Holly flicked her eyes back to the date of birth on the file in front of her. According to the records, Jacinta had only just turned fifteen. She met the girl’s somewhat defiant stare across the table. ‘Have you discussed this with your parents?’
Jacinta gave her a brooding look. ‘My real father is dead. I live with my mother and stepfather.’
‘I see.’ She waited for a couple of seconds before asking, ‘Are you in a sexual relationship at present?’
Jacinta lowered her gaze a fraction without answering.
‘You’re only just fifteen. Surely you can afford to think about it a little longer before you take that very big step?’ Holly suggested gently. ‘The legal age of consent in this state is sixteen. If the person you are considering sleeping with is above that age he could be charged with carnal knowledge.’
‘I want to go on the pill,’ Jacinta insisted. ‘I’ve got trouble with my periods and I’ve heard it can help.’
‘What sort of trouble are you having?’
The girl lowered her eyes once more. ‘They’re not regular.’
‘When was your last one?’
Jacinta shrugged one shoulder. ‘I dunno…six weeks ago or something like that.’
Holly felt her stomach cave in slightly. This young girl had her whole life ahead of her. She was supposedly here for contraceptive advice but Holly’s gut feeling was indicating that the horse from this particular stable might have already bolted.
‘Have you had unprotected intercourse during that six or so weeks?’ she asked.
The girl’s expression grew petulant. ‘I don’t have to answer that.’
‘No, you don’t, but I’m afraid I can’t write a prescription for the contraceptive pill to someone of your age without one of your parents’ consent. I could organise an appointment for you and your mother so we can discuss some options. Would you like me to do that for you?’
The girl gave her a surly look from beneath her lashes. ‘I thought you’d be different.’
Holly frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Dr McCarrick is a man. I can’t talk to him. I thought you’d be able to understand.’
‘I do understand, Jacinta,’ Holly said. ‘More than you realise. I know teenagers think anyone over the age of twenty is practically ready for the grave but, like you, I’ve had to make the sort of decisions you’re having to make. Taking a relationship to that level needs careful thought. There’s so much more to a physical relationship than simple gratification of desire. No form of contraception is totally foolproof, apart from abstention. Condoms and the pill have a failure rate. That needs to be factored in, especially in someone of your age. Why not think about it a bit more and come back and see me with your mum? That way we can discuss the options more openly.’
Holly could see the girl wasn’t happy but there was nothing she could do to change it. The law was the law. Everyone knew kids all over the planet flouted it but what else could she do? She was new in town. If word got around that she had prescribed the contraceptive pill for someone underage, what would the repercussions be? There was a chance the girl was already pregnant. A consultation with the parents in that case would be far more constructive than anything else.
‘I’m sorry, Jacinta,’ she said. ‘I’d really like to help you but without your parents’ consent my hands are tied.’
Jacinta got to her feet, her eyes still downcast and her expression sour. ‘I’m sorry for wasting your time, then.’
‘You haven’t wasted my time. It was nice to meet you properly. How often do you work at the General Store?’
‘A couple of afternoons a week.’
‘Have you lived in Baronga Beach all your life?’
‘No…just since my mother remarried.’
Something about the tone of the girl’s voice suggested to Holly that things weren’t all that happy at home. She’d heard the same quality in her own tone in years gone past, pretending things were fine when they weren’t.
‘How well do you get on with your stepfather?’
Holly could see that her question had startled the girl. Although she tried to hide it behind a coolly impersonal façade, Holly could see the tension in the girl’s shoulders and the way her eyes flickered with something indefinable but no less disturbing.
‘Jacinta?’ She softened her tone even further. ‘Would you like to talk about it?’
Jacinta shook her head and lowered her eyes once more, staring at her sandalled feet. ‘There’s no point. My mother is happy for the first time in ages. My dad was killed when I was twelve…’
‘That must have been very difficult for you.’
