Page 64 of Outback Secrets
‘Has Simon ever visited you here?’ Henri recalled Eileen Brady saying Liam never had guests, but surely even that old busybody couldn’t know everything.
He shook his head. ‘He’s married to Holly now and they’ve got a couple of cute kids, but we still Skype a few times a year.’
‘Do you think you’ll ever go back home?’
‘Bunyip Bay’s home now.’ Liam shrugged and proceeded to change the subject.
Henri got the message. He might have spilled his heart the other night, but it was clear he didn’t want to keep talking about it and she didn’t want things to be awkward on their journey to who knows where anyway.
The next little while they stuck to safe conversation—movies, TV and book talk. Time passed quickly and before she knew it, they were slowing at a service station on the outskirts of Geraldton. They grabbed ham and cheese toasties and more coffee, and as they climbed back into the ute, Henri said, ‘How much further are we going?’
‘Patience, Henrietta,’ Liam said.
‘It’s Henri.’ She glared, but he didn’t look remorseful in the slightest.
A few minutes later they turned off the highway and started driving inland. Henri’s heart skipped a beat when she realised where they were heading.
No. He wouldn’t. We can’t be heading for Geraldton Airport.
‘Are we going to Ellendale Pool?’ she exclaimed, trying to ignore the anxiety starting to eat at her insides. ‘I haven’t been there in years, but it’s stunning. Great place to drop a geocache.’
When Liam merely smiled, Henri wasn’t sure whether she’d finally guessed correctly, or was so far off the mark he couldn’t even be bothered to set her straight.
About ten minutes later, he slowed the ute again and a cold sweat erupted as he turned down the road that did indeed lead to the airport.
‘What the hell, Liam? We’re not flying anywhere!’
‘I’ve booked a private flight to the Abrolhos with Geraldton Air Charter,’ he said calmly. ‘They’ll take us up over Hutt Lagoon first and then we’ll head across to the Abrolhos, where we can eat the picnic lunch I packed, have a look around and leave the old biscuit tin that I thought would make a good geocache container. I’ve done my research, you know.’
Henri couldn’t speak as she registered what he’d just said. She jabbed her finger against the button to open the window, unsure whether it was to gasp for air or try to throw herself out of it.
‘No,’ she finally managed after a few quick breaths. ‘Not. Happening.’
Liam just kept on driving.
‘I can’t. We can’t do this. What if …’
‘What if we crash?’ he asked when her voice trailed off. ‘What if we don’t? What if we have a fabulous day instead? The odds of that happening far outweigh the odds of disaster.’
‘You of all people should know that the odds aren’t always in your favour,’ she spat, too panicked to feel guilty about throwing his past in his face.
‘That’s true. Life is risky. And it can be short. I know how much flying means to you and so I thought maybe a step towards regaining your confidence would be to go up with another pilot—someone extremely experienced. Then, in the unlikely event that anything goes wrong, it’ll be their responsibility to save us, not yours. It was just a thought.’
Did that make sense? Was it fear of flying that had stopped her in the Riverina or was it a fear of being in control? Would going up with someone else be the first step?
‘I also really want to see the Abrolhos Islands, so this isn’t an entirely selfless act,’ Liam added. ‘I’ve been meaning to take a day trip ever since I arrived, but you know how it is—you often forget to be a tourist in your backyard. Have you ever been?’
The answer was no—her brothers sometimes went out there on fishing trips, but she never had—but she didn’t reply to his question. ‘I’m not saying I’m going to do this … but who’s going to fly us? I’ll only even consider it if it’s Wendy.’
Wendy Mann was the chief pilot and managing director of Geraldton Air Charter. Henri didn’t know her well, but they’d met a couple of times; she was a doyenne of the industry and Henri had immense respect for her.
‘Wendy’s on holidays at the moment, but I asked Geraldton Air for their most experienced pilot after her and they assure me Glenn Baker is it.’
‘I’ve never heard of him.’
‘Well, he’s been flying for over thirty years and has also won some big awards. Apparently, he started his career in WA, but then moved east for work. He and his wife have recently moved back to Geraldton to be closer to their daughter who just had her first baby.’
Henri took a few more deep breaths. He sounded experienced, and Wendy obviously trusted him, but … ‘I’m really not sure I can do this, Liam.’