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'You weren't the only one.'

'Do you love him?'

Elizabeth frowned. 'Frankly, I don't see that as any of your business.'

'You're right. It's not. That was way out of line and I apologise.' The frustration he'd been feeling since that phone call continued to mount. He started the engine. 'I'd better get going.'

Elizabeth took the hint. 'Thank you for driving me around today.'

He nodded, accepting her words, as she climbed from the car. 'Goodnight, Elizabeth.' Once she'd shut the door, he reversed and drove off.

Elizabeth stood in the driveway for a moment, watching until his utility disappeared from view, conscious of the fact he'd used her full name. She swatted a fly, bringing her back to reality, and headed inside. She went to her bedroom and changed before going in search of her mother.

'Hi, there. Mitch not coming in for a drink?' Maude stood at the bench, preparing chicken schnitzels for tea.

'No.'

'Everything all right?'

'Of course.'

'Liz, remember who you're talking to. I may not have seen you since you were a baby but you're more like me than you realise. Come on. Out with it.'

'Marcus called the hospital today.'

'Oh.' Maude faltered for a second in what she was doing. 'How did you feel?'

'Annoyed.' Surprise lit her mother's face. 'Annoyed that he'd called me at work, annoyed that he made me feel guilty.'

'Why did he make you feel guilty?'

Elizabeth looked down at her hands. 'He said Dad hasn't been well since I left. He said he's missing me and is working from home.'

Maude nodded. 'So you felt annoyed and guilty.'

'Yes.'

'Was Mitch there?'

'Yes.' Elizabeth sighed. 'It's ridiculous, Mum. I felt so self-conscious talking to Marcus on the telephone in front of Mitch, which is silly because I hardly know Mitch.'

'Yet you're attracted to him.'

'Yes,' she said despondently. 'We had a talk this morning and I told him I didn't want to use him and he said we could be friends and we had a great time giving the boys breakfast this morning but now...just now when he dropped me off, he said, "Goodnight, Elizabeth".'

'He called you Elizabeth?'

'Yes. Do you think he's upset at me?'

'I don't know, darling. Perhaps he was simply tired and couldn't be bothered teasing you.'

'Oh, Mum.' Elizabeth slumped forward onto the bench, almost knocking over the crumb mixture her mother was using. 'This is all wrong. Everything's wrong,' she wailed, and straightened up again. 'And then when Marcus called, he announced himself as my fiancé. I could have throttled him.'

Maude looked at Elizabeth and then laughed. 'Oh, dear.'

'Mum, this isn't funny.'

'You're right dear, and I'm not laughing at you. It's more the circumstances you find yourself in. You've been in town for five full days and I'd say that Coober Pedy's charms are certainly working on you.' When Elizabeth frowned at her mother, Maude continued. 'You wanted to find out who you are and look at what's happened to you already!'

'Couldn't I have had time to settle in first?'

Maude smiled. 'Why don't you go and run yourself a nice, soothing bath while I finish getting tea ready? I don't need to cook them now if you're not hungry so take your time.'

Elizabeth gave her mother a hug. 'Thank you. You are
just
what I need.'

Mitch looked out over the grassless golf course and took a sip of his ginger beer. The stars were out and shining bright. Shining bright—just like Elizabeth's eyes after she'd received that phone call. Her eyes had been glistening with unshed tears and for some reason that look on her face had made him feel... worthless.

It was ridiculous. Of course she missed her father and her fiancé—boyfriend, whatever he was. Any woman would, especially when she was stuck out here. Mitch shook his head. He knew she'd come here to see Maude but would it be enough? Was Maude enough to help Lizzie adjust to the harsh climate of the outback?

She had people waiting for her back in England—another life. A life he knew nothing about. He closed his eyes, unable to believe he'd asked about her boyfriend but, still, he'd really wanted to know.

Did
she love him?

He hoped the answer was no. She'd said that morning that her boyfriend had wanted to take things to the next level. Was that next level marriage? Was he letting her come to Australia for six months but expecting to marry her when she returned? Did Lizzie
want
to get married?

