English Rose in the Outback

by Lucy Clark

  What he was sure of was the dream…the dream of staying here in Meeraji Lake, being a part of the community, of creating a stable and loving environment for his children, cooking a barbecue on the weekend, swatting flies, running around, playing games and all of it with the woman of his dreams at his side. The only problem was, he had no idea who the woman of his dreams was any more. It hadn’t been Magda. It hadn’t been Deidre. Could it be…Daisy?

  *

  ‘How’s everything been going?’ he asked the next day as he entered the ED. He’d just finished his Saturday morning clinic and Tori and Daisy were sitting at the nurses’ station, going over some case notes.

  ‘Apart from Mrs Piper still celebrating her good news, it’s been fairly quiet,’ Tori said, but a moment later the phone on the desk rang.

  ‘Don’t speak too soon,’ Daisy and Oscar said in unison, then grinned at each other as Daisy picked up the receiver. ‘Meeraji Lake District Hospital,’ she stated. ‘Dr Forsythe-York speaking.’ She listened for a moment, then started taking notes. Tori handed Oscar two sets of case notes.

  ‘Patients in rooms one and two just need you to review before admission,’ she said. Oscar accepted the case notes and headed off to room one. It was five minutes later when he returned to the nurses’ station to find Daisy still on the phone.

  ‘Emergency,’ she mouthed and handed him the piece of paper where she’d taken neat and meticulous notes. ‘Yes,’ she said into the phone. ‘OK. So the helicopter…’ She paused. ‘Good. Thank you, Henry. I appreciate your assistance in this matter.’ She disconnected the call and turned to face him. ‘Henry’s organising the police side of the emergency,’ she told him, but Oscar wasn’t listening.

  He pointed to the piece of paper in his hand. ‘Gracie? This has happened to Gracie Penderghast?’

  ‘You know her?’

  ‘I know everyone in the district.’

  ‘I’ve requested her case notes and Tori is organising the rest of the emergency retrieval team.’

  ‘And I heard you’ve already requested the helicopter so we’ll have a meeting in a minute or two in the staff kitchen and you can give a debrief of the situation. Do you want me to take control of the team?’

  ‘I think it’s best given it’s my first retrieval and, although I’ve read all the hospital’s protocols, the staff—and some of the patients—don’t have confidence in me yet.’

  Oscar placed a hand on her shoulder. ‘They will do. Things take time.’

  ‘Things always take time.’

  There was a hint of sadness to her words and Oscar angled his head to the side as he watched her. To say there were a lot of layers to the woman before him was an understatement. She was brisk, proficient and posh yet she’d gone above and beyond the call of duty several times since her arrival in Meeraji Lake.

  ‘I’ll go and get changed into the retrieval overalls and meet you in the staff kitchen,’ she remarked before walking away. He stood there, like a fool, watching the way her hips moved, the way she swayed, the way her cool summery clothes made her look less austere than the suit she’d worn that first day.

  When she disappeared into the female toilets, which also doubled as a changing room, Oscar knew he needed to concentrate on the emergency, to go through Gracie Penderghast’s case notes, to check and see whether she was allergic to any medications and to prepare himself for the sight that awaited them. Gracie. Little seventeen-year-old Gracie! His sister, Lucinda, had been the midwife to deliver Gracie, Mr and Mrs Penderghast having given up any hope of ever having a child. She was their everything, and now she was hurt.

  Oscar strode to the changing rooms, determined to do everything he could in order to save Gracie’s life. When something drastic like this happened in the town, it didn’t just happen to the people involved, it happened to everyone. They were a community and they stuck together like glue.

  ‘We have to save her,’ he muttered with determination as he came out of the changing rooms.

  ‘We will.’ Daisy spoke from behind him and Oscar spun around to face her. ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.’ They headed towards the briefing together but before they entered the room, Daisy surprised him further by slipping her hand into his and giving it a little squeeze.

  ‘You’re not alone in this, Oscar. I’m here to help. Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do. I just wanted you to know that.’

  He stood still for a moment and stared into her eyes. How had she known just the right thing to say? He’d momentarily forgotten that he wasn’t the only doctor on staff now. He had back-up. He had help and Daisy was letting him know that she was there for whatever he needed. On a professional level, he appreciated the courtesy. On a personal level, it meant that Daisy Forsthye-York really was quite an extraordinary woman.

