Little Girl Lost (14 page)

The little girl’s cry went straight to Tia’s heart. In three steps she had closed the distance between them. She dropped to her knees and gathered Renee up into her arms. The girl stiffened for a few moments then she dropped her teddy bear and wrapped her thin arms around Tia’s neck and started to sob in earnest.

Tia lifted her gently and then sat down on the tree trunk. She cradled the child in her lap, rocking backwards and forwards.

‘It’s all right, Renee. You’re safe now. We’ll have you back with your mummy and daddy real soon, honey. I promise we will.’

The arms around her neck tightened, and the sobs continued. Tia thought her own heart would break. She remembered all the times when she had been alone and hurt and crying, and no one had come to her. Tears welled up in her eyes and slid silently down her cheeks.

‘Shhh, it’s all right,’ she crooned, using the words she had longed to hear when she was a lost and frightened child. ‘You’re safe now.’

Something tapped Tia on the shoulder. She looked up to see Pete holding a bottle of water for her. Tears were on his cheeks too.

‘Thanks.’ She took it. Pete had already removed the lid. ‘Here, Renee, I bet you’re thirsty.’

Renee lifted her face from Tia’s shirt and grabbed for the bottle with both hands.

‘Careful,’ Tia said. ‘Sip it slowly, honey, or else you’ll make yourself sick.’

Renee wasn’t listening, so Tia gently took the bottle from her after a couple of mouthfuls.

‘Slowly,’ she said again.

Renee looked up at her with tear-filled brown eyes and nodded.

‘Good,’ Tia said gently. ‘Now, honey, are you hurt?’

Renee nodded. ‘I scratched myself. It hurt.’

Tia looked carefully at the scratches on the girl’s face and arms. There were brown smears of dried blood, but none of them looked serious. Of more concern was the bright redness of her sunburned skin. Renee was going to suffer with that.

‘I can see you did scratch yourself,’ Tia told the little girl. ‘But I think it’s going to be all right. You are such a brave little girl. I bet your sunburn hurts too.’

With a solemn face, Renee nodded.

‘We’ll get you to see Doctor Adam soon. He’s a nice man and a very good doctor. He’ll make it all better. But in the meantime here, you should wear my hat.’ Tia placed her hat over the little girl’s head. It was far too large, but it would still help protect Renee from the sun.

Tia continued to carefully monitor how much Renee drank while all the time talking to her gently.

‘That’s enough for now, honey,’ she said as she took the bottle again and handed it back to Pete. ‘You can have some more in a little while.’

She suddenly realised there was noise all around her. She had been so concerned with the little girl, she hadn’t noticed that Dave’s ‘cooee’ had brought other searchers to their location. She could hear them talking and slapping Pete and Dave on the back, celebrating a longed-for but uncertain happy end to their search.

‘I’m hungry,’ Renee said. ‘And I want my mummy and daddy.’

‘I know, honey.’

Tia looked at Pete. He swung his pack off his back and dug inside for a sandwich.

‘All right, Renee,’ Tia said. ‘We have a sandwich here. But you can’t eat it all at once. Just a couple of small bites for now, okay? You can have some more when we get back to the camp.’

Renee nodded as she took the offered food.

Tia stood up, the child still in her arms. Any weariness she had been feeling had been driven away by the euphoria of the moment. Renee stared over her shoulder at the men and women clustered around them.

‘Do you want me to take her?’ Pete asked.

‘No. I’ve got her,’ Tia said.

‘Can someone run on ahead and let them know,’ Pete asked of the crowd around them. ‘Tell her parents she’s safe. Get Doctor Adam on the radio so we can find out what he wants us to do.’

‘I can do that,’ a voice said from the back of the crowd, followed immediately by the sound of someone running through the bush.

The group parted to let Tia carry Renee through. Pete walked at her side, carrying Renee’s battered teddy bear. A few people reached out to touch the little girl, as if to reassure themselves that she really was alive and well.

As they passed Dave and Grandpa Pindarri, the old man gently patted Renee’s head. It was almost a blessing.

‘Thank you,’ Tia said to the two trackers, and was answered with two very happy smiles.

They walked back, gathering more searchers as they went. At one point, Tia handed Renee to Pete, while she caught her breath. Her arms felt empty without the little girl and, as soon as she felt able, she took Renee back. For her part, the child was happy to bury her face in Tia’s shoulder, although she occasionally lifted her head to stare wide-eyed at the people following behind them.

