Читать книгу The Bush Doctor's Challenge - Carol Marinelli, Carol Marinelli - Страница 7

‘KELL!’

Shelly’s voice wasn’t particularly loud, but the note of urgency in it had Abby on her feet in less than a second.

‘Kell!’ Shelly’s voice was louder this time, more desperate. Putting down her mug, Abby cast an anxious look through the window, catching sight of an oblivious Kell, happily pegging out the washing, his mouth full with pink plastic pegs.

Unsure whether to call Kell or investigate herself, Abby tentatively followed the sound of Shelly’s increasingly urgent demands. As she pushed open the laundry door, she swallowed a gasp of shock as Shelly let out a deep guttural groan, two frightened eyes darting up to meet Abby’s as she hunched over the washing machine.

‘I want to push!’

Please, don’t. Abby didn’t say it, but she definitely thought it!

Stay calm. Abby mentally steadied herself making her way over and gently helping a groaning Shelly onto the floor. There’s a clinic two minutes away filled with nurses, equipment… Her mind flashed to her doctor’s bag winging its way across the outback, a doctor’s bag with artery forceps and umbilical clamps and, luxury of luxury, latex gloves. For that split second she could have cheerfully strangled Kell with her bare hands.

‘I’ll get Kell to ring the clinic,’ Abby said assuredly, pushing herself up from the floor, but Shelly’s hand grabbed her arm as she shook her head, her face purple as she started to bear down.

‘It’s coming now!’

‘Then we’d better get on and deliver this baby’ Abby soothed, her voice amazingly calm given her rapid heart rate. ‘We’ll manage just fine.’

Grabbing a handful of folded towels, Abby took a deep steadying breath. She hadn’t delivered a baby for years.

Years!

Even then it had only been a token attempt, with registrars and midwives beside her in a delivery room packed with equipment! Still, she reassured herself, fast labours were normally easy, just a steadying hand to help Mother Nature along. But as she examined Shelly Abby’s heart sank and Shelly’s question reiterated Abby’s findings from her brief assessment.

‘Is the baby still breech?’

‘Yes,’ Abby’s said, in what she prayed was a confident voice, as Shelly let out a moan of terror.

‘I thought it had turned. I said to Ross this morning—’

‘Shelly,’ Abby broke in firmly, ‘the baby’s going to be fine. I just need you to listen carefully to what I’m telling you to do.’ Her eyes shot up to her new patient and she forced a smile. ‘I’m going to shout for Kell. He can get someone over with a delivery pack, so try not to push just yet.’

‘What if I can’t stop myself?’

Abby took a deep steadying breath then looked up at Shelly, her smile every inch the confident emergency doctor she was. ‘Then we’ll deal with it.’

‘Kell!’

It wasn’t exactly a dulcet summons but, given that the television was still blaring and no doubt he was still playing housemaid, Abby wasn’t exactly left with much choice.

‘What’s up?’

He strolled into the laundry and to Abby’s bemusement he didn’t even look remotely fazed by the sight that greeted him.

‘Ring the clinic,’ Abby said through gritted teeth, as the baby’s buttocks descended lower in the birth canal, Shelly’s agonised screams splitting the hot afternoon air like a knife.

He returned moments later, pulling open a large leather bag, and Abby nodded her thanks as he handed her a pair of gloves and started to open a large paper-wrapped pack. ‘Did you ring?’

‘Yep, Clara’s on standby’ Kell said as Abby’s eyes widened in horror.

‘I don’t want Clara to be on standby,’ she hissed as loudly as she could without alarming Shelly. ‘I want her to send a team.’ Hell, why didn’t this Neanderthal just do as she asked? Yes, she was a doctor but this was a complicated delivery. Beads of sweat were on her brow as she struggled to stay calm. Why was Kell still here? Shouldn’t he do the polite thing and go and boil some water or something?

‘I’ve got to push,’ Shelly begged, and as the baby moved further down the birth canal Abby wasn’t sure what terrified her the most—the thought of a breech birth with no back-up or the fact Kell was pulling on a pair of gloves.

