The Outback Doctor

by Lucy Clark

  For the next two weeks, things didn’t change. Rose’s life, professionally, was great. She’d had two postcards from her father, saying that he and Beverley were having a wonderful time. The people in Broken Hill were welcoming and friendly but she still felt like an outsider. She guessed the locals saw her as a city slicker and that was that.

  The following Monday, Rose was just coming out of Theatre, after anaesthetising for Penny Hatfield, the orthopaedic specialist from Adelaide, when Carrie, one of the theatre nurses, rushed up to her.

  ‘Dave needs you in A and E, stat.’

  Rose followed and was taken to the doctors’ tearoom. There were several people there, all sitting down listening to Dave as he spoke.

  ‘The Royal Flying Doctor Service will take us out to the airstrip on the property and then someone will meet us there and take us to the accident site.’ He turned his head, his gaze encompassing Rose. For a split second she saw a flicker of pleasure but it was so quickly veiled that she wondered if she’d imagined it. ‘Two teenagers are trapped. There appears to have been a subsidence on their property. Possibly an abandoned mine. It may still be unstable so I want everyone to exercise the utmost care.’

  ‘Injuries?’ Rose asked, her tone completely businesslike.

  ‘Full report isn’t in as no one’s been able to get to them. We’ll be the first medical team on the scene. Rosie—get what you’ll need then come back here. You and I will head out to the airstrip together so you don’t get lost. Everyone else, you’ve done this before, you know what to do. Let’s get moving.’

  Rose stood paralysed for a moment as others around her started leaving the room, talking about what they needed to do. She’d known when she’d taken this job that she might need to travel in a small aircraft, but she hadn’t expected it to be this soon. The fear started to grip her heart, just as it had always done when she’d had to get on a plane—big or small.

  ‘Something wrong, Rosie?’ Dave asked, noticing she wasn’t moving.

  ‘Plane? You said we’re going in a plane? H-how big is it?’

  ‘A nine-seater. Why?’

  Rose swallowed over the lump in her throat and wiped her clammy hands on her skirt. ‘Ah…nothing.’

  The room was now empty, except for the two of them. Dave peered at her closely before raking a hand through his hair. ‘You don’t like to fly, do you?’

  ‘Not particularly,’ she admitted.

  ‘It was part of the job description. You knew you’d be flying in a light aircraft.’ His tone was anything but sympathetic. In fact, he seemed rather annoyed and, truthfully, she couldn’t blame him.

  ‘I know,’ she snapped, her fear being replaced by anger. ‘I just hadn’t expected it to be so soon.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I’ll be fine.’

  ‘You’d better be.’ With that, he turned and headed out of the room.

  Rose remained where she was, trying to control the churning in her stomach and the prickling in her eyes. Well, what had she expected? For him to say it would be all right and to hold her hand? She was a grown woman. She’d been working on her mild claustrophobia for years and had improved dramatically, but could she really do this?

  There were no questions about it. She had to do this.

  Straightening her shoulders, she went to get her equipment ready, forcing the overwhelming memories of the past back where they belonged. She was a professional. She could do this.

  She returned to the tearoom a few minutes before Dave arrived, but it was enough to make her palms start perspiring again.

  ‘Ready?’ he asked, his tone tough.

  ‘Yes.’ Rose knew he was questioning her and she raised her chin defiantly, not wanting him to get the better of her. There were people out there, people who needed their expert help, and above all she couldn’t allow herself to lose sight of that.

  ‘Let’s go.’

  They headed out to the car park and climbed into Dave’s ute, ever careful of her medical bag with the drugs she would need to help alleviate their patients’ pain.

  ‘So why are you afraid to fly?’

  ‘I’m not afraid,’ she countered quickly.

  ‘No? Your body language says otherwise.’

  ‘And tell me, Dr Freud, what does my body language tell you? Other than I’m anxious for our patients.’

  ‘Is that why every muscle in your body is tense? Look, Rosie, I was only trying to help.’

  ‘I don’t need your help.’

  ‘Why are you so antagonistic towards me?’

