Page 4 of Saved By the Surly Medic

He returns in a moment with some cozy clothing, a fluffy towel, and a plastic chair. After handing me the clothes and towel he sets the chair in the large glass shower stall.

It feels like he's trying not to look at me. When he finally makes eye contact, his smile is forced. "Please leave the door unlocked, so you can holler if you need help. Don't use searing hot water, just comfortably warm until you feel somewhat normal. I'm going to make you some tea and fix us dinner." His brow furrows. "And then once you're warm, I need to examine that bruised spot."

"Okay. Thank you."

I shut the door and carefully shrug off my cold, wet clothing. Is it weird that he'd bring a stranger into his home? As I wait for the water to warm up, I realize I'm looking around the bathroom for signs of anyone else living here – specifically, a woman. Jonah wasn't wearing a wedding ring, but that doesn't mean he might not have a girlfriend.

But every product seems skewed toward a male demographic. Oat and cedar soap. A man's razor. Lemon rosemary shampoo.

I step carefully into the shower and nearly moan, the warmth is so nice. After about a minute my muscles unclench, and my teeth finally stop their intermittent chattering. I run the soap over me for a moment, then sit down, enjoying the way the warm spray is pummeling my back.

I choke back tears as it hits me all at once. I could have died. If I hadn't managed to kick my feet like a demon and scramble over to that rock… There was no way I would've been able to swim hard enough to make it to those logs. I would have been swept over the rapids like a crumpled newspaper blowing down the street.

Admittedly, it feels like a few of my fingertips are shredded, and my ribs are really starting to ache. But that's a small price to pay for not having my head bashed in and drowning.

After indulging in the blissful warmth for another few minutes, I get dressed, dry my hair, and shuffle out to the living room. Now that I can look at it properly, I have to admit that Jonah's house is absolutely gorgeous and looks utterly comfortable. Everything is done in earth tones and warm wood, and my eyes land on a gigantic squashy, navy couch.

"Yep. Right here." Jonah pats the couch invitingly, and when I sit he wraps one blanket around my shoulders and another around my feet. Then he hands me a large glass. "Mango orange smoothie," he explains. "It'll give you a shot of vitamin C and bring up your blood sugar quickly."

I take a sip, and grin up at him. "Tastes amazing. Is that ginger?"

"Yes. It increases circulation."

He returns to the kitchen as I giggle to myself. "I really like that a doctor still uses natural medicine," I call to him.

He returns with a cup of tea that definitely smells medicinal. "It's all chemistry – whether it's a drug, a vitamin, or an organic compound." His sexy lips curl up in a cockeyed smirk. "Plus there's the whole psychological aspect to making a patient feel comfortable. Lowering stress lowers cortisol, which helps the body heal itself faster."

"So this is all just a trick?" I take another few gulps of my smoothie. "Well, it tastes amazing, so I'll run with it."

"I should mention," he says, a whisper of tension crossing his features, "I'm not precisely a doctor."

"Well, you seem to know what you're doing."

"Oh, I do. I promise you that." He sits down next to me at a polite distance. "I spent four years in Pre-med at university, but then I ended up in the army for several years as a medic overseas."

My eyes widen. "You didn't end up anywhere scary, did you?"

That adorable, crooked almost-smile again. "Not really. More like spots where the army was there to smooth things over after emergencies. I was a medic and patched up all kinds of minor injuries."

"So is that your job now?"

His head tilts back and forth. "Old Hemlock Valley can't afford a full-time doctor. But I don't need a day job. So, I have a small free clinic at City Hall that's open a few afternoons a week. And people know they can just show up here on my doorstep if there's an emergency. People drive down to West Stoneburg for doctors, specialists, and the hospital."

"A small town almost-doctor that works for nothing?" My grin feels unnaturally wide. "Plus you just go around randomly saving peoples' lives in the forest? You sound like a pretty good guy, Jonah."

His lips twist slightly, and I swear he might be almost blushing under that outdoorsy tan.

"Official examination time." He takes the glass from my hand, then inspects my palms and fingers. A first aid kit is under the coffee table, and he pulls it out to grab a few bandages. He disinfects and wraps the cuts on two of my fingers.

"Any dizziness, shortness of breath, joint pain…anything strange at all?"

I shake my head. "I mean, everything feels a bit tired and achy, but I assume that's from tumbling like an idiot into the river."

"Please. You're not an idiot."

"Okay, I was busy sketching the curves of the river and tripped over my own damn feet, is that better?" My heavy sigh makes him look up. "I do that a bit more than the average person."

"Luckily, you won't be moving off this couch for a good long while."

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