The girl gave a shrug that on the surface seemed dismissive but Holly was well aware of the cover-ups teenagers used to disguise their pain.
She took out a card and wrote her mobile number on it and handed it to the girl. ‘If you change your mind about that chat, give me a call. I grew up with a variety of stepfathers so I know a little about how hard it is to fit in a blended family.’
Jacinta took the card and stuffed it into the pocket of her jeans with a mumbled word of thanks.
Holly inwardly sighed as she accompanied the young girl back out to reception. Sometimes it was very hard to maintain a professional distance. Every now and again a patient would slip under her defences and wreak havoc with her clinical training.
‘You look pensive,’ Karen observed once Jacinta had left the building. ‘Don’t tell me Miss Sulky Pants got under your skin. She does it to everyone. She’s a right little madam, that one.’
Holly frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
Karen gave her a streetwise look. ‘My daughter Erin’s in the same class. Jacinta’s a bully, and when she’s not being a bully she’s a troublemaker. Her mother is beside herself over how to handle her. Renee is married to the town mayor, Clinton Jensen. How do you think he feels to have his stepdaughter running amok?’
‘What’s he like?’
‘Who? Clinton Jensen?’
Holly nodded.
‘Well, for one thing he’s done an awful lot of good for this town over the years. He’s been instrumental in rebuilding the community centre after it was burned down a couple years ago by vandals, and he’s the first on hand if there’s an emergency. He drives the State Emergency Service vehicle.’
‘What’s he like as a person?’
Karen’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. ‘What’s with the character analysis? Has that girl been planting silly ideas in your head?’
‘What sort of ideas do you mean?’
‘Look, Holly. You’re new in town. This is your second day at work. In a few months you’ll have most of the population figured out. In the meantime, take it from someone who knows. That girl is a troublemaker and she’ll stop at nothing to get attention. She’s manipulative and vindictive. She resents the fact that she now has to share her mother. It’s as simple as that. She idolised her father and no matter how hard Clinton tries to take his place, Jacinta won’t allow him to.’
Holly could see it was pointless taking it any further. She put Jacinta’s file away as Karen shut down the computer and locked the desk.
‘Sally, the other receptionist, is working tomorrow and Thursday,’ Karen said as she stood up to leave. ‘How is your knee holding up, by the way?’
‘It’s a bit sore but I’ll rest it this evening.’
‘Good idea. See you Friday, then.’ Karen slung her oversized bag across one shoulder. ‘Tony will lock up if you want to stay on for a few minutes. I’ve diverted the phone to Cameron’s. He thought it best for him to do the on-call roster until your knee settles down.’
Holly felt a wave of shame pass over her face at the way she had misjudged Cameron. He’d put his personal prejudices aside to consider her welfare. It was the least she could do to go to his house and apologise.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
HOLLY knocked at the house next door but there was no answer. She could hear the sound of a power tool
being used at the back of the house so, making her way around the uneven pathway, she came to where Cameron was up on a ladder with a drill, boring into the roof above his head.
She feasted her eyes on his tanned, muscular body. His work shorts made his long, lean legs seem to go on and on. His chest was bare and even from this distance she could see the trickle of perspiration running between his broad shoulder blades and the bunched muscles in his arms as he controlled the drill.
As if he’d sensed her presence, he turned and switched off the drill in his hand. Holly’s neck protested at the height advantage but she found it hard to look away from the blue-green of his eyes as they met and held hers.
‘Is this a house call?’ he asked.
She gave the dilapidated construction he was working on a sweeping glance and quipped, ‘Is this a house?’
He laughed and descended the ladder. Holly’s tummy was still doing its funny little quivering dance by the time he came to stand in front of her, his smile lightening his eyes to a sea-green.
‘It will be when I’ve finished with it,’ he said, brushing some plaster dust off his face.
‘Why don’t you employ a builder to do the work?’ she asked. ‘Wouldn’t it be quicker?’
