Life Support: Escape to the Country

by Nicki Edwards

  Emma tried to smile but panic coursed through her. “What about the other driver?” She remembered the horse float coming toward her.

  “He was fine. You hit the kangaroo first and it bounced off his bonnet. He had a smashed windscreen and his car was a write-off. Lucky he was there or you might not have been found on that road for hours. He was knocked out at first but when he came to he called emergency services and waited until they arrived.”

  “Lucky.”

  “Yeah, you’re very lucky. Lucky to be alive.”

  Emma frowned. “How long have I been in here?”

  “Only four days.”

  Four days. It felt like forever.

  The struggle to stay awake was so hard Emma closed her eyes again then snapped them open. “There were horses.”

  Kate’s smile faded. “They had to be put down.”

  Emma closed her eyes as tears formed. No.

  “Tom?”

  “He’s fine Emma. He can’t wait to see you.”

  “Can you get him,” she croaked.

  Emma drifted off to sleep and woke to feel someone caressing her arm with feather light strokes. She opened her eyes.

  “Hey beautiful.”

  “Tom. I’m so sorry.”

  He leaned forward and kissed her forehead tenderly. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m grateful you’re alive and you’re okay.”

  “You must have been so worried. First your mum and now me.”

  He stroked her cheek. “Shh. It’s all right.”

  She closed her eyes again.

  “Do you remember what happened?” he asked finally.

  She nodded slowly.

  “What about before the accident? And the night before?”

  She opened her eyes and allowed a slow unsteady smile to spread across her face. “I haven’t lost my memory, Tom.”

  “So you remember—?”

  “I remember you asked me to marry you and I remember I said yes.”

  Tom exhaled and relief washed over his face.

  “As soon as I’m better, let’s do it. I don’t want to wait.”

  “Me either,” he said with a laugh.

  “I don’t want anything fancy. Just us and our families and a few friends.”

  “Sounds perfect to me.”

  “Do you know where I want to get married?”

  Tom nodded. “At Lexton Downs. In the orchard.”

  She smiled because he knew her so well. His lips sought hers then, tender yet filled with passion and promise.

  She closed her eyes and dozed, losing track of time. When she woke Tom was still there. Tired, but there. His feet were propped up on her bed, one leg crossed over the other. As soon as her eyes opened, he dropped his feet to the floor and kissed her gently on the cheek. She felt his lashes against her skin.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Like I could sleep for a week.”

  “You’ve been sleeping on and off all day.”

  “What’s the time?”

  “Two o’clock.”

  “You must be exhausted. Have you been here all day?”

  He kissed her on the nose. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

  The door opened and closed then someone slid the curtain back. Her parents stood there, worry etched on their faces. Tom and Emma pulled apart and Tom stood back to allow Sean and Lorraine to get closer.

  “Don’t you dare move away Tom Henderson,” Lorraine said, drawing him back in.

  “Oh love.” Her dad’s eyes filled with tears.

  “I’m okay Daddy.”

  Sean squeezed her hand. They pulled up chairs and sat. Emma quizzed them on the accident and they gently gave her the details.

  She wriggled in the bed, trying to get comfortable. “When can I get out of here?”

  “They’ll move you out of ICU tomorrow and onto the ward. You’ll need a couple of days to fully recover then they’ll let me bring you home,” Tom said.

  Emma glanced at her parents. She hadn’t mentioned anything about moving in with Tom. Or about marrying him. Should she share their news? She peeped at Tom. He nodded and mouthed, Tell them.

  Chapter 29

  For the next couple of weeks Emma recuperated at the cottage and Tom proved to be an attentive nurse. Her parents spent every day at Lexton Downs after the accident. Her dad helped Tom around the property and her mum was in her element in the vegetable gardens and orchard. Lexton Downs was fully booked and Tom was talking about hiring another person to help at the stables with the racehorses. He’d had to temporarily give up his dream of running a horse therapy program until they could acquire the right kind of horses and cut through the thick tape that surrounded such programs. Ruby was also a regular and she and Emma got to know each other more each day. When Emma was feeling better, she promised Ruby they’d go riding again.

