The Doctor's Unexpected Proposal
Neither could she put any real significance on some new connection she and Mike could be forging here. They were in the same boat right now, having had their respective partners run off with each other no less, but it was a very temporary thing. Michael Poulos never stayed lonely for long. It would be foolish to imagine that this almost intimate companionship would become a regular occurrence.
And right on cue, the radio on the desk opposite the couch crackled into life.
‘Cooper’s Crossing to Crocodile Creek Air Medical Service. Come in, please.’
Mike’s attention was caught instantly and completely. He jumped to his feet. ‘Where the hell is our radio operator?’
‘Someone’s got the hand-held,’ Emily pointed out, following Mike’s example and standing up.
‘Yes. I have.’
‘Oh!’ Emily whirled so fast she almost fell over. ‘Charles! I wish you wouldn’t sneak up on people like that!’
‘It’s an advantage I have no intention of losing.’ Charles Wetherby, medical director of Crocodile Creek Base Hospital, rolled his wheelchair towards the desk. ‘The battery’s low on the hand-held,’ he said. ‘That’s why I was on my way back.’
‘Cooper’s Crossing station to AMS. Are you receiving me, over?’
Charles reached for the microphone on the desk. ‘Crocodile Creek Base Hospital, receiving you loud and clear. Is that you, Jim?’
‘Yes.’ The voice sounded hesitant. ‘Charles?’
‘Speaking,’ Charles confirmed. ‘What’s the problem, Jim?’
‘It’s my daughter, Megan. She’s…she’s not well.’
Emily knew that other people listening in could make it uncomfortable to give personal details, but Jim Cooper sounded more than hesitant now. He sounded desperate.
‘What’s happened, Jim?’
‘She hasn’t been well for a few days. She got out of bed and she’s collapsed…I can’t get any sense out of her.’ A few words were broken by static. ‘Fence down…Her mother’s trying to round up the cattle…No way I can get her back into bed.’
‘How old is Megan, Jim?’
‘Nineteen.’
‘And she’s been sick for a few days?’
‘I dunno what’s going on. Flu, maybe. Stomach pains. She’s just lying on the floor now…Her breathing sounds funny…I dunno what to do…’
Emily exchanged a horrified glance with Mike. This man was panicking. He sounded close to tears.
‘Don’t worry, Jim. We’ll get some help out to you. Don’t go too far from the radio. As soon as I’ve got things moving I’ll talk to you again.’
Charles turned to Mike. ‘Do you know if they’ve fixed that problem with the sticky needle on the fixed wing’s altimeter?’
‘They’re working on it now.’
‘It’ll have to be the chopper, then.’
‘How far is it?’
‘Cooper’s Crossing station is Wetherby Downs’ closest neighbour.’ Charles tipped his chair back and then swivelled to face the series of maps covering the wall. They were marked with a series of black, expanding circles that represented units of ten nautical miles. ‘West. Here.’
Mike whistled silently. ‘That’s a long haul for the chopper, boss. We’d have to refuel.’
‘Not a problem. We have a long-standing arrangement with Wetherby Downs to provide fuel for any AMS emergency if it’s needed. I’ll arrange it with the station manager. They’ll be waiting for you.’
‘What’s the latest info from the weather bureau?’
Emily peered at the map as the two men engaged in a rapid-fire discussion about weather forecasts, GPS co-ordinates for navigation and flight times. Wetherby Downs station was where Charles had grown up. His brother Philip ran the vast station now. Why would Charles make it sound like ringing the station manager and not his brother to arrange a fuelling stop for the helicopter was the only option?
She cast a rather speculative glance at their medical director. How fair was it that he knew so much about all of them but managed to keep so much of his own life so private? Disconcertingly, Emily found herself receiving a stare from both men that spoke of an even more avid curiosity.
‘So, how ’bout it, Em?’
‘Sorry, I wasn’t listening.’
‘Christina’s on emergency flight call but she’s having a good time at the party.’ Mike grinned at Emily. ‘Charles and I thought you might like to cover for her.’
‘Oh, no!’ Emily took a step backwards. ‘Sorry, but I don’t do helicopters.’
‘Why not?’ Charles raised an eyebrow. ‘You’ve been in the fixed-wing aircraft often enough.’
‘That’s different.’
‘Why?’ Mike sounded genuinely puzzled.
‘A plane’s safer.’
