Christmas at Coorah Creek (Choc Lit) (3 page)

He turned the corner and parked outside the pub. He switched his engine off and looked up at the two storey building. It hadn’t changed. The paint looked fairly new. It hadn’t faded or developed that faint powdery look caused by long exposure to the harsh outback sun. But it was the same colour he remembered. The lovely wrought iron railings still edged the balcony on the top floor, twisting in intricate lacework. He had always loved this old building. So beautiful and elegant. So different from the garage and the shabby house behind it.

Scott slowly got out of the car and turned to look about him. The pub might not have changed, but the rest of the town certainly had.

He remembered the general store, but it was larger now. Had it been extended? The feed store was still the same, but what was that across the road? A ladies’ hair salon?
That was new. So were the clothing store and the houses that he could see in the distance, either side of the town’s other main road – the one that led north to Mount Isa. When he’d last seen Coorah Creek, the Goongalla Uranium Mine was just a topic of conversation and a hope for the future. Obviously the mine had prospered and the town along with it.

He was glad about that.

He turned around and walked the few steps back towards the T-intersection that was the heart of the town. He could see the garage now. Any prosperity brought by the mine hadn’t touched that. It was still shabby and dirty. Even more so than he remembered. It occupied the corner opposite the pub. From this angle, he could see the workshop and the petrol bowsers. Eight years had passed since he’d last seen it and to his eyes it looked exactly the same. Nothing had changed. It didn’t even appear to have benefited from a new coat of paint in all that time. Over the top of the rusting tin workshop roof, he could see gum trees reaching skywards. That would be the garden around the house. He remembered those trees, but they had been a lot smaller back then.

Katie’s car was still sitting outside the workshop. The bonnet was up, but he could see no sign of either its driver or the man who was fixing it. She would be all right, he thought. The old man was honest and would easily repair her radiator. And he’d charge a fair price for the work. No-one had ever accused the old man of doing wrong by a customer. His family though …

Scott went back to his car. At some point he was going to have to enquire about a room at the pub, but not right now. Since he had driven past the town sign, memories had been flooding back. Among those memories was the publican’s wife – a garrulous woman with a real taste for gossip. If he checked into the hotel now, the whole town would know he was here in just five minutes.

He wasn’t ready for that yet.

He slid back behind the wheel of his car and pulled away from the pub. He’d drive around for a while, just to have a look at the town.

It didn’t take long. The town might have grown a lot in eight years, but it still wasn’t very big. The houses on the north side all looked fairly new. They must have come with the mine, he thought. The old police station was still there, but it was now part of some kind of town square. The school was bigger than in his day. And it had a swimming pool! Now that was an improvement. Curious, he drove towards the southern side of town where he knew the mine must be. He wouldn’t mind taking a look at it. A couple of miles out of town, a good quality bitumen road led off to the left. He turned down it and sure enough, there were the gates to the mine. He drove straight past, following the chain link fence until he came to … an airport? Things certainly had changed.

But now he had run out of excuses. Reluctantly he executed a three point turn on the narrow road and drove back in the direction of town.

There she was again. Standing in the middle of the road. What was with this girl?

Scott pulled up next to her.

‘Katie? Is everything all right?’ Surely nothing had happened at the garage to send her running away?

‘Oh, hello Scott.’ The girl seemed pleased to see him. ‘I’m heading for the hospital, which I’m told is just down this road.’

‘The hospital?’ Scott’s first thought was since when had Coorah Creek boasted a hospital? His second was – why was she looking for a doctor? Surely the old man …

‘Are you all right?’ he asked.

‘Yes,’ she said. A small frown creased her forehead, and then faded as she suddenly grinned. ‘No. No. I’m fine. I’m going to work there.’

‘Of course, you said you were a nurse.’

‘That’s right. One who should have known enough about heat stroke and dehydration to carry water.’ As she spoke, she raised her hand. There was a new, large and almost full bottle of water in it. ‘Anyway Ed, I think that was his name … the man at the garage … said it was a short walk down here to the hospital. I’m expected. So I thought I would walk.’

