Christmas at Coorah Creek (Choc Lit) (7 page)

‘Yes.’

‘Any good?’

‘Yes.’

Maybe it was genetic. This thing about cars. In those dark years after his mother left, the only real conversations he and his father had shared had been about cars. The arguments had been about everything else. So Scott guessed it wasn’t really surprising that this, the closest thing to a conversation they’d had in so many years, would be about a car.

The silence was back.

Scott was very conscious that his father was making some sort of effort. He was the one who had sought Scott out. And if his conversation has been stilted, at least he’d said more than just one word. But what could he say that wouldn’t bring back the past?

The bar door swung open and some people walked in. Even before he looked up, Scott knew that Katie was one of them. He heard her laugh. She was with the doctor and an attractive dark-haired woman. As the three of them greeted Trish and found seats at the bar, the dark-haired woman and the doctor seemed to be always touching each other. A casual brush of fingers together, a hand on an arm. That spoke volumes, and Scott found he was secretly a little relieved. He didn’t like the idea of Katie being around that doctor too much, but if he was already spoken for—

She saw him and her face lit up. His heart did a little skip when that happened. It dropped into a different rhythm as he watched her excuse herself from the doctor and start towards him. He was very conscious of his father’s eyes moving from Scott, to Katie, and back again.

‘Hi Scott!’ She sounded pleased to see him.

‘Hi Katie. Are you starting to feel a little more settled?’

She nodded, her blonde fringe bouncing in a most beguiling way. ‘I wanted to say thanks for last night. For the dinner; and for staying. It really did help.’

‘You’re welcome,’ Scott said, wondering what the rest of the people in the room would make of that exchange. They were so obviously all listening. This was the Coorah Creek he remembered, where everybody knew everybody else’s business, especially if it involved who was sleeping with whom.

Katie hesitated for a moment. She looked from Scott to Ed and back again. Scott could see the question in her eyes. He wanted to say something, but he wasn’t ready for that just yet.

A few moments passed in tense silence before Katie spoke again.

‘Anyway, I’d like to return the favour sometime soon. Cook you dinner. If you’d like to?’

Of course he would. Those lovely blue eyes peeping out from under that fringe would entice any man. ‘That sounds great,’ he said.

Katie looked extremely pleased. A touch of colour lit her cheeks. ‘Well, I guess I had better get back. I’m having dinner with the boss.’

‘You’ll be fine,’ Scott said reassuringly. ‘I only met him today for a few minutes, but he seems like a good bloke.’ An even better bloke if he was safely married.

Katie nodded. As she turned to go, she spoke to Ed for the first time.

‘I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.’

‘No.’

She hesitated. ‘I hope my car’s—’

‘It’ll be ready Wednesday afternoon,’ Ed said with a brusqueness that was all too familiar to Scott.

‘All right.’ Katie sounded very uncertain. She looked quickly from Scott to Ed and then back again, before smiling at both and turning away to re-join Doctor Adam.

‘Ashamed of me, are you?’ Ed said as she walked away. ‘Didn’t want to acknowledge me in front of the girl?’

Scott wanted to say yes, he was ashamed. He didn’t want Katie to know he was the son of a man who cheated on his wife and hit his son. He didn’t want her to know the blood that ran in his veins. But he’d come back to Coorah Creek to make some sort of rapprochement, so he remained silent.

‘I see. Well, you’ve got no grounds for moral superiority. Not if you spent the night with that girl when you barely knew her name.’

‘It wasn’t like that.’ Scott got to his feet. He wasn’t defending himself. After all these years, he didn’t expect his father to have a very high opinion of him. And he didn’t care either way. But he didn’t want Katie’s reputation damaged before she’d had a chance to establish herself in her new home. ‘I was just helping someone who needed a friend. It’s called kindness, but I don’t expect you would know much about that.’

He walked away.

Leaving the pub by the back residents’ entrance allowed Scott to avoid everyone – his father, Katie, Trish. All of them. Because right now he was in no fit state to talk to anyone. It was partly anger at his father. And partly anger at himself.

He cut through the back yard of the pub and leaped the low fence. Years ago, the land around the pub had all been empty. Now there were houses facing the road, but he was still able to skirt the back fences. That left him facing another low fence. He leaned on it and looked over into the school grounds. The school was a lot bigger now than in his day. There were new blocks of classrooms, a small swimming pool and what looked like a big hall. So much had changed. But not him.

