Annie Claydon - Healed By The Single Dad Doc

‘Use ice packs to relieve the swelling. And I’m going to give you a sling.’

‘But my work...’ Alarm registered in her eyes.

‘Maybe you should take some time off work. Just a few days, to get over the shock.’

She shook her head, pulling her arm away from his fingers and cradling it in her lap. ‘I don’t want to take time off work. I want things back to normal as soon as possible.’

‘Are you sure you’re not pushing yourself too hard?’

‘Yes, I’m sure. This is what I want.’

There was no disagreeing with her. And, even if he could, perhaps Kate was right about this and he was wrong. But he could at least attend to her medical needs.

‘In that case, I’m going to insist you wear the sling for a week. You need to keep that arm rested to allow it to heal.’

Kate nodded. ‘All right. I can get one of the veterinary nurses to help me at work.’

This was a victory of sorts. Ethan hid his smile, scribbling a note on his pad to send down to the dispensary. ‘I’m going to prescribe some painkillers as well. Just enough for a few days. If you have significant pain after that, you should go and see your own doctor.’

‘Thanks. I think I’ll be wanting those.’

There was one more thing he had to ask. He didn’t even want to think about it, but maybe it would be better coming from him.

‘Have the police seen your injuries?’ Ethan kept his eyes fixed on the pad in front of him, as if he were checking what he’d written and this was just an aside.

‘No.’

When he glanced up at her, her cheeks were bright red. Ethan knew that the officer she’d seen would have asked about injuries, and Kate had probably repeated the mantra that she was okay. She’d probably turned down the offer of victim support as well.

‘You know, don’t you, that they’ve caught the man?’ She nodded. ‘And that they’ll be wanting as much evidence against him as they can gather. It’s up to you, of course.’

It was, technically, up to Kate. But Ethan had no doubt that there would be an attempt at persuasion. Maybe it was better coming from him.

‘They’ll want photographs, won’t they? To show in court. They did that the last time.’

So she had been hurt before. It seemed to Ethan that Kate was fighting not just this incident but her memories of the last one.

‘Yes, they will. As a medical practitioner, it’s my duty to encourage you to report any injury that’s the result of a crime. As a...friend, I’ll tell you that this is a difficult process, but one that may well help you to feel better in the long run. It helps if you decide to do it on your own terms.’

She thought for a moment. Then that spark of resilience flashed in her eyes. ‘Yes, you’re right. Can you do it?’

The thought that she trusted him was almost overwhelming. Ethan could do it. He’d documented and photographed injuries many times before for police use. If there were any question about his personal involvement in the crime, then he’d take the flack that Mags would almost certainly dispense.

‘You’re sure?’

‘Yes. Positive.’ Now that Kate had made up her mind, she seemed impatient for action.

‘All right. I’ll go and get the forms and see if I can find a nurse.’ An impartial observer would be good on two counts—first to countersign the forms. Mags would like that. And second to help Kate pull up her shirt at the back and position her arm. Because, if the first time he’d touched her had been intoxicating, now it was almost becoming a craving.

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