Flight to Coorah Creek (6 page)

Back in the hospital, Adam headed for the bathroom to wash off the accumulation of dust he had acquired during his visit to the house. He had an appointment this afternoon with a young couple expecting a baby. A clean shirt was in order too. He walked through the door into his quarters and felt the familiar sense of sanctuary. In this place he didn't need to hide any part of himself. He had no fear of someone getting too close. This was his place. A room of books and music. A room for a man who didn't need – or want – people.

Adam took a clean shirt from the wardrobe. Like all his shirts, it was light, soft cotton and long-sleeved. As he always did, he rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. Then he set off for his office. He didn't make it. Through the open front doors of the hospital, he saw Jess. She was standing outside, studying the building with some interest.

Adam realised she couldn't see him, standing as he was inside the dim hallway. Without the needs of his patient to occupy his thoughts, it was as if he were seeing her for the first time. She certainly made her T-shirt and blue jeans look good and he liked the way the short hair framed her face. Adam had been impressed by her skills as a pilot on their dangerous night landing. Outside the cockpit, she really was a lovely looking woman.

What on earth could have brought her here? Coorah Creek was not the sort of place beautiful women came. He'd love to ask her. But he wouldn't. If he asked her about her past, then she would probably ask about his, and that was something he wanted to avoid.

Jess finished her inspection of the hospital's exterior and walked through the front door. Once out of the bright daylight, she spotted him instantly.

‘Hello,' she said.

She looked relaxed and refreshed. The stress of the past couple of days seemed to have dropped from her body, and from her voice.

‘Hi,' he said.

‘I was supposed to report to the hospital administrator,' Jess hurried on. ‘Do you know where I might find him?'

‘You have. I guess I should have told you. I am the hospital administrator, chief resident, head of surgery, obstetrics and anything else you can think of.'

‘You're the only doctor?'

‘That's right. I can't claim to be the receptionist and bookkeeper. Sister Luke does that.'

‘There's just the two of you?' Jess seemed shocked.

‘Most of the time. There are no other doctors in town. One of the RFDS guys drops by if we need help.'

‘RFDS?'

‘Royal Flying Doctor Service. They're great guys. You'll meet them soon.'

Jess nodded, then smiled tentatively. ‘Well, I guess that I've reported for duty.'

‘I guess you have.'

‘I was hoping we could sort out this business of my accommodation. And there's also the matter of a car.'

Adam felt a twinge of guilt. ‘I can give you some good news about the car,' he said. ‘The pilot's car has been at the garage since the last pilot left. It's had some work done and is ready for you whenever you want to pick it up.'

‘That's good news.' Jess almost smiled. ‘And the house?'

‘Come with me.' Adam led the way towards the rear of the hospital.

‘There is a doctor's residence as part of the complex,' Adam said, pointing across the baked earth to the nearest building. ‘That should suit you.'

Jess halted in her tracks. ‘But, I can't live with you … I mean. I can't impose on your house.'

‘No. No. I didn't mean that.' Adam was equally shocked. It was so long since he'd shared a home with anyone, he honestly had not even considered she might misunderstand. ‘I don't live there. I use the resident's quarters here at the hospital. I like to be close to the patients.'

‘Oh.'

‘So I thought you could have the doctor's residence. It's been empty for a while, but Jack is over there now fixing a few things.'

‘Can I go and take a look?' Jess asked.

Adam wanted to say no. If she saw it now, she might turn tail and leave, and he needed a pilot!

‘Well. I really want to let Jack do his thing first,' he said quickly. ‘Get it cleaned up for you. It's been empty a while and needs some new furniture and stuff.'

‘Still, I would like to see it.'

Something about the way she said it reminded him of Sister Luke. The nun could be a stubborn woman when the mood took her. Adam gave in as graciously as he could and they set out across the hospital yard. There was no garden worth speaking of, and the lawn, if that's what it was supposed to be, was just a few clumps of burnt brown grass on a pan of cracked dry earth. The house, like most of the others in the town, was wooden and raised on stumps.

‘It's probably a stupid question …' Jess began, ‘but why are all the houses on stumps?'

‘It allows cool air to flow underneath in the summer,' Adam replied, ‘and it keeps the snakes out, of course.'

‘Of course, the snakes.' Jess didn't look happy at the thought.

