Prologue

For as long as young Josie Brown could remember, she had been unwanted, an article her father would have been happy to dispose of, like a used rag. It had always been that way, she had never belonged, never been loved, just threatened into doing what he would ask of her. It had started when her mother had died, giving birth to her, taking the only thing her father cared for more than his whisky. She had been raised by her elder sister till she was six, then her sister left in the dead of night with her boyfriend to start a new life in Sydney without her. She was used to the rejection, used to the abuse the town drunk of a father would give her, and expected that It was how she was going to be treated all her life. But one day, a twist of fate would change her life forever, for the better…

Chapter 1

'Going out to the Dallyworth Station today David?' DJ asked as he placed his shoes on the desk and leaned back against his chair.

'Yep, me, Kate, Tom and Geoff.' He checked that he had everything in his bag. 'It should only be a short trip, there's only a couple or so patients to attend to.'

'Oh, that's good then. Hopefully you won't run into the beast of Coopers Crossing. Might send you packing if you did.'

'Beast?' David raised his eyebrows.

'Aw, don't worry about it David.' Kate replied, joining the conversation as she leaned against the door post. 'He's just a drunken old coot that took up squatters rights. Gill Brown his name is, an ornery fellow if I ever did meet one.'

'Yeh, it's no wonder his daughter took off to Sydney, with a monster like he is.' DJ agreed. 'I've never heard what happened to his other girl, I expect Sara took her with her when she left.'

'How long ago was that?'

'From what I've heard, about eight years ago.' Kate finished gathering the things for the clinic run. 'Alright, let's get going, we don't want to be late.'

'I want to thank you for coming out this far. You guys do a great job.' Brett Robinson said as he drove them back to the plane after they had finished taking care of the station hands. 'I don't know what we would do if we didn't have the RFDS.'

'That's what we are here for.' David replied as the car pulled up beside the plane. 'Thanks for the lift.'

'No problem.' He turned to Tom. 'Next time I'm in town, I'll buy you a drink. I haven't had much of a chance to catch up with you since you've been back, with all the calves and stuff.'

'I'd appreciate that.' Tom patted him on the shoulder as he got out, grabbing his bag. 'See you around.'

'You too.' He put the car into gear and drove off back to his house.

'We just about ready to go Sam?' Kate asked as she put her stuff into the plane. 'I so can't wait to get back and sit under the air conditioner.'

Sam chuckled as he finished his pre flight checks. 'Almost done Kate, just a couple things left.'

'You might have to wait a bit longer Kate.' Geoff replied to her as he saw a horse and rider coming up onto the air strip, headed in their direction. 'Hello.'

'Hi.' The young girl managed to reply as she pulled her horse to a stop, glad to see she had been right. It was the flying doctors. 'I don't want to be a bother, but I saw your plane fly over, and I'm in need of a little medical help.'

David walked over to the girl and patted her horse, noticing that the girl looked rather weak. 'What seems to be the matter?'

'Had a run in with a star picket.' She began to pull up her pant leg, showing a dirty bloody bandage. 'I did the best I could to clean it, but it's gotten so bad I can barely ride, let alone walk.'

'Let's take a look at it then.' He helped her get off the horse, noticing that Sam had taken hold of him, then carried her into the plane, the other three following. 'Why haven't you come for help earlier? You could have radioed.'

'Don't have a radio.' She replied, gritting her teeth he put her on the bed, then began to unbandage the wound. 'Well, one that works anyway. I tried to keep it as clean as I could, but the star picket was quite rusty. I flushed it out with hot salt water, but it mustn't have gotten it all out.'

Kate made a low whistle as she looked over Davids shoulder at the wound. 'When did this happen-' She asked questioningly, realizing the girl hadn't told them her name.

'Oh, sorry. Its Josie.' She apologized, then bit her lip because of the pain she was in from the wound. 'I forget my manners most of the time.'

'Don't worry about it Josie.' Kate smiled. 'Happens to the best of us. I'm Nurse Kate, this is Dr. Ratcliffe Dr. Standish, Dr. Callaghan and our pilot Sam, who's holding your horse. How did you get injured like this anyway?'

'I came off Lightning while I was chasing a dingo and landed on the picket. It was hidden, buried in the dirt and there was only a few inches of it above the ground.' She explained as one of the other doctors began to listen to her lungs and heart with his stethoscope 'I'm just glad it was my leg and not my stomach or chest, cause I know that It would have turned out a lot worse. I think the picket won the fight fair and square though, it doesn't have a scratch on it.' Josie tried to crack a joke, then winced as she felt Dr Ratcliffe pull the wound apart wide to clean it. 'I'm just glad that I have a high pain tolerance, but it's starting to really hurt.'

