Winter Wonderland Wishes
Initially, looking over at her handsome, almost brooding chauffeur, with his wet hair slicked back and his shirt buttoned low over his lightly tanned chest, she’d felt herself wondering what might have been had they met under different circumstances … before she had been hurt so terribly by Giles.
But as she tried to forget that heartbreak she couldn’t deny that her heart beat a little faster being so close to Heath. His nearness had made her play self-consciously with loose wisps of her hair and swallow nervously more than once as she had looked away from his direction and to the scenery outside of the car during the trip home.
But she wasn’t interested in men and particularly not pompous men who took enjoyment in proving they were right. And romance only brought anguish into her life, she reminded herself. After Oscar’s bombshell she’d realised she had to step back. Right away from any contact with Heath outside of work arrangements, she decided as she dropped her bag of wet things into the laundry.
Pushing the child’s observation out of her mind, Phoebe made some lunch. What could Oscar really know about married couples? Nothing, she told herself, and decided to call her father. It was late in Washington, but he had left a message on her phone so she knew he was still awake.
‘So, what do you think of Adelaide?’
Phoebe wasn’t sure what to tell her father. She hadn’t seen much of the city, save for the airport, a coffee shop, a stifling hot podiatric practice and of course the pool, so her experience was limited. Her view of the parklands was lovely, but she had kept inside a small radius since arriving so thought she wasn’t yet placed to give a great evaluation. And when it came to the people of Adelaide she had spoken to the customs official, her cab drivers, Heath, Oscar and momentarily Tilly.
Not really enough to gauge a whole town, she thought. Immigration had been pleasant, the cab drivers were polite, Tilly seemed sweet, Oscar was cute—and then there was Heath. She really didn’t want to spend time thinking about him. Particularly after Oscar’s comment.
She was confused, but pushed thoughts of him to the back of her mind. He was a conundrum that she wasn’t sure she cared to solve. It could be another woman’s problem, she decided. One good-looking man had already taken too much of her time and energy with no reward. And she was definitely not looking for a replacement. No matter how handsome.
‘It’s super-hot,’ she finally replied.
‘That’s it?’ Her father laughed heartily. ‘You fly to the other side of the world and all you can tell me about the city is that it’s super-hot? Wouldn’t want you to be the only witness for the prosecution any time soon.’
Phoebe realised how vague it had sounded, and she also knew she didn’t need to have her guard up. Her father knew the worst that had happened.
‘I met Dr Rollins, and the practice is great, but the air-conditioning has broken down so we just had coffee yesterday, and today I went for a swim since I have the day off while it gets repaired.’
‘So Ken Rollins is a good man? Do you think you’ll enjoy working with him?’
Phoebe drew breath. She wished she could answer in the affirmative to both questions but she couldn’t. She hadn’t met Ken.
‘Ken’s undergone emergency knee surgery, so his son is looking after the practice.’
‘It’s fortunate for him that he has a son to take over,’ her father replied, then added thoughtfully, ‘But I know you were looking forward to working with Ken after you read his papers. I hope you’re not disappointed?’
It was the second time she had been asked that question. And her answer still stood. She wasn’t disappointed. Confused about the man, and definitely not interested beyond their working relationship, but not disappointed.
‘Working with Heath will be a learning experience.’
‘I hope you enjoy it, then,’ he told his daughter.
‘I hope so too, and if nothing else I’ve got a few months of warm weather ahead,’ she said, trying to remind herself of the only benefit she should be considering.
‘Try feeling sorry for your father. I’ll be shovelling snow at some ungodly hour in the morning. Perhaps you should get some sleep, sweetie. Your flight would have been taxing, and the high temperatures will add to that.’
‘It was a little tiring, but I think …’ Phoebe paused as she heard the beeping of a text message come through. ‘Can you hold for one minute, Dad? I think I got a message …’
‘Sure, honey.’
Phoebe pulled the phone away from her ear and saw a number she didn’t know. She recognised it as local and read the message.
Phoebe, it’s Tilly. I know it’s late notice, but would you be free for dinner tonight around seven at my place? Dad will be here and he’d love to meet you. And I would love to chat properly. Heath can pick you up.
