Private Property: a Contemporary Romance Novella (2 page)

BOOK: Private Property: a Contemporary Romance Novella
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Jared was at her side instantly, complete with condescending frown.  “I should have known you’d have difficulties.”  He ran his hand through his wet,
jaw
-length hair, pushing the mass out of his face.  It was dark brown and
straight, with just a touch of
wave at the ends.  Tabitha noticed for the first time that the way it hung flattered the severe angles and planes of his face.  He was stunningly attractive.  He’d changed clothes – a white tank top that highlighted his sculptured, tan arms and a pair of black pants.

“Well, we’re about to be more intimate than you were probably prepared for.  I’m going to have to help you out of those clothes.”  He squatted down next her.

A fresh wave of panic seized Tabitha.  There was no way some stranger was going to see her naked.  Well, not necessarily naked, she did have on a bra and panties, but close enough damn it.  “No.  No.  Just forget it.  I’m fine really.”  She batted away his hand as he attempted to grab hold of her jeans.  “No.”  Her voice had become shrill.

He huffed and zeroed in on her gaze with the most formidable look she’d ever seen.  The seriousness of his manner made her breath catch.

“Look, Tabitha,” he said her name as though he were losing patience with a five year old.  “
Ol
’ Sam has a bite that can tear through 200 pounds of solid mass, which you obviously don’t measure up to.  Blood is seeping out of you and I can see it spreading into a nasty stain on my couch.  I can do this with your cooperation or without it, it makes no difference to me, but it will be done.”

Tabitha lay there rigid as a board and completely horrified.  He waited a few moments and began again.  “Tabitha, I’m a surgeon.  I’ve been trained to look past the attractions of the human body when medical attention is required.  It would be better for you to remain in your underwear, but I will drape the blanket over
you
so nothing is exposed.  We need to do this now.  Every moment we waste is a greater risk for infection.  These are dog bites,
after all
.”

His last statement did it – she
wearily
nodded her ascent.  Jared replaced the
now-
wet afghan with
a
flannel blanket, tucking it about her shoulders.  His hands
moved
swiftly, but gently, to work her jeans first off her good leg then
off
the injured one.  The pain was almost unbearable as he diligently
pulled
the shreds of material out of her wounds.  Tabitha ground her teeth to keep from wailing and fighting him off.  Finally, her leg was free and although it still throbbed, some of the tightness in her chest abated.  Now he pulled at the hem of her shirt, slipping it over her right arm and head.  He grasped her left and tried to raise it but that only managed to inflict more pain so he pulled the shirt down over it instead.

Jared made quick work of her leg and arm to staunch the renewed flow of blood by wrapping each tightly with gauze and ace bandages.  He then felt around her shoulder joint before getting up and retrieving a very large book from a bookcase
across the room

Until then Tabitha hadn’t noticed the vast collection of tomes and volumes that lined the entire wall from floor to ceiling.
 
What was he planning on doing with a book?  Was he a home-schooled doctor and needed to review a chapter?
  It was finally her turn to frown at him.

He resumed his seat on the table, clasping the book between his flattened palms.  “Your shoulder has been pulled out of its socket so the first thing we need to do is reset it.”  Jared reached out and grabbed her hand, which had been clenched tightly into a fist for so long it was colored in varying shades
of
purple and white and she could no longer feel her fingers.  Surprised to find her hand in such a position, Tabitha reasoned she must have done so to fight the waves of sharp pain coming from her upper arm.

Jared slowly uncurled her fingers and immediately snatched up another roll of gauze.  Curious as to his reason, Tabitha spared a glance down at her hand then stared in horror at the gaping wound that stretched from the base of her pointer finger, diagonally across
to the center of her palm
.  As she watched, the deep laceration filled with bright red fluid that came pouring out.  But before she could physically react Jared had bound her hand and placed the binding of the book across her palm.

“Now listen very carefully.  In order for me to treat your wounds
it’s best if
you aren’t
hindered by impaired joint movements
.  Look at me, Tabitha.  I want you to hold on to the book.  Don’t worry about the cut – I’ll take care of that in a moment. 
Hold tight and firm.”
  He tested her grip, which in her current condition was clutching the book as though it was a lifeline.  “Good.  Now, relax
your arm
.  I’m going to let go of your wrist and then set that bone back in the socket.”  Tabitha figured he was testing her strength to make sure no other damage was done to her shoulder.

Abruptly, he released his hold on her and her arm was forced down with the weight of the
heavy
book.  She felt her arm brutally jerk into position with a grotesque popping noise.


Fudgesticks
and popcorn!”  Tabitha burst out, reflexiv
ely grabbing her shoulder
with her good hand
and ma
ssaging
it
.  The relief was instantaneous and she looked up to thank the ingenious man who’d fixed it.  He was looking at her with a stunned expression, one thick slash of an eyebrow arched in question.


Fudgesticks
and popcorn?”  He repeated.

Tabitha felt the
flush steal over her cheeks and
got hit with embarrassed giggles.  “It’s something my grandmother used to say.”

“Interesting.”  He nodded curtly and held out two white pills for her to take.  “Place these under your tongue, they will dissolve.”

“What are they?”


Xanax
, 2.5
milligrams
,
to calm your nerves.”

Tabitha obeyed as Jared unwrapped and examined the cut on her hand.  “I’ll need to use a local to deaden the area, but the cut doesn’t look
big
enough to warrant more than a few stitches.”

Tabitha’s heart plunged and she squeezed her eyes shut.  She heard him snap the gloves into place over his hands.

“This will sting, but only until it becomes numb.”

