Coming Home (13 page)

She walked over and
placed a steaming mug of coffee in front of him before taking a stool opposite.
Her pale blue eyes were hard and determined as she gazed at him. "Yes, I
did and since I have little or no money and the place is a filthy hole, I'm
roping you into help me clean it up so I can set up shop and start work."

"Seriously? You
want me to clean for you?" Cade roared with laughter.

 A small fist
thumped him on his sore leg. "Don't laugh at my mother."

He looked down at the
child so like her father. "Sorry about that, Squirt. I can't see myself
with a bucket and mop in my hand though."

Essie spoke up.
"Wouldn't hurt you to get out of your room and away from the bottle for a
while. Do you good to think about someone else for a change."

Cade gripped the edge
of the island counter. "For your information Essie, I do think about
others." He looked back at Rooney. "Just tell me what you need, and
I’ll do what I can."

Tam looked at him with
one eyebrow raised as if she was still deciding whether or not he was telling
the truth.

"Tomorrow we’ll go
and make a start then," Rooney said. "I need to get you booked into
school too, Tam." She laughed when that comment was met with a glare.
"I've already told you, honey, you have to go to school. You'll make
friends easily. It's only a small country school and they’re mostly farm
kids."

"When do I have to
start?"

 Cade's heart
melted at the lost look in her eyes. The girl had spunk and he liked that. She
also had a soft side and he hoped the spunk won out more. Despite the face he
showed to the public, girly girls didn’t appeal to him and considering who her
mother was, he doubted she would be too frilly.

"How about Monday?
That way you can spend the next couple of days with me cleaning and getting
sorted. Over the weekend you can find your way around the farm." Rooney
spoke with a firm tone that left Cade in no doubt she was in control of her
child.

"Yes, Mum."

"So, how bad is
this place? Has Tory seen it?" Cade sipped the coffee and waited for an
answer.

"He was the one
who told me about it. It’s pretty feral. It smells disgusting and I doubt if
anyone’s inside and opened a window for years." She laughed, the sound
filling the kitchen. "I don't have a choice, Cade and that's okay. I'm
used to hard work. It's how I've managed all these years."

"I can come over
and give you a couple of hours. If I get my work done here in the morning, I’ll
come over with lunch and spend a bit of time before I have to come back and get
dinner ready." Essie stopped chopping vegetables and looked at Cade.
"I know you’ll help her because it's what you should do."

"Yes, Essie. You
know I will." Cade gave a conspiratorial wink to his sister. "How are
you going to drum up business? Do you have a marketing plan or anything?"

"Uh, not yet. I’m
going to clean up first and put a notice in the paper when I’m ready. I still
have to buy some equipment when I can afford it. Tory is going to transfer
money into our accounts next week. It won't be much, but something to work with
for a start."

"Great, I can do
with some cash."

Rooney looked at him
with a frown on her face. "You earn heaps, Cade. Don't tell me you spend
it as fast as you earn it?"

He dropped his head and
traced a pattern on the counter top with his finger. His inability to save
money was one of the things his manager constantly harped on. "You know
how it is, I have a standard to uphold and I'm still young. Plenty of time to
save money."

"You are so
irresponsible. I thought you would know better than that. Always save half of
what you earn, Dad always said that. Even when he dished out pocket money, he
told us to save half."

"Yeah well, moving
on to the next subject. I'll meet you there tomorrow, about nine. I'm enjoying
my sleep-ins while I can."

Rooney shook her head
and walked away in disgust, leaving him with a sick feeling creeping up his gut
to stick in his throat. He didn't care what anyone else thought of him but
Rooney was different. She had always looked up to him, her hero. Now he saw
that hero-worship fading away.

Russ scrubbed his
hands. It was late and the emergency room was finally quiet. The evening shift
had taken over and he needed to get his paperwork done so he could head for home,
and a much needed meal and sleep. A major car accident had kept them all rushed
off their feet for most of the day. They’d stabilised the driver and injured
passenger before they were airlifted to Maitland Hospital where a surgeon was
on standby, ready to operate.

He dried his hands and
headed to his office, taking off his white coat as he walked. When Russ dropped
into his chair, he rubbed his hands over his face.

"Ready for
home?" One of the younger nurses leaned against the door frame, watching
him. She ran her hand down the neck of her uniform top, popping open the top
button.

"Yes, Diane. I
certainly am. It's been a big day all round. Shouldn't you be off duty
too?" He smiled.

"I just wanted to
check on you and make sure there was nothing else you needed Doctor
Williams." The suggestive way she pouted her lips made Russ' stomach
clench. Nurse Stanley's words came back to mind.
"I prefer to keep
things professional Doctor Williams, especially around the younger nursing
staff."

"Thanks Diane. I
have everything I need. I won't keep you any longer. Night." Russ turned
to his computer and started working, ignoring the girl at the doorway.
Eventually he heard a huff of breath and glanced up to see her sashay down the
hallway, her displeasure at being brushed off obvious.

Thank goodness for
that.
Russ had so far in the first week, had every
eligible nurse hit on him, ask him to dinner, make suggestive moves or
blatantly touch him when they were alone.

He didn't want a sleazy
affair in the broom closet with someone too young or immature, or someone only
out for what they thought he could give them. That romance had been and gone,
and he didn't want to repeat it.

Russ thought of the
only woman who had even touched the block of ice in his chest called a heart.
Elizabeth Stanley was the one person who hadn't made a move to get to know him
better, and he pondered on asking her out on a date. Deciding against it for
now, he concentrated on getting his notes done before turning off his computer.
He took his jacket off the coat hanger in the closet, shrugging it over his
shoulders. Taking a final glance around the office, Russ took his keys and
flicked off the light switch before walking out.

