On The Road Again
A short story
by
Fiona Lowe
Dr. Felicity Hamilton-Smith desperately needs a change so she signs up for a ten-day bike ride around Victoria. The last thing she expects is to run slap-bang into her former fiancé. For her, the past is over and best left behind, or so she thinks.
12,500 words
Dedicated to Norm, the keen cyclist.
‘On The Road Again’ A short story 12,000 words.
ISBN 9781301747023
Copyright Fiona Lowe 2013. All rights reserved.
Published by Fiona Lowe October 2013
Originally published in The Mammoth Book of E.R. Romance by Running Press 2013.
Copyright Fiona Lowe 2013
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Please respect the hard work of the author.
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Boomerang Bride
Saved By The Bride
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On the Road Again
Chapter One
Day One
‘What do you mean you’re not coming?’ Dr Felicity Hamilton-Smith’s voice rose in a combination of disbelief and panic as she pressed her phone hard against her ear. ‘Jessie, this entire gig was your idea.’
‘I know and I’m so sorry,’ Jessie wailed, her disappointment wobbling down the line. ‘I’ve been looking forward to this cycling trip for months. I can’t believe I sprained my ankle tripping over the cat.’
‘I always told you dogs make better pets,’ Felicity said dryly, stepping out of the long line of people and pulling her backpack with her. ‘I’ll see if I can grab a ride back to Melbourne.’
‘No,’ Jessie said firmly. ‘We’ve been planning this trip for ages and just because I’m a klutz, it doesn’t mean you have to miss out on Bike Around Victoria.’
You’ve been planning it. I’ve been dreading it. ‘Really, I don’t mind—’
‘You need this, remember?’ Jessie’s tone became stern. ‘It’s a total change for you, a week in another world and a way to forget all the recent crap in your life.’
‘I’m sure a week at a spa would do it just as well,’ she said wryly.
‘You know that’s not true,’ Jessie rebuked mildly. ‘That Felicity vanished a very long time ago.’
And she had. It had been years since she’d indulged herself in any forms of pampering. It had been so long in fact that it felt like another lifetime lived by a completely different person. Drew would barely recognize her.
She abruptly shoved the thought sideways, furious at herself for allowing a memory of him to sneak in. Eight years had passed since she’d watched in disbelief as he’d walked away from her without a backward glance. Eight long years, during which she’d worked hard at forgetting him and had instead focused on establishing a very successful career in A & E. Along the way, she’d proved many people’s preconceived opinions of her to be very wrong.
Your private life isn’t quite so triumphant.
She closed her eyes against the thought. The current nightmare of her personal life was the reason Jessie had chivvied and cajoled her onto this ride where they’d combine some cycling with volunteering—a big adventure. Now Jessie was bailing on her and the thought of spending eight nights alone in a tent after cycling anything from sixty to one hundred and ten kilometres a day, had her pining for those heady days of old when pampering ruled. ‘It’s not going to be any fun without you.’
Jessie laughed. ‘There are four thousand people for you to meet so of course you’re going to have fun. Besides, you have that lovely new carbon fibre bike you won to ride. It’s so light it will practically glide up the hills on its own.’
She wasn’t convinced. ‘Jessie, I can ride it another time when you’re better.’
‘You have to go,’ Jessie instructed. ‘It’s bad enough that I’m dropping out at the last moment. The medical care team can’t afford to lose both of us.’
And as much as Felicity wanted to stop before she’d even started, values and ethics got her every single time. She’d made a commitment to the medical care team and she had no choice but to honour it. ‘Okay, but seeing as I’ll be pitching the tent on my own every night, I want you to book me a motel room for the rest day.’
Jessie laughed. ‘Wimp.’
‘Damn straight.’
After telling Jessie to ice and elevate her ankle, she ended the call and slipped her phone into the back pocket of her cycling jersey. Mustering all her strength, she lumbered up the truck’s narrow silver stairs and half-threw, half-dropped her twenty-kilogram pack onto the massive pile of luggage.
