Twenty minutes later Sienna found a new source of respect for Douglas. She’d been invited for a cup of tea by Tommy’s mother while Tommy, on his own first, then with his father, Jack, went for a chat. They and Douglas had gone to the shed to inspect the vehicle in question.
‘I’m that pleased the sergeant came out,’ Tommy’s mother said as she placed the teapot on the table. ‘We’ve regretted buying him that car since the day it arrived. I wanted to buy another farm ute, you can’t get much past the speed limit in those anyway,’ she said dryly, ‘but his father saw it and fell in love with it. A case of something he needed more than his son did.’
Sienna laughed. ‘You could always swap cars and make your husband drive it.’
Tommy’s mum laughed as well. ‘That’s not so silly. I might mention that to my man. Be a good bargaining tool. But then, so is the sergeant. He’s a man Tommy respects.’
Sienna thought about the lack of respect for police where she came from. ‘Seems strange for a young man to like a policeman.’
‘Experience does it every time. He learned from his friends. A couple of months ago a small band of drifters tried to bring drugs into town, that horrible drug ice. Some of Tommy’s friends were drawn in, and Sergeant McCabe was onto the drifters like a fly at a barbecue. He sorted them quick smart. Kicked ’em out of town. Tommy’s mate had been very close to being involved and they both saw a nasty incident that could have had ramifications for years. It scared the living daylights out of them. Now the boys realise not much goes on that our sergeant doesn’t know about. Lots of towns are not so lucky.’
Sienna sipped her tea. ‘I can believe that.’ She tried to ignore the knot of pride that swelled in her chest. Douglas could be excellent in an emergency.
Her throat scratched as past memories and flashes of what Douglas was beginning to mean to her came together, and she couldn’t help the plunge of spirits at how hopeless it all seemed. She reached for her cup and plastered a bright smile on her face. ‘Funny how hot tea helps the dryness and heat. It doesn’t make sense, but I feel refreshed. Thank you.’ She drained her cup as the men returned, her chest easing back to normal, though her eyes strayed to Douglas and stuck.
She noted that behind them a subdued Tommy had peeled away and taken a different route. A few minutes later she heard a motor start and then a quad bike drove sedately away across the paddock with two dogs following.
Not long after that, she and Douglas left, though he drove far too placidly for Sienna. The sunset edged towards the skyline, and shadows and shades of rock and earth glowed golden in the afternoon light. Sienna’s impatience made it seem as if they were crawling along the road. ‘You do set a good example, Douglas,’ she told him, adding dryly, ‘I’ve never seen you speed.’ Paint would dry faster than he drove.
He glanced at her and then back at the road. ‘I’ve sped. But not without good reason and due care.’
She laughed.
After another half an hour Sienna wondered if his safety would kill her. Though, she must have undergone some kind of change because she thought it with humour, not frustration. His hands looked so safe and sure on the wheel. They could be so powerful and so tender. She sighed. His hands.
She glanced out at the skyline again and hoped they’d make it before the sunset show had been and gone. Before she died of old age. She had to admit the colours out here with the setting sun could lift her spirits – or maybe that was the man beside her and her plans for him. She shifted on the seat. Couldn’t be far now.
‘How long until we get there?’
Douglas glanced at her and smiled. ‘You sound like an impatient kid.’
She thought of the responsibility she carried at Sydney Central as the Director of Obstetrics – the triplets, the lives she held in her hands, the decisions she made. The way the medical students looked her way nervously when she arrived for grand rounds. She laughed. ‘Haven’t been called a kid for a while.’
‘I feel a hundred years older than you,’ Douglas murmured without looking at her.
She stared at his hard profile and past him through the window to the harsh land flashing by. Land that could kill you in hours if you walked out into it without care. She tried to lighten the mood. ‘That’s because you live out here and I live in the land of oceans and light.’
He made a huffing sound in his throat. ‘You live in an aquarium of seething population and sharks.’
She stared at him and thought of some of the sharks she knew. What did Douglas know of the city? There was vehemence there. ‘We really don’t agree on this, do we?’
