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Vivie ticked off the people on her fingers. ‘Melissa is still here, but she wants to go with you in the bus to the bowling club and needs to talk to you about a friend who wants to board.’
Bella looked up and mentally reviewed the rooms. There were three left. ‘We’ll see.’
Vivie nodded and went on. ‘Lisa is still feeling unwell from morning sickness and is lying down, and Aunt Sophie said she’s staying in her rooms until the last race. The twins have gone out but they did bring the washing in and put it away before they went.’ She pushed the high chair back against the wall.
‘Oh, and Dr Rainford rang and said he wanted to come on the bus with you tonight.’
The spoonful of soup on the way to Bella’s mouth stopped in mid-air. ‘Now, how the heck did he find out I was driving tonight?’
Vivie looked uncomfortable. ‘He said he’d ring back when you got home and I mentioned you’d be in and out after seven. And it went on from there. Sorry.’
Bella put the untouched spoon back into the bowl and forced a smile. ‘No problem. You go and see Abbey. Young Ro and I will stay here until you get back, then I’ll get organised.’
Vivie smiled her thanks and dashed off to change. Bella lifted the spoon again. She did not understand how Scott Rainford thought he could barge into her private life uninvited. Why would he want to when he was obviously unhappy about her presence in his professional orbit?
It was five to seven and Bella had backed the cumbersome bus out of the garage into the driveway to allow her first passenger to board.
Melissa, at eighteen, was thirty-four weeks pregnant, and her yellow chenille trousers made Bella blink. Melissa’s wrists jangled every time she moved her hands and her body piercing was nothing short of incredible. A sweet-natured girl, Melissa had been badly let down by the boyfriend she was still in love with.
‘Vivie says you had something to ask me?’ Bella smiled to convey that she was listening and waited for Melissa to explain. The girl drew a deep breath, as if preparing for the worst, and Bella looked back at her puzzled. ‘Why so worried? I’ve never refused anyone in trouble, have I?’
‘It’s just that this is different. But not different! Well, it is different but shouldn’t be.’
Bella blinked. ‘Run that by me again.’
‘My friend…’ Melissa wrung her hands and the jewellery rattled and pinged with the movement ‘…is staying at the pub and it’s expensive, and she’s a really nice person. I guess, like me, the earrings and tattoos don’t help people like them.’
‘So you’d like your friend to stay at Chisholm Road until she finds somewhere to live. Is that right?’
Melissa twisted her hands again. ‘Sort of. But different.’
Bella sighed. ‘We’re back to different. Different shouldn’t be a problem.’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘Is she not pregnant, doesn’t speak English, has two heads?’
‘She’s a he.’ Melissa shot a glance at Bella and rushed on. ‘His name’s Blake, and he really is a sweetie.’
Bella stifled another sigh. She knew this had to come up some time. ‘How old is your Blake?’
Melissa shook her head. ‘He’s not my Blake. I still love Thomas.’ Her head drooped. ‘Even though he doesn’t love me.’ After a few moments of wishful thinking Melissa straightened her neck. ‘But Blake is twenty and my very best friend. He hasn’t been in town long but he stood up for me when some people were giving me a hard time and we’ve spent heaps of time together since. And I said I’d ask if he could stay. Maybe he could work around the yard or something. He said he would.’
Bella smiled at the girl in the rear-view mirror and reached across to shut the door. ‘We’ll see. We’d need a house meeting. I’m not promising anything.’ She started the engine and the radio came on with the ignition and gave her a respite from further discussion. She needed to think about this.
At least she didn’t have to deal with Scott Rainford while she worked it out. Bella wasn’t sure whether she was relieved that Scott hadn’t come or annoyed that she’d wasted time deciding what to wear. Relief won.
Unfortunately, just as she pushed in the clutch, his car drew up at the end of the driveway. Bella sighed and opened the passenger door again.
Darn. She could have done without this. Her pulse skipped and she closed her eyes for a second to steady her nerves.
He was dressed casually in dark jeans and a yellow polo shirt that sat snugly across his broad shoulders and deep chest. To Bella, he looked disturbingly handsome and charged with a virility that she could more easily ignore at work—but not tonight. He seemed bigger and stronger as he loomed over her seat and he made her aware of how slight she was compared to him.
