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‘You’re going to be a dad today, Ryan.’
Her next calls were to Ellie and Dru, and then Emma went down to Geriatrics to find Jeremy.
Even though she’d spent the past hour sorting Dee’s situation, as soon as she saw Jeremy her fears came rushing back and her tears spilled over.
‘Em?’ He led her into the office and closed the door. ‘What is it? Have you been to see Geoff?’
She nodded and her throat clogged. ‘I have. I’m back in surgery tomorrow for more tests.’
His arms went around her and he rested his head on the top of hers.
Emma leaned against her husband. ‘Oh, Jem, what if it’s the worst? What if he takes my ovaries while he’s in there? What if we can’t have children?’
‘We won’t worry about that until it happens. But it won’t, Em.’
Her voice broke. ‘Will you still love me if we can’t have a family?’
Jeremy pulled her closer. ‘I won’t even acknowledge that you said that. Em, I love you, and whatever happens, we’ll face this together. You are my life.’
Chapter 11
Old Hamilton Downs Homestead
They stopped at Mulga Camp for lunch, a simple meal of premade bread rolls and fruit. The camp was a no-frills campsite, with only a water tank to refill their bottles and a drop toilet, and no shelter shed. Sandra didn’t mind as the wind still held an element of chill, so she was happy to sit in the sunshine.
Andrew insisted the group stayed together on the last leg of the day through the Chewings Range at Spring Gap. He’d given a safety briefing before they’d headed off for the afternoon trek.
‘The final seven kilometres of the day takes us along a low ridgeline covered in mulga scrub, on the north side of the range. The trail can get confusing through this section, and I don’t fancy losing any of you this afternoon, so please stay close and don’t take any detours. We’ve been a bit scattered over the past couple of days, and we’re on a schedule today. The only time schedule for the next ten days, but we need to be aware of pick-up time.’
Graysen and Sandra exchanged a look. Andrew had been a bit tense since the episode before morning tea.
‘Please stay within sight of each other until we reach the gate where Jodie will pick us up in the truck.’
This section of the walk was the most scenic of the day and the chirping of a huge flock of blue and gold budgerigars surrounded them as they walked beneath the river red gums.
Andrew perked up a bit as they got closer to the meeting point. Sandra felt sorry for him; he was obviously keen to share the burden of the group with another guide after the events of the day.
‘This is one of the most historic parts of the track,’ he said as they approached a sign indicating a trail to a place called Fish Hole. ‘Above Fish Hole the trail follows a route used by camel trains travelling between Hermannsburg and Hamilton Downs station. That’s where we’ll have dinner tonight.’ He switched back into the guide patter for the first time this afternoon. ‘You’ve all seen the buffel grass along the side of the track. It’s an invasive weed introduced by the Afghan camel drivers who used it as saddle padding and then after that it was used for cattle feed. Tomorrow before we set off, I’ll take you down to Fish Hole. It’s a beautiful place; a sacred site to the local indigenous people, so no swimming; we can only walk the creek bed.’
‘Cecily and I want to go down there for a swim this afternoon,’ Paul said.
‘I’m sorry, but we don’t have time. You mustn’t have heard me clearly, there’s no swimming allowed there,’ Andrew replied. ‘Jodie’s picking us up shortly and we’re booked into the Homestead for dinner.’
Cecily interrupted. ‘We’ve paid for this trek and paid very well. We’d like to go there this afternoon. And swim.’
Sandra straightened and glanced at Graysen. He was staring at Paul and looked as though he was about to interrupt. He obviously thought better of it and walked away as Andrew replied.
‘The choice is yours, but if you do choose to go down now, you’ll have to hike to Hamilton Downs yourselves. Plus, if you choose to break the rules, it may put your place in the trek at risk. The indigenous owners of this land allow us to walk it; we then reciprocate by showing respect for their culture.’
‘No-one would see us.’
‘If you want to go to Fish Hole today to have a walk, you’ll have to trek back to the station, and you’ll miss dinner.’
Sandra was embarrassed to be witnessing this and she walked away to where Graysen was sitting on a log. He was wiping his camera down with a soft blue cloth.
‘Gosh, they’re difficult people, aren’t they?’
Graysen nodded. ‘Very selfish. If I was Andrew, I’d put them in the truck and take them back to Alice Springs. The bottom line is, the guide has the final say. He’s responsible for the safety of the group.’
