MELANIE MILBURNE – Australian Bachelors: Outback Heroes: Top-Notch Doc, Outback Bride / A Wedding in Warragurra / The Outback Doctor's Surprise Bride (страница 18)

Kellie grinned up at him as she wriggled into the seat. ‘Is that a sense of humour I see peeking out from behind that gruff exterior of yours?’ she asked.

His expression remained bland but she saw his lips twitch slightly as he took his seat and began rummaging for his end of the seat belt.

‘Is this what you’re looking for?’ she asked, holding up the clip-in end of the belt, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

Matt took it from her slim warm fingers, his body tingling all over at that merest of touches. She was smiling at him in that impish way of hers, the mixture of tomboy and sexy siren that befuddled his brain and other parts of his anatomy. He could feel the way his groin was already tightening, the ache building even more when she ran her tongue over the pink sheen of her lips in that slightly nervous, uncertain manner of hers. He thought of that soft mouth exploring him, the tip of her tongue tasting the essence of him, licking from him the life force that was banked up inside him to the point of bursting. All night he had thought of her hands skating over him, discovering his contours, feeling the length and deep throbbing pulse of him in the slim sheath of her body, the feminine heart of her convulsing around him as he drove himself to paradise …

Kellie peered at him curiously. ‘Are you all right, Matt?’ she asked.

Matt gave himself a mental shake and resettled in his seat, wincing as he had to accommodate a little more of himself than normal. ‘I’m fine,’ he muttered. ‘These seats are so damned uncomfortable. There’s not enough leg room.’

‘That’s because you’re so tall,’ she said, pushing his elbow off the armrest and smiling at him playfully.

Matt reached for the in-flight magazine in the seat pocket, even though he’d read it a thousand times before. Those long legs of hers were still in his line of vision. He couldn’t help imagining them looped around his, her mouth on his, her tongue mating with his as they strove for mutual fulfilment.

He felt her shoulder lean into him. ‘Interesting article?’ she asked.

He schooled his features into impassivity as he looked at her. ‘Absolutely riveting,’ he said, and turned back to the piece on emu-oil investment.

CHAPTER TEN

RUTH WILLIAMS was at the airstrip when they alighted from the plane. ‘I organised one of Jack Dennis’s boys to take your car to the clinic,’ she said to Matt. ‘I didn’t want to leave it out here overnight, especially with your medical equipment on board. I can give you a lift back into town.’

‘Thanks, Ruth,’ Matt said. ‘That was thoughtful of you.’

Ruth turned to Kellie. ‘You must be exhausted. What a drama to face on your first official day with us.’

‘Yes, it was,’ Kellie said, looking down at herself ruefully. ‘That’s the longest run I’ve ever been on. Next time I’m going to take an overnight backpack just in case.’

Ruth gave her a rueful look. ‘I did warn you things can happen out here in the blink of an eye.’

‘Yes, well, I’m a believer now,’ Kellie said as they made their way to Ruth’s car.

The clinic was fully booked so Ruth dropped off Matt before taking Kellie to the Montgomerys’ cottage so she could get changed and drive herself back to town.

By the time Kellie made it back to the clinic the waiting room was full. Every available chair was taken and three male patients were standing. A small child was howling piteously in one corner, his harried mother doing what she could to placate him while nursing an infant at her breast.

Trish gave Kellie a relieved smile as she ended the call she was on. ‘Welcome to Mayhem Medical Clinic,’ she said. ‘I know you’re not going to believe this, but it’s not always as busy as this.’

Kellie straightened her shoulders. ‘I’m ready for a challenge,’ she said. ‘That’s why I’m here.’

‘Good,’ Trish said, handing her the file on top of the stack on the reception counter. ‘Angela Baker is your first patient. You won’t get much more challenging than that.’

Kellie suppressed a frown, hoping the patient hadn’t overheard Trish’s comments. She hadn’t appeared to, although perhaps it was because her son was now having a full-on tantrum in the middle of the waiting-room floor.

‘Angela?’

The young flustered woman got to her feet, almost dropping the baby in the process.

‘Here,’ Kellie said as she reached for the baby and the nappy bag the young mother was carrying. ‘Let me help you.’

