Dr. Dark and Far-Too Delicious Read online

  And then she realised that Jed was still standing there.

  ‘Do I know you?’ He frowned.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Jasmine said, while reluctantly admitting to herself that they had definitely never met—his was a face she certainly wouldn’t forget.

  ‘Have you worked in Sydney?’

  Jasmine shook her head.

  ‘Where did you work before?’

  She started to go red. She hated talking about her time there—she’d loved it so much and it had all ended so terribly, but she could hardly tell him that. ‘Melbourne Central. I trained there and worked in Emergency there till I had my son.’

  ‘Nice hospital,’ Jed said. ‘I had an interview there when I first moved to the area, but no.’ He shook his head. ‘That’s not it. You just look familiar...’

  He surely hadn’t picked up that she and Penny were sisters? No one ever had. She and Penny were complete opposites, not just in looks but also in personality. Penny was completely focussed and determined, whereas Jasmine was rather more impulsive, at least she had been once. She was also, as her mother had frequently pointed out throughout her childhood whenever Jasmine had burst into tears, too sensitive.

  ‘There you are!’ Jasmine turned as Lisa came over and Jed made his excuses and wandered off.

  ‘Sorry,’ Jasmine said to Lisa. ‘They took ages to find all the forms I needed.’

  ‘That’s Admin for you,’ Lisa said. ‘Right, I’ll walk you through the department and give you a feel for the place. It just got busy.’

  It certainly had.

  It had been almost empty when Jasmine had first arrived for her interview and the walk to Lisa’s office had shown a calm, even quiet department, compared to the busy city one Jasmine was more used to. Now, though, the cubicles were all full and she could see staff rushing and hear the emergency bell trilling from Resus. Not for the first time, Jasmine wondered if she was up to the demands of going back to work in a busy emergency department.

  The last two years had left her so raw and confused that all she really wanted to do was to curl up and sleep before she tackled the process of healing and resuming work, but her ex didn’t want to see their son, let alone pay child support, and there was no point going through appropriate channels—she couldn’t wait the time it would take to squeeze blood from a stone, but more than that Jasmine wanted to support her son herself, which meant that she needed a job.

  However much it inconvenienced Penny and however daunted she was at the prospect.

  ‘We do our best with the roster. I always try to accommodate specific requests, but as far as regular shifts go I can’t make allowances for anyone,’ Lisa explained—she knew about Simon and had told Jasmine that there were a couple of other single mums working there who, she was sure, would be a huge support. ‘And I’ve rung the crèche and said that you’ll be coming over to have a look around, but you know that they close at six and that on a late shift you don’t generally get out till well after nine?’

  Jasmine nodded. ‘My mum’s said that she’ll help out for a little while.’ Jasmine stated this far more generously than her mother had. ‘At least until I sort out a babysitter.’

  ‘What about night shifts?’ Lisa checked. ‘Everyone has to do them—it’s only fair.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘That way,’ Lisa explained, ‘with everyone taking turns, generally it only comes around once every three months or so.’

  ‘That sounds fine,’ Jasmine said confidently while inwardly gauging her mother’s reaction.

  It was a good interview, though. Really, Jasmine was confident that she’d got the job and, as she left, Lisa practically confirmed it. ‘You’ll be hearing from us soon.’ She gave a wry smile as Jasmine shook her hand. ‘Very soon. I wish you didn’t have to do orientation before you start—I’ve just had two of my team ring in sick for the rest of the week.’

  Walking towards the exit, Jasmine saw how busy yet efficient everyone looked and despite her confident words about her experience to Lisa, inside she was a squirming mess! Even though she’d worked right up to the end of her pregnancy she hadn’t nursed in more than a year and, again, she considered going back to her old department. At least she’d maybe know a few people.

  At least she’d know where things were kept. Yet there would still be the nudges and whispers that she’d been so relieved to leave behind and, yes, she should just walk in with her head held high and face the ugly rumours and gossip, except going back to work after all she had been through was already hard enough.