They were quite a crowd by the time they reached the campsite. When she emerged from among the trees, the first thing Tia saw was Renee’s parents standing by the tent. The second thing she saw was Max standing with them. He heard the people approaching and turned. A huge smile lit his face as he saw Tia and her companions.

‘Mummy!’

‘Renee!’

The little girl wriggled in Tia’s arms. Tia put her down and she ran towards her family. Her parents scooped her up and she was lost in a joyous reunion. The little girl almost disappeared in a family embrace that also included her big brother. Tia felt tears pricking her eyes. All around the campsite, people were cheering and applauding.

Max left the reunited family for a few moments and came to hug her.

‘Thank you, from everyone,’ he whispered in her ear.

‘It wasn’t me,’ she said. ‘Dave led us to her. I just …’

‘You just helped save a little girl’s life,’ Max said. ‘We are all so proud of you.’

How good his arms felt around her. And his words of praise were the sweetest thing she had ever heard. Exhausted as she was, she suddenly felt about ten feet tall.

‘Go get some food and water,’ Max said as he, reluctantly it seemed, released her. ‘And when all this is over, I am buying you dinner. No arguments.’

‘I wasn’t going to argue.’

The smile he gave her seemed full of meaning. Feeling as if her heart was going to burst, she slipped quietly away from the crowd and wandered over to the food tent where Syd Warren stood, sporting a smile so broad it looked as if his face would split in half.

‘Drop by the pub some time soon,’ he said. ‘Dinner is on the house.’

She nodded as she picked up a bottle of water, twisted the top off and drank deeply. Then she looked around her with the feeling of deepest satisfaction. She had played her part in something amazing and in doing so, for the first time in a very long time, she felt like she belonged. Not only that, but this place to which she belonged was a good place.

Like many people in the campground, Sarah had tears in her eyes as she watched Renee reunited with her family. When two of the searchers had run into camp a few minutes ago with the news, a cheer had gone up that must have been heard for miles. The Haywood family had emerged from their motorhome, and the looks on their faces had been enough to lift even the most exhausted searcher’s heart.

She’d radioed the news to Mount Isa police, who were now trying to set up a link with Doctor Adam. Their first concern had to be getting the little girl to him for a check-up. There was no way Jess’s air ambulance could land here. They’d have to drive Renee back to Coorah Creek. Max had already decided they weren’t going to leave until they had at least talked to Adam on the radio and had instructions on what to do. It was a long drive to the Creek, and they wanted the little girl to be as comfortable as possible.

A tall figure detached itself from the crowd and Pete walked over to join her in the tent where she was seated with her injured ankle bandaged and resting on another chair.

‘So I guess you’re her knight in shining armour now as well,’ Sarah said. ‘I always knew you were a hero.’ She stood awkwardly on her toes and kissed him on the cheek.

‘I just happened to be in the right place at the right time,’ Pete said, running his hand through his hair. ‘I’m not a hero.’

‘You are just a man who has spent two days and nights out here searching for a little lost girl. A little girl who is now safe. Don’t tell me that’s nothing.’

Pete’s lips twitched, and slowly a smile spread over his face.

‘We found her,’ he said quietly. ‘We found her!’ This time it was a cry of satisfaction as he picked Sarah up and laughed joyfully as he spun her around. He lowered her carefully back to the ground and crushed her to him in a vigorous hug. ‘She’s going to be fine. That’s just—’

Before Pete could finish the sentence, the radio beside them crackled into life.

Keeping one hand on Pete’s arm for support, Sarah hopped over to the table and grabbed the handset.

‘Adam. Is that you?’

‘You’ve found her?’

‘Yes.’ Sarah couldn’t keep the joy from her voice. ‘Pete and Tia found her. She’s back here now with her parents.’

‘She’s likely to be suffering from symptoms of exposure. Dehydration too. Be careful – don’t let her drink too much.’

Pete reached out to take the radio microphone from Sarah’s hand. ‘Doc, it’s Pete here. She’s been sipping water, but only a small mouthful every few minutes, as you said.’

‘Good. How does she look?’

‘She’s got a few cuts and scratches, but they don’t look serious. She’s really sunburnt but she’s alert and talking to us. She said she was hungry so we let her eat half a vegemite sandwich.’

Sarah took half a step back and listened to Pete talk to the doctor. His answers were straight to the point and informative. He listened intently as Adam gave his instructions. There was such strength about Pete. Sarah knew that above all else he was a man you could depend on. Trust him to be there when he was needed. To do the right thing.

