Hope's Road (10 page)

‘I'll help,' added Tammy, quickly turning back to the doctor.

Joe's face turned thunderous.

Trav frowned at the old man. You want the nursing home, bucko?

Joe had the grace to look discomfited.

‘Great. That's sorted then,' said the surgeon. ‘Scratch the nursing home. Some time in hospital and then home with these good people taking care of you.' He flicked a glance towards Trav, then looked Tammy up and down. Trav could see by his expression that the doctor liked what he saw.

Trav moved a step forwards, then wondered why.

‘I'll be off to gown up for the operation,' the surgeon announced. ‘I'll see you in theatre, Joe. Now, nurse, have you got a few spare minutes?'

The pair walked off without looking back, heads together, legs moving in perfect synchronicity. And Trav couldn't help but wonder if they'd be passing an empty broom cupboard on the way to the theatre.

Chapter 16

Joe leaned back into the pillows, wanting the crisp linen to swallow him whole, magically transporting him back to McCauley's Hill. He wanted to be sitting in his rocking chair on the verandah of his house, perusing his kingdom, judging the weather by the look of the mountains, wondering at the beautiful day.

How the hell did he get himself into this situation? All he'd done was try to shoot the damn rabbit which ended up being a bloody hare. If that bugger of a kid had of stayed out of the way he mightn't have jerked the gun to try and miss the boy and over-balanced the fucking rocking chair. If only he'd built that verandah rail, then he mightn't have toppled off the deck, clocked his damned noggin on the way down and landed in this whole friggin' great mess.

He sighed and tried to will his body to stop shaking. He felt exhausted. They'd stitched up his head – only a couple of loops and they'd given him a bit of local anaesthestic to numb the job. The pain in his hip was awful though. It wasn't so bad if he stayed still, but all those X-rays and the doctors prodding and poking at his hip had stirred it up. Now a bloody operation. He'd never been operated on in his
life
.

And the bastard surgeon had the gall to tell him he couldn't go home afterwards! Who the hell did he think he was? Just 'cause he'd been to uni longer than most people stuck at a job these days didn't mean he had the God-given right to tell Joe McCauley what to do.

‘That was nice of Hunter,' said a female voice.

It was
her
. Maybe if he just kept his eyes shut and concentrated hard he could pretend she was her grandmother.

‘He didn't have to do that, you know.'

No, Hunter didn't have to offer to help, to stop Joe's worst nightmare from happening – being locked up in some nursing home in town. But his neighbour understood. He was just like Joe. A loner, a bushman, a jilted lover, a boundary rider on the edges of life who'd just retreated into himself. It was comfortable there. At least on your own you knew who you were dealing with. There was no putting yourself out there to be used and abused. Only one difference, though. A big one. Hunter had a son.

What the hell? He was supposed to just be listening to her voice, not her words.

She's right; he didn't have to do that, Joey!
And there was Nellie, as always turning up like she was his bloody conscience or something. Didn't the woman have better things to do up there in Heaven? He flicked his finger, unconsciously trying to push Nellie away.

The girl spoke again. ‘It'll all be okay. We'll work it out.'

And it was funny, he believed her. This girl, who by rights could and
should
have been
his
granddaughter – a chit of thing with a useless runaway husband who couldn't keep his pecker in his pants according to the stock agent. Her and Hunter and that damnable kid. It just might work out. It had to. There was nothing else for it. He'd have to put up and shut up if he wanted to stay on his hill.

He opened one eye. Took a peek. Yep. She even looked like her grandmother.

Tammy sank down into the nearest chair. What a mess. At least Joe's bed had stopped rattling. The old bloke had been shaking so hard she'd thought the trolley was going to work its way out of the cubicle.

To be so scared. So alone. It was just dreadful.

She shuddered. She knew how he felt.

‘I'm going to find some coffee,' said Trav. ‘Caffeine's good in these situations. Want some?'

