Flight to Coorah Creek (25 page)

‘They've spotted the plane,' the policeman said abruptly, the moment Jack answered the phone.

Jack felt relief surge through him. ‘Where?'

‘They were on the way back,' Max Delaney explained. ‘They came down on some flat land on the south-east corner of Eight Mile Plains.'

Jack glanced across at the large-scale map of the area that was fixed to the wall of the hangar. His eyes found the property the Sergeant had named. He tried to visualise what sort of a landing place Jess might have found there.

‘Have they made radio contact?' he asked.

‘Briefly. Jess didn't have much battery …' When the sergeant paused, Jack knew the news wasn't good.

‘And?'

‘Jess and the doc are fine. Sister Luke … she wasn't hurt in the crash, but she had a heart attack. Adam couldn't save her.'

Jack nodded slowly, as he tried to take in the meaning of the words. Sister Luke was gone? She had been such an important part of their little community. So many people would miss her. The Aboriginal families she helped so much. All the patients at the hospital where she and Adam worked. Adam, he knew, would be inconsolable and no doubt would blame himself for failing her. Then there was Ellen.

Jack was alone in the hangar. Ellen had gone to pick up Harry and Bethany from Trish at the pub. She had promised to return after she'd given the kids their breakfast and left them once again with Trish. He had suggested she try to get some sleep, but Ellen was having none of it. She had declared her intention to grab a shower and a change of clothes, and then return with coffee and breakfast for him. She wouldn't let him continue the vigil alone.

But the vigil was over now.

‘How are they getting back?' Jack asked, his voice as heavy as his heart.

‘There's a ground team going in from Eight Mile homestead. They don't have a helicopter. It'll take them at least a couple of hours to reach the plane. Then they'll bring them back to Eight Mile where there is a good strip. The RFDS will meet them there and bring them home to the Creek.'

The Royal Flying Doctor Service wasn't technically needed if there was no one injured. But Jack understood that the RFDS would want to bring one of their own home.

‘As soon as we have an ETA, I'll arrange for Mick Davis to meet the plane.'

Mick ran Coorah Creek's only funeral service.

‘Thanks,' Jack said.

‘Go home. Get some sleep,' the sergeant said. ‘We'll need you back there when the plane arrives, but that won't be for a good four or five hours yet.'

Jack hung up the phone. He was deathly tired, but it wasn't sleep he needed.

He drove to the wooden house behind the hospital. The little blue car that Ellen and Jess shared was parked near the front gate. He pulled his ute in next to it and climbed the stairs as slowly as a man twice his age. The front door opened before he had even raised his hand to knock. Ellen stood there, looking fresh from the shower, her damp hair dripping water onto a clean cotton shirt.

‘Jack? There's news?'

‘They found the plane.'

The joy on her face faded quickly when he didn't go on.

‘Please tell me they are all right …' she said, her voice quaking with fear.

‘Jess and Adam are all right. But Sister Luke …' his voice faltered as Ellen gave a little cry.

‘No. Not Sister Luke!'

Jack stepped forward and caught Ellen in his arms as she started to sob. He lifted her gently and carried her back into the house. Without a moment's thought, he carried her through to her bedroom and laid her gently on the bed. Then he lay beside her and gathered her into his arms as she cried. She cried for a long time, and when the crying subsided, they talked about Sister Luke. Ellen hadn't known her for long, but she still had stories of how Sister Luke had helped. Giving books to her children then bullying Jack into building a bookshelf. Jack listened as she told him little things that no one really noticed. Little things that meant so much to a single mum and her kids. Jack talked about Sister Luke, too. Of the times before Ellen came. Of working with Sister Luke and Adam. Of the times she had talked Adam into doing things he didn't want to do. Of the many times Jack had helped her. Of the affection and respect he'd held for the tiny woman with such faith and energy.

Jack's voice grew faint and after a time Ellen slipped into an exhausted sleep.

