Page 75 of Wandering Souls

Hating to see her hurting, he circled an arm around her waist and helped her back to the sofa. The dog settled at her feet while she put the ice pack against her thigh. Ray took off his suit jacket and hung it over the back of one of the dining chairs.

“Can I get you anything?”

She smiled, the relief on her face relaxing her features. “I’d love a tea.”

At the kitchen bench, he switched on the kettle and threw a tea bag in a mug. While he waited, he returned to the sofa and sat beside her, covering her hand with his.

“Have you taken any pain relief?”

She nodded. “Paracetamol, about four hours ago. I can take some more.”

“Do you want me to get Doc? His light was on.”

Abi grabbed his hand. “No. She said it would probably be sore tonight.”

Unhappy with the distress he saw on her face, Ray leaned close and kissed her forehead. “You look like you’re in agony, not pain, Abi. What did she do to you?”

She blushed. “Nothing that bad, but she tried to get at the deeper muscles. I think she succeeded.”

The kettle reached boiling point and shut itself off, but he didn’t want to leave her. “How’s the ice pack?”

She gave it to him. The bag held nothing but room temperature water. “It needs to go in the freezer. I have another one.”

With a nod, he stood and entered the kitchen. At the fridge, he swapped out the thawed pack for a frozen one, and took the ice pack to her. She sighed when she set it on her thigh. “I knew something was up. I should’ve called.”

“That’s sweet but not necessary.” She waved him away and closed her eyes. “I’ll be okay.”

His gut clenched. Standing at the end of the sofa, he looked from her to the tea waiting to be made and back to her again. It crossed his mind to call her sister. She needed more help than he could offer but he decided to give it a half hour and see whether her pain improved with another dose of medication.

He turned back to the kitchen and set about making her a strong tea. The box of paracetamol sat on the bench and he grabbed it on his way back to the sofa.

“I don’t like seeing you like this.”

Her eyelids fluttered open. The corners of her eyes were wet as he handed her the tea. “Believe it or not, I’ve been through worse.”

He popped two tablets from the blister pack and put them in her hand. “I know, I’m sorry.”

Abi took the pills and washed them down with a swallow of the tea. She reached toward him and he settled back to wrap his arm around her shoulders. It pleased him when she nestled into his side. “Have you had dinner, Ray? Or did you come straight from work?”

“Don’t worry about me.” His stomach grumbled, proving him a liar. “What about you? Have you eaten?”

“No. It’s hard to be hungry and so sore.”

Wait. She saw the physio before lunch. “You haven’t eaten since breakfast?”

She shook her head before leaning on his shoulder. “There’s bacon and eggs in the fridge, and some bread, if you want to make yourself something to eat,” she murmured. He looked down at her face, his mind racing to summon a magic fix for her.

Ray took the half-empty mug from her hand and shoved it between the arm of the sofa and the cushion, content to focus all his energy on Abi. In the quiet cottage, he listened to her slowing breathing as she dozed, her weight against him growing heavier the deeper she slept.

Feeling helpless didn’t sit well with him, but he did what he could and held her. He stroked the side of her temple with his fingertips, hoping to comfort her. For his part, Bruce lay on her feet, occasionally glancing up with concern in his blue eyes.

Settling in for the long night ahead, Ray closed his eyes and tried not to think about how deep his feelings for Abi ran. He’d always had a habit of diving in head first and thinking about the consequences later. When he’d met Viv, he’d fallen hard and fast, and when he’d become a cop, his laser focus had him in the thick of mayhem up to his eyeballs in no time. It was nothing new but yet it surprised him.

Moving to the Crossing, he promised himself he’d take things slower, whether at work or when it came to matters of the heart. Hell, his first case in the Crossing had him protecting a ten-year-old and joining the former soldiers in a night raid that saw the Australian Federal Police swoop in to make the arrests. Apparently, his vow had fallen on deaf ears, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Like he told Abi, life was too short.

From his pocket, his phone vibrated. He saw his sister’s name pop up on screen and swiped right to answer the call.

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