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'Ready, Mum?' Elizabeth asked, and smiled reassuringly at her mother before pulling her mask into place. She tested the area to ensure the anaesthetic was working and when it was, she made a small incision into the pleural space. Mitch inserted a catheter through the second intercostal space to remove the air. The tube went down into an underwater-seal drainage bottle.

Elizabeth sutured the tube to the chest wall and then covered the wound with an airtight dressing. The tubes were kept clamped while they performed the surgery and once it was done, they activated the drainage system.

Both Elizabeth and Mitch had kept up a constant light-hearted chatter while they'd worked, keeping Maude informed of what they were doing and why.

'You should only need this in for the next twenty-four hours or so, depending on how things go, and then we'll take the tube out.'

'But only if you're a good girl,' Mitch warned, and smiled at his opal mining partner. Maude was now exhausted but forced a smile before closing her eyes. Teena was called in to keep an eye on Maude during the evening and after she was settled in the ward, Elizabeth sat beside her mother, watching her breathing closely.

Mitch came up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders. 'I'll take you home.' Elizabeth didn't move. 'Come on,' he urged gently. 'She's asleep now. Time for you to get some rest, too.'

'I want to stay here.'

He dropped his hands and came around the chair to face her. He squatted down, bringing himself to her eye level. 'I thought you might. First of all, though, let's get you home. You can shower and change, pack a bag for Maude and some clothes for yourself and I'll bring you back.'

'What about her things and her truck out at the mine?'

'Already taken care of. Steve-o's got that all in hand. We locals like to help each other out.'

'And the...' She looked around the ward and leaned in a little before whispering, 'opals? Where are they? We wouldn't want them to be stolen.'

'I have them,' he said, patting his jeans pocket.

'What good is that? You lose your car keys so often, why should I trust you with the opal?' she whispered fiercely. 'Give them to me and I'll find a safe place for them.'

He raised an eyebrow and she could tell by the glint in his eye that he was about to tease her. It was amazing how good she was getting at reading his expressions. 'And what if a band of criminals decides to attack you in the night and steal the opal right out of your safe place? No. It's all right, Lizzie. I promise not to lose them. Besides, there are only three people who know about the find and we're all staying here the night.'

'You're staying here, too?'

'It's my job, Lizzie.' He smiled tiredly. 'So let's get going.'

Elizabeth looked at her mother. 'I'll be back,' she whispered as she stood and placed a kiss on Maude's forehead. She turned to Mitch. 'Let's go.'

They headed out to the ute, neither one talking. The silence was comfortable and Elizabeth was amazed that she felt so comfortable with Mitch, especially at a time like this. At least Maude had stabilised and the long-term prognosis looked good.

Mitch pulled up outside Maude's place. 'You go in, shower, and so on, and I'll be back to pick you up in fifteen minutes.'

'All right.' Elizabeth opened the door and turned to face him. 'Thank you.'

'It's cool.'

'No. Thank you. Not only for what you did for my mother today—'

'What
we
did.'

'All right. What
we
did, then—but what I'm really thanking you for is for being there for her during the past year. You've been a good friend to her, Mitch, and that means a lot to me.'

Then Elizabeth did something out of the ordinary. She reached over, put her hands on either side of his face and pressed her lips to his. It wasn't because she was being reckless. It wasn't because she wanted to let loose.

It was because Mitch O'Neill was starting to become a very important person in her life and she wanted to let him know that.

Elizabeth swung her legs over the bed and sighed. It was no use. She was never going to sleep. Her mind was working overtime, trying to decipher everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, and at the moment she was sick and tired of thinking about it.

She checked Maude's drains and read the chart Teena had written up only half an hour before. Her mother was sleeping peacefully and Mitch, who was in the bed opposite, sounded as though he was about to snore. It wouldn't bother Maude as the analgesics Mitch had prescribed would ensure their patient slept through until morning.

Elizabeth ran a hand down her silk pyjamas and decided it was too warm to slip a robe on over the top. Besides, she looked respectable...and Mitch was asleep. She headed out to the nurses' desk to ask Teena if she wanted a cup of tea.