The needle pricks were multiple, quick and irritating but in no time the area was completely dead to sensat
ion.
Tabitha risked a look (
one was enough
)
and she quickly shut her eyes again at the sight of the small hooked needle being pulled through her skin.  She felt the tugging as he stitched up her hand.

“Okay.  Well, that doesn’t look like it was inflicted by Sam and I removed quite a lot of debris.  I suppose you fell rather hard at some point.”  Tabitha nodded mutely to confirm his assumption.

Next, he moved on to the tender area at the back of her arm repeating the process of deadening, cleansing, and sewing up the skin.  Here, Jared pointed out that the area was torn and ragged where she had tried to pull herself free of Sam’s locked jaw.  He worked more slowly, taking care to mend the area as best he could.

The tugging on Tabitha’s arm stopped and she heard a sigh escape him.  She peeked out and found him staring at her.

“Now, I need to get you turned over.  I really should move you to a table or some place higher and
steadier
, but since the couch
is
already ruined and you’re comfortable – you’ll stay.”

The leg turned out to be a more harrowing deal.  Just turning over expended
Tabitha’s remaining energy
.  The stitching process was more intricate because of
the
amount of damage the dog had inflicted and the process seemed to take forever.  But she had relaxed immensely since ingesting the pills and now she was beginning to feel the heavy amount of physical drain her ordeal had cost her.

Jared removed the gloves and repositioned the blanket and quilt to fully cover her.

He patted her back.  “Get some rest; I need to attend
to
my next patient.”  She heard him gather the box and exit the room.  He flipped the switch on the wall, which except for the dim light coming from the
doorway,
sent her into darkness.  Something about the lack of light made her aware that the storm was still raging outside.  The electrical flashes showed the trees bent with the howling winds.  The rumblings of thunder still sounded with anger, but being sheltered calmed Tabitha’s fear.

A sharp yelp brought her out of her mental fog momentarily; she was lulled back into her stupor by the sound of a deep, calming voice murmuring in the distance.  It was almost a purr.

“Tabitha.”  The sound of her name jolted her awake.  She snapped her head up, automatically pulling the back of her hand across her mouth in a very unfeminine gesture.  She tried to push off her stomach into a sitting position, but that hurt so she flopped back down, smushing one side of her face into the couch in order to look at him.  Unfortunately, that only gave her a view ranging from his knees to his stomach – and although she wasn’t complaining, it didn’t help her discern why he’d woken her.

“Help me up, please.”  She said, trying not to talk to his crotch.

“What?  You’re mumbling.”  Before she could repeat herself, he spoke again.  “Let’s sit you up.”

At least she didn’t have to waste more breath asking again.  He slid his hands underneath her and amidst her grunting protests, managed to maneuver her back into a face-up, reclining position.

He held out two pills.  “I heated up some soup for you and there’s crackers and water.  You’ll need to eat before you take these.”  He dropped the two tablets on the tray of food he’d placed on the coffee table before her.  “These will subdue the pain.”

She could use that.  He moved as though he meant to leave.  “How long have I been asleep?”  She rasped out, her mouth suddenly dry.  She cleared her throat, Jared handed her the glass of water, and she gulped half of it down.

With a resigned sigh, Jared sat down on the couch at her feet.  “A couple of hours.”

Tabitha bent over and began crumbling crackers into the bowl of chicken noodle soup.  She supposed she should make small talk since he was sitting with her so she searched her brain for a topic.  “I don’t think I’ve ever eaten in semi-darkness before.”

“I have to preserve the generator’s gas.  The weather is supposed to be rough all weekend.”  He settled into the couch, taking a casual pose with one arm stretched out across the back, one ankle resting on the knee of the other leg.  “May I ask what you were doing out in weather like this?”

Tabitha stopped eating and stared into her bowl as she answered.  “I had no choice.”

“You couldn’t have waited for morning?  The rain may not have abated, but it would have been brighter outside.”

“I have to be in Austin first thing in the morning.  I have no – did you say generator?”  Tabitha hadn’t really given his words much thought.

“Yes.  The lights and phone have been out for
a while
.”  He shifted a bit.  “I hate to be the one to break it to you, but I don’t think you’ll be anywhere by morning.”

Tabitha’s mind began reeling frantically.  It had to be after midnight already.  There was no way to get her car; she couldn’t call anyone to help.  She’d failed again.  Her throat began to tighten and she fought back the tears welling up in her eyes.

“What was the emergency that had you risking your life out on the road?”  His voice held no compassion for her current disposition.

“A job.”  She pushed away from the food, after only a few bites, and popped the pills in her mouth.

“You were out in this for a weekend job?  What job is worth the financial and physical bind you put yourself into?”  He was chastising her like a child.  He made her feel stupid with his direct words, imbecilic, a person incapable of processing rational, intelligent thought.  It tore at some secret, delicate place inside her.

She had to end this degrading conversation.  “Thank you for all
you’ve
done, Jared.  I’m tired and should probably get more sleep.”  She feigned a yawn for emphasis.

Jared studied her, his gaze not quite believing,
then
stood up.  “You’re right.”  He held out a hand to assist her.  “The guest room is made up.”

She’d gotten quite comfortable on the couch and saw no reason to leave.  “I’m fine here, really.”

He sent his eyes in an exaggerated roll.  “No, I need to soak those cushions, you need some decent rest and I’ll be just across the hall if a problem should arise.”

His demeano
r brooked no arguments.  He seemed,
once again
,
to be
demanding compliance of a lesser being.  Tabitha should have stood her ground, copped an attitude or shot off a decent comeback, but she wasn’t
really
the sort by nature.  The only thing she managed as she struggled to her feet was, “Enough with the couch already.”

BOOK: Private Property: a Contemporary Romance Novella
5.42Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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