‘I did actually promise to tell you about that. So, when I was five, I fell in love with ballet. I dreamed of it, I thought ballet dancers were princesses and I wanted to be one sooo badly my mother sent away for DVDs of ballet tuition because I wanted to learn. To expect to find a ballet teacher would be impractical on a cattle station four hours from Alice Springs. Anyway, I used to spend hours practising in front of the TV and would follow the steps. My grandfather fixed a ballet barre to the wall in the house. I haven’t danced for ages but I loved it for years.’

Wow, a torrent of words. He sat there watching the expressions cross her face like clouds across the sky on a windy day. Then blinked at his own poetic thoughts. Good grief.

She looked across at him for the briefest moment and he saw her shrug away a tinge of embarrassment. ‘You seem to think it shows.’

‘A dancer in the middle of Australia is taking me to her home.’ He sat up straighter. ‘Life is very strange.’

He heard her breathe in and hold it for a moment. As if she was going to say something and wasn’t sure. Then she said, ‘I’m taking you home because I hope that spending time together will bring back your memory. But I won’t harass you. If it doesn’t work out I can accept that, too. Until we get to that point, well, we can look after you properly and show you the outback.’

He was impressed with her level tone, and his mouth kinked upwards. ‘Thank you. I know where I stand with you. Nothing airy-fairy about Ava.’

‘Except the dancing,’ she said, and he could see the dimple – the cute dimple – at the side of her smile. The tension between them had lessened again, and he was glad.

‘So you’re a legendary midwife, I’m told. Do you always work in Alice?’

‘Not that legendary. I work for the Alice and Elsewhere Nursing Agency. Most times I travel between Alice Springs and Katherine communities as a midwife, but I work as a nurse as well.’

‘I think the staff on the ward had a vested interest in me remembering you. They all had a tale about you and some medical drama in the outback.’

Her cheeks turned pink and he smiled. She said, ‘They exaggerated.’

She wasn’t used to compliments. He didn’t know why he found that endearing, but he did. ‘I don’t think people out here are into exaggeration. There’s some major respect held for you.’

She lifted her chin at that. ‘That’s very kind of you to say.’

He studied the way she kept her eyes on the road. Avoiding his? ‘So, where and how did you gather all that respect and experience at such a young age?’