Burnt Read Online Free PDF Page B

cupboard and noticed his slow movements. He’d aged a lot since she’d last seen him. Rebecca knew his wife’s death would have been a terrible blow – she could remember them sharing the odd peck on the cheek as they passed each other in the kitchen, and when they were in town he always put an arm around her when they crossed the street. They were the little touches that hinted at the genuine love and respect they’d had for one another. There was a lot she remembered about this family … Once upon a time, she’d been a regular visitor – almost one of them.
    From her seat on the barstool at the kitchen bench she saw him struggling with the coffee lid before turning away to search through the kitchen draw for something. She calmly reached over to pick up the spoon and popped the metal lid from the tin. ‘Do you have sugar and milk, Mr Taylor?’ she asked, spooning the coffee granules into the cups without causing a fuss. She didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that she’d seen his hands shaking and the difficulty he was having with dexterity. He seemed grateful she’d taken over, bringing her the milk from the fridge.
    â€˜How have you been, anyway?’ she asked casually, as she placed his cup in front of him.
    â€˜Not too bad, but the old hands aren’t as nimble as they once were,’ he said, acknowledging the unspoken concern in her eyes. ‘Still kickin’ though, so that’s something, I suppose.’
    The sound of a car pulling up outside drew their gazes to the sliding glass door in time to see Seb climbing out of his four-wheel drive. She saw him give her car a once-over as he walked past, pushing the gate open without missing a step.
    Rebecca felt her pulse do a funny little start-and-stop dance as he got closer, and took a calming breath just before he opened the door.
    He stopped in the doorway as she caught his eye and she thought he was going to turn and walk away, but he just sent her a hard stare before walking inside.
    â€˜Look who’s dropped by for a visit, son,’ his father said, eyeing Seb’s reaction carefully.
    Rebecca dragged up a smile and kept her gaze on his unwaveringly. ‘Hello, Seb. Actually, this isn’t a social call. I noticed on your chart that you hadn’t been in lately to have your dressings changed, so I thought I’d –’
    â€˜Come out and check up on me?’ he interrupted in a toneless voice.
    She lifted an eyebrow and gave a small smile. ‘Something like that.’
    â€˜Long way for a house call,’ he said, going to the fridge for a can of soft drink, then cracking it open and tossing the tab in the sink.
    â€˜Not for around here.’ Which was true: the number of remote farms and small places allied health services in areas like Macksville routinely visited was sometimes hard for the larger metropolitan health areas to fathom.
    â€˜I don’t need to come in as often. So this was a wasted visit.’
    â€˜I’d feel better if I could take a look and make sure.’
    â€˜You know, I’ve trained as a medic. I probably know as much – if not more – about all this as you do,’ he said quietly, watching her with a condescending expression.
    â€˜Then you should have known better than to stop coming in for your dressings to be changed,’ she snapped.
    â€˜Just let her take a look, son. She’s made the effort to come out here, it’s the least you can do. I can hear my crossword calling me.’ Angus excused himself to take his coffee out onto the verandah.
    Rebecca continued to hold Seb’s stare, refusing to give in to his less-than-thrilled glare. ‘It’ll just take a minute,’ she continued, hitching her eyebrow expectantly at him, daring him to say no.
    Muttering under his breath, he came around the kitchen bench and took a seat at the table where she’d left her box of supplies. She