“Where was Dick?”
“He left early because he wasn’t feeling well.I was the last one to leave, so I locked up and set the alarm.I remotely started my car, and it wasn’t until I got closer that it finally registered that the light above my car was out.As I was reaching for the handle, someone came up behind me and pinned me to the side of my car.I asked him what he wanted, and he said he didn’t want anything, but a friend of his did.”
He rolled his hands on the steering wheel.“Okay.Anything else?”Jed shot a glance her direction when she didn’t immediately reply.“Sadie?”Silence.“Did hetouchyou?”
She dropped her elbow to the console and rested her head on her hand, holding the material tight.“He reached under my coat and grabbed my boob.He squeezed it hard, and his other hand grabbed me between my legs.I tried pushing him off, but he liked that.He pulled my head back by my hair, and it pissed me off, so I reached behind me and squeezed his junk as hard as I could.That’s when he slammed my head into the car, and you pulled onto the lot, scaring him off.”
Jed pulled his truck into his driveway and waited for the garage door to go up.He pulled in and waited for Tulsa to park her car and enter the garage before closing it.She started to climb out, but Tulsa was there to help her down before she went too far.He walked her around the front of the truck and ushered her through the door into the kitchen.
“Here ya go, sweetheart.Have a seat.”He pulled out a chair at the kitchen table while Jed dug through a drawer and brought her over a clean dish towel.He tossed his bloody shirt into the sink, then removed his cut and hung it on the back of another chair.
Tulsa pulled out the chair to her right and had a seat.“How ya doin’?Gotta headache?Sick to your stomach?”
“My head hurts, and my stomach has been weird for a few days.I think I’m trying to come down with that damn stomach bug going around.”
A knock at the door stopped any further conversation.Tulsa got up to let Bacon in, then brought him to the kitchen.He went straight to Sadie and took Tulsa’s seat, pulling the chair closer to get a better look at her injury.“Hey, Sadie.How have you been doing?”
“Oh, you know.I’m being stalked by a crazy man, and I was just jumped in a dark parking lot, so things have been better.”Her attempt at humor fell flat.
Bacon winked at her and reached for the towel she was holding against her head.“Let me take a look.”His facial expression gave nothing away.Being a doctor, Jed was sure the man had seen way worse.“You are definitely going to need stitches.”He pulled out a penlight and told her to look straight ahead.He checked her pupils and frowned.“You’ve got a mild concussion.”
Tulsa stood behind Bacon with his arms crossed over his chest while he watched everything Bacon was doing.
Bacon pulled what he needed out of his medical bag, laying everything out on the table.“Let me wash my hands, and we’ll get started.”
Jed was still standing near the sink and pulled out another clean dish towel from the drawer, offering it to him.Bacon resumed his seat, and Jed went to stand next to Sadie.“Do you want to hold my hand?”he tried to tease her.
“Sure.”
He hadn’t expected her to take him up on his offer.He held out his hand and waited for her to take it.Being this close to her, under this lighting, he could see that her face had gotten paler when Bacon pulled out the syringe.“Not a fan of needles?”Jed asked.
“I’m fine with needles; it’s the getting stuck with one I don’t like.”
Bacon smiled, Tulsa grunted in agreement, and Jed chuckled, giving her hand a little squeeze.
“Ready?”
“Sure.”
“I’m going to clean the area around your injury a little, then I’m going to numb it.We’ll wait a little bit, then I’ll sew you up.You okay with that?”Bacon explained all that as he slipped on a pair of sterile gloves.
With his hands in her face, Sadie closed her eyes, then clenched her teeth when Bacon made his first injection.She kept taking deep breaths, letting them out slowly.Other than that, she didn’t move.She didn’t flinch.But she did squeeze the hell out of his hand.Damn, the woman had a strong grip.
“We’ll let this sit for a few minutes so that you’re good and numb when I start the sutures.”
She nodded and took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth.“Okay.Can I, uh, lie down for that part?I’m feeling a little lightheaded.”
“Sure.Let us help you onto the table.Can one of you guys bring her a pillow and maybe a blanket?”Bacon directed them.Jed held her hand as she sat on the table, then eased her down on her back.
“Tulsa, grab a throw pillow from the couch and the blanket on the recliner, would you?”Jed asked.
“Sorry about that.I’m usually a lot better with this kind of stuff.”She closed her eyes and allowed him to hold some gauze to her head.
“You’re fine.It’s just a delayed reaction to what you’ve been through.”Bacon used his soothing bedside voice to try and calm her.
“Here you go.”Tulsa returned with the blanket and pillow.
Jed lifted her head and placed the pillow beneath it while Bacon shook out the blanket and settled it over her.She was starting to shake, and he wondered if it was from being cold or a delayed reaction from what had happened.
