Australian Bachelors: Outback Heroes: Top-Notch Doc, Outback Bride / A Wedding in Warragurra / The Outback Doctor's Surprise Bride. Fiona Lowe
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‘She told me she’s stopped drinking.’
His expression took on a cynical edge. ‘And you believed her?’
Kellie stood up straighter. ‘Yes, I did, as a matter of fact,’ she said. ‘She loves those kids. She’s doing the best she can. It’s not easy for her, you know.’
‘You won’t be able to fix anything in the short time you’re here,’ he said, lifting his cup to drain its contents.
‘As far as I can see, no one is doing anything to turn things around.’ She threw back.
Matt stood up and pushed in his chair. ‘Listen, Kellie,’ he said. ‘You’re not a social worker or a psychologist or indeed a drug and alcohol counsellor. You’re a GP. Your job is to diagnose and treat illness. You’ll end up doing more harm than good.’
‘I want to start a support group for the young mothers,’ she said with a defiant jut of her chin. ‘Once or twice a week for just a couple of hours for them to have a cup of tea or coffee together and chat, sort of like a playgroup. I can do some workshops on parenting or cooking classes even. Anything will be better than nothing.’
‘I don’t want to rain on your campaign to save the world but you really would be wasting your time,’ he said. ‘Before you’re in the air on your way home they will go back to what they’re familiar with.’
‘How can you be so cynical?’ she asked. ‘You’ve lived out here for this long—surely you realise the issues they face?’
‘Of course I do, and I do what I can when I can,’ he said as he went to the sink to rinse his cup. ‘It’s heartbreaking to see the destruction of so many young lives.’
‘Is there a community centre I could use?’
Matt turned to look at her. ‘You really are serious about this, aren’t you?’
Her brown eyes glinted with determination. ‘Yes.’
He shoved his hands in his pockets, to stop himself from reaching to brush back a wayward strand of her hair off her face. She looked strong and determined but that chestnut strand lying across her left eyebrow gave her a look of endearing vulnerability. Even the pillowed softness of her mouth made him want to bend his head to press his lips against hers. ‘All right, I’ll see what I can do,’ he said, but somehow his voice came out a little croaky.
She smiled and before he could do anything to stop it—even if he had wanted to—she reached up on tiptoe and pressed a little soft-as-a-summer-breeze kiss to his cheek. ‘Thank you, Matt.’
His eyes locked on hers, the silence stretching and stretching until Matt thought the room would burst. He knew he should say something but he couldn’t get his mind into gear. He was standing too close to her. Her perfume had bewitched him. He could feel the drugging of his senses as each pulsing second passed.
‘I hope I’m not interrupting anything,’ Trish said in a singsong tone as she came in carrying a packet of tea bags.
‘No, not at all,’ Matt said brusquely, stepping away from Kellie. ‘We were just discussing Angie Baker.’
Trish’s gaze flicked to Kellie’s before returning to Matt’s. ‘Oh?’
‘I know you’ve had some run-ins with Angie in the past, but I would prefer it if you’d refrain from making your opinions of her public,’ he said. ‘That’s not how this practice is run.’
Trish’s mouth tightened for a moment before she released it on a sigh. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘You’re right, of course. I just get so frustrated. David and I spent years trying to have a child and it never happened. She just seems to fall pregnant just looking at a man.’
Matt gave her shoulder a little pat. ‘Don’t be too hard on yourself, Trish. You’re doing a great job. Thanks for rescheduling all those patients yesterday. I owe you.’
‘Then promise you’ll come to this year’s bachelors’ and spinsters’ ball,’ Trish said. ‘You never been to one before and it’s about time you did.’
‘I’ll think about it,’ he said.
‘Will you come too, Kellie?’ Trish asked with a broad smile. ‘You’d have a great time, I’m sure. People come in from miles around.’
‘It sounds like fun,’ Kellie said. ‘When is it?’
‘It’s next month,’ Trish said, ‘I’ll give you an invitation with all the details on. You’ll have a great time and, you never know, you might even meet the love of your life. Believe me, it’s happened before. We’ve had four marriages in four years so you never know whose turn it will be next.’
Kellie carefully avoided looking at Matt in case he saw the blush she could feel creeping along her cheeks. ‘I can’t see that happening,’ she said. ‘Besides, I’m not intending to stay out here any longer than six months.’
Trish’s hazel eyes began to twinkle as she bustled out to answer the phone. ‘You’ll have to change her mind, Matt,’ she said over her shoulder. ‘I’m sure if you put your mind to it, you could do it.’
There was a flicker of irritation in Matt’s gaze as it met Kellie’s. ‘Don’t take any notice of her,’ he said. ‘She, along with just about everybody else in town thinks it’s time I found myself a wife. I’m sorry if you were embarrassed by her—she means well in spite of her rather obvious and clumsy attempt to matchmake.’
‘It’s all right,’ Kellie said. ‘I understand. I have heaps of friends and colleagues who do the same thing to me. I’ve been on so many blind dates over the past few years I reckon I could almost qualify for a guide dog.’
The smile that pulled at his mouth made Kellie’s heart skip in her chest. It made his dark blue eyes soften and the tight set to his jaw disappear completely.
He held her gaze for a moment or two before turning away, his smile gradually fading. ‘I have patients to see,’ he said in a gruff tone.
Kellie drew in a breath and let it out in a long unsteady exhalation as the door clicked shut on his exit. You’re in deep trouble, my girl, she thought as she tipped her undrunk tea down the sink.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
AFTER she had finished at the clinic Kellie called in at the general store to pay for the things Ruth had bought on her behalf.
Cheryl Yates introduced herself and showed her around the store. ‘Of course, it’s not up to your city standards, but if you want anything special I can order it in,’ she said. ‘We’re not flash but we’re friendly.’
‘Thanks, Cheryl.’
Cheryl narrowed her gaze as she looked in the mirror positioned above the cash register. ‘Would you excuse me for a moment, Dr Thorne?’
‘Sure,’ Kellie said, and watched as Cheryl sternly approached