City Surgeon, Outback Bride

by Lucy Clark

  ‘It’s a pleasure, eh?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘I’m not bothering you at all?’

  ‘No.’ Rayne settled back against the cushions, tucking her feet up. ‘There’s nothing wrong at your end, is there?’ She glanced at the clock. ‘I’m taking it you didn’t stay for the concert.’

  ‘No. Too noisy.’

  Rayne laughed. ‘You’re getting old, Henry.’

  ‘Or maybe I was just lonely.’

  ‘Lonely? You would have been in a crowd of thousands.’

  ‘And you don’t think a person can be lonely when they’re surrounded by people?’ His voice was quiet and she could hear the underlying meaning in his words.

  ‘That’s usually when loneliness is at its worst.’ She knew that feeling all too well.

  ‘You sound as though you know what you’re talking about.’

  ‘So do you.’ There was a pause with neither of them willing to say anything more for the moment. ‘Just out of curiosity and not that I mind the call at all, but was there a reason for it?’

  ‘Nope. I just wanted to hear your voice.’

  ‘Even after spending so much time with us?’

  ‘I went back to the muster but it wasn’t the same. All I could think about was you. So I came back to Sylvia’s and decided to call you.’

  ‘Because you just needed to hear my voice?’ Butterflies started doing somersaults inside her stomach. It was just as Janey had said it should be. That the man of her dreams would be the one who wanted to spend time with her, who chose to spend time with her. Who couldn’t stop thinking about her, who wanted to talk to her at every available opportunity.

  ‘Yes.’ He paused. ‘Is that all right?’

  Rayne sighed and smiled into the receiver. ‘It’s perfect.’ Because at that moment she realised the truth of the matter, and that truth was that she was one hundred per cent in love with Henry Harcourt.

  CHAPTER TEN

  THE phone shrilled to life and Rayne almost bolted out of the bed as her hand shot out to snatch up the receiver before it woke Jasmine. ‘Rayne here.’

  ‘It’s Tanya.’

  Rayne recognised her friend’s voice. Tanya was obviously the triage nurse at the hospital tonight. ‘Problem?’

  ‘Yes. We’ve just received word from Bordertown that the rain we were expecting is more like a full-blown storm with hail. Bordertown’s been hit quite badly and there’s a lot of damage. Roofs have come off houses and shops, windows have been smashed. Their emergency services are fully stretched.’

  ‘We’d be expecting the storm in about…what? An hour?’

  ‘Or less. There are going to be casualties.’

  Rayne rubbed her eyes, forcing herself to wake up properly and her brain to work. ‘OK. I’ll get ready and come in. I’m presuming people still out at the muster site have been informed?’

  ‘The police are out there now, telling people to pack up their tents and seek shelter, but with that many people and so little time…’ Tanya left the sentence hanging and Rayne could imagine far too well what sort of situation they might be expecting.

  ‘OK. I’ll see you soon.’ She was about to hang up when she remembered Henry’s offer to help out. ‘I’ll contact Henry to let him know we might be needing him.’

  ‘That would be great. I wasn’t sure whether to call him in or not, but we really could use all the help we can get.’

  ‘I’ll call him now.’ Rayne hung up and quickly dialled Henry’s direct room number at Sylvia’s. ‘Henry,’ she said when he answered. He sounded all tousled and sleepy and totally yummy. An image of him, lying with the sheet half over his gorgeous body, came instantly to mind but she pushed it away, shaking her head to clear it a little and get her thoughts back on track.

  ‘Rayne.’ Her name was a sigh, a caress and she couldn’t have been happier. ‘I was just thinking about you.’

  ‘You were?’ Did that mean he’d been dreaming of her? The excitement she’d been working on controlling returned. ‘That’s nice.’ She closed her eyes and made herself refocus. ‘Uh…now’s not the time. The hospital’s just called. They need all hands on deck for the storm we’re expecting. I sort of volunteered your services.’

  ‘And rightly so.’ She could tell he was now instantly awake. An occupational hazard they both knew all too well. Rayne continued to fill him in on the details.

  ‘I’ll come by and get you,’ he said.

