hoped Holly was okay. Being sick when pregnant and with little kids would be yuck. Still, it was good Ben could be there for her.
She followed the receptionist, still mulling over her change of expectations. She hadn’t met Jace, but hopefully he’d be as easy to get along with as the husband and wife team.
The kitchen ran narrow and white with a jug, sink and fridge, to a poster-covered wall at the end. Wash your hands. Cover your mouth. Immunisation chart. Toxic spills. All the usual wall decorations you’d see in a hospital or in a doctor’s surgery.
What she didn’t usually see was a list of names with birthdays next to them and lots of smiley faces. That made her warm to the place more.
She might actually have found people to remember her birthday. The man she’d bought presents for in Perth had never remembered. But she wasn’t going there in her bright new fresh start.
Her widowed mother sat lotus in an Australian version of an ashram, somewhere in a rainforest in Queensland, breathing in serenity that had nothing to do with material possessions for her, or her daughter. So, no gifts or cards from Mum.
But they noticed birthdays here. Nice touch. She’d add her name sometime.
As if Imelda heard her thoughts she said, ‘When is your birthday, dear?’
‘First of August. The horses’ birthday.’
Imelda pulled a pen from her pocket and wrote Maeve’s name and date down. ‘I’ll retype that later. Means I won’t forget. Though, one of my grandchildren has a birthday on the first of August. Are you horse mad, too?’
‘I want to be. Ben says he’ll look for a quiet horse for me to learn on.’
‘Ben’s an excellent horseman.’ Imelda turned sedately. ‘Next door is the immunisation room, and next to that the treatment room where the minor surgery is carried out. Lacey said to tell you to rearrange as you wish.’
Lacey had told her that, too. But she liked that her friend had shared it with the receptionist. Nobody wanted to offend others by moving the furniture without warning.
‘And I believe you’ll use Ben’s room for antenatal consults when he’s not here.’
Imelda handed her a piece of paper with Maeve’s logon name and a temporary password for the computer. ‘Ben did this yesterday. So open Medical Director and have a look around in the program. Have you used it before?’
‘Yes. Some things may be different to Western Australia, but not too much in private practice I don’t think.’
The phone rang at the reception desk and Imelda waved and moved off, saying over her shoulder, ‘I’ll give Jace a call.’
‘Thank you.’ Maeve was studying the secondary room. It didn’t look like a great place to talk to antenatal women. Or do women’s health checks. Fine for excisions and stitching a wound.
The bed sat in the centre of the room, with the head of it resting on the back wall, so that as soon as you came in the room you saw feet—and everything else.
On each side of the bed were long laminate benches against the walls. One side held the computer workstation and stationery, beside the door, and the other side held equipment cupboards topped with a steriliser and a sink set in the bench. There was really only room for one small visitor chair almost behind the door, and the staff stool, under the computer desk.
Everything sparkled though, as a sign of good maintenance. There was a skylight in the corner of the ceiling, not directly over the bed, which added natural light to the fluorescent overhead.
A round eye examination light sat tucked in the corner beside the X-ray viewer and the clock.
She regarded the clock. Just coming up to eight am now, and the patients wouldn’t be here for half an hour.
Maeve pulled the wheeled stool across to the computer and sat down to logon. Seemed a good time to check the diary for the nurse/midwife today. Gawd. She always felt more of a midwife than a GP practice nurse.
No.
She had this.
Find out what happens next…
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More books by Kelly Hunter
Maggie’s Run
The Outback Brides series
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Emma
The Outback Brides of Wirralong series
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The Jackson Brothers series
Book 1: The Courage of Eli Jackson
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Book 2: The Heart of Caleb Jackson
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Book 3: The Downfall of Cutter Jackson
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About the Author
Accidently educated in the sciences, Kelly Hunter didn’t think to start writing romances until she was surrounded by the jungles of Malaysia for a year and didn’t have anything to read. Kelly now lives in Australia, surrounded by lush farmland and family. Kelly is a USA Today bestselling author, a three-time RITA finalist and loves writing to the short contemporary romance form.
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