The Bush Doctor's Challenge. Carol Marinelli

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…

       CHAPTER THREE

      ‘PUMPING’, was a slight exaggeration on Kell’s part, Abby decided, but the pub was certainly lively.

      Walking in, Abby braced herself for a few curious stares, but the cheer that went up as they both entered almost floored her.

      ‘What’s all this for?’ Abby gasped as her back was slapped so vigorously that, had she been choking, her airway would undoubtedly have been cleared in two seconds flat. Jugs of beer were being held up in all directions as Kell guided her through to the bar.

      ‘You just delivered Tennengarrah’s newest resident, remember?’

      Oh, Abby remembered. After all, how could she forget? But never in her wildest dreams had she expected this kind of reception. The births she had witnessed at the hospital had been accompanied with a certain amount of euphoria, a jubilant husband, a few relatives, but the long lonely walk back to the doctors’ mess had meant any emotions had been left in the delivery room.

      But here! The whole town seemed to be out, cheering and applauding.

      ‘Abby, this is Jack Brown,’ Kell introduced. ‘Tennengarrah’s one and only policeman.’

      Another smiling face appeared before her. ‘Glad to have you on board, Abby,’ Jack grinned, ‘playing midwife’s not my favourite pastime, you did a great job.’

      Another pat on the back, another vote of confidence to make her feel as if she had done something really special. In fact, by the time the obligatory toasts had been made, and her hand shaken by every last person at the bar, Abby found herself starting to agree with them.

      It really had been special.

      ‘They’ll settle now.’ Kell grinned, guiding her to a table. ‘A birth’s big news here, but when the cricket’s starting…’

      Abby’s eyes followed his to the massive screen in the corner, every head in the place seemed to be turned to it.

      ‘It’s all a bit much to take in, I guess.’

      Abby took a sip of her juice and gave a small shrug.

      ‘Or perhaps there’s not enough to take in?’ Kell asked perceptively. ‘It must seem a bit of a small world here to you.’

      ‘It’s just not what I’m used to,’ Abby admitted. ‘I’m not saying my way’s better than yours or anything, it’s just different, that’s all.’ Taking a breath, Abby decided to deal with a niggle that had been bothering her. ‘I’m sorry if I came over as snobby or superior when we first met. It was just nerves, I guess.’

      ‘I was just teasing when I said you were a snob.’ Kell was smiling at her. Even though Abby still couldn’t look, she could almost feel the warmth of it, almost see the wide dark lips breaking apart in an easy smile.

      ‘I know, and no doubt I’m going to have to get used to it. I’m quite sure there’ll be more than a few embarrassing moments. To date I’ve always lived in the city, always worked in big teaching hospitals, where I just blended in.’

      ‘I doubt that.’ The beer glass in his large hand seemed tiny, and Abby found herself staring at it as Kell carried on talking. ‘I can’t imagine a woman like you ever blending in.’

      She chose to ignore that little gem, casting her mind around frantically for something to say. ‘Do you ever get fed up?’

      Kell shook his head. ‘I don’t get the time to get fed up.’

      ‘And you’ve never thought of working in a city?’

      Again Kell shook his head. ‘I did some of my course units there, but it wasn’t where I wanted to be, I was always more than happy to come home.’

      ‘So you’ve never thought about…’ Taking a nervous sip of her drink, even Abby herself could barely believe the personal nature of her question. ‘About moving away?’

      ‘Why would I?’ Kell shrugged. ‘I’ve got everything I need here. A great job, my family nearby. They run a large cattle station out of town,’ he explained, ‘so there’s never a chance of being bored, and though there are relatively few people here, at least I know most of them. I could never leave this place, Abby. Tennengarrah isn’t just a town in the middle of nowhere to me, it’s home.’

      ‘So what made you choose to do nursing?’ Abby couldn’t stop herself. Undoubtedly he was a great nurse, she’d witnessed it for herself today after all, but it just seemed such a strange career choice for a man so in tune with the land, for an almost cowboy!

      He didn’t answer straight away. From the cheers and ‘Howzats’ flying around the pub, Australia had obviously taken a wicket and Kell stood up to watch the replay as Abby sat there, feigning interest.

      ‘Golden duck,’ Kell said, sitting back down with a grin.

      ‘Sorry?’

      ‘You’ve no idea what I’m talking about, have you?’ He grinned as Abby shook her head, then leant forward