*****
The salt of the sea filled Felicity’s lungs as she climbed a punishing hill which led out of out of the pretty coastal town of Lakes Entrance. With each spin of her pedals, she left behind the fishing boats, the circling Pacific gulls and the glistening Tasman Sea. She headed inland to the rolling hills of Gippsland, where black and white Friesian cows dotted the lush paddocks, which were still emerald green from spring rains and yet to be burned brown by summer heat. It wouldn’t be long though—the forecast was predicting hot weather on the ride.
Today, however was perfect. No headwinds, no rain, just the joy of the road helped along by a friendly tailwind. School groups passed on her right, calling out, ‘Enjoy your day,’ and she smiled. Already she could feel the stressors of work and home slipping away, and if day one was anything to go by, Jessie was right—she was enjoying herself. With a touch of sadness she realised this was as close as she’d come to happy in a very long time.
A couple of hours later, she cycled into the tiny town of Bruthen and found the show grounds which were being converted into a city of dome tents. She located her luggage truck, found her bag, pitched the tent, had a shower and then pulled on her bright blue volunteer polo shirt. The cheerful volunteer at the gate had told her that today, the travelling medical centre was in the footy club rooms so she crossed the oval and walked inside the building. Her eyes took a moment to adjust from the bright sunshine to the dimmer conditions, and at first she could only make out silhouettes.
‘Hi, I’m Dr Felicity—’
‘Hamilton-Smith.’
Her heart stalled in her chest. Even after eight years, she instantly recognised the deep vibrato voice. Blinking rapidly, she forced her eyes to focus so she could check that her ears hadn’t deceived her. Slowly, six feet two inches of sheer male perfection came into view. She soaked in the sight of short golden hair, a thick strong neck, broad, square shoulders, a washboard-flat stomach and solid toned thighs. Her body leapt at the memory of being held in his muscular arms and she immediately battled it, hating how fast her body could betray her.
‘Drew.’
She swallowed a groan as his name came out on a soft, wavering breath instead of the crisp, professional and utterly detached tone she’d been aiming for.
‘Flick.’ Intelligent eyes, the colour of the never-ending Outback blue sky—eyes that had once glowed with love for her— scanned her face coolly, seeming to miss nothing.
His mouth flattened. ‘Bike Around Victoria has to be the last place I ever expected to meet you.’
The slight hint of derision in his tone brought the past rushing back so fast it was like eight years had
vanished and time had stood still. Only it hadn’t. Time had passed, things had changed—she’d changed and she refused to wear his out-of-date opinions.
A slow burn of indignation glowed deep down inside her and she picked up the large medical emergency pack that had her name on it in bold print. ‘Well, expectations exist to be broken. I’m here to work.’
And then it hit her. So was he. Her nine days in another world—her week to escape her life—had just been blown into a thousand pieces.
Chapter Two
Drew Baxter had only recently come out of Afghanistan. He certainly hadn’t expected his first job post the army medical corps to take him into another war zone but the tight expression on Flick’s beautiful face left him in no doubt that time had not healed a damn thing. Why the hell was she even here? Felicity Hamilton-Smith belonged in five-star luxury not camping on a physically-challenging bike ride.
He’d immediately regretted his terse tone, which had slipped out when he’d greeted her but meeting her here was beyond unexpected. Her image, which had been burned on his brain all those years ago, was now out-of-date. Her once-long, chestnut hair that he’d loved burying his face in, was now cut into a short bob that stroked her chin when she moved. She was thinner than he remembered and there were faint lines around her eyes but she still radiated the same glow that had always called to him.
It was calling to him now and he fisted his hands by his side, steeling himself against the pull that promised—should he give into it—the joy of holding her against him and feeling her body mould perfectly to his.