  ‘Jasmine?’ She turned as someone called her name and forced back on her smile when she saw that it was Jed. He was at the viewfinder looking at an X-ray. ‘How did you get on?’

  ‘Good,’ Jasmine answered. ‘Well, at least I think I did.’

  ‘Well done.’

  ‘I’m just going to check out the crèche.’

  ‘Good luck again, then,’ Jed said, ‘because from what I’ve heard you’ll need it to get a place there.’

  ‘Oh, and, Jasmine,’ he called as she walked off, ‘I do know you.’

  ‘You don’t.’ Jasmine laughed.

  ‘But I know that I do,’ he said. ‘I never forget a face. I’ll work it out.’

  She rather hoped that he wouldn’t.

  CHAPTER THREE

  ‘HOW DID YOU GO?’ her mum asked as she let her in.

  ‘Well,’ Jasmine said. ‘Sorry that it took so long.’

  ‘That’s okay. Simon’s asleep.’ Jasmine followed her mum through to the kitchen and Louise went to put the kettle on. ‘So when do you start?’

  ‘I don’t even know if I’ve got the job.’

  ‘Please,’ her mum said over her shoulder. ‘Everywhere’s screaming for nurses, you hear it on the news all the time.’

  It was a backhanded compliment—her mother was very good at them. Jasmine felt the sting of tears behind her eyes—Louise had never really approved of Jasmine going into nursing. Her mother had told her that if she worked a bit harder at school she could get the grades and study medicine, just like Penny. And though she never came right out and said it, it was clear that in both her mother’s and sister’s eyes Penny had a career whereas Jasmine had a job—and one that could be done by anyone—as if all that Jasmine had to do was put on her uniform and show up.

  ‘It’s a clinical nurse specialist role that I’ve applied for, Mum,’ Jasmine said. ‘There were quite a few applicants.’ But her mum made no comment and not for the first time Jasmine questioned her decision to move close to home. Her mum just wasn’t mumsy—she was successful in everything she did. She was funny, smart and career-minded, and she simply expected her daughters to be the same—after all, she’d juggled her career and had independently raised Jasmine and Penny when their father had walked out.

  Jasmine wanted nothing more than to be independent and do the same; she just wanted a pause, a bit of a helping hand as she got through this bit—which in her own way her mother had given. After four weeks of living at home Louise had had a very nice little rental house come onto her books—it was right on the beach and the rent was incredibly low and Jasmine had jumped at it. It was in other areas that Jasmine was struggling, and nursing with all its shift work wasn’t an easy career to juggle without support.

  ‘I’m going to have to do nights.’ Jasmine watched her mother’s shoulders stiffen as she filled two mugs. ‘A fortnight every three months.’

  ‘I didn’t raise two children just so that I could raise yours,’ Louise warned. ‘I’ll help you as much as I can for a couple of months, but I take a lot of clients through houses in the evenings.’ She was as direct as ever. ‘And I’ve got my cruise booked for May.’

  ‘I know,’ Jasmine said. ‘I’m going to start looking for a regular babysitter as soon as I get the offe
r.’

  ‘And you need to give me your off duty at least a month in an advance.’

  ‘I will.’

  Jasmine took the tea from her mum. If she wanted a hug she wasn’t going to get one; if she wanted a little pick me up she was in the wrong house.

  ‘Have you thought about looking for a job that’s a bit more child friendly?’ Louise suggested. ‘You mentioned there was one in Magnetic...’ She gave an impatient shrug when she couldn’t remember the terminology.

  ‘No. I said there was a position in MRI and that even though the hours were fantastic it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I like Emergency, Mum. You wouldn’t suggest Penny going for a role she had no interest in.’

  ‘Penny doesn’t have a one-year-old to think of,’ Louise said, and then they sat quietly for a moment.

  ‘You need to get your hair done,’ her mum said. ‘You need to smarten up a bit if you’re going back to work.’ And that was her mum’s grudging way of accepting that, yes, this was what Jasmime was going to do. ‘And you need to lose some weight.’