  CHAPTER SIX

  THE SCENE WHEN the retrieval team arrived at the remote part of the Penderghasts’ property was not one of hysterics, for which Daisy was exceedingly grateful.

  ‘You’ll find that most country folk keep a cool and calm head in emergency situations.’ Oscar’s words were quiet as they started to gather up their medical equipment. ‘They’re a strong, tough, matter-of-fact breed of person.’

  ‘Sorry?’ Had she spoken out loud or could he now read her thoughts?

  ‘Just in case you were wondering.’ He kept his head bent as they left the helicopter and walked carefully towards the patient, who was sitting upright, knees bent helping to cradle her right arm and shoulder.

  ‘Hello. I’m Daisy,’ she remarked as she took off her medical backpack and knelt down next to Gracie.

  ‘The new doc,’ Gracie said.

  ‘Good.’ Daisy nodded and smiled, pleased with Gracie’s cognitive function. ‘That’s right.’

  ‘Hey there, Gracie.’ Oscar knelt down on the other side of the teenager. ‘Having a bad day, eh?’

  Gracie laughed without humour. ‘It’s not my best, Oscar.’

  ‘We’re going to get you sorted out,’ Daisy told her. ‘I’ve dealt with this type of injury before.’

  ‘And so have I,’ Oscar added. ‘So you are most definitely in good hands.’

  ‘Well, that’s good because I’ve almost ripped my right arm completely off,’ Gracie said, seemingly not at all hysterical about her injury.

  ‘You’re very calm about it,’ Daisy stated as she pulled on a pair of gloves and checked Gracie’s right shoulder. ‘Have you already been given something for the pain?’

  ‘No. I’ve been injured before.’

  ‘Yes, she has. She’s broken her leg—’

  ‘When I fell off my horse,’ Gracie added.

  ‘She’s had a fractured jaw.’

  ‘When I flew off the mechanical bull and landed on my face.’ Gracie even grinned. ‘I was almost fourteen then.’

  ‘She’s had her appendix out, is due to have her wisdom teeth out soon and has generally turned her parents’ hair grey with her antics.’

  Gracie grinned then flinched, her expression changing immediately when Daisy carefully touched her shoulder.

  ‘Sorry. Sorry,’ Daisy instantly said. ‘Now you can add a dislocated shoulder to that list.’

  ‘It’s dislocated?’ Gracie accepted the anaesthetic green whistle Oscar was holding out to her to breathe in. ‘Oh, great. I love these things. They’re the best part about getting hurt.’

  Daisy frowned for a moment, concern touching her eyes. Had Gracie hurt herself on purpose?

  ‘It’s not what you think,’ Oscar said as though he truly could read her mind. ‘Gracie’s just a typical outback kid. Rough as guts and tough as nails.’

  ‘Yeah. I’m actually in a lot of pain,’ she said, honesty in her eyes. ‘But I knew you’d get here sooner or later. Scotty wasn’t going to leave me but he had no reception on his phone in this part of the land. Plus, I knew as soon as my parents found out what had happened—’ Gracie flinched again and even whimpered a little ‘—that they’d be worried and so I told Scotty to
stay at the house with them, that I’d be OK until you lot showed up.’ She swatted at one of the many flies surrounding them with her left hand but then moaned in pain.

  ‘Will you just sit still?’ Oscar chided the teenager, a small smile on his face. ‘Look, here comes Tori so you’d best behave yourself. You know she’ll tell you off.’

  Daisy couldn’t help but smile herself as the nurse, carrying the portable stretcher and other equipment they’d need, took one look at Gracie and tut-tutted.

  ‘What have you been up to now, Gracie Penderghast?’

  ‘I was helping Scotty out here with the post-hole digging and got my arm caught in the auger.’

  ‘That’s the screw-like part which slowly digs down into the ground,’ Oscar added for Daisy’s benefit.

  She raised a haughty eyebrow at him. ‘I know what an auger is, Dr Price.’

