The Peppercorn Project (18 page)

‘Did Hugo come onto you?’

Isabelle shook her head vehemently. ‘No! Of course not,’ she lied.

‘Just as well.’ Leah scowled. ‘Although I’m bloody surprised he didn’t.’

Instead of working just two days, Isabelle ended up filling in for Alison for the entire week. By Friday, she was starting to feel more relaxed in her new role. As Alison had said, the job wasn’t too stressful. Thankfully on Thursday Hugo returned to Adelaide, leaving Isabelle alone to process his continued attentions and Leah’s warnings. On the days that Hugo wasn’t there, the clinic was eerily quiet for most of the time and the few patients she did see didn’t cause her any grief – until an old farmer, who introduced himself as Bob Richardson, arrived late on Friday afternoon.

She set Bob up in the small treatment room and opened the window. Too bad if he was offended, she needed airflow. He was balding and had a thick neck, and his blue checked flannel shirt was partially open, exposing a broad, hairy chest. He sat on the side of the narrow bed leaning forward, wheezing and struggling for breath, reeking of tobacco.

‘So, my name’s Isabelle. I’m the new nurse. I’m working with Alison but she’s away this week.’

Bob looked up at her, worry flashing across his face. He was sweating profusely. ‘Listen, love. I’m sure you’re a good nurse, but you’re only a kid. Where’s Adrian?’

‘Adrian’s not here. He’s taken time off,’ Isabelle stammered slightly. If Bob was a local, surely he’d know that. ‘His son, Hugo, is filling in for him.’

‘Ah, that’s right. I remember now. And I heard Hugo had become a doctor too. Hard to believe, given what he was like as a kid.’

Isabelle raised her eyebrows. What did that mean?

‘So where’s Alison?’

‘In Adelaide with her mum.’

‘Well, love, I hope you know what you’re doin’.’

She hoped so too. Unwinding her stethoscope from her neck, she listened to Bob’s chest.

‘You see, love, the thing is, I’m buggered. I haven’t slept in days. I’ve been huffing away like Puffing Billy, and me usual Ventolin isn’t workin’. If I fall asleep I wake up feeling like I’m drowning.’

He began coughing again, and when Isabelle checked his oxygen levels with the portable pulse oximeter apprehension coursed through her veins like ice. His saturation levels were only seventy-three per cent. Hands shaking, she tore the plastic off an oxygen mask and attached the tubing to the oxygen cylinder, cranking it to high. She gently slipped the clear plastic mask over his face. His nostrils flared as he struggled to breathe, and Isabelle tasted his fear.

‘Concentrate on taking nice deep breaths. While you’re doing that, I’ll ask you a couple of questions?’

He nodded.

‘How far can you walk without getting short of breath? Do you have these episodes frequently? Have you had any recent chest pain? What do you usually take when you get short of breath like this?’

He answered each question perfunctorily, and with increasing alarm Isabelle proceeded to perform the physical examination. When she listened to his lungs, a crackly sound filled her ears. It was a cross between popping bubble wrap and Velcro ripping apart, indicating fluid in his lungs instead of air. She pushed her fingers gently into the flesh of his lower legs and noted how it dented inwards.
Pitting oedema
. His heart wasn’t pumping the fluid out. Isabelle was scared. She was out of her depth.

There was no way she could expect Bob to drive to Booleroo in his condition. Panic rushed in, pumping her heart. She thought of Hugo and his offer to help. Her hands were sweating as she grabbed her phone and scrolled through until she found his number. She tapped her fingers on the desk waiting for him to answer.

‘Belle! Good to hear your voice. What’s up? Missing me?’

She let out a frustrated puff of air. Now wasn’t the time to correct him yet again about calling her Belle. ‘Have I caught you at a bad time?’

‘No. Everything okay?’

‘Bob Richardson just walked in.’

‘Let me guess, panting like a woman in labour?’ She pictured Hugo running his hand through his hair, sweeping it to one side and rolling his eyes.

‘Uh huh,’ Isabelle replied. ‘His sats were only seventy-three per cent on room air when he came in. I’ve put eight litres of oxygen on. They’re coming up now.’

‘What do his legs look like?’

‘Bad. Pitting oedema almost up to his waist. His legs look like tree trunks.’

‘I look like a bloody elephant, if you ask me,’ Bob wheezed behind the oxygen mask.

‘Ask him if he’s taken his Lasix today,’ Hugo said.

Isabelle checked, and Bob shook his head. ‘Nah. I ran out three days ago and haven’t been well enough to get into the chemist in Booleroo.’

