“It seems so simple,” Drake said, running a hand through his hair. “Why couldn’t I think of that?”
“If I had to guess, I’d say you were overthinking it. Sometimes the easy answers are harder to see because we refuse to accept simplicity. Our brains like to complicate everything.” His eyes held hers and a look of admiration curved the edge of his mouth. She shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other. “How’s the casserole? Ready for us to eat?”
He broke their gaze and gave a slight shake of his head. “I’m broiling it for a minute to brown the cheese on top a bit.”
“Good call. Do you need me to do anything?”
He motioned to a loaf sitting on top of the counter. “You can take that Italian bread and cut it up.”
“Carbs and more carbs. Sounds like heaven.” He handed her a knife, and she got to work, taking a small piece to taste. She closed her eyes and savored the soft center, the crispness of the crust, and the pop of added flavor from the sesame seeds. “This is really good.”
“There is nothing better than a good loaf of Italian bread.”
“I might have to agree with you there.” She caught his gaze again and heat spread through her cheeks. She brought her focus back to the bread and pain sliced through her finger. She let out a gasp. “Oh. Oh boy. That’s a lot of blood.” Sophie closed her eyes and turned her head away from the crimson river streaming down her hand. “Oh, that was stupid.”
She heard a lot of movement, then felt Drake’s large hand grasp hers.
She opened her eyes, locking with Drake’s, making sure not to look down at the war zone. “I bled on the bread.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. That’s really good bread.”
Drake snickered, and she closed her eyes before she caught a glimpse of the disaster. “Let’s get this under the water so I can get a better look at it.” With her eyes closed, she attempted to walk backward toward the sink.
“You can open your eyes.”
She shook her head. “Hate blood.” She breathed in deep, forcing the rapid pace of her heart to slow.
He guided her, and she let him. “You’re a first-grade teacher. I’m sure you’ve witnessed your fair share of gruesome injuries.”
“Only a few, but I tend to go into robot mode and call the school nurse as fast as possible.”
The sound of running water filled the kitchen and Sophie hissed as cold water stung her finger.
“It’s not too bad, but you definitely need a stitch or two.”
“Great. Just what I need, a copay.”
“I can do the stitch myself and save you the copay. Consider your help with Charlotte’s homework as payment. We just need to head to my office for supplies.”
“You know how to do that? I mean, I know you’re a doctor, but don’t you have different areas of expertise? I thought stitches required a hospital visit.”
“Before I came to Red Maple Falls, I was a trauma surgeon at Mass General.”
“Oh.”
“I can stitch a person up with my eyes closed.”
Interesting, and a great conversation they could’ve had on their date all that time ago. Why hadn’t he brought that up? Why had he been so eager to not speak to her? She couldn’t make sense of any of it.
“I can’t even walk to the sink with my eyes closed,” she said in an attempt to distract her emotions from taking over.
“I couldn’t do a first-grade homework assignment. We all have our strengths. I just need you to trust me.” She felt the gentle touch of his finger brushing ever so slightly against her cheek. Her eyes popped open and locked with his. “Can you do that?”
Words caught in her throat, and she nodded.
“Good.” He retrieved a dish towel from a drawer and wrapped her hand, pressing it to her chest to hold.
“Charlotte, I’m going to need you to grab your coat.”
“We haven’t eaten,” Sophie said.
“You aren’t going to be doing much of anything until we have you fixed up.”
“Let me call Kristen and see if she can pick up Charlotte. The poor girl shouldn’t have to spend her night at the office on an empty stomach.”
Drake guided her to a chair, and she focused on not thinking about the warm blood pouring out of her finger. Her stomach turned and twisted, and she silently demanded it behave itself. It’s just a little cut. Don’t you dare throw up.
“You sit here. I’ll call Kristen.”
Sophie cradled her hand against her chest and watched as Drake left the room. Then she closed her eyes, attempting to ignore the pain, and heard his voice as he spoke with Kristen.
A slender touch popped her eye open. Charlotte’s small hand wrapped around Sophie’s good hand and squeezed. Concern tugged at the bridge of her button nose.
“I’ll be okay, sweetie. Your uncle is going to take care of me. He’s good at that, right?”
Charlotte nodded.
“See, so you have nothing to worry about.”
She bit her lip but gave another nod.
Long legs carried Drake back into the kitchen. He moved with calm confidence. “Kristen is actually on her way out with Jax and the boys to get pizza. She said she’ll be here in five minutes.”
“Pizza!” Sophie exclaimed, attempting to keep the pain out of her tone, so not to worry Charlotte any more. “I’m so jealous.”
Charlotte looked down at the picture she was creating and added another apple. “You’ll love Travis and Noah.”
Drake came back with Charlotte’s jacket and helped her get into it. While it was still technically the last days of summer for another two weeks, the evenings were beginning to get chilly. “You don’t have a jacket,” Drake said to Sophie.
“I wasn’t planning on staying past sundown, but it’ll be okay. It’s not that cold.”
“Spoken like a true New Englander.” He came around her and draped a hooded sweatshirt over her shoulders. “Still, don’t want you to—”
“Catch a cold?” she asked. “I thought that was a fallacy?”
