“Hey Tina, this is Gillian Tucker. She’s got an appointment with Dr. Bell.”
Tina beamed Blake a bright smile. Her eyes went soft on him. Gillian waited for the flirty giggle. Yep, there it was when Blake smiled back. Gillian waited for him to flirt back, but he laid his hand over hers on the counter. Tina caught the move and looked from Gillian to Blake and back.
Gillian slipped her hand free, understanding why the woman gave her a look that said she didn’t get it. What the hell did a gorgeous man like Blake want with a beat-up nobody like her?
“Uh, take her into room four. Dr. Bell will be right in. There’s a gown. Ties in back so she can check your injuries.”
“Thanks.” Blake took Gillian’s hand and led her to the room down the short hall. “Here you go.”
She walked in, and he closed the door. Good, she didn’t need to ask him to leave and have yet another awkward conversation.
She pulled off her shirt. The crisscross stitches on her back made it impossible for her to wear a bra, so she’d opted for a tank top. She stripped that off, too. She unwrapped the bandage on her wrist and flexed her fingers. Her hand didn’t really hurt anymore. She tore apart the straps on her leg brace and slid it down her leg. Pants piled with her other clothes, she pulled on the gown, left the back open, and sat on the table, waiting.
Blake knocked on the door, opened it a crack without looking in, and asked, “You decent?”
“Not really.”
He walked in and found her with her hands braced on the table, one leg dangling off the edge, the other stretched out to avoid bending her knee. Her head hung between her shoulders, her gaze on her purple sock with the hole in the toe. Her favorite pair, but she’d have to toss them out now that she had new ones.
“Go away. Wait in the other room.”
“Not a chance.” He pulled up the chair and sat in front of her. He reached out to touch her swollen and bruised knee. She grabbed his wrist to stop him. Their eyes locked. “That looks bad.”
His warm hand settled on her skin. Her hand remained locked on his wrist, but she didn’t push him away.
“It all looks bad.” She removed his hand, unable to bear the sweet touch. She wanted more, and wanting more was dangerous for both of them.
He set it on his corded thigh and leaned in close.
“Really, you don’t need to be here for this. I can take care of myself.”
“I promised. No way the doc comes near you with a needle when I’m around.” He leaned back and settled into the squeaking chair.
She hated the doctor’s office. The hospital stay had nearly driven her insane. Every five minutes someone jabbed a needle in her somewhere, or poked and prodded everything that hurt. She just wanted to grit her teeth and get this done without any witnesses.
“Gillian, are you okay?”
He must have read the fear she couldn’t hide the longer she stayed here.
“No. I’m not okay. Get out. I’m practically naked.” She didn’t want him here. She didn’t want him to see her like this.
“I can see that.” He gave her an appreciative smile as he looked at her from the top of her head down to her purple socked feet. “I have to say it’s making me a little nervous. I mean, we just met and all.” He tried to tease her out of her fear. “Women have a tendency to lose their clothes around me, but I’m usually the one to help them out of them. For some reason, with you, I want to bundle you up and keep you safe. That’s not to say that I don’t want you naked. You understand?”
“Oh, I’ve got the picture. I don’t sleep around. I’m nothing like my mother, so just get that out of your head.”
“Whoa, I never said or thought anything of the sort. You’re a beautiful woman, Gillian.”
“Right.” She swept her hands up and down her body to indicate the many injuries.
“Yes. Right. You’ve got more strength and perseverance than anyone I’ve ever met. I admire you. I like you. And yes, I want you. But that’s not why I’m here. In the truck, on the way here, you seemed fine, but the closer we got, the more you trembled. Look at you, holding your hands so tight together your fingers must ache. You don’t want to be here. Your legs are shaking. You’re terrified, so I’m going to sit here and distract you the best I can, because you need to see the doctor. I’ll hold your hand through the whole thing, and then I’ll take you out of this place. I promise.”