‘Why?’ Mike was sounding amused now.
‘Because it’s got wings,’ Emily muttered. She could feel her cheeks heating but continued doggedly when confronted by silence. ‘If its engine conks out it can at least glide down. It’s not going to drop like a stone.’
Mike and Charles exchanged a glance. They both grinned at Emily. She pressed her lips together stubbornly and glared back. She didn’t like being laughed at.
Then, for the second time that evening, Emily felt the comforting weight of Mike’s arm around her shoulders.
‘I wouldn’t let you drop like a stone, Em. Honest.’
The promise was as comforting as the physical touch. It offered protection. Never mind that Mike wouldn’t want to plummet to the ground himself, he made it sound as though it would be Emily he’d be taking care of.
Right now she felt too bruised to remind herself that she was quite capable of looking after herself. Having someone else doing that, even temporarily, was attractive. It made her feel special. Safe.
Safe enough to actually consider confronting her fear of flying in something that didn’t have wings?
‘But it’s dark.’
‘Not a problem.’ Mike squeezed her shoulder. ‘There’s a lovely bright moon out there and I’ll turn the lights on when we need to land. I’ll keep an eye out for the mountains, I promise.’ The pressure he exerted on Emily’s shoulder was enough to force her to turn and look at him. ‘Hey,’ he said softly. ‘Neither of us really wants to go to that party right now. An escape is just what we need. Both of us.’
‘Hmm.’ Charles was looking at both Emily and Mike so thoughtfully she could almost hear wheels turning. ‘I agree. What’s more, you’ll be an even more valuable member of staff around here if you can get past your helicopter phobia, Dr Morgan.’
Emily gulped. ‘Are you ordering me to go, Charles?’
Mike’s head tipped sideways as he chased eye contact with Emily. ‘Ple-e-ease?’
It was the lopsided smile that did it. Made her think that Mike wanted her company rather than Christina’s. Made her feel that she would be safe doing anything as long as she was doing it with Michael Poulos.
‘Oh…all right.’ The grudging agreement came out as almost a snap but Mike didn’t seem to mind.
Neither did Charles. He was smiling benevolently as he waved them off. Then he reached for the microphone again.
‘Crocodile Creek Base Hospital to Cooper’s Crossing. You receiving me, Jim?’
By the time Emily was kitted out in the dark blue overalls, heavy black boots and the white helmet that contained the earphones and microphone for radio communication, Mike had done all his pre-flight checks and was waiting to help Emily into the cockpit of the bright red and yellow helicopter.
‘Charles has been talking to the girl’s father again. She’s conscious and has got herself back to bed. Sounds like less of an emergency but he’s decided she should still be evacuated.’ Emily nodded but knew she probably looked less than enthusiastic. Up close, this was even more daunting than she had feared. The machine was huge. Far too big for spinning strips of metal as flimsy-looking as those rotors to hold up. If her hand wasn’t being firmly held by Mike at that point, Emily might have turned and fled.
‘Step onto the skid here and then up into the front seat.’
‘What? Isn’t that where the crewman sits?’
‘We’re not taking anyone else. This should be a simple retrieval and I can help you with any stabilisation of the patient that needs to be done before we head back. Come on—in you get.’
Emily felt pale. She hesitated.
‘It’s as safe as houses,’ Mike assured her. ‘Statistically, you’re safer doing this than crossing the road.’
‘I know. It’s just…’
‘Look, I’ll give you some extra protection. Watch.’
‘Mike!’ Emily was horrified. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Spitting,’ he said unnecessarily.
‘That’s disgusting!’
‘It’s a Greek thing.’ Mike didn’t look at all perturbed by Emily’s criticism. ‘It’s for luck. It wards off the evil eye.’
‘Oh…for luck, huh?’
‘Yep. Come on, it’s time we took off.’
‘Hang on.’ Emily resisted the tug on her hand. ‘Can I spit, too? For luck?’
Mike’s face lit up as he grinned. ‘Sure.’
Emily gave it her best shot. Luck was good. And spitting on the helicopter was so bizarre it was funny. She actually felt like laughing aloud and she hadn’t felt like that for days and days. Expecting Mike to approve, Emily was surprised to find him shaking his head.
‘You’ve got to do it three times,’ he told her.
‘But I don’t have that much spit!’
