Tara flicked her tongue across her paper-dry, pale, anaemic-looking lips. ‘I’m worried about my dad. He punched Sergeant Hawke in the face the other day.’ She looked at Fran with fear shadowing her eyes. ‘I’m worried he might send my dad to jail.’
Fran felt something shift inside her chest. ‘I can speak to Sergeant Hawke if you like,’ she said. ‘Would you like me to do that?’
‘Would you?’ Tara asked, hope like a tiny candle flame flickering in her eyes.
Fran smiled. ‘Of course I don’t mind. Sergeant Hawke strikes me as the sort of man who would be very understanding about what’s been going on at home. Leave it with me, Tara.’
She reached for a tourniquet and a syringe. ‘Now, let’s run a couple of blood tests on you to see what your haemoglobin level is and your iron levels and stuff. You might be anaemic, which will make you feel tired during the day, which in turn could influence how well you sleep at night. The new doctor who eventually takes up the position can follow you up if you need supplements.’
Tara reluctantly rolled up her sleeve and Fran’s stomach gave a savage clench as she saw the criss-cross of scars that went almost up to the elbow. She carefully drew up the blood, chatting to Tara as she capped each sample tube. The girl seemed to relax a little as the consultation went on, and after Fran had organised a walk on the beach in a few days’ time, Tara even stretched her pale lips into a tentative smile.
Fran chewed the end of her pen once Tara had left. She hoped she was doing the right thing in organising informal contact with the young teenager. At least she could talk to Jacob about it, she thought. Perhaps he would know how best to deal with the situation.
She put the pen down and ran her tongue across her lips, remembering how wonderful it had felt to have his mouth on hers. She sat dreamily for several moments until the intercom buzzed her out of her reverie.
‘Sorry, Linda,’ she said, tucking her hair behind her ear in a distracted manner. ‘I’m coming right now.’
The last patient of the day was a young teenage mother who came in with a toddler who was running a fever. The little boy
was listless and clingy but brightened up a bit when Fran handed him a toy to hold while she examined his ears and listened to his chest.
‘How long has he been feeling unwell?’ Fran asked the mother.
‘Most of this week, but as I don’t drive I couldn’t take him anywhere else to see a doctor,’ the young woman, called Beth Judd, explained.
As Fran handed the child back to his mother she noticed he winced when she touched his left arm. On closer inspection she noticed it was slightly swollen. ‘How long has Kane’s arm been sore?’
The young mother flushed and adjusted the child’s T-shirt. ‘I can’t remember…He fell over, I think.’
Fran quickly glanced at the notes but there was nothing written there to suggest anything had happened to the child that could have been caused by maltreatment. The little boy looked well cared for, and Beth, though not much older than eighteen or so, looked well groomed, though a little tired from caring for a sick toddler.
‘I think we should do a quick X-ray just to make sure it’s not broken,’ Fran said. ‘He’s not using it the same as his other arm—see how he’s holding that toy?’
The mother looked distinctly uncomfortable all the time the X-ray was being processed. When Fran showed the evidence of a non-deformed greenstick fracture of the wrist, Beth’s face turned almost sheet-white.
‘Does Kane’s father live with you?’ Fran asked.
Beth brushed her son’s blond wispy hair back from his forehead. ‘No, he left when I got pregnant,’ she said. ‘I’ve got a new partner now.’
‘How does he get on with Kane?’ Fran asked, reaching to
tickle the little boy under the chin before she began to apply a cast to his arm.
Beth still wouldn’t meet Fran’s eyes the whole time she worked on Kane’s arm. Instead, she concentrated on picking bits of lint off his clothes. ‘All right, I guess,’ she said. ‘Kane’s not his kid so it’s hard for him to love him like I do.’
‘There is nothing quite like a mother’s love, is there?’ Fran asked, this time managing to capture Beth’s gaze momentarily. ‘Does your mother live nearby?’