'I can see why.' David gently began to clean the wound out, and measured how deep it was. The gash went almost to the bone, and it was a giant hole in her leg. 'How long ago did this happen?'

'About four days ago. I tried to keep it clean with the stuff I had, but this is a little out of my scope. It's going to need stitches, isn't it?'

'Not when it looks like that.' Geoff replied, checking the girls pulse and breathing rate while David, Kate and Tom worked on her leg. 'Why didn't you try and get help earlier? The station house isn't far from here, you could have called us from there.'

'My father wouldn't let me.' She bit her lip again, the reopened wound really starting to throb. 'He wouldn't let me leave to find help, and he wasn't bothered to go and call. I only just managed to get away today because he's passed out, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to leave.'

David raised his eyebrows at Josie, looking up from his work at her. 'What's wrong with him?'

'Oh nothing. He's just as drunk as a skunk that drank an entire ocean of beer.' She looked out the window. 'I just hope he doesn't wake up soon and find me missing. He'll kill me if he does, and I mean literally. Hes threatened to do it before, and I believe him.'

'Surely you're over exaggerating.' Kate said, hoping it was the case as she handed David more dressings, soaked in colloidal silver. 'Why does he get so drunk?'

'To forget.' She conscientiously pulled her sleeve back down after the nurse had taken her blood pressure, not wanting them to see the bruises her father had given her. 'My mother died giving birth to me, he blames me for her death. My sister raised me till I was six, then she took off and left me here with him. As for exaggerating, I'm not.' She paused for a moment, looking at their confused faces. 'I know what you're wondering. Why haven't I run away? Well, I can say this. I have tried, and every time I have, he's found me, and it's not pleasant when he does, so I don't bother any more, and I also don't want any pity either. He might be mean and have a bad temper, but I can put up with what he does. I'm not a weakling, and besides I have nowhere else to go.'

'What's your father's name Josie?' Tom asked as he began to write up a file for her. 'We might be able to help you get away from him, for good, especially if he's abusing you. The police can help in this matter.'

Josie shook her head, knowing what would happen if he thought she had gotten the cops onto him. 'I can't let the police get involved. I can't betray him, after all he is my father.'

'You could come with us Josie, till it can get sorted out.' Tom insisted, hearing in her voice how frightened she must be. 'We would like to help you as much as we can.'

'Thanks for the offer, but there's nothing you guys can do except just patch me up, he would never let me go, and people could get hurt. Badly.' She wrung her hands together, something she did when she was nervous. 'My father is a deaden out drunk, and my sister said before she left that he's a psychopath. As for his name, the guy needs no introduction. You all know of him.'

'Gill Brown.' Kate replied, figuring out the pieces of the puzzle. There was only one man who fit that description in and around Cooper's Crossing. So, this was his daughter, after all these years suddenly appearing again. 'Everyone thought you had gone with your sister. They never saw you after she had left, or else they would have tried to help.'

'They never saw me because he locks me up in my room whenever he goes to town to get his booze. He doesn't want anyone to know I exist, so that he can do whatever he wants and no one can stop him.' She closed her eyes momentarily as she felt a wave of pain flush over her. 'It's better if no one knows about this, for your safety. If my father finds out you know about me, you all could be in danger, and I don't want that to happen. Hes capable of anything.' She went silent, then looked at her leg, wanting to get away from the subject. It was something she didn't want to talk about much. 'The wounds bad, isn't it?'

David nodding, noticing she had shied away from the conversation but decided not to push it. 'Yes Josie, it is, but you already figured that one out.'

'What can you do about it?'

'You really should come back with us so we can take care of you properly.' Geoff replied, placing his hand on the girls forehead. 'Your burning up, severely dehydrated and that leg needs an x-ray.'

Josie shook he head at the mention of going with them. 'I already told you I can't. Just patch me up and I'll be on my way. I've already been gone too long, I really need to get back.'

Kate and David looked at each other. They all could see how bad the girls injury was, and they knew she needed to be in hospital, but they couldn't force her to go with them. Finally David relented. 'Alright, but Josie, I would really think it a better idea for you to come back with us.'

'I would if I could, but I can't.' She sighed. 'Just tell me how to look after the wound and I'll take care of it, it doesn't matter to him if I die anyway, he'll just have to wash his own clothes if I cark it.'

