Emergency Response (15 page)

Mackenzie woke with the feeling of his kiss still on her lips. A slow smile spread across her face as she remembered the previous day. When she had finally crawled into her swag she had fallen into a dreamless sleep with the scent of him in her hair and his words tucked deep within her heart. She rolled to her side now and gazed at him. He was still sound asleep in his swag beside her. Warmth flooded her veins from her head to the tip of her toes. It felt so right waking up and seeing his face near hers. Her smile widened as the memory of their passionate kisses in the pool the day before came flooding back to her. It hadn’t been a figment of her imagination after all.

Nathan slept with a small frown crumpling his forehead and she wanted to reach over, undo his mosquito net and smooth the lines away with her fingertip. He must have sensed her watching him because he groaned and rolled over, opening one eye and then the other. When he saw her staring, he jumped as though startled to see them lying side by side. His frown deepened.

“Good morning,” she chirped.

“Hey.” He rubbed his eyes as he sat up. “Give me a minute.” He stretched and yawned.

Mackenzie laughed at him as she jumped from her swag. She was a morning person and he definitely was
not
.

Nathan groaned theatrically. “What’s the rush?”

“No rush.”

She went to the car, humming to herself. She dressed quickly and came back with muesli bars and orange juice. By then Nathan had also dressed and rolled up their swags.

“Sorry, nothing gourmet,” she said as she handed the breakfast to him.

“Thanks.”

“You’re a man of very few words this morning,” she joked.

Nathan merely grunted in reply and Mackenzie had to work hard not to feel miffed. Last night he’d said he was falling in love with her and now he was giving no indication he wanted to pick up where they’d left off. If their kiss was a once-off, she’d be bitterly disappointed, but she’d get over it. Nathan was probably just caught up in the moment. Firelight and stars had a way of doing that. She let out a small huff of frustration at the crazy thoughts spinning in her mind. No doubt she was jumping to conclusions and thinking the worst, as usual.

They finished packing in silence and headed for the car. Thick clouds surrounded the nearby mountain ranges and it looked like it would rain again. The heavy cloud cover made the soil look like dark red blood.

“Sorry, I’m not great in the mornings,” Nathan said when they’d settled into their seats and clicked their belts on. He was so good at knowing what she was thinking.

“That’s okay.” She deliberately kept her voice light and pasted a smile on her face. She didn’t want him to know she was upset.

“No. No, it’s not okay. I don’t want you to think my cranky morning personality is in any way an indication I’m not interested in you.” He scrunched up his face and ran his fingers through his hair, making it stand on end even more. “I meant what I said last night, Kenzie. There’s something between us and I’d like to see where it leads.”

Mackenzie’s heart sped as he reached for her hand and entwined their fingers. She locked hers around his and when he tugged her gently toward him, she leaned over and the desire for him burst instantaneously through her once more. Their lips met in a delicious, unhurried kiss and then everything in Mackenzie’s world was right again. She fell back in her seat with a sigh of pleasure.

Nathan laughed. “My sentiments exactly,” he said with a grin as he turned the ignition and the car rumbled into life. “I don’t want you to think yesterday’s kisses were one-offs either. If you need reminding, just let me know.”

Longing burst through her again and she had to tear her eyes away from him before she did something crazy like jump on him.

“How would you like to drive out to Wittenoon?” Nathan asked, interrupting the direction of her daydream. “It’s where they used to mine for blue asbestos. The government closed down the town because so many people died from cancer and lung disease, but there’s still a few people living there.”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

“You and most of Australia, I’d hazard a guess. They removed all references to it from the maps back in 2007. At the same time they stopped all services and de-gazetted it as a town. The government cut off the electricity and stopped the mail service, effectively shutting down the entire town.”

“Are we allowed to go there?”

“Hm, not really, but people still do. No one’s sure how unsafe it is. If you don’t want to go, we won’t. We can just drive through and stay in the car. But if you’re keen, Wittenoon Gorge is one of the most beautiful places in the Pilbara as far as I’m concerned. I’ve packed face masks to be safe, but honestly, if you’re not comfortable going there, we’ll just head back to Iron Ridge.”

“I’m curious, so let’s go.”