What type of situations? Seeing someone so terrified their bones were shaking in terror? Someone so obsessively defiant about being a hermit, forced to admit they might actually need some help?

‘No, thanks. I'll grab some water.'

‘Coffee is good.' He was persistent, she'd give him that.

‘So is chocolate. I'll have a hot chocolate then, if you're offering.' She couldn't even pay for it. No wallet.

She watched as Trav walked off, Billy hurrying along at his side. The child was like a little puppy looking up at its owner, trying to please but not knowing how. She sighed. If only Travis would notice him.

She turned back to Joe. He'd closed his eyes. She supposed that was one way to indicate he didn't wish to talk to anybody. Particularly her.

‘That was nice of Hunter,' she ventured.

Silence from the bed.

‘He didn't have to do that, you know.'

A flutter of a finger. Not much, but still – she was encouraged.

‘It'll all be okay. We'll work it out.'

Joe opened one eye. Looked straight at her. Barely dipped his head. Shut the eye again.

That was all she was going to get. But, she guessed, something was better than nothing.

A nurse, a different one this time, hustled in, followed by a hospital porter. ‘Time to go, Mr McCauley. We need to get you prepped for the operation.' They fussed around, pushing things, pulling things, getting the trolley bed ready to travel. When they were done, the sister smiled at Tammy. ‘You'll need to go to the desk and check out how long this'll take. Maybe find the hospital Quiet Room or a coffee at the café? Mr McCauley, say goodbye to your . . . ?'

Tammy looked down at her Redback workboots. Studied the dried cow-shit patterns swirling across the well-worn leather. She didn't want to witness the nurse's pitying look when Joe let loose with a new string of profanities.

‘Ahem . . .' said Joe, clearing his throat. ‘Great-niece. She's my niece.'

Tammy's head shot up in surprise.

But Joe was already on his way out of the cubicle. The last thing Tammy saw of the old man was a hand, slightly lifted, index finger pointing to the ceiling, the classic country wave – gidday, goodbye, be seeing you soon. She was amazed. She'd expected it to be the middle finger.

‘He's gone in?' Travis was back.

‘What? Sorry, yes. We have to move out of here, though. They need the cubicle.'

Trav handed her a cardboard cup. The contents smelled divine. ‘I stuck a bit of sugar in there too. Thought you might need it.'

The man surprised her at every turn. He might look like a wild man; a hard-arsed son-of-a-bitch from the back of beyond, but he sure knew how to turn it on when needed.

‘Thanks. Very thoughtful.'

Trav seemed to wince at the last word. Okay, so he didn't want to be thoughtful. Or at least he didn't want
her
to think he was thoughtful.

‘Hey, Tammy. Want some of my Kit-Kat?' said Billy, offer­ing her a bar of chocolate.

‘Thanks, mate, you're a legend.' At least his son had no problem with thoughtful. ‘Just what I need today, a triple dose of sugar.' She took a sliver of the bar and sunk her teeth into it. Yum.

Her phone bleeped in her pocket. A text message. Damn. She hadn't turned it off as she came in.

It was Lucy.

‘I'd better go and answer this.' She waved the phone around. Trav had moved to pick up Joe's new bag. The old man hadn't even realised it was his. Just as well. Another subject to cop verbal abuse over. Well, she was used to that, thanks to Shon.

‘We'll find out where to wait,' said Trav. ‘Meet you in the foyer.' He walked towards the big island reception area in the ED, followed by his son.

Tammy headed out the emergency ward doors into the fresh air of the ambulance bay. Two ambulances were parked having just dispatched their patients. Rob Sellers was standing there talking to the new paramedic, Dean Gibson. Damn it. She'd gone to school with Rob's wife Susan. She didn't need to run into these two.

‘Tammy! How are you, mate?' Rob called, walking over to her and hauling the other bloke with him. ‘You met the new ambo yet? Deano, this is Tammy. Tammy Murphy. I mean, McCauley. What are you calling yourself these days?'