  ‘Thanks. All right, then, I’ll see you soon.’ Rayne climbed out of her bed, pulling on clothes before heading to the kitchen to drink a cold glass of juice. Earlene came into the kitchen and switched on the light, momentarily startling Rayne.

  ‘I heard the phone. Emergency?’

  ‘Yes. The storm is apparently far worse than we’d imagined. You may want to wake Jarvis, get him to batten down the hatches, so to speak. It probably wouldn’t even hurt to cover the windows with blankets in case they break, make sure all Jazzy’s outside toys are stowed away.’

  ‘We know what to do, dear. Don’t worry about that. Go to the hospital and don’t worry about Jazzy or us. We’ll be fine.’ Earlene held out Rayne’s car keys.

  ‘Uh…actually, Henry’s going to come and get me.’

  ‘Good idea. The less traffic on the roads, the better. He’s such a thoughtful man.’

  Rayne’s smile was instant. ‘Yes. Yes, he is.’

  Earlene put the keys down and walked towards her, looking at her intently. ‘You love him,’ she stated firmly and without hesitation.

  ‘Is it that obvious?’

  ‘Only to me, dear.’ She stroked Rayne’s hair. ‘You are so important to us—you know that, don’t you, Rayne?’

  ‘I do.’

  ‘We love you dearly.’ Earlene hugged her close. ‘It’s only right that you find happiness with a man after everything you’ve been through.’

  ‘But I don’t know what’s going to happen. What do I say to Henry? Do I tell him how I feel?’ Rayne hugged Earlene back. ‘I’m even more confused than before.’

  Earlene chuckled and let her go. ‘Sounds about right. Love tends to do that to us women. Jarvis had me in a right royal tizz for quite some time before we sorted things out. You and Henry are only at the beginning. Take your time. Don’t rush it but don’t hide from it either.’

  ‘Right.’ Rayne took a few deep, cleansing breaths. ‘I’d better go.’ Earlene walked her to the door, both of them remarking on the stillness of the weather.

  ‘The calm before the storm.’

  ‘Yes, and it’ll change faster than a snap of the fingers.’ When Henry’s car pulled into the driveway, Earlene kissed her cheek. ‘Go. We’ll take care of everything here.’

  ‘Thanks. I’m so glad you’re here.’

  ‘Me, too.’ Earlene’s eyes sparkled in the early morning light with the love a mother had for her child.

  Rayne headed out and climbed into the passenger seat of Henry’s car. ‘Morning,’ she said.

  ‘And what a morning it’s turning out to be.’ He stopped and stared at her for a moment. ‘Your hair’s loose.’

  ‘I didn’t have time to pull it back.’ Rayne raked her fingers through the brown locks, hoping she didn’t have really bad bed hair. Now, that would be embarrassing.

  ‘I like it when it’s loose.’

  ‘You do?’ They were caught up in each other’s eyes again and Rayne forced herself to look away. ‘Have you heard anything else about the storm?’

  ‘Yes.’ He pulled himself together long enough to drag his gaze away from her face and set the car in motion. ‘Sylvia and her husband were up, getting the motel secured, and they’d heard from Willard that the muster site is in a right state. People everywhere are trying to pack things away, others are just up and leaving, heading to Wagga rather than sleeping in the back of their cars for the night. Apparently, the winds are starting to pick up.’

  No sooner had he spoke then the trees on the side of the road started to sway.
r />   Henry couldn’t resist looking again at her hair. ‘Your hair… It’s…’ He almost swerved into the kerb because he was looking at her rather than the road.

  ‘Watch it. We don’t need extra casualties.’ She twirled her hair around with her fingers, wishing she’d grabbed a band, but there would be plenty at the hospital. ‘It’s probably really messy.’

  ‘It’s…beautiful.’

  He brought the car to a stop in the hospital car park and, unable to resist, unable to control himself, Henry reached out and touched the silky strands. It was a light touch at first but when it appeared Rayne wasn’t going to object, he sifted his fingers through the gorgeous tresses.

  ‘You’re beautiful,’ he said softly, his deep voice sounding a little husky.

  Rayne was mesmerised by him, by the way he was touching her in such an intimate fashion, one she found she liked—a lot.

