“Ugh! My leg, it’s hurting so bad.” Sabra reached in the direction of her injury making sure not to actually aggravate it again. “Colson, please, I need your help.”
He rushed over. “That’s it, you two, out!” he yelled at Danny and Bronwyn.
“But I have a nightgown and hair bonnet for her hair,” Bronwyn protested.
“I’ll find it in that store full of bags you had Danny drag in here. Now both of you—out!”
“Fine,” the woman huffed. “We’ll be in the front when you’re settled. I need to speak with Sabra privately about something.”
Colson looked at Sabra who’d forgotten to keep up her charade of great pain. His subconscious question flashed in her knowing as Sabra gave him a nod.
“All right, fine. Once I’m sure she’s ready to receive visitors you can come back in, but only if she’s ready.”
“Good, that’s all I ask. In the meantime, I’ll make you two plates from the food we brought over.”
“Bron, where is your husband? Don’t you need to feed him? I told you I’d make sure to feed her,” he said indicating Sabra.
“I know. It’s not your patient I’m worried about. When’s the last time you ate, hmm?” Bronwyn allowed an accusatory glance to take him in before closing the door behind her.
When they were alone in the room, Colson eyed her and said, “Thank you. I know what you did.”
“I didn’t do anything but ask for proper medical care from my physician.”
He winced at that.
“Cole, what’s wrong? Did I say something?”
He smiled as if to erase his previous slip. “About that. I don’t want you thinking of me as your doctor. I’m just Cole. Please, can you do that for me?”
“Yeah, for sure. I don’t understand, though. Why is that a problem? You did treat me. I am your patient right now, aren’t I?”
He looked down.
“Cole? Answer me, please?”
“No, you’re not my patient—never my patient.”
“Then what? Am I a charity case you decided to take pity on?” Sabra didn’t understand where the hurt and anger came from, but there was no denying his stance pissed her off.
This time when he looked at her, there was a hunger and vulnerability Sabra had never seen before. Her breath caught in response to the raw emotion. She waited, not sure what to say or how to act at the moment.
“You’ll never be a charity case to me.” The way his voice dropped had Sabra’s body aching to inch closer. “I still expect that coffee date you promised me. As a doctor in good standing, I don’t date my patients. Thus, you’ll never be my patient. Understand?”
The air in the room offered no support. Flat and void of the aromatherapy she’d become used to, Sabra sucked in deep searching for the non-existent support.
Pitiful was the best word to describe how equipped she was to handle the direction of this conversation.
Embarrassment and shock at hearing his words forced her to blurt out, “Cole, I’m not sure you understand—”
“No, Bria, please let me finish. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to keep Bronwyn from bursting in on us. She’s gung-ho on getting her hands on you, like I can’t take care of my own ma—uh—house guest.”
For the first time, Colson looked like he wasn’t in charge of the world. The look was endearing in a refreshing way. So, he didn’t have it all together. Sabra drew strength from seeing his vulnerability. That strength fueled a new burst of courage that was enough for her to reach out and clasp his hand.
Choosing to ignore his bold statement about coffee from earlier, she said, “Here, help me up. I have to go to the bathroom. Plus, it’s time I get dressed. There are visitors, and I want to be ready to receive them.”
He gave her a knowing look before speaking again. Once he appeared to have his next words ready, Colson said, “Good but on one condition.”
“Yeah, what is it?”
“Since she’s here, you allow Bronwyn to help you in and out of the bathroom. She knows all the crap in those bags and can help you with your bath.”
“I’m fine, and I don’t know her. Didn’t we just have a conversation about an invasion of privacy?”
“Yes, but when it comes to medical recovery, privacy must take a back seat. You could slip and fall, lose consciousness, or any number of things that can happen when you haven’t been on your feet in days.” He gave her another one of those looks he got when Colson wanted to show how serious he was. “Bria, you had a concussion and blunt trauma to the back of your head. You’ve got stitches.”
