Do Opposites Attract? (3 page)

‘But then I might be waiting a long time,’ he replied calmly, nonchalantly leaning against a tent pole.

Something she couldn’t deny. ‘What did you want?’ she asked somewhat churlishly.

Mitch sighed. ‘Look, I came to check you were all right, that’s all. I apologise for not knocking first, but it’s damn hard to do that on a tent.’

Against her will, Brianna’s lips twitched slightly. ‘Point taken. And yes, thank you, I’m fine. I feel a lot better after a shower and change of clothes.’

‘I’m sorry we couldn’t arrange an en suite for you.’ Mitch regarded her with steady brown eyes and she didn’t know if it was a joke, or a dig. Probably the latter, though this time she wasn’t going to rise to the bait. ‘What’s in those?’

Brianna followed the direction of his gaze, over to the two large brown boxes. At the time, her idea had seemed like a good one. Now, under Mitch’s tough scrutiny and having seen the grimness of the situation first hand, she wasn’t so sure. ‘Just something I brought from home I thought might be … useful.’ She tried to distract him. ‘Have you got time to show me the medical tent now?’

Mitch nodded. ‘Yeah. But not until you’ve shown me the boxes. I take it you checked with Margaret what to bring? We’re really struggling for some medical supplies.’

Oh wow, he really knew how to make her feel small. Then again, she couldn’t blame him for this blunder. It was entirely down to her own ignorance. ‘Umm, no, I didn’t think to ask. I only checked what I should bring in terms of clothes. For me.’

The disbelieving look he gave her said it all. ‘What on earth is in them then?’

She stared at her feet, way beyond embarrassed. ‘I guess you’d better see for yourself.’

When she dared to look back up Mitch was crouched down on his haunches, tearing open the first box with a penknife. After peering inside, he burst out laughing.

By rights, she should have been highly offended at his reaction, and some of her was. She may not have had the foresight to find out what they needed, but at least she hadn’t come empty-handed. But she found herself unable to muster any anger because she was too busy goggling at the sight of the attractive man crouched over the box. Gone was the harshness, the brooding. In its place was a youthful, almost boyish expression. God, he was positively gorgeous. A smile lit up his face, warmed his chocolate-brown eyes, and even created a set of cute dimples on either side of his mouth. She would never have put cute and Dr Mitch McBride together in the same sentence. But here he was, looking so damned sexy she almost couldn’t breathe.

‘Teddy bears?’ Mitch asked when he’d finally finished laughing. ‘Well, I’ll give you ten out of ten for originality, if only one out of ten for practicality. But then I don’t suppose someone like you knows much about practicality.’

The sting of his words brought Brianna crashing back down to earth and she immediately reversed her opinion of him. Not cute at all. For a moment she’d glimpsed someone else; a relaxed, attractive, fun-loving man. Now the harsh face was back and with it the sarcastic tone. ‘They aren’t for you,’ she replied stiffly. ‘They’re for your patients. I did bring some things for you and the team, but if that’s going to be your attitude, I think I’d prefer to take them home with me.’ Inside she cringed at the knowledge of what was in the other box. If he’d laughed at the teddy bears …

Mitch took in Brianna’s flushed cheeks and fiery green eyes. She really was a beauty and her temper only added to her sensuality. But for crying out loud, when he thought of all the things she could have brought, and he was left staring at a box of ruddy useless stuffed bears. No, he was damned if he was going to apologise for laughing at her. He could, however, extend an olive branch. ‘I’m sure the kids will love the bears.’

She raised her chin and looked him in the eye. ‘But medicines would have been more useful and might have saved a few lives.’

He met honesty with honesty. ‘Yes.’

With a sigh she nodded over to the other box. ‘I suppose you might as well see what I got you.’

Intrigued, despite himself, he took out his penknife again and sliced open the second box, pulling out a couple of bags. ‘Shower gel and body lotion?’

She bit her lip. ‘No, that’s for the women. Jane and Tessa, right?’

He nodded and dived back into the box. ‘Whisky?’ He could see she was still embarrassed because her eyes weren’t quite meeting his now.

‘Yes,’ she replied diffidently. ‘A bottle for each of the men. Even you.’

Laughing grimly, he tucked the bottle under his arm. That just about summed up the difference between them. She’d packed luxury items. He’d have given his eye teeth for some essentials. Disposable razors maybe, because he was running out. Batteries for his torch. Toothpaste, though maybe he could gargle with the whisky instead. ‘Thanks.’

