accomplished that feat, not easy in a swaying vehicle, Kate pulled out the tiny Doppler to listen to Lucy’s baby. The steady clop, clop, clop of Lucy’s baby’s heartbeat could be just heard over the rain on the roof.
So baby didn’t mind someone pulling the plug out of the bath, she thought. They were all silent for a minute as they listened, that just discernible galloping heartbeat a reminder of why they were driving through the ridiculous weather to Derby.
‘Should be about two hours to the next diesel stop,’ Rory said when Kate put the Doppler away. ‘Then, not long after that, the road will improve as we hit the main highway.’
‘So we’ll get through all right?’ Lucy’s voice was hard to distinguish over the rain and Kate repeated the question to Rory in case he hadn’t heard.
‘They said at the shop the next causeway hasn’t risen too much with the downpour yet,’ he said.
Kate hoped he was right but she wasn’t so sure about the return trip for her and Rory. Not much they could do about that except worry later and see.
When they reached the next crossing the water had risen to a little over eighteen inches but the causeway was concreted and the vehicle high. The truck drove through smoothly without any water coming in the doors.
Kate was glad now they’d stayed only briefly at the last stop.
The rain eased more as they drove towards the next mountain range they couldn’t see, she knew it was there, but today it was well and truly hidden in cloud. She mentally shrugged. If they kept going they’d find it eventually.
CHAPTER FOUR
‘T HE pains are getting stronger.’ Lucy’s forehead was wrinkled with the effort to breathe slowly and calmly and Kate smoothed out her own frown as she watched.
‘I know, sweetheart.’ Kate glanced up and caught Rory’s eyes in the mirror again for a fleeting second, just for her own comfort, before she looked back at Lucy. ‘Keep your breathing going, you’re doing beautifully. It looks like this baby of yours is pretty keen on seeing what the world looks like on the outside of your tummy.’
Lucy grimaced. ‘I think I just wet myself again. This time it’s a flood.’ She shuddered in disgust.
Kate smiled. ‘Okay. We might get Rory to pull over for a minute while we sort out what’s happening down there.’ She looked to the front of the vehicle as they slowed. There was no doubt Rory was on antenna duty and could hear most of what they were saying, which saved her having to repeat everything.
There was nowhere sheltered to pull in so Roryedged to the side of the road as much as he could without sinking into the soft mud. The last thing they needed was to be run over by a road train or bogged in wet bull dust mire and have to dig themselves out. Neither was a great option.
Rory had caught snatches of conversation for the last half hour and had an idea things had progressed in Lucy’s labour. They were still an hour out from the next stop but he’d been thinking along the lines of pulling off the track and down one of the side roads because they were ‘near’ one of the larger cattle stations.
A detour of maybe fifty kilometres would see them at a place that had facilities and an airstrip for when the sky cleared.
Kate pulled the privacy curtain while she attended to Lucy and Rory reached for a map from the seat beside him to see exactly where they were. The last crossing had been about sixty kilometres back so that made them near the turn off to Rainbow’s End Station.
It wasn’t a tourist facility like the high-end Xanadu they’d passed two hours ago, but he remembered the McRoberts family from the camel races when he was a kid. They’d certainly have no problem in an emergency like this.
But maybe it was quicker to keep rolling towards Derby and meet up with the ambulance coming the other way. He’d see what Kate wanted as soon as she was ready to tell him what was going on.
‘Rory! I need you.’ A calm voice but with that
So baby didn’t mind someone pulling the plug out of the bath, she thought. They were all silent for a minute as they listened, that just discernible galloping heartbeat a reminder of why they were driving through the ridiculous weather to Derby.
‘Should be about two hours to the next diesel stop,’ Rory said when Kate put the Doppler away. ‘Then, not long after that, the road will improve as we hit the main highway.’
‘So we’ll get through all right?’ Lucy’s voice was hard to distinguish over the rain and Kate repeated the question to Rory in case he hadn’t heard.
‘They said at the shop the next causeway hasn’t risen too much with the downpour yet,’ he said.
Kate hoped he was right but she wasn’t so sure about the return trip for her and Rory. Not much they could do about that except worry later and see.
When they reached the next crossing the water had risen to a little over eighteen inches but the causeway was concreted and the vehicle high. The truck drove through smoothly without any water coming in the doors.
Kate was glad now they’d stayed only briefly at the last stop.
The rain eased more as they drove towards the next mountain range they couldn’t see, she knew it was there, but today it was well and truly hidden in cloud. She mentally shrugged. If they kept going they’d find it eventually.
CHAPTER FOUR
‘T HE pains are getting stronger.’ Lucy’s forehead was wrinkled with the effort to breathe slowly and calmly and Kate smoothed out her own frown as she watched.
‘I know, sweetheart.’ Kate glanced up and caught Rory’s eyes in the mirror again for a fleeting second, just for her own comfort, before she looked back at Lucy. ‘Keep your breathing going, you’re doing beautifully. It looks like this baby of yours is pretty keen on seeing what the world looks like on the outside of your tummy.’
Lucy grimaced. ‘I think I just wet myself again. This time it’s a flood.’ She shuddered in disgust.
Kate smiled. ‘Okay. We might get Rory to pull over for a minute while we sort out what’s happening down there.’ She looked to the front of the vehicle as they slowed. There was no doubt Rory was on antenna duty and could hear most of what they were saying, which saved her having to repeat everything.
There was nowhere sheltered to pull in so Roryedged to the side of the road as much as he could without sinking into the soft mud. The last thing they needed was to be run over by a road train or bogged in wet bull dust mire and have to dig themselves out. Neither was a great option.
Rory had caught snatches of conversation for the last half hour and had an idea things had progressed in Lucy’s labour. They were still an hour out from the next stop but he’d been thinking along the lines of pulling off the track and down one of the side roads because they were ‘near’ one of the larger cattle stations.
A detour of maybe fifty kilometres would see them at a place that had facilities and an airstrip for when the sky cleared.
Kate pulled the privacy curtain while she attended to Lucy and Rory reached for a map from the seat beside him to see exactly where they were. The last crossing had been about sixty kilometres back so that made them near the turn off to Rainbow’s End Station.
It wasn’t a tourist facility like the high-end Xanadu they’d passed two hours ago, but he remembered the McRoberts family from the camel races when he was a kid. They’d certainly have no problem in an emergency like this.
But maybe it was quicker to keep rolling towards Derby and meet up with the ambulance coming the other way. He’d see what Kate wanted as soon as she was ready to tell him what was going on.
‘Rory! I need you.’ A calm voice but with that
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