There was no answer when he knocked on her door. He tried three times before he called her name. Finally, he opened the door a crack and listened for the shower running. Nothing. He called again then stuck his head in to look. Cass wasn’t there. First thing in the morning he was going to confront her when she showed up for her PT session with Flora.
A short time later Lyle turned to go through the gate leading to his cottage when he saw a dark shadow of a person down the way. They were sitting on the fence. Who was it? He was acquainted with most people around here but didn’t recognize this person. The locals knew better than to sit outside at this time of year. His conscience wouldn’t allow him to go home without first checking on the stranger.
He didn’t wish to scare whoever it was, so he approached slowly. Still, there was no movement. Were they so deep in their thoughts they didn’t hear him walking up? He stepped closer. He still couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. The person didn’t move. He went nearer, close enough he could touch them. Just as he was about to, they turned and looked at him. Cass! He had assumed she was safely in the castle somewhere, if not already back in her room. He would have never thought she might wander out into the night and cold. What had possessed her to come outside?
All she wore was a thin jacket. Her hands were shoved into her pockets. She wasn’t dressed adequately for this weather. She should have on a woolly hat and scarf and a thicker jacket. “What’re you doing here?”
She looked away, toward the last of the dying light.
“Are you okay? It’s much too cold to be sitting here.”
“I had to get out. I’ve been cooped up in a hospital for weeks. I needed some fresh air.” Her words were so soft he leaned forward to hear them.
Lyle glanced in the direction she was looking and saw nothing that should hold her attention. He could only guess that her thoughts were so deep she had no idea what danger she was in. Could she even find her way back to the castle?
But first things first. “How long have you been out here?”
It took a moment before she answered, “I don’t know.”
Had frostbite started? He needed to get her out of the cold.
“Why’re you here, Doctor?” Her voice sounded stronger.
That was encouraging. Much more like herself than her first few words. He pointed. “I live just down the lane there.”
“Oh.” Cass glanced over her shoulder then shrugged as if disinterested.
“I went to your room looking for you during dinner. I thought by now you would’ve come out of hiding and gone to your room for the night, prepared to ignore any knock on your door.” He took a seat beside her.
This time she really looked at him. “What gave you that idea?”
“The expression on your face when I told you that you’d be expected for dinner in the dining room. I guessed you weren’t planning to come. However, I didn’t expect you to run outside to get away.”
She pursed her lips and nodded. “Yeah, I don’t think I’m gonna make those communal meals. And I’m not running away.”
“We’re not going to discuss that now. What we need to do is get you inside and warmed up.” He stood.
Cass didn’t move. Instead, her attention went to the sky once more. “Don’t worry about me. I’m all right.”
Lyle’s brows drew together. He was sure she didn’t appreciate the full effect of his reaction because of the dim lighting. “So you’re knowledgeable enough about the area that you can get around without getting lost?”
Cass straightened and glared at him. “I work in search and rescue. I assure you I can manage to get myself back to the castle.”
There was spunk in her voice. “That remains to be seen. You’re obviously ignorant of the danger of being out in this weather without adequate clothing. I’m not taking any chances on losing one of our residents to exposure. Right now, you’re going to the closest warm place and that’s my cottage. When you’re defrosted and dry, I’ll walk you back to the castle.”
* * *
It wasn’t until that moment that Cass registered she was bone cold. How long had she been sitting here, staring off into space?
“Come with me. My cottage isn’t far.” He offered his large gloved hand, palm up.
She stared at it a moment. Was she acting crazy, like he already thought she was? Cass took his hand just long enough to slide off the wall. He turned and she trailed after him. They didn’t go far before they entered a small clearing with a two-story stone cottage sitting in the middle. Trees surrounded it. A light over the door was on and another burned brightly in the window. Someone was expecting him.
“Is your wife going to mind you bringing a wayward patient home?”
“If I had one, she wouldn’t mind.” He walked to the door and opened it, then turned and waited for her to enter.
Cass stepped in, giving him room to follow. They stood in a small hallway. He waved a hand toward a room off to one side as he closed the door and began removing his coat. “Go on in and take off your shoes. They must be wet. I’ll have the fire burning in a minute.”
She entered what must be his living area. There was a small couch and a large leather chair situated close to the fireplace. The seat of the chair had a dip in it. It was obviously the doctor’s favorite spot. A lamp and a stack of books sat on the floor beside it. A desk with papers strewn across it was against the wall with a window that faced the front lawn. Behind the desk stood a wooden chair. On the other side were shelves full of haphazardly placed books and a few framed pastoral scenes on the wall. The room had a very masculine feel to it. The man certainly owned his space. Cass found that comforting and reassuring in some odd way.
Lyle soon joined her, minus his outer clothing and shoes. He was in his socked feet, which made him seem even more approachable. “You don’t have your shoes off yet? You need to get that jacket off as well. It looks like it’s soaked through.”
Cass started to remove a boot. “I can tell you spend a lot of time telling people what to do.”