“It is. You can’t actually get sick from the cold, but it can weaken your immune system and make you more susceptible to germs and viruses.”
“I’m surrounded by germs and viruses every day. Kids are like walking petri dishes.” She winced as a sharp pain shot through her finger.
“More reason to keep your immune system strong. Now let’s get you in the car.”
“Afraid I might bleed on your floor?’ she asked through gritted teeth. “Because I’m more afraid of bleeding on your interior. We should take my car.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Come on.” He motioned toward the door. Charlotte grabbed her doll and stopped. Her lip turned downward and with a sigh she propped it on the kitchen chair.
“You can bring your doll,” Drake said.
She shook her head.
Sophie had been a teacher long enough to know the inner workings of a child’s mind. “Are you afraid the boys will make fun of you for having a doll?” Sophie asked. Charlotte didn’t nod, but she didn’t have to. Sophie held her hand to her chest and bit back the pain. “I can tell you that Travis and Noah are good boys, and they wouldn’t make fun of you.”
Charlotte nodded but walked to the door without her beloved doll. Sophie glanced at Drake and he shrugged, though his smile faltered. The poor guy. Not only did he get thrust into parenthood, but he was thrust into the position with a girl who didn’t speak. He couldn’t read minds, and she could only imagine how frustrating it was for him when he couldn’t.
A horn sounded outside and Drake turned to the door, holding his finger up. “Ready to go?” he asked Charlotte, then bent down to her level. “Kristen is really nice and I’m sure you’ll have fun.”
Travis ran up the front steps and met them at the door. Charlotte hid slightly behind Drake’s leg.
“Hi, I’m Travis,” he said, craning his head around Drake’s body to look at Charlotte. He hooked a finger ov
er his shoulder. “That’s my brother, Noah, in the car and my mom and Jax. He’s not my dad. My dad died in a fire and is in heaven now, but he’s like my dad.” Travis’s attention swung to Sophie. “Ms. Reynold’s my mom said you sliced your finger open and there’s a lot of blood. Can I see?”
A car door shut. “Travis!” Kristen walked up the pathway that led from the driveway to the house. “Are you okay?” she asked Sophie as her hand latched onto Travis’ shoulder.
“I’m bleeding. A lot, but Drake assured me he can fix me.”
Drake waved to Jax, who sat behind the wheel, and headed down the path toward the car. Kristen hung back, but let Travis go. He motioned for Charlotte to follow him. She hesitated for only a moment, but then with a pep in her step she hurried after him.
“You two are having dinner together?” Kristen asked under her breath as they followed.
“Charlotte forgot her doll at school, I was just dropping it off.”
“Which explains how you sliced your finger open cutting bread…”
“Charlotte needed help with her homework.”
“I didn’t know you made house calls now.”
“I told you I was dropping off Charlotte’s doll.”
“Still doesn’t explain the dinner.”
“He offered me dinner after I offered to help Charlotte. Can you stop?” Sophie wrinkled her nose and narrowed her eyes at her friend, who laughed.
“Sorry.” Kristen held her hands up. “But ever since you told Sarah and I about your disastrous date, I’ve been secretly hoping for a redo.”
“Why?”
“Because you and Drake are good people, and you deserve happiness.”
“I appreciate that, but I don’t see that happening.”
“And I didn’t think I’d ever find love again.” Kristen turned her head to the car, and Jax’s attention immediately shifted from Drake to her as if they couldn’t help but be drawn to one another. He flashed her a smile, and Kristen blushed like a schoolgirl.
“You ready?” he called to her. “These boys.” He looked in the backseat. “And girl, are hungry and I’m pretty sure Sophie is dripping blood on her pants.”
Sophie’s head snapped down. “Oh Jesus!” Sophie immediately looked away, trying not to focus on the disaster that was her pants. Her stomach churned, and she took a deep breath.
Drake hurried over and took the blood wrapped towel and unraveled it. Sophie kept her eyes focused on the strong set of his jaw and the perfect bridge of his nose.
“Oh! Can I see now?” Travis said, jumping out of the car.
Sophie looked at Kristen for permission, and Kristen rolled her eyes. “Go for it.”
Sophie lowered her hand, and Travis gasped. “That’s disgusting. How awesome!”
“Not my sentiment, but I’m glad you think so.”
Drake rewrapped the towel, making it tighter and applying more pressure. He leaned close to her ear, his warm breath cresting over her skin. “No more blood. You can look.” She turned her head, catching his eye. The ache in her finger was lost to the memorizing blue depths of his eyes. Someone cleared their throat, and he broke his gaze. “Okay, we need to get you to the office.” He rested his hand on her shoulder. “Kristen, thank you so much.”
“You both would do it for me. Go fix our girl up.”
Sophie internally cringed at the our girl comment and made a mental note to give Kristen hell for that one.
“After pizza, I’ll bring Charlotte back to my place, so when you’re done you can just swing by and get her. Keep me posted and Soph.”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t bleed on his interior.”
If Sophie wasn’t afraid of dripping blood everywhere, she would have thrown her hands in the air. “That’s what I said.”
“It’ll be fine.”
