one of those days. Every country outpost gets them occasionally. Trust me, in a few weeks you’ll be crying out for something to do other than seeing coughs and colds.’
‘Has anyone rung Belinda’s mother?’ one of the other nurses on duty asked on her way past.
‘Good thinking,’ Nicola said and reached for the phone. ‘You want to do it, Holly?’
The ambulance siren sounded in the distance and Holly shook her head. ‘No, I’ve got to go down with the ambos to show them where Belinda is. Try not to worry the mother too much. It might not be too serious and it would be a shame to upset her unnecessarily.’
A Doctor Beyond Compare Page 6
