Christmas at Coorah Creek (Choc Lit) (14 page)

‘I loved her so much when I was a boy. I tried to find her. I really did. I checked electoral rolls. I posted messages all over the internet and took out ads in newspapers. I used to wonder if she saw them and just didn’t want to see me. I can hardly remember her now. Would it hurt you to talk about her?’

‘No. I’d welcome the chance to talk. I thought you’d never come back either. I did try to find you … but I didn’t think you would want to see me.’

‘I didn’t then, but things change. People change.’

‘They do.’ Ed took a deep breath and pulled himself together. ‘But before anything else, I have to bury Candy.’

Scott nodded. ‘We can do that together.’

Chapter Twenty-One

Katie continued to wave even after the picture on her computer shrank to nothing.

‘Merry Christmas. I love you all,’ she whispered again to the family who could no longer see or hear her.

She cancelled Skype and set the computer to playing music. It had been lovely to talk to her family. They didn’t seem quite so far away now. She had laughed at the reindeer face on the Christmas jumper her mum had knitted for her big brother. Her dad had loved the Australian stubby holder she had sent him in the post. It was just a cylinder of foam, designed to keep a beer cold. Not a big issue back home right now, where London was looking pretty under a light dusting of snow.

She sighed. She did miss her family, but today had proven one thing to her. She could manage on her own. Her family would always be there for her whenever she needed them. Their love was steadfast and unconditional. The decision to come to Coorah Creek had not been about her family. It was about a career that was broken and needed fixing. There was no doubt she was feeling better about her chosen path now than she had been the day she walked out of that soulless hospital. There were things she enjoyed about small town nursing. But flying in that air ambulance was not one of them! She shuddered. It didn’t matter how long she stayed, she would never get used to that.

But stay she would!

Katie got up and walked to the window to look out across the open spaces that surrounded the hospital. Despite last night’s rain, a full day of blazing sun had left the scraggy gum trees looking dusty still. They always looked dusty. Much as she missed England’s green and pleasant land, going back now would be a mark of failure. She would stay in Coorah Creek until she had regained her love of nursing. Until she was ready to put her career back on track.

And she would stay because Scott was here. Not in Coorah Creek, but here in Australia. She didn’t know where the motor museum was. She guessed it would be in Canberra. That was a long way from Coorah Creek, but not impossible to manage.

She had given up telling herself that it was too soon for her to fall in love with a man who had literally found her on the side of the road. Time didn’t matter. Scott had worked his way into her heart and lodged there. The connection between them was stronger than anything she had felt before – and she knew it was not caused by her loneliness or his sadness. Wherever and whenever they had met, they would feel the same.

His stay in Coorah Creek had already been longer than his original plan. He’d stayed because he wanted to make amends with his father. And he’d stayed because of her – she knew that as surely as she knew anything.

Neither of them had said it in so many words – but both of them wanted to give this relationship a chance.

She looked down at her watch. Where was Scott?
      

It was almost seven o’clock. Scott had been with his father for a couple of hours. She hoped they had finally managed a reconciliation. Feeling restless, she stood up and crossed the room to turn on the overhead fan. The day was still incredibly hot and there wasn’t even a breath of wind. Katie glanced out the window to the sinking sun, glinting on the tinsel on her small tree. It was really just a branch pulled from what looked almost like a pine tree in the hospital car park, but it was her way of marking the day. Scott’s gift was sitting under the tree. She forced herself to sit down again and pick up a book. Scott would come when he could.

Scott was sweating freely as he walked towards the hospital. It wasn’t a long walk from his old home, but the night was hot. Christmas always involved a lot of sweat. He tried to imagine what it would be like having Christmas in England. Instead of prawns, a steaming roast turkey would be on the menu. Instead of cold beer, maybe hot mulled wine. Instead of blazing sunshine and the chance of a swim in the creek there could be snow. He’d never seen snow. That might be fun.

Just ahead was the sign pointing to the hospital. And a little way off the road, he saw a light glinting. Katie’s light, welcoming him. His steps hastened.

