“Oh, right. Come in here.”
She followed him into his snug little kitchen. The cabinets and counters were old but clean, and the appliances were new. She had to stop cataloging everything. Why was she doing that?
There were several pictures on the fridge, but she went to the sink without stopping to look at them and gently washed her arms with hand soap. It stung like crazy, but she felt better when it was over.
Edward grabbed several paper towels and handed them to her. She dabbed her wounds, checking to see if any were still bleeding. A few were, but just barely.
“Okay, doc. What do you need?” he asked, looking unsure but eager to help. He pulled out a kitchen chair for her and put the first aid kit on the table.
They sorted through the bandages, looking for the right sizes, and she opened one before attempting to put it on her right wrist herself. Darn right-handed problems. She’d never wished to be left-handed so much in her life.
“I can help.” He reached for the bandage before stopping himself. “I should wash up too, I guess.” He jumped to go to the sink and scrubbed his hands with soap and water before coming back. “And my mom wanted me to be a doctor. Can you imagine? I don’t like pain. Mine or other people’s.” He gently turned Elinor’s arm so he could place the bandage, pressing feather-light over the sides to secure it.
“Oh, I don’t know. You’re bedside manner’s not bad.” She hadn’t meant it to sound flirtatious, but it came out breathy, and when she met his eyes, she saw him quickly hide his surprise. “Do you have any pets?” she asked, willing her face to not catch fire.
“Just zebra fish. I have a tank in my bedroom.” He cleared his throat before getting back to placing bandages over the other scratches along her forearms. With his head bowed over his work, she noticed the way his sandy blond hair fell just right over his forehead, and the manly scent coming from it, like something advertised on TV featuring a handsome lumberjack. Icy Riverbank. Centaur Clean. Rippling Rainstorm. It was a good thing he couldn’t see her goofy smile.
He sighed and his warm breath tickled her skin in the most pleasant way. Wow, she was enjoying this waaaay too much. She had to dial it back. As soon as he left her personal space, she’d get right on that.
Edward unwrapped another bandage. “We should take care of that one there.” He pointed to a scratch on her upper arm before scooting his chair closer and leaning in, causing his knee to press against the side of her thigh. Carefully, he placed the bandage before looking up at her, the moment charged with possibility. His eyes darted to her lips before he leaned back, looking reluctant but resigned.
It was too soon. Yep, she was totally relieved. She gathered up the bandage wrappers, crinkling them together in her hand. “Thanks, Edward. Five stars on your Yelp review.”
“I’m honored.” He smiled, pressing his hands into the table as he stood. “Can I get you anything else? Are you hungry or thirsty?”
“I am a little thirsty. Sorry about your drink melting out there. And missing your TV show. Or whatever you were doing with your evening before you found me trespassing in your yard.”
He laughed. “Yes, my evening was totally ruined. What would the ESPN desk jockeys do without me dozing off in front of their post-game report?” He moved to the fridge and pulled out two Cherry 7-Ups. “One of these, or water?”
“Cherry 7-Up, please. With lots of ice?”
“Sure thing.” He got out two glasses and filled them with ice from the icemaker on the freezer door.
Her phone buzzed in her back pocket and she pulled it out. Marianne checking up on her.
Everything okay?
Yep. All bandaged up.
Yay! I want all the details later. All of them.
He put a Band-Aid on me. The End.
All of them….
Marianne would not be deterred. But maybe she could help Elinor come up with more possible manly scent names. Timberwolf Tingle. Hunk of Cleanliness.
“Everything okay?”
Elinor pulled herself back into the present. “Yep. Marianne just wanted to make sure I was okay.” She took the drink he handed to her and sank onto his couch next to him, leaving an appropriate amount of space between them.
“Can I ask?” He paused for a moment, as if not sure if he should continue. “About how you all ended up here?”
Together.She knew what he meant. What were two grown daughters doing moving into a ramshackle house with their mother and little sister in Datefield?
“The short version is that my dad’s business partner got everything when Dad died last year. They had a falling out. My dad made some bad decisions that cost them a lot of money, and his partner retaliated with everything he could do legally. And then Dad had a heart attack in the middle of all that. Everything we had was tied up in the business—the bank accounts, the trucks, our cell phone plans, even the house had a second mortgage on it being paid by the business. Suddenly, it wasn’t ours anymore. We were cut off. My mom got a small settlement, but not enough to pay off the mortgage. A great aunt had left her this house a few years back, so here we are. Marianne and I came to help her start over, and I guess, start over ourselves.”
“That’s horrible. I’m so sorry.”