Jack lay on the bed; Ellen cradled in his arms, and watched her. She'd been awake all night, and now she slept deeply. Her face was so beautiful and so vulnerable. He could just look at her for hours. Jack also hadn't slept the night before, but he vowed not to close his eyes for one moment. He would lie here and watch over Ellen. This day and every other day for just as long as she needed or wanted him. It was his last thought before sleep took him.

Looking out of the window, Jess finally found what she had been searching for. A place where two roads met to form a giant Y. A place with a long thin ribbon of green to mark the creek. There was the now familiar pattern of houses and that rectangle of incongruous blue that was the pool in the school grounds. The open scar of the mine pit didn't seem as ugly as the first time she had seen it. That mine was the lifeblood of the town. Of her town. Of her home. The first time she had seen this town, she'd been seated in the pilot's seat and running away from her past as far and as fast as she could go. Now she was looking down at the town from the passenger seat in the RFDS plane, aching with grief but feeling an unaccustomed sense of homecoming.

She glanced to her right. Adam was seated across the aisle from her, also staring out of the window at the town below. Behind him, a stretcher carried Sister Luke's blanket-shrouded form. The search team had found them mid-morning. It had taken almost three hours to drive back to the homestead, where the plane was waiting for them. Greg Anderson, the pilot Jess had met at the Birdsville races, had come to take them home.

The plane banked as it came in to land. Looking down, Jess saw a small group of people waiting at the airstrip. There was also a long black vehicle. Tears pricked her eyes again, as the grief she felt for Sister Luke washed over her again. She felt, rather than saw, the movement beside her. Adam reached out for her. Their hands joined as the plane swept in to a gentle touchdown.

Jess was the first to leave the aircraft. Ellen and Jack were waiting and Ellen caught Jess in a hug the moment her feet touched the ground.

‘I am very sorry about Sister Luke,' Ellen whispered. ‘But I am so glad you and Adam are all right.'

Jess nodded, fighting to hold back the tears. Jack also hugged her briefly, before climbing into the aircraft. A few moments later, Adam and Jack carefully carried the stretcher from the plane. A tall sombre man opened the back of the hearse, and with great reverence they slid the stretcher inside.

‘I'll come with her,' Adam said, but the man shook his head.

‘No, Doc. You need to leave her with me now. I'll take good care of her.'

Adam opened his mouth as if to protest, but then his shoulders sagged and he nodded.

‘Come by tomorrow morning, and we'll make all the arrangements.'

The small knot of people watched in silence as the big black car pulled away. As it drove through the gate out of the airfield, Jess noticed a man standing there. Taking photographs. Despite her grief and exhaustion, she felt a sudden wash of white-hot anger.

‘What's he doing here?'

‘The search made the news,' Sergeant Delaney said. ‘I stopped him coming onto the airfield, but I can't stop him taking photos from out there.'

Adam made as if to approach the man, but the policeman stopped him. ‘Leave him, Adam. There's nothing you can do about him. I need you and Jess to come and give me statements. It can wait until after you've had some rest. But I do need it today.'

All the energy seemed to leave Adam's body. He looked like a man totally defeated. Jess's heart almost broke as she looked at him.

‘Let's do it now,' Adam said slowly. ‘Get it over with.'

‘Are you sure?' the policeman asked with a frown. ‘It can wait.'

‘I'm sure.'

Adam turned to Jess. ‘What do you want to do?'

Jess wanted to go with him. To be by his side as he recounted the story of their terrible night. ‘You go ahead,' she said. ‘I'll be right behind you.'

Jess hated the look of disappointment on Adam's face. But there was something she had to do. And she had to do it right now.

Without another word, Adam turned and walked to the police car. A few seconds later, it was driving through the gate, under the lens of a camera.

‘I'll only be a minute,' Jess told her companions and started walking towards the gate. She heard Ellen say something, but her attention was on the man in front of her.

‘Jess, what happened out there?' John Hewitt asked, as soon as she drew near. The camera flashed one more time then he lowered it and reached for his tape recorder.

‘Is that thing on?' Jess asked. ‘Good. Because I want to make sure you remember every word I say. I don't care what you write about me. I really don't. The people I care about will know what is truth and what is a lie. But you be very, very careful when you write this story. Our community has lost someone very dear to them. A kind and caring person, who only ever wanted to help people. You say one bad word about her, and I swear you will regret it. I am not running away from the likes of you ever again.'