‘We are the team, Abby,’ Kell said in low tones, bending down so that only she could hear. ‘This as good as it gets here.’ His voice changed then, coming out lighter and friendly, as he looked up and smiled at Shelly. ‘The little one’s still bottoms up, Shelly, so I’m just going to move you.’

To Abby’s stunned amazement, in one quick motion he scooped Shelly up as easily as if she were a child and deposited her gently on the laundry bench. Then, pulling a basket over, he kicked it upside down and pushed Abby’s shoulders firmly down till she was sitting. As the fog cleared from her shell-shocked brain Abby realised Shelly was actually in the perfect position for a breech delivery.

‘You’re a nurse?’ Abby muttered, as the baby edged ever closer.

‘And a midwife,’ Kell whispered, guiding her hand to take the weight of the buttocks now being delivered. ‘You never said.’

‘You never asked.’

There wasn’t time for a smart reply. Shelly started to groan in earnest now, her frightened screams filling the small laundry. ‘I want Ross!’

‘He’ll be here soon, Shelly.’ Kell’s smile was far more effortless and, Abby realised, far more reassuring than hers.

‘I wanted him to be here!’ Shelly’s voice was rising as another contraction gripped her, and with a grunt that defied her tiny frame she bore down, but seemed to change her mind halfway, her arms flailing in agony, panic overwhelming her. Breech deliveries required a supreme maternal effort combined with concentration and Abby looked up anxiously, worried by Shelly’s lack of focus, knowing she needed her onside here.

‘Shelly, listen to me…’ Abby started, but a warm hand on her shoulder halted her in mid-sentence and she briefly turned her anxious eyes to Kell, who nodded assuredly.

‘She’ll be fine,’ he mouthed, then turned his attention to the restless woman. ‘Shelly, Ross is on his way, and we all know how much you need him right now, but holding back until he gets here isn’t the right thing to do. This little one isn’t waiting for anyone, so you need to do what Abby says and stay with us, OK?’

There was an air of authority in his laid-back voice, an assurity that to this point had been missing from the room, and Shelly responded to it.

‘I’m just scared.’

‘Why?’ Kell asked easily. ‘Abby’s got it all covered. You and the baby are both going to be fine.’

There was a strange pecking order in medicine. The fact Abby was a doctor supposedly overrode Kell, and, given that she had started the delivery, if Kell were to rush in and take over it could, by some, be seen as professional discourtesy. But at that moment Abby would have very happily given up her seat on the upturned basket and willingly handed the reins to a far more experienced midwife. This was not the welcome she had expected, and Abby took a deep, calming breath trying to quell the mounting panic inside her before the next contraction came and they set to work again.

‘All right?’ Kell checked, and Abby felt both embarrassed and strangely pleased that he seemed to sense her trepidation.

‘I hope so,’ Abby mouthed, and then suddenly it was her turn to benefit from his rather dazzling smile.

‘You’ll be fine, too,’ he said quietly as Shelly pushed for all she was worth as Abby and Kell shouted encouragement. With the lower trunk of the baby delivered, Shelly had a welcome break for a moment or two, but there was no time for Abby to relax. She checked a loop of the cord and nodded to Kell, the steady pulsing of the cord reassuring her that the baby wasn’t in distress, but she had the shoulders to deal with next and then the hardest part, the head.

‘OK, let’s go.’ Kell sounded as enthusiastic as he had when he’d started his bike as the next contraction started.

Abby felt a surge of confidence. Surely if Kell wasn’t worried she must be doing OK. One strong hand assisted her, gently pushing Abby’s hand, guiding her to deliver the baby’s shoulder downwards towards the floor. Suddenly Abby felt in control, the textbooks, the deliveries she had observed springing into her mind like a much-watched video. The shoulders were out now and she cast a quick glance up to Kell.

‘Hold steady a moment, Shelly.’ Coming round to Abby, he guided her arm to the infant, so that the baby was effectively straddling Abby’s forearm with its arms and legs. ‘Just let it hang for a moment,’ Kell said gently, and Abby gave a grateful nod, the weight of the baby allowing gravity to help with the delivery of its head. His hand was back on hers now, guiding her middle finger into the infant’s mouth as Abby used her other hand to increase the flexion of the head.

