Page 56 of Unexpected Entanglement

“Oww…” Rowan moaned. The pain seemed to concentrate around her ankle, but it radiated up to the rest of her leg.

Chris turned back and kneeled by her foot. “Easy now. Let me check it.”

Carefully, he pulled her boot and sock off and cradled her foot in his hand. He barely touched her ankle when Rowan swore through gritted teeth.

“That hurts?” he asked.

“Like a bitch!”

“I think you sprained your ankle. We should take you to a doctor.”

Rowan shook her head. “No, I can just ice it.”

“You might’ve torn a muscle or something, then you’ll have a worse problem if that’s not handled properly.”

“You’ve had a lot of experienced with sprained ankles?” she retorted.

Chris gently touched the ankle, and it looked like it was swelling. “Not ankles, but I’ve torn a muscle or two exercising. Let me tell you, it wasn’t fun.”

“I bet it wasn’t,” she muttered under her breath.

Chris put her foot down slowly and stood up. “Be right back.”

He ran back to where he’d come from and returned in less than two minutes with his T-shirt and shoes back on, to Rowan’s disappointment.

“Can you stand? Don’t put weight on that leg.” Chris crouched next to her and put her arm around his shoulders. But their discrepancy in heights made Chris stoop to her level as she held on to him to stand.

“Don’t bite my head off,” Chris suddenly warned and scooped her up in his arms.

“What are you doing?” Rowan yelped. “Put me down. I can walk by myself.”

“You can barely stand.” He started toward the cart he’d driven because hers was on the other side of the cottages. He ignored her protest, deposited her on the seat, and went to the driver’s side.

“You know what we could use right now? Walkie-talkies,” Chris suggested.

Rowan, grimacing in pain, nodded. “I thought about it, actually. But we all have cellphones.”

“With spotty signals.” Chris drove straight to the main house, carefully avoiding bumps that would jostle Rowan’s leg.

“God dammit. My phone!” Rowan tapped the back of her shorts. “It must’ve fallen out of my pocket.”

Chris scanned her person, and his gaze lingered on her snug jean shorts for a few seconds. “You could fit a phone in those?” he asked fleetingly. “We’ll send someone to get your phone. Mine’s in the box. Call Alex and tell her to bring out the key to your truck.”

“I’m not going to the doctor. Ice and elevation, that’s all I need,” Rowan stubbornly argued.

“Do you really want to risk it? We have a week before the wedding party arrives. If your ankle isn’t a simple sprain and worsens over time, you’ll be out of commission. And then I have to deal with everything,” Chris said.

“You’ll probably do better than me,” Rowan admitted grudgingly.

“Don’t say that. This place is you, Ro. I don’t have a connection to it like you do. We’ll still need you.”

Rowan didn’t understand why a few firm words from this man could soothe her ruffled disposition. After losing faith in some people she thought she could trust, one would think she’d be more careful.

Chris had made her life easier in the short two days since he’d been there. Except for that first night, she could breathe easier since Chris had moved in. He knew what he could do without her having to ask. He created an easygoing environment for the staff to learn and work together instead of them having to absorb her constant state of stress. And he could calm her down with a slight touch. But it didn’t mean he could make her do what she didn’t want.

“Instead of getting mad at me for taking you to the doctor, why don’t you channel your anger at whoever is sabotaging this place,” Chris said.

Whatever words she had ready at the tip of her tongue vanished. She stared at him.

---