Table Of ContentOUTBACK AFFAIR Christina Carlisle 1
OUTBACK AFFAIR
By
Christina Carlisle
OUTBACK AFFAIR Christina Carlisle 2
© copyright March 2006, Christina Carlisle
Cover art by Dan Skinner, © copyright March 2006
ISBN 1-58608-865-3
New Concepts Publishing
Lake Park, GA 31636
www.newconceptspublishing.com
This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s
imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or
events is merely coincidence.
OUTBACK AFFAIR Christina Carlisle 3
CHAPTER ONE
The sound of screeching brakes was followed by a sickening thud.
Sally gasped as she watched two bodies flying through the air as if in slow
motion. The car continuing its rampaging journey by ramming into a taxi and then
rolling over and coming to a shuddering halt.
She turned to the two customer service officers behind the terminal counter
who seemed immobile with shock. “Bill, quick! Run to my plane and get my
medical bag,” she said, pressing the key to the plane into his hand.
Speaking to the other officer, she said, “Contact emergencies services--we
have a major trauma. Come on, man. Move it!”
With these parting instructions, Sally ran through the open glass doors of the
arrivals entrance to face the chaotic scene outside. People were already crowding
around the pedestrian crossing, peering at the devastation caused by the speeding
vehicle. She pushed her way forward, shouting as she went, “I’m a doctor--let me
through!”
She heard someone cry out, “My God! It’s like a bloody war zone!”
A teenage schoolgirl was lying in the middle of the crossing, her body
crumpled like a rag doll. A man in a suit was leaning over another girl, while several
other girls all wearing similar uniforms, huddled together screaming and sobbing.
Sally knelt by the first child. She knew instantly that she was dead. She had
taken the full impact from the car as it had ploughed into the girls as they walked
from the terminal. Looking up, Sally saw that the security staff had already formed a
barrier providing some protection from the public’s curious gaze.
“Get some blankets here,” Sally shouted to the nearest staff member. She ran
to the second girl. The man was still kneeling beside her, his body shielding her from
Sally’s vision. “Excuse me. I’m a doctor. I need to attend this patient.” There was
no time for manners. One child was already dead.
The man looked up and Sally registered brilliant blue eyes in a handsome face
before her attention became riveted on the girl lying at his feet. “I’m a doctor too but
I need some help here.” His voice was calm.
She knelt beside him. “What are her injuries?” she asked, noting for the first
time his medical bag open beside him.
“A compound fracture of the femur, as you can see. Airway is clear, breathing
is laboured, BP is low and pulse rapid.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Continue to apply pressure to stop the bleeding from the leg. I think we’ve
got other problems--like a massive pneumothorax.”
Sally placed her hands on the pad resting over the girl’s leg where the blood
was seeping through, allowing the other doctor to examine the girl’s chest. She
nodded with gratitude as Bill placed her medical bag beside her.
“Hand me that pressure bandage, Bill,” she said. His face paled at the sight of
the bone fragments projecting through the open wound. Working feverishly, Sally
managed to successfully slow the bleeding and began to bandage the leg.
“She’s got several cracked ribs and could have a contused lung,” the stranger
reported, once again checking the patient’s airway and breathing. “They’ll have to
OUTBACK AFFAIR Christina Carlisle 4
watch this in ICU.”
Sally nodded, noting his strong Canadian, or was it American accent? A sense
of foreboding swept over her. Surely this had to be him. She finished dressing the
leg. “The kid over there is dead,” she whispered so only he could hear.
“Yeah, I know. Broken neck. Will you set up an IV here and I’ll go and
check those jokers in the car?”
“Yes, you go ahead.” Sally took over the unconscious patient and cursed as
her trembling hands almost missed the vein while trying to insert the cannula. Taking
a deep breath to calm herself, she successfully set up a line for a saline drip. In the
distance she heard the sound of ambulance sirens.
“Sally? Can I do anything?” She looked up into the face of one of the flying
doctors, who had run from the adjacent air terminal housing the Royal Flying Doctor
Service.
“Yes, Nick. Can you prep this patient for hospital? Her leg is pretty bad--
you’ll need to strap it well. Get the oxygen on and watch her. If she gets any worse
she may need a chest drain. We can’t do anything for the other kid.” Sally was aware
of the tremor in her voice. God Almighty! I’ll never get used to this needless waste
of someone’s life, she thought.
