As she flew over the parched brown Queensland outback, Riley let her thoughts linger on Noah and their conversation the night before. She hadn't wanted to sneak out this morning, but she also hadn't wanted to argue with him, especially not when she was leaving for a job. She didn't like any distractions when she was flying. Heli-mustering required absolute concentration and attention to detail. Accidents occurred when pilots got distracted.
She should never have started seeing Noah. She had thought they could keep it casual, just great sex and a good time, but it had been too easy to let it morph into something more. Before she knew it, they were playing house.
Last night, she had seen it in his eyes; he was falling for her. If she was honest with herself, she felt more than just friendship for him too. Damn, why had she let this happen?
She shouldn't go back after this job. She should return to Longreach and try to forget about Noah McGuire. Dylan would be disappointed, but she had managed to get a lot accomplished on his property.
Leaving would be the smart thing to do. But she loved being with Noah. She loved the way he made her feel: safe, secure, and loved. And he was one of the good ones. Honest, protective, and down to earth. If she was ever going to settle down with anyone, Noah McGuire would be her best choice.
She shook her head as the airstrip come into view. Grant’s familiar yellow Robinson R22 was already parked with its blades tied down as she came to land a few metres away from it. She turned off the engine and climbed out, spotting him waiting for her.
“Good to see you,” he said, nodding a greeting. “How’s everything going?”
She shrugged nonchalantly. “Fine. How about you?”
“Everything is going great. Actually, I have some news.” His eyes were sparkling with excitement, and the huge smile on his face was something she had never seen before.
“Spit it out.”
“Andrea is pregnant. I'm going to be a dad.”
She took a beat to process the news before flinging her arms around him and squeezing him. “Congratulations. How far along is she?”
“Twelve weeks. That's why I'm here; I wanted to tell you in person that I've decided this will be my last flight for a while. I'm going to retire from flying and just run the business and let you do all the hard work.”
“Pretty much runs like that now.” She grinned at him, thrilled that her cousin had found happiness and love with such a wonderful woman, and would soon have children of his own. It was incredible news and she was so happy for them. But it also stirred feelings in her and yearnings she hadn't thought she had.
“Well, it's official now. If that's okay with you?” His grin was wide. Happiness was evident on every feature of his face.
“Of course it is, and let's face it: I'm the better pilot anyway.”
“I see you’re still as arrogant as always. Did anything end up happening with your friend’s brother?”
She shot him an it’s-none-of-your-business look before busying herself tying down the blades and doing her post-flight inspection. Knowing her cousin, he would grill her for information later. But right now, she needed a bit of time to think about Noah and decide if there was a place for him in her future.
Getting nose-to-nose with stragglers was just a part of the job for a cowboy, whether on a horse, or a quad bike, or in a helicopter. Riley was constantly dipping and diving to drive the cattle home. Continually flying in what pilots called the ‘dead man's zone’—flying low and flying slow.
She levelled the helicopter a metre above the ground, and the cattle in front of her shuffled forward before breaking into a run, moving exactly where she needed them to go. As she gained height, she scoured the land below for any stragglers.
She glanced over at Grant’s yellow chopper, busy doing the same techniques to flush them out. The small, manoeuvrable helicopter flew low, mere feet above the ground.
He had taught her the moves he was using now. From him, she had learnt about timing and how to feel the controls through her feet. He had also explained to her how important cow sense was. Mustering in a helicopter wasn't so different from mustering on horseback; she still needed to have an idea of what the animals were going to do and see it coming before they acted on it.
Grant had been fortunate enough to be raised on a cattle station, so when Riley had showed interest, he’d invited her along on musters. From then on, she had spent all her spare time learning about cattle and working with them. She was confident in her abilities on the ground and in the sky. With more than two thousand hours of low-flying experience, she had exceptional knowledge of the cattle and could anticipate where they might play up and give her trouble. She knew exactly what sort of move would be able to turn them.
She continued to push the mob in the direction of the yards, constantly keeping an eye out for stragglers or hiding places that might be concealing the dust-coloured beasts.
She loved it up here; she really did. She couldn't let Noah take this away from her. No one could take this away from her. Grant was lucky that Andrea supported him and his career. She had never tried to talk him out of doing what he loved, what he had worked so hard to train for.