‘Nope.’
The sound of the vehicle’s indicator and the brakes being applied alerted her. ‘So we’re nearly there?’
‘Yes, child, we are.’
Sienna stroked his thigh. Not a child. The firm muscle below her fingers bunched into rock and she smiled to herself as she rested her hand.
Douglas drove through the open gate and up a small hill to the flat area. At the entrance to the car park two huge boulders sat on either side of the gate, a testament to the volcanic history of the area that had weathered them away to the pillars they were now. At the end of the turning circle three scrubby trees bunched to give shade, almost like a thicket, Sienna mused.
She checked her mobile. No service. Douglas wouldn’t be happy because that meant he couldn’t be contacted. She hoped nobody needed him. Surreptitiously, she made sure the satellite phone in her bag was turned to mute. She wasn’t answering the phone for anyone. Then she glanced at her watch and saw that it was well past knock-off time for him. That should help his guilt trip.
Not too surprisingly, the place lay deserted, and Douglas parked a few feet out from where the dirt ended in Sienna’s thicket. Behind her to their right, across the red earth of the turning circle, a brown park bench with a tin awning gave some shade, perched as it was to look over the plains towards the sinking sun.
‘Do you want the basket on the table or beside the shade of the car?’
Alma had sent Maddy down with the supplies. Some nibbles and a big bottle of lemon squash and plastic flutes. ‘Basket on table,’ Sienna said decisively, and opened her door to step out. A small space between the car and the thicket gave privacy from the rear and the angle of his parking had created a barrier to any late arrivals. Excellent!
The afternoon heat hit her, but it wasn’t as fierce as it had been earlier and the shade helped. It was almost pleasant, she thought gleefully, then, discreetly, she floated the thick picnic blanket under her arm onto the ground between the car and the scrub.
Nonchalantly, she followed the taut uniformed backside as Douglas crossed to the lookout seat. His shoulders hinted at tension – they were very upright, rigid – which caused some concern. She hoped he wasn’t going to be obstructive.
Then he put the basket on the table and turned to face her. He leaned his delicious backside against the table and said conversationally, ‘So you have me here, alone and out of service.’ She noted the way he barely glanced at the horizon. ‘Out of phone service anyway,’ he said with a quirk of his lips. ‘And you’re not looking at the sunset.’
She flicked the vista a glance, ‘Nice,’ and then concentrated her attention back on the man in front of her. ‘The view is nice this way as well.’
So tall, so delightfully constructed of hard planes and curves of muscle. Her attention caught at his hands again – she had developed a Douglas hand fetish, it seemed – as they moved in a ‘come here’ wave. Her heart skipped as she stepped up to him and put her arms around his strong neck. She linked her fingers to capture him and leaned back with her face inches from his. Watched his blue eyes darken, and the long lashes come down as his lips parted.
‘What sunset?’ she asked softly and put her mouth to his. They rested their mouths together, quietly breathing in the essence of each other, the air still and silent around them, the heat a blanket of sensation in itself, and then, thank you, dear heaven, he pulled her
to him.
‘You make it so hard to resist,’ he muttered, as his mouth opened under hers and pulled her closer. His hands were strong against her spine. They slid down to cup her buttocks, squeezed, and he groaned deep in his throat. A man pushed beyond endurance. Hungry for something he couldn’t have yet here in front of him. His mouth lifted from hers and for a terrifying moment she thought he was going to push her away.
He growled, ‘I’ve been watching and wanting you all day. And I so wasn’t going to do this.’ He shrugged. Glanced at his watch. ‘I am off duty.’
Then his mouth came down on hers again and he lifted her as if she were a floating grass seed in the wind and spun her, clutching her to him. The kiss deepened. His arms tightened and her eyes filled with tears at his fiercely possessive expression as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Then the heat and the promise of privacy and the mutual desperation overwhelmed them and they were both lost to the explosion of a need, which, thank goodness again, neither of them could resist.
Douglas carried her gently to the blanket she hadn’t thought he’d seen and began to undress her like a present.