She moved to the third victim who was still sobbing, as her friends crowded
around trying to comfort her. “Let me have a look, sweetie.” Sally gently lifted her
chin. “What’s your name?”
“It’s Sarah,” the girl wept. “We only came here to wave goodbye to Jason.”
Sally examined the deep cut above Sarah’s brow that caused blood to trickle
down her face. “And who's Jason?” she asked, trying to focus Sarah’s attention away
from the trauma. She quickly dressed the cut, deciding it didn’t need stitches.
“Jason Page, of course,” the other girls chorused. “The Australian pop idol.”
Sally nodded as if she knew who they were talking about. She thoroughly
examined Sarah who, fortunately, only had minor lacerations and bruises. “Were any
more of you knocked by the car?”
They shook their heads, looking very young and vulnerable as they clung
together. “We managed to get out of the way,” one of them said. “But will Jess and
Claire be all right?” She pointed toward the dead girl and the other, so badly injured,
now surrounded by paramedics.
Sally impulsively put her arms around the group, hugging them. “I don’t
know yet,” she replied. “I’m sorry but I have to go. The medics will look after you
now.”
She hastily grabbed her medical bag and hurried toward the wrecked car. The
other doctor was attending a young man laying a fewmeters away. He had removed
his suit jacket and she could see bloodstains on his once pristine white shirt. She bent
down beside him, concentrating and trying not to be distracted by the firemen moving
in position around the car.
“How are things over there?” he asked, without glancing at her as he expertly
dressed a long, ragged cut along the man’s arm.
“Minor injuries with the third girl. They’re all in shock but the medics have
things in hand and the Flying Doctor staff is helping so they won’t be long getting
them away.”
“I’m Luke, by the way,” the stranger said, as he fitted a sling around the
patient’s arm and shoulder. “This guy was the passenger and escaped with a broken
arm and a few cuts. He’s lucky.”
Luke stood up and Sally rose with him. They stared at each other and once
OUTBACK AFFAIR Christina Carlisle 5
again Sally felt the impact of his startlingly blue eyes. His hair was dark and wavy,
touching his shirt collar. She gazed transfixed at his classically handsome features
with his straight nose and a strong, stubborn jaw. So this is the man with whom I’m
going to spend the next few weeks, she thought. What a glorious guy! I’d even
consider giving up celibacy for him, she decided, as she studied his sensually shaped
mouth.
“And you’re?”
At his quizzical expression, Sally felt a blush warm her face. She swallowed,
aware of his returned scrutiny and glanced down at her clothes also covered in blood
and dust.
“I’m Sally.” Her voice was husky as she glanced up at him. She was tall but
he seemed to tower over her, well over six feet. He really was the most handsome
man she’d ever seen. I must be going into shock perving on some bloke in the middle
of this mayhem, she chastised herself.
“Well, this patient is going to be fine,” he said, as two paramedics rushed over
with a stretcher and he briefed them on the man’s symptoms. “But that’s more than
can be said for his pal,” he continued, his face grim.
“Is he dead?”
“No. He’s trapped and in a bad way with head injuries and what looks like
crushed legs. They are getting the Jaws of Life to try and release him.”
As he spoke, the heavy equipment was rolled into place to prize open the
smashed car.
“Oh, hells bells!” Sally gnawed at her bottom lip. “Can we do anything to
help him?”
“We can’t reach him--the space is too narrow. You’d have to be very slim…”
He stopped as his eyes swept over her slender body.
Sally was already moving toward the car. Lying on the ground, she peered
inside. The driver was young. He looked about seventeen and smelt heavily of
alcohol. When he saw Sally, he started crying, tears of pain and anguish pouring
down his face.
“Please--please, don’t let me die here,” he gasped. “I didn’t mean to do it.
We…we were just having fun and my foot jammed on the accelerator. I didn’t mean
it!”
“Shh. You’re going to be okay, mate,” Sally reassured him, all the time
gauging his injuries and wondering how she could get through the narrow space to
help him.
She stood up to find Luke directly behind her, a look of finality on his face.
“Stand back so they can start work on pulling the kid out,” he said, bluntly.
“No. I can get in there. Just pass the gear through to me.”
“It’s too dangerous and that boy is almost certainly going to die,” he said in a
fierce whisper, his hands gripping her shoulders as if to stop her.