  Christmas Day arrived with little fanfare and they celebrated with Emma’s entire family at Eagles Ridge Farm. With less than ten weeks until the birth of Kate and Joel’s twins, Kate had planned a low-key day, which suited Emma perfectly. Ruby joined them for the afternoon and Emma took delight in watching Ruby and Annabel play together. The two girls were starting school together the next year and had already decided they were going to be best friends forever.

  Liam was uncharacteristically quiet in the morning and spent much of his time on his phone, but he joined them for lunch before going off to work.

  Kate’s brother Nathan and his wife Mackenzie were celebrating with Mackenzie’s family in Dubbo but they phoned with the best present anyone could wish for – Mackenzie was ten weeks pregnant and they couldn’t wait another day to share their special news. After five years of marriage and numerous cycles of IVF, they were cautiously optimistic.

  On Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, Emma and Tom were relaxing on the deck of the cottage in their new double hammock – a gift from Sean and Lorraine – when Emma announced she was planning an overnight camping trip alone on New Year’s Eve.

  “Are you sure that’s such a good idea?” Tom asked.

  “I need to do it.”

  “But you’ve just come out of hospital.”

  “It’s been nearly three weeks and I’m fine.”

  Tom let out a huff of annoyance, but she could tell he wasn’t cross with her. “Do you at least know where you’re going?”

  “I’ve got a map and it’s only for one night. I’m going to follow the track through the National Park down to the river, camp there overnight and come back.”

  “What if you get injured? Bitten by a snake? Twist your ankle? Attacked by a drop bear?”

  Emma laughed. “There’s no such thing as a drop bear.”

  Tom winked. “Are you sure?”

  Emma gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m sure.”

  “I don’t understand your sudden need to get away and get back to nature. The whole time I’ve known you, you’ve never once mentioned a burning desire to sleep in a swag under the stars.”

  “I want to spend time on my own and clear my head. This past year has been massive. This time last year—” She swallowed as the bitter memories flooded in.

  “Of course. I’m sorry. I should have thought. I’ll let you go, but only if you let me see the route you’re planning on taking.”

  “Control freak,” she said. But she didn’t mean it. It was nice knowing how much he loved her and cared.

  He pulled her into a tight hug and the hammock swung wildly as he kissed her. Emma jumped in surprise when DiNozzo and Deeks barked madly. They got up from where they had been sleeping in the sun and tore around to the front of the cottage.

  Emma frowned. “Are we expecting anyone?”

  “No.”

  Emma started to get up but Tom put a hand on her arm. “Stay. You need to rest. I’ll see who it is.” He climbed out of the hammock.

  “Thanks. I’m not up to visitors.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “Then I’ll send them away.”<
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  Moments later Emma froze when she heard the distinct nasal voice of her ex-mother-in-law.

  There were muffled sounds then Winston’s voice.

  “We need to talk to her.”

  “Emma is recovering from a car accident. Right now she doesn’t need visitors.”

  “We’re hardly visitors,” Mary-Margaret scoffed. “She was married to our son.”

  “Which makes you ex-family,” Tom said. Emma could tell from his terse tone that his shoulders would be tense, his face tight.

  “We’ve come all this way and we’re not leaving until we get this sorted out, so you might as well let us in.”

  “This is my home and you’re not welcome.”

  “No, young man, this is not your home. This is our home.” Emma imagined Mary-Margaret, arms crossed with a look that would cause the Simpson Desert to freeze over.

  “How do you figure that?” Tom asked.

  “Because the woman you’re sleeping with has been living a lie and it has to stop.”

  Emma nearly forgot to breathe. She carefully rolled out of the hammock and stood for a moment as dizziness threatened to pull her down. In bare feet, she padded inside, approaching the front door quietly.