For the next hour the breathtakingly beautiful Hamersley Ranges pulled them slowly west as if it had a will of its own. The air-conditioning in the car worked overtime to keep the interior cool. Like a child’s toy, their four-wheel drive felt as though an unseen hand drove it, urging it forward into the hazy distance. It seemed to steer itself down the road which wound its way along the northern end of the national park – the place where the plains met the ranges. The shadow of red, green and steel blue hills on either side of the car bathed the dusty red road.

“It’s stunning isn’t it?” Nathan almost had to shout above the noise of the gravel beneath the tires. For the first time Mackenzie wished for the sealed roads of the city. The corrugations in the road jarred every bone in her body.

“Incredible. Beautiful. Awesome. I can’t find the words to explain it.”

“Makes you understand why the indigenous people love it so much.”

“I’ve heard them say the land is the source of their wellbeing, but it’s never made any sense until now,” Mackenzie said.

“For them, there’s no separation between themselves and the country they live in. You’ll hear them explain they cannot own the land, that
it
owns
them
.”

Mackenzie nodded her head in understanding.

Twenty minutes later they arrived at the outskirts of the deserted town and Nathan brought the car to a stop. A large sign warned them of the dangers of entering the area. Nathan glanced at her, concern etched across his features.

“If you don’t want to keep going, just say so and I’ll turn around.”

“It’s all good. I’m okay. Keep going.”

Nathan put the car back into drive and moved slowly forward.

“When did the mine close?” she asked.

“Back in the 1960s I think. It took the government another decade before they realized the blue dust in the air was actually killing people. Then it took another thirty years before they officially declared the town a contaminated site and removed it from existence. We’ll drive past the entrance to the mine. It’s completely overgrown but quite surreal. You can almost picture the men and boys in their dusty clothing walking in and out of the gap in the side of the mountain.”

“You said people still live here?”

“Yep. Three or four permanent residents all determined to keep living in a town that doesn’t officially exist.” Nathan laughed. “You know they still have to pay rates though?”

“That’s crazy.” Mackenzie cast her eyes around at the dilapidated weatherboard homes, overgrown with weeds. Someone had hand-painted a warning on the side of one house:
Keep out. Dead inside.
Mackenzie shuddered. “How many people used to live here?”

“I don’t know exact numbers, but it was a bigger town than Tom Price. There was a hospital and everything here back in the day.”

“It’s kind of eerie. I feel like I’m being watched.” Mackenzie was certain she’d seen someone peer out from behind a curtain before quickly moving away from the window.

They drove along sealed streets, now cracked and overgrown with weeds. Nathan pointed to a man working beneath the bonnet of an early model Toyota Land Cruiser, which looked as if the man had dragged it through the desert more than once. The man looked up suspiciously. His deeply creased face was silent and intimidating as he watched them pass.

“It feels like we’re trespassing,” she said with a shiver.

“Did you want to head up to the gorge? We can get out of the car but I recommend we wear masks.”

Mackenzie hesitated. “You know what, I’d rather not. I already feel itchy just driving through. I can picture blue asbestos particles clinging to me. Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Nathan said as he turned the car around and headed home.

Mackenzie was glad to put some distance between herself and the town. They continued their drive and outcrops of sheer cliff faces seemed to hang in the air above them, the metallic blue iron ore in the rock face shining where the sun hit it. Ridges loomed over them and the color palette once more enthralled Mackenzie. From pastel green to steel blue and blood red all in one visual smorgasbord. At times her mouth hung open in wonder at the beauty that surrounded her. Snatches of stray lines of a long-forgotten poem she had learned in school came to mind. A poem about ragged mountain ranges, sweeping plains and far horizons.

Their weekend trip had been fantastic, and although Mackenzie didn’t want to head back to Iron Ridge – back to reality – she was aware their time together was nearly over. She only hoped sometime between now and arriving home, Nathan would broach the subject of their relationship again. He’d promised the kisses weren’t one-offs, and he’d even said he was falling in love with her, but where did that leave them? Would she be updating her Facebook status when she got back?

Twenty minutes from Iron Ridge Nathan’s phone rang. He handed it to her.

“It’s Kate,” Mackenzie said, seeing his sister’s name on the screen.