She acknowledged his pretty lame gratitude with a cursory nod. ‘Now, if you’ve finished poking fun at me, I’d like to see where you attend the patients.’

Mitch stared back at her, at the proud way she carried herself. At the steel he glimpsed behind the beauty. Thank God rich pampered girls weren’t his type. Women like her lived privileged lives in ignorant bubbles. He preferred his women savvy, experienced and down to earth.

As she sauntered out of the tent ahead of him, head held high, her slim curvy figure clear underneath the tight canvas trousers and black T-shirt, he thought he’d do well to keep reminding himself of that during the week ahead.

It didn’t take long for Brianna to begin to understand the importance of the work of the Medic SOS team. Within minutes of being shown round the medical tents she could see for herself how many patients were being looked after and how many were still waiting to be seen. She finally understood what people meant by the term heart-wrenching.

‘Do you want a drink of anything?’ Mitch asked, moving towards a vast chrome container of what was presumably hot water.

Struggling to take in the fact that he was actually being polite, Brianna said the first thing that came to her mind. ‘Yes please. Have you got any herbal tea?’

Mitch just looked at her. He didn’t need to say anything. His disgust was written all over his face. Blimey, of course they didn’t have any herbal teas. Where the heck did she think she was, the Ritz? Squirming with embarrassment, Brianna tried to smile. ‘I can’t believe I just said that,’ she admitted, shaking her head. ‘Anything hot and wet will be fine.’

She hung back as he filled two plastic cups with hot water and goodness only knew what else. Whatever it tasted like, Brianna knew she was going to have to drink it. All of it. As he handed her the cup, he was interrupted by a blonde nurse.

‘Mitch, they’re bringing in a child. He’s thought to be about five or six years old. Found by the banks of the river in a hypothermic state.’ Mitch nodded at the nurse and turned to Brianna.

‘Brianna, this is Tessa, our head nurse. She’s the one who really runs this place. Without her, we’d be lost.’

Brianna turned to shake Tessa’s hand, watching with interest as the nurse flushed a vivid shade of scarlet. As Mitch and Tessa went off to prepare for the arrival of the child, Brianna studied the body language between doctor and nurse. She guessed Tessa was older than Mitch, though it was hard to be sure. The nurse wore her age well, whereas Mitch had a face that looked like it had lived through hard times. Tessa was certainly attractive, with short blonde hair and big blue eyes. What was also evident, from the way she hung on Mitch’s every word, was that Tessa was head over heels in love with the doctor. For his part, Mitch was professional, but Brianna couldn’t see anything to indicate he returned the feeling. In fact she wondered if he had any idea of the crush his head nurse had on him. She doubted it. He didn’t look like a man who cared overly much what others thought of him.

The child was brought in on a stretcher. Brianna stood to one side, out of the way but close enough so she could observe as nurse and doctor worked together on him. They seemed to have a routine that required little verbal communication. Occasionally Mitch would utter a few words, such as ‘oxygen’ or ‘warm IV fluids’, but most of the time they worked in silence.

‘You must be Brianna.’ She turned to find herself greeted by a tall, lanky young man. He had a pleasant face and a shy smile. ‘I’m Stuart, one of the doctors. Good to have you with us.’

‘Hello, Stuart, and thank you. It’s good to be here. I think,’ she added with a half-smile, looking back to where Mitch was still hovering over the new patient.

Stuart nodded. ‘Doesn’t look like much fun, does it? But trust me, it is possible to enjoy yourself here, at least when you’re not on duty.’ His eyes rested on Mitch. ‘Well, it is possible for most of us, that is.’

Despite the circumstances, Brianna giggled. Laughter for her was a much needed release. ‘He’s not a bundle of joy, is he, your boss. I’ve gained that impression already.’

‘He certainly isn’t. Oh, don’t get me wrong, he’s not a tyrant or anything. But he does take it all very seriously.’

Brianna took in the rows of traumatised patients, the makeshift beds, the lady with the mop fruitlessly trying to clean up mud from the floor. ‘I guess it’s a serious business.’

‘It is,’ Stuart agreed. ‘But everyone needs some down time, away from the sharp end. Otherwise you just get dragged down with it.’

‘So what do you do on your time off?’ Brianna was intrigued as to what they could do in such a godforsaken place.

Stuart shrugged. ‘Well, Dan usually finds out the nearest bar in a town that’s still open. This time around it’s about forty minutes in the jeep, but well worth the effort to mix with normality for a while. In fact last night we rented a room in the local inn and had a hot shower. It was bliss.’