Mitch drained his drink. He'd told her they would be friends but for the next few days—maybe longer—perhaps he should pull back. Put a bit of distance between them. He would be polite, of course, friendly—as he would be to anyone else who lived in the town—but no more silly stunts like this morning, he warned himself. He'd planned to initiate Lizzie slowly to the joys of spontaneity but if he continued with that plan, he'd probably end up head over heels in love with her and that was the last thing either of them needed.

He'd been in love before and it had ripped his heart out when Sonja had died. He'd emotionally self-destructed—and he didn't ever want to find himself in that position again. He shook his head in disgust as he recalled his behaviour the year after Sonja's death. No one had been able to get through to him. Not his friends, his colleagues or the counsellors the hospital made him speak to.

Slowly, in his own time, he'd come out of the haze of pain and anger but he never wanted to go back there again. Never!

He liked Lizzie. She was a beautiful, desirable woman and he could get used to having her around—permanently. He'd vowed after Sonja's death to keep a firm hold on his heart. Giving it to another woman would only open him up to further pain should she ever leave him, and he knew right now that Lizzie would leave him at the end of her contract.

'No.' Mitch shook his head with determination. He might like Lizzie, he might be attracted to Lizzie, but he refused to fall in love with her. Days like today, where she'd laughed and joined in the fun, needed to be few and far between because Mitch couldn't recall a lovelier sight than Lizzie smiling up at him, her green eyes sparkling with unrepressed happiness.

The problem was, he liked having her around...and maybe, just maybe he could convince her to stay on at the end of her six months. She didn't appear to be in any hurry to return to England and, of course, Maude was here. But then what? What would happen next?

If it was marriage she wanted...could he provide that? It wouldn't be as though he was risking his heart—just sharing his life with a woman. Companionship... And, of course, the physical side of the relationship. There was no doubt in his mind that he wanted her and from the way she had responded when he had kissed her, he knew the feeling was mutual.

It was definitely something to ponder. But one thing he vowed to do was to keep control of his heart.

'And I will,' he said firmly into the darkness.

Two and a half weeks later, Elizabeth sat down with Fred and Jean Caplan. They'd both booked in for a double appointment. Elizabeth had seen Fred at the end of her first week and was happy with the improvement in his lung function. It still wasn't the best but he was slowly getting there.

Jean needed a repeat prescription for her arthritis medication and Elizabeth took the opportunity to have a good look at the woman's gnarled fingers. 'I've had several operations on my knuckles and there should be a letter in my file from my rheumatologist because I saw him only last month.'

Elizabeth smiled and nodded. 'I've had a quick read of the letter and he's very happy with your progress. If there's any change in your pain, please, come and see me.' She wrote out the prescription and then turned to Fred. 'Now, how have you been doing since I saw you last?'

'Better, I think.'

'He's not coughing so much at night now,' Jean chimed in.

'That's good news. I'll get you to do a spirometer test again for me, please, Fred.' Elizabeth handed him the device he needed to blow into to check his lung capacity function. 'Yes. Better than the other week. The prednisolone's done its job and the inhaler is helping to open those bronchioles.' She pulled out a new spirometer and a little booklet before handing it to Fred. 'I'd like you to keep a diary for me—just for a week. You need to breathe into this, the same way you did before, every morning and every night. Record the
level
on the graph in the booklet. You have your preventative inhaler to be used morning and night and the reliever when you need it. Write down how many times per day you need the reliever so we can keep track of it. The booklet's fairly straightforward but if you have any questions, give me a call.'

'Why do I need to do this?' Fred asked. 'I've never had asthma before.'

'I know, Fred, and I also know this is quite disconcerting for you, but keeping a track of your daily breathing will help us prescribe at the right level for you in the future.'

'Why have I got it now? I just don't understand.'

'Unfortunately, it's allergy related. The fact that you've never smoked is definitely in your favour. But you seem to be feeling the cooler weather more than in previous years and I don't want to risk you getting a chest infection. That would be the last thing you need right now.'

'She's only trying to help, Fred,' Jean said, patting her husband's hand. 'It's such a blow to him, you understand. It's just come out of the blue.'