  “Perhaps we can have this conversation inside?” Winston said.

  “Perhaps we can have this conversation another day when our lawyer is present,” Tom snapped back.

  There was silence.

  Emma crept down the dark hallway toward Tom. Behind the closed fly-screen door she made out the silhouettes of Mary-Margaret and Winston.

  She touched Tom lightly on the arm and he spun around. “I’m sorry, Emma. They don’t seem to be taking the hint,” he said, without lowering his voice. He backed into the hallway, his eyes flashing dark.

  “That’s okay,” Emma whispered. She turned and unlatched the screen door. “Hello Winston, Mary-Margaret. Come in.”

  “Hello dear.”

  As Mary-Margaret passed her in a wave of musky perfume, Emma’s skin tightened and she shuddered as though someone had just walked over her grave.

  There were no air-kisses or polite chitchat as they walked down the narrow hallway, through the small kitchen and straight onto the back deck. The last place Emma wanted them was inside her home.

  “Can I get you something to drink? A cup of tea perhaps? Or something cold?” she asked politely.

  “No thank you.”

  “No.”

  The dogs reappeared and Tom commanded them to drop and sit which they did. “Do you want me to leave?” he murmured in her ear as Winston and Mary-Margaret pulled out chairs from the outdoor setting and sat.

  Emma shook her head.

  “They won’t dare try anything while I’m here,” he muttered under his breath.

  She squeezed his arm before facing Mary-Margaret. “I heard what you said out there.” She folded her arms and scowled. “I’m not a liar.”

  Mary-Margaret opened her mouth but Emma held up one hand. “No. Let me speak. Before you start making false accusations about me, I suggest you take a long hard look at your son’s life first.”

  There was an explosive sound of air being released as if from a balloon. Winston’s face turned purple with rage. “How dare you speak ill of the dead.”

  “I’m not,” she retorted, glaring at him then looking into Mary-Margaret’s dark eyes.

  Mary-Margaret stood again and the two women faced each other, toe to toe, eye to eye.

  “You must think we’re stupid,” Mary-Margaret spat. “You must think we had no idea about your affair.” Mary-Margaret’s lips were thin slits, matching the narrowed eyes.

  “As I’ve already told you, I wasn’t having an affair,” Emma answered as calmly as she was able. Inside, her throat felt like it was on fire from the acid building up inside her. A sour taste filled her mouth.

  “And why should we believe you?”

  “It wasn’t Emma having the affair, it was Lleyton.” Tom stepped up beside Emma and put a protective arm around her shoulders as he dropped the Everest of ammunition. There was total silence for a nanosecond before Winston shoved his chair back so hard it tipped over, the cracking sound of wood on wood echoing in the stillness.

  “What the hell are you saying? How dare you accuse my son of having an affair when he’s not here to defend himself?”

  “It’s true,” Emma said. “Lleyton was the one having the affair.” She allowed a heartbeat pause. “With Andrew Williams.”

  Dead silence.

  “Are you saying he was …? They were …?” Mary-Margaret stumbled, tripped, fell over the words as she struggled to pull herself back together. “I don’t believe it.”

  Winston cursed. “You’re making a huge allegation.”

  Emma pulled her phone from her pocket. “How about I call Andrew and he can tell you himself?” She held out the phone. “Go on, call him. Or I will.”

  Her legs were shaking and she wished she could be anywhere but standing there, confronting her ex-in-laws, but she needed to do this.

  “I’ll bloody well call him myself,” Winston growled as he pulled his own phone out and tapped at the screen. While he waited for the call to connect, he blew out a long breath that made his lips vibrate.

  Emma chewed a nail. Tom stood at her side, his arm around her waist, giving her the strength to remain standing. Mary-Margaret stood off to one side, her back ramrod straight.

  Winston stepped off the deck and strode to the back fence but his booming voice carried easily in the summer stillness.

  “Andrew. Winston Chirnside here … I’m at Lexton Downs and Emma is making some serious allegations about you and Lleyton.”

