Page 59 of Heal Me
He smiled and left the room.
“Please help me sit up so I can get dressed,” Kate said.
Careful of her back, Ric assisted her into a sitting position while she swore and groaned. Her back burned and felt like she’d been pummeled.
Ric untied her gown and it fell away from her. “Jesus, Kate!”
“Looks that bad, huh?” she asked. “Doesn’t feel too good, either.”
Although he didn’t say more, Kate saw the anger in his eyes. “Why are you so angry?”
“We are not talking about this here or while you’re in this condition. Where are your clothes?”
His terse manner was just as bad as if he’d bitched her out, but Kate stayed calm. “They had to cut them off. They had me in a neck and back brace just in case.”
His face paled even more at her words, but he didn’t say anything. Having grown up around a lot of males, Kate knew that sometimes it was best to remain silent when they were upset. This was one of those times.
“They’ve given me scrubs to wear home.”
Despite the fact that he was like a powder keg, ready to explode at any second, Ric was extremely gentle as he helped her dress. By the time they’d finished, the nurse arrived with her discharge papers and script for the pain meds.
When she went to hand the clipboard to Kate to sign, Ric took it from her.
“Oh, sir, the patient needs to sign it,” she said.
“I own this place,” he said. “I guess my signature should suffice.”
The nurse blinked at him.
“Ric Stanford. Nice to meet you, Sheila. I sign your paycheck,” he said, smiling faintly as he signed the form. “There you go.” He handed the clipboard back to the nurse and took the prescription from her. “Thanks.”
Kate thought that poor Sheila looked like she was going to pee herself as she took the clipboard and left the room. “I can’t believe that you just did that. I can sign a paper, Ric. Don’t go all caveman on me, okay?”
He sighed. “Sorry. I’ll go get a wheelchair.”
Kate’s temper flared. “I can walk, damn it.”
Ric gave her his arm and made a broad sweeping motion towards the door with his other one. “Right this way.”
She skewered him with a hard look and then stood up. Pain shot up her spine and she sucked in a breath and squeaked, “Okay. I’ll take that wheelchair after all.”
Ric chuckled as he helped her sit back down. “I thought you might.”
“Bastard.”
He grinned as he left the room and she called him more names in her head.
*****
Ric stayed with Kate until Tuesday, but once again, he was called back to New York. Although he attended to business with his usual attention to detail, his mind was on Kate much of the time. He called her whenever he could to check on her and to make sure that she was behaving. Her body was healing, but she was still very sore.
The day after the accident, he’d put her in the bathtub twice, letting the hot water and bath salts soothe her as much as possible. He’d made her take her meds and had rubbed muscle ointment on her. Essentially, he’d treated her like a princess because he loved her so much and hated seeing her in pain.
During that week, he’d come to the realization that this would most likely not be the last time something like this happened. It was clear she was determined to stay a member of the rescue team. Kate prided herself on being fearless and not giving in to pain, and that included getting back in the saddle—or harness as the case may be.
For the first time since they met, Ric truly realized just how much risk Kate put herself in all the time. As a vet a well directed kick from a bull or horse and she’d be hurt. Let alone going into blizzards to rescue lost skiers, or helping stuck climbers down rock faces. He was terrified that she’d wind up dead, and he’d be left with another broken heart, torn apart by the death of another woman he loved.
He knew it wasn’t fair but he compared Kate’s lifestyle to Emily’s. Why couldn’t Kate be happy being a small animal vet and making a home with him? Why did she need thrills, why did she need more than him? He wanted to ask her not to climb, not to risk her life on silly pursuits, but what did that make him? Perhaps they were too different to be together The idea of his wife climbing...
By the time the weekend came, his brain buzzed with all of the thoughts going through it. It had been another bear of week both professionally and personally. As soon as he could on Friday, he left New York, anxious to get home to Kate.