He passed through the emergency
ward on his way to the front door, casting his eye over the staff as he went.
"Nurse Stanley, I thought you’d already left."

She looked up, a tinge
of pink flushing her sculptured cheek bones. "I…um… had a couple of things
to do. Almost finished now."

"I'll wait and
walk you out. It's dark now, can't have you getting into trouble outside
alone." He leaned on the counter, waiting while she shuffled paperwork
into the correct files.

"That's not
necessary, Doctor."

"It is to me. Take
your time, I'm not in any hurry."

She frowned and Russ
noticed the quick words between the nightshift as they threw glances her way.
"Fine then."

He raised his eyebrow
at the gossiping staff, and they hurried to continue their work. By the time
Nurse Stanley was ready, Russ had looked over every inch of her face, arguing
with himself about the wisdom of dating a nurse he worked with.

He walked alongside her
out of the building, noticing the tension in the way she held herself. When
they reached the staff car park, she turned on him.

"That wasn't
necessary, waiting for me. It just gave the staff something else to talk
about." She opened her car and threw her jacket and handbag on the back
seat.

"I was brought up
to use my manners when it comes to a lady. You shouldn't worry about what other
people say about you, Elizabeth. If they’re going to talk, there is nothing you
can do to stop them."

"I don't wish to
be any one’s subject matter." She crossed her arms and gazed up at him in
the waning light of the evening. "My life is my own and none of their
business."

"I understand
that, but you shouldn't let it worry you." He thought quickly. "I
wonder if you would like to go out for a meal with me one night?"

"And give them
something else to talk about?"

Russ smiled. "No,
give you and me something to talk about. Just dinner between two friends."

She chewed on her
bottom lip and Russ wanted to take that mouth in his and smooth out the
tightness tugging at the corners of her lips.

"I don't know if
that’s a good idea. We don't really have anything in common."

"I bet we do, and
it's a perfectly good time to find out for ourselves. Saturday we are both off
shift. I can pick you up and take you somewhere nice and quiet so we can
talk."

Russ watched the
turmoil in her eyes as she weighed up the decision.

"Fine, okay
then."

He smiled, reached out
to touch her, thought better of it and pulled his hand back. Russ noticed how
the colour raced up her cheeks when he'd reached for her, happy there was at
least some sort of reaction. "You can give me your address tomorrow. Drive
carefully." Russ stood back while she scrambled to get into her car. When
she stalled the engine, he smiled to himself. It looked as though Nurse Stanley
wasn't as immune to him as she tried to make out.

When she drove away, he
turned to walk to his own car, clicking the remote lock before he reached for
the door handle. The drive home was peaceful and quiet. It gave him a chance to
go over the day’s cases and unwind—something he didn't really get to do in the
city hospitals. It was always too busy.

By the time Russ turned
into the driveway and past the lagoon, it was dark. The lights twinkled inside
the house and he relaxed, the day’s tension gone at the front gate. He’d made
the right decision to move. His stress levels were down and he slept better at
night.

He parked his car next
to his brother’s yellow machine and walked up toward the house. The lights were
on in Kate's house and he wondered how long it would be before his brother woke
up to the fact she was still head over heels in love with him.
Probably
never. He’s too wrapped up in himself to see what’s in front of him.

Essie bustled around in
the kitchen when he pushed open the door. "What are you doing working at
this time of night?" He leaned down to kiss the lined cheek offered to
him.

"Getting things
ready for Rooney tomorrow. She’s having a working bee at that place she bought.
I'm going over to help her after I get my work done here." She pushed him
to sit at the counter. "I've got your dinner keeping warm."

Russ watched her go to
the oven and take out a foil-covered plate before setting it in front of him.
He lifted the cover and the smell of roasted chicken and vegetables filled his
nostrils. "I've missed your cooking, Essie."

"Away with
you." She smiled and continued packing carry bags with cleaning supplies.
"Rooney talked your brother into helping clean tomorrow. Mind you, I think
Tam had more to do with it. Hard to say no to that one."

"I can't wait to
meet her. It's a shame I was so late tonight."

"Just like her
mother she is, in temperament anyway. Spitting image of her father to look at,
though. No doubting who he is either," Essie said.

"I never said
otherwise," Rooney said as she pushed open the kitchen door. She walked over
and wrapped her arms around her big brother, kissing him. "How’s the new
job working out?"

"Good, I really
like the hospital. You can get lost in the city." He took a bite of
chicken, savouring the rich gravy that Essie had slathered all over it.
"So, is my niece asleep already?"

Rooney dropped down on
a stool beside him and leaned her elbow on the counter, resting her head on her
hand. "Yes, she was exhausted. It was a big drive down here and she was a bit
nervous about the move too. After raiding the cookies Essie made, she met Kate
and ran ragged around the farm after her until dinner. Then she crashed before
I could bath her."

"Sounds like you
when you were little." Russ took the coffee Essie handed him.
"Thanks."

"She is very like
me. Some days I wonder how Mum coped with me and my moods. I was so damned
stubborn and determined to have my own way. It's the only thing that stops me
coming down too hard on Tam when she digs her toes in."

"I can't wait to
meet her." He looked into her cool blue eyes. "When are you going to
tell Stevie."

Russ was aware of Essie
looking in their direction, waiting to hear what Rooney had to say. She was
part of this family and had as much right to know what was going on as the rest
of them. He speared a piece of roast potato with his fork and watched his
sister’s face as he put it in his mouth.