‘McCauley. And I've met Dean. He brought Joe in,' said Tammy trying to smile.

‘How's the old fella going? Heard him carrying on from out here! He's a crazy old bugger,' said Dean. ‘Abusive too.'

‘Well, you'd be the same if you'd broken a hip!' Tammy snapped back, wondering what had got into her. The old man had been abusing
her
, for goodness sake.

‘Sor-ry. No offence,' said Dean looking uncomfortable. ‘Judging by what went on earlier, I didn't think you two got on.'

‘We don't.'

Rob was looking from one to the other. ‘Dean, maybe you'd better move that ambulance out of the parking bay. I think it's blocking the traffic.'

As Dean edged away, Rob slung an arm around Tammy's shoulder and walked with her.

‘Hey, go easy on old Deano. He's just trying to be nice.'

Tammy sighed. The cup in her hand slopped from side to side, lukewarm milky brown liquid dripping onto her fingers. ‘Yeah, I'm sorry. It's been one of those days.'

‘I heard about Shon. You okay?'

‘Yes, I'm fine,' Tammy said, sucking some chocolate off her thumb, not even wondering how Rob knew. That was the bush telegraph for you. ‘In reality, it's been over between us for a long time. A couple of years in fact. I've just been burying my head in the sand. He didn't love me any more. Loved someone else better. That's all.'

‘That's no good,' said Rob. ‘Tammy –' He stopped, hesitant to go on.

‘Spit it out, Rob.'

‘Well, it's just that it'd be hard for him too, mate. You know, living up to the McCauleys.'

‘How's that? There's none of us left to live up to!'

‘But there's the property. The name. The whole “first settlers in the district” kind of stuff. Shon's a bloke always looking for the next best thing. An opportunity to better himself, and he found that in you. Guess he didn't bet on having his balls cut off in the process.'

Tammy stared at Rob, hard. Susan and he had been her good friends for years and it was testament to her respect for him that she didn't deck him right then and there.

Rob was shaking his head. ‘That came out all wrong. Look, I'm not saying what he's been doing to you is right. I'm just saying that –'

‘I'm hearing you, Rob. You're saying I'm a ball-breaker?'

‘No, I'm not. I'm saying a man needs to be the one to provide for his wife and family. He needs to be able to achieve and feel like he's done it himself. Shon stepped into
your
life, on
your
farm, worked for
your
grandfather and then for you.'

‘
With
me,' Tammy corrected.

‘Well, yes. But it's still all yours, isn't it? A man's got an ego, Tammy. He needs to be the provider. In most cases, anyway.'

Tammy thought about that as she took another swig of her drink. Ugh, it was cold. Like her heart towards Shon.

‘Good riddance to bad rubbish is what I say.'

Rob laughed and nodded. ‘Yeah, you're probably right. He always was a bit of a knobhead. You were too good for him, anyway.'

‘You old reprobate.' Tammy laughed. ‘Thanks, Rob. I kind of needed to hear that last bit from someone today.'

‘You're welcome. It's perfectly true though. Regardless of the whys and hows and whether he's running around without balls' – and here Rob smiled at her before going on – ‘the man
is
a user. Just remember that when he comes crawling back.'

Tammy's phone beeped again.

‘I'd better let you get that,' said Rob looking down at the mobile. ‘Might be your new boyfriend.' He nodded towards Hunter's ute and gave a cheeky wink.

‘Goodbye, Rob.'

‘Goodbye, Tammy.' He was grinning wickedly, then his face turned serious. ‘And remember what I said, about Shon. Doesn't excuse anything, but sometimes it helps to have another way of looking at it.'

Tammy nodded and walked off towards a park bench on the lawn outside the hospital. Good old Rob. He might be an earnest and kind man but she'd be darned if she was having any sympathy for Shon Murphy today.