When she opened the door, it seemed all the emotions of the past few hours just erupted inside him. He gathered her into his arms and held her as if he would never let her go. He felt as if his body was shaking, and Katie was the only thing keeping him firmly on the ground. The emotional roller coaster of the past few hours had exhausted him. He held her for a long time, before he found the strength to step away.

‘Are you all right?’ her voice was full on concern as she raised one hand to gently wipe away the hint of a tear on his cheek. ‘What happened?’

‘Candy, my old dog. The one I left behind. She’s been with Dad all these years. She died tonight.’

‘Oh Scott, I am so sorry.’

‘We … we buried her at the back of the garden. It was so strange to be doing something like that together.’

‘How’s your dad?’

‘He’s going to be okay. We both are.’ He ran his hand over his face. ‘I have been wrong about my father for all these years.’

Without a word she took his hand and led him inside. Thankfully he collapsed on her couch – all the while holding her hand like a lifeline.

‘I don’t know where to start.’ He took a deep breath.

She sat quietly while he told her. Tears glinted in her eyes at times, but she never took her blue eyes from his face. He felt her concern and her empathy – dare he say her love – curl around him like a blanket, helping to ease the shock and pain and grief. And slowly, ever so slowly, a strange kind of joy replaced them.

‘I guess all these years, subconsciously I thought it was my fault. My mother left me. My father hated me. I thought there was something wrong with me. That I was unlovable.’

‘No!’ The intensity and certainty of her statement was a balm to his shattered emotions.

‘It never occurred to me that my father was struggling to cope with losing the woman he loved. He says that every time he looked at me, he saw her in my eyes. That explains why he was so withdrawn and hard. He was fighting every day to keep himself together.’

‘He must have loved her very much.’

‘You know, I think maybe he still does. After all these years.’ Scott squeezed her hand gently. ‘We Collinses are a stubborn lot.’

‘That I already knew.’

They both smiled.

‘So what happens now?’ Katie asked, her voice very soft.

He knew what she was thinking. Would he stay in Coorah Creek or would he leave and take his dream job. She still didn’t know quite what ‘leaving’ meant. It was time he told her.

‘I’m going to stay another week or two. Dad wants to do some work around the house and garage. Clean out a lot of old stuff. Smarten it up a bit. I’ll help him with that. I think working together will be a good chance to get to know each other again.’

‘And then?’

‘I’m going to take the job. At the National Motor Museum. It is the fulfilment of a dream for me. Dad understands. He says I have to be true to myself or I’m no good to anyone. He’s right. And he says he’ll come and visit. It will be fun showing him the cars I’m working on.’

He didn’t miss the flash of disappointment in her eyes. But she hid it well. ‘Can I come and visit too? Is it in Canberra? It would be exciting to play tourist there too.’

‘Of course you can visit, but
—
’ He hesitated. He should have told her this a long time ago. ‘The thing is, Katie, the job is at the National Motor Museum. In England.’

Her face froze for a second. Then she let go of his hand. He felt bereft as she walked to the window to stare out into the darkness. The silence stretched on for a long time before she finally spoke.

‘I’ve been there. It’s wonderful. You’ll love it.’

‘Katie
—
’ He stood and moved towards her, but not too close. The set of her shoulders told him she needed a little space. ‘Come with me. You’ve always said you would go home to England. Do it now. We can go there together.’

She shook her head. ‘I can’t leave yet. I have to do this job properly. I need to understand just what I want to do with the rest of my life.’

His heart sank, but he understood. ‘You have to be true to yourself too. And when you’re ready, I’ll still be in England. I’ll wait for you.’

She nodded. Her shoulders heaved as she sighed. When she turned back towards him, she had a smile on her face, but he could tell it was forced.

‘This makes my present even more appropriate,’ she said as she reached for something under her tree. ‘I meant this as a joke against my accent. But
—
’

Her voice trailed away as she handed it to him. He unwrapped the book and read the message inside – carefully crafted out of Australian slang.

