I miss her.

Hearing her so frantic on the phone didn’t help. This distance is coming between us, even if we’re happier than ever. It’s such a screwed up situation, and I hate it as much as I love her.

And I do.

Every time I close my eyes, I see her. She’s so full of life, and the thing I’ve come to love most is making her smile. Why did I have to fall for a girl who lives back in Copper Creek and not here?

It’s dark when I get home, and my phone rings just as I get to the front door. I pull out my brand-new iPhone and roll my eyes at the name on the screen. What did I ever see in Lucy?

My curiosity gets the better of me. I don’t want a confrontation, but why the hell would she still be calling me? My lawyer hasn’t heard from hers, although I prepared him and did the groundwork just in case.

“Lucy.”

“Drew. We need to talk. I need money.”

“You need to sort that out for yourself.”

“You owe me.”

I shake my head, memories of the past few months filling my mind.

“Drew, I hope you don’t mind, but I quit my job.” That was a week after moving in.

“Drew, I bought some new clothes today. Your credit card declined at the third place. You might need to do something about that.” That was often her refrain as I dropped the limit bit by bit to stop the spending.

Yeah.

Life was fun with her, but I have so much more money now she’s not a part of my life. Plus, I have love, actual love. The kind of love you want to scream from the rooftops. Even if it is a long-distance love.

“Ahem.”

I roll my eyes.

“I’m pretty sure you owe me. It’s over, Lucy, but you already know that. Go home to your parents if you need money.”

“I’ll talk to my lawyer.”

I sigh. “That’s what I keep telling you to do. Do whatever you want. Just leave me alone.”

Hanging up the phone, I slide my key into the front door and turn it. When I first moved in, living here felt like the right thing to do. Plenty of space, and lots of time to just be me. But I’m selfish now. I want to come home to Hayley. I want her sweetness around me every day, that gentle demeanour I love so much. She’s everything I ever needed and more.

The house is quiet, and it’s missing the one person I want here.

I dial her and lie back on the couch.

“Hello?”

Immediately, I regret my timing. Her voice is thick with sleep, but a little husky, which stirs something in me. “Hey.”

“Drew? Your number didn’t come up. I didn’t know it was you.” There’s joy in her voice, and my heart warms hearing her.

“I got a new phone, and I’ve been playing with it. I’ll have to work out how to turn the caller ID back on. I’m sorry if I woke you.”

“It’s okay. It’s been a long day, but I’m not going anywhere else tonight.”

I smile and roll onto my side. “I wanted to hear your voice. I miss you so much.”

“I miss you too. Wish you were here.”

My heart pangs at her words and her sad tone. She’s as empty without me as I am without her. It’s ridiculous that the distance between us isn’t that big, but when we’re apart it might as well be a million miles. “I do, too. I’d love to curl up in your bed with you and just sleep. I had a busy day. What have you been up to?”

“Mostly ante-natal checks. I stopped in to see Lily. She’s doing so well, and that baby of hers is just the sweetest.”

Before this, I never got homesick, but just the sound of her voice makes me long for Copper Creek. More specifically, her little cottage.

“She’s got the Campbell DNA—that’s why. We’re all sweet.”

Hayley laughs. “You are, anyway. I don’t know your brothers well enough to comment.”

“The diplomatic answer.”

“You’re the one I want to spend time with.” She sighs, and I know that feeling. “Was your day long too?”

“The longest.”

“I hate this,” she whispers. “It’s my birthday on Thursday and I wish you could be here for it.”

My heart breaks when I hear her sadness. I did this by calling her when I could have let her sleep. It’s such a tough situation to be in. I just want my girl with me. All I can think about is what she told me about her relationship with her parents. They abandoned her in boarding school, and this must be a similar feeling for her, even if it’s not me sending her away. “I hate this too. We’ll work out what to do, I promise.” I sigh. I just want a distraction—anything other than just thinking about the miles between us. “Tell me about my niece.”