She didn't give him a chance to answer. She turned on her heel and walked back to where Jack and Ellen waited.

‘I'm ready now – let's go.'

It was early evening when Jess woke. She lay on the bed for a few minutes trying to gather her thoughts. She was still fully dressed. She vaguely remembered deciding to have a shower and change her clothes. That had been after her return from the police station. After she and Adam had given statements. Jess closed her eyes briefly allowing a fresh wave of grief to wash over her. The pain was like a raw wound. It would heal in time, she knew. Sister Luke had lived a full life and had been content to meet her God at the end of it. Jess smiled, imagining Sister Luke bossing God around in much the same way she had Adam. Jess would miss her, as would the whole community, though none as badly as Adam.

They'd all come back here afterwards. Ellen was making a very late lunch when Jessica returned to her room to shower and get a change of clothes. She must have sat down on the bed and just fallen asleep. She had certainly been exhausted – both physically and emotionally. She wasn't sure how long she had slept, but she felt better for it. She stripped off her clothes and walked into the shower, enjoying the feel of the clean cold water as it washed away the sweat and dust of her night in the open. She felt almost human again when she walked through to the living room.

Bethany was watching television. Harry, as usual, had his nose buried in one of Jack's Uncle Scrooge comics. She smiled at them and headed towards the tantalising smell of coffee coming from the kitchen.

And found Jack and Ellen not drinking coffee.

‘Oops … sorry!'

Surprisingly, it was Jack who blushed as the two leaped apart. Ellen simply glowed.

‘Jess. How do you feel?'

‘Better for some sleep. Coffee would help too.'

Jack set about pouring some, while Jess and Ellen sat at the table.

‘Where's Adam?' Jess asked, knowing already what the answer would be.

‘He went back to the hospital. He wanted to check on Andrea, the girl with the broken arm. Hopefully he got some sleep as well. You both needed it.'

It wasn't all that she needed. Jack placed three mugs of coffee on the table, then took a seat. Jess couldn't help noticing how close he sat to Ellen. She was pleased for them both.

‘Do you want to talk about what happened?' Ellen asked gently. ‘If you don't, that's fine. I just want you to know that we are here for you.'

That ‘we' would have made Sister Luke very happy. It made the pain in Jessica's heart fade, just a little.

She looked at Jack and realised that he must be feeling terrible. The plane that crashed was under his care. But it hadn't been his fault. Sergeant Delaney had told her about the contaminated fuel. It fitted exactly with her own theory about the crash. There would be an official accident investigation, of course. But she knew what the results would show. She couldn't allow Jack to feel guilty for something that wasn't his fault. She knew only too well what that could do to a person. She wanted to talk to him about the crash. To reassure him. And it was also time she told her friends about her own past.

‘There's a lot to talk about,' she said. ‘And last night is just a part of it.' She took a long draught of her coffee and started talking.

It was dark when Jess set off to walk to the hospital. Jack and Ellen had believed her, understood her and supported her. Jess knew that in them she had two friends she could count on in good times and bad. Now she needed to know what she had in Adam.

They had shared their deepest thoughts. Secret parts of their lives that no one else had ever seen. Knowing more of Adam's past had changed her feelings for him, but only to make them stronger. To make her more sure that Adam was the most honourable man she had ever met. The best man she had ever met. And the last man she would ever truly fall in love with.

But had their long night sitting vigil over Sister Luke changed how Adam felt about her?

Adam had been unusually silent, even for him, since they had spotted the rescue aircraft that morning. He had reached for her hand from time to time, as if seeking comfort, as they brought Sister Luke home. She was glad to offer him whatever support she could. And in her turn, Jess had taken comfort from him as they grieved for their friend. But that wasn't enough. She wanted more from Adam. Seeing Ellen and Jack together had made things even clearer in her mind. She hadn't known if Adam felt the same way she did, or if she was just a friend he'd looked to in a time of need. She wanted to be more to him than that. Needed him to be more than that to her.

