Chapter 31
Liam Kelly’s breath was coming in alarming, wheezing gasps as Grace crouched alongside him. His hand was clutching his chest, and his face was a horrible shade of grey. His eyes, when they locked on Grace’s, were filled with pain and panic.
Dear God, please don’t let him be dying, Grace pleaded as, with a shaking hand, she unlocked the screen on her phone to call for help. A scream of frustration rose in her throat on seeing she had no signal. What should she do? Head back toward the village or for higher ground? Which would be quicker. There was no time for a toss of the coin, and she mustn’t let her dad pick up on her own panic. By some miracle, her voice didn’t waiver as she relayed to him calmly that she would have to head back down the track to get a phone signal.
‘You’ll be all right, Dad. I’ll be as quick as I can. I love you.’
She didn’t linger, and adrenaline kicked in, masking her pain as she set off at a run, checking her phone intermittently.
Grace had no clue how far she’d travelled until she cried triumphantly, holding her phone aloft as she punched in 999. Her mind was racing, but the operator’s calm voice helped her relay the necessary information.
‘I need to get back to my dad.’ Grace jammed the phone against her ear so hard it hurt as the woman asked if she knew CPR should he have fallen unconscious.
‘Yes.’ Grace ran back to him, and somewhere along the way, the signal cut out.
Liam was as she’d left him, and her relief at finding him still breathing almost made her throw up. Each second of waiting for help felt like an eternity as she held his hand tightly. ‘You’re going to be all right, Daddy. I won’t let anything happen to you. Stay with me now.’
Grace didn’t know how long it was before she heard the unmistakable whirr signalling the promised helicopter was near. ‘Do you hear that now, Daddy? See, I told you. You’re going to be all right.’ She stood waving out, and as the chopper touched down and two paramedics ran over with a stretcher, Grace sent a heartfelt thank you to Him upstairs as she let the man and woman see to her father.
The wind from the rotating blades stung her eyes as they lifted him into the helicopter, and she clambered in after them. As an oxygen mask was placed over her father’s face, someone barked for her to put her safety belt on, and she fumbled with it; she was barely even aware they were airborne.
A prayer for him to be OK ran rapidly and on repeat through her head. This was all her fault. She should never have pushed him about Mark Dorrance.
How would she live with herself if he didn’t make it?