Page 38 of Tusk's Fury

“Are you okay? Do you need to see a doctor?”

“No. It’s just mostly stress, I’ve got the beginnings of a migraine.”

“That prospect that was just in here is a doctor. I can get him to give you something for that.”

“I can’t take anything because I’m breastfeeding. Trust me, if I could, I would.”

I see something akin to worry flare in his eyes. He jumps up from his seat and leaves the room. A moment later, he walks back in with that damn doctor that I told him I didn’t need.

Patch tells me, “Tusk said you’re feeling stressed but you’re worried about taking medication while breastfeeding. Is that right?”

“I’m stressed, but I don’t think it’s anything out of the ordinary. My midwife told me that it’s normal to feel overwhelmed after giving birth. It takes a while for your hormones to get back to normal.”

“That’s true, how long ago did you give birth?”

“Victoria’s fourteen weeks old now,” I say.

The doctor slash prospect looks thoughtful, “You should see some of the stress resolving at three and a half months.”

I take a sip of my drink and sigh, “I think most of my recent stress is situational. I just discovered that a religious fanatic from my past is stalking me, and there was a crisis at the hotel we were staying at. It’s all been a little too much.”

“That’s understandable,” he says soothingly.

I rub my neck trying to loosen the tension building there.

“If you do find that the stress or anxiety is interfering with your life then there are medications you could take, and several are safe to take while breastfeeding. Of course we’d have to have a more in-depth discussion, but I could write you a script.”

“I’m not comfortable with medication. Right now, I just think I need to focus on managing the external stress in my life.”

“If you change your mind, you know where to find me,” he says with a smile and gestures through the door towards the bar area.

“Thanks,” I reply, and massage my neck again.

“You got a headache, sweetheart?” Tusk says.

I nod.

“You can take ibuprofen or acetaminophen for headaches. Only trace amounts pass through your breast milk. It’s safe to take as directed on the bottle. Are you having any other complications? I can have a look if you like. I’m not an obstetrician, but I am a surgeon,” the prospect says.

My knees snap together at the thought. “No, my midwife said everything was okay.”

His head tilts to the side. “Alright then, let me go and fetch you some acetaminophen. There’s a bottle behind the bar.”

When he leaves us, we sit in silence for a while. I know part of the reason for my headache is knowing I’m going to have to come clean to Tusk about Victoria. I find I can’t meet his eyes, and instead I sit rigid staring at the table until the prospect returns and drops a bottle of pills in front of me.

Tusk opens the bottle and hands me two of the tablets. “Take the medicine, Brittany. Patch said it was safe.”

I reach for the pills a little too eagerly because the dull throbbing in my temple is relentless. Then I hesitate, remembering what my midwife had to say on the subject. “My midwife thought it was better not to take pain killers if I didn’t need them.”

Tusk looms over me, his eyes intense. “You do need them. I’m not gonna have you walking around with migraines if it can be helped with medication.”

I pop the pills in my mouth and take a sip of my drink to wash them down. I know it’ll take a few minutes to work.

They start walking towards the door again, and I hear the doctor tell him, “You should take her to one of the suites where she can have a rest.”

Tusk comes back to the table and grabs his drink. “Bring your drink and come with me.”

I follow him through the clubhouse and upstairs where the suites are. When we’re seated in one of the suites and he’s got me propped up in an armchair, he picks right back up where he left off. “You ready to start answering my questions honestly?”

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