by H. Y. Hanna
And now I’m here, thought Sara, coming out of her reverie to see the shimmering blue sea stretching to the horizon in front of her. She was lucky to be able to escape to such a beautiful place and she wasn’t going to let Jeff Kingston spoil it for her, she decided. She was done grieving for the bastard. From now on, she wasn’t going to think about him again.
And, she promised herself, she wasn’t ever going to date a celebrity again. The media interest, the constant pressure on her image, and, most of all, the nagging fear that he might be using her for another agenda… No, she vowed. Never again. She was going to stick to nice, normal guys now.
Like an Australian small-town vet?
Sara blushed at the direction of her thoughts and gave herself that mental slap again. She wasn’t going to think about Dr Craig Murray either. She looked around her and realised that she had come much farther up the beach than yesterday. She had been so lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t realised how far she had walked. She’d passed the clump of palm trees and was now almost at the base of the cliffs.
A movement ahead of her caught her eye and she realised that somebody was coming rapidly down a path which wound down the side of the cliffs. This must be a different entrance leading onto the beach.
Then she also realised, with a jerk of her heart, who the person jogging towards her was.
Dr Craig Murray.
CHAPTER 6
Sara looked wildly around her. There was nowhere to hide and she couldn’t just turn around and start walking back up the beach. Craig had seen her already. It would be too rude. She tried to compose her face into some kind of neutral expression and met his deep blue eyes as nonchalantly as she could, as he slowed down and came up to her.
He was wearing a light blue T-shirt which moulded itself to his broad chest and shoulders, coupled with a pair of black board shorts that showed off his powerful legs. His feet were bare and his dark brown hair was slightly ruffled by the strong breeze blowing off the sea.
“G’day. Sara… isn’t it?” He smiled at her.
Sara was surprised that he knew her name and even more surprised by his smile. Where was the cold, impatient man from yesterday?
“Uh… yes.” She shyly returned his smile. “I wasn’t expecting to meet you here, Dr Murray.”
“Please, call me Craig,” he said with an easy grin. “Yeah, I usually do a morning jog along the beach. Guess it’s an old habit left over from my Clubbie days.”
“Clubbie?”
“It’s Aussie slang for a surf lifesaver.”
“Sorry, I don’t even know what a surf lifesaver is,” said Sara, laughing.
“They patrol the beach, keep an eye out for anyone who might be getting in trouble in the water, go out to rescue them—”
“Oh, a lifeguard! You were a lifeguard?” Sara raised her eyebrows.
“Don’t look so surprised.” Craig laughed. “I used to be in much better shape.”
“No, I didn’t mean that… I mean, you’re in fantastic shape now… Not that I was looking, of course, but you know, you can’t help it when… er… I mean…” Sara blushed furiously. Oh help, she thought. I need a hole to swallow me up now. She looked up to see amusement in Craig’s blue eyes. She took a deep breath. “I mean… I thought being a lifesaver would be like a professional job, you know.”
“There are paid lifeguards, but the surf lifesavers are different. We’re mostly volunteers who are part of a community organisation. We train in skills like Powercraft, Aquatic Rescue and Emergency Care, and take part in a roster to patrol the coastlines, so that we can help provide a safe environment for Australian families to enjoy the beaches.”
“Wow,” said Sara. “That’s really amazing that people do all that and give up their free time to volunteer to help others.”
He shrugged. “It’s an Aussie tradition, I guess. It’s what we call ‘mateship’. I used to be really active when I was in my teens and even in vet school, but after I took over the practice, I just couldn’t find the time anymore.” He shook his head regretfully. “I try to still help out when I can, though, with the nippers.” Seeing Sara’s puzzled look again, he explained. “That’s what we call the little ones. They start from five years old and learn things like beach safety and awareness. For example…” His eyes roved over her face in a way that made her self-conscious. “Have you slip-slop-slapped?”
“Have I what?” Sara stared at him, baffled.
