She smiled up at him. ‘You’ll only get the one chance.’
She thought she had him and Noah felt like playing dangerously. ‘Then let’s up the ante.’ Noah lined up his shot. ‘Loser pays for another day’s game as well.’ He paused, then added, ‘And the winner gets a kiss.’
Cate sent a startled glance across at him, but didn’t meet his eyes. She was in no mood to lose. ‘You can bet what you like because I’m going to win and I don’t want a kiss.’
Noah just smiled and proceeded to coldly sink his four balls and then the black.
Cate winced ruefully. ‘Damn. Well done, smart alec. Obviously I shouldn’t have let you off the hook.’ Cate shook his hand. ‘Enjoy your win. You can live without the kiss.’
Noah inclined his head. ‘Gracious Cate. I’ll look forward to another game when your shifts allow it.’
He gestured at the clock. ‘Are you sure you don’t want another game now?’
Cate was backing away and shook her head. It wasn’t the thought of the game that unsettled her, rather the atmosphere that was thick between them. She was very aware that the sounds everywhere else had quietened for the night. Then there was the fact that the hairs on her arms rose whenever he brushed past.
It had been building all day and there was that kiss he’d dropped on her cheek in the car that she hadn’t wanted to dwell on, as well as the startling news he’d dropped just prior to that.
For the last twenty minutes she’d worked hard to block out his presence while she played, but it was as if someone had thrown the switch of her immunity and now she could feel every glance like a caress. It was time to get out of there. Quickly. ‘I’m for bed. I’m on an early shift in the morning.’
‘Goodnight, sweet Cate.’ He walked towards her and her heart thumped as he drew closer. She wondered if he was going to ask for his kiss and couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to be kissed—properly—by Noah.
He paused in front of her and in the end he just reached out to take her cue. She looked at the floor in case he saw the disappointment in her eyes and told herself she was glad that he hadn’t demanded his prize. She was safe.
He replaced their cues in the rack and strolled over to the pinball machine. ‘I think I’ll stay for a while. I need to practise on this thing if I don’t want to get beaten.’
Cate forced a smile and turned for the door. Just before she went through, he stopped her.
‘One minute, Cate.’ She didn’t turn, couldn’t turn, and she heard his footsteps come towards her across the room. It felt like someone had superglued her feet to the floor and her heart thumped so loudly she felt it vibrate through her skin. The air seemed to have been sucked from the room and her respiration rate increased to accommodate that and the fluttering discomfort in her belly. Brett had never had her in this state. Brett had never had her in any state.
Noah stopped behind her, and she still didn’t turn. But she could feel his breath on the back of her neck and then his hand on her shoulder. The warmth seeped through her shirt and into her skin as he turned her to face him. She didn’t even think of resisting.
‘It’s only fair I get one kiss.’ His eyes darkened to black Sambucca, and his finger lifted to stroke her cheek. Cate’s heart thumped even faster at that single touch and then he cradled her chin firmly until his lips lowered to hers.
His lips were warm and firm as they brushed against hers, then his mouth took possession. Cate closed her eyes and let him have his way. Because she couldn’t lie to herself any more. She wanted to be kissed by Noah. Needed to find out what it was like to be kissed by this man. To be held against him, to breathe him in and be thoroughly kissed. Just once before he left.
And it was nothing like she’d expected. Her few previous kisses disappeared in a purple haze of pressure and taste and heat between Noah’s mouth and hers. She floated and soared and whimpered with delight as Noah stamped his mark on her mouth and her heart, and her body flattened against him. She finally realised why she’d never lost her head with Brett. Because it hadn’t been like this.
And then he stopped. His hand loosened on her chin until, stroking gently, his fingers released her. His mouth drew back with a few last nibbles and he stepped back. Cate almost stumbled and he caught her shoulder briefly to steady her before he turned her back to face towards the door.
‘Goodnight, Cate.’ His voice seemed to come from a long way away and Cate flicked a glance over her shoulder at the closed expression on his face. She drew a deep breath, not caring if he heard it, and closed her eyes for a moment. Then she turned and looked him straight in the face. ‘Goodnight, Noah.’
