Page 6 of Relentless
Asher moved to her side and leaned in. “What am I looking at?”
“I’m pretty sure the femoris tendon was nicked,” she replied. “See, right there.” She pointed to a tiny spot in the image.
Asher silently studied it. Then abruptly, he jerked back and pulled his phone from his pocket. She watched as he sent a message to someone before he turned to her.
“How in the hell did you see that?” he asked.
She lifted a shoulder. “The equipment we have in the field isn’t nearly as good as this,” she said, waving to the images. “Looking at these is like seeing everything in Technicolor for me. Are you having the radiologist look again?”
Asher frowned but nodded. “I just messaged the head of the department and asked him to look. He’s pulling the file now.”
“What does that mean?” Ethan’s voice interrupted them. She and Asher moved swiftly to his side.
“It’s not the end of the world,” Kara replied, with a smile. Then, brushing her fingertips across his forehead, she trailed them down over his temple and along the line of his jaw. His eyes closed at her touch, and he leaned into her palm.
“But?” he pressed, opening his eyes.
“If I’m right, your recovery will be a bit longer. I may be wrong, though,” she added.
“I doubt that,” Ethan said. She dropped her hand and rested it on the metal railing. His eyes tracked her movements, and for a moment, she thought he’d reach for her. Instead, he turned his attention to his brother.
“She’s not wrong, is she?” he asked.
Asher wagged his head from side to side. “We’re having a radiologist take a closer look. But no, I don’t think she’s wrong.”
“So how much longer will it make my recovery?”
“What’s making his recovery longer?” Sonya Warwick asked as she strode into the room. Michael Warwick, her husband, trailed behind, followed by Sabina and Chad.
“Nothing life-threatening, Mom,” Asher replied. She eyed her oldest child, then turned her attention to Kara, who’d already received hugs from both Sabina and Chad.
“Kara, dear,” she said, walking over and embracing her. Ethan’s mom was similar in size to both her and her sister. But with her Mediterranean skin tone and auburn hair that leaned more toward brown than red, she looked a world apart from Kara’s fair Irish features. “Thank you for everything today,” Sonya said, giving Kara an extra squeeze.
“Yes, thank you,” Michael echoed, taking his turn with a hug. The Warwicks were huggers. It had been awkward at first, given how long she’d gone without family. Now when she visited, she looked forward to it. A lot.
“I did very little, but you’re welcome,” Kara replied, before explaining what she’d seen in the images. As she did, Asher received a message confirming her diagnosis.
“My recovery?” Ethan asked again. “How long will it take to heal?”
Kara looked to Asher to answer. “We’ll have to consult with the orthopedist. A partial tear that doesn’t need surgery can take up to eight weeks. But your tear is so small, it might be less than that,” he added when Ethan’s expression darkened.
“I don’t need surgery,” Ethan insisted, shifting as he spoke. She didn’t miss his wince of pain and doubted anyone else in the room did, either.
“Do you want some pain medication?” she asked.
His gaze drifted to her. Judging by his expression, she thought he might be struggling to remember if he’d done or said anything at the accident site. After a beat, he shook his head. “It hurts, but I’ll live.”
“It would make my day if you took some pain meds. I think I still have that video of you when you stepped on that nail,” Chad said with a grin. Sabina elbowed him, and both Sonya and Michael rolled their eyes.
“Fuck off, C,” Ethan grumbled. Sonya let out a long-suffering sigh. “Sorry, Mom,” he added with a grin.
“Well, at least you’re feeling better. Despite the latest news,” she said.
“Is he going to be able to go home?” Sabina asked, directing the question to Kara rather than Asher.
Kara’s gaze flitted back to the images still visible on the screen. Then her attention shifted to Ethan’s thigh as she sifted through her memory for information on tendon tears. She didn’t have a lot of experience treating injuries with all the advantages of Western medicine. Still, she didn’t think she was wrong when she replied. “The ortho doc will have the final say, but I suspect he’ll still be discharged today.”
Ethan grumbled something unintelligible, drawing her attention. Fixing her gaze on his, she added, “The tear is small enough that your recovery will likely be similar to what you’ve already been told, only stricter. You won’t be able to put any weight on it and you may be required to keep it immobile. If you’re conscientious in the early days, then the healing process will go much better. But if you ignore the doctor’s orders, you’ll have no one to blame but yourself if you need the full eight weeks. Or maybe even surgery.”