  And because it was either that or start crying, Jasmine chose to laugh.

  ‘What’s so funny?’

  ‘You are,’ Jasmine said. ‘I thought tea came with sympathy.’

  ‘Not in this house.’ Her mum smiled. ‘Why don’t you go home?’

  ‘Simon’s asleep.’

  ‘I’ll have him for you tonight.’

  And sometimes, and always when Jasmine was least expecting it, her mum could be terribly nice. ‘My evening appointment cancelled. I’m sure you could use a night to yourself.’

  ‘I’d love that.’ Jasmine hadn’t had a night to herself since Simon had been born. In the weeks when she’d first come home and had stayed with her mum, the only advantage she had taken had been a long walk on the beach each morning before Simon woke up. ‘Thanks, Mum.’

  ‘No problem. I guess I’d better get familiar with his routines.’

  ‘Can I go in and see him?’

  ‘And wake him up probably.’

  She didn’t wake him up. Simon was lying on his front with his bottom in the air and his thumb in his mouth, and just the sight of him made everything worth it. He was in her old cot in her old bedroom and was absolutely the love of her life. She just didn’t understand how Lloyd could want nothing to do with him.

  ‘Do you think he’s missing out?’ Jasmine asked her mum. ‘Not having a dad?’

  ‘Better no dad than a useless one,’ Louise said, then gave a shrug. ‘I don’t know the answer to that, Jasmine. I used to feel the same about you.’ She gave her daughter a smile. ‘Our taste in men must be hereditary. No wonder Penny’s sworn off them.’

  ‘Did she ever tell you what happened?’ Jasmine asked, because one minute Penny had been engaged, the next the whole thing had been called off and she didn’t want to talk about it.

  ‘She just said they’d been having a few problems and decided that it was better to get out now than later.’

  Before there were children to complicate things, Jasmine thought, but didn’t say anything. It was her mum who spoke.

  ‘I know it’s tough at the moment but I’m sure it will get easier.’

  ‘And if it doesn’t?’

  ‘Then you’d better get used to tough.’ Louise shrugged. ‘Have you told Penny you’re applying for a job at Peninsula?’

  ‘I saw her at my interview.’

  ‘And?’ Louise grimaced. They both knew only too well how Penny would react to the news.

  ‘She doesn’t want me there—especially not in Accident and Emergency,’ Jasmine admitted. ‘She wasn’t best pleased.’

  ‘Well, it’s her domain,’ Louise said. ‘You know how territorial she is. She used to put thread up on her bedroom door so she’d know if anyone had been in there while she was out. She’ll come round.’

  And even though she smiled at the memory, Jasmine was worried that Penny wouldn’t be coming round to the idea of her little sister working in her hospital any time soon.

  Jasmine was proven right a few hours later when, back at her own small house, adding another coat of paint in an attempt to transform the lounge from dull olive green to cool crisp white, there was a loud rap at the door.

  ‘Can you knock more quietly?’ Jasmine asked as she opened it. ‘If Simon was here—’

  ‘We need to talk,’ Penny said, and she brushed in and straight through to the lounge.

  If Louise hadn’t exactly been brimming with understanding, then Penny was a desert.

  Her blouse was still crisp and white, her hair still perfect and her eyes were just as angry as they had been when she had first laid them on Jasmine in the hospital corridor earlier on that day. ‘You said nothing about this when I saw you last week,’ Penny said accusingly. ‘Not a single word!’

  ‘I didn’t exactly get a chance.’

  ‘Meaning?’

  She heard the confrontation in her sister’s voice, could almost see Pandora’s box on the floor between them. She was tempted just to open it, to have this out once and for all, to say how annoyed she still felt that Penny hadn’t been able to make it for Simon’s first birthday a couple of months earlier. In fact, she hadn’t even sent a card. Yet there had been no question that Jasmine herself would be there to join in celebrating her sister’s success.

  Or rather celebrating her sister’s latest success.

  But bitterness wasn’t going to help things here.