Craig grinned. “Slip on a T-shirt, slop on some sunscreen, slap on a hat. It’s a popular slogan from a big health campaign that started in the early eighties. The UV index is really high here because we’re so close to the hole in the ozone layer and we have sunny weather all year round. Australia has the highest melanoma rates in the world, you know—it’s practically known as ‘the national cancer’.” He sobered. “People like you with fair skin would be particularly at risk.”
“I did forget to put sunscreen when I came out this morning,” admitted Sara. “But I’ll remember for next time.”
“Best to stay out of the sun during the middle of the day too. And wear a hat. That’s what we tell all the kids.” He smiled again. “Anyway, being a nipper is a great way to have fun, learn teamwork and make friends. And get the kids active in the great outdoors.”
“No wonder all you Australians seem to be such beach athletes… if you start at five!” Sara laughed.
“We’re not all beach athletes, sadly,” said Craig. “Australia also has one of the highest obesity rates in the world.”
“Probably not compared to the States,” said Sara wryly. “And at least you guys seem to value your leisure time and do something active with it. Ellie was telling me that her colleagues all think she’s crazy to stay late for work or want to do overtime on the weekends. They actually cheer you on to leave work early and go surfing or something!” Sara shook her head. “That would never happen in the States.”
“Doesn’t happen much in vet hospitals either,” said Craig with a rueful smile.
At the mention of his job, memories of yesterday came rushing back and Sara felt her old shyness returning. There was an awkward silence, then they both spoke at the same time.
“How’s the—”
“Do you think—”
They both laughed.
“You first,” said Craig with a smile.
“I was wondering how the Beagle’s doing?”
“Probably hungry, like all Beagles,” said Craig, chuckling. “He seemed fine when I checked on him last night. One of the vet nurses was staying in overnight to look after that puppy, so she would have let me know if there were any problems.”
“And… the puppy?” Sara asked hesitantly.
Craig’s face darkened. “The tick anti-serum seems to be working, but it’ll be touch and go for a while. We won’t know if he’ll pull through until tomorrow.”
“I… I’m sorry about yesterday,” Sara said hesitantly. “I didn’t realise—”
“That’s okay,” he said quickly. “I was actually planning to apologise as soon as I saw you, but our conversation got me sidetracked… and now you’ve beat me to it.” He gave her a grin which did funny things to her insides. “I’m sorry for being so short with you yesterday. It was understandable that you would be upset and you weren’t to know about the paralysis tick. In fact…” He ducked his head slightly, his blue eyes searching hers. “I was hoping that you might let me take you out to dinner. As a sort of apology.”
Sara drew a sharp breath in. Her heart was pounding as she stared at him. Was he asking her on a date? Did that mean that he liked her? That the attraction she felt was mutual? Or was she reading too much into the whole thing? After, a total hunk like him… he must have his pick of girls. Why her? Anyway, what was she doing, going out on a date? She was leaving in two weeks and heading back to the States. And besides, she’d only just got out of a disastrous relationship. Oh, but dinner couldn’t hurt, could it? It was just a meal together. It didn’t have to mean anyt
hing…
Something of her turmoil must have shown on her face because he took a slight step back and his tone changed. “If you’d rather not, that’s fine. No worries.”
“No, no.” Sara found her voice. It was slightly breathless, but she hoped he didn’t notice. “I… I would love to have dinner with you. Thank you very much.”
“Have you been to the Laughing Kookaburra yet?” He nodded at the café perched on the other side of the beach.
She shook her head. “I only arrived in Summer Beach two days ago, actually. I’m staying with my cousin, Ellie.”
“Well, it might not look like much from the outside, but that café does some of the best seafood in New South Wales. Shall we say seven o’clock?”
Sara nodded.
“I’ll come by and pick you up,” said Craig.
Sara smiled, her eyes shining. “I’ll be ready.”
CHAPTER 7
“You’re going out to dinner with Craig Murray?” Ellie stared at her incredulously.
Sara gave her cousin a dry look. “Is he such a monster?”