Sally angrily shook his hands away. “Bulldust! He will die if we don’t help
him now. Give him a chance.”
Luke saw the defiance written across her features. He hesitated and then
shrugged. “Okay, but for God’s sake be careful.” Raising a hand, he beckoned the
emergency team and explained Sally’s intentions.
While lining up the medical equipment, Luke watched Sally wiggle through
the narrow opening in the car window avoiding the fragments of steel and glass. As
her long, golden legs, with high-heeled boots on her feet, disappeared into the
wreckage, a thought flashed across Luke’s mind that she had the sexiest backside in
OUTBACK AFFAIR Christina Carlisle 6
the shortest of shorts he’d ever seen.
“Pass me the oxygen,” she called, her voice muffled.
Luke pushed the mask and cylinder through to her waiting hands.
“He needs a shot of morphine.” Her voice was low and urgent.
Luke turned and the medic handed him the injection ready to go. “What are
his obs?” Luke asked, his heart pounding as the car shifted ominously. He couldn’t
bear the thought of it crashing down on her.
“BP one hundred over sixty. Pulse--rapid. He’s going into shock,” Sally
called back. “Give me some pressure bandages.”
For the next few minutes they worked together, passing equipment and
conferring through the precariously narrow opening. As Sally set up an IV drip, gave
the boy oxygen and an injection to ease his obviously agonising pain, Luke knew she
was battling to save his life. He peered through the opening and watched as she
managed to apply pressure bandages to the boy's left knee, which had been torn open
in the rollover and was bleeding badly.
“Come out now.” Luke's throat felt constricted and the tension seemed
unending as again the heavy metal creaked and groaned above Sally’s slender body.
“Get out quickly!” His voice was commanding now.
“I can’t. I’m stuck on something.”
Luke leaned in as far as he could and grasping Sally’s waist gently pulled her
toward him. Suddenly she was safe in his arms as he lifted her clear and he felt the
warmth of her slender body against him.
“Are you all right?” He pulled her away as the emergency crews moved in
and began their work to free the boy.
Sally tore off her surgical gloves and looked down at her flat stomach. Lifting
her tee-shirt, they both stared at a jagged cut oozing blood.
“Jeez! Wouldn’t ya know it?” Sally gave a shaky laugh. “As if we haven’t
got enough to do around here.”
Luke’s face was serious as he bent to look at the cut more closely. His hand
rested on the curve of her hip as he steadied her, his fingers briefly caressing her skin.
As he examined the wound, he felt her tremble. “It’s a bit nasty but doesn’t need
stitches. Come over here and I’ll dress it.”
Luke picked up their medical bags and led her to the comparative shelter by
one of the ambulances.
Sally felt ridiculously shy as she lay on the rug provided and exposed her
stomach to this man’s scrutiny. Her muscles contracted as Luke swabbed the cut with
antiseptic.
“You’ve done a great job,” he said, placing a dressing over the wound and
fastening it neatly with surgical tape.
“So have you.”
“Are you on holiday?”
“No. Are you?”
“No.”
Once again they stared at each other. He has beautiful eyes, Sally thought.
Beautiful! She tried to get up--anything to break the spell but Luke placed a hand on
her shoulder. “You’d better have a shot,” he said, filling a syringe with antibiotic
solution and flicking it with long fingers. “We can’t risk an infection from whatever
material cut into you just now.”
Sally waited until he had injected her arm and then scrambled to her feet.
“Well, I don’t think they want our help anymore but we’ll have to make a report to the
OUTBACK AFFAIR Christina Carlisle 7
police,” she said, hastily pulling her tee-shirt over her bare midriff.
Glancing around her, she saw that the injured girls were already on their way
to hospital, while doctors and paramedics were lifting the last injured boy into an
ambulance, having successfully rescued him from the crushed vehicle.
She stared after the ambulance as it drew away. The debris from the crash had
been removed and the traffic was beginning to flow again. Just as if this tragedy had
never happened, she thought with a faint shudder.
“I have to find my pilot, if he’s still here,” Luke said, picking up his jacket.
“Who are you meeting?” Sally held her breath as she waited for his reply.
Pulling a piece of paper from his pocket, he read aloud, “Doctor S. Blake from
Blake’s Charters.”
“That’s me. I’m Doctor Sally Blake, and you must be Doctor Luke Forrester.”
Luke nodded in reply, but Sally could see the shock reflecting in his face.
