The socks I’d put on her that morning poked out from beneath the flannel jacket and were covered in dirt and pine needles from her walk. Frowning, I went back inside and found the first aid kit above the sink. I would need to add some medical supplies to my next order.
With the kit tucked under my arm, I found some fresh socks in my dresser and strode back outside, closing the door behind me. When she peered up at me, I gestured to her feet.
Brooke swallowed her bite of sandwich. “You need your socks back?”
The question amused me, but I tried not to show it. Shaking my head, I squatted in front of her, needing to make sure her wounds were clean so nothing became infected. When I gestured to her feet this time, she changed her position, stretching her legs out in front of her. I hadn’t been sure she’d allow me to take another look. She could tell me to fuck off if she wanted.
Carefully, I peeled the socks off her feet and set them aside. The toes of her one foot were turning purple. Being as gentle as possible, I unhooked the tensor and unwrapped it. When she sucked in a quick breath, I slowed my movements. Once free of the bandage, the bruise at the side of her ankle looked worse than it had a few hours ago. It had spread the length of her foot to her pinkie toe.
“I don’t suppose you have ice?” she murmured. A frown pinched her brow as she stared at her foot.
Actually, I did have ice. I stood. I retrieved the key to the cold room from where it hung on a hook beside the kitchen cupboards before heading to the side of the cabin.
The permafrost here had allowed me to build the in-ground cellar, one of the reasons I’d picked this section of land for my cabin. I kept most of my food there. Ironically, I needed to keep it locked because of bears. If their berry crops ended up being poor this year, the black bears would migrate into my territory to look for other sources of food. In the winter, the cold room was more of a deep freeze, and I used the corner cupboard in the kitchen as a fridge instead. But right now, the temperature was perfect for keeping everything fresh.
When I walked down the few steps, frigid air surrounded me, hovering around zero degrees Celsius. A box for ice ran along the length of one side. Before the big thaw of the season, I’d put enough ice in there to last me the entire summer. I broke up some smaller chucks with the ice pick beside the box, then took one of the clean socks out of my back pocket and filled it halfway.
Before returning to Brooke, I grabbed a sturdy stump from near the wood pile and hefted it over my shoulder. I found her in the same position I’d left her, her plate empty. I took it, set it aside, and crouched in front of her again. I slid the stump beneath her foot. It wasn’t entirely flat, but it would do. I tied off the end of the ice sock then repositioned the chunk inside so it would cradle most of her injury.
She hissed when it made contact. I was about to snatch it away when she said, “It’s okay,” staying my hand.
I waited for her to settle against the back of the chair, then satisfied the makeshift icepack would stay put for a while, I turned my attention to her other foot. Carefully, I pulled the Band Aids away from her skin to take a look. Everything seemed to be healing okay. I refreshed the ointment and bandages then turned to her knees. They still looked pretty bad. I squeezed out a small bit of ointment on a piece of gauze and added more where the skin might scab.
She hissed another breath.
An apology rumbled through my throat. I was trying to say sorry for hurting her further, but it came out a growl.
Her whole body became rigid.
Not wanting to make her uncomfortable or scare her, I finished up as quickly as I could. The other clean sock went over the new bandages.
“Thank you,” she murmured when I was done, then pulled her free leg up to her chest.
Skin flashed beneath the borrowed jacket, making my breath stall in my throat. Her skirt was short, and I still wasn’t sure she wore anything beneath it. I blinked and stood, so she wasn’t in my line of sight anymore.
I’d been away from women, especially beautiful ones, for way too long. Of course, my body reacted, but that didn’t mean I wanted to act on it. She’d been through something traumatic and wore a possibly explosive collar around her neck. I’d be an ass and a half to even think about doing more than helping her.
Keeping my gaze away from her bare legs, I left the tensor bandage there for later, but picked up the first aid kit, her empty plate, and the dirty socks, and opened the door to go inside.
Busy work. That’s what I needed in order to keep my mind off the woman outside. I’d no sooner had the thought, then I realized she was probably cold out there. I grabbed a blanket from the wardrobe at the end of the bed.
She lifted her head when I stepped outside. Without lingering, I settled the blanket over her lap, draping it over her leg and making sure her toes were covered, then went back inside.
The big pot of water wasn’t boiling yet, but it would be soon. I didn’t really need it to super hot for laundry, but wanted it to stay warm for as long as possible. I checked on the fire in the stove, satisfied it would burn itself out. The cabin was warm enough now that I didn’t need to keep it going.
With the remaining water in the sink, I made short work of the dishes, put the sandwich stuff away, and scrubbed the already clean counters. Next, I stripped the bed, finding the sheets smeared with the blood that had come from her wounds. There were a few dirty clothes items in the laundry hamper, so I grabbed those too, along with the socks I’d lent Brooke.
She’d asked about a shower. I didn’t have one, but it wasn’t often I used the lake as a bathtub. Sometimes, but when it was hotter out. I grabbed the big rubber laundry tubs out from their place in a bottom kitchen cupboard, along with a smaller tub I set on the dining table. A quick trip to the wardrobe let me find some other things for Brooke: a face cloth, hand towel, new bar of soap, and a toothbrush in its package. She’d have to share my toothpaste. Everything went beside the tub on the table.
After a moment’s hesitation, I wrote another note and tucked it in my pocket. I set out a pair of my drawstring sweatpants and one of my T-shirts on the stripped bed. The sheets and my clothes went into the laundry tubs beside the biodegradable detergent already there, then I took everything outside.
A puddle formed on the stump where the ice from the sock had melted. Brooke shivered beneath the blanket. I lifted the corner, took the soggy sock out from beneath it, and threw it into the tub with the rest of the laundry. Setting everything aside, I crouched in front of her and used the edge of the blanket to dry her foot.
Before I started re-wrapping the tensor around her ankle, I passed her my latest note.If you change into something else, I can wash your clothes.She’d been through a lot in those clothes and would probably appreciate changing into something clean.
She lifted her head. “I don’t have anything else to wear.”
Finished with the tensor, I gestured to the cabin.