That’s why he was angry with himself. He’d come all this way seeking to heal the rift with his father. If not heal it, at least build some sort of bridge over it. While he still could. Because in a few weeks, he’d be travelling to the other side of the world. And he might never come back.

He wasn’t an angry teenager any more. He was a grown man who should be able to put old hurts aside and at least have a civil conversation with his father. But every time he looked at the old man, he felt that angry boy rise back to the surface.

He closed his eyes, picturing the town as it had been. The school ground as it had been. He tried to remember the last time his mother had come to watch him play cricket on the dry cracked pitch just in front of where he was now standing.

His mother had been beautiful. He still remembered the pretty white dress she’d worn on that last hot day. He still remembered the long brown hair that she pulled back into a ponytail. He still remembered; but he didn’t. The hardest thing he had to do, even harder than talk to his father, was admit to himself that he no longer remembered his mother’s face. Or the sound of her voice.

And for that, he would never forgive his father.

Chapter Ten

Something was banging. Hard. Loud. Katie tentatively opened her eyes. It was still dark. She closed her eyes again and groaned. The banging didn’t go away. She had barely had anything to drink last night. And she’d come to bed early as the jet lag cut in. So this wasn’t a hangover.

Why then was there banging?

She opened her eyes again, and this time acknowledged that a very faint light might just be visible at the edge of the bedroom curtains. Slowly she got out of bed and rubbing her eyes, walked through to the lounge room of her new living quarters.

The banging was even louder here.

‘All right. I’m coming!’

She opened the door, blinking against the light that poured in from the well-lit hallway. By the third blink, she registered Adam standing on front of her. She pushed her hair out of her eyes as, at the same moment, she registered that she was in her pyjamas. Oh dear.

‘We’ve got to get to the airport,’ Adam said briskly, taking no notice of her attire. ‘There’s been an accident. We have to fly to Galbarra Station right away.’

‘Ah … Okay.’ The urgency in Adam’s voice helped Katie to gather her scattered wits.

‘Jess is already on her way to the airstrip. I’m just going to collect some supplies. Get ready as fast as you can and we’ll take my car.’

‘All right.’

It didn’t take long. Katie threw some water over her face and cleaned her teeth. She hesitated for a moment at the half unpacked suitcase sitting on the bedroom floor. Back in England, the hospital had a uniform code she’d had to abide by. Plain cotton scrubs that were a practical as they were hideous. If there was such a uniform code in Coorah Creek, she had yet to learn it. She hesitated for no more than a moment, remembering the urgency in Adam’s voice. Then she threw on a clean denim skirt and a blue top. She didn’t bother grabbing a jacket. In this scorching part of the world, she didn’t need one. A few moments later she was walking smartly through to the hospital, where Adam was waiting.

Katie had done her fair share of flying. Even before her global journey, there had been trips to Ibiza and Greece. The cut price holiday flights had taken her to some pretty basic airports. But nothing like the one at Coorah Creek. It wasn’t an airport. It was a tin shed. The plane that was waiting for them was so small it looked almost like a toy in the dim light of the dawn. It was sitting on what looked more like a short bit of
road than any sort of runway. The nearest of the tall gum trees looked far too close for comfort. And she expected a kangaroo to hop past at any moment.
Definitely not Katie’s idea of an airport.

Adam parked his car next to the shed. As Katie got out, Jess appeared from the depths of the shed, carrying a rucksack.

‘I made us coffee,’ she said as she led the way to the plane.

The inside of the tiny aircraft was a revelation. There were stretchers bolted to the walls, with belts no doubt to hold the patients in. Well-designed lockers everywhere would no doubt hold a wealth of medical equipment. It reminded Katie of an ambulance which, she guessed, was exactly what it was. An ambulance with wings.

‘Why don’t you sit up front this time?’ Adam asked as he pulled up the narrow stairs and fastened the door.

‘Up front?’

‘The co-pilot’s seat. I usually sit there. You get a great view.’

‘I don’t want to take …’

‘It’s fine,’ Jess was already buckling herself into the pilot’s seat. ‘It’ll be nice to have someone new to keep me company. Adam usually falls asleep as soon as we’re in the air.’