‘Well, actually…’ Mike let go of Emily’s hand, pulled the sleeves of his overalls down over his wrist and wiped the blob of saliva off the helicopter’s paintwork. ‘You don’t have to make it wet.’ His tone was injured. ‘It’s more of a token spit.’ The glance was very stern. ‘Especially when it’s my helicopter you’re spitting on.’
Emily was still grinning as she fastened her seat belt and watched the rotors lifting as their speed increased. She couldn’t remember when she had last felt this alive.
Setting off for a medical evacuation always got the adrenaline going because you never knew quite what you were going to find at the other end. Meeting a personal challenge like facing a fear of helicopters at the same time made this experience well out of any comfort zone.
Emily would never have agreed to this if it wasn’t Mike at the controls. Because it was him, and because she was doing this for the first time in her life and they were doing this with just the two of them, gave this mission an edge that could only boost Emily’s adrenaline rush.
Every cell in her body was pumping. Fear kicked in far more feebly than she would have expected when the skids left the tarmac and the helicopter rose swiftly. They were still gaining height rapidly as Mike turned over the cove to head inland, and Emily welcomed the distraction of seeing the people gathered around the bonfire on the beach. A small person waved.
‘There’s CJ!’ Emily shouted. ‘Look—I can even see that weird-looking puppy beside him.’
‘You don’t need to shout, babe. We’ve got an internal intercom system and the earphones and mikes are inside our helmets.’
‘Sorry.’
‘Don’t be. You weren’t to know.’ Mike looked down at the beach and then turned his head towards Emily. ‘Who needs a party? This is much more fun, isn’t it?’
And Emily had to nod.
Astonishingly, this suddenly promised to become the most enjoyable experience of her life.
CHAPTER TWO
HE WAS nothing short of a genius.
If he’d spent a week planning some way of bringing a smile back to Emily Morgan’s face, Mike couldn’t have done better than scooping her up and flying her off in his helicopter. And he hadn’t had to plan it at all. It had just fallen into his lap.
OK, he’d had to do a bit of fast talking to cut the crew numbers for this rescue mission but he could be very persuasive when he wanted to be. He’d taken the line that he and Emily could manage perfectly well. He had advanced paramedic training to go with his considerable experience as a pilot, so they were a perfect team. Why pull anyone else away from the beach party when they deserved the time out after the wringer they’d all been through in the last few days, thanks to the shortage of medical staff and a surplus of major cases?
Charles had known what Mike was up to, of course. He could see that he wanted some time alone with Emily to try and cheer her up. Maybe he even knew some things that Mike had been confident he’d kept very well hidden. There wasn’t much that went on in or around Crocodile Creek base hospital that Charles didn’t know about.
Not that it mattered. Charles had approved, and convincing Emily had been a cinch given that her fear of getting into the chopper outweighed any other concerns.
She’d done it, though, hadn’t she? With a quick glance to his left, Mike stopped feeling proud of himself and felt proud of Emily instead. You’d never think it to look at her—she wouldn’t look out of place behind an information desk in an academic library or some other such serious place—but she was gutsy all right.
Emily had seen him looking, so Mike did what came automatically and smiled at her.
‘OK, babe?’
She nodded but bent her head again quickly to stare through the small Perspex panel near her feet. ‘It’s really different from being in a plane, isn’t it? You can see so much more.’
‘Bird’s-eye view.’ Mike was relieved that Emily had remembered not to shout this time. She was a quick learner as well as gutsy.
Moonlight bathed the outside world and visibility was great—with a ghostly but rather beautiful bleached effect. They were already past the sugar-cane plantations that surrounded the township of Crocodile Creek and over the foothills of rainforest-clad mountains now. The dense vegetation had been cleared in patches, and banana trees added to the tropical appearance of a landscape that Mike had grown up in and still loved with a passion.
Checking his instruments, he banked to follow the main road that snaked towards the pass leading to the arid cattle country on the other side of the mountains. Emily squeaked softly and Mike could see her fingers sinking into the upholstery of her seat as the aircraft banked.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said cheerfully. ‘I’m not planning any aerobatics.’
‘Aren’t we going over the mountains? Like the plane does?’
‘Can if you want to, but the view’s better this way.’
Grey-blue eyes were looking distinctly anxious again. ‘This thing can go high enough to get over the mountains, can’t it? If the weather gets bad or something?’