She looked even less happy when he opened the door and ushered her into the house. Jack had left; no doubt in search of supplies for the job in front of him. The scuffed marks the two of them had left on the dusty floor merely added to the decayed look of the house.

‘You are not honestly suggesting I should live here?'

‘Well, yes. I know it needs a bit of work.' Adam ran his hand over the bench top, disturbing a cloud of dust.

‘And a good clean,' Jess added.

‘Yes, but—'

‘And some furniture,' she continued.

‘All right.' Adam held up his hands. ‘There's a lot to be done. But you can stay at the pub in the meantime, and if we all pitch in, it won't take too long.'

‘You won't be pitching in today,' a quiet voice behind them said. Sister Luke walked into the room. ‘We've had a call. Adam, you need to get to the mine. Someone's been hurt.'

‘Will he need transporting?' Jessica asked.

‘Probably,' Sister Luke replied.

Adam had already turned towards the door. ‘Jess, go straight to the airstrip. I'll bring him there.'

‘Of course.'

‘I had an appointment this afternoon—' His mind was racing.

‘I've got it,' Sister Luke said. ‘Now get going.'

Relieved of the things that didn't matter, Adam started to run.

The sign over the door said Le Chat Noir. The Black Cat. A newspaper cutting taped inside the window had a headline suggesting this was the best French restaurant in Mount Isa. Jess guessed it might well be the only French restaurant in Mount Isa. The clipping was yellow with age.

Le Chat Noir. That was a pretty fancy name for such a small and unassuming restaurant. In fact, Jess wasn't at all sure she should even call it a restaurant. It was really a café with delusions of grandeur. The paint on the wooden building was faded. The tables inside were wooden, and boasted neither tablecloths nor candles. Jess tried to focus on the menu taped on the inside of the window, under the aging clipping. She tried not to think about another restaurant called Le Chat Noir. In a place a long way from here. And a man who was as different from Doctor Adam Gilmore as night from day.

That night had been hotter than this, and far more humid. They told her that was typical for Vietnam. The restaurant was on the ground floor of their hotel in the old quarter of Ho Chi Minh City. The hotel was a lovely restored colonial building, with all the elegance of France transported to a tropical paradise. Despite a turbulent history, the hotel had proudly preserved its French past, and was now one of the best in the city. The tablecloths were fine linen. The long-stemmed glasses were crystal. A breathtakingly beautiful and delicate orchid adorned each table. And the man sitting opposite her was handsome and rich and charming.

Life as private pilot for international businessman Brian Hayes was beyond her wildest expectations. She loved the Gulfstream jet that she flew. She loved the exotic places they visited while Brian attended to his business. And she loved Brian. What woman wouldn't? He was handsome and smart. A self-made millionaire with business dealings throughout South-East Asia and Australia. And when he began courting her she had fallen. Hard. He could be funny at times, at others, deeply serious and caring. His generosity extended not just to the gifts he gave her, but also to the help he offered others. He was strong and protective, but at the same time allowed her to be the woman she wanted to be. When he made love to her, he made her feel as if she was the centre of his world.

That night, at that other restaurant called Le Chat Noir, she had been as happy as it was possible for her to be. Brian was in a good mood. His business dealings had gone well. They'd dined extravagantly, and then retired to their suite, where they made love and watched the sun rise over the sleeping city. Her life was everything she had ever dreamed it would be. And more.

The most perfect night.

The last perfect night.

The next day, while Brian was attending to business, she'd planned to carry out a few maintenance checks on the jet. That's when she'd found it. The package hidden inside the lining of one of the seats. A package of white powder. At first she couldn't believe it. Someone was trying to smuggle drugs on board the plane. On her plane. Her first instinct was to call Brian. But something stopped her. She didn't believe Brian was involved. He couldn't be! He wasn't a drug smuggler.

That's when she began to remember. Small things that she had chosen to ignore. When she asked Brian about his business, his answers had always been vague. There were meetings late at night. And phone calls hastily ended when she entered the room. And their destinations. Brian's business all seemed to be centred in the infamous Golden Triangle – Vietnam, Thailand and Laos. The world's largest heroin producers. Had she been that naïve or was it true what people said? Love really is blind. In one heart-stopping moment, the niggling questions had turned into a blinding certainty.

Instead of calling Brian, she had gone to the authorities.

