Do Opposites Attract? by Kathryn Freeman Page A

wasn’t only her body that had become sensitised to Mitch. It was also her mind. Whenever his name was mentioned, she felt the quickening of her pulse and her eyes automatically scanned for his tall, lean frame. She was acting like a schoolgirl with her first crush, which was frankly ridiculous because she hadn’t indulged in such childishness even when she
had
been a schoolgirl. She’d had no time for crushes. She’d been too busy deciding which males to date and which to ditch.
    In her determination not to brood any further on her fixation with Mitch, Brianna went back to the medical tent and offered her help to Stuart and Jane. With no medical training, she was pretty useless, but at least she could wash floors, serve out drinks and give an encouraging smile or two. The gratitude of the patients was humbling.
    It was when she returned from refilling the water jug that Jane tapped her on the shoulder. ‘Just to let you know, there’s been a mudslide a few villages down. It caught everyone unawares and I think a lot of the villagers were still in their homes when it hit.’
    Brianna’s heart sank into her boots. These poor people, hadn’t they suffered enough already? ‘Oh my God,’ she muttered. ‘Are you going to help?’ When Jane nodded and turned to go, Brianna held her arm. ‘Can I come? I know I’m not much use but—’
    ‘An extra pair of hands is always useful,’ Jane interrupted. ‘Come on.’
    She had never seen so much mud. It was horrific, like something out of a disaster movie. Everywhere she looked was brown and wet. Rescue workers were knee deep in the stuff, only their bright orange vests telling them apart from their surroundings. They dug and dug, some with spades, some with mechanical diggers, some with just their bare hands. Those who’d been lucky enough to be rescued were huddled together in a group. Dirty, shivering, eyes wide with terror. She spotted Mitch at the bottom of the mudslide, hunched over a prostrate body. Grimly she watched as he shook his head at the rescue worker standing next to him. A sheet was pulled over the dead body, and it was stretchered away.
    In a daze, Brianna strode up to him. ‘What can I do?’ she asked softly, numbed by the catastrophic scene in front of her.
    He turned towards her, eyes like dark, sunken pools. ‘Keep out of the way,’ he replied bluntly.
    Brianna flinched. Eyes burning with tears, she stumbled away.
    ‘Brianna, wait a minute.’ Jane chased behind her. ‘Ignore him. He might work like a machine, but he’s a human being underneath it all. He’s knackered. I think he meant to say, keep away for your own safety.’
    ‘Maybe.’ She wasn’t so sure. Mitch saw her as a useless upper-class bimbo who was more likely to cause trouble than to help. And with her current track record, she guessed she couldn’t blame him. ‘Jane, I feel so useless. Is there anything I
can
do?’
    Jane smiled and gave her a reassuring hug. ‘Come on, lovely, I’ve got just the job for you. See those terrified children standing over there?’ She pointed to a grubby, forlorn-looking group. ‘Alice, one of the WHO team, has gone to get some fresh clothes and towels for them. Why don’t you help her clean them up?’
    At the sight of their huge sad brown eyes, Brianna’s heart melted. Plastering a smile on her face, she went to help.
    For the next few hours she worked with Alice, helping to clean up the uninjured. She tried to offer comfort and a distraction from the fresh disaster that had befallen the area. No sooner had they ferried one group over to the camp, a fresh huddle would form. It was both heartbreaking and uplifting. The more villagers they tended to, the more had been rescued. She tried not to look at the mounting pile of body bags on the other side of the mudslide. She focused on the living, the well. That was traumatic enough.
    Mitch had experienced many bad days in his line of work, but today had to rank with one of the worst. They’d