“You can thank my father and time in the army for that.” He pulled a box of matches off the mantel, knelt and lit the fire. It soon came to life. “You really don’t have any idea how long you’ve been outside?”
Cass considered pretending she hadn’t heard the question. She’d gotten lost in her thoughts, her disappointment and grief, but the last thing she wanted to do was confess why she’d been out there. “No, I’m not sure.”
He stood. “You really are going to have to be more careful around here. It’s easy to wander somewhere you shouldn’t. With or without snow.”
Although she hadn’t yet gotten her boot off, Cass removed her coat. It was heavier than usual. He was right. She hadn’t noticed how wet she had become.
The doctor reached for it and she allowed him to take it. Going to the desk, he hung it over the back of the chair, which he then pulled closer to the fire.
“Do you regularly bring patients home to sit by the fire?” She dropped one boot to the floor.
He grinned. It was a nice one. The kind that made her want to return it. “No. I’d have to say you’re the first. But then I only do it for people sitting on my fence who are obviously about to freeze to death.”
Shivering, Cass removed the other boot and let it drop beside the first one.
He pulled a colorful knit throw of orange, browns and tan off the back of the leather chair and draped it over her shoulders. She pulled the edges around her. Warmth filled her immediately. After letting it seep in, she removed her wet socks and spread them on the hearth. With a sigh, she stretched her ice-cold feet out toward the flames. Rubbing her stiff damaged leg, she got comfortable on the small sofa.
“I’ll go and brew a pot for tea.” Lyle started out of the room.
“The English and their tea,” Cass murmured.
“I hear
d that. And I’m Scottish. Not English,” he said with a clipped note.
Cass winced. She’d just been chastised. Her mother would be displeased with Cass for being rude, no matter what the circumstances.
He looked over his shoulder. “I forget you’re American. Would you prefer coffee? I think I have some in the back of the pantry.” He waited, an expectant look on his face.
She mustered a slight smile. “No, tea is fine. You’ve already gone to a lot of trouble for me.”
“No trouble.” He left the room.
While listening to him moving around in another part of the house, Cass laid her head back against the cushion of the sofa and gazed into the flames. The feeling was returning to her feet. She wiggled them. This was nice. The most peaceful she had felt in weeks.
Lyle returned with a small tray. On it were two steaming mugs, a milk jug and a sugar bowl. “Do you take yours with sugar and milk?”
“I don’t know. My coffee I like with both.”
“Then let’s try it that way.” The doctor mixed the ingredients in and handed her a mug.
She wrapped her hands around it, letting the heat seep into her icy fingers.
He sank into his chair with his mug in his hand. The chair fit him perfectly. “How’re you feeling now?”
“Much better. I had no idea how cold and wet I was.”
Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his knees with the mug between his palms. “You really need thicker socks and boots. There’s a good shop in the village for those.”
“My sturdy boots were cut off and discarded when I was taken to the medical tent. I went straight from the tent to the hospital and from the hospital to here. When I can, I’ll buy another pair. And maybe replace my cellphone.” She had said more than she had intended.
His brows went up. “Medical tent? I had no idea. Do you mind telling me what happened?”
“It wasn’t in my file?”
He pursed his lips and gave a noncommittal shake of his head. “Yes, but I’d like to hear it about it from you. I think you need to talk.”
“Being a shrink again, Doc?”
“It’s Lyle, and I was going more for being your friend.” He leaned back, looking completely comfortable. “If you don’t want to talk about it that’s fine.”
Now she was being put on the spot. If she didn’t tell him something he would think she was a head case. “There’s not much to tell. I was searching for a girl lost in the rubble of a building after a major explosion in Eastern Europe. It had been two days and there wasn’t much hope. I found her alive but in the process a wall fell on me. So now you have it.” Cass had been careful not to use the word we. She didn’t want to talk about Rufus. She refused to break down in front of this stranger, no matter how nice he was.
“Wow, that’s some story.”
And he hadn’t heard it all. Wouldn’t ever as far as she was concerned. “Yeah, makes for a great party story.”
He gave her a direct look. “I think it makes you a pretty impressive person. Your type of work can be both rewarding and very depressing.”
He was right about that. His piercing empathy made her conscious of her vulnerability. She wasn’t used to people seeing through what she said that clearly. The men she’d had relationships with certainly hadn’t—including Jim, her latest disaster. Now she had scars on her body. How would men react to them?
Lyle put the mug down. “How’re your hands and feet feeling now?”
Relieved he’d changed the subject, she answered, “Instead of being numb they feel like needles are being pushed into them.”
“That’s good. The feeling is returning.”
Giving him a wry smile, she brought the mug to her lips again. The warmth flowed through her, matching the heat in the room. “So how come the administrator of the prestigious Heatherglen Castle Clinic is living way out here in the woods?”
Looking over the edge of the mug, he gave her an indulgent look. “In the daylight it’s not that far out. This was the gamekeeper’s cottage. When I returned from serving in the Middle East I needed a place to live. Turned out this came with the administrator’s job.”