Sarah’s emotions were already running high, with the joy and excitement of the last few minutes. But new feelings were swamping her now, and they were all to do with Pete. With the way he had kissed her. The way he looked at her now, his eyes shining with pleasure – not for himself but for others.

She knew it then. She had loved Pete Rankin since she was ten years old. And she still did. And he felt something for her too. She knew he did. A new kind of joy bubbled through her. They would get little Renee safely into the doctor’s care. Then she and Pete could take some time to explore this new thing between them. This new thing that had grown from a seed that had been a part of her for as long as she could remember. Pete was still talking on the radio, but his eyes met hers and he smiled.

‘Got all that,’ he said.

Sarah had no idea what ‘all that’ was. She hadn’t been paying attention to the voice on the radio. But Pete would have it. You could always rely on Pete.

‘Fine. Get underway and get her in here as soon as you can. I’ll be waiting.’

Pete handed the radio microphone back to Sarah. ‘Adam thinks she’s going to be fine, but he wants to see her at the hospital as soon as possible to check her out. I guess her parents will want to go too. They can travel with her. I can follow on behind in their motorhome, if they want me to.’

Sarah was letting the emotion of the moment run away with her. She knew she was. But at the same time, all she could think was how Pete was still willing to go that little bit further to help.

Before she could say anything, another voice came through the radio.

‘Are you still there?’

‘Yes,’ she said.

‘Mount Isa police back again. Can you get a message to one of the searchers? Pete Rankin.’

‘He’s right here,’ Sarah said.

‘Good. Tell him he needs to get back to Mount Isa as quickly as he can. To the hospital.’

Sarah’s breath caught in her throat. Something was wrong. She impulsively reached out to touch Pete’s hand, to give him a taste of the comfort he had given others, including her.

‘He’s listening,’ she said, her voice catching in her throat in sudden unexplained fear.

‘It’s his girlfriend,’ said the disembodied voice. ‘There’s a problem with the baby. He needs to come home.’

A problem with the baby.

Those awful words rang in Pete’s ears. He grabbed the mike out of Sarah’s hand. ‘What problem? Is Linda all right? And the baby?’

‘I don’t have the details,’ said the disembodied voice. ‘Only a message for you to go to the hospital as soon as you can get back.’

Pete’s head spun with terrible images of what might have happened.

‘I’ll leave right away. Can you tell Linda I’m coming but I’m almost ten hours away. I’ll drive through the night and be there as soon as I can,’ he said and dropped the handset back on the table. As he looked up, he saw Sarah.

Her face was white, and the light in her eyes was gone. She looked as if her whole world had suddenly shattered. Pete suddenly realised the impact of that radio call on the girl who, just minutes ago, had been in his arms.

‘Sarah …’ he started to say.

She shook her head. Her eyes held his for a fraction of a second as emotion flared in their tawny depths. That look felt like a cold steel thrust into his heart. She was hurt and disappointed and angry – at him. With slow deliberate movements, she turned away and left the tent. She was limping because of her injured ankle, but obviously determined to get away from him as quickly as possible, despite the pain. He wanted to call her back, but what could he say that would change anything? He stood rooted to the spot as the cheerful congratulations of the search team still echoed around him.

He would have gone after her. That’s what his heart told him to do. To tell her everything and explain. He needed to make things right between the two of them if that was possible. But he couldn’t. He had to get to Mount Isa, because Linda was carrying his child and she needed him.

He found Max and quickly passed on the doctor’s instructions. Max needed to get the little girl to Coorah Creek as soon as he could. Without further explanation Pete then slipped away. He glanced at the Haywoods. They were still huddled together around Renee. He saw Dustin looking around, and Pete knew the boy was looking for him. He wanted to go and talk to him, if only to say goodbye, but there wasn’t time. He hated to disappoint a child, but he had to leave.

In the car park, the searchers were beginning to make their way home. Pete quickly found someone with a spare seat who was willing to give him a lift back to the Creek. Pete slipped into the back seat of the car, hoping to avoid conversation. He leaned back and closed his eyes. All the searchers were exhausted. He hoped they would think he was asleep and leave him alone with his thoughts.

They were pretty uncomfortable thoughts.

