Chapter 18 #2
He wondered if she realized that he could tell she was taking a visual assessment of him as a medical professional rather than potential lover.
Once a nurse, always a nurse. However, she was here not as a nurse.
She was here because of the relationship they’d been forming over the last few days, and that was what mattered to him. “I’m fine. Sorry to upset everyone.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Lizzie said. “We knew that hole was there, and we should’ve fixed it before now.”
“It was no one’s fault,” Quinn said. “Just a stupid accident.”
Lizzie’s phone rang in the other room, and she ran to get it.
Quinn could hear her reminding Jared of the code to the lock at the building.
“Come home with me,” Mallory whispered. “Let me take care of you.”
Moved by her offer as well as the caring way in which she looked at him, Quinn nodded. “I don’t need to be nursed, but I’d love to come home with you.”
“Good.” She leaned forward to kiss him. “Scared me to hear you were hurt.”
“That’s because you like me.”
“I never said that.”
“Yes, you did.”
“When did I say that?”
“When you came rushing over here in the middle of the night to check on me.”
“It’s hardly the middle of the night. It’s not even midnight.”
“You like me,” he said again with a cocky grin that had her rolling her eyes and calling to Lizzie over her shoulder. “He’s fine. Don’t let him tell you otherwise.”
He squeezed her hand. “I’m fine now that you’re here.”
She let out a deep breath when she seemed to realize he was really okay. Seeing the prosthetic standing next to the sofa must have been a jarring reminder that despite the many ways he’d overcome his disability, a simple fall was anything but for him.
He relied on humor to defuse the tension, but he was sure she saw right through that to the strain that still gripped him.
She stayed right by his side until Jared returned with the crutches a few minutes later.
He came into the room, said hello to Mallory and leaned the crutches up against the sofa.
“Thank you, Jared,” Quinn said. “If it’s okay with you guys, I’m going home with Mallory.”
“To your home or hers?”
“Hers. I can’t manage the boat on crutches.”
“You know you’re welcome to stay here, right?”
“Yeah, I know, and I appreciate it.”
Jared gave a curt nod and left the room.
“He’s still pissed,” Quinn said to Mallory.
“Give him a day or two to get his head around it. He’ll be fine.”
“I hope so,” Quinn said, and he meant that. He’d greatly enjoyed the time he’d spent with Jared and Lizzie since he’d lived on the island and had felt closer to his brother than ever. He’d hate to have something like this come between them now.
Mallory helped him up and held the crutches for him while he got his bearings.
He hadn’t touched the crutches in more than eighteen months, and using them now brought back memories he’d much rather forget.
Seeing him standing up, Brutus went crazy, running all around, darting between his legs and making a menace of himself.
Mallory grabbed hold of the dog’s collar. “Easy, buddy. You don’t want to knock Daddy down.”
“Would you, um, get that, too?” He tipped his head toward the prosthetic.
“Sure, no problem.”
He made his way slowly and painfully out of the living room and went toward the kitchen, where Jared and Lizzie were sitting at the table. “Sorry about all this,” Quinn said.
“Please don’t apologize,” Lizzie said. “It’s not your fault.”
“On the bright side, at least we know about your leg now,” Jared said with a bitter twist to his tone.
“Jared—”
“We’ll talk tomorrow,” Jared said. “It’s late, and everyone’s tired.”
“Okay.”
Jared walked them out, staying on his left side while Mallory took the right.
This time Quinn stuck to the sidewalk and driveway rather than the lawn, which was what he should’ve done the first time around. It was habit to take the quickest path, and he was still learning that the quickest path wasn’t always the best one when you had a prosthetic.
Standing beside Mallory’s car, he handed her the crutches and got into the passenger side.
He had a sudden memory of rehab, where he’d been taught to do the most mundane things, such as shower and get into a car, with only one leg.
He’d been doing pretty well pretending he still had two good legs, until one wrong step brought him right back to reality.
Brutus leaped into the backseat and made himself comfortable. Lizzie brought the bag Quinn had packed with the dog’s food and toys when he brought him to their house earlier.
“I never asked you if it’s okay if he comes, too.”
“Of course he can come. I know you guys are a package deal.”
“Thanks for having us.”
“No problem.”
“You say that now…”
“You don’t scare me, and neither does Brutus.” They waved to Jared and Lizzie as Mallory backed the car out of the driveway and headed for her place in town.
“Thanks for coming. You didn’t have to do that, but I’m glad you did.”
“I had to see for myself that you were okay.”
“Because you like me.”
She huffed out a laugh that had him smiling in the dark. Without her coming to his rescue, he wouldn’t have had a single thing to smile about after his fall. But now the fall seemed almost secondary to her running to him when he got hurt, as well as offering to bring him to her house and nurse him.
“So what do these nursing services you offered include? I assume that sponge baths are a no-brainer, but what else can I expect?”
“Ice packs to help with all your swelling issues.”
“Are we still talking about my leg?”
“Depends. Are you having swelling issues elsewhere?”
“I might if you own one of those naughty nurse outfits.”
“No naughty nurses and no sponge baths.”
“I should’ve stayed at Jared’s.”
She gave him a haughty look that he loved. “You want me to take you back?”
“No, thank you. But the sponge bath is negotiable, right?”
Thanks to the streetlights, he could see her roll her eyes. “I expect better from you than this, Doctor.”
“I’m not a doctor right now.” He rested his hand on her thigh. “I’m a patient, and I’m feeling very, very dirty.”