She drew the body of the babe first downward and then forward, the baby over Shelly’s abdomen as the last inches of the birth canal were negotiated, until finally, with a relief that literally overwhelmed Abby, the head was out, the baby was out and safe, taking a huge breath, its little eyes blinking in indignation as it was delivered. Abby placed the slippery bundle on Shelly’s stomach, whose hands moved down to scoop the babe up to her, tears streaming down her face as Kell rubbed the stunned little baby vigorously with a towel.

‘A little girl,’ she gasped. ‘I’ve got a little girl.’

‘A beautiful little girl, too.’ Kell’s words were coming out almost as choked as Shelly’s and to Abby’s amazement she watched as a sparkle of tears flashed in his dark eyes. ‘Look how blonde she is—she’s her father’s daughter all right.’

‘And she’s OK?’

Better than OK. One little girl was pinking up before their very eyes as Kell continued to rub, her dark red lips parted to allow a furious scream to escape.

As Kell dashed off to find a duvet Abby clamped and cut the cord, the placenta delivering with satisfying ease. Wrapping a bundle of towels around the baby and a large bath sheet around a shivering Shelly, she stood for a moment, just revelling in the sheer and utter miracle of birth.

‘Abby.’ Kell was at the door, only his face peering around as he pushed the duvet through the gap. ‘Cover Shelly up, I’ve got a little guy here who’s woken up with a bit of a fright.’

‘Matthew?’ Shelly gasped, tearing her eyes away from her newborn as Abby quickly tucked the duvet around the pair. ‘He must be terrified.’

‘He’ll be fine,’ Abby said assuredly, but Shelly begged to differ.

‘He won’t understand.’ Her eyes met Abby’s. ‘You don’t understand. Matthew’s got Down’s syndrome. Ross and I had planned how we were going to introduce him. I was supposed to be in bed, the baby in a crib, Ross was going to—’

‘Do you want me to help you into the bedroom, get you settled a bit before he sees you?’

Shelly shook her head. ‘He’s awake now, you’d better just tell Kell to bring him in.’

Abby nodded and, doing a quick check to make sure there was nothing that might scare Matthew, she went to open the laundry door.

‘Abby.’ Turning, Abby smiled at Shelly, her hand on the doorhandle. ‘Would you hold her for me? It might make things a bit…’ Her voice trailed off and Abby stood there, looking at the mother cradling the daughter she had just delivered, and suddenly the lump that had been missing in her throat till now was so big it threatened to choke her.

‘I’d be glad to.’

A mother’s love…

Taking the swaddled bundle, Abby stared into the most innocent of all faces. Every fibre in Shelly’s being would be telling her she should be holding her baby, and yet a deep maternal instinct also told her that a little guy needed her now. Needed his mum to hold her arms out to him, to tell him what had taken place while he’d quietly slept.

Carefully holding the baby close, Abby pulled open the laundry door.

Two blue eyes met hers, two blue bewildered little eyes in a sleep-crumpled face.

‘This is Abby, Matty,’ Kell crooned gently. ‘She’s Tennengarrah’s new doctor.’ Wisely Kell didn’t acknowledge the baby Abby was holding, leaving that introduction to Shelly.

‘Matthew.’ Shelly’s arms were outstretched, her tired face managing a bright smile, her voice, her attention, all focussed on her son. ‘Did you get a fright, sweetheart?’

He didn’t say anything, just nodded seriously as Kell carefully passed him to his mother. ‘There’s nothing to be scared of Matthew. Abby and Kell have been looking after Mummy, and look who’s finally here.’

Taking her cue, Abby stepped forward, holding the infant where her big brother could get a proper look, and the lump in her throat swelled like bread in water as Matthew peered into the swaddle of towel.

‘Baby.’ His little face broke into a smile that met each ear and the whole room seemed to relax a notch, the tension seeping out as two inquisitive eyes searched his new sister’s face. ‘My baby!’ Matthew squealed excitedly.