The door slammed behind her as she left and she winced. Outside, the night air washed over her face and she gulped in the night scents and the coolness. Her skin tingled in the cold air and the fact that every nerve ending seemed to be more alive than ever before amazed her. She tried to work out what had just happened, but couldn’t.
She felt like jumping in her car and speeding down the road to escape for a while and sort out her feelings. But the only open road led to Brett and she wasn’t going there.
Which led to another awkward question. Why hadn’t she been lost to all reason with Brett like she had with Noah? Scary stuff. She’d almost married Brett.
A few minutes later Cate was back in her room. She showered and crawled into bed and stared at the ceiling. Her mind swung towards Noah. She shied away from the kiss in the games room and focused on his comment in the car. The comment he hadn’t explained. The one about losing his wife.
How had she died? Two years wasn’t very long to get over grief like that. And why was she, Cate, so upset by the news that Noah had been married before? It took her a long time to get to sleep.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Sunday 11 March
IRIS DWYER died at five o’clock on Sunday morning—without fuss and with a smile on her face. Early morning was a time a lot of souls slipped away and strangely enough when a lot of babies came into the world, too.
Brett had asked the night supervisor to wake Cate and she had been there when his mother had breathed her last. He’d clung to Cate and she’d comforted him as best she could until finally Brett wiped his eyes. ‘What am I going to do without her?’
Cate stroked his hair. ‘She looked very peaceful, Brett, and her faith was strong. And you’ll be fine. Have a few days at the farm to say goodbye and go back to your practice in Sydney. It’s where you belong.’
‘Come with me, Cate. We could be happy.’ His mother’s blue eyes implored her.
Cate squeezed his hand. ‘You’re upset, Brett. You know I’m not leaving here.’
‘What about if he asks you? Noah Masters. Will you go then?’ He pulled his hand away.
Where had that come from and why would Brett ask such a question? Was it that obvious that she admired Noah? Cate bit her lip. She hoped not. There was no future in it and she didn’t need to be a further object of pity by the people she knew.
Cate shook her head. ‘You’re out of line, Brett. But, no, I’ve no wish to leave Riverbank.’ She pushed him gently towards the door. ‘Go home to your mother’s house, your house, and have a rest. I’ll see you later today.’ She hugged him once. ‘Your mother was a wonderful woman. I loved Iris, too. Goodnight.’
Cate went back to bed but she couldn’t sleep. Iris’s death brought the mortality of human life close to home and it really made Cate think about the choices she’d made in life and love. Was the threat of Noah taking over her life, that loss of control, worth denying herself the pleasure she knew she could find in Noah’s arms?
Cate resigned herself to her sleepless state and rose again. Maybe a walk would help. By the time she was dressed, the east was lit with a pre-dawn glow, and she felt calmer.
She ambled down to the Euroka lookout where the river rushed past like an angry brown anaconda, tumbling logs and branches in its wake. When the sun came up, she saw a cow float past on its side and she hope
d it was alive.
There was a chance it could be. Yesterday she’d heard about a cow that had been washed through the floodgates, floated on its side for seven miles parallel to the beach and then turned up at Crescent Head where it had climbed out over the footbridge and ambled away. The newspaper had christened it Bubbles.
Life was strange like that.
Maybe that was what she liked about hospitals, and Maternity in particular—the strange ups and downs but always the continuity of life. Would she have to leave it all behind to follow Noah?
She glanced at her watch. It was nearly time to go to work. It had been a long week and she was due for a couple of days off tomorrow. But if Amber couldn’t come in, Cate guessed she might as well stay on for another shift and have extra days off after the flood crisis was over. But she was tired. And confused. Before Noah had come along she hadn’t been like that.
Just prior to going on duty, Cate rang her parents. She sighed with relief when Leanore answered the phone. ‘Hi, Mum. It’s me.’ Cate felt her throat close over and swallowed a couple of times before she could talk.
