Rescue Heat (17 page)

Matt was relieved that there was no spark of recognition between Brigid and any of the staff, who were currently bringing them fruit juice in cut-glass flutes. Their relationship would remain a secret for now.

Brigid bumped her shoulder to his. “So, you’ve gone for the total fantasy date?”

Matt guessed that no matter what the trappings, the real world was something that both he and Brigid lived closely with. Exposure to as much tragedy as they were used to working with, meant they grasped their pleasure but didn’t forget the realities of life.

Giving her that fantasy also satisfied something in him. Brigid enjoyed luxury with a simple sensuality but Matt never got the feeling those luxuries were essential to her being.

They were soon at their reef destination and Matt got to enjoy the sight of Brigid stripping off her clothes. Here, in public, and knowing he had experienced her long legs twisted around his own in passion, had him wishing his board shorts were a little looser.

All he could do was quickly don his snorkel and fins and jump into the cool water.

Brigid laughed as Matt splashed into the water next to her. “The water’s fine,” she said, knowing it was an understatement.

The water was calm and refreshing and the underwater world was amazing. Through her mask, Brigid could see the red and green of the coral. Every colour she could name and many for those there was not even a word, she could see in the hundreds of fish, swimming below.

She felt Matt take her hand and point to a turtle. She had snorkelled in the Outer Reef before, but seeing Matt’s obvious enjoyment, made the day even more special.

They swam together for an hour, almost drowning in excitement when a pod of dolphins came to play. “OK, that was unbelievable,” said Matt, as they pulled themselves onto the dive platform at the back of the boat.

Brigid glowed hearing the enjoyment in his voice. She adored that this tough, military man, who had gone everywhere and seen everything, could still have fun with her.

For lunch, the boat dropped them with a picnic basket, on a sandy coral cay only fifty metres long, Brigid laughed at the contrived romance of it all, even as she took pleasure in being alone with Matt in such an idyllic setting.

“You really aren’t impressed with all this, are you? Matt asked, as he spread out the large picnic blanket.

“Matt, this is gorgeous,” Brigid said, as she gestured towards the uninterrupted horizon. “How could anyone be ungrateful?”

“I don’t want or need you to be grateful, having you here is reward for me as well. I was just observing you don’t seem as impressed with the flash, as most women might be.”

Brigid opened the hamper and took a moment before she answered. The ‘flash’ Matt was asking about was evident here. Gourmet morsels were ready to be unpacked, onto porcelain plates and elegant silverware.

“My mother’s a barrister and my father a surgeon so I grew up with nice things and probably tend to take them for granted. Things like today are lovely and I’m glad you chose to share them with me.”

Brigid dug her foot into the sand as she continued; “It’s just that I’m such a practical woman, so I’m more impressed by your ability to rappel from a helicopter than your ability to pay for a day like this. I earn a good salary myself, so I figure if I want anything badly enough, I’ll pay for it myself.”

She laughed, “That’s my independent woman speech over, so do you want to eat?” Together, they shared the carefully prepared meal before heading into the water for a swim.

“As the senior medical professional, shouldn’t you be warning us against swimming on a full stomach?” asked Matt, as they waded us into the water.

“As a rescue squad member, who is an expert in risk management, I’m sure you have carefully noted the lack of waves and strong rips, as well as the adequate swimming ability of the participants,” Brigid said, in mock solemnity, before diving under the water.

“Who are you calling adequate?” asked Matt, as he advanced upon her.

He grasped her around the waist and hauled her against his body. Brigid wrapped her legs around his hips. She loved the feel of the flex of his muscles against her and the feeling of weightlessness, as they played in the water.

“Adequate? Let me see,” with those words, Brigid pulled Matt’s mouth down on her own.

Brigid’s body felt so alive. Even in the cool of the water, the warmth of Matt’s body made her only too aware of her own. Their mouths fused as they played. Touching and stroking, like teenagers, they knew they were not going to go any further. The boat wasn’t far away and was due back any minute.

“Okay, so maybe more than adequate,” Brigid conceded, as she ran her hand firmly down the long, hard edge of his penis.

