‘He can’t walk. I suspect his leg is broken. I’ve put it in a splint. He was bleeding a fair bit when I reached him. It’s slowed now.’
‘Christopher. Who did this?’
‘He’s drifting in and out of consciousness. He’s been beat up pretty bad. I don’t think he can hear you.’
‘I’ll go and get the quad. There were five men on the property. I chased three off, but I haven’t sighted the other two.’
‘You what?’
‘Didn’t you hear the shots? That was me giving them a warning. They won’t be back but the other two men might be still lingering about somewhere.’
‘You stay here with Chris. I’ll get the quad. I don’t want you riding about alone.’
Samantha agreed. She didn’t want to leave Christopher. She wouldn’t.
Brad headed toward his horse.
‘Oh Christopher.’ She ran a hand down his arm and held his hand. ‘It won’t be long. You’re going to be all right.’
Darkness gradually ate at the remaining light, and a creepy feeling hovered through her. She was thankful when the full moon pushed out from under the clouds. At least she could see within the few feet surrounding her. A sound, unlike any bush sound she’d ever heard out that way rang through the atmosphere, forcing a cold chill to scamper over the back of her neck. She tightened her grip on Christopher’s hand.
It seemed like hours had passed until she heard the ground thunder underfoot. She let out a lungful of air the moment she heard the roaring of a quad.
‘They’re almost here. It won’t be long.’
‘Sam. It’s us.’
‘Cam. We’re over here. I can see your light.’
Cameron eased the quad closer, and Brad followed on his horse.
‘How’s he going?’
‘He’s still drifting in and out of consciousness.’
‘We have to get him back to the house. The ambos will probably be arriving when we do.’
‘Take it easy. He’s in a lot of pain.’
Samantha stepped aside while Brad and Cameron propped Christopher on the back of the quad. ‘He won’t last five minutes there.’
‘Steven is waiting back on the track with the ute. We’ll set up a makeshift bed for him there.’
‘Can you follow on foot Brad? Sam can take care of your horse.’
‘Sure.’
Samantha took the reins of Brad’s horse and followed. Brad kept a steady pace beside Christopher, ensuring he didn’t slip while the quad edged from the scrub out onto the track.
Steven was waiting beside the ute and the men carried Christopher to the ute, placing him down on a few blankets.
‘I’m travelling with Chris,’ Samantha said.
‘No deal. Brad told me about the men. If they are still about they may be watching our every move. I don’t want any more mishaps. With you and Brad on horses you can run them off, or do whatever is needed.’ Cameron reached into the ute. ‘Here, take this.’
‘I’m a great shot in the dark, besides I’ve got my own.’ She pulled out her rifle and pointed the barrel upwards into the air.
‘There’s enough light to shoot above their heads. Let’s move.’
Cameron climbed into the back of the ute next to Christopher while Steven fired up the engine and they made a slow trek toward the house.
As she turned back, she collided against Brad’s chest. Any oxygen she had in her lungs vacated on the spot. ‘Thank you...for doing what you did for Christopher.’ She couldn’t take her eyes from his solid chest. Although he wore a singlet shirt the pale moonlight outlined his muscular arms. The sight mesmerized her, if only for a short moment.
‘We should catch up.’
She held the reins of his horse out in front of her.
‘Thanks. Keep your eyes peeled. The remaining two men could be anywhere.’
Samantha remained close behind Brad until they caught up with the ute and followed on either side. With the glow of the headlights cutting a trail through the tall grass, Samantha checked out the enclosing darkness in her wake.
‘Did you see that?’
‘What?’
‘Something caught my eye. Something moved. They’re out there all right.’ Samantha spotted it again, swung Raven to one side and headed off into the darkness.
‘Sam.’ Brad’s concerned raspy voice grated up his throat.
She kept on going, and soon arrived a little too close to two men on horseback.
Aiming her rifle at the men she sucked back a breath. ‘You’re on private property. We can ring the police or you can ride off now and never come back.’