‘I like the work. My dad’s a builder so it kind of runs in the family.’
Holly captured her bottom lip with her teeth at the mention of his family. ‘I wanted to apologise for being so…so insensitive today…’
‘Don’t give it another thought,’ he said, unplugging the drill from the power socket. He straightened and faced her once more. ‘I was wrong to bawl you out like that. I don’t often lose my temper but, I’m afraid, when I do, I don’t do it in half measures. My sister tells me it’s my star sign but I put it down to too much work and not enough play. You know what they say about all work and no play making a man very dull.’
‘You’re not dull.’ The words were out before she could stop them. Her face instantly flamed and she carried on falteringly, ‘I mean, not in that sense…’
‘I’m very glad to hear it,’ he said, his eyes twinkling with amusement at her obvious discomfiture. ‘How’s the knee?’
‘The knee?’ She blinked at him. ‘Oh, my knee…It’s fine…just fine…’ She ran her tongue over her dry mouth, her heart starting to pick up its pace as his gaze moved over her face. She felt her stomach tilt when his eyes went to her mouth and lingered there for a moment.
A light sea breeze began to play around them. Holly could feel it pick up her hair and lifted a hand to brush it back, but before she could locate the wayward strand Cameron’s hand had captured it and gently tucked it behind her ear. The brush of his fingers on the sensitive skin lifted each and every hair on her head in delicious anticipation. His fingers were slightly rough, reminding her of his essential maleness. Her mind raced with images of how it would feel to have those work-roughened hands cupping the weight of her breasts, or sliding down the length of her thighs. She felt the pulse of desire beating a tattoo between her legs at the closeness of his heated body. She could even smell the slightly musky scent of his skin where the hot late-afternoon summer sun and physical activity had completely overridden his aftershave. It wasn’t the least unpleasant; instead she found it incredibly arousing.
‘Have you changed your mind about me examining it?’ Cameron asked.
It took Holly a moment to figure out that he was referring to her knee again. Caught off guard, she stumbled out, ‘Oh…not unless you think it’s necessary.’
‘Come inside out of the hot sun.’ He led the way indoors. ‘I’ve just about finished the kitchen.’ He opened the door into the kitchen and pulled out a chair for her.
She sat down and looked around with interest. The final painting hadn’t been done but the appliances, cupboards and bench tops were in place. It was similar to her house next door but with subtle differences here and there.
Cameron squatted down in front of her and she peeled back her skirt. Holly was so acutely aware of her body that the slide of the silky fabric along her leg felt like a caress and she had to force herself not to react in any way when his hands touched her.
‘Does this hurt?’
‘No…’
‘What about this?’
‘Not really…’
He got to his feet and held out a hand to help her up. She slipped her fingers into the warmth of his but, instead of letting go when she was upright, her fingers curled into his.
His gaze locked with hers.
‘So here we go again,’ he said with a touch of wry humour.
‘W-what do you mean?’
‘I was about to kiss you again and the rational part of me tells me not to, but the other part…’
Holly gave a tiny swallow. ‘What’s the other part telling you to do?’
He tugged her towards him and she had her answer. His hardness against her softness, the swell of his body a heady reminder of the dangerous water she was drifting into.
It was so out of character for her to be feeling so overwhelmed by desire. She hardly knew how to account for it. Surely it wasn’t possible to fall in love with someone in the matter of two days?
‘M-maybe I should just leave now…’ The words stalled in her throat as he brought her even closer.
‘Do you want to leave right now?’ His voice was low and deep.
She looked into his eyes, which were burning with desire and another quiver ran through her from head to toe.
‘We’re both recovering from broken relationships,’ she said. ‘We’re doing the whole rebound thing. We hardly know each other. It wouldn’t be right to…you know…get involved…’
‘There are degrees of involvement,’ he pointed out.