‘This is an MBB-Kawasaki BK-117,’ Mike informed her with an air of injured pride. ‘State-of-the-art rescue chopper. We’ve got a ceiling of 10,000 feet, a range of 338 miles with standard tankage, maximum speed of 174 miles per hour and a maximum climb rate of over 1700 feet per minute.’
‘Oh.’ Emily looked as though she was trying to do several mathematical calculations simultaneously. Her face brightened. ‘That’s OK, then, isn’t it?’
‘Yep.’ Mike couldn’t resist teasing her just a little. ‘We’ve got a thirty million candle-power nightsun, too. I can turn it on any time so you don’t need to be scared of the dark.’
Emily snorted indignantly. ‘You’re the one who goes round spitting to ward off the evil eye, mate.’ She watched Mike adjust a control on the panel that sat between them. ‘Just out of idle curiosity, did you go round spitting on your helicopters when you were a member of that crack platoon or squadron or whatever you call them in the Special Air Services?’
‘Sure did.’
‘And what did your army buddies think about that?’
Mike kept a straight face. ‘I suspect that anyone in the regiment that doesn’t spit for luck now gets left on the ground.’
‘Very unhygienic.’
‘Didn’t stop you doing it.’
‘No.’ He could hear the smile in her voice. ‘Well, sometimes you need a bit of luck.’ She was silent for a few seconds and then her tone became very wry. ‘Maybe I should spit on the next man to ask me out on a date.’
‘I wouldn’t advise it.’ It was hard to keep his own tone light. ‘Unless he’s Greek, of course.’
Dammit, Emily was thinking about Simon bloody Kent again. Mike’s fingers curled more tightly around the control stick. The man had better not show his face in Crocodile Creek again, that was for sure. He’d never been good enough for Emily, anyone could have seen that, but she’d fallen for him and if the others had shared Mike’s reservations, seeing the sparkle that emanated from the quiet young physician had been more than enough to stop them saying anything.
Mike decided he needed to distract Emily from her thoughts. ‘Sounds like that young girl must be pretty sick to collapse like that.’
‘She may have just had a spell of low blood pressure. If she’s been unwell and lying in bed for a few days without adequate food or fluid intake, she could well have fainted by standing up too quickly.’
‘Her father sounded pretty anxious.’
‘Charles will have stayed in contact with him. He’ll call us if there’s any significant change.’
Emily fell silent as she watched the set of instruments on her side of the dashboard.
‘What’s that?’
‘Airspeed. In knots.’
‘And that one?’
‘Artificial horizon. Gives us our position in relation to the real horizon.’
He kept answering the queries as Emily discovered the fuel gauge, engine temperature, altitude and vertical speed indicators.
Now Emily was leaning towards him to examine the rest of the dials. ‘They’re exactly the same as the others!’
‘It’s a twin-engined craft. It would be possible to fit a second set of controls and have two pilots so there’s a duplicate set of instruments. Hey, maybe you should get your helicopter pilot’s licence.’
Emily laughed. ‘Not in this lifetime, mate.’
At least she wasn’t thinking about Simon the rat any more.
It had lasted for months, that sparkle. If it hadn’t still been there when Marcella had ended her engagement to Mike and stormed off back to her native Italy six months after their arrival in Crocodile Creek, he would have…
Would have what?
Told Emily just how special he thought she was? That her living in and loving his home town had made an appearance on the list of why he hadn’t given in to Marcella’s ultimatum and left Crocodile Creek for ever?
Not likely.
Not when his ego had actually been rather dented by Marcella having dumped of him. Or when he’d never had a hint of anything more than friendship being available from Emily. And especially not when she was obviously still in love with Simon the cardiologist, whom she couldn’t see had no respect for hearts other than in their pumping capacity.
Not many people knew just how patient he was capable of being, however. Or how highly he prized his friendships. However hard it was right now, he was not going to jeopardise a friendship or risk something even bigger by moving too fast. Or by telling Emily just how much better off she was without Simon in her life.
And it was hard. As hard as it had been to watch that sparkle dimming and tendrils of unhappiness infiltrate Emily’s life over the last twelve months. She’d tried so hard to make the relationship work and Mike had been sorely tempted on more than one occasion to take her in his arms and tell her that Simon simply wasn’t worth the effort.
Thank goodness he had trusted his instincts and left things to travel naturally to their inevitable conclusion. Emily needed to work things out for herself. To see what was staring her in the face and decide whether or not she wanted it.