“What? You never said anything about stitches.”
A sheepish look shrouded his face. “I thought I did.”
“Where are they and what did you do to my hair?” Now, Sabra wanted to investigate what he’d done. Her fingers probed the back of her head to find what felt like a snug bandage at the left back of her nape, behind her ear. When she gingerly ran the tip of a finger over the site, Sabra asked, “Did you shave my head?”
“Only the area of impact. I had to clear and clean the area.”
Fresh anger sprouted. “Colson, you shaved the back of my head. Do you know how hard it is to maintain a proper kitchen with natural hair as it is? Boy, I ought to—”
“Bria,” he said in warning. “Would you have rather I kept the hair and let you die?”
The “D” word stopped her in her tracks. Sabra didn’t play around when it came to her life and talk of death. She’d always had a healthy respect for the mystery.
Not needing to think it over, she replied with a bit of contrition, “My apologies. Thank you for saving my life.”
Instead of gloat like she would have, he leaned down and placed a light kiss on her forehead.
“No need to thank me. You have enough stitches from your head injury that I advise you to take it easy with the walking and your balance. You seem to forget your torn hamstring is going to make it hard to maneuver around.”
“Oh, yeah, that.”
Colson added in a doctor-y voice, “You should take a shower with a chair instead of a submersion bath to start. No shampooing your hair for a few days. For now, I’ll get you to and from the bathroom. Bronwyn can help you while you’re in there. Will that work for you?”
“How do you know she’ll be up for that?”
“Because she’s been eavesdropping for the last few minutes.” Colson raised his voice, “Isn’t that right, Mrs. Kelnar?”
“Well, damn,” the short woman said coming back into the room.
Close behind was Danny with two trays of food.
The bossy little woman said, “Before we get Sabra into the bathroom, I want both of you to eat something.” Then to sell her point, Bronwyn added, “I promise to go back up front until you call for me the next time—if you eat.”
“Deal,” Colson said before Sabra could answer.
“Toodles!” Bronwyn was a little too chipper for Sabra’s taste.
Sabra didn’t know the woman, but she did know when she was being handled. Bronwyn wanted her to do something. What? That was the question.
Sabra accepted the bowl of what turned out to be tasty chicken soup with plenty of crusty bread to dip and took a bite. She watched the other woman almost bounce down the hallway with satisfaction until Danny closed the door behind him.
She dove in shoveling spoonfuls of the hearty dish. It took a few moments for her to slow down enough to savor the flavor. Her eyes closed with satiable satisfaction. The buttery bread gave the soup a fullness that rounded out the feeling of comfort that she’d needed so badly. Sabra was about to take another big bite when she felt the unmistakable attention of Colson. One eye opened to check her assessment.
Colson sat in the chair next to the bed, food untouched, and eyes locked on her.
With all the excitement of the morning, Sabra had avoided the conversation from earlier—the one that Colson looked like he wanted to continue.
“Yes?” sh
e asked, deciding to be the grownup she had to be.
Colson still hadn’t touched his food, and it was starting to make her look like a gluttonous pig. Sabra pushed the internal put down out of her mind and waited. The silence between them stretched out until a long moment passed. His expressionless face offered no clue about what he’d say or do next.
His voice held a pleasant but distant quality to it as he spoke. “Nothing. Are you finished with your meal?”
“Uh—no.” Sabra didn’t like the look souring his handsome facial features. “Why?”
Colson eyed the food. “Just know that it’s all coming back out in about a half-hour, at that.” He eyed the partially eaten bowl of soup resting at a crooked angle on her good leg. Without waiting for her to ask if he meant she’d have to go to the toilet he spoke up. “Yes, I mean after two days of liquids your body is going into shock trying to digest that food. I suggest you be ready for the aftermath. It’s appropriate for the perpetrator of this event to be present. I told her I would feed you. Looks like she thought she knew best.” Colson made an almost inaudible hmph and added, “Yep, I’ll send Bronwyn in to help you with your—bath and getting dressed.”
