He shook his head slightly.
"I'm fine." He tried to shake her off, but she held onto him like a bulldog.
"You're not fine. Your eye is already starting to swell up." There was a scrape where his cheek met the corner of his eye, but it was the swelling that concerned her most.
And then Lindsey was at her side, tugging at her shirt. "Mr. Noah?" the girl whispered.
Noah froze, Jilly with him. Lindsey had spoken something other thanmeow.
He reached out, and Jilly let her hands fall away. He plopped his hand on top of the girl's head. "I'm fine," he said again. "I got plenty of black eyes playing football and rough-housing with my friends when I was younger. And this isn't the first time I've walked into a door."
Lindsey inhaled a shaky breath and then, to Jilly's surprise, she stepped forward and threw her arms around Noah's waist.
His expression showed the same shock Jilly felt, but he didn't flinch, not like when Jilly had touched him. His arm came around her bony shoulders, and he patted her gently, and maybe a little awkwardly.
"C'mon," she said gently. "Let's finish cleaning up."
Lindsey clung to Noah for a moment longer and then let go.
"You're gonna need an ice pack," she said.
"I'll handle it." Noah's voice was rough. She felt his walls go up.
Noah should've knownJilly wouldn't just leave.
He was in the kitchen, filling a plastic baggie with ice, when he heard the front door open and shut.
"I'm back," she called out. Footsteps approached, but he kept his back to her.
His humiliation made his voice sharp. "I don't need any help."
Her response wasn't laced with softness as it had been when she'd spoken to Lindsey earlier. "You already made that clear. I'm here anyway."
Why did she have to push? His movements were jerky as he pulled open the drawer where he kept dish towels. He whipped one out of the drawer and wound it around the baggie.
"Take the kids home. I know they're hungry and tired." She must've left them waiting in the car. She hadn't been gone long enough to take them home.
She ignored him. Awareness of her prickled up the back of his neck as she neared. "You could have a concussion."
He snorted. "I don't have a concussion."
"How did you know?" She stopped close enough that he could feel the waves of heat emanating off her body. She didn't touch him. "Sit down."
He sighed. "I don't have a concussion.” He knew the basics. If his headache got worse or if he vomited, he should to head to the ER.
He’d already admitted that today wasn’t the first time he’d walked into a door. He vaguely remembered Lindsey following him into his bedroom until he’d shooed her away. She must’ve left the door at an angle. It’d happened once before during a visit from his mom.
"I'm still not leaving until I get a good look at you."
Jilly was so stubborn. Did the headache count as worsening if it was Jilly causing his temples to pound?
He jerked a chair out from the table and plunked down in it. Fine. Let her have her look and be done with it.
Tomorrow, he'd have Aiden call a locksmith and maybe a fence guy. Yeah, a ten-foot plank fence around his property would be ideal.
It would also be expensive.
His random thoughts were helping him cope with his discomfort under her scrutiny, and because he was lost in them, he was shocked when she stepped close, her knees bumping his, and then bent even closer, her palms cupping his jaw on both sides.