All Mike could do right now was to be there.
And to be patient.
The moonlight was even brighter as they neared their destination and it was quite light enough to appreciate the oasis that Wetherby Downs cattle station represented. The number of outbuildings and a cluster of what had to be staff accommodation made the hub of the station seem like a small village. A huge, majestic old homestead sat well to one side, isolated by a ring of irrigated lawns and gardens.
‘Wow, look at that!’ Emily breathed. ‘Almost medieval, isn’t it? The big manor-house and all the peasant cottages. This is where Charles grew up, isn’t it?’
‘Yeah.’ Mike hovered for a moment, looking past the homestead. ‘There’s the airfield.’
‘His younger brother runs the station now, doesn’t he?’
‘Philip,’ Mike confirmed.
‘And he’s married?’
‘To Lynley. Couple of teenage girls who go to boarding school down south.’
‘Charles never talks about them.’
‘No.’ Mike clearly needed to concentrate as he brought the helicopter down close to a floodlit area where a rangy stockman was standing beside a series of fuel tanks.
Emily needed to distract herself from the landing process.
‘Did it have something to do with his accident?’ she wondered aloud. ‘Was it a disappointment to his family that he couldn’t take over running the station because he was in a wheelchair?’
‘Dunno.’ Mike reached overhead to ease the throttle control back and the engine noise abated as the rotors began to slow. ‘I was just a kid when it happened. I do remember seeing old man Wetherby in town once or twice, though. He was pretty intimidating. He had a reputation for being pretty rough. On his family as well as the blokes who worked for him.’ He unclipped his harness. ‘I’ll get on with the refuelling. Shouldn’t take long.’
The helicopter felt strangely empty without Mike so Emily climbed out a minute later.
‘This is Wayne,’ Mike told her. ‘He’s the station manager for Wetherby Downs.’
‘Gidday.’ Wayne pushed the brim of his hat up and held out his hand. Emily winced inwardly at the firm grip. ‘Long way for you guys to get hauled out in a chopper. How far have you still got to go?’
‘We’re headed for Cooper’s Crossing,’ Emily said. ‘Next door, isn’t it?’
‘Been an accident?’
‘No.’ There was something weird about his tone, Emily thought. About the place in general, actually. This was Charles Wetherby’s family station but he wanted nothing to do with it. The Coopers were neighbours in an area of country that was so vast people depended on their neighbours for support, but clearly they hadn’t been in touch and Wayne sounded…disinterested.
‘Be Jim, then,’ the stockman decided. ‘Can’t say I’m surprised. Another heart attack, I s’pose?’
‘No.’ But Emily remembered how panicked the girl’s father had sounded on the radio. If Jim Cooper had a heart condition they might find themselves with more than one patient to care for. Some more information could well be useful. ‘Is he not well at the moment?’
‘Almost didn’t recognise him when I copped sight of him at the rodeo a few days ago. Looked like death warmed up.’ Wayne was watching the gauges on the fuel tank. ‘Thirsty beast, isn’t it?’
‘She’ll be pretty empty,’ Mike told him. ‘Auxillary tank holds over 100 litres and the internal one takes 380.’
‘Nice-looking bird.’ Wayne’s hat tipped further back as he admired the aircraft.
‘Yeah.’ Mike looked as proud as a new father and quite happy to embark on a conversation regarding the helicopter’s attributes but Emily cleared her throat.
‘When did Jim have the heart attack, Wayne?’
‘Fair while back now. Maybe two or three years ago?’ The hat had resumed its original position so Emily couldn’t read the man’s expression. She was startled when he turned his head and spat rather emphatically onto the dusty ground. ‘He should have sold up years ago. Farm’s been ruined now.’
‘Has it?’ Emily caught Mike’s glance briefly and he raised an eyebrow. There was no evil eye to ward off here.
Or was there?
‘We’ve lost some good stock because they won’t do their share of the fencing.’ Wetherby Downs’ station manager sounded disgusted. And there was that trouble around Christmastime when one of the lads apparently took a shine to that Cooper girl. But never mind. The bank’s going to sort it out before long, from what I’ve heard.’
A loud ding from the fuel tank seemed to signal a halt to any gossip. Wayne spat into the dust again and then turned away to coil the fuel pipe and hang it up. ‘That should do you,’ he said dismissively.
‘What did you make of all that?’ Mike queried as soon as they were airborne again.
