As the first rays of sun lightened the sky she clambered out of bed, and prepared for another busy day. The heat was intense despite the hour and she dressed slowly, her hair cool and damp from her bath. She was still tired despite several hours of deep sleep, and she hoped that most of the patients could be discharged today. Once Gran was back home and settled then perhaps they could all take a bit of a breather. Not that it would last for long, she thought wryly as she fastened her starched cap over her damp hair. The storm had no doubt left tons of sand everywhere and the cleaning would have to be done all over again.

She tiptoed down the hall, aware that her mother and Sandra would still be asleep, and stopped to peek into Danny’s room. There was very little light coming through the curtains, but she could make out the untidy lump in the bed and the shape of the parrot cage on the table beside it. Not wanting to disturb boy or bird at this time of the morning, she closed the door and, after a hasty breakfast of toast and tea, headed for the hospital.

The dust was everywhere, lying in heaps on verandas and roofs, coating the trees and shutters and hanging in red clouds over the entire settlement. Becky sighed as she climbed the steps to discover great drifts of it along the veranda. It would take hours to clear it all away.

She was about to head for the ward when Terry emerged from the hospital kitchen looking harassed. ‘Whatever’s the matter?’ she asked.

‘Those women are worse than sergeant majors,’ he muttered as he distractedly ran his fingers through his hair.

Becky grinned. ‘Oh dear,’ she sympathised. ‘You’ve had a run-in with the inestimable Harpers.’

He eyed her ruefully. ‘I only wanted a fried slice and an egg – and you’d have thought I was asking for the crown jewels.’

‘Never mind,’ she soothed. ‘If you go down to Annie’s she’ll have most of our order waiting to be picked up. If you’re lucky, you’ll have bacon to go with the eggs – but be warned, one whiff of frying bacon usually has Danny at the table in double time, so you’ll have to cook for him too.’

‘I’ll leave you to it then,’ he said as he smothered a yawn. ‘Sandra will be waking up soon and I want to spend a bit of time with her before I catch up on my sleep.’

‘How did it go last night?’

‘It didn’t,’ he replied, his expression hardening. ‘She’d had at least half that bloody bottle and was out cold. I poured the rest out of the window and left her to sleep it off.’

‘Oh, Terry,’ she sighed. ‘I am sorry.’