Chapter 1 #2
Tears and snowflakes dot her thick black lashes like gleaming diamonds. Even injured and bloodied, the woman’s gorgeous. Her deep brown eyes, like crushed velvet, look up at me, and for one startling moment, I’m afraid I might kiss her.
Until recently, Fran was married. Off limits. But now…
Jesus, I’m carrying the woman to the doctor and have to get my damn act together.
“Too heavy? You girls are out of your bloody minds. Always worrying about being too heavy, like I can’t bloody carry you.” I roll my eyes. “Didn’t even get winded.”
She opens her mouth to protest, then winces.
“Lie still and stop troubling your damn head,” I mutter. Concern’s made me irritable as fuck.
I try to think of this as a job, like Fran is one of my sisters I’ve been bound in duty to protect.
She isn’t my bloody sister, though, dammit.
We dated once—so briefly it hardly even counts, but I’ve had my eye on her ever since.
She married last year, and I fucking hated that she did something so stupid. Met her ex-husband online, married him a week after they met in person, and caught him cheating on their wedding night.
You’d think it bloody ended there, but it fucking didn’t.
I shove the memory away and keep going. It only makes me angrier.
Islan’s ahead of us, and she opens the door.
“As luck would have it, the doctor’s nearby,” she says. “He said to bring her into the study, since the light’s good in there and you can lay her on the chaise.”
I walk in through the kitchen, the entire staff watching us as I traipse through. A fire burns in the hearth, and someone stirs food at the stove, but I walk past and go straight to the study.
Leith’s waiting for me when I arrive, watching me somberly.
“What happened?” he asks Islan, who quickly tells him. I’m assuming his wife Cairstina filled him in before we got here.
“Jesus,” he mutters. “Knew we should’ve cut that damn tree down when they started sledding down that bloody hill.”
Islan snorts. “Leave it to you to level a damn tree like we’re children that need protecting.”
He scowls.
Fran opens her mouth as if to say something, then winces, closes her eyes, and doesn’t say a word. I imagine the pain’s intense.
Bright lights shine, as the Clan doctor waits.
“Rest her here, Tate,” he says. I put her down with reluctance, as gently as I can.
I liked holding her. When I held her, I knew that she was safe, almost like I could control this. Control… something.
“Ooh, got a right good gash on your head, there, lass.”
“Ah, is that what the throbbing is? Thought I hit the Jameson a bit too hard last night.” Fran smiles wanly, and even injured and in pain, she’s bloody beautiful.
She looks up quickly at me and winces from the sudden movement. “No need to growl, Tate, you did enough of that on the way back.”
I didn’t even know I was bloody growling. Did I?
I grunt in reply, as the doctor examines her. A moment later, he sits back and shakes his head. “You’re awfully lucky it wasn’t worse, lass,” he says gently. “An inch or so to the left and you’d have injured an eye, likely beyond repair.”
Her jaw drops, and she looks down at her hand. “And my arm?”
“Doesn’t look broken, but it would be best if we had an x-ray. I don’t have the proper equipment here. I’ll put a brace on to keep it steady, but you’ll need that seen with a specialist first thing tomorrow and time off, days or even weeks.”
She winces. “I have to work tomorrow,” she says with a sigh. “I have no vacation time left. If I don’t get to work…” Her voice trails off. She works at the little bookstore in town, in Inverness Centre.
“Sorry, lassie,” he says, shaking his head. “You have to. You could risk something so much worse if this isn’t properly treated.”
He hands her a few white pills. “Here, take these. It’ll help with the pain.”
Fran sighs, pops the pills, then drinks down a glass of water. He continues inspecting her with a frown, meticulous and thorough. We hired him because he’s the best there is.
“Why so long for a head injury?” Fran asks.
“Head injuries are bloody dangerous,” I tell her. “Don’t you know what could’ve happened? You could’ve gotten fuckin’ brain damage, or worse.”
Islan rolls her eyes but Fran just blinks at me in surprise. The doctor continues his examination when a knock sounds at the door.