  In the distance magpies warbled. Emma held her breath and crossed her fingers. “Please Andrew, tell him the truth,” she whispered. Tom squeezed her tight and kissed her cheek.

  “What?”

  Winston turned to stare at Emma, eyes narrowed.

  “Oh. You were.” The inflection on his last word went down along with his shoulders. He hunched over like an old man who had just received very bad news.

  Mary-Margaret pressed a hand to her lips to stifle a cry. Winston pocketed his phone and met his wife’s look with a blank expression of his own. A small sob escaped Mary-Margaret’s mouth and she turned and fled around the side of the cottage. Winston hurried after his wife without a word.

  There was silence. Blissful silence. Peaceful silence. It was over.

  Emma closed her eyes and wept as Tom held her tight.

  Chapter 30

  “You look lost.”

  Emma spun so fast she tripped on a tree root and fell to the ground with a thud, landing on her backside. The map she’d been holding floated to the ground and taunted her.

  Tom laughed as she flailed her arms and legs, trying to get back up, but the heavy pack weighed her down.

  “Need any help?”

  She playfully smacked his hands away.

  “I’m fine.”

  She rolled over onto all fours and pushed herself up from the ground, brushing the dirt from her hands and pretending to be annoyed with him. “You frightened me.”

  “Sorry.”

  Emma narrowed her eyes. “Were you following me?”

  “Nope. I was just out for a walk.”

  “Rubbish. You were following me. You didn’t trust me not to get lost.”

  “Are you lost?” He bent down to retrieve her dropped map.

  She snatched it from his hands and stared at it intently. “I’m not lost, I was simply taking a minute to decide which way to go.”

  Silently he leaned over her shoulder to take a closer look at the map and she felt his heat seeping into her. He twisted her map around without saying a word. Her cheeks grew hot. No wonder she was lost – she’d been reading it upside down.

  “This path will take you down to the river.” His arm came around her and with one finger he tapped at a spot on the map. His aftershave – the one she’d given him for Christmas –
filled her senses. “This one will also take you to the river, but it’s not the easiest way. I presume you’re heading toward the waterfall? Or are you looking for drop bears?”

  “I’m heading to the waterfall.”

  A flock of screeching red-breasted lorikeets flew overhead. She tipped back her head to watch them, astonished to see how dark the sky was. It had been blue sky and sunshine when she’d set out that morning. Where had the storm clouds come from?

  As if on cue, above them, the churning black clouds bumped together and exploded in a burst of lightning.

  She jumped. “Are we supposed to count?” She tried to keep her voice light, but heard the nervous waver.

  Too late. The boom of thunder shook the ground under their feet and she jumped again, crashing into Tom’s chest.

  He held her tight. “Scared?”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “Liar.”

  He was right. She was far closer to freaked out.

  “That was way too close.”

  “Do you have a Drizabone?”

  When she shook her head, he scrubbed his hand across his jaw. “Emma, Emma, Emma. I thought you said you would be prepared for this trip.”

  “I am, but not for a storm.”

  He pulled off his Akubra and ran his hands through the mussed up waves of hair before handing the hat to her and dropping the backpack from his shoulders. Lightning lit up the sky above them again and without thinking, she squealed.

  “Should we get out in the open?”

  Tom looked up. “Nah. The thunderstorm is already passing, but judging by those clouds, we’re about to get drenched soon.” He pulled two rolled up brown oilskins from his pack and threw one in her direction.

  She berated herself for not thinking to pack her own coat, but silently cheered for her Boy Scout fiancé.

  “Do you want to wait it out?” he asked.

  “No. A bit of rain won’t hurt me.” She shoved the coat into the top of her pack and zipped the bag back up. “If it pours, I’ll put it on.”

  “Might be a good idea to put it on now,” he said as he slid first one arm then the other into his coat. It was taut across his shoulders and fell well below his knees reminding her of The Man from Snowy River – one of her favorite childhood movies.