  The sound of a police siren pierced the air, breaking the atmosphere between them. This wasn’t the time or the place. Rayne quickly climbed out of the vehicle, her hair whipped around by the mounting winds, almost blinding her.

  As they walked into the hospital, it was to find the A and E department crowded with people who’d come to help. Tanya greeted them thankfully, noting they’d arrived together. A few police officers walked in and a moment later they were all called for an update.

  Simon, head of the Deniliquin police, explained the situation, giving details of what had been reported at Bordertown and what sort of mess they could expect.

  ‘The rain will be hard. Sixty millimetres was dumped on Bordertown in eleven minutes. Generators need checking.’ He pointed to people as he spoke. ‘There’ll be a definite loss of power for most of the area. The first-aid and ambulance services out at the site will be bringing you the worst cases. We can’t fly the chopper anywhere until after the storm has passed.’

  ‘Where do the casualties from Bordertown go?’ Henry asked.

  ‘Emergency cases from Bordertown go to Adelaide as it’s far closer. Wagga Base hospital is on standby and the weather bureau has informed us that the storm is headed towards Melbourne, rather than up towards Wagga, so they’ll take any extra cases as necessary.’ Simon finished his briefing and gave out jobs. Eventually everyone was allowed to go.

  ‘Rayne,’ Tanya said, ‘can you check the blood supplies?’

  ‘Sure.’ Rayne pulled a rubber band out of a drawer and started to tie her hair back, trying not to remember the way Henry had made her feel when he’d been touching it.

  ‘I’ll go check the blood supplies.’ She glanced over her shoulder at Henry as she walked away, only to find him watching her go. When their eyes met, he winked at her and she quickly looked away, feeling a blush engulf her from the roots of her hair to the pink nail polish Jasmine had put on her toes the day before.

  As she rounded the corner, out of his sight, she stopped and leaned against the wall for a moment, closing her eyes and forcing herself to breathe deeply. Could he see that she was in love with him? Was it obvious? She hoped not but in the same breath she hoped it was. If he could see how she felt, it would mean she wouldn’t need to actually come out and say the words because saying ‘I love you’to a man was something she never thought she’d do. Her heart was supposed to be locked away for ever, never to be hurt, but somehow Henry had not only found the key but had unlocked her heart, for it now firmly belonged to him.

  Squaring her shoulders, she headed off to check the bloods, deciding that whatever was destined to happen between Henry and herself it would need to wait until after their present crisis had passed.

  Inside the hospital it was definitely the calm before the storm as they all waited, checking and rechecking things. Stocking the shelves with extra bandages and syringes. Ensuring their equipment was working, that the generators were primed, that everything would work like clockwork when the casualties started to arrive.

  When the real storm did finally hit, it was worse than they’d expected. Hail the size of golfballs poured down on them, pelting through the night at strange angles. There was a smash of glass from a nearby room and Tanya sent one of the orderlies to check the situation.

  Rayne’s mind began to work through a mental list of what sort of injuries they might expect as everyone continued to keep busy, some of them sticking blankets over the windows, which were exposed to the elements.

  ‘You all right?’ Henry asked, coming up to stand beside her.

  ‘Fine. You?’

  ‘Trying to run through every possible scenario from here to Timbuktu.’

  She smiled. ‘Me, too.’

  Henry leaned in closer. ‘See how much we have in common?’ His voice was deep, husky and intimate, and when she looked at him she caught a glimpse of the desire that had been there when he’d dropped herself and Jasmine home from the muster.

  ‘Stop it,’ she whispered, her words barely audible.

  ‘Stop what?’ Henry raised an eyebrow. ‘Letting you know how drawn I am to you?’

  ‘In a platonic way?’ she questioned, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

  ‘Who cares about platonic when you look at me like that?’

  All his words accomplished was to make Rayne’s heart beat faster. He had a point, though. She was looking at him as though she wanted to taste him, savour him and then devour him.

  The sound of sirens made them both turn, made them both switch instantly into professional mode and made them both silently promise to themselves that this conversation would have an ending…later.

  Tanya was an excellent triage nurse and once the patients had been seen and prioritised, they received treatment. Not only were they getting people brought in via ambulance but also people either driving themselves or being brought in by loved ones.