The events of the past few days flashed through his brain in a kaleidoscope of sensations. He could feel the weight of young Renee in his arms as he helped Tia carry her home to her family. He could still hear a father crying for his child and Dustin’s voice, quavering with emotion as he blamed himself for his sister’s disappearance. If Pete closed his eyes he could see Sarah, determined to carry on the search despite her bad ankle. He could taste her lips and feel the touch of her fingers on his skin. His heart jumped at just the memory of that kiss. But most of all he could see the hurt in her eyes as she turned away from him. On top of all that, he was overwhelmed with concern for Linda and their baby. The child he had never wanted now seemed the most precious thing and the thought of losing it was almost too much to bear.

‘Hey, Pete, wake up. We’re back.’

Pete’s eyes flashed open. The first thing he saw was his truck, still sitting where he had parked it what seemed like half a lifetime ago. They were back in Coorah Creek. He must have fallen asleep after all. He shook his head to gather his scattered wits.

‘Thanks for the lift,’ he said as he opened the door.

‘No worries. We’re going to the pub for a beer to celebrate. Come with us. Our shout for the hero of the day.’

‘Thanks, but no. I’ve got to hit the road. And I’m no hero.’

‘Next time. And good work, man. You saved that kid.’

‘We all saved that kid,’ Pete said.

He turned his back on the men and walked over to his rig. He fished the key out of his pocket and opened her up. A blast of heat poured out of the cabin into his face. He clambered aboard and hit the starter. The air-conditioning came on immediately. Pete took a second to inhale the blast of cool air, before slipping the truck into gear. The engine revved as the big rig started moving. Before he was out of the town limits, Pete had the radio in his hand and was calling his base.

‘Hey, Pete. Good to hear from you. According to the ABC radio news, the little girl you were looking for has been found safe and well.’

Pete recognised the voice immediately. His mate Mick was obviously manning the office today, not driving.

‘Yeah, she’s good, Mick,’ he said.

‘Umm, Pete. We’ve been trying to get hold of you.’ Mick sounded uncertain. ‘It’s about Linda.’

‘Yeah. I got a message at the search camp. They said she was in hospital.’

‘That’s right.’

‘Do you know how she is?’

‘My missus went by to see how she was. Said she’s doing okay.’

‘And the baby?’

‘There was a problem, but the doc says baby is okay too. I don’t know any more than that.’

Relief surged through Pete. ‘Say thanks to your missus for me,’ he said. ‘I’m on the road now. Just leaving Coorah Creek. Can you get a message to Linda that I’m on my way? I’ll be there as soon as I can.’

‘Sure, mate. Will do.’

‘I didn’t get much sleep last night, so at some point I’ll have to stop for a while and get some shut-eye. I’ll be there first thing in the morning.’

Pete signed off, thinking as he did that he hadn’t sent a personal message to Linda. Hadn’t told Mick to give her his love. Nothing like that. Because the truth was, he didn’t love her. He loved Sarah. The little girl he had been so fond of had grown into a woman, and his feelings for her had grown too. They had shared just a couple of kisses – but those kisses had changed everything for him.

Almost everything.

It hadn’t changed the fact that Linda was pregnant with his child.

A child. An image rose unbidden to his mind of the boy, young Dustin, who had cried for his sister. That boy had looked to Pete to fix everything. And he’d tried. He’d tried so very hard. One day his own child would need someone to make things better for him or her. Pete had to be there to do that. He would never be able to live with himself if he wasn’t. It was the right thing to do.

But sometimes the right thing isn’t always right. Sarah had said that. And he had come to see the truth in her words. How did she get to be that wise?

Night had fallen and his headlights and powerful spots emitted a long bright shaft of light that made the road ahead very clear.

If only his road was that clear.

Although it was very late by the time he left the Coorah Creek Hospital, Max went straight to his workshop. Despite two nights with very little sleep, he was wide awake. There was a mountain of paperwork waiting for him in his office, but he had no appetite for it.

Renee and her family were safely bedded down at the hospital. Never one for rules, Adam had decided they could all sleep there tonight. He wouldn’t call it therapy, but that’s what it was. After the trauma of the past three days, that family needed to be together. Adam was not willing to separate them. One of the searchers had driven the motorhome back into town and it was now in the hospital car park. But for Adam, that was still too far away from the bed where Renee lay sleeping deeply. Max had helped him drag another bed into the biggest of the rooms at the hospital, and the entire Haywood family was there now, probably sound asleep through emotional and physical exhaustion.

Chris Powell had taken charge of Grandpa Pindarri and his boys. Jess would fly them back to Warrina Downs in the morning, but in the meantime they were staying at the pub, where Trish no doubt had pulled out all the stops to give them a hearty dinner and make them comfortable.