‘Were you leaving without me, Bella?’ Scott had climbed the two steps into the bus and chosen the front seat directly next to her so that every time she turned her head she could see him. Bella wrinkled her brow. A faint drift of his expensive aftershave floated towards her and she resisted the temptation to breathe in more deeply. She had more sense than to lean towards self-destruction.
An enigmatic smile sat on his chiselled lips and his face was inscrutable. Bella reminded herself it was a waste of time to wonder what went on behind those cool green eyes of his. She never had been able to tell.
Maintain composure. Be assertive. She raised her voice over the radio. ‘I wasn’t waiting, Dr Rainford. Luckily you weren’t late.’ Bella put the vehicle smoothly into gear and pulled out into the street.
‘You handle the bus well.’ There wasn’t any condescension in his voice but his comment annoyed Bella anyway. She turned the radio up a little more.
‘Did you think I wouldn’t?’ she enquired sweetly as she negotiated a roundabout without touching the central island. She glanced across at his face and he was smiling. Now what was funny?
The laughter was in his voice. ‘So, where are we going first?’
Bella sighed and turned the radio down a little. There was no use gaining a headache just to annoy Scott.
‘It’s a set route and we start at the south side of town and visit the clubs and pubs until we end up back where we started. First stop is Southside Bowling Club. Melissa is getting out there.’
Bella shut her mouth with a snap. Until someone got on, she would be alone with Scott as they drove around. And this was the quietest time of the night. Great.
‘Why are you here anyway?’ She listened to her own voice and the belligerence in it made her bite her lip. There was no excuse for bad manners. ‘I’m sorry. That came out poorly.’
‘Please, don’t apologise. That’s one of the reasons I’m here.’ His words surprised Bella so much she reached over and turned off the radio.
Scott’s smile was wry at the sudden silence in the vehicle and from the corner of her eye she saw him rub the back of his neck. So the great Dr Rainford was uncomfortable. Bella wasn’t sure how that made her feel but it was good to know he wasn’t one hundred per cent comfortable all the time.
Scott held his silence as they drew up to the bowling club and Bella flicked on the indicator and steered the minibus under the entrance portico. The door hissed open at the first stop and Melissa swayed belly-first down the aisle to carefully descend the steps. She turned back at the bottom step.
‘You will think about it, won’t you, Bella?’ Bella nodded and the girl went on her way. The expression on Scott’s face as he watched her leave made Bella smile.
When Melissa was out of earshot, he looked at Bella. ‘Melissa makes me think of that Adam Harvey song about the girl who fell face first into the fishing-tackle box.’
‘You’re showing your age,’ she said, and she saw him wince.
‘That’s because I’m old.’
The humour of the reply didn’t quite come off and Bella shot him a look and changed the subject. ‘So what was this about you apologising?’
His expression softened and Bella was surprised how good that made her feel. Danger lights flashed. She should not feel anything. Scott’s hang-ups were no concern of hers.
He turned to face her fully. ‘I’m not good at apologies so bear with me.’ He took a deep melodramatic breath and his face was solemn.
‘Bella Wilson, I…’ he placed his hand over his heart with exaggerated sincerity ‘…Scott Rainford, apologise for any slur or aspersions I may have cast on your ability to run Gladstone Maternity Ward. It was uncalled for and inexcusable and not a true indication of my faith in your ability. Please, forgive me.’
Then he smiled. Bella looked into his eyes and it happened again. The world shifted and she knew he understood everything about her—just like that day twelve years ago when she’d fallen in love with him.
But she wasn’t going there. She didn’t need this. Bella fumbled with the gearstick until she found a gear and jerkily pulled away from the club as if to drive away would leave the words behind. She’d thought she’d sigh with relief when Scott stopped baiting her but now that he seemed so warmly approving she felt more off balance.
Even while she battled with the cumbersome bus in traffic, the awareness of Scott beside her didn’t go away. The air in the bus seemed charged and no matter how much Bella berated herself for the resurgence of all those emotions she’d fought against as a teenager, she couldn’t deny it—Scott’s presence excited her.
Excited her in a way the three years with the permanently unfaithful Jason had never done. But excitement passed, she reminded herself, and she wasn’t stupid enough to fall for that story again.
‘Apology accepted,’ she said quietly, and avoided his eyes.
Thankfully, the next stop saw two young women and a pimply youth board the bus and their friendly chatter helped distance the sensation that Bella was being drawn, inexorably, towards a fatal attraction she’d later regret. Because it wasn’t going to happen!