Beth shifted her gaze again. ‘No…’ She began to toy with the tiny laces on her little son’s shoes. ‘She hasn’t spoken to me since I told her I was pregnant. She wanted me to get rid of him so I could finish school and go to university.’ She looked at Fran. ‘I left it a bit late in any case. I didn’t know I was pregnant until I was almost four months gone. My mother tried to make me give him up for adoption but I didn’t want him to grow up without knowing who I was, you know?’
Fran touched the young woman on the arm. ‘I understand,’ she said gently. ‘It’s a big decision, no matter what you choose to do.’
Beth stroked her little son’s head again. ‘I just want him to have a good life…to be happy.’
‘It’s what we all want, Beth,’ Fran said. It was hard not to let her thoughts run through various scenarios over how Kane had injured himself. Beth’s nervousness could be read so many ways. A young single mother had a lot to deal with without the shadow of suspicion of physical abuse cast over her. Fran knew she had to tread carefully in case the young mother lost trust in her. Calling in the authorities too early was sometimes almost as bad as calling them in too late. She had to establish trust and see if there was any valid reason to suspect maltreatment. Toddlers often had falls, sometimes
quite nasty ones. It was a part of growing up and discovering their world.
‘Kane has a nasty throat,’ she said as she reached for the prescription pad. ‘I’m prescribing something and someone will need to see him here in a couple of days. Tonsillitis can sometimes go to the chest so I would like the doctor who takes over to keep a close watch on him.’ She picked up the phone and organised a time with Linda for a follow-up appointment to ensure Kane was seen again.
‘Thanks, Linda.’ Fran put the phone down and handed Beth a card with the date and time of the next appointment written on it. ‘I bet this young man will be feeling a whole lot better by then, but come back and see the new doctor in any case as it’s time for a weight and height check and it’s important to see if his arm has improved.’
Beth cuddled her son close, a changing-bag slung over one of her shoulders, her handbag over the other. ‘Thanks for seeing him,’ she said. ‘It’s been hard, waiting so long for a new doctor to arrive.’
Fran smiled thinly. ‘Well, I’m only doing the one shift. There is a new doctor on his way. He’s due a week on Monday, I believe.’
Beth shifted her weight. ‘I heard your sister had twins,’ she said.
‘Yes, little boys,’ Fran said. ‘They won’t be coming home for a while yet though. They’re two months premature but doing very well.’
Beth tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth. ‘It’s good she’s got you to help her…you know, when she comes home with them. One baby’s tough, I don’t think I could handle two at once.’
Fran sat back down, hoping Beth would do the same, but
she remained standing, with Kane tucked on her hip. ‘Did you have anyone to help you when Kane was born?’ she asked.
Beth shook her head, a shadow of sadness sweeping over her face like a cloud moving past the sun. ‘No one living with me. I had a nice neighbour who used to help me occasionally, but she died last year. She was in her eighties. I don’t know the neighbours where we live now. We live out near the old quarry at Bellbird Gully. It’s kind of isolated, not the sort of place to chat over the fence with the neighbours.’
‘You and Kane must miss your friend,’ Fran said. ‘My sister and I had a similar surrogate granny when we were growing up in Melbourne. She adored children, even though she had never married or had any of her own.’
Kane began to grizzle and Beth moved towards the door. ‘Thanks again, Dr Nin,’ she said. ‘Maybe I’ll see you around town some time before you leave.’
‘I am sure you will,’ Fran said, smiling as she held the door open. She closed it once the young mother had left and, leaning her back against the wood to give her leg a rest, felt a small frown pull at her brows…
F
RAN
was only ten minutes late getting to Jacob’s house. She had rushed back home to let Rufus out for a run and had quickly changed into gym gear.
She pulled in behind Jacob’s police vehicle in the driveway and made her way to the front door. He opened it before she knocked; he had obviously only just returned home himself for he was still dressed in his uniform, his gunbelt strapped to his lean waist.
‘Hi. Glad you made it,’ he said, his gaze running over her form. ‘How did the rest of the clinic go?’
‘Fine,’ she said, feeling her lips tingle when she looked at his mouth. He was in need of a shave—the dark shadow looked so sexy on him she could barely stop herself from reaching up to touch his face. She wondered if he was going to kiss her in greeting. She stood uncertainly, not sure if she should make the first move. It had been so long since she had dated. She didn’t know the protocol any more. It made her feel about sixteen, gauche and shy and awkward.