  ‘Of course you do,’ he remarked with a slight hint of humour in his tone, his blue eyes momentarily twinkling with amusement. While they talked, or, more correctly, while they listened to Gracie explain what had happened, Oscar snapped pictures with his cell phone and took a bit of video as well. ‘I think I’ve got it all,’ he stated quietly to Daisy and nodded that they could start checking, debriding and bandaging the wounds as well as strapping the teenager’s shoulder, getting her as ready for transportation as they could.

  ‘Anyway, there was a lot of brush scrub in the way and we couldn’t get the auger—’ She gestured with her left hand and was once again told to sit still from both Oscar and Tori. ‘Sorry. Well, Scotty didn’t know I wasn’t clear, or I think I’d yelled that I was clear but then I saw another bit I had to clear and went for it, thinking I had time but—’ She glanced momentarily at her bloodied arm, her hand almost unrecognisable. ‘But I didn’t.’ She paused for a moment, allowing Tori to offer her a drink of water. ‘It’s all a bit hazy and Scotty said it could have been heaps worse.’

  Even when Tori put a neck brace around Gracie’s neck, it still didn’t stop her from chatting away and it was then Daisy realised that the chattiness was actually Gracie’s way of dealing with the trauma her body was presently facing.

  *

  As Tori offered assistance to Daisy and Oscar, the two doctors worked exceptionally well together, putting in an IV line in order to boost Gracie’s fluids, performing observations and reporting their findings to each other.

  ‘Aren’t you going to put my shoulder back into position?’ she asked.’

  ‘First we need to check you haven’t fractured your shoulder, because if that’s the case we can’t relocate it. The X-rays will give us the information we need,’ Oscar replied.

  ‘I get to go in the chopper again. Am I going to Alice Springs hospital?’ she asked Oscar as she took in another deep breath from the magic green whistle that contained midazolam. Chances were Gracie would hardly remember any of this but Daisy had to admit she would rather deal with a chipper, chatty teen than a screaming, sobbing one.

  ‘You’ll be going to Darwin,’ Oscar remarked.

  ‘Oh.’ That stopped Gracie for a moment. ‘But only the really bad cases go to Darwin.’ It was then Daisy noted Gracie’s chin start to wobble and her breathing instantly increased, anxiety reflected in her eyes. Daisy glanced across at Oscar, read the matching concern in his own expression before returning her attention to Gracie, making sure she affected an air of nonchalance.

  ‘Actually, you’re only going to Darwin because I was the one to organise your transfer and one of my old army chums works in Darwin. He’s the plastic surgeon there and he really is the best.’

  ‘So you didn’t know emergencies were supposed to go to Alice Springs?’

  ‘Exactly and also because I really wanted you to have the best treatment and Timothy Hartfell is the best plastic surgeon I’ve ever met.’

  ‘Oh, well, that’s really nice of you, Daisy. Thanks.’ Gracie’s breathing seemed to settle down and Oscar breathed a sigh of relief, mouthing the words ‘thank you’ to Daisy. She felt so thrilled that she found herself doing something she’d never thought she would: she winked at Oscar, as though to reassure him that everything would be fine with their patient.

  Oscar’s answer was to smile so brightly at her that for one split second she actually forgot what she was doing, forgot where she was, forgot even her own name. How could he do that to her…and with just one bright smile?

  ‘So how do you know this plastic surgeon Timothy dude?’ Gracie asked, her question instantly snapping Daisy’s attention away from the confusing way Oscar made her feel and back to the task at hand.

  ‘I know, she’s been in the country for the blink of an eye and already she’s pulling strings and calling in favours.’

  Daisy laughed and he felt as though he’d just been punched in the solar plexus. She was stunning. So stunning, she took his breath away and he couldn’t help but be dazzled by this incredible woman. How was it she was able to affect him in such a way with just a smile? Her teeth were perfectly straight, indicating braces in the past. Her eyes were twinkling with such genuine delight as she told Gracie how she’d known Timothy since medical school and that they’d both served in the army.

  He tried not to be bothered by the radiance in her tone as she continued to chat with Gracie while they worked. He should be pleased she was keeping Gracie talking, keeping the girl’s anxiety under control, yet for some reason he felt a pang of one hundred per cent jealousy at the mere mention of Timothy Hartfell’s name.