He reached for her, placing both his big hands over hers. She gave in to his kindness and warmth and turned her hands to grip his. He turned her hand and examined her wrist. “Is it better?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Good.”
The doctor walked in with a tray filled with instruments. Gillian shifted to bolt. Blake squeezed her hands to still her and silently let her know with his eyes filled with sympathy that she wasn’t alone.
“Hi, Gillian, I’m Dr. Bell. I’ve gone over your medical records, and your last doctor sent the MRI of your knee injury and the X-ray for your arm. How are you feeling today? Are the meds helping with your pain level?”
“Her meds got burned in a fire. She needs new prescriptions for everything,” Blake answered for her. “She’s in agony. You’ve got to do something.”
“Okay, I’ll take care of the prescriptions. How is your vision out of that left eye?”
“Back to normal. The swelling is gone. The bruises look nasty, but I can see.”
“Great. Let’s take a look at your knee first, then I’ll check your back and arms.”
Blake moved out of Gillian’s way but never stopped holding her hands.
Dr. Bell gently touched her knee, testing her mobility, or lack thereof. Gillian hissed in pain when it bent too much. Blake brushed his fingers up her arm, trying to comfort her.
“This looks good, Gillian. Healing nicely. I’ve got a smaller brace you can use. It should make it easier for you to walk. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful and stay off it as much as possible.” Dr. Bell gently put Gillian’s leg back on the table. “Do you need help rolling over so I can see the stitches on your back and legs?”
Blake stood to help Gillian shift and turn over. He pulled the gown down to cover her front, though her ass hung out the back. He hissed in a sharp breath when he got a good look at the cuts and gashes.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen someone with this many stitches. Any one cut bothering you more than another?” the doctor asked.
“The one down my thigh. I think it’s just irritated because I have no choice but to sit on it. It itches.”
“You’re in luck. Most of these look good. We can take the stitches out. That should help. A couple on your back need to stay.”
Dr. Bell got to work, quickly removing stitches from many of the cuts, including two of the lines up her scalp. Blake remained a gentleman and stayed by her head and held her hands, telling her to breathe when she held her breath to ward off the pain. He only peeked at her ass once when she winced at a particularly stubborn stitch that didn’t want to come out.
“Okay, Gillian, you’re doing great. The bruising is healing, though I bet your muscles ache.”
“The spasms are the worst.”
“The meds will help. We’ll get you those before you leave. Let’s have a look at your arms.”
Gillian rolled over her good leg and Blake helped her sit up. The swelling in her broken arm had decreased considerably, leaving a huge gap between her arm and the cast.
“We’ll need to cut the cast off and redo it. There’s some swelling, but it looks like it’s gone down quite a bit.” Dr. Bell tested her other hand. “Any pain or tenderness when you flex it?”
“No.”
“Looks good. You don’t need the bandage, but be cautious using your hand. You don’t want to strain it again. Go ahead and get dressed, then we’ll get you a new cast. It will stabilize y
our wrist and help the bone heal and lessen the pain.”
The doctor rummaged through the cabinet under the sink and pulled out the new, much smaller brace. Gillian would still have limited range of motion, but at least she’d be able to walk more normally.
Blake never left her side, but he did turn his back when she got dressed. He accompanied her into the other room to get her new cast and picked out the new color. Green. “It won’t show the dirt and grass stains when you work with Boots.” Steady, he silently let her know he was there for her, whatever she needed. It touched her deeply. No one had ever been there for her.
They left the clinic with her new meds and went to find her grandparents and Justin in the parking lot. He kept her fingers in his hand and slowed his pace to accommodate her hurt knee. She didn’t say anything. She just went with him. It felt good to hold his hand and walk beside him. And damnit, she wanted to hold on to the light feeling she had when he touched her.
Gillian sat beside Blake in the truck, feeling closer to him than when they drove into town. Her grandparents and Blake waited outside the school while she and Justin went into the office and signed all the paperwork. Gillian walked Justin to his classroom and knocked on the door. His teacher stood at a table, setting out papers, brushes, and paints for an art project.