Isabelle repeated this to Hugo and he swore. ‘If we offload him too much it may cause dehydration, and that will cause injury to his kidneys. It’s a delicate balancing act.’ He explained what he wanted Isabelle to do and hung up.

It took her four attempts to insert an IV line into Bob’s thready veins and administer the large dose of diuretic. Two hours later Bob looked a lot better. His breathing had improved, and he was up and down continually to the toilet, getting rid of the excess fluid.

Isabelle called Hugo again and gave him a quick update of Bob’s improving condition.

‘Tell Bob he can go home on the condition he calls you if he deteriorates. And make sure he knows to come in for a follow-up appointment first thing Monday morning. Good job, Belle. Enjoy your weekend.’

He hung up and Isabelle left the clinic feeling as if she had accomplished so much. She had managed to cope with most aspects of the job all week and there was a skip in her step as she walked home.

The only cloud on the horizon was Hugo’s obvious feelings for her.

*

Isabelle picked the kids up from school, grabbed a few things from the shop, and headed home. She wanted to celebrate her first week of fulltime work, but she was exhausted and couldn’t be bothered cooking.

She made a snap decision. ‘Let’s go out for dinner.’

Fletcher frowned like a wise old owl. ‘Can we afford that?’

‘Yes,’ Isabelle lied.

While the reduced rent was helping make a dent in her bills, she still had to watch her budget carefully. Once she got her first pay from the clinic, things would ease off considerably. By the end of the year she anticipated having savings in her bank account for the first time she could remember. Her father would be impressed. Not that she planned telling him.

‘Can we invite Leah?’ Fletcher asked.

Mietta clapped her hands together. ‘Yes, yes, can we? And Matt, too.’

Isabelle kept her face neutral. ‘Why would we invite Matt?’

‘Because he’s nice,’ Mietta replied. ‘Plus, he’s lonely. He doesn’t have a family and we could be his family.’

Mietta’s words shook her, but she had no idea how to respond. She realised Matt had captivated her daughter. She glanced at Fletcher, wondering how he was responding to Mietta’s request, but he was unperturbed, nodding his head in agreement.

‘Yeah, Mum, let’s invite Matt too. I want to talk to him about the mountain bike club. And we should thank him properly for getting rid of those possums.’

‘And for the kittens,’ Mietta added.

‘I’m sure he’s busy, but I’ll give Leah a call now,’ she said, reaching for her phone.

She wanted to see Matt, but there was no way she was going to make the first move. Inviting him to dinner would send the wrong message – to him, to her children, and to the gossiping Stony Creek community. Before they spent any more time alone, she’d have to sort out what was going on in her head and heart. It wouldn’t be fair to lead Matt on. She needed to make sure he knew where she stood. The problem was, first she needed to work out where that was. She’d never been so conflicted in her entire life.

Half an hour later, Isabelle, Fletcher, Mietta and Leah were sitting in the pub with drinks in front of them, the kids engrossed in their electronic devices.

‘How was your first week of work?’ Leah asked. ‘I bet it was a shock to the system having to work fulltime. How have the kids coped?’

Isabelle filled Leah in on her week, leaving out confidential medical details and not mentioning Hugo either. After only three days of working together, Isabelle had figured out that Hugo had nothing in common with Dan other than looks. She told Leah about Matt coming over and setting up traps for the possums, and Leah laughed hysterically when Isabelle relayed how Matt had found her flat on her back after having fallen off the ladder.

Matt. Solid, dependable, sexy Matt. Isabelle swirled her straw around her glass, listening to the ice cubes clink. She tried to suppress her feelings for him, but they kept bubbling up like an underground river, escaping to the surface without warning.

‘What do you think of Matt?’ Leah asked.

Isabelle stopped fiddling with her straw. Had Leah read her mind? ‘He seems nice,’ she said, hoping it was dim enough inside the pub so Leah couldn’t see her flushed face.

‘He’s big,’ Mietta said. Isabelle didn’t realise Mietta had been listening to their conversation. ‘Like a giant. But he’s gentle, like the beast,’ Mietta added.

‘Beast?’ Isabelle and Leah asked, in unison.

‘You know – from
Beauty and the Beast
. The movie,’ Mietta drawled, like they were slow to catch on.

They laughed at her accurate description of Matt.

‘Is it too soon?’ Leah lowered her voice so only Isabelle heard.

‘Too soon for what?’ Isabelle asked, fidgeting in her seat. She frowned at her friend. ‘You’re not attempting to give those old matchmakers a run for their money are you?’

‘I might be,’ Leah said.