Brianna laughed. ‘Don’t tell me the highlight of your social life is having a hot shower. I really am going to go mad.’

‘Hey, don’t knock it. When you’ve been here a few more days, you’ll be begging to come with us.’

‘Stuart, there are people waiting to be seen.’ Mitch’s curt order cut into their conversation.

Stuart flushed. ‘Definitely not a bundle of joy,’ he muttered to her under his breath before scuttling off with his tail between his legs.

Brianna’s sympathy went out to him. ‘Was that really necessary?’ she asked coolly as Mitch came to join her, the young boy he’d been working on now hooked up to monitors.

‘You think it’s acceptable to be flirting when there are people in pain waiting to be helped?’ Mitch glared at her and Brianna had a feeling he was looking down at her from more than just his physical height.

‘He wasn’t flirting, he was being polite,’ she returned, aware that her upper-class accent had risen a notch in her anger. ‘A gentle word would have been just as effective and far less embarrassing.’

‘Anything else you’d like to tell me I’m doing wrong?’ His eyes flashed dangerously.

‘Don’t you also have patients to see?’ she shot back, determined not to let him have the upper hand.

‘I had rostered Stuart on this afternoon so I could talk you through the way we work. However, if you’re not interested …’ He let his sentence trail off and began to walk away.

She fumed. She had never met anyone as annoying as Mitch McBride that was for certain. But she was here to learn what the charity did and like it or not, as the doctor in charge, Mitch was key to that. She had to find a way to get on with him, or she’d have a difficult and probably fruitless week. With a determined effort she swallowed her pride. ‘I am interested,’ she spoke to his retreating back. ‘Please, I’d like to hear about your work. That’s what I came here for.’

At last, Mitch thought, a touch of humility. He turned round, pathetically glad he’d finally made Brianna say please. When she’d berated him about his treatment of Stuart, it had felt like the lady of the manor remonstrating with one of her servants. A guaranteed way to put his back up. Why did the rich think they could order people around just because they had money?

‘Okay then, princess, why don’t I start with the tour I was planning on giving you, until we were interrupted.’

‘My name is Brianna,’ she replied with icy politeness. ‘Please use it.’

He watched as temper flashed once more in her vivid green eyes, and grudgingly found himself admiring her. She was certainly no pushover. Probably too accustomed to getting her own way. He wondered how much of her almost regal attitude would still be there when it was time for her to go home. ‘Well then, Brianna,’ he said with emphasis, ‘you’ve already met our other doctor, Stuart. We’re a small team here this time. Generally we call on a few more doctors to help us, but on this particular trip other organisations have brought quite a lot of medical staff, so we’ve come with just the minimum.’

‘I don’t quite understand how you fit in with the other aid agencies. I mean, why do you need Medic SOS when you’ve got organisations like the Red Cross?’

Mitch nodded. It was a common question. ‘The Red Cross is only so big. It hasn’t got the capacity to help out in every crisis that comes along. The same goes for other medical charities. Sure, they always attend the big ones, the tsunamis or earthquakes that hit the headlines. But they’re stretched very thin, especially with their support in the war zones. Medic SOS help make up the numbers, usually attending the smaller crises that might otherwise get overlooked. Plus, being small, we’re nimbler and can get out to a place within only hours of it being brought to our attention. We’re usually the first team on site. Once the other teams arrive and things are under control, we withdraw and wait for the next crisis.’

‘How often are you called out, on average?’

He could see he had her attention now. It was quite a heady experience, being pinned down by those intelligent green eyes. ‘How long is a piece of string?’ he answered simply. ‘In our world, there is no average. We could go weeks, on occasion months, without a call and then find ourselves called out every week. It really is hard to say.’

‘I can’t imagine a life like that,’ she admitted. ‘Waiting for the next phone call. Not knowing what you might have to face when it comes. What do you do with yourselves in between trips?’

‘Sleep usually,’ he replied dryly.

Brianna studied him seriously. ‘You’re not kidding, are you?’

‘No way. I never joke about sleep.’

He was rewarded with a small smile. ‘And after you’ve slept?’

He shrugged. ‘Paperwork, there’s always a lot of that. We assess our supplies and determine what we need to replenish. Then there’s skills training, attending courses to make sure we’re up to date with the latest techniques and equipment.’

‘And waiting for the phone to ring,’ Brianna finished for him.

