Page 84 of Delinquent Daddy (Banks/Kincaid Family 2)

199

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

Boston's gaze stayed on Ellie. She stared back at him with wide eyes. They were close. Boston had his hands up, holding the branch off them. He looked down at her like it would be nothing to tilt his head a little and press his mouth to hers.

Ellie stopped breathing, waiting for him to do just that.

"Yeah," he finally answered Cameron. "But could you get this damn tree off us?"

Ellie abruptly snapped back to reality.

"Oh, my God," she cried. "I'm sorry, Boston. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," the words came from between gritted teeth.

Cameron and Monty lifted the branch together and pushed it to the side. As soon as it was gone, Boston dropped his arms, sucking in a breath. He pressed his palms together as if trying to hide them. But Ellie saw blood seep through the cracks

"Boston, no," she breathed, snatching his wrist. She pried his hands apart and turned them up, only to gasp at the sight of torn and raw flesh. Biting her lip, she looked up at him with concerned eyes.

"They're okay," he said.

She shook her head. "No, they're not. Damn it, this is my fault. If I would've just looked where I was going in the first place... You should've let the tree fall on me."

As she was talking, berating herself and him too for getting hurt on her account, she kept a hold of his wrists and began dragging him toward the back entrance of the house.

Boston followed meekly and only once said, "Ah...El?

Where're we going?"

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Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

"I'm going to patch you up," she huffed, still furious with herself.

"Ellie." He laughed uneasily as he followed her inside. "I'm fine. Really. It's just a couple scratches."

But she was determined. She didn't let go of him until they were in her bathroom. She closed the toilet seat and ordered him to sit.

"Yes, ma'am," he murmured, all the while giving her an amused look.

Turning on the water, she reached for his fingers again and didn't even notice how easily he handed them over. She plunged his hand under the warm stream, getting her own fingers wet in the process. Cringing at the blood that filled her drain, she muttered, "Just a couple scratches," and grabbed a washcloth. After thoroughly cleaning one palm, dabbing out chunks of bark and dirt, she took care of the other, continuing to grumble to herself as she opened the medicine cabinet and searched for some ointment and gauze.

He sucked in a breath as she applied the salve. Ellie couldn't help but wince right along with him.

"Sorry," she whispered and leaned over to blow on the cuts, her long hair falling over her shoulder and caressing his wrist as she did so. He sucked in another breath, this time for an entirely different reason.

She straightened abruptly and cleared her throat. Carefully keeping her eyes off him, she opened the gauze and began to wrap his hands.

"So, am I going to live?" he asked quietly.

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