His statement brought her back to earth with a solid bump of reality. She stepped out of his hold and folded her arms tightly across her chest. ‘You told me yesterday that you had no interest in one-night stands.’
‘You don’t strike me as a one-night stand sort of girl.’
‘I thought you said I was a stuck-up city chick who looked down her—and I quote—“snooty little nose” at everyone and everything in town.’
‘I might have overdone it on the nose bit,’ he conceded with a little smile.
‘I don’t actually care what you think of my nose or any other part of my anatomy,’ she tossed back. ‘For your information, I came here this evening to apologise, not to fall into bed with you.’
‘Batteries in the mechanical boyfriend not run out yet?’ He winked at her teasingly.
Holly felt her face flood with heat. ‘You’re a jerk, do you know that?’
‘You have mentioned that once or twice before.’
‘No wonder your ex-fiancée dumped you. You’re nothing but a big kid in a man’s body. You don’t need a wife, you need a nanny.’
‘And I know what you need. It’s written all over you.’
She gave him one of her best scathing looks. ‘And what, pray tell, is that?’
He moved so quickly she had no time to step away. His hands captured her upper arms and brought her right up against his body so that not even a breath of air could separate them.
She opened her mouth to protest at his rough handling but the small choked sound was lost in the descent of his mouth over hers. It was a bruising kiss but she found herself responding to it all the same. Hot flames of need passed between their mouths. Holly could feel each and every scorch of his tongue as it blazed with searing heat against hers. He thrust, he probed, he darted and he swept every recess of her mouth until she was almost mindless with raging need. She kissed him back, her tongue flicking his with increasing confidence, her small teeth nipping at his bottom lip. She felt her skin grazed by his day’s growth and a hot spurt of liquid desire anointed her intimately.
He pressed her back against the nearest bench, his hands sweeping underneath her silky blouse to cup her breasts. She felt the movement of his thumbs over her peaking nipples through the lace of her bra, an
d then her stomach did a total free fall when he thrust the flimsy garment aside to touch her naked flesh. She arched her back in pleasure, his lower body grinding into hers with unrestrained passion.
Somewhere in the distant recesses of her brain Holly could hear a phone ringing.
Cameron suddenly stepped back from her, his eyes still glittering as he snatched up his mobile from the bench at the other side of the kitchen. He barked out a hello but his tone instantly gentled when he recognised the female voice on the other end.
‘Hi, Mum…No, of course not…Breathless? Do I?…No, I wasn’t doing anything special. How are you and Dad?’
Holly took it as her cue to leave. She straightened her clothing and, sending him one last fulminating look, turned and left, her affronted stalk-like exit somewhat spoilt by the recurrence of her limp.
Cameron suppressed a sigh as the door snapped shut behind her. ‘No, Mum, that was just a little whirlwind slamming the door. So, when are you and Dad heading down for a visit?’
When Holly arrived at the clinic the next morning, Sally Oldfield, the other part-time receptionist, introduced herself and informed her that her first appointment wasn’t until ten a.m.
‘You can make yourself a cup of tea and take it easy if you like. Karen told me you’d had a pretty hectic start to your time with us.’
‘Yes, it certainly was a baptism of fire. But I think I’ll give the tea break a miss. I thought I might go and introduce myself to Dr Cooper in the nursing home.’
‘Good idea,’ Sally said. ‘His son visits as much as he can but it’s a lonely life for the poor old man.’
Holly made her way through the covered walkway which connected the nursing home to the clinic and asked the nurse on duty if she could see Dr Cooper.
‘Of course you can,’ Meg Talbot answered with a friendly smile. ‘He’s quite alert today, for a change. I’m afraid his stroke has affected his speech but if you listen carefully you can sometimes make out what he’s saying. I’m sure he’ll be pleased to have a chat with a fellow doctor.’
Meg led her through to a private room overlooking the bay, where an elderly man was sitting in a wheelchair, dressed in summer-weight cotton pyjamas and slippers.
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