By the rumble of their laughter, they thought she was joking.
‘I mean it.’
‘Yeah, yeah,’ one of them said.
Samantha raised her rifle, fired a shot over their heads.
‘Yeah yeah. I do mean it. I can see in the dark.’
‘Shit, lady.’
She repeated, but this time much lower. ‘Get out of here now. I’m a bloody good shot.’
The men bolted in the direction to where the fence had been stripped away. She couldn’t see them that well. It was only when they moved that she could make out their silhouettes under the straining light of the moon.
She pushed Raven and reached the house in record time. After dismounting, she rushed toward the ute parked beside the ambulance. One of the paramedics climbed into the back of the ute, while the other held out a stretcher. The men manoeuvred Christopher and he let out a groan. He had to be all right. He had to be.
‘His leg is broken and he’s bled a bit,’ Cameron said.
‘Who did all this work?’ a paramedic asked, indicating Christopher’s head and face.
‘I did.’ Brad stepped forward.
‘It looks like you stopped the bleeding in time.’
‘I’m going with him to see the doctor.’ Samantha stepped forward.
‘We’re taking him to Tamworth.’
‘I’ll follow in my car. Cam, are you or Steven coming with me?’
‘Someone needs to keep an eye on the cattle Sam. I need Steven here with me.’
‘I’ll go if you like.’
Samantha looked at Brad. She didn’t care who came with her at present. She needed to be with Christopher, that’s all that mattered.
‘Okay then. See you soon, Christopher.’
‘We’ve given him some pain medication, so he probably won’t make much of what you said.’
The back of the ambulance door closed. As the ambulance pulled away, Samantha turned toward the house. ‘I’ll grab my keys and a change of clothes.’
‘I’ll be waiting.’
‘Cam, the fence to the left of the Falls is down in two sections. It looks like they had intentions of herding the cattle out that way.’
‘We’ll get to it first light tomorrow morning.’
‘Be careful. Take your rifles with you everywhere you go. They might return.’
Samantha ran for the house, grabbed a few necessary items and her car keys. She said a couple of words to Cameron and Steven as she was leaving and spotted Brad leaning against her Mazda wearing a fresh shirt, which covered a very sexy chest.
As she walked toward her car, it dawned on her what she’d done. They were heading to Tamworth together. Alone. That thought sent a flurry deep in her tummy.
‘That was quick.’
‘All I need is Christopher to be okay.’
‘He’s in good hands.’
She pressed the button on her key for the doors and boot. Brad took her bag and placed it in the boot. With one hand anchored on the boot, he glanced over his shoulder.
‘We could take my car.’
‘And why’s that?’
‘There’s plenty of roos near the road at this time of night and my vehicle has a bull bar.’
Samantha hesitated. His car did have the protection it needed if they did hit a roo.
‘Providing I drive.’
He shrugged. ‘
Okay.’ He picked up the bags and transferred them into the back of his vehicle.
They were out on the main road in record time.
‘Let me know if you need a break from driving.’
‘I should be okay.’
‘It’s almost an hour’s drive from Raven. That makes our drive about an hour and a half, and at this time.’
‘I’m fine but I’ll let you know if I need a break.’
‘Don’t forget.’
‘I’m sorry for storming out the other night. You know...’
‘It’s understandable. I have so much baggage hanging about it wouldn’t be healthy for either of us.’
‘Usually people work through their problems. I respect your wishes. Don’t worry, I’m not about to force myself upon you.’
‘I didn’t mean that you would. Can we call a truce?’
Her lips twitched. ‘Yes. A truce. You’ve been through enough without adding me to your list of problems.’
‘Who knows, Sam? One day...we never know what’s ahead of us.’
Samantha nodded and kept her watery gaze fixed on the road ahead. Although she did hold feelings for him, she had to remember that trusting him again could be dangerous, and would she ever get that trust factor back, the feeling that she could count on him no matter what happened?
