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‘They’re okay. I turned them down low.’
‘Well done. Thanks.’ She glanced at the clock and sighed. ‘We’d better eat. I still have a day’s work ahead of me.’
‘That’s something we need to talk about,’ Will said. ‘You need to look after yourself now.’
She frowned at him, then shrugged. ‘We can talk while we eat.’
It felt strangely intimate to be having breakfast with Lucy – pottering about in the kitchen, buttering toast, finding Vegemite and marmalade.
When they were settled at the table Lucy looked at him across the seersucker tablecloth, her blue eyes wide and innocent. ‘Now, what were you saying about my work?’
‘You’re going to need some kind of support now you’re pregnant. You can’t manage such a big workload on your own.’
‘I have an assistant.’
‘But she can’t take on the tough jobs like delivering difficult calves. And she’s not qualified to operate. I don’t like the thought of you standing for long hours over difficult surgery.’
‘Are you going to get bossy already?’
‘You had a miscarriage once before,’ he said gently. ‘And you’re quite a bit older now.’
‘Thanks for reminding me.’ Her mouth was tight as she spread Vegemite on her toast. ‘Isn’t it a bit hypocritical of you to be worrying about my age and personal safety?’
‘Hypocritical?’
Her eyes blazed. ‘You’re not exactly taking care of yourself.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘You’re about to become a father. You barely escaped with your life from your last job and you told me you’d learned a big lesson. But now you’re heading off to Papua New Guinea where a mudslide wiped out an entire village last summer. And everyone knows how often planes crash in the highlands. The airstrips are the size of postage stamps and they’re perched on the edge of massive deep ravines.’
‘I’m not going to the highlands.’ Will rearranged the salt and pepper shakers like pieces on a chessboard. ‘And I’m not the one who’s pregnant. Your safety is more important than mine.’
Lucy opened her mouth as if she was going to say something more, but apparently changed her mind.
She shrugged. ‘Actually, I’d already been planning to cut back on work if I became pregnant. I can use locums. I have quite a few city vet friends, who love it out here.’
‘What kind of friends?’ Will felt foolish asking, but he’d been attacked by an unreasonable fit of jealousy. ‘Married couples?’
‘Chris is a bachelor,’ she said in a matter of fact tone. Her eyes were defiant as she looked at him. ‘Leanne and Tim are married.If I have time later today I’ll phone around and send out a few feelers.’
‘I think that’s wise.’
Lucy concentrated on piling tomatoes onto her fork. She looked upset and they finished their breakfast in uncomfortable silence.
Will felt upset, too, but he wasn’t sure why. He and Lucy had achieved their goal and now they were moving onto the next stage of their plan. She was going to be a single mum and he was going to visit their child from time to time.
That was what he wanted, wasn’t it? Fatherhood without strings. He should have been on top of the world.
From the start he’d said that he would remain an outsider in their child’s life. The silent scream inside him didn’t make sense.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
WILL heard the sound of a car pulling up outside and a door slammed.
‘That’s Jane, my assistant, ready to start work,’ Lucy said pointedly.
He got to his feet. ‘I’d better get out of your way.’ He indicated the breakfast dishes. ‘Can I help with these?’