'Tea would be lovely. Can't sleep?' Teena asked, looking up from her book.

'No. My mind is too busy.'

'Understandable. Your mother's going to be fine, thanks to you and Mitch.'

'I know.' Elizabeth smiled.

'I'll make you that cuppa,' Teena said, but Elizabeth quickly stopped her.

'You'll do no such thing. Tell me how you like it and continue reading your book.' Elizabeth soon had the kettle on and was putting sugar into a cup for Teena. She leaned against the bench and crossed her arms over her chest, her mind still racing.

Neither she nor Mitch had said anything about the kiss she'd given him. When they'd finally drawn apart, they'd stared at each other for a moment before Elizabeth had gone inside to shower and get the things she needed for herself and Maude.

When he'd returned to pick her up, they'd driven back to the hospital in a comfortable silence...which she'd found strange. How could she be comfortable with a man who unnerved her? He made her think and feel and tremble and blush.

Before they'd settled for bed, they'd stood side by side, both in their nightwear, and he'd squeezed her hand reassuringly. That had been all. He hadn't pushed her for another kiss or looked at her in an intimate way. It had been as though he had sensed her confusion and was giving her the space she needed.

The kettle switched itself off and Elizabeth made the tea. She took Teena's out to her before returning to the kitchen. She sat down and sipped at the relaxing drink, hoping it would help slow her thoughts down.

'Any water left for me?'

She looked up over the rim of her cup and immediately wished she hadn't. A sleepy-eyed, tousle-headed Mitch stumbled into the small kitchen, filling it with his presence, and wandered over to the kettle. He looked...irresistible and she couldn't take her eyes off him. She nervously smoothed a hand down her own hair, hoping it wasn't sticking out the way his was, and wasn't surprised to discover her heart rate had increased the instant she'd laid eyes on him.

'Can't sleep either, eh?'

That made her laugh. 'What on earth do you mean—
either?
You were practically snoring.'

'Was not.'

'Was, too. Ask Teena.'

'Uh, sure, like I'm going to believe the two of you.' He made himself a drink and sat down. 'I heard her do the obs half an hour ago.'

'So did I. I checked the drain when I got up just now.'

'So did I.' He grinned and lifted his legs onto a vacant chair, stretching out. 'You know what we are, Lizzie?'

'What?'

'A couple of over-achievers.'

She returned his smile. 'Because we both checked the drain? I think that shows we're good at our jobs.'

'It does. It does show that, but that's not what I meant. We've both worked hard, striving for things that are important. Sometimes they're more important to other people but, still, we do them. We want the best for ourselves and will continue to head in that direction until we run out of steam.'

'Have you run out of steam?' she asked curiously.

'Yes.' Mitch looked down into his cup before glancing at her. 'Want to see one of my favourite places?'

'What? Now?'

'Sure. Maude's doing better than fine and we'll be on the end of the sat phone if Teena needs us.'

'We won't be going too far, will we?'

'Far? In Coober Pedy? Everywhere takes five minutes, Lizzie.' He drank his tea and stood. 'Let's go.'

'But I'm in my pyjamas!'

'That's all right. You don't need to change.' He stopped and shook his head. She was so beautiful—especially with her blonde hair floating softly around her shoulders. It was then he' realised he'd never seen her with it down before and now that he had, the only thing he wanted to do was to bury his face in her neck and breathe in deeply.

The silky nightwear would probably pass for a fashionable suit at a Hollywood movie premiere, but for outback Coober Pedy she'd stick out like a sore thumb if anyone were to see them. Besides, he'd be able to control himself more easily if she was dressed in her clothes. Definitely a bonus. 'Actually, scrap that. Get changed and we'll head off.'

'Where?' She gulped the tea down, not caring that she was supposed to sip it slowly if she wanted to relax.

'It's a surprise.'

'Mitch, it's almost five o'clock in the morning;'

'I know. The town will be up and buzzing within the hour so we'd better get a move on.' He headed out of the kitchen and Elizabeth tipped the rest of her tea down the sink. She wasn't in the mood to relax any more.