‘I want to thank you for what you did for Christopher. If you hadn’t bandaged him up like that he would have continued to bleed, and his leg...how bad is his face? I couldn’t see much.’
‘He’s pretty banged up. They can perform miracles these days.’
‘How banged up? All I saw was lots of blood.’
‘He’s got a major split above his left eye. But they tend to bleed a lot even from something minor. There’s a deep gash across the left side of his forehead, and down his cheek. Knife perhaps...I’m not sure.’
‘A knife. You mean to say someone tried to kill him.’
‘I don’t know. His right hand looked pretty bad and his left leg is broken.’
Samantha shook her head as tears filled her eyes. ‘Poor Chris. He wouldn’t have known what hit him.’ She tried to push the image from her mind.
‘He’s a pretty big guy for his age, and tough.’
‘Christopher is not tough. He’s a softie.’
‘Don’t bet on it.’
She kept her eyes on the road, feeling lightheaded, before easing the car to the side of the road. ‘You did offer to drive, didn’t you? I feel a little dizzy.’
Brad stiffened, leaned in and rested a hand over her knee. ‘Take slow deep breaths. Come on, you scramble over and I’ll walk around.’
He opened the passenger door while Samantha wiggled across and dropped onto the seat. Brad climbed behind the wheel. ‘He’ll pull through. He’ll be all right.’
Samantha pressed her lips together and looked out into the darkness. ‘I hope so.’ Her words broke up as she spoke.
Brad pulled out onto the road, following the bright light of his headlights. A few minutes later he glanced sideways and noticed that Samantha had fallen asleep, which was good thing, considering when they reached the hospital she’d need all the energy she could muster.
Christopher wasn’t in good shape.
When he pulled up in the hospital’s car park, he leaned over and gave Samantha a nudge.
‘Hey Sam, we’re here.’
She opened her beautiful sleepy eyes. Her hair had slipped from its band and fell in waves around her shoulders.
‘I’m sorry. I must have fallen asleep.’
‘No need for apologies. It’s the best way to take a trip when one’s not driving, especially when there’s nothing much to see at night.’
‘She grabbed the black hair tie from around her wrist, and gathered her hair into a ponytail, pulled the mirror down and pinched her cheeks.
‘You okay?’
‘I need to wake up.’
She shot him a quick glance and a smile moved over his face.
‘So you know one of my secrets. It prompts the blood in the veins to rush and gives my face a bit of colour. It does wake me up.’
‘Are you ready now?’
‘Yeah.’
As they headed toward the entrance to the hospital, she adjusted her T-shirt and brushed at a stray fibre moments before she walked up to the reception desk.
‘Hello. Could you tell me where Christopher Osborne is? He arrived by ambulance not long ago from Raven.’
‘One moment please.’ The receptionist glanced at her computer, and Brad eased to Samantha’s side.
‘He’s in surgery at present.’ The receptionist gave directions to where they could wait.
Samantha peered through the doorway to each ward as they walked down the long wide hallway. Most lights were out and the patients were sleeping.
‘Sam. When we see Christopher, which won’t be for a while...prepare yourself. He’ll be bandaged up a bit. And well...’
‘I know. I could barely see his eyes from all the swelling,’ she whispered.
When they arrived in the waiting room, Samantha sat on the nearest seat.
‘How about I rustle up a few cups of coffee and something to eat?’
‘I’m not sure if I could eat but the coffee sounds good.’
‘You need to eat. It’s almost one in the morning. You need your strength.’
She nodded and he walked away.
Samantha picked up a magazine, dropped it and picked it up again. Her nerves were in tatters. She stood, walked the room, sat down, and checked her mobile several times.
Brad returned holding two paper bags and two coffees. He set them down on the small table in front of them and opened a bag.
‘Hamburgers. They look pretty good.’
‘At this time of the morning?’
‘It took a fair amount of persuasion. They finally agreed if I paid double the price.’