“Hello, Miss Crane. I’m Gillian Tucker. This is my brother, Justin. He’ll be joining your class on Monday.”
“Hello, Justin. Welcome.”
“Hi. Can I look at all the toys?”
“Sure you can. I’ll just have a few words with your sister.”
Gillian smiled when Justin ran off and touched everything he could get his hands on.
“So, will this be his first school experience?”
“No. He attended school in San Francisco. I’ve given all the information to the office. I just stopped by so he could meet you and know where he needs to go on Monday.”
“I’m glad you did. Looks like he’s already settled in.”
Yes, Justin settled in just fine. She was taking a bit longer.
“Are you okay? Were you in an accident?” Miss Crane asked.
“I’m fine. I hit a car.”
Miss Crane’s eyes narrowed on Gillian’s beat-up face. Gillian didn’t want to answer a bunch of questions, so she said, “Justin, come now. It’s time to go. You’ll get to play all you want on Monday.”
“There’s a green and yellow lizard in that tank and stick bugs in the other,” he said, skipping over to her and wrapping his arm around her leg.
“Awesome.”
“Well, I’ll see you Monday, Justin. I’m glad you stopped by. We’re going to have lots of fun learning this year. You’ll like the other kids. We’ve got a bunch of boys for you to play with and a huge play set outside with two slides and swings and monkey bars.”
“Way cool.”
“Gillian, are you and Justin ready to go?” Blake asked, stepping up beside her.
“Blake, I never expected to see you here,” Miss Crane said.
“Gillian and Justin are my boss’s grandkids. I’m looking out for them.”
“Let’s hope you do a better job with them than you did with my sister.” Miss Crane looked Gillian up and down. “Though she already looks worse off than Abigail.”
“Nice to see you, too,” Blake bit out. He took Gillian’s hand and gently tugged. “Let’s go. Dee and Bud are waiting.”
Gillian waited until they were back at the parking lot. “What was that about?”
Blake looked down at Justin. “Nothing. She’s my ex’s sister. Things didn’t end well, and she’s looking out for her family. That’s all.”
No, that wasn’t all. “Does this have something to do with you daring someone, like Mandy said in the store?”
“Leave it alone, Gillian.”
Blake dropped her hand, scooped up Justin, plunked him on his shoulders, and walked the last twenty feet to the truck. He’d stopped talking to her, but asked Justin, “Did you like your teacher?”
“She’s nice. She’s got a lizard and some bugs in tanks.”
“Impressive.”
Gillian didn’t know what land mine she’d stepped on, but she’d try to avoid it in the future. They rehashed her past ad nauseam, but his remained off limits. His not sharing made her nervous. If his past relationships had turned out so badly, maybe considering something with him wasn’t a good idea.
All the way home, Justin talked with Blake about his teacher and the cool stuff in his classroom. Blake kept his patience and listened even when Justin repeated himself.
Thanks to the pain meds and muscle relaxers, she dozed off in the truck on the ride home, her head propped against Blake’s shoulder, thinking the trip to town turned out okay despite the visit to the doctor.
Blake hated to wake her, not when she looked so sweet cuddled up to his arm. Still, he couldn’t sit in the truck with her all night. Dee and Bud had already unloaded and taken everything inside.
“Gillian, sweetheart, wake up.” He touched his finger to her cheek. She came awake with a start and pulled away, hands up to defend herself, her eyes huge, but they softened on him.
“It’s just me,” he assured her.
“Hey. Sorry I fell asleep on you.”
“You need it. I’ll walk you up to the house before I tend the horses. Dinner’s in an hour.”
“But you said we’d give Boots a bath.”
“We can do it tomorrow.”
“No. He needs it. Besides, he’s my responsibility now. I need to check on him and make sure he eats.”
“Gillian, you’re wiped out.”