She held out a grubby hand for him to shake. Yes--this was the man who was
intent on destroying her life!
OUTBACK AFFAIR Christina Carlisle 8
CHAPTER TWO
Luke hesitated and then slowly placed his hand in hers. “I’m sorry. I don’t
mean to be rude, but for some reason I was expecting a man.”
Sally wiped her hand down the side of her shorts and bit back the response
that came so readily to her lips. She’d been through it all before and was used to
people’s reaction, particularly men, when they realised she was not only a doctor but
also a pilot to boot.
“I apologize that you’ve had such a shocking introduction to Australia,” she
said, trying to make her tone pleasant. “But, I’m here to act as your flying doctor and
outback guide during your stay.”
She glanced at his stained and dishevelled suit and then at her own filthy
appearance. “There are showers in the staff quarters of the terminal. I guess you’ve
got luggage somewhere with clean gear?”
“Yes. Except for my medical kit, I left my bags at the other terminal. I
thought that was where we were supposed to meet.” He nodded behind them to the
domestic terminal.
Sally frowned, feeling unreasonably annoyed with him but forced to admit it
had nothing to do with his luggage. She wondered if she should tell him why she felt
upset and then decided against it. Later, perhaps. “I left a message at the hospital
with Doctor Conway saying I’d meet you here so you wouldn’t get lost. Did he give
it to you?”
“No. But when they told me at the small plane terminal that Doctor Blake
wasn’t there, I thought I’d come looking for you. Perhaps it was just as well under
the circumstances, since we were here to help.”
“Well, we’d better go and wash up. I’ll have to change my flight plan and
phone the clinic nurse in Coober Pedy. We’re running really late now.”
Luke shrugged as he picked up his bag.
Sally swallowed and raised a shaky hand to her throat. Perhaps she was more
traumatised from the accident than she thought?
* * * *
Two hours later they were seated in the tiny plane and Sally had begun her
instrument check ready for take off into the Australian outback. Both of them had
showered and changed into clean clothes, Luke settling for cool shorts and a cotton
shirt while Sally had dressed in clean shorts and tee-shirt. They had filled out the
police reports and Sally had phoned the clinic in Coober Pedy explaining why they
were running late. She had also contacted the Women’s and Children’s Hospital to
check on the condition of the accident victims. Fortunately, all were stable although
the schoolgirl, Claire, and the driver of the car were both listed as critical.
While Sally had been checking over their flight plan, Luke had phoned Joe
Conway, his friend at the hospital that he had visited earlier in the day.
“It sounds crazy, Joe, but I don’t want to fly with her.” Luke knew he was
being unreasonable but couldn’t seem to help himself.
Joe had given a sigh of exasperation. “Listen to yourself, Luke. Since when
have you been chauvinistic? Sally Blake is the best pilot in the business. I’ve flown
with her scores of times. You’re damned lucky to get her--she’s in terrific demand.”
OUTBACK AFFAIR Christina Carlisle 9
“I bet she is,” Luke said, turning to stare at Sally who had her back to him as
she leaned over the flight counter. “I’m looking at her right now and you’re asking
me to place my life in the hands of this cowgirl?”
Luke shook his head as he studied the short, sun-bleached blonde hair stylishly
cut to nestle into the nape of her neck. Her clean, white sleeveless tee-shirt was belted
tightly into even shorter shorts than she had been wearing previously, while her long,
tanned legs went on forever. He gave a low groan as he stared at the fawn suede
boots, which clung to her slender calves. They were something else, with high Cuban
heels adding inches to her height.
Joe laughed. “I can imagine how she’s dressed--that’s just Sally. She’s
always the same. You’ll get used to it.”
“Never!” Luke said vehemently. “I would hardly call it professional, would
you?”
“Look, Luke. You’re going to the outback. It’s different out there. The
people aren’t like your regular city folk. You should know that after your stints in
Alaska.”
“Yeah, well no one looked like her.”
Joe sounded impatient. “Surely you’ve seen that Sally is a fine doctor after
working together on that dreadful accident?”
“Yes, she efficient.”
“She’s a very well qualified general practitioner and as I explained in my
email, she specialises in indigenous health and will be invaluable to your research.”
“Damn it, Joe, that doesn’t make her a good pilot.”
“Well, she works as a part-time medical officer for your mining company and
is on call for emergency retrieval flights. In effect, Sally is one of your part-time
employees.”