Hayley takes a deep breath. “I think she’s going to be a lot like Lily. She’s got the same blue eyes, although you know they could change at some point. That dark hair is disappearing, and there’s some fair hair coming through.”

“Max was like that when he was born. Then it all fell out and he was bald and looked a lot like my grandfather.”

She laughs, and even though it’s accompanied by a sniff, it brings a smile to my face. “How’s Max coping with his sister? Any better?”

“I think so, but it’s a gradual thing. He’s impressed by the way she burps.”

I chuckle, picturing my nephew and how he gets hung up on all kinds of things. “It’s a big change to his world.”

“He seems to be adjusting.”

“I’m glad.”

I don’t let the phone call go too long. She sounds tired, and I’m a dick if I keep her awake when she needs her rest.

It’s driving me up the wall that she’s not here resting with me.

* * *

I’m lost in thought, standing at the reception desk in the maternity ward the following day.

I need more time with Hayley, but travelling back and forward is tiring with my work schedule. It’d be easier if there was another midwife in Copper Creek. Margaret and Hayley depend on each other, and I can’t expect her to pop up and see me at short notice.

“Everything okay?” Caitlyn asks, shoving a customer chart in my face.

I smile. “Yeah.”

“How’s Hayley doing?”

“She’s good. Working hard. Seriously, country-town midwife life is just like running a farm. There’s lambing season, and there’s baby season. She’s busy.”

Caitlyn nods. “I wouldn’t mind going somewhere a bit more remote. Less stress than this place, I’m sure.”

“Yeah and no. Hey, do you remember a story about a midwife in Auckland about four years ago? Lost a patient to placental abruption and got put under supervision?”

Caitlyn narrows her eyes as if she’s concentrating. “It rings a bell. The doctor involved said she didn’t tell him in time or something.” She frowns. “It’s not often things like that happen, so they stick with you.”

“Do you know who the doctor was?”

She shakes her head. “I can probably look it up and see if I can find out. Where was it?”

“Auckland.”

“I’ll take a look.” She licks her lips. “Why?”

“Hayley was the midwife.”

Her eyes soften. “Oh, Drew, I’m so sorry for her. I can’t remember the details, but I have a feeling she got hung out to dry.”

“She did.” I shift my gaze to the ceiling. “I know it’s probably pointless chasing anything now because it’s so far in the past, but I’d like to know who to avoid working with.”

Caitlyn grimaces. “Tell me about it. Why do you think I like working with you? At least I know you listen to me.”

My chest tightens with emotions. Just for her to say that means a lot, and I’m glad she feels that way. I’d never ignore what Caitlyn has to say.

When I think of how much Hayley would have fought for her patient, how much she fights for patients now, I know the loss must have devastated her. It’s a testament to her strength that she’s stayed in the job.

Toward the end of my shift, Caitlyn comes looking for me.

“I found it,” she says quietly.

“Found what?”

She passes me her phone, and there’s the judgement in black and white. Hayley’s reprimand when she did nothing wrong. I don’t even know this Doctor Marcus Johnson, but I know I believe in her.

“Thanks.”

“She was in her second year. That’d be tough when you haven’t been doing it that long. It’s good she’s still practicing.”

I nod. “She’s tough. I watched her with my sister-in-law, and she’s good. She even put up with me being a distraction.”

Caitlyn laughs. “I bet you were a right royal pain in the butt.”

“You know me so well.”

She rolls her eyes. “I don’t know how she puts up with you.”

“Well, I think she might love me.”

She’s still laughing as I leave the hospital for the night. As much as I’m looking forward to going into private practice, I’ll miss this place. I’m not sure how often Caitlyn and I will work together when I leave. She started here the same year I did, and we’ve grown in our jobs together. Her husband’s an occasional drinking partner of mine, too.

If only Caitlyn was the only woman problem I have to fix.

I have to convince Hayley that moving’s the best thing for her. That she’ll be welcomed here with open arms, even if she doesn’t get a hospital job.

I have to.