“I can keep up,” her sharp tone pierced his eardrum.
She was a proud person. He’d be lying if he tried to convince himself he didn’t like that quality.
Still, no doubt from her tone and the irritated look on her face, he’d made her angry. He hadn’t wanted to, but he did.
Rather than dig the hole any deeper, he nodded and continued on.
Once the cabin was in sight, he paused inside the tree line and looked around, making sure nobody other than the deputy in the squad was nearby.
“All clear,” he said.
When he stepped out of the woods, the deputy’s head snapped in their direction. Exactly what should have happened. It meant the guy was on full-alert.
Cap offered the deputy a nod, then he cautiously slinked his way around the cabin with Emma in tow. His watchful gaze took in no apparent threats.
He opened the front door and gestured for Emma to enter. It was then he noticed the severity of her injury. She’d hurt herself more than she’d let on.
He shut the door.
“Have a seat and let me look at your ankle,” he said as he pointed at the couch.
“I told you. It’s fine.”
The pitch of her voice informed him he should back off, but the sense of duty to help her was too strong.
“Then why are you limping?”
The look-to-kill emanating from her dark irises let him know his tone had been too sharp.
Being angry with each other was not how he wanted this day to go, and it certainly wasn’t good for their well-being, especially given their proximity to each other.
“Emma, please sit and let me look at your ankle.”
She kept her angry gaze on him, and he silently held it. Within a few beats, it softened, and she limped her way to the couch and sat.
He kneeled in front of her, then reached down and gently took her foot in his hands. He undid the tie on her tennis shoe, and carefully slipped it off her foot. Even with his cautious efforts, she winced.
“Sorry.”
When he slid off her sock, swelling and bruising were visible.
“Let me get you some ice,” he offered as he set her foot down on the floor.
There was no ice in the freezer and he hadn’t thought to make any. In fact, there wasn’t anything in the freezer flexible enough to wrap around the curve of her ankle.
He pulled open drawers, hoping to find a first aid kit with an instant ice pack. No luck. He shot off to the bathroom to look and found one in the cabinet. He squeezed the bag and then shook it to activate the cooling agent. Then he pulled a small towel from the cabinet and wrapped the ice pack in it.
When he returned to the living room, he found Emma sitting sideways on the couch with her foot propped up on a pillow.
He placed the icepack over her ankle and tucked it around her ankle as best he could.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m going to make a sandwich for lunch. Would you like one?” he asked.
She hesitated, then nodded.
“Sure, thanks.”