‘What’s wrong, love?’ Her mother’s voice was warm and comforting as only a mother’s could be.
Cate sniffed. ‘Iris Dwyer died this morning. And I needed to tell you that I love you.’
‘I love you, too, darling. I’m sorry about Iris. Was Brett there?’
‘Yes. He’ll go back to Sydney in a few days.’ Cate brushed the tears away from her eyes.
There was silence at the other end of the phone for a moment as her mother thought about the news. ‘You must be tired. It’s been a long week for you, too.’
‘I’m OK. How’s the farm and everyone?’ Normality at home seemed so far away.
‘We’re fine. The water is still about ten metres from the house but we took turns at keeping watch last night in case it sneaked up quickly. The cows have ruined my garden but we haven’t lost any stock yet, which is wonderful. The only nuisance is that the electricity failed yesterday and we’re eating the perishables like mad before they go off. When you see us we’ll probably be all ten kilos heavier.’
They both laughed and Cate silently thanked her mother for being there. The hospital’s power had been fine so it was probably only the outlying farms that had been affected. Another thing to be grateful for.
‘I’d better go. I’ll probably give you a ring tomorrow. Love to everyone. Bye, Mum.’
‘Bye, darling.’
Cate replaced the receiver and let her shoulders droop. Everything was OK. She’d just plod on for another couple of days and then she could go home.
Her thoughts turned to Noah. Would he be in the cafeteria this morning? How would she feel when she saw him? Did he think last night’s kiss had been a token for the winner of a game of pool or had it meant more to him, too? Now he’d managed to land her in unfamiliar territory again.
The lift in her spirits, when she saw him, was proof of how much his company was beginning to mean. Was it still less than a week since he’d come? The shock of that awareness made her tone more abrupt than she’d intended.
Her plate hit the table with a tiny thump. ‘Every time I come here you seem to be here. You spend a lot of time in the cafeteria.’
He raised his eyebrows at her. ‘Good morning to you, Cate Forrest. That statement is very similar to one you made the first day I met you.’ His brown eyes captured hers. ‘You really do think I’m a lightweight, don’t you?’
Cate sat down opposite him. His broad shoulders strained against his shirt as he leaned back in the chair and his relaxed demeanour belied his ability to know what was going on at any given moment.
Her heart ached as she realised how much this man could come to mean to her. She had to stop this. He’d leave soon. ‘No. I don’t think you’re a lightweight. As much as I hate to admit it, I think you’re very good at your job. I don’t know anyone who could have done it better. I just wish you were on my side.’
He leaned across and squeezed her hand. ‘Did you ever consider that I might be?’
If only she could believe that, because there was another matter that had come up just before she’d come in to breakfast. ‘Good. Because Susie Ryan, a first-time mum from Gladstone, rang me just now and I want to bring her in before she goes into labour.’
He pulled his hand back as if it had been snapped by a mousetrap. His voice was deadly quiet. ‘You don’t give up, do you? I said, no pre-labours and no unnecessary admissions. This hospital is not a motel. Surely you can see we have to keep as many free beds as possible?’
Cate tried to reason with him. ‘My instinct tells me this woman needs to come in.’
Noah was adamant. ‘When you get an order from a doctor she can come.’ They glared at each other and all conversation was halted as they entered into some kind of staring match.
‘Right.’ Cate pushed her cereal plate away and stood up. ‘My fault for mentioning it. Hopefully you won’t still be sitting here at lunchtime.’
She should have just arranged for Susie to come in. That was what you got for trusting the enemy. She walked quickly away before she said something she’d really regret and his voice drifted after her.
‘Pleasure working with you.’
You have no idea, buster.
Adrenaline carried Cate through most of the morning and she ignored her growing headache.
Noah came into her office before lunch with Janet Glover, the nurse manager.
His voice was clipped, and he spoke to a spot just over Cate’s head. ‘We need you to make a list of possible extra staff to call in an emergency. There’s a chance we could have a severe outbreak of gastroenteritis in one of the outlying towns. The sewerage system has flooded and we have the chance of raw sewage in the flooded streets.’
