Page 48 of A Beach House Beginning

She thought back to her most recent medical history and remembered getting one around the time that Ryan had died, when she had scraped herself on a nail trying to plant some flowers in the small fenced yard of their apartment.

“I should be good in that regard.”

“Do you want me to take the girls to day camp and then run you to the urgent care clinic? I can call my bosses and let them know an emergency has come up.”

She was very tempted to lean on him, to let him take over. It was very hard to ignore the allure of that broad chest, those strong shoulders.

She was tough, she reminded herself. She could handle this, even though her hand throbbed with pain, which was also giving her a headache.

“I should be all right. If you could just help me wrap it better, that would be really great. It’s my right hand and I’m right-handed, so I don’t think I will be able to do a very good job with my left hand.”

“You got it.”

Using her first-aid kit after she showed it to him, he applied antibacterial ointment with a gentleness that made her shiver.

She could only hope he didn’t notice as he rooted through the kit to find the largest bandage she had.

“This should hold you for a little while, until you can have someone take a look. You should definitely take care of it sooner rather than later.”

“Thank you.”

Bending low over her hand, he applied the bandage to her palm, pressing carefully around the edges to ensure the wound was protected as much as possible.

“I wish I could do more.”

“You’ve done enough. I’ll be fine. I’ll call my primary care doctor right now and see if I can get in this morning to have Dr. Sanderson take a look.”

“You see Eli Sanderson?”

“Yes. Do you know him?”

“I knew him in the military, only peripherally. But we have friends in common. He and his wife invited me to dinner when I first moved to town. They were very kind.”

“Melissa actually lived here in Brambleberry House before I did. We’ve become friends through Rosa, who is her good friend.”

“She’s the one who convinced Rosa to rent me an apartment when I was looking.”

“I’m glad she did,” Jenna said.

His gaze met hers and the moment seemed to stretch between them, taut and fragile, like the thread of a spider’s web, gleaming with morning dew.

Something sparked in his expression as he looked down at her, something hot and glittery that left her a little dizzy.

Maybe she had lost more blood than she thought, she told herself. Or maybe it was simply a result of being in such close proximity to Wes Calhoun.

He was the first to look away.

“That should do it. Are you certain you don’t want me to take you to urgent care? I feel wrong leaving you in your hour of need.”

“No. Definitely not. I’m fine. Thank you, though. You’ve been very kind.”

“Right. That’s what I’ve been,” he said, his voice gruff.

She sensed he wanted to say more, but Addie and Brielle came to check on her and the moment was gone.

After she had been treated at Eli’s office, Jenna returned to the house to let Theo out, then moved him to the fenced dog yard, placing his open crate in the shade under the covered porch, along with plenty of water and food.

When she was certain the puppy was settled and comfortable, she drove to the By-the-Wind gift shop for her noon shift.

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