If Noah wanted to be in her life, he would have to understand that she would never give up flying—not for him, not for anyone.
She smiled as she thought about Grant’s impending fatherhood. They would have a beautiful child with Grant’s intelligence, and Andrea’s good looks and sense of humour.
Riley would get to be their child’s aunt. She would be able to babysit and play with the child. Reward him or her with lollies and toys. She would be the fun aunt, the person they could talk to about their love life and school. She wouldn't judge them or their decisions and she would encourage and love them no matter what.
Riley had never let herself consider motherhood. She didn't want to have a serious relationship because of her job, so there was certainly no way she wanted to have children. Risking death or injury was an occupational hazard for her, but she wouldn’t inflict the risk on anyone else.
She pursed her lips together and forced her mind back to the mob in front of her. She couldn’t afford to be distracted.
A sudden movement had her twisting her head just in time to see her cousin’s yellow bird spinning around and around. She levelled her own helicopter and watched in horror, praying that Grant would get his under control. “Come on, Grant. You can do it.”
But he was too low to the ground, and there was nowhere to go but down.
Riley screamed as his blades clipped the branches of an old gum tree. There was a loud screech of grinding metal, and it all became a blur of smoke, dust, and flames.
Her heart pounding madly in her chest, Riley radioed in the emergency to the guys on the ground and landed as close to the accident site as she could.
She spotted him in the mangled cockpit, the skids brown below it. She didn’t hesitate. Using all her strength, she managed to pull the flimsy door open. She grabbed the pocket knife from her belt, thankful she wore it in case of emergencies, and cut Grant free of his safety harness.
She dragged him away from the helicopter as flames started to lick closer to the fuel tank. No sooner had she cleared the wreck than it exploded, the smell of aviation gasoline polluting the air. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, and she turned her attention back to Grant.
First-aid knowledge was essential in her line of work, and she started CPR when she couldn’t find Grant’s pulse.
“Come on, come back,” she muttered as she pumped his chest. “Think of Andrea. Think of your child. You can't die on me. Not out here. Not now.”
She barely noticed the arrival of the men on quad bikes. Barry, the man in charge, put his fingers to Grant’s neck and after a few seconds, he looked up at her. “You can stop now.”
No. He couldn’t be. Not her Grant—the only member of her family she had. Oh, Grant! She gaped at him. Her heart broke. “No.”
He shook his head. “There’s a pulse. You can stop CPR.”
Riley groped Grant’s neck and sure enough, his blood was weakly pumping through his veins. She leaned back on her knees and surveyed the rest of his injuries. There was a nasty gash in his thigh and another on his forehead. Barry was applying pressure to his wounds.
“The Flying Doctor will be here soon.” Barry’s voice was calm and deep. “You did great, Riley.”
She rubbed her hands over her face, wiping away the wet tears from her cheeks.
She could just make out the sound of the aeroplane above the crackling of the fire devouring the helicopter, leaving only ashes behind.
Once the plane had landed, the doctor and nurse came running to the scene, laden down with medical bags. Barry explained what had happened. Within minutes, Grant was wearing a neck brace and being loaded into the small aircraft.
“We'll know more when we get to Townsville Hospital. There’s room if you want to come with us,” the flight nurse explained.
Riley glanced briefly at her helicopter, unsure of how safe it would be out here in this field, the cattle job half done. What would Grant think if she left the scene and went with him. He would probably scold her later for leaving such an expensive helicopter in the middle of nowhere without even tying down the blades.
Good. All she wanted was for him to be well enough to give her a good talking to.
She nodded at the nurse and climbed in. Grant would forgive her. The helicopter could be replaced. He couldn’t. She needed to be there for him now. And Andrea. She needed to call Andrea. How would she react? Especially in her current state?
Tears burned in her eyes. Riley had witnessed crashes before, but never so terrifying and never when someone she loved had been involved.
This was what Noah was worried about. Feeling useless and fearful, having a loved one hurt and not being able to do anything.
Grant wasn’t out of the woods yet. The crash had been bad—the worst she’d ever seen. And just when he had so much to live for too.
As the plane took off and circled the paddock, she focused her attention on what had gone wrong. Had it been her fault? Maybe there had been a loose wire? Maybe he had clipped a bird?
There were so many possibilities and every pilot would react differently under stress.
In this line of work, there were so many ways to die.