  ‘That dinner was to celebrate you getting your fellowship,’ Jasmine said calmly. ‘I knew you’d be upset if I told you that I had an interview coming up, and I didn’t want to spoil your night.’

  ‘You should have discussed it with me before you even applied!’ Penny said. ‘It’s my department.’

  ‘Hopefully it will be mine soon, too,’ Jasmine attempted, but her words fell on deaf ears.

  ‘Do you know how hard it is for me?’ Penny said. ‘All that nonsense about equal rights... I have to be twice as good as them, twice as tough as any of them—there’s a consultancy position coming up and I have no intention of letting it slip by.’

  ‘How could my working there possibly affect that?’ Jasmine asked reasonably.

  ‘Because I’m not supposed to have a personal life,’ was Penny’s swift retort. ‘You just don’t get it, Jasmine. I’ve worked hard to get where I am. The senior consultant, Mr Dean, he’s old school—he made a joke the other week about how you train them up and the next thing you know they’re pregnant and wanting part-time hours.’ She looked at her sister. ‘Yes, I could complain and make waves, but how is that going to help things? Jed is going after the same position. He’s a great doctor but he’s only been in the department six months and I am not going to lose it to him.’ She shook her head in frustration.

  ‘I’m not asking you to understand, you just have to believe that it is hard to get ahead sometimes, and the last thing I need right now is my personal life invading the department.’

  ‘I’m your sister—’

  ‘So are you going to be able to stay quiet when the nurses call me a hard witch?’ Penny challenged. ‘And when you are supposed to finish at four but can’t get off, are you going to expect me to drop everything and run to the crèche and get Simon?’

  ‘Of course not.’

  ‘And when I hear the other nurses moaning that you hardly ever do a late shift and are complaining about having to do nights, am I supposed to leap to your defence and explain that you’re a single mum?’

  ‘I can keep my work and personal life separate.’

  ‘Really!’

  It was just one word, a single word, and the rise of Penny’s perfect eyebrows had tears spring to Jasmine’s eyes. ‘That was below the belt.’

  ‘The fact that you can’t keep your work and pe
rsonal life separate is the very reason you can’t go back to Melbourne Central.’

  ‘It’s about the travel,’ Jasmine insisted. ‘And you’re wrong, I can keep things separate.’

  ‘Not if we’re in the same department.’

  ‘I can if they don’t know that we’re sisters,’ Jasmine said, and she watched Penny’s jaw tighten, realised then that this was where the conversation had been leading. Penny was always one step ahead in everything, and Penny had made very sure that it was Jasmine who suggested it.

  ‘It might be better.’ Penny made it sound as if she was conceding.

  ‘Fine.’

  ‘Can you keep to it?’

  ‘Sure,’ Jasmine said.

  ‘I mean it.’

  ‘I know you do, Penny.’

  ‘I’ve got to get back to work. I’m on call tonight.’ And her sister, now that she had what she came for, stood up to leave. Jasmine held in tears that threatened, even managed a smile as her sister stalked out of the door.

  But it hurt.

  It really hurt.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  IT WAS HER favourite place in the world.

  But even a long stretch of sand, the sun going down over the water and a storm rolling in from the distance wasn’t enough to take the harsh sting out of Penny’s words.

  Jasmine hated arguments, loathed them and did her very best to avoid them.

  She could still remember all too well hearing the raised voices of her parents seeping up the stairs and through the bedroom floor as she had lain on her bed with her hands over her ears.

  But there had been no avoiding this one—Jasmine had known when she’d applied for the role that there would be a confrontation. Still, she couldn’t just bow to Penny’s wishes just because it made things awkward for her.

  She needed a job and, no matter what her mother and sister thought of her chosen career, nursing was what she was good at—and Emergency was her speciality.

  Jasmine wasn’t going to hide just because it suited Penny.

  It had been cruel of Penny to bring up her relationship with Lloyd, cruel to suggest that she wasn’t going back to Melbourne Central just because of what had happened.