  ‘Why shouldn’t I be? Ever since I arrived in this town, all you’ve done is badger and pick on me.’

  ‘Pick on you? You’ve been as prickly as an echidna. You city slickers—you’re all alike. You come here, we try to make you feel welcome, perhaps ask a few questions to get to know you better, and suddenly we’re being accused of badgering. Well, I’ll have you know that I’ve never “badgered” in my life and I don’t intend to start.’

  ‘Ha. I doubt you even know what the word means.’

  ‘It means to harass or nag.’ Dave turned off the road into the RFDS car park. ‘Only women nag,’ he muttered as he parked.

  ‘What?’ Rose asked in disbelief. ‘That’s just the sort of sexist comment I’d expect from you,’ she added as she climbed from the car, medical bag in tow. If she’d known where she was going, she’d have stormed off ahead of him. Instead, she had to cool her heels whilst he got out and collected his gear. ‘What makes you think that the word “nag” is related only to females?’

  ‘Because every female I know nags,’ he said firmly, as he stalked ahead of her.

  ‘Well, every male I know badgers.’

  He stopped and turned to face her. ‘Then I guess we’re just going to agree to disagree. The only reason I asked the question in the first place was because I thought I might be able to help you, but I see it was just another wasted effort.’

  ‘What do mean, another?’

  ‘Forget it.’ He continued on his way, bursting through the reception area of the building before heading out the back. ‘You’re just spoiling for a fight. Well, you can pick on someone else, Rosie. I won’t be your whipping boy.’

  ‘My what?’ She noticed the strange looks from the rest of the staff who’d gathered there, but she didn’t care. She was too mad with him to notice anything at the moment. ‘How dare you even imply that any of this was my fault? You definitely started this argument and then you walk away. What kind of man are you?’ They were walking across the hot tarmac, heading towards the plane.

  ‘The kind who really can’t be bothered with this at the moment. Stay inside your cocoon, Miss High and Mighty. See if I care.’ She watched him climb the small steps and disappear into the plane.

  ‘There you go again. Throwing out blanket statements and then disappearing before you can be confronted with the truth,’ she called out, as she mounted the steps and went after him.

  Only the two of them were on the plane at that moment, and once she was inside she put her bag on the floor and turned to glare at him. It wasn’t as easy as it should have been as the roof was so low that both of them had to crouch down. It was then she realised what he’d done.

  She felt the blood drain from her body and her limbs start to shake. ‘It’s OK, Rosie. It’s OK,’ he said softly, as he placed his hands on her shoulders. He sat her down in a chair and looked into her eyes. ‘You’ll be fine. Just keep a clear head and you’ll do fine.’

  ‘I’m…I’m…’ She felt her stomach clench with nervousness. Her eyes were wild with fear and her head started spinning. ‘I’m on a…’ Her breathing was becoming more rapid as the seconds passed.

  ‘Breathe,’ Dave instructed. ‘You got this far, you can do the rest with ease.’

  ‘I’m…I’m…’

  The look of panic in her eyes had Dave cursing himself for being so uncivilised towards her, but he’d had to do something to get her onto the plane. He’d hoped their argument could have lasted a li
ttle longer—like until they’d touched down—but Rosie had become aware of her surroundings only moments after stepping onto the aircraft. Now she was hyperventilating.

  He reached for a paper bag and held it over her mouth and nose. ‘Breathe,’ he instructed calmly. ‘Let me strap you in. Close your eyes. It’ll be fine.’

  ‘It…it won’t,’ she stammered, shaking her head.

  Dave took her hand in his and squeezed it tight. His gaze met hers and his eyes seemed to hold her captive. ‘It’ll be fine,’ he said again. ‘I promise. Trust me, Rosie.’

  It was what her father had said to her when she’d been a little girl, waking in the middle of the night after one of her horrible dreams. Thanks to the neuroses her mother had left her with, she felt doomed to deal with this mild claustrophobia for the rest of her life. But she was stronger than that and she refused to succumb to it.

  ‘You’ll be fine, Rosie,’ he said again. ‘Trust me.’

