Chapter 3
1667 Words
CHAPTER 3
While each movement highlighted the fact that the man had some serious muscle under his work shirt, it also jostled her leg, causing blinding explosions of pain. He set her gently on the seat in the cab of the truck.
Jenna unclenched her teeth enough to ask, “Can you get my purse for me?”
Isaac headed into the cabin, and emerged a few minutes later with her purse and a plastic baggie full of snow.
With the makeshift ice pack applied to her knee, they set off for town in his truck. It was a twenty-minute drive to the clinic, and with each bump of the truck her knee seemed to grow more painful. Jenna was so focused on breathing through the pain that she didn’t process any of the scenery along the drive.
The clinic was crowded, but with one look at Jenna being carried in by Isaac, the receptionist rushed out from behind the desk and led them directly to the big treatment room. Isaac put Jenna gently down on the exam table.
“I’ll go get the doctor for you.”
“Thanks, Mary.” Isaac turned back to Jenna when the receptionist had left the room. “Is there anyone I should call, Jenna?”
Like who? Her mother wasn’t exactly a calming presence in an emergency, and the last thing she wanted was for her brother to know where she was. There really was no one else.
“No, I’ll be fine on my own.” She always was. Jenna was used to handling problems by herself. But instead of leaving like she expected, Isaac sat down in the chair beside the exam table.
“I’ll stay,” he said. “If that’s okay with you?”
Jenna nodded, not trusting herself to speak. The pain and frustration were wearing down her resolve not to cry in front of this man. She had been an i***t to go traipsing off into the woods. And even more of an i***t to veer off the path. But she’d wanted so badly to see the deer that had made the tracks in the snow. His being so nice about the whole thing was only making her feel more stupid.
The doctor joined them a moment later. Jenna opted to have her pants cut up the leg rather than to try to get them off. After a series of questions and a quick, extremely painful exam, he let her know that she was lucky. Nothing was broken, but her kneecap was dislocated. And he was going to have to put it back into place.
Jenna swallowed. The procedure the doc was describing sounded painful. “Do I get some good drugs first?”
“You bet.” The doctor returned holding a needle. “This might sting a little, but it works like a charm.”
Boy, did it ever.
Her kneecap might be back in place, but her brain was seriously scrambled. Whatever was in that needle packed a heck of a punch. “I can’t feel my teeth. Wait, did I just say that out loud?”
Isaac laughed. “Yep. Sure did.”
“I don’t think it’s considered polite to laugh at someone who is drugged.”
Isaac attempted to school his features into a serious expression. “What about your leg? Can you feel that?”
“Well,” Jenna considered for a moment, “I can tell it’s there, but it doesn’t hurt right now.” Especially when she focused on the view. Jenna shifted slightly, the better to watch her hunky driver.
“I just wanted to say thank you for staying with me. No one ever stays with me.” Oh God, that came out sounding pathetic. “I mean, not men anyway.” Right, cause that was so much better. “Not that you’re a man, man. You know, like, my man. I’m sure you’re someone else’s man. Because I can’t imagine anyone who looks like you and is nice enough to stay with someone when they’re hurt not being someone’s man.” Jenna, SHUT UP! But she couldn’t seem to stop the words from pouring out of her mouth.
Isaac laughed out loud at that one. “There’s only one woman for me.”
“Figures,” Jenna muttered. “So much for my sexy cabin fantasy.” She clapped a hand over her mouth. Oh no. “Out loud again?” Isaac’s grin was all the answer she needed.
Clearly, she needed to shut up before she dug herself an even bigger, more embarrassing hole to crawl out of when the drugs wore off. Just to be safe, Jenna actually put her hands over her mouth and vowed not to say another word.
“Wait. Why aren’t we at my cabin? Not that I would mind if you carried me there, because I really like it when you carry me, but it seems excessive when you could just drive right up to the door.” Out loud again, Jenna. Stop. Talking.
“The doctor said you shouldn’t be alone for a few hours, at least until the sedation wears off.”