Kate handed David the dressings for the girls leg, then looked at Josie, deciding that it was best to change the subject while they finished taking care of the wound 'Nice horse you were riding out there. Does he have a name?'

Josie nodded, watching how David bandaged her leg so she could do it right herself later on. 'His name is Lightning, he's a race horse, purebred thoroughbred with papers and everything. That's the only good thing my father did, and that was win him as a yearling in a poker game about four years back. I took care of him because he doesn't like my father, he has a pretty bad temper and he can get quite vicious so he stays out of his way. Honestly, i'm surprised I've been able to keep him so long, I think his plan is to sell him, but to do that he has to be able to get near him, which he can't. He's pretty fast though, I reckon he's good enough for a few races. '

'Well, I'd bet on him if he was entered. I can always pick a winner when I see one, and he definitely is a winner.' David gently finished bandaging the girls leg, then pulled her trouser leg down for her over the bandage. 'How does that feel now?'

'A bit better thanks.' She went to stand up, but suddenly felt a little light headed and sat back down. 'Don't think I'll be mending fences for a couple weeks, Lightning's going to be stuck with me plating his mane to fill in the time.'

Geoff chuckled as he gently tapped her on the shoulder with his clipboard. 'I'm sure he's going to love it, but you'll need to stay off your leg when you get back home, you don't want to make it worse than it already is.'

'That's one thing we can agree on.' She teased back, then turned serious. 'I want to thank you for your help. I'm not sure what I would have done if I didn't see you guys fly over.'

'That's okay Josie.' Tom assured as he handed her a bag with spare bandages, cream and dressings. 'Is there anyway at all that you could get into town in a couple of days so we can check on it?'

'I can try.' She mused, thinking for a moment of how she could work it. 'I can't make any promises though, but I will attempt to come in. It might be late but cause I'll have to wait till I could get away without him knowing.'

'It will be okay Josie, just whenever you can get in. Nurse Kate and I are scheduled on Wednesday night at the base, but if you can't get in just keep it clean and drink lots of fluids, we'll be back by here next week, so you can come to the clinic at the station if you need to.' David quickly checked his watch, adding up how long the girl had been with them. He didn't want her to get into more trouble then she already was due to her father. 'Do you want me to give you a hand back to your horse?'

Josie nodded, holding onto the things she had been given. 'I'd appreciate that.'

'Alright, up you come.' He easily picked her up, then whispered to Kate to grab his lunch so that he could give it to Josie as he carried her out and put the girl onto her horse. 'There you go.'

'Thank you Dr. Ratcliffe.' She picked up the horses reins that Sam handed her, then put the bag into the saddlebags. 'Well, I'll be on my way now and let you get back to Coopers Crossing.'

'Just wait a minute Josie.' Kate asked as she got out of the plane and jogged over to her, handing her the food . 'Thought you might be hungry.'

"Thanks Sister Kate, it will save me finding something instead. I'm getting rather tired of wallaby." She picked up Lightnings reins, bringing the horse in to get ready to ride. "With a bit of luck, I'll see you guys again soon, so till then, bye for now."

"Bye Josie." David waived as the girl cantered off back into the trees on the edge of the forest, then turned to Kate, walking up the stairs into the plane. "I think I'll be having a little chat with Jack when we get back."

"Are you sure we should get involved?" Sam asked as he took his seat in the cockpit, Tom joining him. "Is there really much we can do?"

"We have to do something." Kate replied as she sat down next to the window, behind his chair. "I could see the fear in her eyes and hear it in her voice when she spoke about him. There has to be some way that we can get her away from him, she doesn't deserve to be treated like that."

Tom noticed that Geoff had been rather quiet about the whole matter as the plane took off, headed back to base. "What's your opinion, Geoff?"

Geoff was staring out the window when he heard his name mentioned and turned around. "Sorry, what did you say? I was a bit distracted."

"I'd say." Tom teased. "I asked what's your opinion about the girl? Should we try and do something or not?"

"I don't really know, to be honest." He replied, looking at his hands. "If she did get taken off him, where would she be sent? Into the foster care system? Where she could end up might be worse than being with him, at least she knows what to expect from him. She's being abused, I'll grant that, but would we want to get her into a worse situation? When I was a kid, there was a girl at school who had foster parents, and it didn't end well for her, probably worse then what Josie is getting."

"Well, what do you say we should do?" David questioned, knowing that there was more to what Geoff was saying then he cared to let on. "We can't just leave her there, knowing what he's doing to her, physically and mentally."

