Sharon Kendrik - Nurse In The Outback

‘So what brings a nice English girl like you to a place like Dampland, or musn’t I ask?

‘Oh, you can ask, all right,’ she teased him. ‘But I don’t have to tell you!’ She certainly wasn’t going to be accused of husband hunting again! ‘Seriously though, I needed a break, let’s just say from a number of things.’ She twirled the stem of the glass between her fingers. ‘I have relatives in Perth and it seemed an ideal time to pay them a visit. I’m specifically here in Dampland because I fancied a change from the city, and because I want to see some of the Australian bush.’

‘And boyfriends?’ he queried.

‘Straight to the point, aren’t you?’ laughed Kate. ‘I’m young free and single at the moment.’ She saw his eyes light up. ‘But that’s precisely how I want it to stay just now. Hard work and sight seeing is what I’m after.’

‘Well, we’ll have to see about that,’ he replied. ‘We Andersons respond well to a challenge.’

At that moment the waitress appeared with two steaming bowls, which she placed in front of them.

‘Dip your bread in the sauce,’ advised Craig. ‘It’s delicious.’

‘Thank heavens I shall be wearing a mask in theatres tomorrow,’ giggled Kate, as she speared a gigantic prawn. ‘All this garlic wouldn’t make me very popular with the other staff!’ She took a sip of wine. ‘How long have you worked at Dampland, Craig?’

‘Only six months,’ he replied. ‘It’s like a year’s sabbatical for me really, while I make up my mind what I want to do. My father wants me to join him in general practice in the city, which would guarantee me a secure future, but I have a hankering to do paediatrics. I love kids. I’ve been using my time here to study for the paediatric membership.’ He smiled at her. ‘It’s quite a friendly little hospital, really. Although in theatres you’re fairly cut off from the rest of the world, of course. There’s a good little staff club with a games room. About twice a month they organise a treasure hunt in the late afternoon, which is set by one of the doctors. Afterwards there’s usually a party. It’s good fun.’

‘It sounds it,’ said Kate, mopping up the last of the sauce with a hunk of bread.

The waitress replaced the empty bowls with two steaks.

‘My goodness!’ exclaimed Kate. ‘There’s hardly enough room on the plate—I’ll never manage all this!’

‘Just wait until you try it,’ promised Craig.

Presently, warm and replete, Kate sat back in her chair. ‘That was absolutely delicious, Craig. I couldn’t eat another mouthful.’

She smiled at him and, on impulse, he reached forward and took her hand.

‘It’s going to be great having you here, Kate.’

She gently disengaged her hand from his. She didn’t really want to encourage him to start making romantic overtures.

The room was beginning to fill up. Kate looked up to see a couple standing at the door and realised, from the squeal of recognition uttered by the female, that it was Tessa Hetherington, a proprietorial gleam in her eye as she linked arms with Grant Kershaw.

It was hard to believe that this was the same Sister Hetherington who had looked almost forbidding in the severe lines of her immaculate theatre uniform. Her hair, which had been hidden by a cap, now cascaded down her back in a froth of raven curls. Her dress was of a swirly black material, shot with gold, and her lips gleamed scarlet.

Kate, wearing a simple navy silk dress, her hair pinned into a soft chignon, felt almost gauche and unsophisticated in comparison to the glamorous creature who was picking her way through the tables towards them.

She wondered if Tessa had seen Craig Anderson holding her hand. Grant Kershaw had glanced dismissively at their table and was now ordering a drink at the bar.

‘Hello again!’ giggled Tessa as she approached their table, teetering on impossibly high-heeled shoes. ‘Glad to see you two young things enjoying yourselves.’

Something must have happened to have lightened her mood so much, Kate supposed, as she smiled politely at her senior.

‘I trust that you’ll get Nurse Carpenter home on time, Dr. Anderson. She’s got a busy day ahead of her tomorrow.’ Tessa smiled rather glassily at Kate. ‘Grant and I are out celebrating,’ she confided. ‘It’s our four month anniversary tonight.’

Kate looked across the room to where Grant Kershaw sat staring moodily into space, his profile stony. If that’s his expression when celebrating, she thought, I’d hate to meet him if he’d just received bad news!

Tessa followed the direction of her glance, and frowned. ‘I must get back to Grant,’ she said. ‘He’s absolutely starving.’ She giggled again. ‘Bye-bye, Craig. Be a good boy!’ She retreated back across the room and stood close to the surgeon, whispering something in his ear.

He turned round and stared at Kate, with a naked contempt in his eyes that startled her. What on earth had Tessa Hetherington said to him! Suddenly she felt extremely weary.

‘Come on, Craig,’ she said. ‘I’d like to go now, please.’

‘Sure.’ The affable young man looked anxiously at her and signalled for the bill. ‘There’s nothing wrong, is there, Kate? I thought Tess was acting rather strangely.’ His eyes searched her face, as if looking for clues.

‘Nothing’s wrong,’ replied Kate, making an effort to smile. ‘It’s just that the journey and the excitement seem to have caught up with me, and I’m really rather tired. And as Tessa has just promised me a busy day in theatre tomorrow, I’d better get my beauty sleep!’

Craig nodded and placed a wad of dollars next to the bill.

‘No, please, Craig—let me pay half.’ Kate rummaged around for her purse, but the Australian was adamant.

‘My treat,’ he smiled. ‘I’ll let you cook me dinner some night, how about that?’

‘Done,’ she replied. ‘Just so long as you like burnt toast!’

Laughing, they made their way out of the restaurant. Kate studiously avoided looking at either Grant or Tessa, but she could hear the latter pealing with merriment as they left the room.

Darkness had done little to stifle the ever-present heat of the Australian summer, and Kate was grateful for the breeze generated by the open-topped sports car. Thankful too that the noise of the engine obviated the need for any conversation with Craig.

Her encounters with Grant Kershaw were proving embarassingly antagonistic, she decided. It was probably a good thing that Tessa Hetherington seemed hell-bent on preventing her scrubbing for him. She must be very insecure in the relationship, though, if she suspected every new nurse at Dampland of having designs on her man. Kate remembered the blonde she had seen with him at the party in Perth. Perhaps Tessa’s fears were justified after all.

Well, she needn’t worry about me, reflected Kate. The last thing in the world she needed was involvement with another faithless man.

Yet why was it that she found it difficult to suppress a shudder of excitement when looking at that cold, hard face? Why was it that the tentative advances of the handsome young man beside her left her unmoved? A man like Craig Anderson might be just the balm which her wounded spirit needed. She turned to look at him, his thick blond hair tousled by the wind.

He sensed her looking and patted her hand. ‘Feeling better?’ he enquired.

‘Much better,’ she replied. ‘It was a great supper, and this is a great car.’

He beamed appreciatively as the lights of the hospital appeared in the distance. As they drew nearer, Kate could see that the lights of the operating theatres were blazing. There must be an emergency, she thought.

Theatres had a full operating team on standby at all times, since illness was no respecter of hospital routine! Theatre hours were from eight to five, when elective surgery was performed, but surgical emergencies took precedence over everything else, and staff could often find themselves working all night long, only to have to continue operating the following day.