Intensive Care: Escape to the Country (29 page)

“Yes darling, he’s here.”

“Can you put him on speaker, Mum?”

“Ooh you
do
have some news! I’ll get him on the phone. Won’t be a moment. Hang on.” There was noise from the other end of the line that Kate couldn’t discern.

“Mum, do you know something already?” Kate asked. There was no reply from Elizabeth. She looked across at Joel who was perched on one of the high stools next to her. He wore a slightly guilty expression. Covering the mouthpiece of the phone, she asked, “Do my parents know already?”

“Well love, I couldn’t very well propose without your dad’s permission now could I?” He kept his eyes on her face.

“Oh Joel, that’s so sweet of you.” Kate squeezed his thigh. She then paused as a thought occurred to her. “Please tell me Dad didn’t give you a hard time!”

“No love, he couldn’t have been happier for us. Your parents have given us their full blessing.”

“Hello, Katie girl.” Her dad’s voice came through the phone. Kate put her own phone onto the speaker setting and placed it on the bench in front of her so that Joel could also hear the conversation.

“Are you and Mum both on speaker?” Kate asked.

“Yes,” came their reply in unison. Kate almost laughed out loud, picturing them crouched over the phone waiting for her news.

“I said yes!” Kate exclaimed. There was a shout of delight from her mum and she heard a noise from her dad. She pictured him pumping the air with his fist. It was an action he had learned from Nathan and although it looked ridiculous coming from a man his age, he couldn’t be convinced to stop doing it. Kate laughed as the image came to her mind.

“Oh darling, we are so happy for you. Joel is a wonderful man. Such a good catch. And very cute too,” Elizabeth gushed.

“Joel can hear you Mum – he’s on speaker,” Kate laughed, knowing that Elizabeth wouldn’t be the slightest bit concerned.

“Hello Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy,” Joel said.

“Oh Joel, none of that. Call us Mum and Dad. Or if that’s too awkward, please just call us Liz and Michael. We’re so happy for you both. We knew of course that she would say yes. You make such a gorgeous couple. I knew it the first time I saw you two together.” Kate heard her mum sigh across the phone line. “She’s a wonderful girl, Joel, and we know you’re going to take such good care of her. Of course if you don’t, you’ll have to deal with her brother!”

Joel just laughed and Kate watched his face – his eyes were glowing and she was thrilled that he was as excited about their engagement as she was.

“Okay Mum, that’s enough,” Kate said, “you’re embarrassing me!”

“Oh darling, we have so much to plan. Of course you’ll need to set a date and book a venue. Will you get married there or back here? Oh and a photographer. When you come home for Christmas I’ll make sure I’ve got all the latest bridal magazines – you might not be able to get all the current editions out there …” Elizabeth paused for breath and Kate interrupted. She could already picture her mum logging onto Pinterest. She needed to nip that idea quickly in the bud.

“Mum, I don’t want a big wedding – something really simple – just family and a few close friends. No need to get the bridal magazines out.”

“Oh Katie, we are so happy for you. What a blessing this move has turned out to be for you,” Elizabeth started gushing again. Thankfully, before she could continue, her dad interrupted.

“Your mum and I are delighted, Katie. Congratulations to the both of you. Now get off the phone. I’m sure you’ve got lots more calls to make. Don’t forget to ring your brother and remember the time difference to Western Australia.” She heard the emotion in his voice and the words cracked slightly. She could already imagine what he was going to be like when he had to walk her down the aisle.

Kate ended the call and looked across at Joel.

“Are you cool if I make another phone call? I want to tell Nathan.”

“Great idea,” he replied, “but if it’s okay with you, I’d love to tell my parents and Emma face to face. I’ll call Liam after that.”

“Of course,” Kate replied. “How do you think Emma will take the news?”

“Give her time, she’ll come around to it.”

“I hope so. I can’t bear to think someone doesn’t like me.” Kate frowned. She was going to have to do a lot of bridge building with Emma.

She put the phone to her ear as she waited for her brother to answer. “I probably won’t even get through to him anyway but I’ll leave a message and that way he’ll have to call me back.” She heard the beep and began her message. “Hi Nath, it’s me. Can you call me back as soon as possible? I need some advice.” She saw Joel glance curiously at her.

