Page 62 of If I Were Wind

“Blimey, you need to have that cut cleaned.” I was serious. It didn’t look great. “You can get a fever from that.”

“Do you think so?” He scrubbed the back of his neck. “It burns a little.”

“Do you have a first aid kit nearby?”

“Ah, yes.” He glanced around. “There should be one here in the cabin.”

“You need to keep a first aid kit close. You never know when you might need it.”

“True words.” He disappeared inside the guard post and produced a small leather bag.

I pulled up my shirtsleeves. “Let me help you. You can’t see the wound properly.”

He rolled his bottom lip between his teeth. “I appreciate it, but I shouldn’t open the gate to anyone.”

“I won’t enter. You come out, and I’ll take care of your cut.” I smiled.

The poor private chewed his bottom lip again, shuffling his big feet around, but a moment of hesitation, he nodded. The gate opened with a soft grinding of metal. He stepped out and handed me the bag. “Thank you.”

“Sit there.” I pointed at a tree stub a few feet from the fence.

He hesitated. “I shouldn’t leave my post.”

“It’ll take a moment. Your wound needs to be taken care of, and we’re right here. You aren’t leaving.”

A soft sigh left him. “All right.” He did as he was told and sat on the tree stub, facing the open gate.

I rummaged through the bag, finding a bottle of iodine, an antiseptic cream, and some clean gauze. “This is going to sting, but it’s effective.”

“Go on.” Swallowing hard, he reclined his head and exposed the wound.

I stepped closer to him to block the view of the gate, and even though I wasn’t trying to flirt or seduce him at that moment, the position brought his young face at level with my breasts. Only inches separated him from my chest. His gaze shifted to the opening of my shirt, then to my eyes, then to my breasts again, and stayed there. I couldn’t blame him. I was practically rubbing myself over him. But the cut needed a good clean.

He hissed when I pressed the iodine-soaked gauze over the wound. Guess that distracted him from my breasts.

“Sorry. Iodine isn’t gentle on the flesh,” I said, dabbing a spot caked with dry blood.

He gritted his teeth. “It’s all right, miss…?”

“Kristin.”

“I’m Tom.”

“Nice to meet you.” Debris soiled the slash, and I cleaned a few spots. I had to unbutton his shirt to follow the cut. His breath hitched. Poor chap.

If Roy had sneaked inside the mill, I didn’t notice him. Not a sound came from behind me. I had to trust he was doing his job. “I’ve nearly finished, Tom.”

“It’s all right. I don’t mind.” He smiled, cheeks flaming.

When I didn’t have any more skin to disinfect and the slash was cleaned from debris, I straightened. “It’s done, but you should see a nurse, just in case.”

“I will.” His prominent Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

“Is it your first assignment?”

He nodded, flushing crimson again. “Just out of the academy.”

“So you aren’t a private.”

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