‘Thanks,’ Angela mumbled as she reached for one of her toddler’s flailing arms. ‘Come on, Charlie. It’s time to see the doctor.’

The little boy opened his mouth even wider, his reddened eyes streaming with tears. Kellie felt sorry for both the toddler and his poor mother, who looked like she was close to tears herself. She looked far too thin for someone who had not long had a baby. Her cheeks were sunken and her hair looked like it hadn’t seen a brush in a couple of days at least.

It took a bit of cajoling but eventually Charlie shuffled in with his mother and sat down on the floor to play with the small basket of toys in Tim Montgomery’s room.

Kellie was glad she had come to the post with experience as she hadn’t had time to check the facilities out first. The room was fairly well equipped and organised in such a way that she didn’t think she would have too much trouble finding what she needed.

The baby became restless as it was still hungry so Kellie handed her back to Angela so she could run her eyes over the file to familiarise herself with the young woman’s history. There wasn’t a great deal of information, apart from the two pregnancies which had both progressed more or less normally. Tim’s writing was a little difficult to read in places but she could see that Angela was a nineteen-year-old girl. She wasn’t married but lived with the father of her children on the edge of town.

‘Right.’ Kellie smiled as she looked up from the notes. ‘What can I do for you, Angela?’

‘I think there’s something wrong with Charlie,’ Angela said, not quite meeting Kellie’s gaze. ‘He’s been crying a lot and keeps trying to hit the baby.’

‘Lucy is, what …?’ Kellie glanced at the notes again. ‘Just ten weeks old and Charlie is nineteen months old. It’s perfectly normal for him to be a little put out by the presence of a new baby. He’s had you to himself for all that time. He’s only a baby himself so it will take him a little while to adjust, but I’ll run a few standard tests to reassure you.’

Charlie was surprisingly obliging when Kellie approached him. She crouched down to his level, brushed back his dark brown hair from his face and told him she was going to see how much he had grown over the past few months.

Once she had finished her examination she handed him one of the more colourful toys and he played contentedly while she turned her attention to Angela and the baby.

Lucy was as cute as a button. Kellie felt every maternal urge pulling cathedral-like bells on her biological clock as she examined the tiny wriggling infant.

Lucy, like her brother, had big brown eyes and beautiful skin. Her weight and length were normal and she even gave Kellie a gummy smile, which sent the clanging bells inside Kellie’s head into overdrive.

Once the baby was settled back in Angela’s arms Kellie asked a few questions about the young woman’s health and diet, suggesting she might need to eat a bit more because she was breastfeeding. ‘I imagine it’s a difficult time, juggling the needs of two small children, but you need to take care of yourself. I’d like to run a few tests just to make sure your haemoglobin is fine and your thyroid function is normal.’ She waited a beat before adding, ‘I notice you have a slight tremor in your hands. How long have you had that?’

Angela’s eyes moved away from hers. ‘I don’t know … A little while, I guess …’ She brought her head back up after a moment and said somewhat defensively, ‘I don’t drink. As soon as I knew I was pregnant I stopped.’

‘That’s good, Angela,’ Kellie said with an encouraging smile. ‘That was a very sensible thing to do. Alcohol crosses the placenta and it also passes through breast milk so it’s best to avoid it.’

‘It’s hard … you know?’ Angela said, looking down at the baby. ‘There’s no one to help me. Shane doesn’t see it as his thing. He thinks it’s women’s work to look after the kids. I never get a break.’

‘Would you be interested in being part of a mothers’ group if I set one up?’ she asked.

Angela gave a one-shoulder shrug. ‘I guess.’

Kellie smiled. ‘I’ll make some enquiries and let you know.

You’ll need to come back and see me if the blood tests show up anything abnormal.’

Once she had drawn up the blood for testing she helped Angela back out to Reception with the children before reaching for the next patient file.

The rest of the morning whizzed by as patient after patient came in and out. Kellie saw Matt only twice, once when she was out at Reception, quizzing Trish on facilities available for an elderly patient, and then again when she went in search of the toilet. He had been coming out of his consulting room and briefly asked how she was settling in.

‘Fine,’ she said. ‘I have a couple of patients I wouldn’t mind talking over with you when you’ve got a minute.’