She had played her part well. For the next day and a half, she had smiled and pretended nothing was wrong. She pleaded a headache and slept alone in the spare room of their suite. The journey back to Australia the next day had been routine up until the moment the police had surrounded the aircraft at Sydney airport. Even as the drug squad had torn apart her beautiful jet, she had still hoped Brian was innocent. But one look at his face told her everything she needed to know.

She had never felt such pain, and anger and guilt. Not until that day after the trial. The woman outside the court. The agony in her voice.
You killed my son! It's your fault!

Jess blinked back the tears. Like Brian, she had been led away in handcuffs from that last flight, but her stay in jail had been brief. The prosecutor had believed her innocence, and enlisted her help as a witness at Brian's trial – her evidence just one more plank in the case that sent her lover to jail. The prosecutor may have believed she was innocent, but the mother of a dead son hadn't. To that mother, Jess was part of the drug ring responsible for importing the heroin that killed her son. In that mother's eyes Jess was guilty.

That mother would never forgive her.

She would never forgive herself. She was the pilot. Her plane – her responsibility.

Jess dashed the tears from her eyes. This new job was supposed to put all that behind her. Surely today she had taken another small step towards atonement.

They had brought the injured miner to the Mount Isa hospital. Sister Luke had not accompanied them this time. While Jess flew, Adam had stayed in the back of the plane, keeping an eye on his patient. The injured mineworker had been awake for most of the flight, and Jess had heard Adam talking to him. Reassuring him. Talking him better. Adam hoped that they could take the miner back home tomorrow, after his injuries were treated. That meant staying the night at a nearby hotel. Jess had organised rooms – but Adam had vanished to the hospital. She'd heard nothing from him since. She'd set out in search of dinner and her steps had brought her here, to a small restaurant that brought back so much that she desperately wanted to forget.

Jess brushed some imaginary dust from her T-shirt. She must remember to keep a bag packed with a few essentials stowed in the back of the plane for occasions just like this one. Maybe tomorrow before they left she'd have time to do a bit of shopping. There were some things she needed that she was pretty certain wouldn't be available in Coorah Creek. She wasn't a big shopper. Not anymore. She no longer needed the designer dresses that she'd once worn just to watch the light in Brian's eyes when he looked at her.

Damn it!

She shook her head, determined not to cry. Would those memories never leave her?

Jess was hurting. Adam could see her pain as clearly as he'd seen the pain on the face of that miner in the back of the plane today. She hadn't seen him yet. Some quirk of fate had sent them both to the same place in search of dinner. He had expected to dine alone and he still could. He could just slip away and give her the privacy she seemed to want. That was the sensible thing to do. The safe thing to do. The pain on Jess's face was not the sort of pain he could deal with. It wasn't a bleeding wound or a broken bone. Her pain was deep inside her. And that was dangerous. That was the sort of pain that could only be healed by caring and understanding. He had sworn never to get that close to anyone. Ever. But he could no more walk away from her than he could have walked away from that miner. Jess was hurting and Adam's whole being longed to help her. Whatever the danger.

‘Hello, Jess.'

She gave a small cry as she realised he was there. ‘Adam. You startled me.'

Adam could see the effort she was making to bring her errant emotions back under control. Carefully he ignored the suspicious shine to her eyes, and turned his attention to the menu taped inside the window.

‘I was just walking back from the hospital and I saw you here.'

Jess's voice seemed a little calmer as she asked, ‘How is Ed doing?'

‘He'll be fine.' Adam raised an eyebrow. ‘I didn't think you knew his name.'

‘I heard you talking to him. In the back of the plane. You called him Ed.'

‘Oh.'

A long moment of silence followed. Adam's eyes searched her face and then he smiled, a long, slow, sweet smile that made Jess feel they had shared a moment of intimacy.

‘We won't be taking him back tomorrow. He'll have to stay here for a few days.'

‘All right.'

‘Were you planning on having something to eat here?' Adam asked casually. ‘Because the nurse at the hospital suggested this place as I left. She says the food is pretty good.'

‘I hadn't really thought about it,' Jess offered.

‘Why don't we see if they have a table?' Adam said. It wasn't a date, he told himself. They just happened to be at the same place at the same time.

Fewer than half the tables in the restaurant were taken. A waiter seated them and offered menus. The menu was a single page and the only thing French about the offerings were the fries. For a few minutes they were involved in ordering food and a bottle of wine. Like the food, the wine had never been in the same hemisphere as anything remotely French.

