Novels 02 Red Dust Read Online Free PDF Page B

in.'
    'What?' Gemma gasped. 'Is he all right? Was it a bad one? I'm leaving now. Where are you?'
    'Now calm down, darling. It was only very mild and he's going to be fine. We're still in Pirie but we'll probably be off to Adelaide tomorrow or the next day.'
    'See you in an hour or so.'
    Gemma threw on some clothes, her mind in a whirl, and ran to the ute.
    Driving through the dark her mind kept wandering back to when she was a little girl and her dad was teaching her about stock and farming. She remembered his big hands, rough and cracked. The cracks were embedded with grease and dirt that no amount of scrubbing would get rid of, but those big hands were always gentle. She remembered him helping a lamb to get its first drink, speaking soothingly to the ewe while his hands carefully guided the lamb towards the ewe's udder. She remembered him picking up the fleeces off the sheep they were shearing, his hands all shiny with the lanolin from the wool. Shearing time was the only time her dad's hands were really soft. She remembered him gently rubbing her dry after swimming in the sea on a holiday they had when she was little.
    She pressed her foot down on the accelerator.
    Unexpectedly lights blinded her as she neared the crest of a hill. Swearing, she flashed her lights until the driver of the oncoming vehicle dipped his. Glancing in the rear-view mirror, Gemma saw a truck with a stock crate loaded behind it.
    As she reached the outskirts of town, Gemma took some deep breaths and tried to calm herself. She wished Adam was with her. She felt panicky, as if events were hurtling out of her control, just as she had the night he'd rushed her to the hospital, when she was bleeding while pregnant with their child. She could still hear the doctor telling them both he was sorry, but they had lost the baby. But as devastating as that had been, at least she had still had Adam. He had taken her in his arms and they had cried together. Now she was alone.
    I will not lose my dad, she thought. Not after everything that has happened. He'll be okay – he's got to be.
    She pulled into the car park of the hospital and, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the steering wheel, said a little prayer. Then she grabbed her purse and mobile phone, shoved them in the pocket of her jeans, locked the car and headed inside.
    The sterile smell made her feel ill. The fluorescent lights played havoc with her eyes that were used to darkness and the white lines of the road. Thankfully the casualty department was quiet. The nurse looked up and smiled as she entered.
    'Hello, Gemma, I've been expecting you. Don't worry – he's going to be fine.'
    Gemma looked at the nurse and blinked. The nurse laughed. 'Do I look that different from school? I guess I do with my hair pulled back like this.'
    'Paige? Paige Nicholls?' The night was beginning to feel surreal. 'I heard you were back. What are you doing here? Is he really okay?'
    Paige laughed. 'I work here, and yes, he really is okay.' Her voice sobered. 'I heard about Adam. I'm really sorry, Gem. You must have been through hell.'
    'I'm doing okay,' Gemma told her, 'and I'd love to talk, but I need to see my dad. Let's catch up later though, once all this has blown over.'
    'He's on the second floor in 32B. I'll wander up and give you my phone number before I get off work.'
    Gemma headed off in the direction that Paige had indicated and took the lift up to the second floor. When the doors opened, she saw her mother leaning tiredly against the wall of the corridor.
    'Mum,' said Gemma, almost running towards her. 'Where is he? Is he okay? What's going on?'
    'He's fine, Gem, don't panic.' Sarah took her arm and led her to a grey plastic couch near the lift. 'Before you rang he'd been having some angina pains and had decided to go to bed after taking some of his tablets. While we were on the phone the pain increased and he was having a little trouble breathing so he asked me to take him to the hospital. When we got