She revelled in the power of her touch, as Matt’s breath quickened next to her ear and his stomach muscles tightened visibly.

“I’m glad I don’t disappoint, Princess,” rasped Matt.

If they weren’t in danger of having an audience, Brigid would have been tempted to give him a very happy surprise, here in the water.

Matt’s mouth came down on hers again. His passion made Brigid seriously reconsider. Maybe she did have enough time to watch Matt’s eyes blacken as he came. Only the warning whistle from the incoming boat put a definite end to her plans. They had been so consumed with each other; they hadn’t heard the distant hum of the engine.

“Damn,” she said. From the clench of his jaw, she could see his sentiment was the same.

As they clambered into the tender to transfer to the cruiser, Brigid supposed that the crew probably wouldn’t have been surprised if they had caught them in the throes of passion instead of just kissing in the water. Couples, who weren’t intending to touch each other probably wouldn’t go to such expensive lengths for privacy. Brigid rather thought the entire cruiser crew assumed they were honeymooning here in Port Douglas. Some small, normally hidden part of Brigid had originally delighted in the assumption that this large, handsome man was hers. Now, she was a little embarrassed. She and Matt pretending to be in a real relationship, was definitely the elephant in the room.

They had not talked of a future, shared or otherwise. Apart from anonymous staff, no one was aware of any connection. Brigid was slightly ashamed because she had talked to the staff less than usual, not wanting to leave herself open to questions. Keeping secrets was not something that came naturally.

“Now back to reality,” Matt whispered in her ear.

“Tonight?” Matt asked. His voice was low as they were still in the work parking lot, walking to their respective cars.

Brigid nodded her assent. In the past three weeks, since their affair began, they had become experts in stolen conversations, which consisted of minimal words. Brigid got into her car, not looking at Matt, as she did not want to give herself away.

An hour later, she and Moby walked up the stairs to where Matt was grilling steaks on the barbeque. “Smells yummy,” said Brigid, as she went to kiss him.

“Tastes yummy,” Matt confirmed, pulling her in until their bodies were flush. Regularly sleeping together had only inflamed their passion. Now they had learned the infinite variety of pleasure they could give each other.

After he had finished kissing her, Matt knelt down to rub Moby’s fur. Moby was a slave to hedonism. This was a new category that his owner was now including herself in too. Moby now joined them on their evenings together, and followed Matt around constantly.

“I’m amazed we got to leave on time today,” said Brigid. “Five hospital-to-hospital transfers has almost got to be a record.”

“I think we were more air taxi attendants today, rather than rescue doctor and paramedic,” Matt said, as he put the onions on the grill.

“One of the things about our job that I hate,” said Brigid, “is that you can’t even properly complain about a boring day. If you do that, it’s as if we’re wishing our patients would get properly sick or in trouble.”

“I don’t think we’re that cruel,” said Matt. “I figure it’s like saying, if you’re going to get sick, could you at least make it interesting.”

“Us harsh? Never!” said Brigid, unable to restrain a smile. “Don’t think I didn’t hear the nickname you, Chris and Dave gave the teenager who got stuck in the creek.”

Matt made a face and both he and Brigid burst out laughing. As they took their plates to the dining table, Brigid knew she was starting to live for these moments of intimacy. It was fun to have someone to discuss the day’s happenings with. Someone who understood the work was a revelation.

In the last weeks, Brigid and Matt had begun the habit of eating together almost every night. Takeaways, barbeques or quick pasta dishes were the norm, followed by entertainment comprised mainly of sex and television. Brigid now knew Matt liked a variety of foods, was a wizard on the barbeque and would happily hang out on either of his leather lounges, lazily running his hand over her body while she lay heavily on his chest.

Later in the night, Brigid clambered out of Matt’s king bed. Now, came the customary awkward section of the evening. The moment when she would leave Matt’s house, because he had not invited her to stay. Brigid knew the blame for this lay partly with her. In the beginning, she had rebuffed his invitations. Now, he had stopped making them. Even if he came to her house, he would leave before falling asleep.

