hand firmly. ‘So you’re from England. Are you here on a working holiday?’
‘That’s right,’ Timothy answered cheerfully. ‘Though I’ve been away for nearly a year now, working and trying to fit in all the touristy things.’
Lord, he could talk. She’d only asked a question to be polite! All Clara really wanted to do was dash off to the loo, bury her head in her hands and go over the news Shelly had so happily imparted. But instead she had to stand and make polite noises as Dr Timothy Morgan took her on an impromptu virtual tour of Australia, pulling photos out of his pocket like a magician as he told her how he’d bought a cheap ute, worked his way down the east coast of Australia and was now working his way up the middle.
‘I was hoping to make my fortune in Coober Pedey,’ Timothy chattered on easily. ‘I read in my guide book that some tourists make enough to fund their entire trip, only in my case I spent three weeks fossicking in the dirt for opals and ended up spending a fortune having the two tiny stones I found mounted, which wasn’t exactly the plan, so I’m hoping to start here early.’
‘How early?’ Shelly asked hopefully, peering at the roster as Ross started to laugh.
‘You can’t ask the poor guy to work on his first night here—he should be over at the ball, getting to know all the locals in one swoop. What’s the problem?’
‘I can’t get anyone to work tonight.’
‘But I thought Irene was coming.’
‘She is, but she made it very clear she doesn’t want to hand over to the Flying Doctors. So if they don’t get here before seven, one of us is going to have to be here, and I can hardly ask Kell or Abby.’
‘And you can’t ask Clara,’ Ross said firmly. ‘She’s on the ball committee, for goodness’ sake, they’ve been planning this for months.’
‘No, you can’t ask Clara.’
The conversation that had been taking place ended abruptly, every eye turning as the new guy in town put in his ten cents’ worth to a problem that clearly wasn’t his.
‘Because I intend to ask her to dance.’
It was an unfortunate moment to drop the pile of notes Clara had been precariously balancing.
Unfortunate, because from the look that flashed between Ross and Shelly they clearly thought Timothy’s rather vocal intentions had caused her lapse in concentration.
Unfortunate, because Shelly, an eternal romantic at the best of times, would be for ever on her case now about the gorgeous new doctor and why didn’t she make a bit of effort with him.
And unfortunate, because there was nothing dignified about scrabbling on the floor, trying to pick up endless reams of blood results and ECG printouts scattered over a seemingly ten-mile radius, with a heart that was bleeding inside.
Kell was going to propose.
It was like an awful mantra resounding in her head. Biting on her bottom lip to fight the sting of tears, Clara could feel her face reddening with the effort of not crying. She wished they’d all just leave her alone. Go and do whatever needed to be done on a Saturday morning and let her get on with her day.
Let her get on with her life.
A life without Kell.
‘If the Flying Doctors haven’t come by the time the balls starts, Irene can still watch him and give me a call when they get here. We’ll hear the plane coming in anyway. It will only take half an hour or so to hand over.’
‘But, Ross…’ Shelly protested.
They were all on the floor, kneeling down and pretending not to notice Clara’s red face and shaking hands.
‘No buts,’ Ross said firmly, standing up and shuffling the mass of papers into a pile that would take for ever to sort out. ‘Have you told Bill’s daughter the news?’
Clara shook her head, grateful for the change of subject. ‘I’ve been ringing all morning but I can’t get through.’
‘No doubt she’s out on the farm. It’s probably best someone tells her face to face, given that she’s pregnant and everything. I might head over now. Do you want to come, Timothy?’
‘Where do they live?’
‘Just out of town.’
Timothy gave a small grimace. ‘Which in the outback means a couple of hours’ drive. Sorry, Ross, would it be a terrible career move if I turned you down, given that I’ve just spent the last twenty-four hours bumping along in my ute to get here?’
‘Of course not.’ Ross laughed. ‘I just feel guilty, leaving you on your own on your first morning here. Shelly’s got a hairdresser’s appointment, Kell and Abby are off duty…’
‘I’ll be fine,’ Timothy said assuredly. ‘A shower and a sleep are top of my list at the moment. Still…’ those green eyes turned to Clara, who was attempting to fashion Bill’s notes into some sort of order ‘…I wouldn’t say no to a quick guided tour of the clinic, if Clara doesn’t mind. I’d hate for something to happen and not have a clue where anything’s kept.’
‘Good idea,’ Ross said enthusiastically, obviously thrilled to have Timothy on board. ‘You don’t mind, do you, Clara?’
There it was again, the automatic assumption that she’d come good. ‘You don’t mind’ was up there with ‘I hate to ask’ and Clara’s personal favourite, ‘Oh, Clara will do it’.
Well, she did mind.
Right now she wanted some peace, wanted to sort out Bill’s notes, wanted some time to gather her thoughts and figure out what on earth she was going to do, not hold yet another new doctor’s hand and show another fleeting visitor the ropes, only to have them leave again.
Of course she didn’t say as much. Instead, she nodded, her clear blue eyes briefly meeting Timothy’s. ‘Sure, I’d be happy to.’
‘Great.’
‘Sorry about this,’ Timothy ventured once they were alone. ‘I’m sure you’ve got a million and one things to do without taking me around. It’s just that I went for an interview at a bush hospital up in Queensland when I first came to Australia. I got there early, as you do for interviews, and a patient went and had a cardiac arrest while I was sitting outside the interview room.’
Clara was only half listening as she pushed open the coffee-room doors and pointed in the vague direction of the staff kitchen before heading towards the main work area. Timothy’s backpacking stories really held no interest for her.
‘Anyway, it turns out I was so early the doctor interviewing me wasn’t in the hospital yet.’
‘Really?’ Clara said distractedly, turning up the volume on Bill’s cardiac monitor before she crossed the room as Timothy hovered annoyingly over her right shoulder, watching her every move. ‘I’ll take you though to our treatment room.’
‘So there I was, going over my interview technique, the ink on my medical certificate