They both changed, Elizabeth into jeans and T-shirt, tying her hair back, and Mitch into a pair of shorts and a cotton shirt buttoned up only halfway. She tried not to stare at the expanse of chest revealed below his neck but was finding it increasingly difficult. They checked on Maude and left her in Teena's capable hands. Elizabeth climbed into his ute. 'Do I need my seat belt or will we be there by the time I've buckled it?'

Mitch laughed. 'Put it on. Better to be safe than sorry.' He buckled his own belt up and started the engine. True to his word, five minutes later he brought the ute to a stop.

'Where are we?'

'Coober Pedy's grassless golf course.'

'And this is one of your favourite places?'

'Sure is.' He climbed from the ute and waited for her to do the same. Without another word, he took her hand in his and started walking. The golf course was as barren as the rest of the area when it came to grass. There were squares of artificial turf at the tee-off points but, apart from that, no grass to be seen. He stopped walking and let go of her hand, making her feel lonely all of a sudden. 'Have a seat,' he said, indicating the ground.

Elizabeth raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him but sat nevertheless. 'Well done.' He chuckled. 'You're sitting in the dirt. Another triumph for the "help Lizzie to be more spontaneous" club.'

She laughed as he sat beside her, their thighs almost touching. 'Why do you like it out here so much?'

'It's peaceful.'

'And?'

'And that's it. I can think out here.'

Elizabeth looked up at the stars shining bright in the sky. She wanted to ask what it was he thought about. She wanted to know all about this man. Did he have any family, had he been married before? Did he have any children? It hit her hard—she really didn't know much about him at all.

'Can you see the Southern Cross?' he asked, pointing up at the sky to the famous southern-hemisphere constellation. 'When I was a kid, I used to look for it every night before I went to bed. I used to hate winter because there were nights when the clouds covered the sky and I couldn't see it. Then again, I hated it even more when we lived overseas for a few years and I couldn't see it at all!'

'How old were you?'

'Five when we left here and seven when we returned.'

'We?'

'Me and my mum.'

Elizabeth knew she didn't have to prompt. Mitch obviously felt the same way she did—that they didn't know each other enough, and by all indications it looked as though he was trying to rectify that.

'She died when I was twenty-two. Cancer.'

Elizabeth reached out and took his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. He was happy at the contact and squeezed back. 'It was a long time ago... Ten years...'

'But you still miss her,' she said softly.

'Yes. My father is...somewhere. I'm not sure. Don't even know if he's alive.'

'Does that bother you?'

'Sometimes. I didn't like the way he treated my mother back' then and it took me quite a while to get over it.' He paused. 'My father had a professorship offered to him at Oxford. The job was initially for two years and my mother was happy to go. After all, it was only two years.'

'But it wasn't?'

'No. He wanted to stay and she didn't. They couldn't work out their differences so she and I came back to Sydney and my brother stayed in England with my father.'

"That must have been hard for everyone concerned.' She paused. 'I had no memories of my mother.'

'It must have been nice to finally track her down.'

'I cried. When I received the first letter back from her, I cried. I was seventeen and a half and I cried like a baby. It was one of the best days of my life. Every time I'd receive a letter from her, I'd feel overjoyed. I'd also feel guilty because I knew my father didn't want anything to do with her.'

'She ran out on him, didn't she? At least, that's what Maude told me.'

'Yes.' Elizabeth shook her head. 'I'm in awe of her. She was practically forced to marry him—he had the right social standing, class, and their parents expected it. She would have let too many people down if she'd failed to marry him.' Elizabeth tipped her head back and looked at the stars. 'Maude once wrote that she'd watched her mother shrivel away into nothing and she wasn't going to end up the same. She didn't
dislike
my father—he simply wasn't her type.' She looked at Mitch and smiled. 'So she left. Her parents cut her off, my father quietly divorced her after receiving full custody of me. She told me that it broke her heart to give me up but she knew, under the circumstances, that living with him would be better for me. He was able to provide for me and I guess that's what any parent wants for their child.'