Intensive Care: Escape to the Country (8 page)

Three weeks later, Kate rushed to the staff room for afternoon handover, her stomach churning. She hated running late. Conscious of half a dozen sets of eyes on her, she pasted a bright smile on her face in an attempt to stop herself from biting her lips.

“Sorry I’m late,” she apologized.

She was greeted by silence as she took her seat at the head of the table.

Kate was generally an optimist and hadn’t expected to find the tree change so difficult. Instead, since arriving in Birrangulla, she felt like she had moved to another country. Everything seemed foreign and she constantly felt lost. She was painfully aware that she was still the new girl from the city. Had she known it was going to be so challenging to be accepted, she might have thought a little harder and longer before making the decision to move as impulsively as she had. She often recalled her father’s words of warning and hated to admit it, but he was right. It
was
hard to fit in when you were an outsider. If everyone continued ignoring her, she didn’t know how long she could stay.

The first few weeks had passed in a blur of activity as Kate tried to get her head around her new job. She felt like a duck, all calm on the exterior, her feet madly paddling beneath the surface, trying to stay afloat. She had a greater appreciation for Melissa and dearly missed her work colleagues at the Royal Sydney.

She’d hardly had any time to find her feet out on the farm she was so busy at work. The workload was bigger than she had anticipated and there were some days she struggled to keep her head above water. Thankfully she didn’t miss the city lifestyle or her apartment in Sydney. She loved living in her little farmhouse. Although the nights were too quiet and she wished for a friend to share them with, so far she was coping. At least she no longer dreamed of Marcus.

As she gave the brief handover to the afternoon staff she filed the negative thoughts in the back of her mind, slamming the drawer closed on them.

Things will get better,
she promised herself.

“How’s the new job going then?”

Kate was perched on her favorite stool at the Bean Counter later that afternoon. She needed a friendly face and Joel’s was the only one that came to mind.

She sighed and looked down at her lap. “Not as easy as I’d hoped. It’s busier than I expected and well, to be honest, I’m actually really struggling to make any friends.”

She felt the familiar warmth rise to her cheeks. Why did her words come out so easily whenever she spoke to this man?

“That’s no good, love. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“You’re so sweet, Joel. Thank you. I don’t think so though.”

Kate took a sip of her coffee and tried to stop the feelings bubbling up inside her. She’d promised herself she wasn’t walking out of one relationship and straight into another, but she’d never warmed to anyone so quickly. It was as though Joel just “got” her.

“It takes time you know. You can’t just move into town and be accepted straight away. A lot of people have lived here for generations. They’ve seen city people come and go. What you’ve got to do is throw yourself into some sort of community project. Do that and you’re halfway to becoming a local.”

“Only halfway? What do I have to do then to actually
be
a local?”

“Live here for the rest of your life!” Joel chuckled, but Kate could tell he wasn’t joking.

She sighed.

“So are you taking time out to look after yourself? What do you do to relax?”

“I run.” Kate smiled up at him. “And thanks for the reminder. I haven’t been running in ages. Thank goodness it’s Saturday tomorrow and I have the day off. I think it’s time for me to find a good running track around here.”

“Why don’t I join you? We can meet tomorrow at the river. There are a couple of different tracks you can take. There’s a six k or a twelve k loop. I’d be happy to show you.”

Before Kate had time to reconsider, they made plans to meet the following Saturday at the river. As she left the café and headed home, she realized she was thoroughly looking forward to spending time with him.

The sun hadn’t even risen when Kate’s alarm woke her the next morning. A magpie warbled right outside her bedroom window and she heard the sound of its mate singing in reply in the distance. It made her smile. She pictured the chilly dawn beginning to push back the darkness and it caused her to move slowly, hesitating before sliding her legs out of bed. She knew the floorboards were going to feel icy beneath her bare feet. While she loved everything about her little farmhouse, there were a few essential things missing – central heating and carpet in the bedroom were two important ones that Kate could immediately think of. She made a mental note to buy a rug for the bedroom. And maybe even a little heater to take the chill off the morning air.