The cool air-conditioned ambience wrapped around Fran’s hot face and body, but even so the atmosphere seemed charged with pulsing warmth. She felt it when her eyes connected
with Jacob’s brilliant blue ones. It was like looking at the centre of a gas-powered flame.
‘Would you like a cool drink before we get started in the gym?’ he asked.
‘I had some water in the car before I came…thanks,’ she said, following him to a large atrium where he had set up his state-of-the-art gym equipment.
‘Ever used a leg press before?’ Jacob asked.
‘I’ve never really been a gym bunny,’ she confessed with a little grimace. ‘I used to jog a bit before…’ She paused, her expression clouding before she continued, ‘Before I was injured.’
Jacob led her to the leg press and set the weights to a light load. He showed her how to work her muscles, slowly and in a controlled way, to get the most benefit. ‘That’s it,’ he said as she got into a rhythm. ‘Nice and easy to begin with.’
She gave him a self-conscious glance, but after a few more exercises on the other equipment she seemed to get into the swing of things. Her cheeks were slightly flushed as he brought the routine to an end, her top lip shiny with tiny droplets of perspiration. He wanted to press his mouth to hers, to taste her again, but he hadn’t yet showered or shaved. He could still see the faint mark he had made on her skin the evening before. It made his insides clench to think of how tiny and fragile she was compared to him.
‘Best not to overdo it the first time,’ he said, handing her a bottle of water.
Her eyes fell away from his as her fingers brushed against his when she took the bottle of water from him. ‘Yes…’
He scraped a hand through his sticky hair. ‘Would you mind if I had a quick shower?’ he asked. ‘You can head out to the deck if you like. I won’t be long.’
Fran took the chilled bottle of water out to the deck, breathing in the sea breeze as she opened the sliding doors. The cockatoos were nowhere to be seen this time, but a kookaburra was perched in a eucalypt about fifty metres away, its distinctive chortle echoing across the gully.
Within a few minutes the doors leading to the deck opened and Jacob appeared. His hair was still damp, the deep grooves of a comb clearly visible amongst the thick black strands. His jaw was cleanly shaven and the scent of his lemon-based aftershave curled around her nostrils, making her think of citrus groves in summer. He was dressed in blue denim jeans and a black T-shirt, showcasing his muscular form and the healthy colour of his skin. It was almost painful to look and not to touch, Fran thought.
‘Sorry about that,’ he said, taking the seat next to her. ‘I don’t feel really human until I’ve washed off the blood and sweat of the day.’
Fran couldn’t have asked for a better cue, considering the conversation she’d had with Tara Clark earlier that afternoon. ‘I had Tara Clark come to see me today,’ she said. ‘I believe you know her father.’
One of his fingers absently felt for the healing cut on his cheekbone. ‘Yeah, you could say that.’
She took a breath and continued. ‘Are you thinking of pressing charges?’
He shifted his lips in a couldn’t-be-bothered-with-the-paper-work manner. ‘No. He’s not a bad bloke, just down on his luck. I just caught him on a bad day.’
‘That’s very magnanimous of you, considering he could have seriously injured your eye,’ she said.
He looked out to the sea, his forehead creasing slightly. ‘It’s his son Sam I’m more concerned about.’ He looked back
at Fran. ‘Tara, too, when it comes to that. She seems a bit of a lost soul right now.’
Fran knew she was walking a fine line on the issue of patient confidentiality but she rationalised that Jacob was already concerned about the family and he was a senior police officer to boot. ‘I don’t know much about the brother but, like you, I am very concerned about Tara,’ she said. ‘So concerned I’ve decided to spend some time with her, not as a doctor or anything, more as a friend.’
He absorbed her statement with a slight elevation of his dark brows. ‘She must have really got to you,’ he said.
Fran blew out her cheeks on a sigh. ‘She did.’
‘You happen to see the scars on her arms?’ he asked.