Then the waiter walked away, and they were alone.

‘So, it's been a bit of a busy start for you in the new job,' he said.

‘Yes, it has,' Jess replied. ‘But nothing I can't handle.'

‘I can see that,' Adam said. ‘I think you're going to be just great at this. Tell me, what made you take a job out here in the back of nowhere?' It was the question he had promised himself he would not ask.

‘Well, it's a part of the world I have never seen before, and I liked the idea of doing something worthwhile.'

It was like she was reading the lines from a script. Adam didn't doubt that she was new to the outback or that she wanted to do something worthwhile. He equally didn't doubt that there was more to her story than she was telling.

‘But still,' Adam studied her face intently, trying to read what lay behind the words. ‘It's a strange place to find someone like you.'

‘No stranger than finding someone like you here,' Jess countered. ‘What brought you here?'

He opened his mouth to give the same glib answer he'd used a hundred times before. To talk about the adventure and the attraction of being one of the legendary flying medics. Looking across the table into Jess's clear blue eyes, he was suddenly compelled into honesty.

‘I worked in a hospital for a while, but I have no patience with the staff politics and the intrigue that goes with it. I wanted to heal people, not waste energy on politics. Or on paperwork. That meant private practice was off the table. Sister Luke was coming here to work with the Aboriginal people. I came too.'

‘How long have you been here?' Jess asked.

‘I originally came for six months. I learned more about how to heal a human being in those months than three years interning at a city hospital.'

‘And you stayed.'

‘Five years so far. Out here, people have to work hard to survive. No one comes to the doctor if they have a cold or hit their thumb with a hammer. In the city, half my patients weren't sick. They were wasting their time and mine. Here, people seek help when they need it. I have seen some terrible injuries. And seen people recover from them, at times by sheer force of will. It's given me a great respect for the human body – and the human spirit.'

‘You know Sister Luke says you talk patients better.'

Adam smiled. ‘Sister Luke is amazing,' he said, with genuine affection. ‘She won't tell me her age, but I suspect she's nearly eighty.'

‘Eighty?' Jess was stunned. ‘I wouldn't have thought her much over sixty.'

‘I know. I've seen Sister Luke do things that would test a woman half her age. I have the easy job. I heal bodies. Sister Luke helps me do that, and then her real work starts. She heals souls.' His voice trailed off as painful memories threatened to surface.

‘How did you meet her?' Jess asked softly.

‘In a hospital. There was a boy. Ten years old. There was an incident …' Adam paused, but the memories would not be denied. ‘It was a terrible thing. A custody battle. It was very nasty. A lot of bad feeling. And the boy's father – he sprayed petrol on the family home and set it on fire. His son – he got caught in the fire.'

‘No!' Jess's face paled at the horror of it.

‘The boy was badly burned. He survived, but his recovery was slow and painful. And not just his recovery from the burns. Sister Luke sat with him, day after day. The doctors may have healed his body, but she brought his soul back from the darkness.' Adam fell silent. He raised his hand to gently rub his left shoulder.

‘She must be quite a remarkable woman,' Jess said softly.

‘She says her strength comes from her faith. How she could hold onto that faith in the face of something like that …' Adam stopped speaking. He had told her only part of the story, but he feared if he said one more word, the floodgates would open and the secret he'd hidden for so long would come rushing out.

Before Jess could speak, the waiter arrived with their food.

Jess waited until the waiter was out of earshot, then she leaned forward to look closely at the plate in front of her. She smiled, a mischievous smile that seemed to light the whole room.

‘I've eaten French food before,' she said, her eyes sparkling. ‘But I have to tell you it didn't look like this.'

Adam felt his mood lift. He looked at his own plate and nodded his agreement.

They talked as they ate. About books and movies. Politics was raised and dismissed very briefly. Adam told her some stories about his adventures at Coorah Creek. In return, she told him about the trials of being a female in what was still essentially a man's realm.

As he laughed at one of her stories, Adam suddenly realised that it was a very long time since he had laughed so easily.

By the time Adam paid the bill, they were the only diners left in the restaurant.

The walk back to the motel took only a few minutes. A long, low line of rooms was spread through carefully tended tropical gardens. Adam escorted Jess to her door.