'Actually, it may have been building up for quite a while but you didn't notice it.'

'So she knows what she's talking about,' Jean interjected. 'Don't you worry, Elizabeth. I'll make sure he does what he's supposed to.'

'Call me if you have any problems. Or Mitch, if you'd rather speak to him.'

'No. We're quite happy with you,' Fred said, and his words warmed Elizabeth.

'Thank you. That's very nice to hear.'

She walked them out to the door and said goodbye before turning to her pile of casenotes. There were none left.

'All done?' she asked Daphne.

'Your last patient cancelled.'

'So that's it?'

That's it for the day,' Daphne replied, as Mitch came out of his room, saying goodbye to his patient.

'Are we all done?' he asked Daphne once the patient had left.

'Yes.'

'Great.'

'Great?' Elizabeth was puzzled. In fact, Mitch had been puzzling her for some time now. Ever since the day Marcus had called, Mitch had been polite but mildly aloof. He hadn't suggested any more crazy schemes—much to her disappointment. Perhaps he was just giving her time to adjust to her new way of life in the Australian outback—at least, that was the rationale she'd come up with.

'Yes. Friday morning clinics are usually quiet. The last two since you arrived have been busier than normal because everyone was still curious about you.'

'And now they're not?'

Mitch shrugged and smiled...although it didn't quite meet his eyes. 'Your novelty has started to wear off.'

Was he talking about the people in the town or the attraction they'd both felt? Elizabeth pushed the thought away.

'Let's leave Daphne to close up and go and see Maude.'

'Maude? But she'll be mining by now.'

'That's right,' Mitch said, patting his pockets for his keys. Elizabeth spotted them on Daphne's desk and held them up.

'Looking for these?' She dangled them from her finger, and this time the smile did reach his eyes.

'Thanks. Ready?'

'I'll just get my bag.' Elizabeth walked back to her consulting room, not at all sure she wanted to visit another mine so soon. Two and a half weeks wasn't a long time for her to overcome the experience of being winched up and down a mine-shaft.

She returned and together they said goodbye to Daphne and went out to Mitch's ute. He'd been picking her up and dropping her off every day but in the mornings he never joined her for a coffee any more and in the evenings he never came in for a cold ginger beer.

At least he hadn't continued calling her Elizabeth Somehow, on the rare occasions he'd used it, it hadn't sounded right coming from his lips. Other than that, he always called her Lizzie and she'd come to see it as a sign of acceptance. Besides, it made her feel special.

'We'll stop by your place so you can change,' he said.

'Er...it's all right. Actually, Mitch, I'd rather not go down. It's taken me a while to get used to the dugout and the fact that there's no natural light coining into the place except through the front door.'

'But you've already been down a mine.'

'That's right and that was because I had to, it was my job. Now you're expecting me to
choose
to go down?'

'Going down the shaft is the worst part, you know that now. You'll be fine after that.' He pulled up outside Maude's house and turned to face her. 'Trust me, Lizzie. I'll be up the top, Maude will be down the bottom and that's all there is to it. A few minutes of being uncomfortable and then...over!'

'You've discussed this with her, haven't you?'

'Yes, but not necessarily about today. We discussed wanting to show you the mine. You've only been
in
a mine, you haven't really
experienced
one. Today is the day the opportunity has presented itself. Go get changed. We'll swing by my house then pick up some lunch for the two of us before heading out.'

'We're going to your house? Why?'

'So I can change my clothes, Lizzie.' A twinkle of humour sparkled in his eyes. 'I don't usually go down the mine in my good jeans. What do you think I am? A complete yobbo?'

'Yobbo?'

'Unsophisticated idiot.' For the first time in weeks his smile was heartfelt and Elizabeth couldn't help responding to it. 'Get changed and let's go and surprise your mother.'

She smiled and climbed from the car. Actually, she wouldn't mind checking on her mother today. Maude had woken Elizabeth up in the earlier hours with a coughing fit. When Elizabeth had checked on her, Maude had told her she was all right and not to worry. As Maude had settled back down to sleep, Elizabeth had drifted off as well but had been quite restless and had checked on her mother a few times.