‘That’s right big guy, it’s your baby sister.’ Kell laughed, one eye on Matthew, the other on a wilting Shelly. Scooping Matthew out of a tired Shelly’s arms, he held the little boy closer, allowing him to touch the tiny face. ‘That’s right, don’t touch her eyes, and just give her little cheek a stroke. I’ll bet she can’t wait for you to give her a big cuddle, but do you know what, little guy? First we have to get Mummy into bed, and I’m gonna need a hand. Do you think you can help me?’

Put like that, how could Matthew refuse?

Somehow, in a matter of minutes Kell had them organised. A now over-excited Matthew turned back the sheets on the bed and plumped pillows as Kell guided a very wobbly Shelly to the main bedroom. Abby followed, carrying the newborn as carefully as if she were the crown jewels, staring down into that tiny wide-eyed face, unable to believe the feelings this ten-minute-old baby was unleashing.

Oh, Abby had held babies before, well, sort of. She’d examined more tiny chests than most people had had cooked dinners, probed more little abdomens than she cared to remember, even bounced the odd baby or two on her knee during her time on the children’s ward.

But to hold one so new, so close and for so long was doing the strangest things to her.

To know that unaided by a huge team, she had brought this wanted, precious life into the world suddenly made that medical degree seem a touch more personal.

‘You were great.’ Kell was sitting on the bed and Abby did a double take when she stepped in the bedroom. ‘Shelly’s just in the loo,’ he explained, patting the bed beside him.

‘I only did great thanks to you,’ Abby admitted, not even bothering to look up. The face of the baby held far too much appeal.

But then again…her eyes flicked up and they were met by Kell’s black, coal chips.

‘I was just giving myself a big pat on the back about how well I’d done, but I’m the first to admit that I nearly had a full-scale panic attack when I saw the baby was breech. Heaven only knows what would have happened if you hadn’t been there.’

‘It would have been exactly the same,’ Kell said with the same assurance he had used with Shelly. ‘A couple of minutes of internal panic and it would have all clicked. You know that as well as I do.’

‘I hope so. Were you even a little bit worried?’

‘No, I never worry.’ Abby gave him a disbelieving look but Kell just stood up and rapped on the en suite door. ‘Are you all right, Shelly?’

‘A couple more minutes,’ came the distant reply, and Kell frowned.

‘Don’t you go fainting on me now, Shelly. Two more minutes or I’ll come in and fetch you myself.’ Smiling, he came back from the door. ‘Hey, Matty, why don’t you go and get a toy for the baby to put in her cot?’ As Matthew scampered off, Kell sat back down. ‘I hope she’s all right in there.’

‘This is the man who less than a minute ago told me he never worried.’

Kell laughed, but just as he opened his mouth to speak the bedroom door was flung open and they both turned as a tall blond man burst in.

‘Where’s Shelly?’

It was a strange way to meet your new colleague, strange but definitely not awkward or difficult. As Abby stood up Ross Bodey’s jaw literally dropped, an incredulous look on his face as his eyes locked on the baby Abby held.

‘Who’s this?’ he choked, as Abby stood there, speechless.

‘Are you talking about the gorgeous raven, or the ravishing redhead?’ Kell quipped, but his voice was thick with emotion as the bathroom door opened and a pale-looking Shelly tentatively stepped out.

‘I’m talking about the blonde,’ Ross said slowly, one arm pulling his wife towards him as he shakingly took the baby from Abby.

‘I’m sorry,’ Shelly sobbed, the emotion of the evening finally catching up. ‘I tried to hold on.’

‘There’s absolutely nothing to be sorry for.’ His eyes never left his daughter as he gently led his wife to the bed. ‘This is the best homecoming I’ve ever had.’

‘Wun.’ Matthew was at the door now. Charging in, he placed a battered book in the crib, his face splitting in two as he saw Ross sitting on the bed.

‘Hey, buddy, don’t I get a kiss?’

‘Daddy!’

‘I think we might have outstayed our welcome,’ Kell whispered to Abby. ‘How about you let me buy you that drink now?’

‘How about you show me where I can have a shower?’

They said their goodbyes, an engrossed Ross attempting to apologise for landing Abby in it, but his mind was clearly on the latest addition to his family.

‘Abby will be fine.’ Kell grinned. ‘I’ll bring her luggage over and show her around. Don’t worry about a thing, just enjoy tonight.’