Max knew he wasn’t ready to sleep, but there was something he could do. He flicked on the workshop light, and started sorting through the timber stacked against the back wall. He knew exactly what he was looking for. At last he found the wood he wanted. He turned on the sound system, and after hesitating a moment, he selected the album ‘Abbey Road’. As the first chords of ‘Come Together’ began, he settled himself on a stool and reached for his tools. As he sang softly under his breath, he smiled at the choice he’d made. The community of Coorah Creek had certainly come together when it was needed. What a remarkable group of people they were, and Max felt proud to be a part of them. Trish and Syd, Dan and Quinn, Adam and Jess. The trackers and the mine workers. Pete had helped, and he wasn’t even a part of the town. Even young Steve, who was struggling to look after his own family … all had played their part. That little girl owed her life to them.

He would never forget the sight of Tia walking out of the scrub with Renee in her arms. The little girl had been scratched and sunburned and filthy, but she was alive and the look on her face when she saw her family was a moment to be treasured. A look like that was the reason he had joined the force. That one moment more than made up for the bad parts of his job. Tia had also been dirty, her clothes stained by sweat and red earth. Her lovely red hair had been jammed under her hat and her skin too had been tinged with red from the sun. She’d been the most beautiful thing Max had ever seen. Her face had glowed with happiness as Renee ran into her parents’ arms.

In the fuss of getting Renee to the hospital and breaking up the search, he hadn’t had time to say more than a few words to Tia. But once things were back to normal, he would seek her out. Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough. He’d buy her that dinner he’d promised her.

His hands moved swiftly as he carved the wood. It was already beginning to take shape. There was a head and a body, strong hind legs and a long tail. He hoped Renee would like it.

After a moment’s silence, another song began to float across the workshop, bringing his thoughts right back to Tia. Something in the way she moved did attract him. And something in the way she smiled. In fact … pretty much everything about her attracted him like no other. The Beatles had got it right again. And it was definitely time he did something about it.

‘Hi.’

She was leaning against his door frame, the glow from the overhead light falling gently onto her face. She’d obviously taken a bit of time to recover from the day’s searching. She looked clean and her clothes were fresh. The dampness of her hair made it seem an even darker shade of red. Almost crimson. She must have been tired, but her green eyes were bright.

‘I thought you’d be asleep by now,’ he said.

‘I should be, but I don’t seem to be tired.’

He nodded. ‘Me neither.’

‘What are you working on?’ She stepped a little closer and held out her hand. Max gave her the partly finished carving. She turned it over and looked at it closely, running her finger along the lines of the wood.

‘It’s a kangaroo,’ he said unnecessarily.

‘Really?’ She raised a mocking eyebrow. ‘I would never have guessed.’

He smiled, less at her joke and more simply because she was there with him. That was enough.

‘I didn’t want Renee and Dustin to leave here with nothing but bad memories,’ Max said slowly. ‘I would hate to think they would never come back to the bush, or visit a national park again. It’s probably a bit silly, but I thought a couple of toys … the roo and maybe a galah or a cockatoo … would at least give them one good memory of this trip. I guess it’s not much compared to the sort of toys their parents can afford to buy them. But I wanted them both to have something good to remember us all by.’

For a few moments, she didn’t say anything. She turned the carving over in her hands. Then swiftly, almost shyly, she stepped forward. She was so close he could simply have pulled her into his arms. He wanted to. More than he had ever wanted anything in his life. But he was afraid that might chase her away. He sat stock-still, aware of her breath on his cheek. And then she brushed her lips gently over his.

‘You are a good man, Max Delaney,’ she said and then stepped back so quickly he could almost have imagined the kiss. But he hadn’t. No imaginary kiss would have left his lips tingling like that, nor aroused such a longing in his heart and soul and body.

The world seemed to slow on its axis. There was no sound but the gentle rustle of the breeze in the trees outside.

‘About that dinner,’ Tia said softly. ‘I have to go back to work tomorrow. The boss had a few blokes working overtime while the rest of us searched. Once I’ve had some sleep, I need to get back to the job so they can have a break. But Friday … I’m going to be free on Friday. That’s if you still want to.’

Max’s spirits soared. If he still wanted to? ‘Friday it is,’ he said, forcing his voice to echo the casual tone of hers.

She hesitated a moment as if to say something more, but then just handed the kangaroo back to him, nodded and silently vanished into the night.

Max sat himself back on the stool and resumed his work. The music wrapped gently around him, and he began to softly sing

‘Here comes the sun. It’s all right.’