“Huh! This deal sounds like a mess,” Luke replied. “I’d better go. I’ll ring
you later.”
Sally fidgeted as Luke stretched out his long body next to hers, crowding the
small cockpit.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather sit behind. There’s more room,” she
suggested, praying he would agree to move.
“No. It’s my first time in the outback and I can get a better view from here,”
was the curt reply.
There was silence as Sally continued to check the gauges. She could feel his
eyes on her and the atmosphere beginning to boil--as if it wasn’t hot enough.
“Nice plane,” he remarked.
“This is a Piper Twin Comanche. Normally it’s a six-seater but with
the gear needed for the clinic visits, I’ve cut it back to four. Just as well I did with the
luggage you’ve got.” She couldn't resist adding the sarcastic comment.
Starting the engines, Sally began the warm up, talking into her headset to the
airport control tower. She could feel Luke tense and turned to him noting the sweat
beading his brow. “Are you okay?”
“I’ve felt better,” was the blunt reply. “How long have you been flying?”
“Oh, a couple of months.” Sally winked mischievously at her white-faced
passenger, trying to ease the tension. She waved to the ground crew and began the
long taxi toward the main runway waiting for the tower to give clearance.
“I’m sure I’ll get used to your weird sense of humour,” Luke said, as they
began the race along the runway and lifted to soar into the air. Sally glanced down at
the disappearing city of Adelaide and felt glad to be going home.
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“How long until we get to Coober Pedy?”
“Almost three hours.”
“Can you tell me what I can expect when we get there?”
“Don’t you know?”
“Not the details.”
Sally shifted in her seat. “All I know is that you’ve hired my father’s
company, which includes employing me, to fly and drive you around for three months
between Adelaide and Alice Springs so you can investigate the health of our
indigenous people.”
Luke folded his arms across his chest, stretching his legs. “Perhaps we should
clear the air, Sally. Why are you angry with me?”
Sally shot him an astonished look. “I’m not,” she hastily denied.
“Yes, you are. I’m sorry if I was insensitive about your flying, if that’s what’s
troubling you. I can see now that you’re a good pilot.”
“How do you know that? I could be dreadful. We have to land yet, don’t
forget.”
“I don’t have a problem with that. You’re just not what I expected.”
“Then, Doctor Forrester, you should realise that things are different here in
Australia.” Sally tried not to huff with indignation. She wasn’t used to this sort of
verbal sparring with any man let alone one as sophisticated as Luke.
“Perhaps I’ve got a lot to learn about Aussies,” he said quietly, his deep
Canadian drawl very evident. “In fact, we seem to have got off on the wrong foot. I
thought we had worked well together coping with that trauma.”
She turned to him and he gave a disarming grin. “How about if we start
again?” he suggested.
Wow--you are definitely a charmer, Sally thought, but that won’t get you to
first base with me.
“Okay.” Her tone was deliberately light.
There was silence between them allowing unwanted thoughts to crowd in on
Sally. She felt the numbness of shock at the news she’d received only yesterday,
giving way to searing, heart-breaking pain. She looked out of her window so that
Luke wouldn’t notice the sudden precarious wobble of her chin. Biting her lip, she
blinked away the tears that pricked the back of her eyes.
Why in God’s name hadn’t her parents discussed their plans with her? How
could they leave her so exposed--so vulnerable? She recalled her mother’s crisp
words on the phone yesterday when she’d rung to let them know she had landed
safely in Adelaide to pick up the Canadian client.
“Sally, I know we should have told you before but you’ve been away so much.
The man you’re collecting isn’t just a client of Blake’s Charters,” her mother had
explained. “His company has made an offer to buy our company. As you know,
things haven’t been so good for us this year because of the drought and if your father
has an opportunity to sell, he’ll probably take it. If you lose your plane, then you’ll
have to spend more time in your practice in Alice…or work here on the station,” she
had added, never losing a chance to voice her disapproval of Sally’s life style.
“But, Mum, this was just casual talk a few weeks ago. I didn’t know you and
Dad were serious about selling. Why didn’t you discuss it with me? It’s my career
you’re messing with,” Sally had argued.
She shrugged aside the disturbing thoughts as she adjusted her seatbelt more
tightly around her waist. Besides, the deal hadn’t happened yet and there would be
time enough to talk with her parents when they reached Alice in a few days’ time.