“See you in the morning and I’ll hope for a rescue which is interesting in the moment, but ends safely for all participants,” said Brigid, as she struggled into her jeans.

She walked over to the bed where Matt was lying and snagged her black lacy bra, which was currently lying under his thigh. Tucking her bra into her back pocket, she tried to ignore how gorgeous the man was as he lay there, one muscular arm thrown over his head.

Brigid dropped a kiss onto his mouth, before she said, “Okay, really leaving now.”

She walked quickly from the room, before he could reply.

The next morning was warm, even by August in Cairns standards. Brigid, Matt, Chris and Dave were sitting around the base rec room, when the emergency call came in.

Jo gave them the initial briefing. “We’ve got a thirty-four-year-old man, whose dingy overturned at the bar of the Stuart River. His passenger made it to the shore, but Patrick Hughes hasn’t been seen since the accident. His passenger has also said they were drinking heavily through last night and haven’t slept.”

“Are the SES taking the river search?” asked Chris.

“Yes.” replied Jo. “The SES, Marine Rescue and the Coast Guard will be responsible for searching the river and the river mouth. You guys will be searching the grid further out to sea. It’s been an hour-and-half since the incident occurred. Apparently, there was a delay in the passenger seeking help.”

“I don’t suppose they had the good sense to wear life jackets?”

At Jo’s answer of ‘no’, the collective groan that went around the room was heartfelt. Unless the man had managed to get his hands on some sort of floatation device or had already made his way back to shore, it was likely that this mission would turn into a body recovery.

As the chopper blades began to turn, Chris said, “Who the hell thinks that fishing is a great idea after a big night out?”

“I think the more important question is who crosses the Stuart bar, at low tide, without a life jacket?” Dave replied.

Their frustration, tinged with scorn, came from watching too many adventurers-turned-patients put the lives of emergency services personnel at risk. This frustration never meant their eyes were any less sharp during a search, but it was one of the realities of working rescue.

“From the sounds of our man,” Brigid said, “we could shortly be getting a call saying he’s staggered home and fallen asleep, without telling anybody.”

“Yeah, it’s sad when stupidity is the best case scenario,” Chris replied. “The police will be onto that, quick smart. I imagine they’re beating down his door about now.”

Brigid looked over at Matt, who had his binoculars trained on the sea below. They hadn’t yet arrived at the designated search area and while computer tidal monitoring had improved in leaps and bounds, those experienced in search and rescue trusted their own physical resources the most.

However, they were happy to be moving quickly to the most likely place to find Patrick. At this time in a rescue, every moment counted.

“Going in low,” Dave said, as they finally arrived on their grid zone.

The next twenty minutes passed in relative silence, each of the crew only speaking to confirm the clearing of each individual sector. Finally, a shout was heard from Matt.

As the chopper turned towards the indicated spot, Chris and Brigid also picked up the floating man through their binoculars. Chris guided Dave in and it was only when they were above the man, that he said what was on everyone’s mind. “It’s not looking good.”

The man was floating facedown. The sight didn’t slow Matt down, as he snapped himself into the harness. Brigid knew he would use all speed possible, until he had actually confirmed the death, no matter how faint the hope.

When Matt hooked himself to the wire, Dave gave the final instructions. “If this guy is dead, you know the protocol. Attach the floatation device and we contact the police and coast guard to collect the body.”

A wetsuit clad Matt, nodded and swung out of the chopper. Brigid did not envy him the task. She watched anxiously as he went down the wire. Since they had come together, her anxieties over the risks his job entailed had become a little sharper.

He splashed down in the water, unclipped and immediately swam over to the body. It didn’t take him long to signal that the man was deceased. Matt efficiently did what was required and then he waved his readiness to be hauled up.

Once he was in the helicopter, Brigid noted the stern set to his jaw. Getting up close to a body was a pretty grim prospect, no matter how familiar you were with the task.

Brigid desperately wanted to show him some hint of affection, even if it was just a squeeze of the hand. However, she had to satisfy herself with a professional platitude, as she said, “At least finding him will make it easier for the family, they won’t have to spend days living in part horror, part false hope.”