Read Online Do Opposites Attract? by Kathryn Freeman - Free Book Online Page A

steps towards the truck. That was when her knees gave way. Quickly she crouched onto the ground and put her head between her legs, letting the blood rush back to her brain. Bugger, bugger, bugger, she’d been about to faint. Would have done if Mitch hadn’t called out. Just as he’d predicted she’d nearly added to his problems.
    ‘You okay, Missy?’ One of the men who’d been standing by the boy came up to her, speaking in halting English.
    Weakly she smiled up at him. ‘Yes, thank you, sorry.’ Her eyes involuntarily flickered towards the scene, but this time Mitch’s large body obscured her view. Hastily she looked away. ‘Is he your son?’
    The man shook his head. ‘My nephew. He in bad way.’
    Brianna reached out and squeezed the man’s arm. ‘Yes, but he has good people looking after him. They will do everything they can.’
    Together they sat and waited. Brianna found she was unable to resist looking over again, but this time she kept her eyes on Mitch. Whether it was because the initial shock had worn off, or because she was now focused on Mitch instead of the boy, she wasn’t sure but she no longer felt she might black out. Or heave.
    ‘He must have nerves of steel,’ she whispered out loud. The boy’s uncle clearly didn’t understand, but smiled as if he did.
    The more she watched Mitch work, the more her admiration for him grew. There was nothing hesitant or unsure about his actions. Rather they were decisive, confident. If she’d been the mother she would have felt immensely reassured that this man was looking after her child. He had the air of a man who wouldn’t let anything beat him. It was wildly inappropriate, but she felt a stir of desire. There was something incredibly sexy about the sight of the calm, self-assured doctor at work.
    Disgusted with the way her thoughts had turned, she forced her mind back to the reason they were there. ‘Do you know why your nephew came back here?’ she asked the man at her side, trying to take both their minds off what was happening.
    ‘I think he miss his things,’ he replied sadly. ‘He look for them.’
    Brianna waited until they were putting the boy onto the stretcher before walking up to the ruins. She wondered if there was something in particular the boy had been searching for. Something important enough to him that he’d walked all the way from the camp to find it. There, under a sheet of corrugated iron, she caught sight of the furry ear of a toy rabbit. Lifting up the iron sheet, she tugged out the soft toy. It was dirty, but nothing a wash couldn’t solve.
    Back at the medical tent Mitch and the team operated on the child while Brianna waited anxiously with his mother and father. It had been two hours now and they’d still not received any news. Restlessly she stood and started to pace. Putting her hands in her pockets, she felt the soft fur.
    ‘Here.’ She handed the cuddly toy to the mother. ‘I found this in the rubble. Maybe it was what your son was looking for?’
    With trembling hands the mother reached for the rabbit, tears running softly down her face as she cuddled it to her. ‘Gracias, gracias.’
    Brianna reached over to give her a hug. She had nothing else to offer.
    Suddenly the tent door swished open and Mitch walked in. Dressed in green overalls, sweat beaded across his forehead and locks of sandy hair plastered to his face. He looked shattered. ‘He’s stable.’ He spoke the words softly in Spanish to the parents, but Brianna got the gist of what he was saying from the look of relief on his face, and delight on theirs.
    The couple hugged each other tightly and then went to shake Mitch’s hand. ‘Doctor, you save his life, you are miracle worker,’ the father told him.
    Mitch shook his head. ‘I’m afraid not. He still has a long way to go, but you can see him now.’
    He took them off to see his young patient and Brianna collapsed back on one of the chairs. She felt exhausted too, though all she’d managed