Outback Thunder (16 page)

She heard Jonas
take a deep breath and push his body forward. "Arghh."

"Sorry. Hold
it there." With deft fingers Zoe slipped the sling under his broken arm
and tied it around the back of his neck. She pushed away his other hand and
made him sit back in the seat before pinning the excess fold over his elbow.

A film of sweat
covered Jonas' face and he was a pasty shade of grey. Zoe stroked his hair and
ran a finger down the side of his cheek. He looked over at her and gave her a wobbly
smile. "Thanks."

"Anytime. I
guess that makes us about even then."

"I seriously
doubt that. I think I'll owe you for ages for this one."

"I'd better
get hold of Brandon. He was worried sick and none too happy that I rode out
without him." Zoe slid out of the chopper and retrieved her two way from
her coat.

"Brandon, do
you have a copy?"

"Zoe, any
news. I've been worried sick, you should have called me ages ago."

"Found him
alive and injured Bran. Broken arm which I've put in a sling and a bad gash to
the head that will require stitches. Over."

"Thank God
you found him. Tell him I'll kick his ass for this. What area are you in?"

"The Black
Tree Gully, smack bang in the middle of the scrub, over."

"I'm at your
last camp. I'll settle here tonight and be with you in the morning. Will you be
okay til then?"

"Sure we
will. See you then, over and out."

She put the radio
back and walked back to Jonas.

"Brandon said
he was going to kick your ass when you get back." She smiled at the
painful look on his face. "What happened Jonas? Why did you fall out of
the sky?"

"There might
be a malfunction with the blades, all I can think of. The lights on the dash
went crazy, alarms rang and the rotor slowed right down before I could do
anything. Thank God I wasn't too high when they stalled or you would've found
nothing but a burnt out wreck."

 She shivered at
the thought. "Brandon is bringing in a spare horse. You know we won't be
able to get a vehicle in here with this rain. I'm afraid it's going to be a
painful ride out."

"I have
morphine shots in the kit. If I have to use them I can." He leaned back
and closed his eyes. "I'm so damned tired, Zoe."

"Close your
eyes and rest then. I won't go anywhere."

"Zoe?"

"Yeah."

"I'd almost
kill for a cuppa."

She laughed and
shook her head before turning to her horse. Zoe unsaddled Midnight and propped
the saddle under the chopper before unhooking her swag and kit. She scouted the
area for dry twigs and somewhere to light a fire out of the drizzle. Soon she
had a small fire smoking under a rocky ledge with water boiling for tea. From
her saddle bag she took a couple of snack bars and her tea mug. When she poured
the water Zoe carefully climbed back into the chopper.

"This is hot
so have one of these first." She handed Jonas an unwrapped bar and watched
him devour it. Zoe sipped at the tea and passed it across. She watched him grip
it in his good hand and breathe in the aroma.

"Feels about
right. Take it easy though."

"I told you
if you were good I would give you a dinner out," Jonas said a crooked
smile on his face.

"I love how
you go all out buddy but seriously, next time make a booking at the pub down
the road, will you?" She took the mug from him and had a sip before
handing it back.

Zoe snuggled her
bum in the seat trying to get comfortable. She placed her feet up on the dash
in front of her and sighed.

"What?"

"Just
thinking. You know how much we could have missed out on if I hadn't found you.
I wonder if that means something."

***

"Everything
happens for a reason Zoe, as your Mum would have said. Although I'm at a loss
as to explain why I crashed." He passed the mug back to her and watched as
she took a sip. Now might be the right time to bring up how much he loved her.

"Maybe we
needed to see how much we meant to each other to make me wake up." A blush
covered her cheeks and she smiled at him. "I'm sorry, Jonas. I should have
trusted you more, I know that. I'm sorry it took this to make me see how much I
can't live without you."

He took her hand
and brought it up to his lips. Brushing his lips over her knuckles, he smiled.
"Does that mean you've made peace with your misplaced sense of pride,
Zoe?"

"Yeah, I
guess it does."

"Marry me
then."

"Jonas,
I—"

"I mean it
Zoe. If you've gotten over your problems, marry me."

"We'll talk
about it when we get home, promise."

Gutted, he let go
of her hand and closed his eyes. When she had called out to him, he knew that
they had crossed the boundaries she had put between them. Why else was it Zoe
and not one of the workers or Brandon who had come looking for him if she
didn't want him? It didn't make sense to him. He loved her and they still had
the same sexual chemistry they had when they were younger. Hell, even when she
was sick she couldn't keep her hands off him.
There has to be more to this
than she is telling me. Just let me get out of here and I will find out what it
is.

The buzz of the
night insects were the only noise as darkness fell. Jonas tried to sleep and
eventually exhaustion overcame him and he floated away.

****

He jolted awake
when a high pitched whistle pierced the air.

"Bran's
here," Zoe croaked out with her sleepy voice. She shuffled around and slid
out of the chopper.

Jonas watched her
as she came around to his side and cupped her hands to her mouth. The whistle
that came from her diminutive figure never ceased to amaze him. She could let
rip with the best of them. The answering whistle got closer and soon Brandon
was pulling up beside the chopper with a look of relief on his face leading a
spare horse loaded with saddle bags.

"Jeesh, mate.
You scared the fuck out of us." He dropped to the ground from his horse
and leaned in the doorway. "Looks like Zoe fixed you up alright."

"Yes, she did
a great job." Jonas turned in his seat. "I need a hand, mate, if you
don't mind."

