He looked away from her, swinging his legs, looking nothing so much as a naughty boy caught in the act of doing something he shouldn’t. ‘I wasn’t even making candles. I was making myself some chips and wasn’t watching and the oil caught and I did this while putting it out.’ He looked up, then down, his face burning. ‘I feel pretty stupid.’
She patted the wound dry and got the silver dressing. ‘It happens more often than you’d realise, so don’t feel too bad. But maybe you should take more care while cooking chips in future.’
He stared into her eyes and smiled. ‘Thank you, Doctor Brennan. I will.’
She glanced away. Damn. She really was going to have to do something about his crush. It was kind of sweet, but she just wasn’t interested in anything, with anyone, even a nice bloke like Max. But now wasn’t a good time with him being in pain to deal with it, so she concentrated on dressing the wound and tried to be as coldly professional as possible. ‘There. Now, let’s talk painkillers and after care.’ She gave him instructions and gave him a referral to a burn’s specialist at the hospital.
‘Surely it’s not that bad.’
‘You’ve burned one section here pretty badly. The burn specialists have a lot of skin therapies now that can help with wound recovery and lessening of scars. I would really prefer you go and see one.’
‘If you think that would be best, Doctor Brennan.’
‘I do.’
He smiled shyly at her, holding her gaze and she had the distinct impression he was about to ask her out. Oh crap! No. No.
‘Mum!’ Carter’s bellow rang down the hall, making her jump. ‘Mum, where are you?’ Thumping footsteps running down the hall forestalled her need to answer. Carter appeared in the doorway a moment later. ‘Come on, we’ve got to go.’
‘I’m just finishing up with a patient, Carter. I’ll be with you in a moment.’
‘Did you burn yourself again, Mr Smith? You’re a bit clumsy, aren’t you?’
‘Carter, that’s rude. Apologise.’
‘No, it’s okay.’ Max slid off the bed, brushing his dark hair from his forehead in a gesture that was oddly familiar, although she couldn’t place why. Probably she’d seen him do it before. ‘He’s right. I do need to be more careful. Hey, what do you know, you’ve got different coloured eyes? I didn’t notice when we met at the party.’
Prita stiffened as Carter looked down and away. He was super sensitive about his eyes. He’d even got into a fight at school when a kid had teased him about them and she’d been called into the principal’s office to deal with the issue of bullying and his reaction to it. ‘It’s called heterochromia iridium.’ She put her hand around Carter’s shoulders. ‘We think it’s lovely.’
Max glanced between them then stammered. ‘S-sorry, I didn’t mean to make a thing of it. It’s just, you don’t see it often and it … reminds me of a friend who had eyes like that.’
Carter’s head snapped up. ‘You know someone like me?’
‘Yeah. He was so cool. He always said it made him different from everyone else and it was good to be different.’
A slow smile spread over Carter’s face as he straightened his shoulders. ‘Yeah. It does.’ He looked at his mum. ‘Can Max come with us to the barbie?’
‘Carter. You can’t invite someone to someone else’s house.’
‘But Reid and Nat wouldn’t mind. And it’s for your birthday.’
‘Oh, is it your birthday?’ Max asked.
‘Yesterday, but we’re just going over to CoalCliff for a little celebration. They insisted. I don’t usually do anything for my birthday.’
‘Well, then, thanks for taking the time to patch me up, but I think I should get out of your hair and let you get to your party. Bye, Carter.’
‘Bye, Mr Smith. Hurry, Mum.’
‘Go get your things.’ He turned and ran out of the room, his feet thumping on the wood floors.
She walked Max to the front door and opened it but he didn’t walk out, just hovered for a moment, hands in his pockets. ‘Umm, how should I pay you?’
‘Just see Cherry on Monday. She’ll take care of the account for you.’
‘Oh, okay. I’ll do that. Will I need to see you again in the next few days? You know. For a check-up.’
‘Perhaps. But go down to the hospital and see the specialist I referred you to and see what she says. If she’s happy for you to stay under my care, call and book in an appointment in a few days so I can check the dressing. In the meantime, keep up with the painkillers. And no more cooking chips.’ She flashed him a smile.
‘No, of course. Perhaps I can thank you by cooking you dinner one time?’
Her smile felt stiff on her face as she met his gaze. She really was going to have to set him straight but that conversation would take longer than she had. ‘Yes. Maybe. A dinner party could be good—invite some of the neighbours so you get to know them better.’
‘Umm, yes, that sounds good,’ he said, his smile faltering. ‘Although, I was thinking of just the two of us.’
Damn it. She really didn’t want to deal with this now. ‘I’m sorry, Max, but I’m not interested in seeing anyone in more than a friendly capacity right now. With my new business and Carter—I’m sure you understand.’
‘Yes, yes, of course. Me too.’ He stuttered over the words, shaking his head. ‘I’ll see you around.’ The door closed with a quick snip behind him.
She leaned her head against the closed door. ‘Damn.’ She hated dealing with that kind of thing. He could have been a good friend and he’d been nice with Carter about his eyes and the last thing she needed right now was another awkward relationship with someone in the area. It was ridiculous really. For years she hadn’t had to worry about this kind of thing at