An invitation to have dinner with the family was something Phoebe hadn’t expected and she felt her errant heart race a little with the prospect of seeing Heath again. She knew it was crazy but her response to seeing him again made it obvious she may have a battle ahead. It clearly wasn’t going to be as easy as telling herself the facts. She couldn’t look out of a car window and ignore her reaction. She had to look inside of herself and face the fact that Heath was awakening feelings that she thought she had packed away when she had decided to focus on her career. Suddenly butterflies began to quicken in her stomach.
She didn’t answer the text immediately as she quickly made plans in her head. She couldn’t decline as that would be rude. And she wanted to meet Ken. With her breathing still a little strained, she resolved to get a taxi there on the pretext of saving Heath the trip—when she was only too aware it was to avoid the closeness of him in the confines of his car.
‘I’m back,’ she said, trying to concentrate once again on the conversation with her father. ‘How’s Mother?’
‘She’s fine. At her yoga class and then off to have a manicure, I think—or maybe it’s to have her hair done. I can’t remember. My day’s been taken up with a new healthcare bill that the President wants to pass through Congress. It’s a struggle, but you know me, I’m always up for a challenge.’
‘Always—and you’re so good at it.’
‘Thanks, but the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree. Look at you. Going to the other side of the world after what you’ve been through is quite the challenge too.’
‘Hardly going to change the world here—and you did all the work. I really do appreciate you arranging everything. The house is wonderful, and it’s stocked for a hungry army. Thank you so much.’
‘You are more than welcome—but, speaking of an army, I’d better go, honey,’ her father cut in. ‘Urgent briefing with the Secretary of Defence at six a.m. tomorrow, so I’d better get some sleep before I head out in the wee hours of the morning with salt and a shovel to clear the driveway.’
‘Okay, Dad. Love you.’
‘Back at you—and I hope you have fun, whatever you do.’
Phoebe went into her room and collapsed into the softness of her bed, dropping the mobile phone beside her. She decided to take a shower and think logically about the invitation before rushing in. Perhaps she should decline and meet Ken another time. Perhaps she should avoid Heath in a social situation. Keep it purely professional the way it should be. Stepping under tepid water, Phoebe washed her hair, and by the time she had rinsed out the conditioner she had come to the conclusion that she had to stop over-thinking the situation.
Oscar’s remark had thrown her, and Heath’s attitude had been a little patronizing, but he was right—he had known the way to her home. And she hadn’t. Perhaps she had been a little defensive for no reason other than to push him away.
Her head was spinning and it wasn’t the heat. Her house was wonderfully cool.
‘Get a grip, Phoebe Johnson. Stop creating false drama where there is none. Heath Rollins is not interested in you. It’s dinner with Ken’s family and that’s it. Almost business. And Oscar was way off the mark. He’s only a child, and no judge of what married couples really sound like. You have nothing to worry about. Heath Rollins is not looking for love any more than you.’
So she accepted the invitation … with the proviso that she would catch a cab.
CHAPTER FIVE
‘PHOEBE SEEMS LOVELY,’ Tilly said as she placed a large bowl of homemade potato salad on the dining table, where Heath, Oscar, Ken, her husband Paul and her two daughters were seated, waiting for Phoebe to arrive.
Heath watched as Paul, a tall man with an athletic build, by trade an engineer who directed huge construction teams, struggled to keep his tiny girls from climbing down from their booster chairs and heading back to their toys. He was clearly losing the battle, and one of them took off across the room, so he surrendered and set the girls up with a picnic blanket on the floor, added some toys and invited Oscar to join them.
Tilly was a wonderful cook, who never liked to see anyone leave hungry, so she had grilled a selection of chicken shashlik, vegetable patties and gourmet sausages from her local butcher, along with her famous potato salad and a Greek salad.
‘Can someone please remind me why she’s coming to dinner? She’s here to work—not join family gatherings, surely?’
‘It’s called being hospitable to a stranger in town, Heath. And she’s lovely, as I said.’
‘Yes, she’s nice.’ Oscar seconded his aunt’s opinion of Phoebe as he stood up and strained to reach for a slice of bread from the table.
Smiling, his grandfather slid the plate closer to him to make the task easier.
‘You met her too, Oscar?’ Tilly asked as she brought cold drinks to the table.