"I think we should have a talk to Jack." Geoff felt Kate's reassuring hand on his shoulder, she knew what he had been talking about regarding the girl he had known in school. "But only a talk. We need to find out where the law stands on the subject, but we also need to be prepared to take her in if necessary, until other arrangements can be made. She seemed to have taken a shining to you David."

"I kind of guessed that, thanks for pointing it out Geoff." He looked out the window as they flew over an empty paddock, then saw the girl and her horse galloping across the field to an old shack, an old red ute parked beside what looked like a run down slab stable. "That's where she must live."

Kate walked over to his side of the plane and glanced out. "That there is government land." Her eyes followed the girl as she rode up to the house, then couldn't see her anymore as they flew out of view. "It's a fair way out of town, there isn't another soul around for at least ten kilometers."

"And that's the way Gill would want it." Sam replied, checking the direction the plane was headed in, having heard bits and pieces of the conversation with had had with the girl. "I knew him before his wife died, he was always quiet an eccentric man, but whenever he goes to town to get his beer, I stay clear out of his way. He's as mad as a cut snake, that one."

"So, what do you think our chances are of him giving up Josie without a fight?" Tom asked as he got out the map for Sam. "He should be relieved to get her out of his hair, it would be one less mouth to feed."

"I don't think it's as easy as that." He picked up the radio microphone and held down the talk button. "Mike Sierra Foxtrot calling to Victor Charlie Charlie, do you read me?"

DJ back at the base heard the call come in and picked up the mic to reply. "Victor Charlie Charlie, go ahead Mike Sierra Foxtrot."

"The clinic is finished and we are headed on our way back. What's the weather at the strip like? Over."

"All clear for landing, just be careful of the easterly wind, its blowing at thirty kilometers an hour. Over."

"Alright, make sure that the plane gets filed as soon as we land, its almost empty. Our ETA is about forty-five minutes. Can you please get in contact with Jack and ask him to meet us at the base when we get back?'

'Roger that.'

'Thanks DJ. Mike Sierra Foxtrot, over and out." He hung the mic back up, then looked back at David, who had popped his head through into the cockpit. "It's not going to be as easy as that Tom. I know that man, and he's dangerous. He would be using the girl to do whatever he wanted, his own personal slave. He won't want to give her up without a fight, he'd be loosing too much."

"Your probably right there." David sighed, grabbing the spare apple that Tom had packed in his lunch. "I hope she's going to be alright though, if blood poisoning sets in, she could lose her leg, or worse."

"Do you think that's possible?" Kate asked as he returned to his seat. "I mean, her wound looks bad, but I think it's under control."

"It depends on other factors too Kate." Geoff joined the conversation. "From my observation, she's already not in great health. What was your thoughts of her condition David?"

David took a bite out of the apple before he replied. "She's severely malnourished, I could tell that when I picked her up, but your right. She's already so weak that the infection could quickly take over if she's not careful, but I think she knows what to do. If she's allowed to do it though, I think that's another matter entirely. I guess all we can do is hope she manages to get into town so we can check on her again. Other then that, and talking to Jack, I don't think there is much else we can really do for her right now. She really needs to be on an antibiotic drip though, I just wish she could be convinced to come with us to the hospital."

"She seemed pretty adamant against that, she doesn't want us to be in danger from her father." Kate grabbed her lunch out from under her seat, then handed Geoff his share. "She's a thoughtful one, I'll grant her that, but she seems to be strong as well, for a child her age that's been through so much. I saw the bruises on her arm, even though she tried to hide it. David, she's getting beaten by him. That's what she was trying to say without saying it. It's going to take a strain on her too.'

"I know Kate. I just hope she's strong enough to make it through with a wound like that, and her already weakened state won't help her any." David turned back to the window as he slowly ate the apple, absorbed in thought about the young girl they had just met, hoping that there was some way that they could help her…..

Josie wearily pulled her black stallion to a stop beside the slab hut stables and gave him a pat well done. She had ridden him hard and fast, trying to make up for the time she had been gone, but she could guess that by now her father would be awake and in a drunken stuber. Sighing with exhaustion, she pulled out the food that the nurse had given her and unwrapped it, finding a thick sandwich inside. Slowly she began to eat it, letting her stomach get used to the food that was different from her using meal of wallaby, kangaroo or goanna. She savoured every bite as she let Lightning drink from his water trough, then gave him another pat as she put the cloth the sandwich had been wrapped in back into the saddlebag. 'You did good today boy. Thank you. Sorry for running you so hard on the way back, but you enjoyed it, didn't you?'

