Page 28 of Ruby’s Outback Love
I watched, helpless, as Ruby spun on her heel, hurried to the steps and disappeared upwards, towards town. A hot tear rolled down my cheek.
There had to be something I could do. We belonged together. Despite what Ruby had said, our love was far too strong to be allowed to fizzle and die.
My feet felt like lead as I climbed the steps and headed back to the station. As I neared work, an idea formed in my mind. I had a phone call to make and I hoped like hell my plan would work out.
***
Monday Morning
RUBY
I approached the team who, with the exception of Cam, were gathered in front of Barry’s surgery. Drew and Linda’s four-wheel drive sat at the ready to transport us out to Barrawon Station – a huge cattle station about three hours south east of Bourke. It was owned and run by Viv and Gary Morton; several station hands helped them to keep the property functioning.
The Flying Doctor Service – usually James or Finn, who were doctors and pilots, would fly Cam into Barrawon Station on Mondays and back to Dubbo from Tarara Station on Fridays. This schedule would also change now Cam had taken a part-time job at Bourke Hospital. He was due to commence at the same time Drew and Barry’s new clinic opened and had already been searching for somewhere to live.
The trip out to Barrawon was long and boring. Soft country music played on the car radio. Drew, who was driving and Linda, discussed changes they wanted to make to their homestead. I found myself dozing off, I hadn’t been sleeping well lately and had to admit, I was exhausted.
When the car pulled to a stop, I sat up straight in the seat and rubbed the sleep from my eyes before climbing out. Viv greeted us and while Drew chatted with her, Linda and I removed files and equipment from the back of the vehicle.
We both looked up as a plane circled and landed a short distance away. Cam had arrived.
The early morning was pleasantly warm. A few fluffy white clouds danced across the sky. Birds chirped in trees overhead. Rays of sunlight heated the earth, baking the already parched land.
I sucked in a deep breath. Wide open spaces, clean air and the sounds of the countryside were things I adored. They had a cleansing effect on the soul and after my encounter with Phil a couple of days earlier, it was exactly what I required.
After gathering what we needed, Linda and I headed towards the new clinic to start setting up for the morning surgeries which had been scheduled from the previous visit consultations.
“I spoke with Phil on Saturday morning, just after you and I had breakfast.”
At Linda’s mention of Phil, my head jerked up from the surgical tray I was preparing.
“Why? Where?”
“I was passing the police station on my way to the hospital when he pulled up for work. He’s worried about you.”
“Pfft. Why the fuck would he give a shit about me?”
You know why. He’s still in love with you. He was telling the truth when he said he did. You can’t deny that was love in his eyes when he looked at you, along with concern.
My hand froze in mid-air. I wanted to tell the voice in my head to shut the fuck up. Surely Phil didn’t have feelings for me? No, he couldn’t have. He was lying all those years ago when he’d professed his love for me. Why the fuck would he get Francine pregnant and plan to marry her if he loved me?
Why didn’t he go through with the marriage after she lost the baby if it was her that he cared about?
The voice in my head was pissing me off. I was done. Whatever I could have had with Phil was over.
“Ruby?”
I shook my head. “Sorry.”
“You spaced out on me for a moment there. Were you thinking about Phil? He loves you very much and I think you love him too.”
I opened my mouth to protest but Linda held her hand up before me.
“You can protest and deny it all you like but you can’t erase it from your eyes. I wish you’d speak with him.”
I fidgeted nervously, moving instruments which were already in place.
“He found me down at the river on Saturday morning. It must have been after he spoke with you.” I spoke quietly, our encounter still fresh in my mind.