Afterwards, Sienna lay in the crook of his arm with her head upon his massive chest and gently twirled the dark hairs that had tickled her.
‘Hey, you,’ she said. His eyes were closed and he opened them a crack to listen. ‘No man should be this good at pleasuring a lady and be so hard to convince.’
‘Hmmm,’ he said and she could feel the vibration in her ear. Wished he would vibrate again.
Then he rumbled, ‘You tempted me beyond reason. I’m not a reckless man, but you make me reckless.’
This wasn’t all one-sided, buster, she thought. ‘I’m not a reckless woman except when I’m with you. You were lucky I can’t keep my hands off you.’
He gave a deep chuckle. ‘I concede that. But it’s getting dark. We need to move.’
She nodded her head vigorously. ‘I think so, too. Recklessly. Will I climb on top?’
His chest bounced under her cheek as he laughed. Then his tone became serious. ‘This can’t happen again after tonight. Not in Spinifex. You know that, don’t you?’
She sighed. Yes, it wasn’t fair of her to do this to him. Douglas was his morals. Something an earlier Sienna, one before Douglas, would never have contemplated or understood. ‘I suspected as much. Will you come and have Christmas with me in Sydney again? And new year? I might buy a Mrs Claus suit and have my wicked way with you. Does that sound terrible?’
‘Horrible,’ he said as his mouth brushed hers.
‘Now will I move?’
Douglas reached over and slid her body up and over his. ‘Yes, ma’am. Please.’
She loved it when he said please.
They didn’t get back to Spinifex until well after dark. Luckily, no missed calls pinged in when he drove into town.
Douglas stopped the vehicle in the street, which held a deeper pool of blackness than the car park to the side of the pub, and he alighted to stride around to open her door. Sienna knew better than to pull the latch herself. He could have all the minor wins he wanted. She had the big guns. She hugged herself dreamily and almost missed the opening of the door. Douglas looked at her.
‘Take that smug expression off your face.’
She grinned at him. ‘Seriously? Not a hope. It will be there for days.’
He gave a reluctant laugh and mock bow to encourage her out of his car. ‘Scoot, tormentor. I’ll see you tomorrow. I can’t sit across from you in the pub tonight.’
Her lids lowered as she sashayed past him. ‘Why’s that?’
‘You know why.’ He shut her door and abruptly walked back to the driver’s seat. Back to Sergeant McCabe.
She sighed. Might be best not to push tonight, Sienna conceded, but the smile still stretched her cheeks. She opened the passenger door a crack and poked her head back into the cab and grabbed the still-loaded basket. ‘Thank you for a lovely sunset.’ She winked.
‘Good night, Sergeant McCabe.’
‘Sleep well, Sienna,’ he said drily.
‘Oh, I will.’ She waggled her eyebrows at him and pulled back to shut the door. He drove away at his usual sedate pace. You had to admire his control. And lack of it when called upon.
The first person Sienna saw as she tried to sneak into the pub had to be Alma. Alma didn’t say anything. Alma didn’t need to. But she did put one finger across her mouth and wink. To her chagrin, Sienna blushed.
Chapter Seventeen
On Saturday morning Sienna stretched out in her creaky brass bed and thought about yesterday’s sunset, which she didn’t actually see, and dragging Douglas to a public place and having her way with him. That had been selfish. And stupid. And dangerous for Douglas’s reputation, which was important to him.
It had also been a five-star, mind-blowing, physically and emotionally moving experience. Right at this moment she wished with a hollow ache that gnawed at her with tiny needled teeth, that Douglas lay beside her – but she wouldn’t be so unfair to him again. Which was why she could not jump up and run down to his house even if she had the excuse of leaving her coffee machine there.
She stared up at the ancient wooden slats on the ceiling, something any trendy retro restaurant in Sydney would have killed for, and watched the sunlight dapple against the wall opposite the window.