‘Yes, at the pool,’ Oscar responded as he sat down with his twin cousins again, a big slice of bread in his hand. ‘And we drove her home and she and Daddy talked a lot.’
‘So you all went to the pool together, then?’ Tilly addressed her question to Heath, her eyes smiling.
‘I took Oscar to the Burnside pool and Phoebe happened to be there,’ he responded defensively.
He had experienced more than a few attempts by his sister to matchmake over the years, and he intended to quash this attempt immediately. He wasn’t buying into her supposedly casual conversation that would no doubt lead to something more like an interrogation over his love-life if he allowed it.
‘So, of all the pools in Adelaide, a woman who knows nothing of Adelaide just happened to choose that one?’
Heath’s silence was his answer.
‘So everyone has met the doctor I hired except me?’ Ken asked. ‘Well, at least I’ll get to meet her tonight and judge for myself.’
‘I haven’t met her yet,’ Paul said. ‘But then I didn’t know you’d even hired anyone—I thought Heath was filling in for you.’
‘He is. But the practice is growing, and I needed help, and Dr Phoebe Johnson was highly recommended. I had made arrangements for her to work with me before the accident. From all accounts she’s a brilliant young podiatric surgeon looking for a change of scenery, so I jumped at the chance. Pardon the pun,’ he said as he looked down at his bandaged knee.
‘Very pretty too,’ Tilly remarked.
‘I hadn’t heard that part, but it never hurts to have a pretty doctor in the practice,’ said the older Dr Rollins. ‘So, Heath, do you think you two will get along?’
Heath considered the question and answered in his usual guarded tones. ‘I’ve read her transcripts and she has an impressive record—and the reports from the Washington hospital are great. We chatted yesterday morning at the café for a while, and she seems suited to the role.’
‘Yesterday morning? You mean you took her out after she fainted? Quick work, Heath. I’m impressed,’ said Tilly.
‘Phoebe fainted? Is she okay?’ Ken asked.
‘I didn’t take her out—we had a cool drink to talk about work and, yes, Dad, Phoebe’s fine. The heat just got to her but I’m sure we won’t have a repeat once the air-con is up and running again. You might like to consider renovating the building in the not too distant future.’
He’d added that to change an obvious subject direction that he didn’t like.
‘I could do you a rebuild,’ Paul chipped in. ‘Bulldoze and start again. Prime real estate there, and I’ve been saying for years the old building has had its day.’
Ken looked stony-faced at his son-in-law, to end that line of conversation, and then turned back to Heath. ‘So, when my newest employee is conscious and upright, is she pretty?’
Heath looked around the table and realised they were all poised for his reply. ‘Yes, she’s pretty.’
Tilly smiled a self-satisfied smile, while Ken nodded to himself and Paul winked at his wife.
Heath saw the looks they gave each other and lowered his voice so that Oscar wouldn’t hear the adults’ conversation. ‘Just because I made mention of Phoebe’s appearance, don’t think for a minute that I’m interested in her. It was a response to a direct question. Don’t try and set us up. I don’t need anyone in my life, and if you try anything you’ll be short one staff member. Me. I’ll be on a plane back to Sydney faster than you can blink. Neither Oscar or I need anyone else in our lives.’
‘Are you sure about that?’ Tilly asked with a brazen look.
‘Yes. You know how I feel. It’s been just Oscar and me for the last five years. No woman has come into our lives.’
‘I know, but now Phoebe has. And you’ve already broken one of your unbreakable rules with her. No woman shall meet your son. Well, she has and he seems to like her.’
Just then the doorbell rang, and Heath stood up and walked briskly past the Christmas tree that Tilly had decorated that morning. It was the second time he had walked past it that evening, and both times he had looked at it only briefly and then looked away without making mention of it. He was still not able to face Christmas and all the trimmings. He doubted he ever would again. There was nothing that could make him enjoy the holiday season. He had tried and failed. Christmas was just too painful.
As he opened the door Oscar ran over to join him.
‘Hello, Phoebe!’ Oscar called out excitedly before Heath had a chance to greet her. ‘Aunty Tilly has cooked lots of food, so I hope you’re hungry.’
‘Hello, Oscar,’ she replied, and smiled at his toothy grin and cheeky smile before he ran off, allowing her to lift her gaze to greet Heath. ‘Hello.’
