Page 37 of Ruby’s Outback Love

“Nathan’s checking on her now. Where do you hurt, Ruby?” Otis had grown up in the same community as Ruby and I and there was real concern in his voice.

“It’s just my head. I’m not hurt anywhere else.”

“Can you tell us what happened?” I asked.

“Kirra, the little girl came to us as we were about to leave Tarara. She was in a lot of pain so Elouise operated and removed her appendix. They’d perforated and we were bringing her to the hospital to keep an eye on her for a few days.” Ruby turned to me to explain further. “There’s a high risk of infection when they burst.” She turned back to Otis. “I had to pull out the I.V. to get her out of the plane.”

“The hospital will get another started, so don’t start worrying.”

“Her file was on board and I didn’t think to grab it. All the surgery notes were in it.”

Otis placed a hand on Ruby’s arm. I wanted to cut it off! “You got them out?” he asked.

Ruby nodded. “Elouise was out cold. There was a funny buzzing sound and lots of smoke. I knew the plane was going to explode, so I had to get them out.”

I kissed her cheek. “I’m so proud of you, sweetheart.” I was making it clear so Otis had no doubt; Ruby was mine.

Otis pulled a torch from his bag. He shone the light in her eyes before asking her to follow his finger as he moved it back and forth.

“My head hurts like a bugger and I feel like I want to puke. I have a concussion.”

After applying a bandage to Ruby’s forehead, Otis placed the torch in his bag and zipped it closed. “I agree. We’ll take you to the hospital for a few days of observation. I’ll radio in for a couple more ambulances.”

He stood and moved to where Nathan was working on Elouise and dropped to his haunches. The two men spoke quietly but didn’t seem too alarmed.

Ruby squeezed the hand I was holding and my focus returned to her.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

“I want to sit up; can you help me please.?”

“Of course.” I released Ruby’s hand, slid an arm around her back and lifted her forward into a seating position. I dropped to the ground beside her. When she rocked unsteadily, I tightened my grip.

Nathan stood over us. “Looks like you’re in good hands, Ruby. We’re going to transport Elouise; her condition is the more serious. The other ambulances will more than likely arrive before we leave.”

“Take care of her, I’ll be fine and Kirra had no injuries as far as I could tell.”

“No, I gave her a quick look and she appears fine,” Nathan agreed before turning back to help Otis prepare Elouise for transport.

I scooted closer to Ruby and she snuggled against me. She was trembling – shock. I placed a kiss to the top of her head. When she gazed up at me, tears flowed from her eyes.

“I was so scared, Phil. I thought I’d never see you again.”

I hugged her close. “Seeing you here on the ground, not moving, scared the shit out of me. I swear my heart skipped a bunch of beats.”

“We need to talk.”

Finally. I couldn’t say I was a fan of how she’d been brought to her senses, but I was grateful she was going to give me a chance. Could this be our new beginning? “Don’t worry about any of that now, relax and let me hold you.”

Ruby climbed onto my lap, wrapped her arms around me and settled her head against my chest. When I glanced down, her eyes were closed. The trembling had lessened and she appeared to have settled.

I watched as Nathan and Otis finished moving the pilot into the ambulance.

The fire unit had extinguished the flames and only smoldering ashes remained, thank God. If the fire had taken hold in the tinder dry grass, it would have set off a wildfire which could have been devastating.

The fire investigation unit would no doubt be on the scene soon to try and figure out what had caused the accident.

Mick sat by the little girl who hadn’t yet woken. As the first ambulance pulled out, two more arrived.