The Doctor Claims His Bride Read Free Page A

bad.’
    ‘I’ll get the trolley.’ Mia quickly disappeared into the treatment room.
    Flynn picked up the emergency kit. ‘Let’s go.’ He pushed open the door and ran, the heat of the late afternoon hitting him hard after the cool air of the clinic.
    A twelve-year-old boy lay very still on his side in the back of a truck, the whites of his eyes wide with fear and a spear protruding from his back.
    Flynn flinched at the unusual sight, immediately calculating possible internal damage. ‘Thank goodness you left the spear in place, Walter.’
    The man ran his hands through his tight, curly hair. ‘Them boys were practising. I went to burn off, I was gone a few minutes and…’A long breath shuddered out of him as words failed him.
    Flynn squeezed the father’s shoulder. The rattle of the trolley wheels against the ramp sounded behind him, along with Mia’s gasp as she stopped next to him.
    This emergency would give him a chance to see Mia in action, and firm up what he already knew. Mia was cut from the same cloth as every RAN—a sole practitioner who had trouble working as part of a team. He’d worked with most types and sometimes it was easy and sometimes it was a hard slog. Based on how she’d bumped him from driving the truck, it would probably be a hard slog.
    She cleared her throat. ‘Right, we need to cut the spear down closer to the entry point before we move him. We don’t want to cause any more damage than has already been done.’ She spoke firmly, as her sound practice broke through her initial shock. She looked straight at Flynn. ‘We need a saw.’
    Flynn swallowed a sigh. She’d immediately taken charge, directing the play despite the fact she was working with a doctor. Situation normal. It looked like the power struggle had started already. ‘Walter, we need to cut the spear. Can you get a saw or some strong secateurs?’
    ‘I’ll get them from the shed.’ The anxious father ran around the building to the bush medicine garden, which was an important part of tying in indigenous medicine with modern.
    ‘There’s packing gauze in the kit to steady around the puncture site.’ Flynn handed Mia the large box, expecting her to counter his request with a suggestion of her own.
    ‘Right, will do.’ She eagerly accepted the box and pulled on a pair of gloves.
    Her unexpected compliance startled him but therewas no time to second-guess her. He needed to concentrate on Jimmy. He crawled into the back of the ute, the ribbed metal hard against his knees. ‘Hey, mate, you weren’t supposed to be the target in practice. How are you feeling?’ His fingers immediately rested on the young boy’s neck, feeling for his carotid pulse.
    Jimmy bit his lip, trying hard to be stoic. ‘It hurts heaps.’
    Flynn nodded in understanding as he silently counted Jimmy’s pulse. Rapid but firm. Perhaps the spear had missed vital organs? But most of him knew that was probably wishful thinking.
    Metal pinged as Mia scrambled onto the tray, hauling the emergency kit with her. ‘Hi, Jimmy, I’m Mia and I’m going to have to touch the area around the spear but I’ll be as gentle as I can.’
    She smiled at their patient and for the first time since Flynn had met her, her face lost its tension and her eyes shed their shadows.
    It changed her completely. Unexpected heat charged through him and he had a momentary vision of her standing on a beach with her long hair trailing out behind her and her face lifted up to the breeze—with not a care in the world.
    What the — ? Where on earth had that thought come from? He shoved the image aside and reminded himself that she was the island nurse, pure and simple.
    Mia deftly wrapped the gauze around the puncture site with gentle care. ‘You’re being very brave, Jimmy.’
    Jimmy fixed his eyes on her face, hanging onto her murmured words like a lifeline.
    Flynn didn’t blame him. There was something abouther that could keep a bloke mesmerised, but not him. He reminded