Heath drew a deep breath. Phoebe looked gorgeous. She wore a deep blue halter dress. Her skin was pale against the fabric and looked like delicate porcelain, and her hair was falling in soft curls around her shoulders. Her beauty was not lost on him.
‘Hi, Phoebe—come in.’
He moved back from the doorway and as she stepped inside he couldn’t help but notice as she brushed past him that the back of her dress was cut low and revealed even more of her bare skin. His pulse instantly, and against his will, picked up speed.
‘Phoebe,’ Tilly said as she opened her arms to greet her dinner guest. ‘So lovely you could make it. It’s only casual, but I thought you could meet Dad and chat over a bite to eat since he was feeling a little left out.’
‘It’s my pleasure—thank you so much for inviting me,’ she said, and then, spying the huge Christmas tree, she couldn’t help but comment. ‘That is a gorgeous tree, Tilly. Christmas truly is my favourite time of year.’
The two women walked into the dining room and on their way Phoebe gave her hostess some chocolates she had brought as a thank-you gift. Heath followed, and after hearing the Christmas comment realised that he and Phoebe had less in common than he’d first thought. She was a professional woman, and he had hoped she wouldn’t be the nostalgic type. Apparently, he’d been wrong.
He couldn’t deny to himself that Phoebe was stunning, and in that dress desirable, but he wasn’t looking for a woman to share his life the way his family thought he should. And one night with Phoebe in his bed wouldn’t work any way he looked at it. It would only complicate his life on so many levels, and that was something he didn’t need.
As they entered the dining room, Ken was chatting with Paul.
‘The simple joy of enjoying a pale ale any time I like is my compensation for not being able to operate. But believe me, I would prefer to have the use of my gammy knee than to be sitting around all day,’ Ken said, then paused as he caught sight of Phoebe. ‘Please excuse my bad manners and not standing to meet you,’ he continued with an outstretched hand. ‘I’m Ken Rollins, and you must be Dr Phoebe Johnson.’
Phoebe stepped closer to Ken and met his handshake. ‘Yes, I’m Phoebe, and I’m very happy to finally meet you.’
Ken was impressed with the grip in her handshake. ‘For a slender woman you have a strong handshake. But then you’re a surgeon, so a strong and steady grip is a prerequisite for our shared field of medicine.’
Phoebe wasn’t sure how to react, so she smiled.
‘Please—sit down, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. And sit next to me. I want to hear everything about you that wasn’t written down on your incredibly impressive résumé. I’m sure there’s lots to know.’
‘Fire away,’ she managed to return as she took her seat at the table, hoping his questions would be broad enough to avoid the awkward moments in her recent history.
Tilly began handing the platters of food around and soon everyone was filling their plates, while Paul put the children’s food on their picnic blanket for them to share, then returned to join the adults.
‘So why Adelaide?’ Ken asked as he took a serving of Greek salad, ensuring there was plenty of feta cheese and olives on his plate.
‘The chance to work with you,’ Phoebe replied. ‘I read your most recent paper on improvements to prescribed orthotic devices to control motion and position of the leg during locomotion and I think your work is outstanding. The chance to have you mentor me was too good to pass up.’
‘Well, I must say that is lovely to hear, and I look forward to working with you once my knee is tickety-boo again,’ he told her, with a hint of pride in his expression. ‘So tell me about your family. I picked up from our correspondence that your father works at the White House.’
Ken reached for another shashlik and held the plate so that Phoebe could take one as well.
‘Yes, he’s an advisor to the President. He’s been in the world of politics for over nineteen years. He was in international banking before that.’
‘And you weren’t tempted to follow him into the political arena?’ Heath cut in.
‘Not at all. You see, you’re right—it’s an arena, and that’s why I wouldn’t do it. Sometimes it’s great, but at other times it seems like a fight to the death. I’d rather be repairing bodies than ripping apart political opponents and their policies.’
‘Touché,’ Ken replied with a huge smile.
‘Still, it must be an interesting lifestyle,’ Tilly commented. ‘Do you visit the White House often?’
‘Now and then. But my place is the other side of town, nearer to the hospital. I just hear about it when I visit or call my parents.’