And she had to know if he felt the same way.

Two windows glowed with light as she approached the hospital. One was the room where Adam's patients were spending the night. The other was not Adam's office. It was a light in the residence where he lived. That surprised her. On every other occasion she had been here late, she had found Adam working. It was what he did. It was who he was.

But not tonight.

Jess entered the hospital through the open back door, and turned immediately down the short hallway that led to the resident's quarters. There was a single door at the end of the corridor. Jess had never been in Adam's home before. She took a deep breath to calm herself, and then knocked.

‘Come in.'

She opened the door into a large room. It was furnished as a studio apartment, with a large bed on one side, and a living area on the other. There was a small kitchen and a door leading to what was presumably a bathroom. Jess had expected to find this room uncluttered and functional. Perhaps a little spartan. Like Adam himself. Instead she was surprised to see shelves covered with books. A couple of lovely Aboriginal paintings hung on the walls. There was an expensive looking stereo playing blues music. She saw no television. No computer either. Those, it seemed, were part of his hospital existence. This was Adam's sanctuary. This was where he could be himself. Adam was sitting on the sofa, a book lying on the coffee table in front of him. He had obviously slept and showered. His hair was just a little damp. He looked tired, but peaceful. How many people, she wondered, ever saw him here? Like this. Saw Adam, rather than the doctor. She felt a low ache deep inside as she looked at him, and realised how close she had come to losing him.

‘Let me turn B.B. King down,' he said, getting to his feet.

As the sound of the blues guitar sank, the silence seemed to grow. Now that she was here, Jessica wasn't certain exactly what to say. Or to do.

‘Did you get some sleep?' she asked.

‘A little.'

‘Me too.'

‘I know. You were sound asleep when I left the house.'

So he had looked in on her, and seen her sleeping. The intimacy of that small thing seemed to fill the room. Jess was uncertain how to continue. She moved slowly around, looking at the book titles. She examined one of the paintings. At length. She was so very afraid to reach out to Adam. Afraid that he would once again shy away from her touch. The first time that happened, she had been shocked and a little hurt. If it happened again now, after all they had shared, she would be heartbroken.

‘Jess.'

She turned around slowly. Adam walked to her. Without saying a word, he raised his hand to run the backs of his fingers down her cheek. It was the softest touch. A gentle caress. Yet Jess could feel the tremor in Adam's hand. It matched the fluttering of her own heart.

His eyes were dark with emotion as he searched her face. Whatever he was looking for, he found it there. He pulled her to him and kissed her. It began as a slow, gentle kiss filled with longing. Adam's lips were like the finest suede, soft but firm. He tasted of long nights listening to rain on a tin roof, of slow sensual music and the fire in the sky at sunset.

Jess answered the kiss with every part of her being. With her loneliness and her fear and her need. She sank into his arms with a need that matched his. Her fingers twined through his damp hair and their kisses became deeper. More passionate. Both of them quivering with hunger.

Jess's hands moved to the waistband of his jeans, tugging at his shirt. And Adam was suddenly still.

He stepped back, just out of her reach.

‘Adam …' she wanted to tell him not to turn out the lights. That he didn't need to hide his scars from her.

He shook his head. Slowly he began unfastening the buttons of his shirt. His eyes never left hers as he slipped the garment from his shoulders and half-turned, exposing his scars for her to see.

She dropped her eyes to that tortured skin. For long moments she let her eyes rove his body. She felt no revulsion. No pity, just a surge of love.

Finally she looked back into his face.

‘I'm not an easy man to live with,' Adam said, his voice hoarse with emotion. ‘There are scars you can't see. There are times I wake in the middle of the night, shaking with fear at the memories.'

‘We all have our memories,' Jess said. ‘We all have our fears. When you wake in the night, I'll be there for you. As you will be for me. As for these,' he shivered as she ran her fingers gently over the scarred flesh, ‘they helped make you who you are. I wouldn't have them, or you, any different.'

Jess never knew who was the first to reach for the other. All she felt was his touch on her skin. The strength of his body against hers. The taste of him. And the sound of him calling her name.