  She nodded slightly, amazed at how he’d helped her to calm down. Slowly her breathing started to return to normal.

  ‘Nice and calm. That’s it.’

  The other seven members of the medical retrieval team were starting to board and Rose kept her gaze fixed on Dave’s. He monitored her during take-off, holding her hand until they landed. Even then, he undid her seat belt and helped her from the plane, giving her one of his dazzling smiles that turned her insides to mush.

  ‘You did great,’ he said softly, before calling his team to order. ‘All right, everyone. Listen up.’ Dave gave out instructions to the team, letting them know that once they had both patients retrieved and were ready to return to Broken Hill, there would be limited room in the King Air B200C. ‘With two stretchers, we’ll only have room for myself, Penny, Carrie and Rosie. All right, everyone knows their job so let’s get going.’

  There were two utes waiting for them at the airstrip and everyone clambered in. ‘How’re you doing now?’ Dave yelled as he crouched down next to Rose in the back of the vehicle. The noise of the tyres on the dirt road was deafening. She was glad they were in the first ute as the tyres were also kicking up at lot of dust, almost obscuring the second ute from their vision.

  ‘Better. Thanks. I’ve never travelled in a ute like this, but I guess it’s the only way to transport everyone and the equipment to the site.’

  ‘Too right,’ he said with a chuckle. ‘Let the wind blow through your hair—even though it’s slightly longer than mine.’ He laughed again and Rose smiled at him, thankful that they were out in the open again. She took a few deep breaths, knowing she had to relax and regroup so she could be of use to the patients.

  ‘Probably best if you close your mouth, too.’

  ‘Pardon?’

  ‘If you’re going to practise deep breathing,’ he said close to her ear, ‘close your mouth or you’ll either get dust, bugs or both in there.’

  Rose’s eyes widened in surprise but she quickly closed her mouth. Dave laughed again at her reaction. As they bumped along, his arm kept brushing hers and she enjoyed the spark of excitement that spread through her every time they touched.

  The land around them was almost devoid of vegetation and the orangey-brown dirt seemed to stretch on for miles. It seemed arid and depressing, although she was sure other people here would have a different view. She looked at the faces of those around her. Penny was laughing with Carrie, who was sitting beside her. The two women seemed oblivious to their surroundings or the amount of dust that was settling over them.

  As she looked out again, she saw some emus in the distance. She’d never seen an emu in the wild before—only in a zoo. It was an amazing sight which made her smile. Perhaps it wasn’t so depressing after all.

  Finally the ute slowed down and went over a cattle grid, the jarring bumps making her teeth chatter. She looked around at her colleagues again. No one was talking now. Everyone seemed to be concentrating on what they might find, running through different scenarios in their minds.

  Once the ute stopped, Dave helped Rose out, the brief touch of his hands about her waist warming her insides. She swatted the flies away. ‘Thanks.’

  ‘No problem.’ He turned and helped both Penny and Carrie as well, and she remembered his brother’s remark about chivalry. People were bustling with activity, the constant swatting of flies making it almost look comical. Rose was able to focus firmly on her work, until Dave walked over with an abseiling harness for her.

  ‘What’s that for?’

  ‘For you to put on.’

  ‘Why? I don’t need to go down there.’

  He nodded. ‘Yes, you do.’

  Rose felt her heartbeat increase again at the thought of going down beneath the ground. She’d been out on retrievals before but they had all been inner-city accidents. None of this out in the back of beyond and down a hole! How on earth, after everything she’d been through so far, was she going to tell Dave that she couldn’t do it? He already had a harness on, as did Penny.

  He held up the harness—a piece of woven nylon which was supposed to support her weight as she hung on a rope. Was he mad?

  When she looked up at him, she knew her face was as pale as before. ‘I take it you’ve never abseiled before.’

  Rose shook her head, unable to speak.

  ‘Let me help you into the harness, then.’

  ‘What? You’re not mad with me?’ Her words came out rather breathlessly and she watched him eye her carefully.