What was this about the way her body reacted, the way her mind seemed to drift off subject, the awareness that almost strangled free thought when Douglas stood anywhere near? Whatever it was it sent arrows of warning to her peace of mind as if she were the big red dot on a target board in an archery range. But she could back away, avoid the missiles and let them fall harmlessly to the ground. And stop harassing Douglas. Couldn’t she? Her heart tightened beneath her ribs. She hoped she could.
She could handle this. She would do what she came here for and go home. Resume her life where she had left off. Extreme emotions had a way of settling down. Not that she’d been a fan of extreme emotion before now, but surely it was a phase.
Maybe she was going into early menopause and having an anxiety attack – or falling into an obsession. Maybe she could start some progesterone cream or fish-oil tablets because her emotions were all over the shop. Poor Douglas. The whole situation bordered on the ridiculous, and from this moment forth she would concentrate on why she had come here – getting to the bottom of the problem and, if she could, preventing microcephaly in future pregnancies in Spinifex.
Of course, business-hours-wise, being the weekend in the armpit of the world wouldn’t help the access she needed – unless she harassed Cilla by phone. Cilla could possibly source experts in their homes to help her explain away other possible causes she’d come up with. Now that sounded like an excellent idea for after breakfast.
Then she thought about Georgina Poles, Blue’s wife, who at her consult that afternoon had said her husband was worth more than the painting. That thought made her smile. Though of course his name wasn’t really Blue Poles, like the Pollock artwork, and Georgina, despite her good sense of humour, did have a suspicious-looking polyp on her cervix. Sienna had clipped that nasty specimen and put it in a yellow-topped container in Douglas’s fridge until she could fly it out on the mail plane on Monday. She’d put the container in a brown paper bag and hoped he wouldn’t find it. The idea made her smile despite her plan not to fixate on Douglas.
And she’d spoken to the referral specialist herself, so that Georgina didn’t have to wait past Monday for an appointment with the O&G guy’s partner, a woman Sienna had met in Roma a few days ago.
She threw back the covers – she had always been an early riser – and reached for her computer. She’d email a few people, you could do that at any hour of the day, and see if they’d get back to her on a weekend about risk factors and possibilities. Then, when it was a decent hour, she’d try Cilla.
Except when she did, at seven o’clock, Cilla had just gone into theatre, an emergency caesarean, and it would b
e an hour and a half at least before she could call back. Sienna wondered if she knew the patient, what had happened, why the caesarean, then switched it off. Nope. She couldn’t do that either.
Frustration ate at her. What was Douglas doing? Would anyone in town notice if she sneaked into his kitchen? Or his bed?
She took herself to the communal shower, a tad rotten-egg-gas-like in all its sulphuric glory, but hot as Hades, until her muscles relaxed, and then down to find breakfast.
Despite crowing about her new coffee machine, Alma had told Sienna she wasn’t a morning person until eight a.m., had shown her the kitchen, the cereals and the plates, and offered her free run of the continental breakfast fare. If she wanted something cooked, Alma, with prior warning, would appear after eight.
Sienna didn’t do cooked breakfast so strolled down the deserted stairs to quite happily poke around in Alma’s fridge. She’d order in some yoghurt and berries for next week, but this weekend she’d survive on muesli. The tricky bit remained when to visit Douglas if she wanted coffee from her appliance.
Alma’s magnificent coffee machine – she searched her brain and came up with ‘Maestro’ – wasn’t a morning person either. One look at that and even she could see Maestro the machine required an involved set of pre-warming instructions and an A380-aircraft licence. So no help there.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Sienna turned to find Maddy knocking quietly at the side door to the kitchen and she crossed to unlock it with hope flickering in her chest.
‘Can you work Alma’s coffee machine?’ Abrupt much? Did she sound like Blanche? ‘I’m sorry. Good morning, Maddy.’
Maddy laughed. ‘Good morning. And yes, I can work Maestro. Give me ten minutes to wake him up.’
Thank goodness. Sienna squeezed her hands together in prayerful gratitude. She’d found a kindred mornings-are-good person. Then she remembered it was Saturday as she watched Maddy do strange things to the machine. Did she need the money maybe?
‘I thought you weren’t working on the weekend?’
The Baby Doctor Page 10