Brandon grasped
him by his good arm and slid one hand around his waist to help him to the
ground. Jonas swayed slightly and breathed through the head rush that followed.

"Fuck, that's
just weird. Just give me a minute will you." He closed his eyes and leaned
on his friend until his head came back to normal.

He was acutely
aware of Zoe standing beside the horses watching him. It took all of his
strength to avoid her gaze. He didn't want her to see the need or hurt his
eyes. None of this was going the way he wanted it to. It was going to be a hard
ride home in more ways than one.

Once steady he
started to walk around easing the stiffness in his legs. He ignored the quiet
conversation between Brandon and Zoe and took the time to inspect the chopper.
There were going to some questions asked when he was fit enough to contact the
salesman who had raved about their strong reputation and reliable machines.

He turned to
Brandon. "Let's do this. No point in delaying the trip home."

"Do you want
me to get you a shot before you go, to take the edge off the pain?" Zoe
asked.

"No thanks,
but we'll take them with us. If you could get them, I'd appreciate it."

"Sure."
He watched her go through the first aid kit and hold up the morphine vials and
needles.

"That's them,
thanks."

Brandon was
watching them with his eyebrow raised and Jonas shook his head. Bran shrugged
his shoulders and whistled for the horses. "Okay, how about I help you
up?"

"Lucky it's
my left arm so I should be alright with just a leg up."

He passed Jonas
the reins and stood with him while he lifted his foot into the stirrup. When
Jonas tried to lift himself up Brandon leaned in and heaved him up keeping his
hands on Jonas' back to steady him.

His head swam
dangerously and Jonas thought he would throw up. Sitting still he breathed
through his mouth until the feeling subsided.

"You going to
be alright? I can ride with you," Brandon said a frown marring his
forehead.

"No, too much
for the horse."

"Zoe can.
She's light enough."

"I'll be
fine. Stop fussing." Jonas pulled the reins up ready to go.

Zoe hung her head
and walked to get her Drizabone. She jammed her hat on her head and grabbed the
saddle from under the belly of the chopper. Quietly she saddled her horse and
mounted up. Turning back to the track she headed off her back straight and her
lips tight.

Jonas followed
with Brandon close behind him and concentrated on staying on his horse.

****

"No major
damage to that thick skull of yours. Nothing a few stitches won't fix."
Dr. Bob looked over his glasses at the x-ray then peered at Jonas. "I do
need to pin that arm though. Tell Zoe good job restraining it so there wasn't
more damage but it's not as clean a break as you thought, sorry." He wrote
on the chart and looked back up. "I'll get onto theatre and see when we
can do it. Should be today or tomorrow though at the latest. " He left
humming to himself.

Jonas lay back in
the bed exhausted and disappointed it wasn't as he thought. Brandon walked in
and sat down in the chair beside him. "So, what's the verdict then?"

"I have to
have the arm pinned. Hopefully today. Doc just has to check with theatre."

"And?"

"What?"

"What
happened with Zoe? I know something went down because you could cut the air
with a knife out there. I kind of figured you guys would have patched it up by now."
Brandon leaned in and gazed at Jonas with a grin an expectant on his face.

"Me too. I
asked her to marry me. It seems she doesn't see herself as Mrs. Ward after all.
I guess I read too much into it."

"Mate, I'm
sorry. I don't understand it at all."

"Don't let it
worry you. I tried and failed. It's just the way it is I suppose."

The door opened
and Dr. Bob walked in briskly. "Okay, here's the deal. The theatre is free
this afternoon. You will and I repeat will be staying in overnight."

"Got it Doc.
Thanks."

The door closed
behind him.

"I may as
well go back to the farm and see how things are going then. Anything you want
me to bring in tonight for you?"

"No. I'm sure
they can spring for a toothbrush."

"Okay then.
I'll be back in the morning with clean clothes for you when they let you leave.
Get them to give me a call." Brandon messed up Jonas' hair and grinning,
walked out.

****

"Mr. Ward?
Can you hear me?"

Jonas struggled to
open his eyes. He pushed at the oxygen prongs in his nose but a hand grabbed his
and eased it away.

"Just leave
that for now will you. Just some oxygen until you wake up fully." Someone
straightened his blankets and took his wrist. The blood pressure cuff on his
arm inflated and released again when it beeped.

"That all
looks fine. I just need you to open your eyes, Mr. Ward. You need to wake up
now."

He forced his eyes
open and looked around the recovery room. A nurse sat beside him with a chart
in her hands.

"How are you
feeling?"

"How did it
go?" He tried to swallow but found his mouth dry.

"Dr. Bob is
very happy with how it went actually. He will be back in later tonight to see
you."

"I need a
drink."

"I'll get you
some ice chips. When you wake up properly you can have some tea and a plate of
sandwiches."

Jonas rubbed his
hand over his face and screwed up his nose. His mouth was dry and pasty from
the anesthetic. When the nurse handed him a cup of ice chips he immediately
sucked them in relishing the cold slipping fluid down his throat.

By the time he was
back in his own room it was dark. Dr. Bob made his visit and pronounced the
operation a success. He would check in again in the morning and sign release
forms for Jonas to go home.

"Thanks,
Doc."

"No worries.
Sleep well."

Jonas fell asleep
easily but woke several times in a cold sweat. He was losing altitude and
couldn't stop the free fall.

A warm hand swept
the damp hair from his forehead. "Shhh, rest. You're safe now."

He tossed and
turned, crying out when he tried to roll over on his broken arm. A weight
settled beside him and he leaned into it falling back into a disturbed sleep.