Lightning closed his eyes slowly, relaxing as he felt her scratching the spot behind his ears, just where he liked it, the motion sending him to sleep.

Josie chuckled slightly as she felt the stallion under her go to sleep, then sighed with relief. It looked like to her that her father didn't know she had been gone and she was thankful for that, and for the doctor that had helped her with her leg. As she ran her hand across her sweaty forehead, she wished that she could have accepted their offer of looking after her in town, but as she thought about it, she knew she had done the right thing.

She sat there for a few minutes, then decided she might as well not procrastinate the inevitable punishment she knew her father would dish her, even though she had done nothing wrong. Gently she swung her bandaged leg over the back of the saddle and jumped down, the pain as she hit the ground almost sending her to her knees. She stood beside the horse for a few moments, catching her breath from the pain, then she untacked him and let him loose into his pen, placing the tack inside the stable where it would be out of the weather. She looked at the house from the door of the stable, then grabbed the crutches she had made and started the agonizing trip back to the shack.

When Josie got to the door, she placed the crutches against the outside wall and leaned against it, taking a break so that she could rest for a few minutes before she walked inside, her supplies for her leg hidden securely in the stable. After she had rested for long enough, she pulled the heavy door open, the smell of vomit and beer assaulting her nose. Try as she might, the smell was always too much, and she had to stop herself from gagging.

'Where the heck have you been?' Gill asked gruffly, sitting up from where he had been sleeping on the filthy couch, his hangover over and his temper taking its place. 'Well, answer me!'

Josie gulped as she leaned against the wall, letting her father yell. 'I had to go check my traps. That's all.'

'Well, did you get anything for my dinner?'

'No, I'm sorry. The traps were empty.' She looked at the ground, avoiding his angry bloodshot eyes. 'There wasn't anything at all out to hunt. I'm sorry.'

'Sorry isn't going to put food on the table!' He yelled as he stormed over to her, shoving her hard into the wall. 'You have to try harder, you useless excuse of a human.'

Josie finally snapped, her patience gone. 'I tried! There was nothing at all! If you weren't such a deaden out drunk, you could go and get you own dinner, but no, you sit here instead and drink yourself to hell, then boss me around and get me to do everything while you sleep off your hangovers. Well, no more, because I have had enough. You are nothing more than an old coot who wants to waste his life away on the bottle, but not me. I never asked for this life, and I'm through with it. No more cooking you dinner, no more doing what you ask. I'm done.'

'You'll do as I say or suffer the consequences!' He screamed at her as he flew into a rage, throwing her to the ground and began to hit her. 'You don't backchat me, you cad, and you can't tell me what I can and can't order you to do. I'm the boss here, and what I say goes. If you don't like it, there's more of where this came from.'

Josie tired to protect her face from his blows and get away from him, but he was sitting on top of her, pinning her down. 'And you wonder why Sara left!' She yelled, hoping to distract him enough that she could get away. 'She was the smart one, you couldn't control her like you do me, and it makes you angry, doesn't it? That she left for her boyfriend in Sydney. She was always the favorite, you would never have hit her.'

'Don't you ever mention her name again!' He landed one final blow hard into her chest, then stood up kicking her in the stomach across the dirty floor. 'That will teach you a lesson.' He gave her one more whopping kick, then stumbled out the door, slamming it so hard that the entire shack rattled loudly. He was swearing and cursing as he got into his ute and started the engine, furious that the girl had even tried to stand up to him.

Josie tried to move, crying out in pain as the door was slammed shut, then she heard the ute start and roar off towards town. She gasped as she tried to get her breath back from being kicked in the chest, and tried to sit up, but cried again as her ribs throbbed. She laid on the ground for a few minutes, tears flowing down her cheeks, then she rolled over onto her stomach yelping in pain as she dragged herself over to the table and pulled herself up till she was standing.

Leaning against the rickety table, she wiped the tears away, thankful that her father had left. She knew she need rest, her whole body was sore, but she could barely move enough to make it to her bedroom. Slowly one step at a time she forced herself forward till she was in her room, then she collapsed onto the bed, gasping from the pain. Urgently she pulled out a bottle of paragora from underneath her mattress and gulped down a couple of mouthfuls, detesting the horrible liquid, but knowing she needed to drink it if she was to get any relief. Putting it back into its hiding place, she flopped down on the flat pillow, wishing she had just kept her mouth shut. If she had, maybe he wouldn't have beaten her, but what was done was done…