Without warning, he stood. Sabra’s mouth hung open as he turned and left the room. The gentle snick of the door closing behind him was the only trance breaker. Sabra sat in the bed alone as a ball of confusing emotions roiled within.
“Well, damn, indeed.” The mumbled words managed to tumble out of her despite her confusion.
12
Cole
“You Dragons need to take a course on courting.”
Danny scratched his head and tossed a sympathetic look at Colson. “I don’t know, man. I think you might be worse than Mac at this.”
Colson stabbed a fork at the choice cut of rare steak Danny had put in front of him, demanding he eat something.
“Keep your voice down.” He looked back in the direction of the hallway to the medical suite. “What do you know about Dragon mating, Wolfman?”
“Hey, watch it there, Bruh. I know that Mac almost didn’t mate with Bron over some crazy, messed up Dragon rationalizing.” Danny’s drawl increased. He leaned in. “I didn’t want to say nothing, but you’re going to blow it with your lady if you don’t start acting like a man ready to win his mate.”
Colson didn’t like how the werewolf shifter, who had been welcomed into the Kelnar family, seemed to be more right than wrong in a lot of things—including this.
“What do you mean, ready to win a mate? Why do you think I’m having a problem with that?”
“Tell me I’m wrong.”
Another stab at the juicy meat did nothing to dissolve the discomfort of Danny picking up on his predicament. Trying to save face, Colson threw back at him, “How do you know if Bria is interested?”
The smack of the facepalm Danny made did little to bolster Colson’s confidence. “I know because she wasn’t looking for a way out of here. Don’t you think that if she weren’t into you, she’d be so chill about staying here alone with you?”
“She’s here because of her medical care. She only sees me as her doctor.”
“Nah, I ain’t buying that. I saw the way she pretended to be hurt to get us out of there. She’s into you real deep. That’s obvious by the way she wanted to both get Bronwyn off your case and be alone with you. She cares enough to take on a Brownie-Fairie trying to get her help on. If that doesn’t shout that she’s into you, I don’t know what does.”
“No, she was overstimulated by all the antics. And, she’s not used to Bron’s inability to take no for an answer when she’s in her helper mode.”
“Don’t try to shit a bullshitter.” Danny went over to the fridge and opened it like he lived here. “Hey, you want a brew?”
“No, and get out of my refrigerator.”
The other man grabbed two long-necks. Colson watched as he twisted the cap off one and took his time draining the contents down to less than half-full. Danny sauntered back over to the kitchen counter where he plopped the other down next to Colson’s plate.
“Said I didn’t want one. Got to stay sharp while Bria is recovering.”
“Right,” the long drawl elongated the word to obnoxious proportions. “That’s the only reason you’re refusing an ice-cold brew and a magnificent rib-eye with all the fixings.” The eye-down Danny threw his way sold the utter disbelief riding the man’s features.
“I said what I meant.”
“Okay. Well, how about you snap out of this, this weirdo version of Colson? The man I know is as smooth as a baby’s butt after a baby-oil rub down. You’ve got to step back from this to get a better view. That lady in there is wanting a reason to stick around.”
“How do you know?”
“Has she asked for a transfer to another doctor?”
“No,” Colson didn’t want to betray Sabra’s confidence that she might only be here because she didn’t have medical insurance.
“Aha!” Danny’s eyes did that thing when he was super excited about something. “That’s all the proof you need. Don’t you think a lady like her would want to be around someone she trusted with her medical care? Dang it if you ain’t turned every which way but up.” Danny paused to give Colson a good once over. “She. Trusts. You.”
“You’re grasping at straws to make this deeper than it goes. She’s just taking advantage of the medical care I’m offering.”
“Has she asked for her phone yet?”
Colson took a pause to think. “No, but she did try to reach for it as soon as she came too.”
“But has she tried to get away from here since then? Hmm? Don’t burst a blood vessel trying to answer that one.”
