LITMIR.BIZ

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a handsome man.’

      Sophie blinked. She’d never thought about it. He was just…Smiley. ‘If he’s not in the house he’s got an Akubra on so I don’t often see his face. I guess I still see skinned knees and freckles.’

      ‘I didn’t see any of those.’ Odette sounded almost dreamy and Sophie grimaced. City-rich women and Smiley did not mix.

      ‘Is it your husband’s helicopter?’ Not very subtle.

      ‘I don’t have a husband.’ Odette was no fool and she met Sophie’s eyes without a flicker. ‘The father of my baby is dead.’

      Bummer, for more reasons than one, Sophie thought. Was she being judgemental again? ‘Sorry for being nosy.’

      ‘That’s OK. Better to get it out in the open anyway. He wasn’t a nice man,’ Odette went on. ‘And the chopper belongs to the resort where I’m staying.’

      ‘That would be Xanadu, then.’ It wasn’t a question. Xanadu. Now an ultra-high-end resort a hundred kilometres away, as the chopper flew, that catered for a Kimberley adventure in five-star luxury. Private suites, fine wine and cuisine, and escorted tours with private sittings in the hot springs and gorges. They’d turned it into a wilderness park with a few token cattle. Not like in Grandfather’s day. ‘I’ve never known them to lend the chopper before.’

      Odette shrugged. ‘I just asked the manager.’ She looked across at Sophie. ‘I could take you and Smiley up for a fly if you want.’

      ‘Thanks, but maybe another time. Should you be flying when you’re pregnant?’

      ‘You sound like my brother.’

      Now why did she suddenly think of the man at the river? ‘Don’t suppose he’s a big bloke, scar on his chin, not into smiling.’ The one who was ‘just passing through.’

      ‘You’ve met Levi?’

      ‘Levi?’ It seemed he was another person who was happy to bend the truth. As opposed to the straightforward people from around here who didn’t lie. ‘Yep. Guess I have. He was at the Pentecost River crossing.’ Sophie didn’t say a little too close to the water because she didn’t want to worry Odette. She shrugged. ‘I warned him about the crocodiles.’

      Odette pursed her lips for a moment, then visibly pushed away whatever had caused the look. ‘He knows about the crocodiles. But thank you. Levi is a good guy, just forgotten how to have fun.’

      And too attractive, and Sophie needed to talk about something new because she had the feeling anything else she learnt about him wouldn’t help her forget.

      ‘So when’s your baby due, Odette?’

      ‘A month.’

      Sophie fought to keep her jaw from dropping but she had another look. Surely too small. Maybe Odette had it all tucked away. ‘I’d say your brother was right and you shouldn’t be flying. Where’s your mother?’

      ‘She died when I was a kid.’ Oops, Sophie thought. Another foot-in-mouth question.

      Luckily Odette didn’t seem worried. ‘Levi brought me up. Our father ran off with another woman when I was young. That’s why Levi’s serious. He’s been the man of the house for a lot of years.’

      Too much information. Not hearing this. ‘OK.’ Sophie pushed open the door and they went into the small exam room. ‘How about I check your blood pressure, feel your tummy and have a listen to your baby’s heart rate? If it’s OK with you I’ll photocopy your antenatal card. Then if you have any worries I can talk you through most of it on the phone.’

      Odette grinned. ‘This is like booking into a spare hospital.’

      Sophie smiled back. ‘Except we don’t deliver babies here, only the unexpected ones.’ She gestured to the chair beside her desk. ‘Have a seat.’

      Odette settled herself and held out her arm. ‘That’s OK. We’ll probably be back in Sydney in a few days anyway.’

      Maybe that justifies as passing through and he didn’t technically lie. Though what the heck was he doing bringing someone this pregnant away from home?

      Sophie wrapped the cuff around Odette’s arm and pumped it up, then let it down. She unhooked the stethoscope from her ears and smiled. ‘Blood pressure’s perfect. One ten on sixty.’ She indicated the footstool beside the examination table. ‘If you can climb up there we’ll see where this baby of yours is hiding.’

      Odette chuckled. ‘Everyone says I’m small but I was only five pounds when I was born. The ultrasound said it’s a boy.’

      Sophie draped a thin sheet over the lower half of Odette’s body and Odette lifted her shirt. ‘A boy. Wow. Nice tummy.’ Sophie was serious. Odette’s abdomen curved up in a perfect small hill, brown and smooth, and the baby shifted a body part into a small point as Sophie laughed. ‘He’s waving.’

      Odette slid her hand over the point and the baby subsided as if trained. ‘My baby’s no sloth. Moves heaps, especially at night.’

      ‘Women tend to feel their babies at night because they’re not busy like they are in the daytime. They say the baby already has a rhythm so if he’s awake a lot at night you might be in for some sleep deprivation.’

      ‘I don’t mind.’ Odette smiled dreamily. ‘I can’t wait.’

      I hope you do, Sophie thought, as she measured the mound of Odette’s belly and, taking into account the petite mother, the measurements confirmed Odette’s estimated due date.

      She slid the hand-held Doppler over the area she’d palpated as the baby’s shoulder and the sound of the baby’s heart rate filled the room. They both listened and their eyes met in mutual acknowledgement of the wonder of childbearing. ‘There you go,’ Sophie said, as she turned off the Doppler. ‘One hundred and forty beats a minute and just as perfect as his mother.’

      She helped Odette sit up. ‘Everything looks great.’

      ‘Thanks, Sophie. I feel better just talking to you.’ Odette climbed down and smoothed her clothes. ‘How much do I owe you?’

      Sophie shook her head. ‘I didn’t do anything. Free service. Anyone can walk in and get the same.’

      ‘You and Smiley should come over to Xanadu on the weekend and have dinner with my brother and me. Our treat. As a thank-you for this.’ She gestured to the examination couch. ‘I could come and get you in the chopper. Or Levi could.’

      Lord, no. And she thought they were going in a day or two? It was only Monday. She walked her to the door. ‘Thanks, Odette, but the weather’s still too unsettled for me to fly—I’m a chicken in the air—and I don’t know what Smiley’s planned. I’ve only just moved back from Perth.’

      ‘Sure. I’ll ring later in the week.’ Odette stopped and turned back with a new idea. ‘If you’re not keen on flying, you could stay overnight and drive back the next day. In fact, that sounds more fun anyway.’

      Sophie felt she was being directed by a small determined whirly wind, like the one that was lifting leaves outside her window and the one inside her chest when she thought of staying anywhere near Odette’s brother. ‘I’ll mention it to Smiley.’ Not.

      Odette pulled a gold compact from her bag, flicked open the mirror and touched up her lipstick. Not something Sophie did regularly out here in the bush and the thought made her smile to herself.

      Odette snapped shut the compact. ‘What’s your brother’s real name?’

      Sophie had to think for a moment. ‘William.’

      Odette nodded as if she liked it. ‘I think I’ll call him William.’

      ‘It’s been a while since anybody has.’ Now where was this going? Nowhere, she hoped. ‘He may not even remember it.’

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