With a derisive snort, the doctor lowered himself into one of the very comfortable looking seats. Katie hesitantly moved towards the front of the plane. She heard a low whine followed by a coughing splutter as the propellers began to slowly move. Then the engine roared into life. She slid into her seat, fumbling with the unfamiliar seatbelt.

‘Let me help.’ Jess leaned over and efficiently snapped the seatbelt into place.

The whole plane was vibrating as Jess increased the power and turned the pointy nose towards the runway. With one hand she reached for a microphone. With a shock Katie realised Jess was alerting any nearby aircraft to her imminent take-off. Didn’t they have air traffic control out here?

Katie’s thoughts were interrupted by the roar of the twin engines as Jess sent the small plane hurtling down the tarmac stip. Katie grabbed the arms of her seat, her fingernails digging in to the surface as the plane shook and bounced. The trees along the fence line were approaching at terrifying speed, and still they had not left the ground. The end of the runway flashed beneath them, as at the last possible moment, the plane lifted into the air and began to climb into the early morning sky. A few seconds later, when the ground still seemed scarily close, Jess banked the plane heavily. The engine roar was incredibly loud as they continued to climb. Katie glanced down and saw the red earth dropping away. The town was growing rapidly smaller, the buildings shrinking until they seemed like toys.

Katie felt her stomach roil. No. No. She wasn’t going to throw up. She shut her eyes, but that only made it worse. Taking a deep breath, she tried to focus her eyes on something inside the aircraft, rather than dropping away below her. She watched Jess’s hands on the controls. She seemed to know what she was doing. That should be a comfort.

Suddenly, the world dropped away. Katie felt herself falling for several seconds before the seat rose to kick her in the behind. Terrified, she glanced at Jess, but the pilot seemed unconcerned. Jess played with the array of instruments and dials in front of her, as once more the tiny aircraft lurched.

‘Sorry about that,’ Jess said turning her way at last. ‘It’s often a bit bumpy first thing in the morning. We’ve reached our cruising height now. It’s only a short trip. Less than an hour. But that should give you time to enjoy the scenery.’

Enjoy the scenery? She had to be joking.

Katie’s fingers remained tightly clenched on the arms of the seat as she took long slow breaths to calm herself.
      
When the frantic beating of her heart had slowed to something approaching normal, she risked a glance out of the window. The world spun and she closed her eyes again against the image of a wide flat brown plain, with not a single sign of human habitation. Where on earth were they? An overwhelming sense of strangeness and of isolation swept through her. Beside her, Jess was chatting away, seeming not to notice that Katie was frozen with fear.

The plane’s nose suddenly dipped, and Katie had to bite back a cry of terror.

‘There it is,’ Jess indicated with a nod as she reached for the radio handset.

There
what
was? Katie risked another quick glance out of the window. She could see nothing except the never-ending plain. Jess was talking to someone on the radio as the aircraft began a steep and swift descent that had Katie’s stomach churning violently. Still clutching the armrest as if her life might depend upon it, Katie stared straight ahead into the wide blue sky. But as the plane banked again, she caught a glimpse of a small cluster of buildings in front and below them. But there was nothing to suggest an airport?

Lower and lower the plane dropped. Katie was trying desperately not to throw up as her stomach rebelled again even more strongly. Then she saw what they were heading for. No! It was just a line in the red earth. No tarmac. No buildings. No … nothing. Just bare dirt. Surely Jess wasn’t planning to land there?

She was and she did.

The tiny aircraft touched down then rolled and bounced across the uneven dirt. It seemed to take forever to stop. Katie opened the eyes she had kept tightly shut during the landing and glanced over her shoulder. Adam was shaking his head as if he’d just been woken by the bumps. Beside her, Jess was doing her pilot thing. But all Katie cared about was getting solid earth under her feet again.

By the time Katie was out of her seat, Adam had the door open. He was passing a couple of medical bags to someone outside. That brought home to Katie just what they were doing there. She was a nurse and someone was hurt. Her knees were shaking as she carefully descended the narrow aircraft steps. There were two vehicles waiting, both old and battered and driven by men who looked pretty well-used themselves. Adam gestured to her to take the cab of the small pick-up truck, and then he leaped into the back.