“Come in," I say. Mum comes in carrying a plate, laden with soup, bread, and a steaming pot of tea. It's well past dinner time, but it's in her nature to feed people when they're injured. Says it helps with recovery and all that.
"How are you doing, lass?”
“Oh, I’ll be better soon,” Fran says with a self-deprecating laugh. “How’s Bryn?”
“Bryn walked away without a scratch.”
“Thank God for that,” I mutter, and Fran gives me a curious look.
“Just that Mac would lose his bloody mind.”
“Aye, he would,” Islan says. “It’s the way you all are, isn’t it?”
I don’t reply. It is how we all are, but I can’t quite place the look on Fran’s face.
The doctor takes his leave, with strict orders she rest and allow people to help her, followed by Leith and Mum.
The other girls have gone off to take care of the children and Bryn, perhaps sensing that Fran doesn’t want a lot of visitors right now.
She’s in so much pain, even the bright lights seem to hurt her eyes.
It’s just me, Islan, and Fran now.
I should go. I have work to do. Her best friends are right here, in this very house. Surely they can make sure she’s alright. I’ve got a pressing job Leith wants me to tend to, but I can’t seem to make myself do it.
“We’ll get you situated here for the night,” Islan says. “Not the best accommodations, but I do think it’ll be best for you, give you a little privacy. There’s a toilet nearby the kitchen, and you won’t have to walk upstairs.”
“And it’ll be easy enough to get you to the car to go to get your x-ray in the morning,” I say.
She frowns. “Might be a little hard to drive like this—”
“Of course you bloody well can’t drive,” I snap.
She blinks, then her cheeks flush a little pink. “Excuse me?”
“Now, Fran,” Islan begins, her hands outstretched as if to placate her. “No need to get you riled up.”
“Riled up?” I ask, astounded that that’s even a question. “Of course she bloody well won’t. She’ll lie right there and obey the doctor's orders.”
Fran pushes herself up to sitting higher on the chaise, as if the adjustment in height gives her an advantage, which it definitely doesn't, especially because she winces again in pain.
"And… somewhere between me cracking my skull on the side of your tree, and you playing the hero carrying me back up to the house like some sort of… Tarzan or something," she spits out the word as if it's distasteful, “you got the idea you have some say in this?"
“I do,” I tell her. “I’ve got an errand in town tomorrow and will take you.” I want her to feel obliged to me, though I wouldn’t admit that out loud.
I can’t keep the irritation out of my voice.
“Oh, I’ll be fine,” she says, fuming. “No need to trouble yourself, clearly.” She rolls her eyes. “Honest to God, I’m no concern of yours.”
Is that what she thinks?
Islan rolls her eyes. “You’ve nearly grown up here, Fran, you know how they all are.”
She purses her lips and narrows her eyes, and I half expect her to wise off with her smart mouth again, when her head suddenly lolls to the side a little like she’s tipsy. She blinks, then blinks again. What the fuck?
“Y’alright?” Islan asks.
“Just feel a bit… a bit…” Fran giggles. “Can you hear those words, or is it in my head?”
Islan turns to me. “Oh, dear.”
Is she… high?
I look at Fran in puzzlement. She shakes her head as if to clear her thoughts. “Was just saying, I can’t bloody well skip work tomorrow. No way.”
“They’ll be fine,” Islan says with conviction. “Or I could cover for you. Your boss is so bloody distracted, she wouldn’t even notice the difference.”
I look from Fran to Islan, then back again. Islan’s tall and willowy and blonde, and Fran’s all lush brown hair and buxom curves.
“Are you fuckin’ legally blind?”
Fran gives me a reproachful look, then begins to giggle. It’s… adorable.
Islan rolls her eyes. “Oh, whatever,” she says.
“I just mean I could go in and be a sort of temp for the day or something.” Leith’s said for a while the girls have been spoiled and honest to God, I didn’t see it until now.
I always kind of took the girls’ side when it came to his overbearing tendencies.