Page 30 of Falling for the Enemy

“Let the doctor decide that.” A glimmer of a teasing smile appeared as Jack took gentle hold of my wrist. I had no idea why, and it was entirely unexpected, but when his fingers wrapped around my arm, a breath caught in my chest. I blamed it on not knowing how bad the cut would be. It bled so fast, I didn’t get a good look at it before Jack wrapped it.

We both stared down as he unwrapped the towel. There was a good amount of blood, but that was usual with cut fingers. Jack scrunched his brows together and lifted my arm. His touch was gentle and warm. “Doesn’t look too bad. Guess I won’t have an excuse to test my stitching skills.”

“Glad to hear it, Doc.”

Jack fished around in the first aid kit and pulled out a small plain bottle. “I’m going to assume since someone took the time to write antiseptic on this bottle with marker that it is indeedantiseptic.” He held it up to get my approval. “It’s either this or a splash of whiskey.”

I sat up straighter. “Do you have some whiskey?”

He laughed. “Only in my dreams, but I think after this trip I might start keeping a bottle within reach.” He shook his head. “Did not see that end coming after our triumphant hunt for fruit. Poor guy.”

“I’ll check on him as soon as we’re done here. I can’t believe I did this, and to my right hand.”

Jack held up the bottle again. “Ready? I’m not sure if this is the old stuff we used to get sprayed on a scraped knee, the stuff that made us howl, or the new, gentler version made especially for today’s soft and coddled youth.”

I nodded. “Go for it. After all, I was raised on the hard stuff.” I flinched as he poured it on the cut.

Jack lifted the bottle and looked truly sorry.

I laughed. “Gotcha.”

“Sure, sure, as if I haven’t already had a trying enough day with the guava disaster.”

I laughed again. “Sorry. Couldn’t resist.”

Jack reached into the box and pulled out a square of sterile gauze and a roll of surgical tape.

“That seems like overkill,” I said. “Is there a bandage?”

He reached in and held up a tiny bandage, the kind you might put on a pimple or a bug bite. “Don’t think this is big enough.”

“Fine. But try to make it unobtrusive.”

He set my hand on the table and unwrapped the gauze. “You don’t like to appear weak or vulnerable, do ya, Lo?”

“Nothing wrong with that.”

“I guess not.”

“You make me sound like an egomaniac.” I was back on defense. He always put me on defense.

“No, that’s not what I meant at all. Never mind. I’ve got to concentrate because if I don’t get this right the patient will surely complain and let me know I did an inferior job.”

“Just give me the gauze.” I tried to pull my hand away, but he caught it. His grasp this time was firm, but there was still a gentleness to it that I had to admit I liked.

“I know you’re talented at many things, Lo, but there’s no way you can properly wrap this finger with your left hand. I promise no more conversation, just medical attention.”

I rested my hand palm up on the table. Jack carefully positioned the gauze around my thumb. His own fingers grazed my palm and my other fingers many times, leaving trails of warmth that seemed to radiate all the way up my arm. His face was so close to mine I could see a tiny scar right next to his left eye. He pulled off the tape and wrapped it around the gauze.

“Too tight?” he asked. “We want to keep enough pressure on the cut to stop the blood.”

I found myself inexplicably breathless about the entire thing. “It’s fine.”

“Good.” He wrapped a second piece around the gauze. “You’ll need to keep this dry, and no digging around in dirt,” he added with a confident nod. “Didn’t even need a medical degree for that one.” He leaned back to admire his handiwork. “I think I missed my calling.”

“Thank you for doing this. It would have been hard to manage with my left hand.”

“Anytime, Lo.”

---