I Can't Dance Alone by Maggie Brown

Author:Maggie Brown [Brown, Maggie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781594934162
Publisher: Bella Books
Published: 2014-10-19T11:00:00+00:00

* * *

The sun was well up when she woke, feeling surprisingly refreshed. I must be getting immune to danger. The episode of the shotgun didn’t stop me sleeping.

Percy was busy in the kitchen, the smell of baked beans wafting in the air. As they ate in a companionable silence, relishing the simple meal, Sarah studied him. He looked better this morning. The haunted look in his eyes had diminished, and the skin on his face was more pinkish, not so grey. Over tea he looked at her expectantly, “Okay, what about you?”

She leaned back in the chair, lacing her fingers behind her head. “I was born in Melbourne, went to school, attended uni and worked there. I’ve never been anywhere else much except when I came up here, which makes me very insular, I guess. My parents are upper middle class, so I never had to struggle. My father’s an accountant for a big firm, spoilt my brother and me rotten, but my mother’s something again. Ambitious for us and strict as hell. I was a surgeon for the last six years.”

“Why did you come to a small outback town? That’s a bit odd.”

She closed her eyes for a moment before continuing. “I looked at myself one day and didn’t particularly like what I saw. It’s not that I was a bad person, but somewhere along the line I’d lost the capacity to connect with people. Can you understand?”

“Of course I can. I’m doing some of the same right now.”

“I guess we all have to look hard at ourselves occasionally.”

“And have you found what you’re looking for here?”

She laughed. “I’ve had more excitement in this short time than I had in my whole life. Now what shall we do today?”

“I’ll take you for a drive around this morning. Not far. It’s very pretty down the creek.”

“By the way, are you taking those blood pressure tablets?”

“Yep. Got them in my pocket.”

“Good.”

The day passed pleasantly, Percy good company now he knew something was being done about his cattle. Occasionally, though, she noticed his eyes cloud over and his mouth droop. In the afternoon they found a pack of cards to keep them occupied. When she deemed he had sufficiently come out of his deepest part of his depression, she decided to broach the subject of communication. Their families would be getting desperate by now.

“Do you think we should ring Maggie to tell her we’re all right? I’ve got an iPhone.”

He looked at her guiltily. “I’ve been worrying about that too. There’s no way we can contact anyone. There’s no phone reception here and I left my two-way in the cattle truck. I’ve got to have another day for the cattle, ’cause it’s probably off to jail for me when I get back.”

As she prepared the night meal, Percy searched the house, soon sidling up to her with a grin. “Look what I’ve found, a bottle of brandy, three-quarters full. Wanna have a few nips?”

“Too right. This doctor orders it. We’ve got more to talk about, so we’ll have it after dinner.

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