No, no, no! The last thing she wanted was to watch Isaac and his girlfriend play happy family while she was unable to keep her thoughts from spilling out of her mouth.
“And then you’ll need to get used to your crutches. He said the best thing you can do is sleep for a while, and let your body focus on healing and getting the drugs out of your system.” Isaac deposited her at the door to the main lodge, and while she balanced against the doorframe he went back to the truck for her crutches and purse.
“Okay,” she relented, “but only for a little while. I don’t want to be in the way.”
“Your room is this way.” Isaac led her out of the entryway, with its high ceilings and large wooden beams, through a nice, bright kitchen. He put down her purse and grabbed a glass of water and the painkillers the doctor had recommended. Jenna followed drunkenly after him, trying to take in as much as possible along the way—without falling over when she adjusted to the crutches.
There were lots of homey touches, but it still felt like a man’s house, with a sprinkling of little-girl things. A small pink backpack hung on a peg in the kitchen, and there were two sets of breakfast dishes in the sink.
Plenty of photos lined the walls in the hallway, and most were of Isaac with a dark-haired little girl. She had his bright blue eyes, and the same dimple showed up when she smiled.
“Is that your daughter?”
Isaac nodded. “Sara’s at kindergarten right now. The bus will drop her off in a little while.”
Jenna wondered about Sara’s mom, but there didn’t seem to be any sign at all of a woman’s presence in the house.
“Sara’s a handful. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. We look after each other.”
Well, that was interesting. Was his daughter the “woman in his life” he had mentioned earlier?
Jenna put a little more attention into admiring the view in front of her as she thunked down the hall on her crutches. He did look awfully good in those jeans. It would be a real shame to waste the opportunity!
“It’s not fancy, but it is comfortable.” Isaac put her bags down near a giant bed covered in what looked like a cloud. He folded back the quilt and Jenna’s hormones took over.
Jenna tried to stop the video in her head that showed a more tousled, less clothed version of Isaac tumbling around on that bed—with her playing the female lead. With growing panic, she kept her mouth clamped shut so none of that particular fantasy came spilling out of her mouth. She could feel her face start to flame.
“Is it too warm in here?” he asked.
Yep. And getting warmer by the second. But it didn’t have anything to do with the setting on the thermostat. “Just readjusting to being inside. I’m sure this will be perfect.”
“There’s a comfortable chair here, the bed is nice and cozy, and there is plenty of space in the rest of the house for relaxing too.” He was backing out of the room now—a wise move on his part. “I’ll try to keep Sara out of the way so you can relax.”
Ha. Relax? Not likely. She was damaged and frustrated and feeling quite ridiculous about the things she’d said to Isaac in the truck. Added to the serious attraction she was feeling—to a man who was probably unavailable— relaxing seemed out of the question.
When she heard the door close behind her, she flopped down on the bed as gracefully as she could with her stiff leg. She was an i***t. That’s all there was to it. Clearly she would have to apologize profusely once the drugs wore off, and she was determined not to say anything even more embarrassing.
But for now? The safest thing was probably just to lie here and figure out what to do about the rest of her trip. And maybe have a little nap.
“Daddy, I think the phone is ringing.” Sara held out a cell phone playing “Jingle Bells.” It was in a case with a snowman on the back. Definitely not his phone.
“Sara, where did you get that?”
“It was on the table in the kitchen.” She gave him a quick grin and went back into the other room. Isaac knew that the phone hadn’t just been sitting out on the table. Sara knew better than to go poking around in other people’s things.
It was Jenna’s phone.
He let it ring out, not wanting to intrude on her privacy. He went back to tidying up the dinner dishes.
But only moments after it stopped ringing, it started again. Not only was it going to run down the battery, but also “Jingle Bells” was his least favourite Christmas song. Besides, what if it was an emergency? The call display showed only a number, no name. But there must be a reason the same number was calling back so soon. He thought about waking Jenna up, but she had looked so peaceful when he’d looked in on her. And the doctor said sleep would be good for her.
He let it go to voicemail a second time, but when it rang again he picked it up.
“Hello?”
- Writer