He glanced across at Mackenzie with a cheeky grin. “Go ahead. You answer it. Put her on speaker. This could be a bit of fun.”

She pressed the button on his phone and answered the call. “Hey Kate, it’s Mackenzie.”

“Hi, sis,” Nathan said at the same time.

There was a heartbeat of silence, then, “Hi guys.”

Mackenzie heard the mix of confusion and curiosity in Kate’s voice. She laughed loudly. “Hey Kate. I’m with Nathan. He’s driving. You’re on speaker phone.”

“Oh! You two obviously managed to meet up. Why didn’t either of you tell me?”

Mackenzie snuck a quick look at Nathan. What was he going to say?

“Can’t tell you all my secrets, sis,” he said with a smirk. “So, what’s up? What advice do you need
this
time?”

Mackenzie laughed again. She knew Kate always used the ruse of calling for advice when she wanted to catch up with her brother.

“Well …” Kate drawled. “Maybe you and Mackenzie could give Joel and me some advice on baby names!”

Mackenzie looked across at Nathan as understanding dawned for both of them at the same time.

“What did you just say?” Nathan asked.

“You heard me!” Kate giggled down the phone line. “I’m pregnant!”

Mackenzie let out a small shriek and clapped her hands together in delight. “Oh, Kate, that’s such exciting news. Congrats. Wow. You guys must be so happy.”

“I am,” Kate said, “although I must say it was a bit of a surprise. I didn’t think it would happen so quickly. I’m thrilled, but Joel, not so much.”

Mackenzie frowned and looked at Nathan. He was scowling too.

“What do you mean? Doesn’t he want the baby?” Nathan asked.

Mackenzie remembered Kate telling of her heartbreak after losing her first baby.

“Oh, no, don’t misunderstand me. Joel’s excited about the baby, he’s just a bit scared about becoming a dad so soon after we’ve got married. I mean this time last year we’d only just met.”

“You guys will be fine,” Nathan reassured his sister. “You love each other like crazy.”

“How many weeks are you?” Mackenzie asked.

“Thirteen,” Kate answered. “We had the ultrasound last week and everything looks good. The baby is healthy – ten fingers and ten toes.”

“And are you well?” Nathan asked.

There was a long pause. Mackenzie felt her pulse race in alarm.

“Hmm. No. Not really,” Kate said.

“What’s wrong?” Nathan asked, his brows furrowed again with concern.

“I’ve been as sick as a dog since day one.”

“Morning sickness?” Mackenzie asked.

“More like all day sickness,” Kate replied.

“But it should stop now you’re past the first trimester,” Mackenzie said. It was more a statement than a question.

“You’d hope so, but I’ve got hyperemesis gravidium.”

“Oh, you poor thing. That sucks,” Mackenzie said. Nathan glanced at her with another confused expression on his face. “Severe nausea and vomiting,” Mackenzie explained. “Like Kate Middleton.”

“Kate who?” he asked.

“
Princess
Kate,” Kate said with a chuckle at the other end of the phone.

“Who’s a princess?” Nathan said, shaking his head as he tried to follow their conversation.

Kate giggled. “Can you explain it to him, Mackenzie?”

“Sure. So, what are they giving you for it?”

“I’ve tried Maxalon and Ondansetron, but neither have worked. I’ve been hospitalized twice already for twenty-four hours of IV fluids.”

“That sounds serious,” Nathan said. He had paled significantly. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? If I’d known you were so sick I would have come home.”

“It can be serious,” Mackenzie agreed, “but I’m sure Kate and the baby are fine.”

“
Is
the baby okay?” he asked.

“Absolutely. The baby is doing great. However, at the rate I’m going I’ll have to use up all my sick leave. It’s added a lot of stress on Joel because he’s still trying to run the café in town and the farm too.”

“When are you due?” Nathan asked.

“Not until March. I’m due the same day as our first wedding anniversary. Of course only ten percent of babies arrive on their due date so I’m not counting on it happening then.”

“Do you think it will be a girl or boy?” Mackenzie asked.

“No idea, and we don’t mind.”

“Will you tell people when you find out, or keep it a surprise?” Nathan asked.