“It’s just the meds. I feel better. The pain has subsided. Really. Come on.” She waved her hand to get him to move out of her way so she could get out of the truck. “Where is Justin?”
“Inside. Dee’s making him a snack, then he asked to watch TV.”
“He loves TV.”
“Who doesn’t?” Blake took her by the waist and lifted her down from the truck seat. He took her hand again and walked with her to the stables and straight to Boots’s door. The horse remained guarded, standing against the back wall, but when he spotted Gillian, he walked to the gate. She reached for him and gave him a pet down his long neck.
“There’s my huge boy.”
“I’ve been right here waiting for you,” Ken said from behind them.
Blake turned and glared, putting himself between Gillian and Ken. “Take that horse out to its owner in the practice ring,” Blake ordered.
“I’m on my way, boss. No harm saying hello to the pretty lady, now, is there?”
“Do your job.”
“Doing it . . . even if you’re not,” Ken added under his breath, but Blake heard him, like Ken meant for him to hear it. Ken walked the horse out of the stables.
Blake turned back, but didn’t see Gillian. He glanced over the gate and found her picking stickers and thistles from Boots’s coat. He grabbed an empty bucket and two brushes and went into the stall with her. Boots shied and blocked Gillian from him.
“Hey now, you’re okay. Blake won’t hurt you,” she cooed to the spooked horse.
Blake hoped someday soon she’d believe that statement. He moved in slowly, letting the horse see he wasn’t going to hurt him. He and Gillian worked side by side, pulling every last sticker from his patchwork of hair, mane, and tail.
Blake slid a new halter over Boots’s head. Ken poked his head over the stall door. The horse caught the movement and sidestepped, pushing Blake back two steps and nearly sending Gillian to the ground. Ken only had eyes for her. “Hey baby, you need to be careful with these big guys.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Want some help?”
“Thanks, but I’ve got all the muscle I need,” she said, stepping closer to Blake’s si
de.
Blake had to admit he liked her style. She handled Ken with simple and vague answers, and now she’d gone and implied all she needed was Blake. He’d take it, even if she just wanted to get Ken to back off.
Gillian took Boots’s halter and led him to the door. “Back up. He’s shy.”
“I’d love to take you to dinner tonight and get to know you better,” Ken said.
Blake wanted to step in, but held his tongue.
“I already have plans.”
“With who? Him?” Ken nodded his head in Blake’s direction.
“With my family. Excuse me. I have work to do.”
Ken smacked his palm against the gate. “Maybe another time.” He walked away when she didn’t say anything more.
“Thanks,” she said.
“For what?” Blake asked.
“Letting me handle that. Maybe now he’ll let it go.”
He didn’t think so. “You are having dinner with me, you know?”
“Yep. I know.”
She unlatched the gate and led Boots down the aisle to the concrete pad they used to wash down the horses. Blake grabbed the hose.
“Hold his head. I’ll wash him down. If he rears up, back out of the way as fast as you can.”
Gillian snuggled her cheek against Boots’s nose. “He’s not going to do anything of the sort.”
Blake made short work of washing down Boots, who stayed perfectly still as long as Gillian kept talking sweet to him. Blake grew more aroused by the minute as her hot gaze raked over every inch of his body as he worked. She liked his arms. Every time he flexed, her eyes zeroed in on them. He’d even caught her sweep the tip of her tongue across her bottom lip. The sexy as hell move nearly sent him to his knees to beg her to put him out of his misery. He’d never wash another horse again without thinking about her in those tight jeans and T-shirt with no bra to hide her tight nipples from his view. Just watching him move made her aroused. He desperately wanted to get his hands on her. God, how he wanted her.
“Come on, let’s put him back in his warm stall, and I’ll show you how to feed him,” Blake said.
It took Gillian a full five seconds to tear her eyes off his chest and meet his gaze. He smiled, and she sighed. Yep, she was as lost as he was in this thing between the two of them.
When It's Right Page 13