‘No problem there,’ Ross said, then turned to Abby. ‘Look, thank you, I really mean that.’

‘It was a pleasure,’ Abby said warmly. Stepping out into the now dark sky, a billion stars twinkling down, the warm hand of Kell guiding her along the dusty red soil, it hit her, a heady mixture of relief at what had transpired and utter fear at how different the scenario could have been.

‘You’re crying?’ His voice was questioning, concerned, but not for a second mocking.

‘I know.’ Abby sniffed loudly as she fished in her pockets for a handkerchief. ‘It’s never got to me like that—a birth, I mean. It’s always been nice, special.’ The words were buzzing in her head as Abby attempted to articulate the strange emotions that were assailing her. ‘But at the end of the day it’s been a job well done. Tonight it just got to me. Seeing Matthew, he was so cute, bringing the baby his book, and then Ross…’ Another tear splashed down her cheek and Abby wiped it away then gave in as a few more followed. ‘He was so thrilled, so delighted with his new daughter, yet he still managed to make Matthew feel number one.’

As Abby started to walk again, Kell pulled her back. ‘You think that’s a tear-jerker?’ His eyes were searching hers as Abby’s returned his stare. ‘Wait till you hear this—Matthew isn’t Ross’s son.’

He watched as Abby’s lips parted, as the tears started spilling again.

‘They’ve only been married a year, and you know what? He loves that little guy as if he was his own. That’s love for you.’

‘She’s a lucky woman,’ Abby said slowly, but Kell shook his head.

‘They’re all lucky.’ Taking her hand, he led her along the pathway. ‘They found each other.’

‘This is you.’

Pushing open the unlocked door, Kell stood back and let Abby into her new home.

Her luggage lay higgledy-piggledy on the dark wooden floor, no doubt courtesy of Bruce, and Abby stood a moment as Kell flicked on the light.

‘It’s pretty basic. Kitchen.’ He gestured ahead. ‘Lounge.’ Stomping along the hallway, he flicked on another light and Abby was somewhat surprised to find herself standing in a beautifully furnished room. A large wooden fan whirred away overhead bouncing a shadow off the white walls, broken by vast Aboriginal paintings, the native art so much more appropriate in its own setting than the museums Abby was used to seeing it in. The soft-cushioned cane furnishing looked inviting and the huge low table in the middle of the large room would be the perfect spot for her computer.

‘Oh.’

‘What’s wrong?’

‘I left my computer back at Ross and Shelly’s.’

‘Well, I’m not going back to get it,’ Kell said quickly. ‘That’s one little party I’m not breaking up.’

‘Of course not,’ Abby snapped, kicking herself for even mentioning it. ‘I was just saying.’

‘So we’re back where we started?’ Kell turned to her. ‘Arguing about a computer.’

‘Nobody’s arguing,’ Abby said defensively, but the closeness that had overtaken them since the delivery seemed to have gone, and to her surprise she missed it. ‘I was just…’ Her voice trailed off and after a reluctant pause she finally spoke. ‘I was just moaning…’ A smile wobbled on the edge of her lips as Kell waited for her to finish.

‘Again.’

‘Ready to see the rest of your place?’ His smile returned as Abby nodded. ‘Bathroom.’ Flinging open the door, Kell carried on walking as Abby poked her head in briefly. ‘Laundry.’ Opening a cupboard, he gave a wicked smile. ‘Washing powder. And if I’m not mistaken, there’s even an iron. All mod cons here.’

‘Very funny,’ Abby retorted, following a very broad back along a very narrow corridor.

‘Bedroom.’

Suddenly, Kell’s voice sounded thick as if he had a cold or had suddenly developed hay fever, but with a notable absence of flowers and not a sneeze in sight Abby could only assume that the sight of the vast queen-size bed was having a similar effect on Kell as it was on her.

A flimsy mosquito net dusted over the bed, the whirring fan billowing the voile gently against the crisp white sheets, emitting a low throbbing hum in the semi-darkened room, and for an inexplicable moment, never had a bed looked more tempting.

