‘Good call.’
‘Here are your bags, CJ,’ Tania said as she came running out from the house. She smiled at Ethan. ‘See you tomorrow.’
Ethan escorted CJ back to his car after thanking Donna for a wonderful morning.
‘I can drop you home first.’
‘Pardon?’
‘I can drop you at home first and then go to the hospital to see Robert settled.’
‘It’s all right. Robert might get worried about me if I don’t turn up.’
‘I’ll tell him you’re having a rest. It’s what pregnant mothers do.’
‘Still, I don’t want to worry him. He likes to fuss over me as his own grandchildren live too far away.’
‘It appears most of the town of Pridham—and Whitecorn, for that matter—love to fuss over you.’
‘Yes. It’s nice.’
He could imagine it would be for her. She wouldn’t take it for granted either. Instead, it was obvious she appreciated every single person’s protective attitude towards her and her unborn child.
It didn’t take them long to get Robert settled and once CJ was satisfied with her patient’s vital signs, Ethan took her home.
‘Off to bed, sleepyhead.’
‘OK.’ She stifled a yawn and shuffled off towards her bedroom. ‘Wake me if anything exciting happens.’
That was the last Ethan saw of her for the rest of the day. He knew she’d wake up an hour or so later and specifically made sure he was out of the house. He went for a drive, enjoying the scenery and the ambience of the area. It was relaxing, colourful and a million miles from the hustle and bustle of Sydney.
When he returned it was night-time and again there was no sign of her. He went to his room and got ready for bed. He had clinic tomorrow morning and house calls in the afternoon. Although the pace was different from Sydney, the patients still had real complaints and he owed it to them to be alert.
He glanced over at the clock. It was only nine-thirty and here he was, tucked up in bed. If his colleagues could see him now, they’d laugh. Perhaps it was the manual labour he’d done that morning that was making him feel so exhausted. ‘Or maybe it’s the way you can’t seem to get CJ out of your head,’ he muttered, and buried his head beneath the pillow, forcing his thoughts in a completely different direction.
CHAPTER FIVE
FOUR-FIFTEEN. The digital clock had to be wrong. He’d been tossing and turning for hours. Surely it was almost morning! He flung the covers back, climbed from the bed and pulled on his robe. He needed a drink, and not just water from the bathroom tap.
Ethan headed out to the kitchen, stopping in the doorway to check that the coast was clear. Had CJ been up already? He glanced around the darkened room. There were no signs that anyone had been in the kitchen. No jars of chocolate spread left out, no dishes in the sink. Perhaps she’d packed everything away in the dishwasher.
Regardless, the kitchen was empty now. Ethan hurried over to the sink and filled the kettle with water then switched it on. While he was waiting, he looked through the herbal teas CJ had in the cupboard, and decided on Sleepy Baby tea, as it prescribed a relaxing outcome.
Herbal teas had been a more recent addition to his ‘new lifestyle’ campaign. Melody had suggested it, saying that it often helped her to get a good night’s sleep. ‘You need at least six hours of REM sleep, Ethan.’
‘I get six hours of sleep,’ he’d argued.
‘In one block?’ Her questions had been pointed. ‘Didn’t Leo suggest you cut down on your caffeine? How many cups do you usually have?’
Ethan had shrugged. Most days he lost count but even he knew it was too much. He did what he needed to do in order to get through his day, being as effective as possible, and he said as much to his sister.
‘But you’re not being effective.’ Melody had reached out and taken his hand in hers. ‘Don’t you see that? You may be keeping up to date with your paperwork, your research projects, and being a brilliant surgeon to your patients, but at the end of the day you’re being ineffective to your own health.’
‘I don’t care,’ he’d told her, the soft, caring tone doing more to damage his self-control than anything else.
‘About your own life?’ Tears had instantly sprung to Melody’s eyes and it was then, seeing his sister’s worry and concern, that Ethan had started to actually listen to her biggest fears for his health. He’d tried to change, tried to cut down on the caffeine, but about four weeks after that conversation his body had decided to take control of things by having a mild heart attack.
‘Morning.’ CJ’s soft, cheery greeting startled him, and it was only then he realised that the memories had brought tears to his own eyes. Ethan quickly sniffed and turned his attention to finding a cup and putting the teabag into it. ‘Junior’s doing the morning exercise routine a little later today. Maybe there’s hope.’
‘For what?’ Ethan glanced over his shoulder at her, noting she looked absolutely adorable with her hair all messed up and stuck out at funny angles. Her robe was hanging open and her feet were in those ridiculous fluffy slippers. She looked...good enough to eat. Ethan cleared his throat, willing the kettle to hurry up and boil.
‘That Junior’s going to grow out of being an early riser,’ she answered.
Ethan’s lips quirked slightly. ‘Wishful thinking?’
She crossed both her fingers and held up her hands, making him smile even more. ‘Something like that. What are you drinking?’ She peered into his mug on her way past him to the fridge.
‘Herbal tea.’
‘Mmm. Sounds good.’
Without saying another word, Ethan took another cup down and added another teabag. ‘Sugar or honey?’
‘Honey, please.’ She took some cheese out of the fridge and headed over to the bread bin where she