  He tried to push the sensation away, telling himself that Daisy was nothing more than a colleague—a stunning one, but that was all she was. Yes, he liked her. Yes, he found her attractive and yes, he wanted to get to know her much, much better.

  Then they could hear a car engine in the distance and as it drew closer they realised it was Scotty. ‘Docs, you’re here. You’re here. Thank God.’ Scotty had barely brought the ute to a stop before he was out of the vehicle and racing towards them, dust and flies and the heat of the afternoon starting to descend upon them all. ‘How is she? Gracie, honey? How are you?’

  ‘How’s Mum and Dad?’ Gracie asked as Tori started setting up the stretcher.

  ‘They’re OK. I didn’t tell them exactly how bad the injury was.’

  ‘But it isn’t that bad,’ Gracie told him.

  ‘Have a little bit more of the green whistle,’ Oscar encouraged. They just needed to keep Gracie nice and calm for a bit longer. Once they had her in the helicopter, they could give her stronger analgesics.

  ‘Bill was out and about doing his rounds so I managed to get him on the phone too and he’s staying with your parents until we knew more about how you were doing. Your dad wanted to come out here with me but—’ Scotty shook his head ‘—I said he’d be better off packing you a bag of stuff to take to hospital.’

  ‘And you’re sure Dad’s OK?’ Gracie’s tone held concern for her father and Daisy wondered what had happened to Mr Penderghast in the past to put such wisdom into those young eyes of hers.

  ‘Yes. Bill’s checked his heart and everything’s fine. He’s not going to have another heart attack, Gracie.’

  ‘Good.’ At this news that her aged parents were indeed OK, Gracie sagged against Oscar.

  ‘Scotty, help Tori with the stretcher then tell the pilot that we’re almost ready to get going to Darwin.’

  ‘Darwin? She’s going to Darwin? She’s not that bad, is she?’ Scotty remarked but Tori hit his arm, telling him to be quiet. Daisy could hear Tori whispering briskly to Scotty and decided it was best to distract Gracie with more chatter.

  ‘Tell me, Gracie. Do you still ride a horse?’

  ‘Am I an Aussie?’

  ‘That question implies that all Australians ride horses.’

  ‘Perhaps all outback Aussies do,’ Oscar added as they finished applying the top set of bandages and strapping to Gracie’s arm.

  ‘Then I can tick one box on my list,’ Daisy told the teen.

  ‘What list?’
/>
  ‘My list of what I need to do to become an honorary Aussie.’

  Oscar chuckled then as Tori gave him the thumbs up that they were ready to get Gracie onto the stretcher. ‘If you’re going to become an honorary Aussie, Daisy…’

  ‘Yes,’ she drawled, raising one haughty eyebrow. Gracie giggled at the sight of the two of them teasing each other, then winced as though she remembered that her body really wasn’t doing the best right now.

  ‘Well…uh…then I think we’re going to need to teach you how to speak with an Aussie twang. None of this upper-crust Britishness out here.’

  ‘I beg your pardon. There is nothing whatsoever wrong with my accent.’

  Tori and Scotty laughed, everyone trying to keep the atmosphere as light as possible so the teenager didn’t go into shock.

  ‘Don’t worry, Daisy,’ Gracie said just before they all got into position to shift the teenager to the stretcher. ‘I’ll teach you some Aussie words on the helicopter ride to Darwin.’

  ‘Thank you, Gracie. That’s exceedingly kind of you.’ Daisy glared at Oscar, as if to teasingly imply that he wasn’t being kind. He opened his mouth to reply but whatever he’d been about to say was drowned out by the drone of the helicopter blades.

  They managed to get Gracie onto the stretcher but as they were strapping her in Daisy noticed that the look of panic was back. She glanced at Oscar but realised he’d seen it, too. With the sound of the helicopter making it impossible for them to continue to converse with Gracie, she was now starting to think more about what had actually happened to her, about what it might mean by being transferred to Darwin. It was a further distance away from Meeraji Lake, which would no doubt make it difficult for her parents to be with her for any length of time.

  ‘Gracie. Gracie,’ she called. ‘What words are you going to teach me first?’ she asked.

  ‘Uh…umm.’ Gracie’s breathing was starting to increase and as they started carrying the stretcher towards the helicopter panic filled the teenager’s eyes and she started to cry.