‘I think we’ve earned a drink,’ Kell said gruffly. ‘And if I know Shelly, there’ll be a few in the fridge.’

Eternally grateful he wasn’t suggesting the pub, Abby’s answer was for once positive. ‘Help yourself. I’m going to make my acquaintance with the shower.’

‘Better?’

Rubbing her hair with a large towel, Abby stepped into what was supposed to be her lounge and amazingly didn’t feel like a total stranger. She hadn’t known what to wear, but a pair of too new jeans seemed about right and a black sleeveless T-shirt was surely casual enough.

‘Much.’

‘I made some supper.’ The table had been haphazardly laid, and a slab of cheese surrounded by crackers beckoned her. ‘But we could head down to the pub now if you’re starving, or there are a couple of steaks in the fridge.’

‘This will be fine.’

Better than fine actually. Loading her knife with soft Camembert, Abby scraped it along a cracker before biting in. Never had cheese and crackers tasted so good, and as Kell poured iced water into two glasses Abby rallied at the prospect of more time with him.

‘We’ll have to go over soon,’ Kell added. ‘The locals will never forgive me if we don’t go and fill them in.’

‘What’s with the we?’ Abby questioned, nervous at the prospect of facing everyone, far happier to keep a professional distance. ‘It won’t take both of us to deliver the news.’

‘It took both of us to deliver the baby,’ Kell pointed out. ‘Don’t miss your pats on the back, Abby, it’s one of the perks of the job.’

‘So, are you always so laid back?’ Abby asked, resuming the conversation that had taken place in the warm euphoric glow of the baby’s birth.

‘Yep,’ Kell said simply, before elaborating. ‘The only trouble is that it doesn’t last. Me, I worry after the event. Give me a drama and I cope. Honestly, Abby, I don’t know why, but you can throw anything at me and I’m like a textbook, I just see what needs to be done and do my best to get on with it, I don’t even break a sweat. But afterwards…’ Kell let out a breath. ‘I’ll lie awake tonight imagining every possible thing that could have gone wrong. What if I’d still been waiting for your plane to come in? What if the head hadn’t delivered easily? What if—’

‘I get the picture,’ Abby moaned. ‘Unfortunately it hits me there and then. I’m constantly picturing the worst-case scenario.’

‘It’s just the way you work.’ Kell shrugged. ‘And it probably makes you a great emergency doctor. Hell, if I’m in trouble I want a doctor worried on my behalf.’

‘And I want a nurse who’s calm and efficient.’

‘Hey, maybe we’ll make the perfect team.’ Those dark eyes were smiling and that brittle exterior Abby normally so effortlessly portrayed seemed to be crashing down around her as she smiled back at the man beside her.

‘Maybe we will,’ she said softly. ‘Maybe we will.’

Everything about him screamed contradiction.

Everything about him had Abby entranced.

‘You don’t look like a nurse,’ Abby ventured, plunging her knife back into the cheese, flustered by her own rather personal observation.

‘You mean I don’t look gay?’ Kell laughed at her rather shocked features, but Abby quickly recovered.

‘Actually, add a handlebar moustache to those boots and skimpy shorts and you’d be a wow at the Sydney Mardi Gras!’

‘I was decorating!’ Kell laughed. ‘Anyway, in case you were wondering, no, I’m not gay.’

It had never even entered Abby’s head that he might be. Not for the briefest second. Some men might throw up that question every now and then, and a male midwife, oozing compassion and in tune with a laboring woman, might bring about one of those occasions, but somehow Kell wore it all well. ‘I wasn’t,’ Abby said quickly. ‘You just look more like a—’

‘Labourer,’ Kell suggested, totally unabashed. ‘Hell, you’re a snob, Abby.’

‘No, I’m not,’ Abby replied hotly, and then gave him a worried look. ‘At least I hope I’m not.’

‘Well, I’ll choose to reserve judgement on that. And for your information I am a labourer and a drover, too, and a few other things in between.’

‘A real Jack of all trades?’ Abby said lightly, but her forehead creased slightly. ‘What’s a drover, by the way?’

‘A cowboy to you.’

‘Oh.’

‘Well, almost a cowboy. And while we’re making personal observations about each other, you don’t exactly look like an outback doctor.’