She nodded. ‘She’s been self-mutilating a long time, by the looks of things. She needs regular counselling. I’m not exactly qualified but she refuses to see anyone else. I was lucky she agreed to see me on an informal basis. She hasn’t been to the clinic in years.’
‘I’m sure you’ll do a good job supporting her while you’re here,’ he said. ‘She needs a reliable female role model. Wayne tries his best but from what I’ve observed he hasn’t got over his wife’s desertion so he’s not been much help to his kids.’
Fran sighed again. ‘It’s sad, isn’t it? What happens to people, I mean. One minute their life is going fine and the next it’s ruined.’
‘Yeah.’
She looked up at him. ‘Jacob, how well do you know Beth Judd?’
He frowned as if trying to place the name. ‘I’ve only been in the Bay five months so I haven’t met everyone unless they come to my attention.’
Fran lifted her brows at that. ‘You mean, unless they break the law?’
He did that thing with his lips that was almost but not quite a smile. ‘I admit I am not the most sociable person in town, Fran. I like my own space too much. But tell me, what are your concerns about the woman you mentioned?’
Fran let out a sigh. ‘I could be imagining things, of course, but she is a young mother, about eighteen, with a toddler of almost two, a little boy called Kane. He came in with a greenstick fracture of his wrist. It wasn’t the reason she brought him in to see me either.’
Jacob’s expression became cop-like. ‘Do you think she hurt the child?’
Fran shrugged. ‘I don’t think so, but who can be sure? Kids often hurt themselves, especially toddlers.’
‘That was her story, was it?’
She nodded, chewing at her lip.
‘Does she have a partner?’ he asked.
‘Yes, but not the boy’s father,’ she answered. ‘She sort of hinted at how hard it was for him to love the child as it wasn’t his.’
‘Kids deserve to be loved, no matter who they belong to.’
Fran looked up at him but he was looking into the distance, his eyes narrowed against the glare of the sun. Her heart gave a tiny flutter when his eyes came back to hers, her stomach lifting and falling like an elevator that had slipped between floors.
‘What’s the partner’s name?’ Jacob asked.
‘I don’t know,’ she answered. ‘It wasn’t in the notes and I didn’t think to ask.’
Something in his eyes made Fran feel defensive. ‘I didn’t want to lose her trust,’ she said. ‘I started to feel a rapport with
her and I didn’t want to jeopardise it. I don’t think it’s right to suspect everyone who walks in the door. First impressions can be very misleading.’
‘Is she coming to see you again?’
Fran felt her back come up. ‘No. I’m not taking on the position, Jacob. I just did one session, that doesn’t mean I’m under contract for the next ten years.’
The air seemed to crackle with tension.
‘Did you make an appointment for her to see someone else?’ Jacob broke the stiff silence.
‘Yes,’ Fran said, still bristling. ‘The new doctor is due to arrive in a little over a week’s time.’
‘Do you think she will keep the appointment with someone she doesn’t know?’
She bit her lip again, releasing it to say, ‘I hope so.’
‘So in the meantime, a little kid barely old enough to speak is living with some guy who might be abusing him?’ he said, looking down at her with those dark-rimmed eyes piercing hers.
Fran felt her back come up again. ‘Look, I did what I thought was appropriate for now,’ she said. ‘The child looks well cared for apart from an infection, which any child can suffer from. I just thought I’d mention it to you in case you had any background information on the mother or her situation.’
‘I don’t, but I will,’ he said with a determined set to his jaw.
Another silence tightened the air, so much so even the birds went silent.
‘You think I’m a coward for not taking on the position, don’t you?’ Fran said, unable to prevent a scowl distorting her mouth.
He gave her a frustrated look. ‘Did I say that?’
‘You didn’t have to—I can see it in your face. You think one little hand-holding session is going to fix me? It doesn’t work that way, Jacob. I might never get over this.’
‘I think you’re getting a little too attached to the victim role,’ he said. ‘For a start, you’re talking yourself into failure.’
She got to her feet and slammed the cup on the table beside the lounger. ‘I think it’s time I left.’
Jacob blocked her exit. ‘Wait a damn minute, Fran. What the hell has got into you?’