Scott felt a small surge of relief. If she couldn’t remember the mechanic’s name, then she had definitely not made the connection between them. But no doubt she would in the not too distant future.

‘I passed what I think may be the hospital just back there a bit,’ Scott said. ‘I’ll give you a lift. It’s far too hot to walk.’

He felt her hesitation. She was feeling a bit lost. A long way from home. He understood how that felt.

‘Get in,’ he said. ‘I’ve already towed you in from the highway, what does another half a mile matter?’

Her smile was very appealing. Slightly crooked, but it lit her blue eyes as well.

‘Thank you,’ she said as she slid into the passenger’s seat. ‘You’re right. It is far too hot to walk. I’ve had more than enough sun for one day.’

He cast a sideways glance at her. Her fair skin was already looking far too pink. He hoped she would be careful. The outback sun would be tough on her. And maybe just not the sun …

‘So why Coorah Creek?’ he asked as he turned the car again.

‘I came to Australia for a working holiday,’ she said. ‘I was so sick of the cold weather and the rain. This was the first job I found.’

‘You won’t have any problem with cold wet weather here,’ Scott said as he slipped the car back into gear.

Katie had to agree with him. She had never been so hot in all her life. Not even on that holiday in Spain. She was drenched with sweat just from walking a short distance from the garage where her car was being worked on by the shabby mechanic. Her feet hurt, because open-toed sandals were just not the right footwear for a place like this. Her skin felt flushed and burnt, and she was about to meet her new boss. Or at least, that was what she was expecting to do. She had e-mailed him to let him know to expect her this afternoon. But so far very little of this trip had turned out the way she planned it.

She hadn’t seen much of Coorah Creek, but what she had seen wasn’t quite what she’d had in mind. It was so small! And very quiet. Dry as well as hot. Most of the houses she’d seen were very old and shabby and rather than the red brick of her homeland, they were made of wood. The centre of the town, if that was what it could be called, was tiny, with just a handful of shops. It was such a long long way from Oxford Street and there were certainly no Christmas lights to be seen. The shops did look a bit more prosperous than the garage
. That made her hope that her first impressions might be wrong.

Scott, however, had been a pleasant surprise. She cast a quick sideways glance at him. He looked to be in his mid-twenties. About the same age as her. He had a kind face. Not exactly handsome, but not unattractive. His hair was non-descript brown. His eyes were non-descript brown. His skin was tanned, and the hands gripping the steering wheel looked strong and competent. She liked that. The way he had dashed off after dropping her at the garage was a bit disconcerting. He must have had a reason. Some secret perhaps that he didn’t want to share. There was nothing wrong with that, of course. Everyone had secrets. She certainly did.

Scott had been there when she needed help and he seemed really nice. She wasn’t entirely comfortable alone in the car with a stranger, but she did feel a little bad about lying to him just now. Adventure had very little to do with her reasons for being here. But two accidental meetings weren’t enough to encourage the exchange of her secrets either.

Katie’s heart shrank a little when Scott turned into a driveway next to a painted wooden sign that identified the Coorah Creek Hospital. The building ahead of them didn’t look like any hospital she had ever seen. For a start, it was built of wood. No brick or stone edifice of the type she was used to back in England, this hospital was a long low building built on wooden stumps and surrounded by a deep veranda. She had expected it to be small – but it looked barely big enough to accommodate a handful of patients.

As Scott pulled up near the broad front stairs, a young couple emerged. The girl was carrying a toddler in her arms. She looked far too young to be its mother. Katie smiled at them as she got out of the car.

‘Hello,’ the young mother said. ‘I bet you’re the new nurse. Doctor Adam told us you were coming today. We’ve been waiting for you. I’m Nikki and this is my boyfriend Steve.’

‘Oh,’ Katie tried not to seem surprised by this. ‘Is the doctor here?’

‘He was,’ the young man replied. ‘He and Jess had to go. They’ve flown up to the Isa with an injured miner.’