“I don’t see you as the military type.” He didn’t strike her as a squared shoulders, stand-at-attention kind of man. His smile was too quick, his manner too easygoing to fit into that strait-laced world.
“Aye. I was born and bred to it.”
The words were flat, suggesting that hadn’t been a completely good thing. There was more there but she didn’t ask. It wasn’t her business and she didn’t like him prying into hers, so she wouldn’t.
“You were overseas?”
“Aye, two tours in the Middle East.”
“That couldn’t have been much fun.” She was sure that was an understatement.
A dark look came over his face. “It wasn’t.”
He must have seen stuff similar to what she had in her work. She would never have guessed they’d have anything in common. Cass didn’t want to talk about the similarities in their backgrounds. Instead she would rather lock it away and not think about the past. Or the pain. “So you were raised around here?”
“Yes. In the village of Cluchlochry. My parents don’t live far from here. Where’re you from?”
His tone led her to believe he loved the area. “Indiana, but I live in Montana now.”
He raised his eyebrows and nodded approvingly. “I’ve been there. Beautiful scenery.”
“It is. That’s my favorite thing about it. But even with all the snow, it’s pretty around here as well.”
“In the spring it’s like living inside an emerald it’s so green.” Reverence made his Scottish accent more pronounced.
Did it do the same when he whispered in a woman’s ear when he desired her? Heaven help her! That wasn’t a thought she should be having. Where had that idea come from? She swallowed hard and wiggled her toes. Surely it was the fire making her skin so hot.
“Let me have a look at those. I want to make sure you don’t have the beginnings of frostbite.” He went down on one knee in front of her.
“Look at what?” Her mind had been in a completely different place. “Oh, my feet. I don’t think that’s necessary.”
He gave her an odd look then patted his thigh. “But I do. Put your foot up here.”
With reluctance she did as he requested. Lyle’s leg was firm beneath her bare sole, his corduroy pants soft.
He cradled her heel gently in the palm of his hand. All his touches were functional and professional, yet a streak of response zipped through her. She pulled back and sat straighter, watching the top of his head with its light, curly red hair. Were those coils as soft as they looked? She almost reached out a hand. Almost...
“Wiggle your toes for me.”
Her head jerked up. It took her a long second to comply.
His fingers traveled over her toes. She pulled back but he held her foot securely. He raised his head, a slight grin on his lips. “Ticklish.” It was more a statement than question.
“A little.” It sounded childish to admit.
Cass groaned inside.
“There’s no sign of frostbite here. That’s good.” He placed that foot on the floor. “Let me see the other one.”
Cass didn’t even try to resist this time. He gave that foot the same attention as the other, but without tickling her. For some reason that disappointed her.
“Wiggle,” he commanded.
She did.
“Good.” He rose from the floor and moved to pick up one of her socks. “These are still damp. You really are going to have to get some thicker ones when you buy those boots if you plan to take walks. When the snow melts it can get very muddy. I’ll get you some dry ones to wear back to the castle.” He left the room.
It was past time for her to get back to the clinic but
his place was so cozy, so comfortable. Too much Lyle’s space. She shouldn’t be having such a reaction to him. This wasn’t the time to add more conflicting emotions to those she already had.
He soon returned and handed her a pair of thick, very masculine navy socks. She had no doubt these would keep her feet dry. He took his chair while she pulled them on. Immediately her feet were warmer.”
“These feel great. Thank you. I’ll have them laundered and returned as soon as possible.”
He poked at the fire, making sure the screen was secure around it. “No hurry. I know where to find them if I need them.”
Cass reached for her shoes. “I think it’s time for me to be going. I’ve taken up enough of your evening.”
Lyle didn’t disagree with her. Instead he rose and went into the hallway. With her shoes now on, Cass reached for her damp coat.
“Wait. You need a dry coat as well.” He had one in his hand, holding it open for her. She slipped her arms in and he settled the heavy jacket on her shoulders. There was that same smell she had caught when she’d first met him. The coat swallowed her whole but it was like being wrapped in his arms. Although that was an unsettling and unrealistic notion, it was nevertheless a reassuring one.
Lyle pulled on his own outdoor clothing while she waited. He studied her a moment. “You need a hat, scarf and some gloves as well.” Disappearing upstairs, he returned with a handful of woolen items.
“I can’t take these. Surely you need them.” She offered them back to him.
He shook his head. “I have a drawer full. My mother knits these.”
Cass ran her hand across them. The wool was so soft. “It feels wonderful.”
“Try on the hat. It may not be tight enough, but it’ll be better than nothing.” He watched her expectantly.
Cass pulled the dark tan hat over her head, tucking in stray hair around her face. She still held the scarf. “I’ll be all right without this.”
“No, you won’t.” His stern look stopped her from further argument.
Cass wasn’t used to having people tell her what to do. A bit irritated, she wrapped the scarf around her neck. It too smelled of pine and wood smoke, like him. Those scents would forever remind her of Lyle.
Highland Doc's Christmas Rescue Page 3
