you’ll stick with nursing? Cassie?’
Her expression was probably scary. She could feel her emotions struggling to escape, a new wave of the confusion and despair she’d been fighting. ‘Can we go?’
‘Of course.’
He paid.
She called a goodbye to Paula and ducked outside where solitude and shadows helped her regroup.
At the car, Theo took the keys from her. ‘I’ll drive.’
She huddled in the passenger seat of her dad’s 4WD.
Instead of driving home, he parked at a lookout point. They were the only visitors. You needed daylight to see the whales on their migratory paths.
‘Just how bad is the burnout?’ he asked.
She stared in front of her at the dark ocean. She’d criticised his decision to be a CEO and not a doctor, but she was wasting her nursing experience, too. It wasn’t just Africa that frightened her. That was her secret. It wasn’t just Africa where she’d failed. Now she was scared of her own profession. Who was she if she couldn’t nurse? ‘The thought of going back into surgery makes me sick. I shake and sweat and feel like hurling.’
‘Does Mick know?’
‘No. Dad knows I had to quit the aid agency. He thinks I’m on holiday before I apply for another nursing position. I keep thinking I’ll get better. Tomorrow. The next day.’
‘You will.’ Warm, deep assurance. ‘It sounds like the panic attacks are a sign of exhaustion. You should get your doctor to give you a full physical. But basically, rest.’ He covered her hands that were twisting and tearing at each other. ‘I’m sorry I’ve added to your stress, Cassie. Let it all go. Trust your dad and I to handle it.’
‘It’s not really my business anyway, is it?’
‘You’re Mick’s kid. He loves you. So of course it is.’
‘I guess I thought that I could come home and everything would be the same. That nothing would ever change here and that I could find my way back to being me. Hell. I shouldn’t be dumping this on you.’
Her family hadn’t fussed over her because she’d always made it clear she preferred her independence. That was her. Other people could talk about the impact of her parents’ less than amicable divorce or the fact that she was an only child. It was all rubbish. She had the strength to stand up for herself, and she did so.
But now she wobbled.
Theo didn’t. ‘I’ll tell you what I’ve told athletes. Sometimes you make faster progress by doing nothing. Rest. And whatever happens with JayBay, your family will be here for you. Don’t be too proud to ask for help.’ He switched on the engine and pulled back onto the road.
‘Thank you,’ she said quietly. For his tact and compassion. ‘And for the record, no criticism meant, you must be one hell of a doctor.’
In the glow of the dashboard lights, she saw his head turn fleetingly to her. ‘I’m not so bad, for a sex god.’
She laughed. ‘I think it was the leather trousers and, you know, stress. Stress makes a woman crazy.’
‘Uh-huh. No retracting the sex god compliment.’
‘Men and their egos.’
***
Alone in the guest room at the Freedoms’ house, Theo thought back over their conversation. He’d confided more about his family’s business situation than he’d intended, but perhaps it was that show of trust that had encouraged Cassie to share the truth of her situation.
She was one brave woman.
He respected her courage and determination to carry her own troubles. Although everyone needed help now and then — he’d check that she made an appointment with her doctor. Tropical diseases couldn’t be ruled out as a contributing cause to her tiredness. As a doctor, he’d noted her exhaustion when he’d met her on the beach, but as a man, he’d responded to something more elusive, strength of character that challenged and attracted him. Cassie Freedom was rare in her willingness to take responsibility for her own life and choices.
The sliding glass door to his room faced the ocean. He pushed aside the heavy
Her expression was probably scary. She could feel her emotions struggling to escape, a new wave of the confusion and despair she’d been fighting. ‘Can we go?’
‘Of course.’
He paid.
She called a goodbye to Paula and ducked outside where solitude and shadows helped her regroup.
At the car, Theo took the keys from her. ‘I’ll drive.’
She huddled in the passenger seat of her dad’s 4WD.
Instead of driving home, he parked at a lookout point. They were the only visitors. You needed daylight to see the whales on their migratory paths.
‘Just how bad is the burnout?’ he asked.
She stared in front of her at the dark ocean. She’d criticised his decision to be a CEO and not a doctor, but she was wasting her nursing experience, too. It wasn’t just Africa that frightened her. That was her secret. It wasn’t just Africa where she’d failed. Now she was scared of her own profession. Who was she if she couldn’t nurse? ‘The thought of going back into surgery makes me sick. I shake and sweat and feel like hurling.’
‘Does Mick know?’
‘No. Dad knows I had to quit the aid agency. He thinks I’m on holiday before I apply for another nursing position. I keep thinking I’ll get better. Tomorrow. The next day.’
‘You will.’ Warm, deep assurance. ‘It sounds like the panic attacks are a sign of exhaustion. You should get your doctor to give you a full physical. But basically, rest.’ He covered her hands that were twisting and tearing at each other. ‘I’m sorry I’ve added to your stress, Cassie. Let it all go. Trust your dad and I to handle it.’
‘It’s not really my business anyway, is it?’
‘You’re Mick’s kid. He loves you. So of course it is.’
‘I guess I thought that I could come home and everything would be the same. That nothing would ever change here and that I could find my way back to being me. Hell. I shouldn’t be dumping this on you.’
Her family hadn’t fussed over her because she’d always made it clear she preferred her independence. That was her. Other people could talk about the impact of her parents’ less than amicable divorce or the fact that she was an only child. It was all rubbish. She had the strength to stand up for herself, and she did so.
But now she wobbled.
Theo didn’t. ‘I’ll tell you what I’ve told athletes. Sometimes you make faster progress by doing nothing. Rest. And whatever happens with JayBay, your family will be here for you. Don’t be too proud to ask for help.’ He switched on the engine and pulled back onto the road.
‘Thank you,’ she said quietly. For his tact and compassion. ‘And for the record, no criticism meant, you must be one hell of a doctor.’
In the glow of the dashboard lights, she saw his head turn fleetingly to her. ‘I’m not so bad, for a sex god.’
She laughed. ‘I think it was the leather trousers and, you know, stress. Stress makes a woman crazy.’
‘Uh-huh. No retracting the sex god compliment.’
‘Men and their egos.’
***
Alone in the guest room at the Freedoms’ house, Theo thought back over their conversation. He’d confided more about his family’s business situation than he’d intended, but perhaps it was that show of trust that had encouraged Cassie to share the truth of her situation.
She was one brave woman.
He respected her courage and determination to carry her own troubles. Although everyone needed help now and then — he’d check that she made an appointment with her doctor. Tropical diseases couldn’t be ruled out as a contributing cause to her tiredness. As a doctor, he’d noted her exhaustion when he’d met her on the beach, but as a man, he’d responded to something more elusive, strength of character that challenged and attracted him. Cassie Freedom was rare in her willingness to take responsibility for her own life and choices.
The sliding glass door to his room faced the ocean. He pushed aside the heavy
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