‘Double the price. Come off it, Brad. I said I wasn’t that hungry.’
‘I am.’ He pushed one of the bags in front of her, and placed a coffee next to the bag, before he sat on the chair beside her. After he swallowed a mouthful of coffee, he opened his burger and took a bite. Samantha inhaled the odour as soon as it left the bag, and she leaned down to pick up her coffee and hamburger.
The sides of his mouth twitched, and his eyes seemed proud of his accomplishment.
‘Okay, so you were right. I do need to eat.’
When they finished eating, Samantha leaned back in the chair. ‘That was yummy. Thank you.’
‘No worries.’
‘I wonder how much longer this will take.’
‘It’s almost three. Anytime soon.’
As Brad spoke, a man dressed in a flowing white coat entered the room.
‘Samantha Osborne,’ he said on approach.
‘Yes, that’s me.’ She stood. Brad copied.
‘My name is Doctor Swan.’
‘Hello. How is my brother? Oh, this is Brad Harper; a friend of the family.’
The two men exchanged a handshake.
‘Young Christopher is sleeping. He’s doing well. His right hand and leg is in plaster. He’ll be left with some major scaring above the left eye and cheek. They’ll eventually fade.’
‘So he’s fine. He’ll be okay.’
‘He’ll need to take it easy for six weeks. I’d like him to stay at least until tomorrow afternoon so we can keep an eye on him.’
‘Can I see him?’
‘He’s asleep. I’ll show you where he is, if you’d like to follow me.’
Samantha and Brad followed the doctor until they stopped by a doorway.
‘He’s been transferred from the recovery room. You can go in. I have another patient I need to see.’
‘Thank you. We’ll come back later on today.’
Samantha hesitated when she reached the end of Christopher’s bed. She couldn’t believe her youngest brother was so broken. She placed a cupped hand over her mouth and felt Brad’s hand slip to her waist
.
‘Come on. We don’t want to wake him.’
She shrugged his hand away, and moved closer. The dim light from above the bed outlined his face. The top part of his forehead and the left side of his face was concealed with bandages. His leg jutted out from under the sheet revealing plaster from his knee down.
She glanced at his right hand, and ran her gaze up over his face. The area around his left eye was bruised and swollen, and even with it closed she knew he’d have trouble seeing until the swelling subsided.
Brad gave her a gentle tap. ‘Come on Sam. Let’s find somewhere to sleep.’
She leaned closer to Chris and whispered, ‘We’re here Chris. You’re going to be okay. We’ll come back later on today. It’s early morning.’
She turned to Brad who stood not far away.
‘Are you okay?’
‘Yeah, come on, let’s go.’
They stepped out into the early morning air, and although darkness loomed, a few lights surrounding the almost vacant car park lit up the area.
‘I spoke to the receptionist while I was getting the coffees. She said there’s a motel not far from here.’
‘Sounds good.’
The streets were quiet and after the fourth motel stating they were booked out or not answering, Brad headed toward the caravan park.
‘We could sleep in the car. No one would appreciate us waking them up at this time of the morning.’
‘I don’t think they’d mind. Besides, they must get the occasional late, I mean early morning, visitor. A comfortable bed in a cabin would be a lot better than trying to get a few hours’ kip in the back seat of my car before daylight.’
Brad turned into the caravan park, and eased his car to a crawl down the entrance driveway before pulling up in front of a red brick building. ‘Wait here. I won’t be long.’
A light near the reception area highlighted the winding road ahead, obviously the entrance to the onsite cabins and caravans. Samantha pushed her back into the seat and closed her eyes.
‘We’re are in luck,’ Brad said as he opened the car door, before noticing she’d fallen asleep.
He closed the door, trying not to make a sound, and veered the car down the road, following the instructions the caretaker had given him. Within moments, he pulled up beside a tidy-looking cabin with a front deck enclosed in fancy latticework.
Raven Falls: Australian Rural Romantic Suspense Page 12