Drake stopped at the passenger side window, said a few things to Charlotte, then with a ruffle of hair he guided Sophie despite her reservations to his car.
“What if I get blood on your seat?”
“It’s leather; it’ll wipe off.”
“What if I get blood on the carpet?” Blood would no doubt stain, and she didn’t think she’d be able to get it clean no matter how much she scrubbed.
“I’ll get it detailed.”
“You have an answer for everything.”
“I do, so let’s not sit here going through the entire list. We’re wasting time.”
Defeated, Sophie slid into Drake’s car, praying she didn’t leave a mess behind.
Chapter 9
Drake drove just slightly over the speed limit toward the office. He didn’t want to give the sheriff any reason to pull him over. Matt Hayes was a friend, but they had already wasted enough time. Not that Sophie was going to bleed out and die if he didn’t stitch her up right this second. Still, he’d feel better knowing she was taking care of and one step closer to healing.
He pulled into the parking lot and right to the curb. Before Sophie could get her seatbelt off, he was out of the car and opening her door.
She held her hand tightly against her chest and attempted to get out of the car with no hands.
“You can let go of your hand,” he said.
“And risk dripping blood on your tan interior? No, thank you.”
“You really have an issue with my interior.”
“I just don’t like leaving a mess, especially one I don’t know if I’d be able to clean myself, so just let me do my thing.”
“And what exactly is that?”
“Use my nonexistent leg muscles to pull myself out of this car.”
He stepped back and watched as she turned her body and pushed up with her knees. She stood, body wavering for only a second before she caught her balance. “See all good and blood free.”
“Now let’s hope you don’t bleed on my freshly cleaned carpets.”
Her eyes widened, and she spun to him. “What?”
“I’m kidding!”
“That was not funny.”
“Not that I’m giving you permission to bleed on my carpets, but if you do, there’s no worry. I actually have to schedule a cleaning, anyway. Stop worrying.”
“Fine. Lead the way, doc.”
Drake took his keys out and opened the front door, stepping back to let Sophie in. Once inside, he moved to flip the lights on. It took a minute for the overhead fluorescents to hit their full potential.
“This way,” he said, moving with determination through the waiting room. He opened the door that led to his office and the exam rooms and waited for Sophie to pass. Even with a bloody towel and stained pants, she looked beautiful and even more so wrapped in his sweatshirt.
Why hadn’t he called her again? Not that he didn’t know the answer. His sister became his number one priority, and everything else got put on the back burner. So much good that did. Laura died anyway, despite all the strings he pulled to get her seen by the best doctors in the country.
He shook the depressing thoughts from his mind and focused on the task at hand. It was why he had been a good trauma surgeon. He worked well under pressure and was able to compartmentalize his thoughts and push everything other than his patient to the back of his mind.
He guided Sophie to a chair and rested her arm on a table. “Let’s get rid of this.” He unwrapped her hand from the dish towel and tossed it in the trash.
“I’ll buy you a new towel,” she said, and he laughed.
“You don’t need to buy me a new towel.”
He gathered the supplies he would need and sat down across from Sophie. After pulling on a pair of latex gloves, he cleaned the area and got a better look. “Looks like three stitches and you’ll be good.”
“I thought you said one or two.” A smile spread across her face, and he loved how she still joked even though she was injured.
“And it is. Two and one for good luck.” He winked at her and spun around in his chair. He turned back with the needle in hand. Sophie’s eyes widened in horror.
“I didn’t know I had to get a shot.”
“It’s a local anesthetic to help with your comfort.”
“You know how I hate blood?” she asked, her eyes still steady on his and nowhere near glancing down at her cut.
“Uh huh.”
“I hate needles more. Like a lot.”
Her face paled, and he reached across the table, cupping her cheek. “I told you to trust me.”
“Oh, I can trust you that doesn’t mean I want you stabbing me.” He laughed, and her lip curled. “This is so not funny.”
“Sorry, it’s just someone who can handle a gaggle of children, I didn’t think there’d be much that could scare you.”
“Did you just say a gaggle of children?”
His lip quirked, and he blinked up at her, already having the needle in place. “I did.”
She laughed at he pressed the needle into the area. He capped the needle and tossed it into the trash. When he turned back, a confused look took over Sophie’s features. “Didn’t you have to…”
“I already did.”
“Wait. What? When?”
“When you were laughing. As a doctor, I’ve learned a few tricks over the years. The anticipation is always worse than the actual shot.”
“You tricked me!” Her voice went up an octave which he found adorable.
“I distracted you.”
“You think you’re so clever, don’t you?”
“Sometimes. But now I can stitch you up. You going to watch?”
“While I’d love to admire your work, I think I’ll pass.”
“I can turn the TV on to distract you.”
She bit her lip, eyes meeting his. “You seemed to do a pretty good job of it on your own.”
“Okay then.” He scooted closer, examining her finger and deciding the best place to start. He wanted to minimize scaring, so when it healed there’d be little to no evidence of the mishap.
“You’re taking too long to distract me, so I’ll start. What brought you to Red Maple Falls?”
Sweet on Sophie ( (A Red Maple Falls Novel, #11) Page 6