He’d spent years trying hard to forget her and he refused to give into the unreliable memories that hammered him hard and fast, urging him to catch her around the waist and kiss her. Recollections that conveniently forgot all the bad stuff that had destroyed them as a couple.
He swallowed, clearing his throat. ‘You look good.’ The words sounded bald but what did you say to your ex-fiancée after an eight year gap?
Her shaped brows rose as if she didn’t believe him.
‘Drew, Felicity,’ Becky, the nurse, called out to them, ‘we’ve got a dislocated shoulder that needs treating and a head lac that needs suturing.’
‘Looks like we’re on,’ Felicity said, swinging the medical pack over her shoulder.
Drew didn’t miss the relief that shone stark and clear on her high cheekbones. Neither of them wanted to be here in the same room but if they had to work together, at least the universe could help by keeping them busy.
*****
Day two of the ride dawned clear and cool. Felicity, having faced the long breakfast line, packed up her tent and hauled her gear onto the truck for transport to the tiny Victorian town of Briagolong, no longer had a valid reason to delay meeting up with Drew.
Now he stood before her in tight-fitting, black leather, motorcycle gear, looking for all the world like the devil, tempting her with burnished hair and piercing eyes. Her stomach flipped as the traitorous girl deep down inside her—the one who remembered exactly what it was like to be wrapped around his amazing body—squealed with insatiated lust.
He left us, remember? She bit the inside of her mouth, welcoming the distraction of the pain.
‘Hey.’
‘Hey.’ Drew handed her a large disposable cup. ‘Two shots and skim milk.’
‘Thanks.’ She tried hard not to read anything into the fact he’d remembered exactly how she’d taken her coffee eight years ago. ‘These days I’ve cut back to one shot.’
‘Me too. The palpatations got to me.’ He grinned, dimples carving deep into his stubble-covered cheeks. ‘The joys of being thirty-something, eh?’
She hadn’t found much joy in being thirty-two. ‘If you say so.’
A slight frown marred his forehead and questions filled his eyes but when he spoke, his voice was all business. ‘So it looks like the roster has us riding the emergency motorcycle up and down the route today and every alternate day after that.’
She nodded, not telling him that she’d learned that bit of information last evening and it had kept her awake half the night. ‘So what do I do with my bike?’
His gaze took in the state-of-the-art bike with its distinctly different spoke configuration, electronically controlled gears and glossy Italian paintwork. His face hardened. ‘Still buying the best and the most expensive toys, Flick.’
She opened her mouth to tell him she’d won the damn bike in a raffle that was raising funds for disadvantaged children, but she promptly closed it. There was no point wasting words trying to disabuse him of his opinion of her. It hadn’t worked eight years ago and she doubted it would have any effect now.
She tilted her chin. ‘A girl has to be comfortable.’
He grunted. ‘Hey, Phil,’ he called out to one of the volunteers, ‘can you put our bikes on the trailer, please?’
‘Sure thing, doc. Have a good day out there.’
‘Thanks.’ Drew downed his coffee and turned to look at her. ‘Ready?’
To be pressed up hard against Drew’s broad back for hours on the motorcycle? Not at all. ‘Sure.’
As she slung her leg over the gleaming machine, she wondered what she’d done in a past life to deserve this.
*****
‘There! Up ahead on your left.’
Flick’s urgent voice in Drew’s headset severed the lust-fest he’d been half-hating and half-loving from having her breasts and the rest of her delicious torso pressed up tightly against him.
He swung his gaze in the direction of her instructions. A cyclist in a bright yellow jersey stood on the wrong side of the road frantically waving them down.
He pulled over and Flick was off the bike with the medical kit before he’d killed the engine. ‘What happened?’ he asked the man who’d flagged them down.
‘It all happened so fast.’ The guy who looked to be in his mid-forties, was wringing his hands. ‘One minute she was talking to me and then next she was going straight over the handle bars. It was terrifying.’
Drew’s experienced eyes took in the scene. ‘Speed and gravel make for a lethal combination. Have you called 000?’
