“Come on back. Let me get your information, and then we’ll take an X-ray.”
“Okay.”
Doc raises an eyebrow when his gaze meets mine, and I smile at him. He’s never seen me with a woman. So far, the only one of us who’s married is Adam, and that was two weeks ago when he married Rebekah to save her from her murderer father. Just thinking about it makes me wish I could be the one to kill him this time.
“Ash, are you okay?”
I look down to see Emma staring up at me, her expression filled with concern.
“Sorry, I’m here. Do you want me to come back with you or wait out here?”
“Would it be okay if you came?”
“Of course. Doc, it’s fine with you, right?”
“Whatever Miss Emma wants is fine.” Doc Winston offers her a gentle smile.
I don’t realize I haven’t put her down until we’re already in the exam room. No wonder he was giving me that look. Internally, I berate myself for how I’m acting. The grumpiest of the Gallants has been turned into a huge softy by a little woman with blue-green eyes.
“Asher, if you’d put her on the exam table?”
“Yes, sir.” After getting her settled, I step back. When her eyes search for mine, I nod. “I’ll be right over here.” Then I take a chair in the corner of the room.
Doc takes her blood pressure, listens to her heart, and unwraps the bandages on her hands to examine her wounds. “You did a good job, Asher.”
“Thanks. It’s not like we don’t have a lot of experience fixing each other up.”
“True. I remember your mother making sure you all had first-aid training. She was a good woman,” he says as he adds more antiseptic cream to her palms and re-wraps her hands.
Guilt always taints my memories of my parents, but this time is different. Seeing them through his eyes reminds me of happy times. If only I could hold on to that feeling.
Emma’s hiss of pain brings me back to the present as the doctor removes the sock from her injured foot. The bruising has blossomed, now her entire ankle and most of her foot are a dark purple color.
“Well, young lady, you’ve certainly done a number on yourself. You mentioned having surgery about a year ago, right? Can you give me a bit more detail about what happened?”
Emma glances at me, then nods. “I was in a car accident. My dad was driving, and one of those huge SUVs ran the red light and hit us. Our car spun around and rolled over. My dad died instantly. My mom and I made it to the hospital after the paramedics cut us out of our car.
“She died a short time later. Somehow, when the car rolled, my foot got caught underneath the front seat and, as you can see, it was a mess. It took three surgeries and lots of metal to get it so I could walk on it. Running through the woods was a stupid thing to do.”
Doc Watson nods and then looks at me. He must know there’s more to this story that she’s not saying. Namely, why Emma would be running on Gallant Mountain in the first place. But if she’s going to cover for me, I’ll take the coward's way out and let her—for now.
“I’m so sorry for your loss, Emma. Let’s get you to the X-ray machine. Hopefully, you haven’t done any more damage, and it’s just a bad sprain. It would probably be a good idea to check with your own doctor when you get home.”
“I will, thank you. I hope it’s nothing serious.”
Other than the fire, this is the first time I have ever regretted my actions. This is my fault. Caused her this extra pain, dredging up memories of her accident and losing her parents. God knows I can relate to the loss. But she didn’t deserve it—especially because, with everything going on with Rebekah’s father, Richard Sharp, I’d totally blanked out about a scientist coming to conduct research on the mountain.
“Asher, can you lift Emma into the wheelchair. I don’t want her putting any pressure on her foot until we see what’s going on.”
“How about I carry her?”
“That works,” Doc answers.
“Is that okay with you, Emma?”
She agrees with one of her gentle smiles. “Perfect. Thank you, Ash.”
I’m thankful she doesn’t call me Ashbear in front of the doc. She’s the first person, other than my brothers, who’s ever shortened my name, and I don’t hate it.
