CHAPTER THREE
Luke caught her and set her on her feet.
She winced as pain shot up her leg. A lump the size of an egg had already formed on her ankle.
“You’re hurt,” Luke said.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” she said through gritted teeth.
“It’s probably a sprain,” he said as he scooped her up into his arms as easily as he would Jamison. “They can hurt worse than a fracture. We’ll need to get it looked at.”
The crowd gathered around Uncle Theo’s ladder turned their attention to her. She flushed beneath all of their stares. Paige glared at her.
“Please put me down,” she hissed at Luke, uncomfortably aware of his body heat and afraid that everyone in his family could see her reaction to him.
He just shook his head and carried her up the porch steps and through the kitchen, and gently set her down on the sofa. He slipped off her shoe. The lump on her ankle had already doubled in size.
Sophie battled tears brought on by not only pain, but also helplessness. How could she take care of a baby and a puppy with a twisted ankle?
Luke knelt beside her and propped her foot onto the sofa. “We need to get you to a doctor.”
“It’s Sunday,” she told him.
“The emergency room is open.”
She shook her head. “It’s too expensive. But we can probably see Aidan. He has an X-ray machine.”
Luke scowled and looked as if he wanted to argue, but after a moment he nodded and pulled out his phone. “Do you have his number?”
She told him the number and waited while he dialed. Then she held out her hand. “Let me talk to him.”
#
“It’s a sprain,” Aidan confirmed as he ran his hands over Sophie’s legs. “A pretty bad one. You’ll need to stay off of it for probably at least a week.”
“A week!” Sophie wailed. “But it’s almost Christmas. I’ve a ton of things to do.”
“Like what?” Luke asked.
“Get a Christmas tree, take Jamison to meet Santa, help at the toy drive.”
“I can do all those things,” Luke said.
“I can help,” Aidan put in.
Luke pulled in a deep breath and tried to tamp down his frustration. The sooner he got Sophie home, the better. Sitting on the examination table built for small animals, she didn’t look any more comfortable than he felt. Although he had to admit that was probably for different reasons.
“And these will help, too,” Aidan said, going to a cupboard and pulling out a small bottle of painkillers.
Sophie read the label. “If I can’t drive or handle machinery, how am I supposed to care for a baby and a puppy?”
“I’ll take care of the puppy,” Aidan said.
“And I’ll take care of Jamie,” Luke said.
Sophie let out a shuddering breath.
Luke slipped an arm around her shoulders and another beneath her knees. “Come on, let’s get you home.”