“I think you’ve been around my cocky cousin too long. You’re starting to act a little too much like him.”
“Nope, don’t give Mac my shine. This is all me baby, and I think you need to listen up before you miss out.”
“Aside from your hipster take on my love life, there’s something you haven’t taken into consideration.”
Danny leaned over the counter as if waiting for a piece of a juicy secret. “Which is?”
“She’s been on heavy pain meds since Friday night.”
“It’s only midday Sunday. She’s young. I’m sure those drugs wore off a while ago.”
Colson’s hands flew up in the air in disbelief. “Why does everyone in this family try to out doctor me?”
“See, man, that’s what I’m talking about. You’re too high strung. Cole, dude, you have got to open up and relax a bit. You’re too serious and tense. You don’t have to be in doctor mode all the time. Everything can’t be perfect and the exact way you want it. Maybe we’re right when it comes to you.”
Defensiveness propelled Colson’s reply. “I’m not uptight or tense.”
“Oh no? You don’t know everything about everything. She can feel all your shifting emotions. You really suck at hiding them.”
“How are you so sure about what I’m feeling?”
“Uh, dude, she’s in the mating thrall too, and don’t forget—werewolf with superior senses here.” Danny cast a cheesy, confident smile to sell the point.
“Top apex predator Dragon here,” Colson deadpanned. “See, I can do it too.”
Danny looked at the punctured piece of meat and untouched sides in front of Colson. “Then why aren’t you eating? Looks like that little lady has slain your Dragon, and not in a good way.”
“I just need to continue our conversation, and everything will be out there—for both of us.” The cocked eyebrow on the werewolf’s face was enough for Colson to know he didn’t agree with his approach. “What?”
“You have to ask? Cole, you two are locked into the mating thrall, and you’re trying to reason and logic your way through it.” The other man shook his head in a bit of pity. “That’s fucked up. The thrall is going to whip your ass and spit you out.”
“She doesn’t want to talk about my feelings for her. She’s skirte
d the issue twice.”
“Because you’re trying to vomit your mating hunger all over her.” Danny seemed to realize the graphic rawness of his words and walked them back a smidgen. “I mean, you’re coming in too hot and fast. You’ve got to finesse the situation and be more relatable.”
“I’m not campaigning for political office. This is my life you’re so flippant with.”
“Cool down, Doc. I’m saying you need to walk back your presentation a bit. Like maybe not be Mr. Perfect as usual. Come on, must your hair and clothes be so perfect?”
“There’s nothing wrong with being presentable and well-groomed.
“On a Sunday? Dude, no one’s around here but y’all. Why don’t you give the hair grooming a break for at least a day? Relax and let her see the real you.”
“I can’t see how my falling into a disheveled mess will have any impact on connecting with Bria on a deeper level.”
“Maybe not,” the other man scratched his chin, “but I bet if you showed her how you understand what she’s dealing with as you talked to her, things would turn around.” Danny took in a loud breath and waited as if searching for the right words to say. “How can I break this down so even a Dragon can understand?” He took another pause to make sure his prayer was answered, and he started again. “Let’s come at this from a different direction. What I’m trying to say is that you need to see this from her perspective. Come at it from where she’s been and currently is.”
“We just met. How am I supposed to know how to do that without a background investigation?”
“You really are clueless,” Danny said more in amazement to himself than to Colson.
“Watch it.”
“You don’t have to go all stalker on her. Start with what you know. Hell, even I can see some blaring signs of where to start.”
Colson couldn’t help but take the bait. “Like what?”
“Like her work situation. What does a young woman do for income when her main source is gone? Colson,” Danny said as if trying to pull a great treasure out of him. “I don’t know much about her situation. What I do know is that a young lady doesn’t relish having to pack up her company in the wee hours of the night. She's got to be feeling a little uncertainty, stress, or worse overwhelm.”
Dragon’s Curvy Patient Page 14
