Page 28 of Do Opposites Attract?

Ouch. He knew how to hurt. ‘Yes, you’re right, I’m sorry.’ Ashamed she lowered her head and pretended an interest in her breakfast. She was being totally selfish, thinking only of what she wanted. His skill-set was rare and much in demand. If this week had taught her nothing else, it had taught her that.

Mitch cleared his throat. ‘Sorry, too. I do the jerk thing quite well.’

Her heart melted and she smiled. ‘Yes, you do.’

‘There’s been further chaos downstream and I’ve been asked to go and help, but before that I’m going to check on a suspected case of cholera in the camp. You can come with me, if you like. But I’m warning you now, it won’t be pretty. The main symptom is diarrhoea.’

‘With an invitation as appealing as that, how can a woman possibly refuse?’

His lips twitched, but he also shook his head, as if caught in two minds whether to laugh or cuss at her for being so flippant.

A short while later she was sitting in the truck next to him, bumping over the hard ground towards the back of the camp.

‘Do I have any instructions?’

‘Smile, stay out of the way and, for the love of God, don’t eat or drink anything offered.’

She huffed. ‘That’s it? You really do think I’m a waste of space, don’t you?’

He pulled the truck to a stop. ‘No. I think you’re bright, strong and determined, but your talents lie in a different direction than nursing.’

Slightly mollified, she climbed down from the truck. ‘You only said all that so I’d do as I was told.’

He tried to look offended, but the bugger was clearly having a hard time suppressing a smile. Funny, for most of her stay she’d wanted to make him smile. Now he was, she wanted him to take her seriously.

Mitch hauled his medical bag out of the back of the jeep and together they walked up to the large tatty tent. Even from a distance she heard the cries of a baby.

‘Here.’ He thrust some disposable gloves at her. ‘In case you ignore thestay out of the wayinstruction.’

Giving him a hard glare, she snapped on the gloves.

Mitch bit back a smile. Brianna looked so cute when she was in a huff. He’d fully intended not to see her at all today, figuring it would save them both the embarrassment. But she’d looked so hurt this morning when he’d ungraciously barked at her that somehow he’d ended up inviting her along.

And now here he was, feeling an almost overwhelming need to smile.

‘Médico.’

Abruptly he looked up to see the worried face of a woman beckoning to him from inside the tent. Time to get his head screwed back onto his job.

The smell was the first thing that hit him when he lifted up the tent flap. He was used to bad smells, but the stench of diarrhoea wasn’t one you wanted to hang around long in. He turned to the woman, clearly the mother, and started asking all his usual questions; who had diarrhoea, when had it come on, how many bowel movements, when he heard a muffled squawk from behind him.

Brianna appeared momentarily in the doorway. Her face went sheet-white, she gasped, croaked out ‘Oh . . . sorry,’ then threw a hand to her mouth and disappeared.

He found himself having to stifle another smile. ‘She’s not quite used to life in a refugee camp yet,’ he explained to the mother.

Not that she’d ever be used to it, he reminded himself as he started to examine the children. She was going home tomorrow. Back to her highly privileged, highly sanitised life. A fact he’d do well to remember.

There were four kids affected in all, and he quizzed the older child.

‘Where were you drinking from?’

He looked sheepish. ‘The lake.’

Mitch shook his head. It didn’t seem to matter how many times these kids were told not to drink from lakes and rivers, they did it anyway. ‘You know you only drink treated water.’ He grabbed another few packs of purifying tablets out of his bag and tossed them over to him.

‘Yes, Médico.’

It was exactly the same voice Mitch had used when he’d been that age and teachers had told him not to get into any more fights, not to get into trouble.

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