To a ridgy-didge Aussie,

You’re a bonzer bloke.

With love from your Pommy Sheila.

He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.

‘I have something for you too.’ He reached into his pocket. ‘This was my mother’s. Dad gave it to me tonight. I’d like you to have it.’

The silver chain glistened in the light as Katie took it. She looked at the small heart nestled in the palm of her hand.

‘I’m going to miss you,’ she said in a very tiny voice.

‘We have two weeks,’ Scott said as he gathered her into his arms again. ‘We’ll figure something out.’

Chapter Twenty-Two

Katie couldn’t get Scott’s words out of her mind. She was supposed to be working, sorting out supplies and making a list for reordering, while at the same time being the only on-call person at the hospital. Adam and Jess had left early that morning on a flight to Birdsville, to pick up a suspected heart attack patient and fly them to Mt Isa. She had felt relieved when Adam told her there was no need for her to come.

She was trying to focus on the job, but her mind was racing. Her feelings toward Scott hadn’t changed. If anything, his revelations on Christmas Day had only drawn them closer together. She was so glad he had found what he was searching for, but the thought of being left behind when he went to the UK was devastating. But, at the same time, she couldn’t walk away from this job before she’d found what she was looking for.

If you can’t be true to yourself
—

Her thoughts were interrupted by a screech of tyres as a car entered the car park at high speed. She was on her feet in a second, knowing immediately that there was trouble. Leaving the office she saw Jack North dart through the hospital’s front door and hurry down the hallway towards her. She had been in Coorah Creek long enough to know that Jack was the man everyone called on in an emergency. The look on his face left her in no doubt there was something very wrong somewhere.

‘Katie, there’s been an accident. On the highway. You’re needed.’ There was no panic in his voice, but a sense of urgency that did not bode well.

‘What happened?’

‘A car hit a roo. Rolled and hit a tree.’

‘How many people?’

‘Just the driver.’

‘Is he on his way here?’

Jack shook his head. ‘He’s trapped in the car. Max Delany – the sergeant – called me. Told me to bring you out there.’

For a few seconds, Katie just froze. Go to the scene of the accident? That wasn’t how A&E worked. Ambulances brought the injured to the hospital. And there was always a doctor close by to treat them. She couldn’t do this on her own. She wasn’t qualified. And then there were the legal issues. What would happen if
—

She forced herself to stop. She was needed. Someone was hurt and if there was any chance she could help, she had to go.

‘Can you tell me anything about his injures?’

‘Max said there’s a lot of blood. And there’s something wrong with his shoulder.’

‘Is he conscious?’

‘Yes. Max says he’s in a lot of pain.’

Katie nodded. She reached for the emergency travel bag that Adam always kept ready to go. She opened it and quickly checked the contents. She had no real idea of what she would need out there, but the essentials were in the bag.

‘Let’s go,’ she said.

It took just over twenty minutes to get there. Twenty minutes of high speed driving. Katie tried not to think about their speed – or what would happen if they too hit a kangaroo in the road. Jack seemed a good driver. She put a lid on her uncertainty and fears and just let herself trust him.

The accident scene was strangely still. The police car was parked on the side of the road, its lights flashing. There were two other vehicles there – passers-by who had stopped to help. It seemed strange that there was no ambulance. No fire engines. No tow trucks. Just ordinary people ready to help if they were needed.

Katie grabbed the bag from the back of the car and hurried towards a white station wagon that lay against a big gum tree a few yards off the road. The car would have rolled onto its roof, had the tree not stopped it. Instead it rested at a crazy angle – not quite upside down, but not on its side either. She knew in an instant that getting the driver out was going to be difficult and possibly dangerous. As she approached, she noticed a bloody shape lying in the long brown grass not too far away. The kangaroo. She barely had time to hope the poor creature hadn’t suffered, when the police sergeant hurried to her.

‘The driver’s still in the car,’ Delany said.