She opened the heavy curtains and peered out her bedroom window but all she could see was the thick fog that so often enveloped the farmhouse on these winter mornings. She shivered. It was always hard to find the motivation to get moving when it was so cold. She was glad she had made the arrangements to run with Joel or she would probably have rolled over and curled up with Matilda beside her for warmth and company and fallen back to sleep. She was more exhausted than she had been for a long time and didn’t know whether it was the fresh country air or the combined stress of the move and her new job.

Kate dressed in the usual layers she wore when running in winter and laced her shoes firmly. She made a last-minute decision to grab her beanie. Drawing her hair up into a knot on the top of her head she pulled the beanie over her hair and brought it down to cover her ears. She knew without looking in the mirror that it looked ridiculous, but she decided that warmth was far more important than glamor.

She drove slowly with her headlights on and made her way to the car park Joel had described. He had explained that a track wound itself in a twelve kilometer figure-of-eight loop along the banks of the Macquarie River. By crossing at a walk bridge, the run could be cut in half. Kate arrived early and sat in the car for a few minutes with the heater and fan on high, blasting the car with warmth. As she waited for Joel, she wondered what sort of a runner he would be. She hoped he was up for the full twelve kilometers. She hadn’t been able to get out as often as she liked since starting her new job and she wanted to do a long run that morning.

Just after seven o’clock Joel pulled up, the engine of his Toyota Land Cruiser sounding loud in the foggy stillness. He shut the car off and the deafening silence seemed to close in around her like noise-canceling headphones. As he stepped out of his car Kate was pleased to see he was wearing proper running gear that looked great on his tall, lean body.

Even
he
was wearing a beanie.

“Nice headgear,” Kate called out as she walked over to where he had parked his car.

“I could say the same about yours, City Chick.” Joel’s voice had a mocking lilt to it. “You look like a mushroom.”

“At least I’m warm!” Kate retorted as she rubbed her hands together. She had just lied. It was freezing. She wished she’d thought to wear gloves.

“You sure about that, love? You don’t look that warm to me.”

“How far do you want to go?” Kate asked, ignoring his teasing.

“It’s up to you, Kate. What would you normally do?”

“I’d like to run the whole twelve k loop if that’s okay with you.”

“Fine with me,” Joel replied.

“What sort of pace do you usually go?”

Kate’s earnest expression made Joel laugh. “Kate, it’s not a competition. Don’t take it so seriously. Let’s just run, okay. I’m sure I can keep up with you.”

And with that, he took off without even bothering to stretch and warm up.

Kate felt the rush of adrenaline as she raced to catch him and they quickly settled into an easy jog. She found him an easy running partner, matching his longer stride to her shorter one, but still maintaining an enjoyable pace. Quickly the cold weather was forgotten as Kate warmed up, and it wasn’t long before she was almost regretting the beanie. As they ran, she stripped off her outer layer and tied the jacket around her waist. For a while the only sound was their feet crunching on the path. Their rhythmic breathing caused their breath to come out in short, sharp bursts.

“How long have you lived in Birrangulla then?” Kate eventually asked.

“I grew up here, but left to go to university. I only came back a year or so ago.”

Kate heard something in his voice, but his face remained impassive. Maybe she’d just imagined it.

“Mum and Dad have lived here since we came over from Ireland. They’ll probably be buried here. They love the place.” Joel chuckled.

“What about siblings?”

“One of each.”

“Were you all born here or in Ireland?”

“Born in Ireland. We moved here when I was fifteen. My sister was only six.”

“But you still have such a strong accent. I would have thought living here for so long you would have lost it.”

“Oh love, what are yer sayin’ then? You can’t understand me?” Joel teased her, deliberately putting on a heavier accent.

“I actually love the accent,” Kate said. “So, have you been back to Ireland since?”

“I nearly did once. I was going to do the whole gap year thing after I’d finished year twelve and just bum around the UK and travel and work in pubs but me mum got sick so I stayed here instead to help me dad out. Not that either of them really needed me! I think I got in their way more than anything else.”

