Page 59 of A Chance to Believe

His hand left the wheel for a moment to pat her wrist where it lay on her thigh. He was so tactile. She hadn’t been touchy feely herself, not for years, but she was growing to expect it, to like it.

‘A bit nervous. This is all unfamiliar territory for me, but I like your doctor and he seems confident things are going to work out, even with the twin complication.’

She shifted on the seat. With one twin engaged low in her pelvis, it was increasingly uncomfortable to sit for long periods of time, even for the half-hour trip to the neighbouring town. It would be a relief to get home.

Shayne’s phone rang, and he switched on the Bluetooth, adjusting the earpiece as he listened.

‘Shit! I’ll be there.’

Cassie jumped at the expletive, said with so much force. The car slowed and he did a U-turn, heading back into town. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Jordan’s had an accident. The tractor rolled. He’s pinned underneath. A pity I don’t have the ‘cruiser, but there’s no time.’

Her stomach clenched. ‘Have they called the ambulance?’

‘It’s on its way, but it’s coming from Bialga, so it’s still half an hour away. Morgan is coming, so he’ll be able to assess Jordan.’

She stayed quiet after that, allowing him to concentrate on his driving as the road turned into dirt on the far side of town. The properties along here went deep into the hills and she wondered how far away the Taite farm must be. Finally, they pulled into a gateway marked by a grid and a painted barrel letter box. She’d expected cattle, but all the paddocks close to the road were planted with grain. They passed a house and sheds and a large, new looking barn, heading deeper towards the hills.

A sudden jerk tossed her against the door as Shayne left the track and headed overland to what looked like a winding watercourse, marked by willows amongst the taller natives. There was a battered troop carrier parked in the middle of nowhere and no sign of a tractor.

The car skidded to a halt beyond the other vehicle and Shayne was out like a shot, loping across the barren soil and vanishing into the gully.

Cassie hesitated only a moment before undoing her seat belt and exiting the Lexus. She could hear voices and followed them, pausing at the rim of the gully. Sucking in a startled breath, she stepped back. Shayne was holding onto the woman who’d been at the party, Celie. Jordan’s wife. Holding her back from the danger zone. She suppressed a groan. The tractor was almost completely rolled over, tangled with the spreading branches of a fallen tree.

She couldn’t see Jordan, which only made it worse. He must be pinned right under the tractor, with the added weight of the tree.

Shayne left Celie and approached the tractor, squatting down and edging close. Cassie’s vision went hazy and she gulped in some air. She couldn’t afford to faint. There were more important things for Shayne to be doing than picking up his pregnant girlfriend.

Celie was coming up the side of the gully. She was filthy, her dirt-covered hands scratched and bleeding, a short spade in her hands, the sort you kept in a four-wheel drive to dig you out of a bog.

‘Shayne said I should stay up here to direct the doctor and ambulance.’

‘You were down with the tractor?’

‘I was trying to help Jordan, but everything started shifting, so he sent me away.’ She pushed some stray curls away from her face. ‘I don’t know how they’ll get him out without the tree giving way. It’s balanced on the tractor, and if they move the tractor to get him out, the tree will probably come crashing down.’

And Shayne was down there, underneath. Helping his cousin. Except he wasn’t. He came striding over, demanding the keys of the troop carrier.

‘It’s unlocked.’

He nodded and scrambled into the back, emerging with a car jack. They watched him retrieve another one from the Lexus, take the spade from Celie and vanish back down to the scene of the accident.

‘What do you think he’s planning to do?’ Cassie couldn’t see how those tiny jacks would be any help in this situation.

Celie shrugged. ‘He’ll probably try to stabilise the tractor so it can’t drop any further onto Jordan. The seat is on his pelvis and thighs. His arm is pinned under the steering wheel.’

The woman seemed almost too calm, but then Cassie remembered the white knuckles as she’d gripped the small shovel and noticed the wide dark pupils in her green eyes. She was in shock.

‘Come and clean up. Do you have water? I think we have bottled water in the Lexus.’

Celie shook her head to clear it rather than as a negative. ‘We have a Gerry can in the troopy. We always carry spare water.’

It seemed to help her, cleaning up with a rag and then taking a long drink out of a thermos.

‘How did you find him?’

‘I came out to bring him his lunch.’

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