Scott had also been quiet since that unmistakable awareness had passed between them. Bella had no idea of his thoughts. Perhaps he regretted he’d come tonight. Maybe now he’d apologised he’d go home after the run. She could only hope.
Bella dropped the three passengers at a noisy pub and the bus was empty again. ‘After the next stop, I head home for nearly an hour before I do it all again.’ She glanced at Scott and his eyes seemed to warm her from across the aisle. Her imagination was running away with her. Scott wouldn’t look at her like that.
‘It gets busier later in the evening.’ Her voice cracked as she strove for normality and she wished he’d say something. Anything to break this mounting awareness that had come from nowhere and seemed to drain the strength from her body. She pulled into the last stop and two young blonde women, obviously twins, waved gaily as they clambered up the steps.
‘Hi, Bella.’ They looked at Scott curiously. ‘Hello, Dr Rainford,’ they chorused as they took their seats. Trish and Trina were just seventeen and Bella was pleased to see them heading home. Their mother was in hospital for a major operation and the girls had come to stay with Bella while she was away rather than with their stepfather whom they didn’t get on with.
Bella glanced into the rear vision mirror. ‘You ladies home for the night now?’ The girls nodded.
Scott observed the interplay between Bella and the girls. She treated them with respect and yet he could see that she had a natural authority that came across despite the gentleness of her voice.
Authority was something he hadn’t associated with Bella. This afternoon, after rational thought, he’d realised how badly he’d behaved to belittle Bella’s ability to run the ward. If she’d been an unknown replacement for Abbey’s job he would never have dreamed of undermining the new NUM’s confidence. Just because he had a problem looking at Bella dispassionately he had no right to take it out on her. He’d always believed in fair play and in retrospect he’d been dismayed at his behaviour. They needed to let go of their past and establish a good professional friendship.
Then he’d found out Bella was driving the youth bus and the idea of her safety weighed on him as well. And a little aching curiosity about how Bella coped with young adults—people the same age as his son—something he didn’t associate with beautiful but fragile Bella. Something he didn’t associate with himself. He shelved those thoughts for later. It was enough trying to remain rational around her.
Tonight had seemed a good opportunity to apologise for his lack of support at her promotion and see her in action. The trouble was, when he let his barriers down, the depth of his attraction to her swamped him like it had now and his plan of just being friends became difficult to stick to.
The bus pulled up at Bella’s house more sharply than expected and everyone jerked in their seats. ‘Sorry,’ Bella murmured as she opened the door. The twins giggled as they waved goodbye.
Bella glanced at Scott. ‘Are you on call for the ward?’ Scott nodded and patted his pager and Bella raised her eyebrows. ‘What were you going to do if your pager went off and they needed you in Maternity?’
‘I was hoping the bus driver would drop me off. It’s a small town.’
Bella smiled and his own lips curved. Hell, she was beautiful. She was still talking and he tried to concentrate.
‘Are you going home now or were you planning to wait for the next run in an hour?’
Waiting with Bella would be exquisite torture but, now he realised there was a chance she’d be alone in the bus to pick up strange young people, he’d never settle at home. ‘I’ll wait.’
Bella glanced at him and he couldn’t tell her thoughts from her noncommittal voice. ‘Were you planning on coming on all the trips tonight?’
He avoided her eyes. ‘I don’t like the idea of you being here on your own.’ He stood and watched her squeeze out from behind the wheel and waited for her to go past him before following her out. Her no-nonsense jeans hugged her tiny waist and stretched over the subtle curve of her buttocks and down her long legs like a second skin as she descended the steps. Scott closed his eyes.
At work he could control the direction of his thoughts. But tonight, after the decision he’d made today to get used to Bella being in his life again, it was much harder to stay detached.
In the old boarding-house-cum-family home it was quieter than he’d expected for just after eight o’clock in the evening. The bustling family atmosphere he’d vaguely assumed would distract him from lusting after Bella wasn’t there. Now he was in trouble.
‘Drop in and say hello to Aunt Sophie. She’d love to see you,’ Bella said over her shoulder as she headed for the kitchen.
Scott glanced at the closed door in the foyer and accepted that the light streaming from under it meant that Sophie was awake. He knocked and a querulous voice called for him to enter.
The white-haired old lady was hunched in front of the television, watching the horse races as he’d expected, and she cackled softly when she saw him. Her bird-like face widened into a grin and he wondered not for the first time how she managed to eat with so few teeth.
‘Bit late for a house call, Dr Rainford,’ Sophie said.