“What advice do you need?”

“Oh, I don’t! It’s just that Nathan always thinks he’s got an answer for everything, so if he thinks I need his opinion on something, he’ll call me back straight away. He just hasn’t worked out that I never really need his advice – I just use it as a ploy to get him to take time out of his busy schedule to talk to me! He always falls for it.”

“Smart girl!” Joel said.

The phone rang again almost immediately and Kate saw that it was her brother returning her call. “See?” she said triumphantly as she held the phone up. “Works every time.” She slid her finger across the screen. “Hi, Nath.”

“Katie. What’s up? I can’t talk long. What do you need? Is everything okay? How are things with you and Joel? Did you get all that stuff sorted out between him and his brother?”

“Yes, it’s all sorted.”

“So what can I help you with?” Nathan sounded busy and Kate tried to stifle the giggle that was forming. She couldn’t believe he hadn’t caught on to her trick yet.

“Oh, nothing really. Except perhaps you can help me work out a date for my wedding. I need to know when you’re going to be able to fly over here and watch me walk down the aisle.”

“What the?” came his shocked reply.

Kate laughed, wishing she had put him on speaker phone so that Joel could have heard his response.

“Wedding? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Joel just asked me to marry him and I said yes,” she explained.

“Well he doesn’t muck around, does he,” Nathan joked. “Good for you guys. That’s awesome news. So you really need to know when I’m coming back over.”

“Yeah, I don’t think we want a long engagement.” Kate glanced at Joel and he nodded his head in agreement. They hadn’t discussed it, but Kate felt like there was no point in waiting. She finally knew they were both in love with each other.

“Well obviously I’m back next week for Christmas. But after that I won’t be back until March. Does that work or is it too soon?”

“March sounds perfect to me – of course I’ll have to check with Joel.” Joel nodded his head again.

“Can you put him on speaker? I assume he’s there with you now,” Nathan asked Kate and she pushed the button.

“You’re on speaker, Nathan.”

“G’day man!” Nathan said. “Congrats. Great news.”

“Thanks mate,” Joel replied. “I was just hoping she was going to say yes!”

“Ah, you should never have doubted,” Nathan said. “I heard how she spoke about you when I was over there and I knew she was in love. Sounds like it was you that took some convincing.”

“Not at all. I just needed to get the timing right,” Joel replied.

“Well just as well you did or I would have had to come over there and give you a piece of my mind!”

The two men laughed.

“Nathan mate, I know we haven’t even met but you’re going to be my brother-in-law and family means everything to me – how would you feel about being in my wedding party?” Joel asked.

“Oh man, I’d be thrilled. Yeah, thanks for asking. Hey, does that mean I get to plan your bucks’ night then?”

“Ah, we might need to talk about that!” Joel laughed again.

“Anyway guys, I gotta run. It’s great news. Kate, I’ll bet Mum and Dad were stoked.”

“Yes, they were. Mum hasn’t stopped talking and she’s probably sitting at home on Pinterest right now coming up with all the arrangements,” Kate laughed.

“Ah that’d be right,” Nathan laughed back. “I’m really happy for you, Kate. You deserve someone like Joel. I know he’s going to be very good for you. And Joel?”

“Yeah?”

“If you don’t take good care of my sister …” Nathan let the words hang in the air.

“Yeah, yeah, I know … I’ll be found at the bottom of the harbor!” Joel joked in reply.

“Good. We understand each other perfectly.”

By the time they arrived back at Kate’s house, she was exhausted. She was still riding the wave of the emotional high she was on, but something was stirring in her, unsettling her. The day’s surprises weren’t over yet. Although Joel might not have any more up his sleeve, Kate had a big one. Unfortunately she knew it wasn’t going to be the sort of surprise Joel would be expecting.

They sat down side by side on the couch and the mood between them was relaxed and comfortable. Kate took a deep breath and exhaled. She knew it was finally time to tell him the secret she’d kept locked inside for so long. There was a full moon outside and a cool breeze pushed the sheer curtains aside, casting shadows across their bodies. Kate shivered slightly and twisted the new ring on her finger, watching as it caught the light.

