Mary grabbed for the ointment in his hands, but he held it out of reach. Instead of handing it to her, he propped the cell phone between his ear and shoulder and unscrewed the cap on the ointment.
The whole time he talked on the phone, he tended her wound, gently applying the clear gel to her cut. When she winced, his hand jerked back, a frown deepening between his brows.
Mary found it all too personal and tried again to grab the tube from his hands. She felt exposed to him and shy of Kat watching her standing there in her bra.
Nick tipped her chin with a clean finger and shook his head. He pressed another glob of ointment to the wound, his concentration shifting for a moment to the caller. “Interesting.”
Mary backed out of his reach and collected a package of gauze from the kit. She peeled back the paper and laid the pad over her cut. The gentle contact hurt. Mary bit down on her lip to keep from crying out. She could be just as tough as the agents, when she had to.
“Even more interesting.” Nick fished out a roll of adhesive tape and tore off a piece. “A Purple Heart and a Silver Star? Pretty impressive.”
Mary wanted to throw the first aid kit at Nick. She wished he’d hurry and end the conversation and fill in her and Kat. She fumbled one-handed with the adhesive tape, while holding the gauze to her wound, she only managed to get it tangled.
“I’ll have Kat run over to Fairbanks and alert his people. No, we won’t clue them in on who’s involved over here. Roger.”
Kat pulled her keys from her pocket. “I take it I’m on the road to warn Gordon Thomas about Frank Richards’ death?”
“You got it.”
The small, dark-haired woman slipped her arms into her jacket. “I’ll drop by the hospital afterward and see if I can catch Ms. Reedy.”
“We’ll check for her on this end too, in case she’s already back.” Nick snagged the role of adhesive, tore off a length of tape and applied it to the gauze Mary held in place.
Kat’s gaze centered on the work Nick was doing on Mary’s side, her lips twisting into a wry smile. “In the event I don’t make it back tonight, are you two going to be all right on your own?”
“We’ll be fine,” Nick replied.
Mary glanced up at Nick. When had she gone from mistrust to full confidence in the man? Was it when he’d saved her from the kamikaze snowmobile rider or when he’d thrown himself on top of her to save her from sniper fire? Whenever it happened didn’t matter. What did matter was that she trusted him with her life. Not something she normally did with a stranger.
And she’d done even more extraordinary things with this stranger than she cared to enumerate. Her face flushed with heat. She dragged her gaze away from Nick. “We’ll be all right.”
“Good. There’s supposed to be another storm headed this way later this evening. I should just make it to Fairbanks before it hits.” She gave Nick a stern look. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
A smile quirked the edges of his lips. “Do I look like I’d do something stupid?”
“Love has a way of making a person stupid.” Kat’s look switched from Nick to Mary, her brows winging upward. “Just keep your eyes open and your shirts on.”
Mary’s face burned hotter. As if Nick was falling in love with her. Ha! Not when he could have any girl he wanted in the lower forty-eight states just by crooking his finger. No. Nick wouldn’t fall in love with a girl from the backwoods of Alaska. He was married to the job. A woman didn’t fit into his lifestyle on a permanent basis.
No matter how much she told herself that Nick wouldn’t fall in love with a bumpkin like her, she couldn’t stop the hope flowing up into her chest.
Great. Mary Christmas had committed the ultimate folly. She’d fallen for a guy she’d known only a few days. And here she was dreaming about happily ever after with a man who would soon be gone.
Yeah, Kat had it right. Love had a way of making you stupid. Mary caught herself before she smacked her palm to her forehead. She. Was. Not. In. Love. With. Nick. No one fell in love that fast. Mary squared her shoulders. “While Kat’s on her way to Fairbanks, let’s go see if Ms. Betty is back from visiting Reuben in the hospital. I’m worried about her.”
“After we talk to this police officer.” An SUV with police markings had just pulled into the parking lot.
After she’d given her statement, Kat left for Fairbanks in her black four-wheel-drive SUV.
Mary walked beside Nick to the diner, intent on finding Betty and getting a few answers. The smells of coffee, bread and chili filled the air, reminding Mary she hadn’t had lunch and all she’d had for breakfast was the coffee Kat brought early that morning.
Once inside, Nick ordered two sandwiches to go from the bar.
Mary looked around. No sign of Betty. When Lenn brought out their sandwiches, she asked, “Has Betty made it back from Fairbanks yet?”
“Yeah, she got in about an hour ago, grabbed a bag of burgers and left. Said she had some errands to run, but that she’d be back in time for the dinner crowd.” Lenn wiped a meaty arm across his forehead. “Sure hope she does. Lunch was a bear. You want me to give her a message when I see her?”
“No, thanks.” As soon as Nick paid, Mary hooked his arm and steered him toward the door. “Did you hear that? A bag of burgers.”