Katie struggled with this latest information. She knew there was an air ambulance operating out of Coorah Creek. Her new job would include flying in that air ambulance as they tended to patients on outlying stations. Perhaps Jess was the pilot. As for ‘the Isa’ … she had no idea. There were times she felt as if the Australians didn’t speak English at all, but rather some entirely different language.

‘Doctor Adam asked us to meet you and show you to your place,’ Nikki said.

‘All right.’ Katie wasn’t entirely sure that it was all right, but it appeared that once again she didn’t have a lot of choice.

‘Right. This way.’ Steve turned back into the hospital. Katie paused for a moment and turned back towards the car, where Scott was standing next to the open driver’s side door. Obviously he was eager to leave. She didn’t blame him. He probably had better things to do with his time than act as her chauffeur.

‘Scott. Thanks for rescuing me … again.’

‘You are very welcome.’ He mimed tipping his hat in her direction and slid back behind the wheel.

As he drove away, Katie felt suddenly bereft. He was the closest thing she had to a friend for several thousand miles, and he was leaving her. She shook her head. Jet lag, she thought. And exhaustion. And the heat. She’d soon find her feet.

She followed the young couple into the hospital. The moment she stepped into the shade of the veranda, she felt the temperature drop. The building was surprisingly cool, despite the lack of air conditioning.

‘You don’t have any bags,’ Steve said.

‘They’re in the back of my car,’ Katie told him. ‘It broke down just out of town. It’s at the garage getting fixed.’

‘I’m sure someone will run them over for you.’

This town must be full of good Samaritans and knights in shining armour, she thought.

‘These used to be Doctor Adam’s rooms. Before he and Jess got married,’ Nikki said as she led the way down a hallway and opened the very last door.

The rooms in question were near the rear of the hospital. Katie stepped into a big living room. There was a small dining table and a big armchair. Empty bookshelves lined one wall. She assumed the doors opposite led to a bedroom and bathroom – at least, she hoped that’s where they led. She could see a small kitchen through an open doorway to her left.

‘We have to go now,’ Nikki said. ‘Doctor Adam and Jess will be back in a couple of hours. You’ll like them. They delivered Anna together.’ She kissed her child’s head, and the young man beside her almost glowed with pleasure as she did.

Katie watched them leave, her head in a spin. She closed the door behind them and leaned back against it. The sheer emptiness of her new living quarters suddenly crashed down on her like a ton of rocks. She was a million miles from home, hot and dirty and exhausted. She was about to spend Christmas without her family for the very first time and she doubted there was so much as a kettle and cup in the kitchen for making a cup of tea. To top it all off, she was a nurse in a place where – the girl’s words suddenly sank in – a pilot helped to deliver a baby.

She had gambled her whole future on this job. Had she made a terrible mistake?

Chapter Five

Pub or garage? Scott was pretty certain he didn’t want to go into either. He’d really rather go back to the hospital and spend some more time with Katie. At least she had seemed happy to see him. And her smile was a far more pleasant prospect than what awaited him.

Garage or pub?

He pulled his car up in front of the pub. Through the windows, he could see someone moving around in the bar. In his rear view mirror, he could see the garage. No sign of movement there.

There really wasn’t any choice. He’d been an angry teenager when he’d stormed out of Coorah Creek, but there were people who would remember him. The publican’s wife was one of them. She had good reason to remember him. He winced slightly at the memory. If he walked into the pub, news of his return would fly through Coorah Creek like a storm.

He had to go to the garage and face what was waiting for him there before word of his return made matters a whole lot worse.

It took a lot of willpower to reach for the door handle.

He crossed the street, but instead of walking into the garage, his steps took him a little further to a side gate that led directly to the house next door. Between the scrubby bushes, he could see that his old home had changed; become poorer and more ill kept, with its peeling paint and rusty tin roof. The gate was rusty too. He did not move to open it.

A dog barked.

Scott searched the unkempt garden as the animal barked again. It was a rough, weak sound. Surely not …

The Labrador came into view. She was moving slowly and limping a little, pausing every few seconds to bark in Scott’s general direction. She was old. So very old. Finally she arrived at the gate and stared up at him through rheumy eyes.