‘I know,’ Abby groaned, then checked herself. It wouldn’t do to voice her misgivings to a local, so instead she assumed what she hoped was a more positive tone. ‘But I’m really excited to be here.’

It didn’t fool him for a second! ‘That’s not what I heard.’ Kell grinned, topping up her glass of iced water then his own. ‘I was under the impression you were only here under sufferance.’

‘You know?’ Abby gulped. ‘But if you know, that means…’

‘It’s OK,’ Kell moved quickly to reassure her. ‘Ross only mentioned the fact you didn’t really want to come to me, no one else knows. Reece Davies is a friend of Ross’s and apparently he was singing your praises when he volunteered you for the job. Ross just told me to treat you a bit gently and make sure that people didn’t give you too much of a hard time until you’d found your feet a bit.’

‘Honestly,’ Abby checked, ‘you’re not put out that I only came because I had to?’

‘That’s the reason most doctors come.’ Kell shrugged. ‘Let’s face it—it’s a pretty weird place to be. Ross had a passion for it, but he’s the exception rather than the rule. The outback’s screaming for doctors…’

‘So you have to take what you can get?’

‘Not at all,’ Kell refuted. ‘Reece wouldn’t have recommended you if he didn’t think you were up to it, and Ross wouldn’t have taken you on just to have another name on the staff roster. The outback’s precarious enough without carrying people. You’re here because you’re wanted, Abby. The only person who’s not happy with the decision is you.’

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Abby mumbled. ‘I’ve been practising medicine for nearly eight years now and this afternoon is going down on my list of top ten moments. If there’s a few more of them around then it’s been the right choice. I can see what Reece was saying more clearly now. It’s easy to get caught in all the high-tech stuff, but if this is the buzz grass roots medicine gives, then maybe these next three months won’t be so bad after all.’

‘Maybe not.’

They shared a smile, a tiny smile but it was loaded with hidden meaning. Confused, Abby stood up, and for something to do she grabbed the water jug and headed off to explore her new kitchen, her mind buzzing, every nerve in her body suddenly screaming. A couple of hours in Kell’s company and she was acting like a hormone-ravaged teenager, not a sensible thirty-something doctor.

‘What’s this?’ Abby asked, pulling open the fridge.

‘I would have thought a lady like you would know champagne when she sees it.’

‘I meant, what’s it doing in the fridge?’ Abby asked, refusing to jump.

‘Shelly would have left it there to welcome you. We could always wet the baby’s head?’

It could almost have passed as an innocent question, but there was a look in Kell’s eyes and such a heavy throb in the air that Abby knew her reserve would pop with as much oomph as the champagne cork, and that was one path she definitely wasn’t going to take.

‘We’d better get over to the pub. At this rate we won’t even make last orders.’

‘You’re joking, aren’t you? The news of the baby will have the pub pumping to the wee hours. It could be a long night.’

‘Not for me.’ Abby shook her head. ‘I’ll have a quick orange juice and say hi, and then I’m out of there. I need to be on the ball, and something tells me Ross isn’t going to be around very much over the next few days to ease me in.’

‘Then it’s just as well you’ve got me.’

Another simple statement, but again Abby felt the throb of sexual tension, the path of a conversation littered with possible innuendo, and she almost took a tentative step, almost responded with a loaded answer herself. But she pulled back in an instant, Kell’s easy smile making her wonder if her mind was playing tricks.

‘I’ll just go and get changed. You do whatever women do before they go out.’

‘But where are you going?’ Abby asked as he headed for the front door.

‘I rent the house next door.’ He either ignored or didn’t notice the shocked look on her face, carrying on chatting in his usual easy style. ‘I only use it for when I’m on call and if I’m on a late then early shift, but I guess it kind of makes us neighbours.’

She didn’t answer, Abby truly couldn’t, just stood there dumbfounded as he turned and left; the five minutes it took Kell to wash and change nowhere near enough time to get her head together.

Not only was she going to be working alongside him, he would be living next door to her as well.

Three months.

The words didn’t console Abby this time.

After only three hours in Kell’s company already Abby’s nerves were on fire…