Page 36 of Wings Above the Mallee

‘And now I adore both you and your food.’

Heath felt old, such easy banter a very distant memory. He couldn’t recall his life ever being as carefree as the couples in this group seemed.

Roni leaned back against her husband. ‘When I moved here a few years ago, I couldn’t even cook a packet mix cake,’ she confessed. ‘Tracey saved me.’

‘And me,’ Matt added in a heartfelt tone.

‘I’d appreciate if you kept your tales of kitchen miracles well away from poor Luke,’ Taylor said. ‘Because there are those of us who just can’t be saved.’

‘You tell my cuz he’s quite capable of rustling up a feed himself,’ Matt said. ‘You’ve enough on your plate. Any word on getting another doctor in the practice?’

Taylor zipped a gold crucifix along her necklace. ‘Seems I have about as much chance of finding someone as you’ve got of getting a second pair of hands at the vet clinic.’

Amelia’s face creased in apparent concern for her friend. ‘Didn’t you say your mum lives nearby?’

‘Unfortunately, not near enough. And she’s full-on with her counselling and yoga stuff.’

‘Shame. I read a while back that a town in Western Australia resorted to offering a house and a million-dollar salary to get a GP out there.’

Matt snorted. ‘Even in a good year, we’re not going to be able to magic that up.’

‘I guess we have to hope that the new college-led training for GPs will help with workforce allocation,’ Heath said.

Taylor held up her hand, her fingers tightly crossed. ‘Hopefully that’ll create an interest in rural positions. But it’ll be a few years before there’s any flow-on effect. So, until then—’ she sighed, the wave of exhaustion that emanated from her practically palpable ‘—I guess we keep on keeping on.’

Matt’s forehead furrowed. ‘You’ve got to pace yourself, Tay. We can’t afford to have you burn out.’

Taylor snorted. ‘You can talk. You’re wearing enough hats for half the town.’

Roni interlaced her fingers with her husband’s. ‘Matt’s right, Tay. If neither Luke’s mum nor yours could babysit, you should have left Anna with Tracey. Then you could have come to the pub with us after for mocktails.’

‘I think three kids is probably a bit much for Tracey,’ Taylor said.

Heath had met Tracey several times and, while she was vivacious, she had to be in her seventies. He agreed with Taylor’s reservation, but kept his opinion to himself. Although the residents of Settlers Bridge had proved welcoming overthe last couple of months, it would be a long time before he was considered a local.

‘Are you trying to say my two are a handful?’ Roni said with a fond laugh.

Taylor smiled. ‘As Anna is teething and clingy, we’d need a maternal octopus to wrangle all our kids.’ The forced humour quickly evaporated. ‘You realise childcare is another basic service we’re lacking? I don’t want to take Anna all the way to Murray Bridge to stay with some stranger, but what other option is there?’

The words were an echo of Sophie’s sentiment from the moment Charlee was born. His wife had intended to return to her job in the physio practice after six months’ leave, but love at first sight had taken care of that notion. Equally infatuated with the baby, he’d encouraged Sophie’s decision to take on what was, in hindsight, probably a far harder role as a stay-at-home mum. By the time Charlee started high school, Sophie had lost her career drive, and the prospect of going back to work took on nightmarish significance. Having worked forty-eight weeks a year for decades, Heath had been unable to comprehend her fear; now he regretted wasting a single breath on that argument.

Roni held up a finger, commanding the group’s attention. ‘Maybe we should look into getting Tara and Chloe to babysit on a more official basis? Something regular,’ she suggested. ‘With my kids, Taylor’s and Lucie’s, we could set it up so the girls have permanent hours.’

‘Is Tara the girl from the diner?’ Amelia demanded. ‘You can’t let some kid without qualifications look after your babies.’

‘Tara’s known the children all their lives,’ Roni said. ‘She babysits for me all the time.’

Heath sensed the locals shift slightly away from him and Amelia, as though grouping against them, the newcomers.

Amelia evidently didn’t care. ‘You can’t trust just anyone to look after children.’

Roni snorted. ‘Oh, believe me,Iknow that.’

Heath noticed the glance that passed between Roni and the doctor, but Amelia’s sudden intensity was fascinating and she had all his attention. ‘Do these girls have their clearances?’ she demanded. ‘Adequate training? First aid certification? Do you honestly think a kid knows what to do in an emergency?’

Taylor took Amelia’s arm, her thumbnail whitening as she squeezed gently. ‘Of course, you’re right. But like we said, there’s not much choice here.’

‘You can’t let that factor into it,’ Amelia said through clenched teeth.

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