think it’s amazing how you help people in spite of your own suffering,’ Kellie said. ‘Look at what you’ve done for Julie and the boys for instance.’
‘I spoke to Julie this afternoon and her hand is recovering well,’ Ruth said. ‘She is being released the day after tomorrow.’
After she had helped Ruth bring some sort of order to the house and spent a few minutes helping the youngest boy, Cade, with his homework, Kellie asked if the three boys were interested in doing some yard work for her.
Ty, the oldest at fifteen, grunted something unintelligible but fourteen-year-old Rowan and twelve-year-old Cade showed a bit of interest, although it was somewhat guarded.
‘I thought it might be nice for when Dr and Mrs Montgomery come back if the garden was spruced up a bit.’ Kellie explained her plan. ‘I know the drought makes things difficult, but if we start now there are still things that can be done to make the place look neat and tidy by the time they return.’
‘Are you going to pay us, Dr Thorne?’ Cade asked with a wary expression.
‘Of course!’ Kellie said. ‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch, right?’
She told them how much she was prepared to pay them and arranged to meet them at the Montgomerys’ house on Saturday morning.
Driving into the Montgomerys’ driveway a few minutes later, she caught sight of a slinking shape near the rainwater tank at the side of the house. At first she thought it might have been a fox or even a dingo, but when it moved away into the shadows of the night she could see its tail was long and thin not bushy and the colour not golden but more like a patchwork of brown and black and white.
She turned on the back light once she got inside and looked out over the yard but there was no sign of any movement.
A few minutes later her mobile phone rang just as she had taken her last mouthful of her daily allowance of chocolate. ‘Hello?’ she answered from a full mouth.
‘Kellie, it’s Matt …’ He paused for moment. ‘Have I caught you having dinner?’
‘No, I had a snatch-and-grab meal with Ruth and the boys. That was my chocolate hit for the day. What can I do for you?’
There was a little silence.
She heard him draw in a deep breath before he spoke. ‘I promised to fix that window for you. When would be a convenient time?’
‘I thought you were going to get someone else to fix it. I didn’t realise you were going to do it yourself.’
‘I had to do the same to one of the windows at my place a while back,’ he said. ‘It’s no trouble really.’
‘What about tomorrow after work?’ she suggested. ‘That way I can cook you dinner in payment.’
‘I don’t expect to be paid,’ he said quickly.
‘Nevertheless, I insist on cooking you a meal. Besides, you’ll be doing me a favour by keeping me company for a few hours. I’m not used to being on my own in such a quiet house. It’s sort of creeping me out.’
‘Perhaps a dog might be a good idea after all,’ he said. ‘I’ve heard there’s one hanging about the school, looking for scraps.’
‘I think it was here when I got home a while ago. I saw it slink around the back of the tank.’
‘You could leave out some food for it and see if it’s friendly,’ he said. ‘But don’t approach it unless you’re sure. It might take a nip at you.’
‘I’ll be careful,’ she promised.
There was another silence.
‘Well …’ he said. ‘I’d better let you get some sleep. It’s been a rough couple of days for you. You must be totally wiped out.’
‘I’m pretty used to hard work.’
‘You’ll certainly get plenty of it out here. You’ll have to run the clinic singlehandedly tomorrow as I’m flying out to do the clinic at Warradunga Crossing.’
‘You don’t need me to come with you?’ she asked.
‘Although the appointment book isn’t full, I thought you’d be better to stay in town in case there’s anything urgent,’ he said. ‘The clinic at the Crossing isn’t a big one.’
‘And I don’t suppose the plane is either, right?’
Matt felt a smile tug at his mouth. ‘Not as big as the ones you’re used to but it does the job.’
‘So what time will you get back?’
‘About five,’ he said. ‘I’ll go home, have a shower and get back to your place at about seven, unless you want me to come later?’
‘No, that will be fine.’
‘Good. I’ll look forward to it.’
Not as much as I will, Kellie thought as she placed her phone back on the kitchen bench.
Her skin lifted in a faint shiver of anticipation. She knew the old adage about the way to a man’s heart being through his stomach might not apply to someone like Matt McNaught, but she was going to have a damn good try.
CHAPTER TWELVE
KELLIE was putting the last-minute touches to her make-up when she heard the sound of Matt knocking on the front door. She put the pot of lipgloss down and quickly slipped on her high heels and click-clacked her way down the hall.
She opened the door wide and smiled. ‘Hi.’
Matt felt as if he had been zapped with a stun gun. He stood there for several seconds, trying to keep his jaw from dropping at the vision of loveliness in front of him. She was wearing a red-and-white sundress with shoestring straps, nipped in at the waist with a shiny patent-leather belt, emphasising her trim body. Her hair was loose about her shoulders; she had done something to enhance the slight wave in it, the cascade of bouncy curls framing her heart-shaped face giving her a casual but elegant look. She smelt of summer, the delicate notes of honeysuckle—or was it orange blossom?—danced around his nostrils like invisible sprites.
‘Um … won’t you come in?’ she asked.
‘Er … right,’ he said, stepping over the threshold and thrusting a bottle of wine at her. ‘I don’t know if you like red or white but this is from the Roma vineyard. I thought you might like to try it. It’s the oldest vineyard in Queensland. It began in 1863.’
‘I’ve heard of it,’ she said, and closed the door. ‘I’ll open the wine while you play handyman with the window. I got the bedroom one open the other night but it’s still a little stiff.’
Yeah, well, it’s not the only thing feeling that way, Matt thought as she brushed past him. He was glad he was holding his toolkit so he could hide his physical reaction to her.
He
