Page 21 of Mistletoe Dreams
"Don't do it too soon. If you do it too soon, you're going to risk having it break open again, and it won't be as easy to sew shut the next time."
"Ten days, right?" Mason asked, and he seemed more interested and excited than Ben had seen him in a long time. Because of that, Ben pressed his lips together. If taking stitches out was going to keep his son out of trouble and grow a bond between them, then... he supposed he'd do it. Although he didn't think it was ever going to be part of his parenting toolkit.
"That's right. So get your phone out, look at what today is, and then count ten days from now and put a note on your calendar. That's when you're going to take them out. I'm going to grab you some waterproof bandages that you need to put over it while you'reshowering or any other time you might get it wet. Like if it's your night for the dishes."
"Dad and Grandma do the dishes," Mason said, and Hannah looked up in surprise.
"You don't have a night to do dishes? My goodness, you lead a privileged life." She laughed a little, and Mason shrugged.
"Dad doesn't make me, so I don't."
"Well, you should. Every kid should have to do dishes and cook and figure out other ways to help around the house. After all, someone has to do all that work." Hannah lifted her shoulder. "You don't want to have the adults around you always having to take care of you. Not at your age."
Mason seemed thoughtful, but he didn't say anything else.
Ben kept his mouth shut about that too. He just wanted to avoid the fight that he knew would ensue if he tried to get his kid to do more than what he already was. Plus, he had felt guilty because Mason's home had blown up. He also didn't want to listen to Mason complain more that he used him as a slave or anything of the sort. He supposed he had been letting his kid skate by in some areas, but Hannah was right. He shouldn't.
"Just don't get them wet. If you do, the stitches will disintegrate faster, and you might end up needing to come back in. So if you have any kind of redness or swelling or seepage, beyond a tiny little bit, come back and see me, okay?"
Mason nodded, and then Hannah turned her gaze to Ben. Ben tried not to flinch. There was that thing that happened when their eyes met. It was... not unpleasant, and at this point, he kind of expected it.
"I need to type up some instructions and do a little bit more paperwork. Give me ten minutes, okay?"
"Yeah. If you give me the bill, I can pay it."
"I think when we do after-hours work, it's on the house. But I definitely want to get you your instructions."
"I don't want—I didn't come in here for free medical care."
"I know." Hannah didn't say anything else as she disappeared out of the room. Ben felt a little frustrated and tried to relax the muscles in his neck by moving his head first one way then the other. She wasn't giving him charity—she was doing a favor. Maybe because he was a policeman. Or... he didn't know why else. But he wasn't going to argue about it. At least he was going to try not to.
"I wouldn't have thought that someone who was a doctor would've started out with the wrong friends," Mason said softly after she left.
"She got herself away from those friends, or she probably wouldn't have been a doctor."
"Her parents got her away from those friends."
Ben didn't say anything. That was part of the reason that he had moved out of the city. Mason had started hanging with the wrong crowd, and Peyton didn't feel the need to do anything about it. That's when Ben had started fighting for custody and trying to get his son away. He hoped he wasn't too late.
He and Mason sat there in silence until Hannah came back in with the instructions, went over them, and he tried to concentrate on what she was saying rather than the sweet berries-and-cream scent that drifted up from her general area.
It was a welcoming scent, and one he wanted to get closer to, to breathe more deeply.
An odd reaction, and one he felt like he was successful in hiding.
Still, when she put her hand on his arm after Mason walked out of the room, he tried not to show his shock and surprise. It wasn't that electricity flew up his arm exactly, it was just a—there was a magnetism there that made him want to step closer and put his arm around her.
She certainly didn't need his protection, so he wasn't sure where that urge came from, but he shoved that aside.
"If you need anything, if Mason needs anything, if there's anything I can do to help, let me know, okay?" She looked into his eyes, and her words were spoken sincerely. He found himself caughtby her gaze, and his tongue felt stuck to the roof of his mouth, like he was sixteen instead of thirty-five.
He took a deep breath and tried again. "All right. I appreciate it." He wanted to tell her that she didn't need to bother to offer, and he wouldn't be taking her up on it, but at this point, he had no idea what to do to help his son, and he would appreciate anyone's help if it meant his son wasn't destined for a life of crime and incarceration.
"Thanks for opening the clinic for us. I'm sorry we came after hours."
"You can't help when things happen. I know Dr. Terry would like to be open all the time, but it just wouldn't pay to be open at night. Not in a small town."
"I'll try to make sure any injuries we incur upon our persons are during business hours next time," he said with a small smile, gratified to see her return it.