  ‘Put one leg through here,’ he commanded, but didn’t answer her question. ‘If these harnesses aren’t put on correctly, we’re all in trouble,’ he added, knowing she’d probably be able to complete the task herself but he wanted to help. He wanted an excuse to be this close to her again.

  Dave could tell she was agitated and wasn’t sure whether it was from the thought of abseiling or going into a confined space again. Probably the latter.

  When Rose placed her hand on his shoulder to help herself balance, his restraint nearly broke. He should have assigned someone else the job of helping her into a harness but he hadn’t been able to bear the thought of any other man getting that close to her.

  There were two other females on the retrieval team but they were both busy. The past two weeks of agony, as he’d kept his distance from her, was making him forget his resolve not to touch her again. Not in a personal sense, anyway.

  As he pulled the harness up her legs, he felt her hands cover his own. Thinking she wanted him to back off, he tried to pull away. She didn’t move her hands.

  ‘Rosie?’ He glanced at her, only to see anguish and fear present in her eyes once more. He was beginning to realise there was a lot more to this woman than he’d originally thought. She seemed deep and complex. He knew he should probably turn and walk away but he couldn’t help himself. He guessed it was his inbuilt sense of chivalry that made him want to help. That—or his attraction for her was definitely leading him astray.

  ‘Rosie?’ He swallowed over the dryness in his throat as he spoke her name again.

  She opened her mouth to speak but found she couldn’t. Instead, she shook her head. All he could think of was pressing his lips to hers but the fear in her eyes stopped him. She needed reassurance and although he thought that was a fantastic way to reassure someone, she might not be of the same opinion.

  ‘You’ll be fine,’ he continued, his tone soft and reassuring. ‘I’ll go first, which means I’ll be down on the bottom, helping to control your descent. Unfortunately, the hole is too narrow for both of us to go down side by side, but you’ll be fine. Trust me.’

  ‘I do,’ she whispered. ‘But it’s not only the abseiling. It’s the…the…’

  ‘The confines of the hole? It’ll be all right. Those kids need you, Rosie. Focus on them and how much you can help them. That’s why you became a doctor in the first place—to help people. They need pain relief and you’re the only one who can figure out exactly what they need. I’m counting on you. We’re all counting on you and I know yo
u’ll come through for me, just like you did for the plane ride.’

  He continued to secure the harness and reluctantly removed his hands from beneath hers. They were standing so close that if he’d just leaned down slightly, he’d be able to claim her lips with his. He was aching to do it but the last thing she needed now was to be frightened further, and he knew for a fact that the kiss he wanted to give her would be anything but reassuring and gentle. He wanted to plunder her mouth with his, which made his earlier chivalry seem like a lie.

  The thought of kissing her caused him to lose sight of everything but his growing need for the woman before him. He knew how she tasted and the knowledge had driven him insane for the past couple of weeks. Rosie Partridge seemed to be one woman who refused to leave his dreams, so in the end he’d given up trying to force her out. At least that way he got some sleep, even if he did wake up frustrated.

  ‘Rosie,’ he murmured, his voice deep with desire. He edged forward so their noses were almost touching.

  ‘Dave?’ Penny called out, and he immediately stepped away from Rose. ‘We’re almost set.’

  ‘Be right there,’ he called back. He glanced at Rose. ‘Time to get you roped up. Come with me.’ His tone was brisk, mainly because he was cross with himself for almost kissing her in front of the hospital staff. He headed off towards the others, leaving Rose to follow behind him. When she was there, he called everyone to attention.

  ‘Those two kids down there need us. Let’s focus on what we’re here to do, people, and let’s get those kids out in one piece.’

  As he continued giving instructions, Rose smiled at what he’d said, feeling some of his inner strength spread throughout her. He was a good man, a good leader, and she did trust him.

  ‘Ready?’ he asked, turning to face her.

  She nodded, concentrating her thoughts on the two teenage kids. They hadn’t asked to be down there. It wasn’t their fault. They needed her help and she was determined to give it to them.

  ‘Yes,’ she said weakly, but cleared her throat and tried again. ‘Yes.’ It was firmer this time. Dave placed his arm on her shoulder and squeezed it gently.