Two could play at this game, she thought as she spoke to the plant behind him. ‘Why not evacuate the town until the danger is past?’
‘Because most of them won’t leave.’ Noah saved a hard look for Cate. ‘Country people are stubborn.’
Janet looked amused at the tension between Noah and Cate. She drew them back to the matter at hand when she added her opinion. ‘We’re setting up public information leaflets to explain the risks and outline the precautions for the townspeople to take, so hopefully the situation won’t arise. But Mr Masters seems to think that you may not have the staff resources if you need them. Should we have other hospitals on standby?’
Cate ignored Noah and spoke to the nurse manager. ‘I’ve been inundated with calls from off-duty staff willing to come if we can pick them up. The SES have no problem with that, as long as there aren’t any other crises at the time, so I’d say we’re well covered.’
‘Thank you, Sister.’ Janet looked smugly at Noah. ‘Does that satisfy you, Mr Masters?’
Noah nodded at Cate and they both left. Cate crossed her fingers that they wouldn’t need the staff. Gastro was a horrible illness and the numbers could swell before you knew it.
The rest of the shift was routine until just before shift handover to the evening staff. Her pregnant friend, Susie Ryan, rang again.
‘Cate?’
‘Yes, Susie? You all right?’ Cate saved what she’d been doing on the computer and listened.
‘I think so but I hope I’m not getting paranoid. I thought I’d run it by you.’
Cate frowned. Susie sounded agitated. ‘Great idea. Go ahead.’ Cate sat back in the chair.
‘I’ve got pressure down below but no pains.’ Susie spoke fast, as if she wanted to get it out without sounding too much like a fool. ‘I haven’t had any pains like they said I’d get, but everything feels different down there. What should I do?’
Cate’s mind ran through the possibilities, the most likely being early labour. ‘Listen, Suse. Because it’s your first baby it’s probably OK. But I’m off duty in less than an hour. I’ll see if I can get a lift with one of the flood boats up to your house and come for a visit. Would that be OK?’
&nbs
p; ‘That would be great. Pete’s away, trying to save the oysters.’
Cate winced. ‘Floods and oysters don’t mix, do they?’
‘No. It looks like we’ll lose ninety per cent of them but Pete told me to worry about the baby, not the oysters.’
Cate had to smile. ‘He’s a good man. I won’t be long.’
Susie didn’t seem to want to hang up. ‘It’s funny. I’m getting nervous. The last hour I’ve been feeling really strange.’
‘I understand. I’ll see you soon. Ring me if you need me earlier and we’ll get a helicopter to pick you up.’
Thankfully, the evening supervisor was early and as soon as possible Cate dashed over to Maternity to grab an emergency delivery pack. She slipped the tiny packet into the big pocket of her windcheater. She was sure she wouldn’t need it but felt slightly better with its presence.
Cate drove her utility to the spot where she and Noah had embarked from yesterday. As she’d arranged earlier, a yellow SES boat was waiting with a burly teenager at the engine.
The two of them took off in a wave of brown water. ‘I’m Paul,’ the young fellow said. ‘Normally we have two boats if we’re going into the main river, but the other boat got called away. You OK with that, Sister?’
Paul seemed quite confident and Cate nodded. They drove past the semi-submerged town and into the main river, keeping towards the less turbulent side. The sun shone off the brown water and the sky was filled with fluffy white clouds. It was really quite beautiful as they steered with the current down the river. Cate could see it would be much more exciting coming back against the flow as she watched Paul avoid the floating debris. The sun was shining off the water and flocks of water egrets circled overhead as they watched hungrily for fish.
It took about half an hour to get to Susie’s farm and, amazingly, the water came to about a hundred feet of the house. The grass looked strange to Cate, and Paul handed her a can of insect repellent. She looked at him and he pointed to the ground. The grass and trees near her were a mass of spiders of all different sizes as they scrambled for dry ground. She shuddered and sprayed her legs with the repellent before stepping out.
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