Scott walked across the room to stand beside her chair. ‘I’m doing the bus run with Bella tonight. How are you, Sophie? Keeping the house under control as usual?’
‘Bella runs it. I just watch. And soon I’ll see my new great-nephew.’
Scott smiled at the old lady’s delight. ‘He’s a fine young fellow and Abbey looked wonderful when I saw her before tea.’
‘They deserve their happiness. And so do you. You might think of doing something about it before you get too old.’
Scott raised his eyebrows but, in fact, nothing Bella’s aunt said could surprise him after all these years of being her doctor. Sophie’s eyes had strayed from his, back to the screen, as a new race started. He’d ceased to exist.
‘Funny you should say that,’ he murmured. More loudly, he said, ‘I’ll go, then. Good luck with your punting.’
She flicked him a sly glance. ‘Good luck with yours.’ And turned back to the television.
Scott bit back a sigh as he left the room. One thing about old age seemed to be that you could say what you wanted, when you wanted!
CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_34f8822a-e985-5149-a477-9333fd107d41)
BACK in the foyer, the twins had disappeared up the stairs and then a barely audible thumping beat vibrated through the house. He looked down where the noise seemed to be seeping through the floorboards under his feet. Thump, thump, thump. He wondered if his son liked that kind of music and even if Bella did. He was definitely too old for Bella. He thought wistfully of his own quiet house until Bella returned from the kitchen and then age was forgotten.
She was munching an apple and he couldn’t help the sudden connection in his head to Adam and Eve and the malicious serpent of desire. Even in jeans she embodied the essence of womanhood and he could feel the too-familiar surge of frustration at the unfairness of fate.
‘It seems Vivie’s gone to bed.’ Bella said as she rubbed the uneaten side of her apple against her breast to shine it. Scott almost groaned at the undulation of tissue under the fruit. Oblivious, she went on, ‘Her baby was unsettled last night and she’s probably trying to catch up on some sleep.’ Bella tilted her head and he could see she was unsure what to do with him. ‘Do you want to listen to music in the study until the next trip?’
Scott tore his eyes away from the tightness of her shirt and dragged his thoughts back under control as he followed her into the book-lined room. He remembered the room they used as a study from when Abbey had lived here, but the aura was different.
Bella had painted the walls a soft lilac and replaced the old curtains with white linen. She gestured to an under-stuffed chair as she moved across to turn on the CD player. ‘Please, sit down.’
Before he knew it Carol King had started to sing softly in the background about a life and a tapestry and he relaxed a little at the pleasant music. Bella crossed the room back to him as he sank into the chair. And sank comprehensively until his knees almost came up to his chin. He pretended to be comfortable though he felt like he’d been swallowed whole. At least it took his mind off Bella’s breasts.
Bella perched on the arm of a sister chair and Scott could see why. Bella would disappear if she sank as far as he had.
Her eyes twinkled. ‘Sorry about the chairs. There used to be a chaise longue in here but Rohan asked if Abbey could take it with her when they got married. Something to do with happy memories or something and I couldn’t say no.’ She grinned. ‘He’s so romantic and Abbey is so matter-of-fact. Love is grand if it works out.’ She shrugged and patted the chair.
‘I found these really cheap at a garage sale.’ Her smile faded and she glanced out of the window at the house next door where her sister and brother-in-law lived. ‘Poor old Rohan looked strained today while Abbey was in labour.’
She turned back to stare thoughtfully at Scott. ‘And so did you after the baby was born. What happened to a show of relief and joy at the birth of the new Roberts baby?’
She was different in her own home, more decisive and assertive, and it knocked Scott off balance. So much so that he answered by speaking about something he’d least intended. Something he hadn’t told anyone since he’d found out yesterday.
‘I was thinking about my own son.’
Bella blinked. ‘You have a son? Since when?’
She looked so incredulous that Scott winced. ‘It is possible, you know. I am a man.’
Bella snorted, not unlike her maiden aunt, and raised her eyebrows. ‘I’ve been aware of that for a while.’ And suddenly it was back—that aura between them that had shimmered in the bus. She blushed and looked away but not before he saw her moisten her lips with her tongue. That brief glimpse of pink softness almost undid all the hard work he’d expended on controlling his lust.
He rose, not without difficulty, from the softness of the upholstery, and walked over to the window. He had to move away or he’d pull her into his arms and do something he should have done many years ago.
