“Book,” I muttered as I made my way back to the library, “you just need to read. Clear your head. Get back on a rhythm and routine.”
Somehow I managed to pass the time. I flipped the pages of the DSM and earmarked pages I wanted to come back to in order to do more research. I thought about doing another psych doctorate, but this time leaning more toward the forensics side instead of the clinical side. That meant research for yet another doctorate dissertation, and that type of research couldn’t start too soon. The two glasses of whiskey didn’t hurt the passage of time, relaxing me enough to focus, but by the time the smells of dinner wafted through my home, I heard Cap and Ghost laughing with the girls downstairs.
I snapped my book closed and practically tossed it back onto the shelf.
I waited until everyone else got their food. Not that I was ashamed or anything. But this bunch was a nosy group, and the last thing I wanted was Miss Elizabeth to shirk off the idea of food simply because everyone wanted to ask her cheeky questions as to why we were eating dinner together. She needed her walk, she needed sustenance, and she needed a break from all of the nighttime sounds.
I understood that.
I also wanted to make sure she felt comfortable in my home.
When Cap and Ghost retired upstairs with their women, I knew it was my time to shine. I raced to fill up a couple of covered bowls with the wonderful tortellini soup Brutus made. I stole some garlic bread and made up a quick fruit salad with the fruit we had in the fridge. And after grabbing a couple of ice-cold drinks, I went and set everything up outside by the pool.
I went to retrieve her from the bedroom upstairs.
“Miss Elizabeth,” I said as I knocked softly on her door.
I was shocked when she opened it. “Hey, Doc.”
I blinked. “You shouldn’t be out of bed, Miss Elizabeth.”
She smiled up at me. “How did you expect me to get into clothes for tonight, Doc?”
The sheer mention of her clothing had my eyes scouring down her body. I swallowed hard and offered her my arm. “Very well, then. Whenever you’re ready, we’ll take the long way around and get your walk in first.”
“My hero,” she said as she took it in kind.
The instant her skin settled against mine, I wondered if it was a bad idea. Suddenly I forgot why I showed up. Why I had knocked on her door. Suddenly all that mattered was the warmth of her softly-tanned skin against mine. I noticed over the time she was with us that she didn’t enjoy using the cane much. I saw it glistening in all its glory in one of the back corners of the room just as she slipped out and closed the door, but I couldn’t pay too much attention to it.
Dinner!
That was why I knocked on her door.
I steadied my arm as she leaned against me, and I felt the weight of her limp while we walked.
“Scale of one to ten?” I asked as we started our journey toward the stairs.
“Hmm?”
“Your hip. The pain. Scale of one to ten.”
She drew in a steady breath. “Oh, I don’t know. Sort of bounces between five and six right now.”
“Let me know if you need to rest.”
We got to the top of the steps, and I felt her pause. I didn’t bother asking if she needed a rest. I simply stopped with her, and was shocked when she just… stood there. Was that the trick? Not bringing attention to things? I could do that. I could do my best to read her body language. It wasn’t my strong suit, but it wasn’t as if I was bad at it. Besides, something in my gut told me that she’d just brush it off if I asked her if she needed a moment. So I followed her body instead of her verbal commands.
She held out at the top of the steps until she finally reached her free hand toward the banister.
I stepped down and girded the arm she held. “One step at a time. Take it slow, Miss Elizabeth.”
She shot me a look. “I can walk down some stairs.”
“I know you can.”
She took them gingerly, one by one, until we were at the bottom. I noticed that she leaned into me a bit more as we walked down the hallway that parted my estate home in half. It dumped us out into the kitchen with Anna and Brutus scrubbing away the residue of dinner off the countertops and dishes.
“Hey, hey! Look who’s up!” Anna chirped as she turned around and saw us.