‘I suppose it would be a little like the emergency department of a hospital—with everyone rushing frantically and everything code blue,’ Tilly replied.
Phoebe smiled at her. ‘You’re not too far wrong with that analogy. It’s like everything needs to be delivered or decided yesterday. I would most certainly go mad. My father, however, loves a challenge—he sees the big picture and the changes that need to be made for the disadvantaged and most particularly those with intergenerational problems.’
‘And your mother? What does she do?’ Ken asked between bites.
‘Anything and everything social. Fundraising committees, women’s political auxiliaries—pretty much anything that she believes helps with my father’s career. Along with her bridge club.’
‘So why did you choose medicine?’ Ken asked. ‘With a father in politics and, for want of a better word, a socialite mother, why did you choose to specialise in podiatric surgery?’
‘My best friend Susy’s mother had an accident driving us to school when I was fourteen …’ Phoebe began.
Feeling a little parched from answering all the questions, took a sip of her cold drink before she continued.
‘Anyway, she broke her heel and I was there when the paramedics took her by ambulance to the hospital. Susy and I had both been strapped in the back of the car and didn’t suffer even a scratch. I visited her mother in hospital a few times with Susy, and I became curious and started asking the nurses questions. Then one day her podiatric surgeon came in. I asked him all about the operation and he went into great detail with me and that was it. I knew what I wanted to do with my life.’
‘I’m impressed that you knew at such a young age—’
‘I think that we should let poor Phoebe eat,’ Tilly cut in. ‘She’s been grilled and she’s passed with flying colours, Dad, so now she gets fed and watered.’
They all smiled, and then chatted about themselves so Phoebe could enjoy the delicious dinner Tilly had prepared and also get to know the family.
Everyone but Heath told her something about themselves and their lives. Heath stayed quiet, and Phoebe noticed his jaw clench more than a few times as they talked about Oscar as a baby. It was obvious to Phoebe that it had been a difficult time for him. But why exactly she wasn’t sure, and they all clearly avoided the topic of Oscar’s mother.
‘Do you want to look at the stars?’ Oscar suddenly asked Phoebe as she sat waiting for Heath to bring a drink out to the patio, where everyone had moved after dinner to enjoy the balmy evening.
‘Do you have a telescope?’
‘No, but we can lie on the grass and look up and see them. That’s one of my favourite things to do at night. Grandpa knows lots about stars.’
Phoebe thought it was a lovely idea, and very sweet of Oscar to extend the invitation for her to join him. She stepped out of her shoes and followed him to a patch of lawn just near the patio, where they both lay down on the grass and looked up at the stars twinkling in the ebony sky. The cool ground beneath her bare skin felt wonderful.
‘That’s the saucepan. Can you see it? You have to draw a line between the big star—up there—and the others—just there—and it looks like a saucepan,’ he said, pointing his tiny finger straight up in the air. ‘And it has a handle too.’
‘I can see it,’ she responded as she looked to where he pointed.
They both lay staring at the perfect night sky and Oscar talked with lightning speed about everything his grandfather had told him. Phoebe was impressed with all he had retained, and his interest in astronomy.
‘Perhaps you might grow up and study the stars,’ she said. ‘That would make you an astronomer.’
‘I think I might visit them instead.’
‘So you want to be an astronaut?’
‘Yes. That would be more fun than just looking at them.’ Heath stood in the doorway to the patio and looked out at the two of them, lying in the dark on the lawn, talking. He had no idea what they were saying but he could hear their animated chatter. He felt a tug at his heart, thinking that his wife had missed out on doing just that. And that Oscar had missed out on those important long talks with his mother.
They had both been cheated. And even though his pain lessened with every passing year he wondered if Oscar’s would grow as he realised what he had lost.
“You know, Phoebe’s nothing like I imagined,’ Ken said softly when he saw Heath in the doorway with Phoebe’s drink.
Heath agreed with his father’s sentiments but he would not let him know. He wouldn’t let any family member know, for fear of them trying to make a spark ignite between them. He had found her to be sweet when they’d first met, sexy at the pool, and looking at her now, lying beside his son, he was discovering she was apparently maternal—but that wasn’t a combination he wanted. He preferred sexy with no strings attached, for one-night stands that could never break his heart. Or impact on his son.