The Australian's Proposal: The Doctor's Marriage Wish / The Playboy Doctor's Proposal / The Nurse He's Been Waiting For. Alison Roberts

good for her, it meant she had at last accepted he was stable and his recovery would continue.

      Susie unfolded the blanket she’d been carrying and spread it by the fire. She and Kate settled on it, though they had to move only minutes later when Megan and Hamish and Hamish’s guitar arrived, all three joining Susie and Kate on the blanket that had become, in Kate’s eyes, almost minuscule.

      Not that Hamish was bothering her—not deliberately. Oh, no, he was being Colleague Hamish again, cheerful, chatty, making Megan laugh at silly jokes, asking her about Jackson’s progress, although every member of the hospital staff personally checked Jackson’s progress every day.

      ‘He’s coming home tomorrow,’ Megan said happily. ‘Well, home to Christina’s house with me. I’m not sure how I’ll manage, what with Mum over in Townsville with Dad.’

      ‘You know we’ll all do anything we can to help you with Jackson,’ Susie said, putting her arm around Megan and giving her a hug. ‘Anything you want, just yell, and half the staff will come running.’

      Megan nodded.

      ‘You’ve all been so kind—and with Jack, too, although he’s still too sick for me to tell him all that happened.’

      She turned to Hamish.

      ‘Should I tell him?’

      ‘About having Lucky at the rodeo?’

      So Hamish’s ability to read minds wasn’t restricted to reading hers, Kate thought as Megan nodded.

      But how would he reply? Kate held her breath, glad Megan hadn’t asked her.

      ‘I think you will eventually,’ Hamish said. ‘Not necessarily right away. But one day there’ll come a time and you’ll know it’s the right time. Then you’ll tell him and he’ll understand.’

      He took one of Megan’s hands and held it in both of his.

      ‘You’ve been very sick, too, and have been through tremendous emotional pressure, so think about yourself as well as Jack and Jackson. Do what’s right for Megan sometimes, not just what’s right for them—or for your parents. That’s been a burden you carried on your own for far too long.’

      Megan rested her head on his shoulder, and Kate heard her whispered thanks.

      Kate was glad of the shadows as she blinked moisture from her eyes. Colleague Hamish was definitely something special as doctors went.

      Drinks were passed around and Hamish shifted from the blanket, settling on a rock nearby and strumming lightly on his guitar. People started singing, soft ballads they’d obviously sung before, around other fires blazing on the beach. But the togetherness of it made Kate feel lost and alone again, and she remembered why she’d come on contract—and why she’d come at all.

      She looked towards Hamish—strumming quietly on his rock. Could she forget her quest? Go back to Scotland with him?

      Did it matter who her father was?

      She no longer knew the answer to that one, and not knowing made her feel more lost than ever.

      Helpless.

      She waited until Susie had gone to get more wine and Megan stood up to talk to Emily and Mike, then she slipped away, heading for where the casuarina trees threw shadows across the top of the beach—shadows deep enough to hide her departure.

      ‘Leaving so early? I’ll walk you home.’

      Brian’s voice came from the very deepest of the shadows and, certain she hadn’t seen him approaching as she’d walked up the beach, she wondered if he’d been standing there.

      Watching …

      A shiver she didn’t understand feathered down her spine, and when Hamish spoke from close behind her, she was so relieved she nearly flew into his arms.

      ‘Sorry, had to say goodbye to Mike,’ he said, catching up with her and slipping his arm around her waist. ‘Oh, hi, Brian! You going down to join the party?’

      ‘Well, I was but then I saw Kate leaving and thought I’d walk her home.’

      ‘Kind of you, but I’d already offered. You go and join the fun.’ Hamish’s arm tightened, drawing Kate closer to his body.

      ‘Oh, well, I guess I might as well,’ Brian said, and he walked slowly out of the shadows towards the beach.

      Reluctantly, because standing hip to hip with Hamish was very comforting, Kate drew away from her rescuer.

      ‘I might have wanted to walk home with Brian,’ she told him, angry because she couldn’t handle the way Hamish changed from colleague to, well, some kind of lover with such consummate ease.

      ‘You could have said so,’ Hamish pointed out. ‘You could have said, “Thanks but, no, thanks, Hamish, I’m going home with Brian.”’

      ‘I wouldn’t have gone home with Brian,’ Kate retorted. ‘Not the way you make it sound.’

      ‘Even to avoid me? Because that’s what you’re doing, isn’t it, Kate?’

      She heard his pain but had to argue.

      ‘It’s best that way.’

      Hamish put his arm around her and drew her close again.

      ‘Is it? I don’t think so. And is it just me you’re avoiding or are you afraid to let anyone, even colleagues, get close to you in case you’re hurt again? Is that why you walked away from the fire? Is that why you’ve suddenly got doubts about finding your father?’

      ‘That’s ridiculous! You don’t know that!’ Kate snapped, irritated beyond reason by too many sensations ricocheting through her body.

      And by the fact he always seemed to get things right!

      He was holding her just lightly enough that she knew she could break away.

      If she wanted to …

      ‘Don’t I?’ He drew her just slightly closer. ‘Oh, Kate!’ he sighed. ‘You’ve every right to feel vulnerable, but is hiding away from emotion the answer? You’re braver than that, Kate. You’re a fighter. I saw you in action with Jack.’

      She didn’t feel like a fighter. She felt like a wimp—weak and feeble, and nervy from the touch of this man’s hands. All she wanted was to lean against him and feel his lips on hers, and let the sensations of a kiss drive all the demons from her mind.