‘Yep. It’s not the job I’d recommend for a family man, or someone who likes routine. But it suits me.’ No chance of anyone missing him when he was called up. Which was exactly how he liked it.

For the next hour, Mitch gave her his undivided attention. He answered her questions as politely as he could, which was easy because they were surprisingly astute. He showed her the equipment they used and how it differed to that in a regular hospital. He explained the typical injuries they came across and how they worked with the other agencies. If she was bored at any point, she didn’t show it, though by the end her barrage of questions did start to dry up.

‘Why don’t you get some rest,’ he told her, taking in her very pale face.

‘I’m fine. I don’t want to miss anything.’ She ruined the statement by yawning widely.

‘Grab a couple of hours and come back for the medical review meeting at six.’

‘The what?’

Yeah, he had made it sound fancier than it was. ‘It’s just our daily catch up meeting. A chance to check on the progress of the patients and discuss any issues.’

She gave him a tired smile. ‘Thanks. I’d like that.’

He watched her walk away with a puzzled frown on his face. A pampered princess, but with brains and a desire to learn. Interesting.

Brianna was woken by her alarm and for a moment she had trouble remembering where she was. As she sat up in the cramped bed and listened to the sound of rain against the canvas, the reality came back all too quickly. She’d gone to catch up on a few hours’ sleep, but set the alarm so she didn’t miss Mitch’s meeting. He’d been considerate enough to invite her, the least she could do was accept. And turn up on time.

They seemed to have come to a sort of truce. Certainly on her part she’d started to develop a grudging respect for the man. He might be gruff, arrogant and lacking in manners, but he was extremely knowledgeable and seemed to genuinely care about the work he did.

With an effort she dragged herself out of bed and splashed cold water on her face from the jug left in her tent. With a quick flick of the hairbrush, she was ready to face the world again. It was a far cry from the hours she usually took to get ready at home. Here there wasn’t even a mirror to check her appearance, so she had to assume she looked okay. Even if she didn’t, there was no time to fix it. She didn’t need much of an imagination to picture Mitch’s face if she turned up late.

By the time she’d navigated her way to the Medic SOS tent – not as easy as she’d thought as one tent looked pretty much the same as the next – the team had already sat down. Thankfully they all seemed far too engrossed in what they were saying to notice her sneak in. Moving quietly to the vacant chair, she settled back to listen.

Much of what was said went over her head. They talked about patients she hadn’t met and medicines she’d never heard of. She was almost falling asleep on her chair when Mitch started to discuss the little boy who’d been brought in with hypothermia.

‘I’ve rung the hospital in the capital and they do have capacity to admit him,’ Dan was saying. ‘I think you were after a dialysis unit?’ he checked with Mitch. ‘Well, they do have one.’

‘What would that be for?’ Brianna asked. It was the first time she’d spoken since the meeting had begun.

‘In some severe cases, it can be possible to take the blood out, warm it up, and put it back,’ Mitch explained. ‘You can do that using a dialysis unit.’

‘Shall I sort out an air ambulance for him?’ Dan asked, looking at Mitch.

Mitch shook his head. ‘No,’ he replied shortly. ‘It’s not worth it.’

Brianna stared at him, aghast. Had he really said that? ‘What? You’re telling us this child’s life isn’t worth it?’ she exclaimed, horrified. ‘Do you mean not worth the expense, or not worth the hassle? Because if it’s the expense, I’ll flipping well pay for it myself.’

A hush came over the group. ‘Not every problem can be solved by throwing money at it,’ Mitch replied quietly.

The condescending sod. Brianna leapt to her feet. ‘Good God, I can’t believe I’m hearing this. I thought medicine was a caring profession. That you were in it to save lives. And yet here you are, casually dismissing the chance of saving the life of this young boy. You heartless bastard.’

‘Brianna, stop this. You’re getting over-emotional,’ Mitch told her roughly.

‘We’re talking about a child’s life here,’ she interrupted angrily. ‘Of course I’m emotional. You should be, too. Remind me never to get sick when you’re around. You might think I’m not worth the bother, too.’ Tiredness from the journey, coupled with the emotion of the situation seemed to strip away all her control. As the harsh words flew from her mouth, she stalked towards the exit. ‘Excuse me,’ she spoke into the now deadly silence. ‘Suddenly I have other things I need to do.’

A few moments later she was back on her bed, tears she’d been trying so hard to contain now gushing out, like water from a leaking dam. She cried for herself, because she felt tired and lonely, and she cried for the little boy whose life was slowly ebbing away.