‘Oh Leah, I’m not sure. He’s a great guy but—’

A hand clamped down on her shoulder and squeezed. She spun around, startled to find Hugo standing there.

‘Are you telling Leah I’m a great guy?’ he asked, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek.

Isabelle glanced at Leah, astonished to see her friend’s eyes flashing and her cheeks flaming with bright red spots of anger. She looked like thunder.

‘Out to celebrate, I see!’ Hugo said, pointing to their drinks and ignoring Leah’s reaction.

‘I thought you were in Adelaide,’ Isabelle stammered.

Seeing him brought up the memories of their brief interlude at the creek again and her face burned with mortification. Leah was violently twisting her pearls around her neck and Isabelle was glad she hadn’t told her friend what had happened.

‘I was in Adelaide, but I decided to come back after you called.’

‘To see Bob Richardson?’

‘And to surprise you.’ He grinned, flicking his hair from his eyes.

‘You’ve done that.’ She sensed the eyes of those seated around the table staring at her, especially Leah’s. ‘I guess you two know each other.’

‘We go way back,’ Hugo replied off-handedly. He casually pulled out the chair beside Isabelle and sat.

‘Yes, we do. Way back,’ Leah repeated through gritted teeth.

Isabelle regarded Leah. Other than a thinning of her lips, the constant toying of her necklace and the snarky words, her face was an unreadable mask.
What is going on here?

‘Hugo, this is my son Fletcher, and Mietta, my daughter.’

‘Hi.’ Hugo gave them a sidelong glance before turning his attention back to Isabelle. ‘Can I buy you a bubbly to celebrate your first week of work?’

He placed his hand across the back of her chair, brushing his arm lightly against her shoulders. She edged forward in her seat to avoid the contact, looked down at the empty glass in front of her and twirled the stem it in her fingers. ‘Thank you. Another glass of wine would be lovely.’

‘You did a great job this week, Belle. You should be proud of yourself.’

Mietta sucked in her breath and Isabelle caught Fletcher’s shocked expression. That nickname was reserved for Dan, and they both knew it.

‘Would you like anything to eat?’ Hugo asked.

‘We’ve already ordered dinner.’ Leah tapped her watch without looking at it. ‘And it’ll be here soon.’

‘Well, if you don’t mind, I’m going to order something to eat as well.’

‘Suit yourself.’ She shrugged.

Isabelle turned to Hugo. ‘Will you go and see Bob before Monday? I’m worried about him.’

‘Yeah, I’ll head out to his farm tomorrow morning. No need for you to worry.’

Leah coughed and made a strange sound in the back of her throat. Why was she acting so strangely? Isabelle glared at her, only to see Leah’s eyes staring at something, or someone, over Isabelle’s head.

With a sense of
deja vu
she turned to see Matt striding towards their table. His eyes grazed over her face and his lips curled upwards in a friendly smile. Isabelle’s stomach flipped at the sight of him and a shiver raced up her spine. Every single time he caused the same reaction. She smiled in return. When his gaze shifted to Hugo, his brows pulled slightly together. It was a miniscule movement, but she noticed. She also noticed the way something dark flashed in his eyes and his lips thinned. Isabelle shifted in her seat, painfully aware of Hugo’s arm still resting on the back of her chair. She did not want Matt, or the kids, to get any wrong ideas.

Leah jumped up from her seat and waved cheerfully. ‘Hey Matt, I’ve already ordered dinner for you. So glad you could join us!’ She kissed his cheek and gave him a quick hug.

When had Leah ordered for Matt? They hadn’t known he was coming. Who invited him? Isabelle rubbed her head where a mild headache was forming. Going out for dinner after a big week wasn’t such a good idea after all.

‘Hugo dropped by. But he’s not staying,’ Leah said. If Hugo was in any doubt of what Leah meant, her hands-on-hips stance sent a clear message.

‘Aren’t I?’ Hugo asked, scowling at Leah and tossing his head back.

‘No you’re not! You weren’t invited to this celebration dinner,’ she retorted, folding her arms across her chest.

Isabelle rubbed her eyes, shocked and confused at Leah’s bluntness.

Hugo stood, shoving his chair under the table with a thud. ‘I guess I’ll head off then.’ He glared at Leah.

The two men stood side by side, looking like David and Goliath. Matt held out his hand first. ‘Good to see you again, Hugo.’

‘Yeah, you too, Matthew.’ They shook hands politely. ‘Enjoy your dinner everyone,’ Hugo said. ‘I’ll see you at work on Monday, Belle.’ He leaned down to kiss her cheek again and she pulled away so he ended up kissing the air beside her head. His powerful aftershave and the smell of peppermint swirled around her.