Fran felt her emotions slipping out of control. ‘I can’t do this, Jacob. I don’t know if I can cope with your expectations as well as my own.’
He brought her hand up to his mouth, pressing his warm lips to her bent fingers as his eyes continued to hold hers. ‘Hey, listen to me, sweetheart. I am not expecting anything from you. I think you were amazing today. You walked into that clinic and saw every single patient. You made a lot of people happy, maybe even saved a life or two.’
Her bottom lip was still pushed out in a pout. ‘But I can’t help thinking you, like just about everyone else in Pelican Bay, think I should be the one who takes up the position.’
‘Yeah, well, I can’t speak for everyone else but my reasons for wanting you to stay have absolutely nothing to do with my need of a doctor.’
She gave a little lift of her shoulders. ‘Everyone needs a check-up, even disgustingly healthy people like you.’
‘So check me over,’ he said, bringing her hands to his chest. ‘I have this little pain here.’
She frowned. ‘Where?’
He placed her hand over his beating heart. ‘There, right there. It feels like someone’s got it in a vice.’
Fran felt her own heart contract at the huskiness in his tone. ‘I don’t actually have a stethoscope on me right now,’ she said, staring at his mouth.
‘Then we’ll have to leave that part of the examination for
another time,’ he said, running his hands down to hold her hands in his. ‘You do realise in a place like Pelican Bay it will be hard to keep our dating a secret, don’t you?’
Fran widened her eyes at him.
‘Are
we dating?’
He smiled that unreadable half-smile again. ‘You’re here, I’m here, and we’re alone. That sounds like a date to me.’
She ran her tongue over her lips. ‘Oh…well, then…’
He brought her a little closer, his hands going to the curve at the base of her spine. Sensations spiralled through her at the intimate contact with his hard male body, making her heart start to race out of control.
‘Of course, we could just be friends if you’d prefer it,’ he said as he brushed his lips against the sensitive skin of her neck.
‘Um…I—I already have plenty of friends,’ Fran said, her whole body shivering with delight as his lips moved to just below her ear lobe.
‘Me, too,’ he said, moving upwards to kiss the corner of her mouth.
Fran was nearly going crazy to feel his lips on hers. He was so close, tantalisingly so. Every nerve began to quiver with the need to feel the pressure of him, the heat and fire of his taste and touch.
Suddenly he was there.
His mouth captured hers in a searing kiss that sent arrows of heat to her core. His tongue didn’t ask for entry, it demanded it, sweeping hers into a bone-shuddering dance of desire that left her breathless. She clung to him, unable to support herself under the sensual onslaught. Her senses sang with delight as he pressed her closer against him, the hot, hard heat of him a heady reminder of the fierce attraction that had simmered between them from the first moment they had met.
When his hands moved from the small of her back to cup her breasts she gave a soft whimper of pleasure. His caressing touch was gentle but possessive, a thrilling combination that made her body hum with sensation. Her nipples budded under the rolling action of his thumbs, her belly becoming a melting pool of longing.
He lifted his mouth from hers for a moment, his breathing not quite steady. ‘I don’t know what it is about you but every time I see you I can’t seem to keep my hands off you.’
A little smile played about her mouth as she linked her arms around his neck, her body sliding against the length of him, making his eyes flare with desire. ‘Same goes,’ she said in a husky tone.
‘That’s good to hear,’ he said, lifting her off her feet.
‘Oh!’ Fran gasped.
He frowned. ‘Did I hurt you?’
‘No, of course not. It’s just I’m not used to being swept off my feet.’
His eyes glinted down at her. ‘Is that what’s happening?’
She chewed at her lip, her gaze dipping to his mouth, a frown tugging at her brow. ‘I’m not sure…maybe…’
He set her back down, his hold only slackening when he was sure she was steady on her feet. ‘This is a little too soon for you, isn’t it?’ he asked.
Fran gave him a rueful look, her face feeling hot. ‘You must think I’m a prude.’
‘Not at all,’ he said, sliding his warm hands down her arms to loosely encircle her wrists. ‘You’ve been through a hell of lot lately. It’s totally understandable you would be cautious as a result.’