Fiona Lowe - Australian Bachelors - Outback Heroes - Top-Notch Doc, Outback Bride / A Wedding in Warragurra / The Outback Doctor's Surprise Bride

‘Are you going to pay us, Dr Thorne?’ Cade asked with a wary expression.

‘Of course!’ Kellie said. ‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch, right?’

She told them how much she was prepared to pay them and arranged to meet them at the Montgomerys’ house on Saturday morning.

Driving into the Montgomerys’ driveway a few minutes later, she caught sight of a slinking shape near the rainwater tank at the side of the house. At first she thought it might have been a fox or even a dingo, but when it moved away into the shadows of the night she could see its tail was long and thin not bushy and the colour not golden but more like a patchwork of brown and black and white.

She turned on the back light once she got inside and looked out over the yard but there was no sign of any movement.

A few minutes later her mobile phone rang just as she had taken her last mouthful of her daily allowance of chocolate. ‘Hello?’ she answered from a full mouth.

‘Kellie, it’s Matt …’ He paused for moment. ‘Have I caught you having dinner?’

‘No, I had a snatch-and-grab meal with Ruth and the boys. That was my chocolate hit for the day. What can I do for you?’

There was a little silence.

She heard him draw in a deep breath before he spoke. ‘I promised to fix that window for you. When would be a convenient time?’

‘I thought you were going to get someone else to fix it. I didn’t realise you were going to do it yourself.’

‘I had to do the same to one of the windows at my place a while back,’ he said. ‘It’s no trouble really.’

‘What about tomorrow after work?’ she suggested. ‘That way I can cook you dinner in payment.’

‘I don’t expect to be paid,’ he said quickly.

‘Nevertheless, I insist on cooking you a meal. Besides, you’ll be doing me a favour by keeping me company for a few hours. I’m not used to being on my own in such a quiet house. It’s sort of creeping me out.’

‘Perhaps a dog might be a good idea after all,’ he said. ‘I’ve heard there’s one hanging about the school, looking for scraps.’

‘I think it was here when I got home a while ago. I saw it slink around the back of the tank.’

‘You could leave out some food for it and see if it’s friendly,’ he said. ‘But don’t approach it unless you’re sure. It might take a nip at you.’

‘I’ll be careful,’ she promised.

There was another silence.

‘Well …’ he said. ‘I’d better let you get some sleep. It’s been a rough couple of days for you. You must be totally wiped out.’

‘I’m pretty used to hard work.’

‘You’ll certainly get plenty of it out here. You’ll have to run the clinic singlehandedly tomorrow as I’m flying out to do the clinic at Warradunga Crossing.’

‘You don’t need me to come with you?’ she asked.

‘Although the appointment book isn’t full, I thought you’d be better to stay in town in case there’s anything urgent,’ he said. ‘The clinic at the Crossing isn’t a big one.’

‘And I don’t suppose the plane is either, right?’

Matt felt a smile tug at his mouth. ‘Not as big as the ones you’re used to but it does the job.’

‘So what time will you get back?’

‘About five,’ he said. ‘I’ll go home, have a shower and get back to your place at about seven, unless you want me to come later?’

‘No, that will be fine.’

‘Good. I’ll look forward to it.’

Not as much as I will, Kellie thought as she placed her phone back on the kitchen bench.

Her skin lifted in a faint shiver of anticipation. She knew the old adage about the way to a man’s heart being through his stomach might not apply to someone like Matt McNaught, but she was going to have a damn good try.

KELLIE was putting the last-minute touches to her make-up when she heard the sound of Matt knocking on the front door. She put the pot of lipgloss down and quickly slipped on her high heels and click-clacked her way down the hall.

She opened the door wide and smiled. ‘Hi.’

Matt felt as if he had been zapped with a stun gun. He stood there for several seconds, trying to keep his jaw from dropping at the vision of loveliness in front of him. She was wearing a red-and-white sundress with shoestring straps, nipped in at the waist with a shiny patent-leather belt, emphasising her trim body. Her hair was loose about her shoulders; she had done something to enhance the slight wave in it, the cascade of bouncy curls framing her heart-shaped face giving her a casual but elegant look. She smelt of summer, the delicate notes of honeysuckle—or was it orange blossom?—danced around his nostrils like invisible sprites.

‘Um … won’t you come in?’ she asked.

‘Er … right,’ he said, stepping over the threshold and thrusting a bottle of wine at her. ‘I don’t know if you like red or white but this is from the Roma vineyard. I thought you might like to try it. It’s the oldest vineyard in Queensland. It began in 1863.’

‘I’ve heard of it,’ she said, and closed the door. ‘I’ll open the wine while you play handyman with the window. I got the bedroom one open the other night but it’s still a little stiff.’

Yeah, well, it’s not the only thing feeling that way, Matt thought as she brushed past him. He was glad he was holding his toolkit so he could hide his physical reaction to her.

He went through the house and checked each window, listening to her singing along to the CD player. She had a nice voice, light and pure and enthusiastic as she was about seemingly everything.

I wonder what she’s like in bed.

The thought was like an intruder inside his head. He tried to evict it but it wouldn’t leave. It made it even worse when the last window he had to check was in her bedroom. The intoxicating fragrance of her permeated everything. Even the lightweight curtains smelt of her as he pulled them aside to work the latch.

‘How’s it going?’ she asked from just behind him.

Matt hadn’t heard her approach and nicked his finger on the blade of the chisel. ‘Er … fine,’ he said. ‘I’m just about done.’

Kellie frowned when he turned around and began to wind his finger around his handkerchief. ‘Have you cut yourself?’ she asked.

‘It’s just a scratch.’

‘Let me see.’

‘It’s nothing,’ he said. ‘I told you, it’s just a little scratch. It will stop bleeding in a second.’

Kellie gave him a reproving look as she reached for his hand. ‘You don’t need to go all macho on me, Matt,’ she said. ‘If I can handle what Julie Smithton did to her finger, I think I’ll cope with what you’ve done with yours.’

She unpeeled the handkerchief and inspected the flesh wound. ‘Mmm,’ she said. ‘It looks like it needs some pressure for a bit longer. I’ll cleanse it for you and put on a sticky plaster.’

‘There’s really no need …’

Her eyes met his. ‘Why are you being so stubborn about such a little thing?’ she asked. ‘When was the last time you allowed someone to help you for a change?’

He held her gaze for a moment or two. ‘All right,’ he said, blowing out of sigh of resignation. ‘Do what you need to do. I won’t put up a struggle.’

Kellie led him by the hand to the bathroom and making him sit on a small stool, attended to his finger with meticulous care. She was acutely aware of his long legs, she had to step around them a couple of times to reach the first-aid cupboard. She was also intensely aware of his hand in hers as she cleansed and dressed the wound. She imagined how it would feel to have those strong, long-fingered hands on her body, touching her face, tilting her head to claim her mouth with his own …