The worried man nodded. ‘Yes, straight after I called you. Her mother— my wife— is going to kill me.’
‘No, she’ll be thankful you’re here with your daughter and doing all the right things. Stay here to flag the ambulance and we’ll take good care of her.’
Drew gave the stressed father’s shoulder a squeeze before kneeling down across from Felicity who was doing a head injury check on their patient.
‘Pupils equal and reacting,’ she said briskly in her ‘doctor’s voice’ as she tucked her penlight back into its slot in the medical kit. ‘Erin, this is Drew, another doctor.’
‘I’m sorry,’ the teenager said, grimacing as she moved her head.
‘No need to be sorry, Erin, these things happen.’ He started to examine her, keeping her flat on her back in case of spinal damage. ‘In fact it happened to me once when I dumbly applied the front brakes first. I hit the road, broke a few bones but I’m fine now.’
Felicity’s eyes widened and he caught a flash of concern before it was instantly buried under her professional demeanour.
Erin started shaking violently. ‘My shoulder’s really killing me.’
‘Top to toe?’ Felicity said, already starting her examination at Erin’s feet.
‘Good idea.’ Drew’s experienced fingers examined Erin’s shoulders and arms and quickly found the telling lump on Erin’s clavicle. ‘You’ve got a classic, high impact, cycling injury, Erin. A fractured collarbone.’
‘Is that ba-bad?’ Erin’s voice struggled to stay steady.
‘Only that you don’t get the glory of a plaster cast.’ Drew smiled, wanting to reassure the scared teen as he continued his examination down her torso.
‘The good news is that your legs aren’t broken,’ Felicity added. ‘However, you’ve got a big rip in your bike shorts and you’ve taken off som
e skin on your left thigh and calf. We’ll dress them and they’ll heal up, no problem.’
Felicity pulled out the green whistle from the kit and met Drew’s eyes. He nodded his agreement, immediately recognising her unasked question.
Memories of working with her during their intern year flooded back fast, filling him with both warmth and regret. They’d always shared a simpatico—an ability to pre-empt each other and work as a tight team. Sadly they hadn’t been able to replicate that unity outside of work.
‘Erin,’ Felicity said, handing her the green whistle. ‘I want you to suck on this. It will give you pain relief from the fracture and the skin damage.’
‘Really?’ With shaking fingers Erin took the whistle and raised it to her mouth, sucking it deeply.
‘Really.’ Drew said. ‘Originally it was an Australian invention for the defence forces to use with injured soldiers. Now we’re selling it around the world for emergency pain relief.’
Felicity fitted a triangular bandage on Erin’s arm supporting her elbow and using the weight of her arm to pull the clavicle into alignment. When it was in position, she tucked a space blanket around the girl.
‘Cool, silver.’ Erin giggled; the methoxyflurane already working its magic. ‘You’re really cute, Drew. Don’t you think he’s cute, Felicity?’
Felicity’s hands stilled on the space blanket and she gave a strangled laugh. ‘When he was younger he was.’
‘Hey,’ he said with mock-chagrin. ‘I’m right here.’
Her eyes met his, their chocolate brown depths swirling with mixed emotions. ‘I’m very well aware of that.’
The husky words hit him in the solar plexus, bringing with them memories of the heat that used to flow between them like a living, breathing entity.
His pulse kicked up. Who was he kidding? Used to flow—it still did.
Chapter Three
‘One fractured elbow, one femur, and two clavicles,’ Felicity said, finishing off her report for the day and signing out of the computer.
‘That’s hills and inexperience for you.’ Drew gave a wry smile. ‘We’ve worked hard and we’re off duty. Can I buy you a drink at the Bike Bar?’
No. Not a good idea. But the thought of wandering off to have dinner alone wasn’t enticing. She’d enjoyed working with him today and she’d managed to survive hours pressed up against him on the motorbike. Sharing a drink in a crowded bar would be a walk in the park.