“No, it’s not that…” Ellie said. “Craig’s a really nice guy, actually. I would say he’s one of the nicest guys I’ve met since moving here.”
“I’m surprised you know him,” said Sara. “I didn’t think you’d have gone down to the animal hospital.” If there was one thing Ellie didn’t share, it was Sara’s love of animals, especially dogs.
Maybe it was because Ellie had grown up in a household which had strictly banned pets. Her parents had been fastidious about hygiene to the point of obsession and having any animal in the household had been out of the question. They had brought Ellie up with a disgust for things like cat hair and dog drool. Whenever Ellie had come over to her place back in L.A., Sara had always made the effort to do an extra vacuum and give Coco a bath. Not that her cousin had been horrible to Coco—in fact, Sara often wondered if her cousin secretly enjoyed the dog’s company—but she was definitely not an animal lover the way Sara’s friend, Fern, was.
Now Ellie made a face. “No way. I haven’t set foot in that place. No, I met him when he came out to the resort. They’re planning to keep a small menagerie of native Australian animals there—you know, a few wallabies, emus, cockatoos—that sort of thing. And he’s sort of the vet on-call.” She gave Sara a sly look. “So he’s the reason you were so flustered when you got back from the vets yesterday.”
“I wasn’t flustered!” Sara protested, knowing that her cheeks were flaming already. She threw a sofa cushion at her cousin who ducked, laughing.
“Okay, okay… I’m just teasing.” Ellie sobered. “But you do know what you’re doing, Sara? I mean, this is pretty soon after everything that happened with Jeff.”
“This isn’t a rebound thing,” said Sara. “This is different.”
“Different?” Ellie frowned. “But you just met the guy yesterday.”
“It’s… I can’t explain,” said Sara helplessly. “I know I only met him yesterday, but…”
“Ooh, you’ve got it bad,” said Ellie with a grin, which got another cushion thrown at her head.
“Do you want to come too?” asked Sara hesitantly. “I mean, it is Saturday night and I hate the thought of you spending it alone. I feel a bit rude—I’ve only just arrived and I—”
“Don’t be stupid,” said Ellie waving a hand. “Go! Go and don’t feel guilty. I’m perfectly happy here. I’ll get a Thai takeout. Anyway, I’ve got some project notes I want to go over…”
“Ellie!” Sara stared at her cousin in mock horror. “You’re not working on a Saturday night!”
“It’s not really work,” Ellie hedged. “It’s just sort of… you know… advance planning…”
Sara shook her head. Ellie was a total workaholic. It was always like this. Even when they were back in school, Ellie had always been asking for extra homework and assignments. And since they had grown up, Ellie had been so focused on her career, she hardly made time for dating.
“One day,” said Sara, “you’ll meet a guy who will make you totally forget your work and I want to be there to see it!”
Ellie rolled her eyes but didn’t answer. Sara took herself off to her bedroom to change. She examined the contents of her suitcase critically. She hadn’t brought many dresses—well, she hadn’t really expected to be going out anywhere fancy. Mostly, she had packed T-shirts, shorts, and jeans. But she did bring along her favourite beach dress—a cotton voile dress in pale lemon yellow. It was simple but elegant and the colour brought out the warm tones in her skin. Best of all, the flowing lines flattered her fuller figure.
Sara slipped the dress on and then twisted her hair up into a loose bun, which she secured with bobby pins, letting a few tendrils escape to frame her face. She looked at herself in the mirror. A sweep of mascara on her lashes, a dab of concealer and a slick of peach lip gloss on her lips… and she was done.
She rummaged in her case and pulled out a pair of espadrille wedges. She looked down at her toes, then glanced at the clock on the wall. Would she have time to give them a coat of nail polish? Working quickly, Sara launched into an express pedicure. Twenty minutes later, she sat back and admired the bright coral polish on her toes. Carefully, she slipped her feet into the wedges, so as not to smudge the polish. She was just standing up and surveying herself in the mirror again when she heard the doorbell ringing.
