Page 17 of Christmas in the Shadows

He glanced at her before he reached for the needle he’d set aside.

Then he changed the subject. “I’m going to give you a shot to numb this, so the stitches won’t hurt as much, okay?”

Chelsea’s throat tightened, but she nodded. Patrick probably didn’t expect someone Chelsea’s age to be afraid of needles. She’d like to keep it that way. Her fear was downright embarrassing.

A moment later, Patrick held the needle in his hand and tapped the barrel to get the air bubbles out. Then he plunged it into her skin near the cut.

As he did, everything went black around her.

CHAPTER 5

Tex darted from the door and reached Chelsea before she toppled off the exam table. Her head fell against his chest.

But he’d caught her. That could have been ugly.

“Hey,” he murmured. “I’ve got you. It’s okay.”

Patrick sprang into action. “Lay her down and give her some breathing room.”

Something about his words sounded territorial. Tex had a feeling that the doctor didn’t like seeing Chelsea’s head against Tex’s chest.

But he did as Patrick instructed. He carefully grabbed her shoulders and lowered her onto the table. He stayed close to ensure she didn’t fall off.

“Chelsea, can you hear me?” Patrick leaned toward her.

She didn’t stir.

“I don’t understand what happened,” Patrick muttered, a knot of confusion forming between his eyebrows. He reached to the counter behind him to grab something.

“It was the needle,” Tex explained. “Chelsea always passes out at the sight of needles.”

Patrick glanced at him with surprise in his gaze. “Really?”

Tex nodded. “As you might remember, the two of us were pretty close back in high school. Needles have always been one of her fears.”

Patrick pushed his wire-framed glasses up higher. “I do remember that.”

What was the relationship between these two? Were they dating?

If Tex had to guess, Patrick was more interested in Chelsea than Chelsea was in him.

Why did the thought of the two of them dating make Tex feel a touch of jealousy? It wasn’t as if he was interested in dating anybody. Not even Chelsea—although she’d always remained the gold standard in his mind whenever he met somebody. No one else quite ever measured up to her.

Patrick ran a container of something under her nose. Smelling salts, probably.

A moment later, Chelsea’s eyes fluttered. A few seconds later, she sat up and moaned. “I passed out, didn’t I?”

“It’s okay,” Tex muttered. “I caught you.”

Her eyes widened as she looked at him, then her cheeks turned red. He hadn’t met to embarrass her.

“Thank you,” she finally murmured before glancing at Patrick. “Any chance you stitched me up while I was out of it?”

The doctor frowned. “Unfortunately, no.”

“Here.” Tex held out his hand. “Squeeze my hand and close your eyes. You can know I’ll be there to catch you again if you fall.”

Something unreadable fluttered through her gaze until finally she closed her eyes as he’d suggested. She took his hand in hers and squeezed—quite hard, considering her petite frame.

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