“Are you too cold? I can close the windows,” Joel said.

“No, it’s fine,” she replied. She wasn’t cold. It was fear that had caused a cold sweat to break out.

The heavy lump in her gut made its way to her throat and she tried to swallow but it felt like it was lodged there. Although she was scared of the consequences of revealing her secret, Kate knew the timing was right. If she and Joel were to have any sort of future together she needed to be honest with him. No more secrets. Now was the time for the next chapter in her life.

“Joel?” She licked her lips and cleared her throat.

“Yeah.”

“I have something to tell you. It’s something I’m really ashamed of. It’s a secret I’ve kept from you.”

Even to her own ears there was a raw pain to her voice. She kept her eyes downcast. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him. The chill that gripped her deepened.

Joel changed position on the couch and his fingers reached out to connect with her chin. He turned her face so that she would look at him. “There’s nothing you could tell me that you should be ashamed of.” Despite his words, he was frowning at her and she nearly lost her resolve.

“Kate?”

His hands reached out and tried to pull her toward him. She knew she was sitting as stiff as a board but couldn’t bring herself to relax. It was now or never.

“I was pregnant,” she blurted out.

 “Was?” His voice sounded unfamiliar as huskiness deepened it.

She instantly realized he must have thought she meant recently. “When I was with Marcus,” she added quickly. She still couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye.

Beside her she felt Joel relax slightly, but when she risked a glance at him she could still see the shadows that had fallen in front of his eyes. Shock and worry were written across his face.

“What happened? Did you lose the baby?” He frowned.

“Marcus lost the baby. Only it wasn’t a baby according to him.”

“I’m not following.”

“Marcus made me ‘terminate’ the pregnancy.” Her fingers made quotation marks in the air.

Joel’s sharp intake of breath and the way he reached out and pulled her toward him reassured her that it was okay to continue. She was safe.

“Oh god, Kate, no.”

“I was twelve weeks pregnant and my body was just starting to show the signs. I somehow managed to keep it a secret from him from the moment I found out. Thank goodness I didn’t get any morning sickness. I just didn’t know how I was going to tell him. We’d never discussed having a baby and somehow I just knew he’d think the timing wasn’t right. It wasn’t planned, and everything Marcus did was always planned. When I finally told him, he went off his head and blamed me for not being careful enough. He told me I had to book in to the clinic that day. I didn’t know who to turn to so I just went along with him. He can be so convincing. I was so in love with him and I thought he knew what was best for us both. It wasn’t until afterward …”

Kate felt the familiar tickle in the back of her throat and needles of pain shot through her eyes as the tears started to form. She blinked rapidly, but it didn’t work. The tears flowed freely. Joel held her tight, rubbing his hand down her back, kissing the top of her head. She heard him murmuring in her hair but couldn’t make out what he was saying. Eventually the flood of tears slowed to a trickle and she looked at him with bloodshot eyes.

“The following day Marcus said I was supposed to just get on with my life like nothing had changed, but I felt so sad and empty and I knew that day I’d just made the biggest mistake ever. I wish with all my heart I had done things differently – stood up to him maybe – but at the time I didn’t think terminating a pregnancy was such a big deal. I was an emotional wreck for months afterward. I guess I still am in some ways. Every time I see a baby or a pregnant mother …” Kate’s words trailed off again.

Joel remained silent but his eyes conveyed his love.

“I blamed Marcus you know, but I realize now that I went along with what he wanted. I could have said no. But I was always pro-choice too, like he was. I was the one waving the banner high – whatever a woman wants to do, it’s her choice. It’s her body. Her life.” Kate stifled a small sob. “But my baby had no choice. And I deeply regret that.”

“Couldn’t you have left him then? You could have had the baby and raised it on your own. Plenty of women have done that.”

“At the time I didn’t think I could. I didn’t think I was strong enough. I couldn’t imagine being a single mother and trying to work as well. It wasn’t until afterward that I realized how much I really
had
wanted that baby. I don’t know, maybe I could have left him.” Kate shrugged her shoulders. “Who knows? Hindsight is always a wonderful thing, isn’t it?”

“You can’t change what’s happened, Kate. Now the hard part is learning to live with your choice and forgive yourself.”