He was here.
Her heart jumped and began racing. Stop it, Sara admonished herself. You’re acting like a teenager going out on her first date! Taking a deep breath, she left her room and walked into the living room as calmly as she could. Ellie was there, chatting with Craig by the open door, but they both looked up as she entered.
Sara saw Craig’s eyes darken as he looked at her and felt a thrill of pleasure. There was nothing in the handsome vet’s eyes but pure, uncomplicated male admiration. After the humiliation she had suffered back in L.A., it was like a balm to her soul. She barely heard Ellie’s wolf whistle as she went up to join them in the doorway.
“You look fantastic, coz,” said Ellie.
“Thank you,” murmured Sara, although her eyes were on Craig. He looked fantastic, she thought. He was wearing a white linen shirt, untucked, over beige chinos. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled back to show his tanned forearms and the collar was unbuttoned to reveal the strong column of his neck and a glimpse of his muscled chest. The clothes were loose and casual but they did nothing to hide the power in his toned physique.
“Have a good time,” said Ellie as she ushered them out.
The door shut after them and then it was just the two of them standing in the street. Twilight was gathering and the street lights glowed softly. Sara felt her old shyness returning and she found that she couldn’t look at him.
“Ellie beat me to it but… you look beautiful,” said Craig.
Sara blushed, then she was annoyed with herself. Honestly, this was worse than when she went on her first date in her teens! She cleared her throat and said, “Thank you.”
“Will you be okay walking in those?” asked Craig, glancing at her wedges.
“Oh… yes, they’re very comfortable.”
“Well, it’s not too far anyway.” He put a light hand under her elbow, his touch sending a tingle through her.
They started down the street together, walking in a companionable silence for a while, until Sara remembered something:
“Did you manage to contact the Beagle’s owner?”
Craig shook his head. “Not yet. We’ll keep trying.”
“I was thinking of popping in to see him this afternoon,” said Sara. “But then I called the animal hospital to check if it was okay and it sounded so busy, I decided you probably didn’t need the extra hassle.”
“It wouldn’t have been a hassle.” His smile was warm. “But yeah, things are a bit chaotic this week. Matt, one of the other partners, is away, and Dan is overseeing the treatment of a blowfly infestation at a sheep station out i
n the hinterlands. Of course, things are always busier in the summer too. People are out doing stuff with their dogs—or leaving them in backyards—so accidents and injuries are more likely to happen; it’s paralysis tick season; cats are more active… not to mention the wildlife that often gets brought in.”
“Is there just the three of you?” asked Sara.
“We’ve just had a new vet join the practice. Charlie—Charlotte—she’s newly qualified but she’s very good. Has a great way with people, which is just as important, you know, as being able to handle the animals,” he said with a wry smile. “She was on a course the last couple of days, but she’ll be back on Monday. And hopefully Dan too.”
They had just passed the animal hospital and were approaching the end of Beach Road. Instead of going down the rickety wooden steps to the beach, Craig led Sara past the open view to the rambling bungalow at the very end of the street. A crooked wooden sign hung from a post beside the entrance—“THE LAUGHING KOOKABURRA CAFÉ”—and next to the words was a stylised carving of a bird that looked a bit like an enormous kingfisher, throwing its head back, its beak open in laughter.
Craig paused by the entrance and picked up a flower that had fallen onto the post. It was a yellow-and-white frangipani. Sara looked up and saw a frangipani tree spreading its branches above them. Their sweet perfume drifted down. The ground around the entrance was littered with more fallen blooms.
Craig held the frangipani out to her and Sara took it, remembering the old man, Ru, and what he had said about the positioning of the flower. She could feel Craig’s eyes on her as she raised the frangipani bloom to her face, then tucked it carefully above her right ear.
She might have imagined it, but she thought Craig’s broad shoulders relaxed slightly. She almost didn’t dare look up at him as she said, as lightly as she could, “Aren’t you going to wear one too?”
