Pippa was there, sitting alongside one of the new young doctors at work, and Kate smiled to herself. She looked forward to watching that relationship grow in the fishbowl of the hospital environment. In front of them was Hugh Cartwright, but there was no sign of Penelope. Instead, a dignified-looking older woman was seated at his side. Kate had heard rumors that he had reconciled with his wife and she wondered if this was Sandra. Opposite them was another couple she recognized but it took her a moment to recall who they were. The air squeezed out of her lungs as she remembered. John and Heather Anderson. This would be their first Christmas without their son Pete. John looked like he’d just stepped straight off the tractor but Heather had made an effort to dress up for the occasion. She spied Mitch sitting with them alongside another older couple who Kate assumed were his parents. Perhaps Mitch would be able to help the Andersons out on the farm from time to time. She knew it was a romantic notion but, hey, she liked happy endings.
Seeing them made Kate think of Richard Jackman. She felt her throat constrict and the tears well up in her eyes as she thought of Meredith’s four children, forever left without their mother. How were they all doing? She wished she knew. It was part of the job she hated – never knowing what happened after people left the intensive care unit. She sent up a quick prayer for them all. And for all the mothers that had lost their children.
She eventually caught sight of Joel waving to get her attention and she moved toward the front of the church to where he was sitting. Joel’s parents stood up to make room for Kate to pass down the narrow gap between the pews to sit beside Joel. As she squeezed past, she was overwhelmed with a sense of love for the people that surrounded her.
When Kate reached Joel’s side he kissed her on the cheek and hugged her tightly. They stood side by side holding hands as the minister began to pray.
The first song began and Kate found herself closing her eyes to absorb the gentle sound as it filled the small church. The melody was low and soothing and Kate kept her eyes closed as the sounds swirled around her, causing her to sway slightly in time with the rhythm. She looked up when a young woman began to sing and was surprised to see Emma sitting on a stool near the altar, her eyes closed. The song wasn’t one she was familiar with but it had a haunting sound that caused the hair on Kate’s arms to rise. She sang along to the lyrics of the chorus, the words printed in the small booklet Joel held for her. She found herself stirred and drawn in. As the hundreds of voices filled the small church, Kate felt like she was floating on a soft cloud of contentment.
For the next forty-five minutes Kate’s emotions soared. The effect of the Christmas story and carols as well as the love of her fiancé and the people of Birrangulla was almost more than Kate could comprehend. A rush of warmth spread through her. She closed her eyes and rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, soaking in the atmosphere and warmth. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt such peace.
The service drew to a close, and Kate held her breath as Emma stood at the front of the church and began to sing again. Her voice was crystal clear and seemed to echo around the old building. “Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright.” Kate was overwhelmed with an emotion that stunned her and all she could do was squeeze Joel’s hand. He returned the gesture, clearly as overcome as she. “Sleep in heavenly peace.”
The singing stopped and there was silence in the church. Kate leaned in toward Joel and he let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her tightly toward him as he whispered softly in her ear, sending a shiver up her spine.
“So love, do you think you could get used to this?”
Kate nodded, pressing her body up against his. “Absolutely.”
“I’m so glad you stayed.”
“Me too,” Kate whispered in return. “I love it here and am looking forward to spending the rest of my life making this place my home.”
“I told you it would just take some time.”
“I know. I’m so glad I listened to you,” Kate said.
“I’m glad you did too! You persevered and that took a lot of courage.” He indicated the people gathered in the church. “I hope you realize how much you belong here,” Joel said.
“You know what? I do.”
Joel ignored the people around him as he kissed her on the lips. “Welcome home, City Chick. I think this means you’re officially a local.”
Acknowledgments
Firstly, thank you Haylee Nash for accepting my unorthodox pitch and liking this story enough to say ‘yes’. Your email was the one that every debut writer dreams of receiving. Thank you for believing in me right from the beginning. I have loved working with you and the whole team at Momentum. All of you have made this journey so easy. Special thanks go to my wonderful editor Julia Knapman. When you wrote and told me how much you enjoyed reading this story I trusted you implicitly and am so grateful for your input. Can we play together next time?
Special thanks to romance authors Alissa Callen, Rachael Johns, Fiona Lowe and Alli Sinclair for your support, encouragement and advice. Rachael, it was you who got me into this after I read one of your books! Alissa, your willingness to answer my silly questions and share your contacts meant that my story actually got put in front of the right people. I will never forget that. Fiona Lowe your wisdom is always invaluable and I’m more than happy to keep learning from you. Alli Sinclair, I love having someone “just down the road” who answers my questions and helps get me out of plot holes!
Thank you also to the many other RWA authors I have met (some online and some in person) who have welcomed me to the romance network with open hearts and open arms.
Thanks to my author friends Meredith Resce and Fiona Leonard for encouraging me to “just start”. To my early beta readers Jan, Melissa, Sarah and Signe, thank you for cheering me on. To Gwen Caden, Christine Davies, Justine Lewis, Elisa Resce and Margaret Wigg, thank you for reading some of the very early versions of this story and not cringing, but encouraging me to keep writing. Thank you for your medical advice, for correcting my grammar, for making suggestions about my characters and storyline and for your attention to detail. Each of you have helped shaped this book in different ways and I’m truly grateful.
Thanks to my precious children: Jeremy, Chloe, Zachary and Toby. I am truly blessed beyond measure. You guys are my best creation and I love you all dearly. You make me so incredibly proud to be your Mum. I know you probably won’t read this book, but I hope you at least read these acknowledgments!
And finally, to my husband Tim. The romantic hero in my own “happy every after” adventure. I thank you for everything. You carried the load so I could study and get my nursing degree and then you continued to do so this past year when I woke up and decided to write a book. Even after twenty seven years since our first kiss, I’m still madly, deeply in love with you and wouldn’t want to do this journey without you by my side.
About Nicki Edwards
Nicki Edwards is a city girl with a country heart. Growing up on a small family acreage, she spent her formative years riding horses and pretending the neighbour’s farm was her own. After spending three years in a regional city in New South Wales, her love of small country towns was further developed. One day she plans to escape to the country with her husband Tim and live on land surrounded by horses, dogs, cows and sheep. Until then she lives vicariously through the lives of the characters in the rural romance novels she loves to read.
In 2006, when Nicki’s youngest child started school, she returned to university, juggling full time study, part time work and raising four small children, to achieve her dream of becoming a nurse. Always a voracious reader, Nicki’s other dream was to be an author.
Nicki writes medical rural romance for Momentum and when she isn’t reading, writing or dreaming about rural life and medical emergencies, she can be found working as a Critical Care Nurse in a busy Intensive Care Unit, where many of her stories and characters are imagined.
Nicki and Tim
reside in Geelong, Victoria with their four teenage/young adult children. Life is busy, fun and at times exhausting, but Nicki wouldn’t change it for anything. Visit her at www.nickiedwards.net.
Also by Nicki Edwards
Emergency Response
First published by Momentum in 2015
This edition published in 2015 by Momentum
Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd
1 Market Street, Sydney 2000
Copyright © Nicki Edwards 2015
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.
A CIP record for this book is available at the National Library of Australia
Intensive Care
EPUB format: 9781760082529
Mobi format: 9781760082536
Print on Demand format: 9781760301835
Cover design by Danielle Maait
Copyedited by Julia Knapman
Proofread by Sarah JH Fletcher
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Intensive Care: Escape to the Country Page 32
