Page 8 of Firefighter Midlife Wolf

“Yeah.”

Taking a thermometer from her bag, she swiped it across his forehead and noted the temperature. “What hurts?”

“Everything. My arm hurts. My leg hurts. Where they did the surgeries hurts.”

“And you’ve got bruises that are still healing, too,” she noted. They’d changed from the deep purple of fresh contusions and had started to turn a yellowy green, but they were probably still pretty sore. “None of that is too surprising considering what you’ve been through. Is the pain getting any worse than it was yesterday or the day before?”

“No.” Jack gave a disgusted look to the blood pressure cuff.

“Any sharp pains, or are they more like dull aches?”

“Aches, I guess.”

“Okay, good. Take a deep breath.” She used her stethoscope to listen to his heart and chest. He was beaten all to hell, but he seemed all right. Jessica was glad for that. Jack was so young and had his whole life ahead of him. She’d seen that look that’d crossed his father’s face, and she could only imagine what Hayden was going through. “Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

Jack let out a long sigh. “I was riding with my friend Ethan. We were just cruising around town, and he lost control on a curve. The car was completely totaled, and everyone told us we’re lucky to be alive.”

“And how is Ethan doing?” Jessica asked, glad to know that both boys had made it out of the accident. She put her stethoscope back in the bag. His vitals were good, but something was bothering her.

“Similar to me. He’s got a few broken bones and some bruises, but he didn’t have to have any surgeries. I think he’s just pissed because his dad took his license away and told him he’s not buying him another car.”

“I’m sure. Do you mind lifting your shirt so I can check your incision site?” She leaned forward and carefully peeled back the bandages. “That’s a hard lesson for Ethan to learn, but I bet most parents would do something similar.”

“Yeah, that’s what Dad said, too.”

“Things are looking excellent here. Let’s have a peek at your leg.” Jessica carefully pulled back the covers so that she didn’t expose any more of him than was absolutely necessary. “What do you usually like to do in your spare time when you’re not playing dolls or having tea parties?”

“Nothing that I can do now,” Jack replied, his voice even flatter than it’d been before. “The season’s over, but I run track. I guess that’s shot to hell.”

“For now. It’s going to take some work, but you’re young and in overall good health. You’ll heal from this, especially if you do all the work your physical therapist prescribes. You’ll have to put in the time, but I bet you’ll be out there on that track sooner than you think. What else do you like to do?”

He let out a short, ironic laugh. “Play guitar. I can’t do that, either. I guess I’m down to just tea parties and dolls.”

Jessica smiled, pleased to know that at least he’d taken her joke in stride, even if he was miserable. “This could be a good time for you to explore other hobbies, maybe things you liked to do in the past or something you’ve been interested in trying but didn’t have the time.” His other incision also looked good. If he were any other patient, she’d have had no concerns. “I know you were a little uncertain about it, but did you want any help with a shower today?”

“No,” Jack answered quickly. “I’ll just have Dad help me with that. We can figure it out.”

“All right. I’ll let you get away with it for now, but if I come back and find that you’re getting smelly, we’ll have to do something, okay?”

“Yeah.”

Jessica put everything away. She’d checked all the boxes on her list, but one problem still needed to be resolved. It didn’t feel right to ask Jack directly about it, though. “I’m just going to step into the kitchen to talk to your dad for a moment.”

“Okay.” As soon as she turned toward the kitchen door, loud music started blaring on the TV again.

Nervously, Jessica pushed on the kitchen door and knocked on the frame. “Hayden?”

He’d just opened the oven, and his butt was very nicely displayed once again. “Come on in. Is everything okay?”

“Yes, I just had a quick question for you.” The delectable smell she’d noticed when she’d come in the front door was much stronger here, and it made her mouth water.

Hayden put a baking sheet of oven fries on the stovetop to cool before he turned to the pressure cooker that was beeping on the corner of the counter. “Do you mind if I keep cooking while we talk? I need to get this taken care of.”

“Sure, go right ahead.” She had to admire a man who knew his way around the kitchen and kept it clean at the same time.

Jessica had been in all sorts of homes since she’d started this new position. It wasn’t her job to criticize anyone’s housekeeping unless it posed a health risk, but she couldn’t help but notice. Hayden had the dishwasher open so he could put the dirty dishes inside as soon as he was done with them, and the floor was swept. A hot firefighter cooking in a clean kitchen? Yeah, this was fantasy stuff, for sure.

Then there was that pull she felt between their wolves, which only made it better. That was also the cause for her concern. “Well, first, I just wanted to say that Jack seems to be doing well physically.”

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