“Is your mum okay now?” Kate asked.

“Yeah. She’s not long been given a clean bill of health. She had breast cancer but she’s ten years cancer free now. She was having one of her regular check-ups when I met you that day in Sydney. They say she’s one of the survivors.”

“That’s awesome,” Kate said, genuinely pleased for a woman she hadn’t even met.

“So, Kate, what about you? What brings you to Birrangulla?”

Kate kept looking straight ahead as she ran so she couldn’t see the expression on his face, but she heard his inquisitive tone. His question caused her already pounding heartbeat to grow louder in her ears. Her thoughts became a scrambled mess as her brain sifted rapidly through the memories of Marcus and his betrayal. Once again she was assailed with feelings of shock, anger and hurt. There was no way she could tell Joel about Marcus yet.

“You haven’t finished telling me about yourself yet,” Kate replied, wanting to deflect his questions.

“What else is there to tell?” Joel asked.

Are you single?
The question pinged around inside her head.

“As I said, I hung around here for a year or two while Mum went through her treatment, then I went up north. It took me five years to complete a three-year commerce degree. I worked for a bit as an accountant but I hated it. Plus I hated the heat of Queensland. All I wanted to do was study agriculture and run my own farm. Unfortunately Dad thought I had more in me than just putting my hands in dirt and worms all day. At least that’s how he put it. So I stuck with the course and got the degree.” He laughed to himself. “I certainly can’t imagine myself as an accountant working behind a desk all day.”

Silently Kate agreed that he didn’t look the accountant type. She couldn’t picture him in a suit and tie stuck in an office all day.
Like Marcus
.

“Then how did you end up working in a café?” Kate was curious to know the link.

“I finally quit the accounting job and spent a year or so traveling up and down the east coast trying to decide what to do with my life. I headed south and hung out in Melbourne for a few years, enjoying the whole coffee culture thing. I worked in a few cafés down there and just loved it.”

Something about the way he spoke caused Kate to glance at him. There was a rawness to his voice and she felt there was much more he wasn’t telling her. His answer sounded slightly evasive as though he was holding something back, but she didn’t push him for more information. She didn’t really know the man well enough to do that.

“I’ve heard that Melbourne has the best coffee in Australia. Is it really true?” Kate asked.

“
I
think it is,” Joel replied. Out of the corner of her eye, Kate saw Joel turn his face toward her. “Haven’t you ever been to Melbourne?” Joel seemed genuinely surprised.

“No. We didn’t travel much around Australia when I was growing up. Just up and down the coast a bit on family holidays. Mum and Dad liked to take the caravan and just park it at the same spot each year. We did that for years while I was at school. Then after school I did the obligatory trip to the Gold Coast for Schoolies and other than that, I haven’t traveled at all,” Kate explained.

For a while Joel didn’t answer and they ran together in an easy silence, their feet keeping time with each other on the black asphalt path. Occasionally they moved to one side to let other lone joggers pass, but mostly they had the track to themselves. The fog was gradually lifting and the sun was beginning to rise. Kate could already tell it was going to be another glorious winter day with blue skies, no wind and not a cloud in sight. Days like this made her feel alive. They jogged in silence for a while longer until Kate spoke again.

“You didn’t explain why you moved back here and started working at the café.” Kate wanted to keep the conversation going and she didn’t want Joel to ask her again why she had made such a big move herself.

“When I moved back here there were no good cafés and no good coffee. A mate from Victoria was into the whole organic coffee thing and we got chatting. The whole idea of opening up a café and selling his organic beans kind of just happened. So I opened the Bean Counter.”

She looked across at Joel, embarrassed. “Oh I’m so sorry. I just assumed you worked there. I didn’t realize the café was
yours
.”

By now they had almost covered the full twelve-kilometer distance and Kate’s legs were reminding her that it had been a long time since she had run that far, but Joel looked like he could have kept running for hours longer.