“One day I will want another baby, Joel, and although I know no other baby will replace the one I lost, I never want to forget that I already had one.”

Joel sighed as he looked deep into Kate’s eyes. “I wish I could take away your pain. What can I do or say to make this any easier for you?”

“Tell me that you still love me. Hold me.”

“Oh Katie my love, of course I love you.” He started rubbing her back again. “None of this makes me love you any less. I’m sorry you felt you’ve had to keep this a secret and I’m sorry you feel guilty about it, Kate, but it doesn’t change the way I feel about you. I
adore
you.”

“What is
that
?”

It was Monday morning, two days before Christmas and Kate was at work. She was helping with a patient when Stephanie asked the question.

“What is what?” Kate looked around her, wondering what Stephanie was referring to.

“That flippin’ huge rock on your finger, mate!”

Ignoring the patient in the bed that she was attending to, Stephanie picked up Kate’s left hand. “You got engaged? Is it real?”

Kate blushed. “Um, yes.”

“And you didn’t tell us,” Stephanie exclaimed.

“Not yet. But I guess now you know.”

“Who is the lucky young man then?” the patient asked Kate.

“Is it Joel?” Stephanie asked.

“Who else would it be?” Kate replied.

“Well I don’t know. It’s not like I’ve been keeping track of your love life. I knew you two were friends and I saw the way he kissed you after the fun run but wow. Engaged. So soon. You kept that pretty quiet. When did you two even start dating?” Kate had to laugh at Stephanie’s blunt and forthright manner.

“Um, not long ago.” Kate hesitated, unsure that she wanted to admit that they had only officially been dating for a very short period of time.

“Have you set a date for the wedding yet?”

“Not yet,” Kate replied. “It’s all happened quite suddenly. It was a total surprise. But we’re not going to have a long engagement. I guess when you know the person is right for you, why wait?”

Kate hoped she sounded convincing. She expected that she would have a difficult job explaining the quick engagement to some people. While most were likely to be thrilled with the news, she figured many would be shocked with the speed of Joel’s proposal.

“Good on you, dear,” the patient in the bed interrupted. “I proposed to my wife after only knowing her for two weeks, then I went off to war and we didn’t see each other for three long years. When I arrived back home we married the following month. Sixty-seven years later we’re still madly in love. Don’t let anyone tell you you’re rushing things.”

“Thank you, Mr. Waldron,” Kate said. “I’ll keep that advice in mind.”

“So is the news official? When are you going to start letting people know?” Stephanie asked.

“I suppose I might as well tell everyone at morning tea,” Kate said, “otherwise I’m sure you’ll let it slip out and the gossip train will gather speed.” Kate smiled at Stephanie so that she knew she was teasing.

“My lips are sealed. But mate, honestly, I’m thrilled for you. Joel is an awesome guy from a top family. I know the two of you will be very happy together.”

“Thanks, I appreciate you saying that,” Kate answered.

An hour later Kate gathered the staff together for an impromptu meeting at the central nurses’ desk. She could see the curious stares and she knew the staff would be wondering what she was about to say. She had a sudden thought that they might think she was about to announce her resignation.

“I’ll keep this brief,” Kate said, smiling around at the group. “As you know, about eight months ago I moved to Birrangulla knowing no one. What many of you don’t know is that I moved here after the break-up of a long-term relationship. I arrived with lots of baggage and it’s safe to say I was running away and saw this chance as a bit of an
Escape to the Country
moment. Since I arrived, as most of you know, I have become very good friends with Joel O’Connor and his family. Well …” Kate paused and took a deep breath before extending out her left hand. “Joel and I got engaged on the weekend!” The words came out in a rush and Kate heard the surprised voices of the staff as they reacted excitedly to her announcement.

“Congrats, Kate.”

“Awesome news.”

“Well done!”

There were hugs and handshakes all around as the staff leaned in closer to appraise the ring and ask Kate the appropriate questions.

“How did he propose?”

“How many carats is that diamond – it’s huge!”

“He’s a great guy – you’ll make a great couple.”

She caught sight of Amanda, smiling in the background, her eyes wide and shiny behind her red-framed glasses.

“I told you Kate, it just takes time.”