  Rayne and Henry hardly had room to breathe as they debrided wounds, sent people off for X-rays, applied casts or bandages. After a steady two hours of a constant flow of patients, an ambulance arrived, carrying a patient with a thick wooden tent peg impaled in his abdomen. Henry came looking for Rayne.

  ‘I’ll need you with me on this.’

  ‘How did it happen?’ Rayne asked after they’d reviewed their patient. ‘Who uses tent pegs that big and wooden?’

  ‘It’s a peg from one of the marquees. The wind pulled it from the ground and sent it flying. It landed in poor Rocky here. Give me four units of O-negative, plasma, saline and immediate X-ray. Where’s Stuie Rhodes?’

  ‘Right here,’ Stuie said, and immediately began to question their latest patient. ‘He’ll be fine to anaesthetise,’ he reported. ‘It’s good that he’s still conscious and, thank God, stopped drinking at lunchtime.’

  Henry nodded, already knowing that. ‘He’d planned on driving back to Melbourne as soon as the concert was over but instead stayed to help out.’

  ‘You go and scrub,’ Rayne said to Henry. ‘I’ll take care of everything and see you in Theatre.’

  ‘Right.’ Henry went off and Rayne went to check on Rocky once more.

  ‘How are you holding up?’ she asked the twenty-eightyear-old. Why did he look so young, lying there?

  ‘Am I gonna die, Rayne?’ The question was asked in a quivering voice and her heart instantly went out to him.

  ‘Not if Henry has anything to do with it, and as he does, I’d take that as a clear-cut no. You aren’t going to die, Rocky. We refuse to let you.’

  The man breathed in this knowledge and closed his eyes as Rayne and the orderlies took him off to Theatre. The radiographer was there, ready to take X-rays of the area so Henry could have a clearer picture of what was happening. The wound had been expertly bound with ring bandages, securing the impaled piece of wood in place, ensuring it didn’t move around and cause more damage, especially while they’d been transporting him.

  When the theatre was set up and Rocky was ready to be anaesthetised, Rayne went to the scrub sink.

  ‘X-rays are ready,’ she told Henry.

  ‘Thanks.’ He was almost fu
lly gowned. ‘Scans would have been preferable but we don’t have the time. As soon as you’re ready, Rayne.’ He gave her a brisk nod and stalked into Theatre. He was in the zone.

  ‘Rayne?’

  She turned to find the theatre nurse waiting to help her gown and so forced herself to do the same and forget everything and everyone—except what she’d been trained to do so she could help Henry save Rocky’s life.

  ‘Once we’re ready to remove the tent peg, things will move very quickly,’ Henry told his staff. He wouldn’t be lying if he said he wanted his trained staff and equipment around him at a time like this, but thankfully the radiographs had shown him the situation wasn’t as bad as it had first looked.

  ‘Rocky’s large and small intestines have both been ruptured, but the liver, spleen and kidneys remain intact. We’ll need peritoneal lavage as the stomach has ruptured, and as Rocky has voided, we can also add a bladder tear to the list.’ He paused for a moment and looked around the room. ‘If you have questions, make them clear and concise and I will answer them. Don’t forge ahead if you’re not one hundred per cent sure of what you’re doing.’ He looked at everyone, leaving Rayne till last. When she met his eyes and nodded, he said firmly, ‘Let’s begin.’

  No sooner had he said the words than the lights flickered then cut out.

  ‘Generator?’ he asked.

  ‘Give it a second,’ Rayne responded, and a moment later the lights came back on.

  ‘Stuie?’

  ‘Everything’s still fine. You’re good to go,’ Stuie reported, checking his dials.

  The hail seemed to have passed but the wind and rain were still lashing the building. No one noticed this as they concentrated on the long and methodical operation they were performing to save Rocky’s life. Rayne continued to listen to Henry’s instructions, assisting him and doing exactly as he asked.

  When the tent peg was removed, Rayne couldn’t believe how quickly they worked, suturing off areas, using the suction and gauze pads, but gradually Henry brought the situation under control, making sure Stuie was also satisfied with Rocky’s vitals.