Read Online Fixed up in February (Spring River Valley Book 2) by Clarice Wynter - Free Book Online Page A

cream-colored scarf bundled at her throat, and bright red mittens to match her coat. Jared’s jaw dropped. “Hey, pretty lady. Is that for me?”
    She smile d at Jared, but before she could get a word out, Max had hauled his ailing carcass off the couch. He stifled the groan of pain and pasted a smile over his instinctive grimace as he nudged his roommate out of the way. “That’s for me. It’s my soup delivery.”
    “Hi, I’m Audrey. You must be Jared,” she said, shifting the bag to one hand. She offered her mittened fingers to Jared who pulled his chivalrous knight act and bowed over her hand.
    “Charmed, milady. I am Jared, Max’s keeper.”
    “Oh, good. I was hoping there was someone to look after him. You can feed him his soup and massage his back for him.”
    Jared blanched, and Max didn’t know whether to laugh or whimper. Was she serious about the back massage?
    “I’m late for work, sorry. Massages are not my department.” Jared sidled past Audrey and out the door, but he stopped in the hallway to shoot Max a thumbs-up behind her back before he disappeared.
    “Well, he cleared out fast. Some keeper.”
    “He almost never gives me massages,” Max said then rolled his eyes. How lame had that sounded?
    “Too bad. They’re not really my department either.” She stepped over the threshold and held out the bag. “Doctor’s orders. Chicken soup with oyster crackers from Taverna Fiora. They make the best.”
    Max took the bag. “Wow. I thought you were sending someone to drop it off.”
    “I couldn’t find an understudy on short notice, so you get the real deal.”
    Oh. Zing. He let that one go because he probably deserved it. “Then I guess it’s my lucky day.” He turned and headed toward the kitchen, groaning a little with each step.
    “Wow. You are in bad shape.”
    “Your ankle, my back. We make a great pair.”
    “Actually, my ankle’s all better. But you’re in terrible shape. Did you take the aspirin like I told you?”
    “Yes, Nurse. And there’s the heating pad.” He pointed to the couch. He should have been at his studio working on stock photos, but after an hour this morning, he’d had to give up and come home. He turned to find her sloughing off her coat and tossing her scarf and gloves onto a nearby chair. She wore tight jeans and a fitted T-shirt that hugged her curves expertly. A warmth spread through his lower half that had nothing to do with the heating pad.
    “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I need to see those bruises now.”
    He hid his grin and managed to look shocked. “Right now? Before soup?”
    “Yes. I’m a little concerned by your posture. You could have an injury the X-rays missed. Adrenaline goes a long way toward masking pain, so something that didn’t seem very serious yesterday could be a problem today.”
    She almost had him worried, except, truth be told, he’d begun to feel a lot better the moment she ’d arrived. “Sure. Should I lie down?”
    “No. Come over here.” She led him to the kitchen where the light was brighter. “Lift up your shirt.”
    Life was good. He obeyed as she set the bag on the counter. A second later, her cool hands were on him, pressing here, tapping there. He was in heaven until she hit a spot in the middle of his lower back that made him see stars.
    “Ow!”
    “Hmm, just as I suspected.”
    “What? Is it serious?”
    “No. You’ll be fine, but you should really have a stronger anti-inflammatory and stay off your feet for a day or so. I can call the resident and have him write you a prescription for something that will help with the swelling there.”
    There was swelling in other places he needed help with even more, but he didn’t dare say it. “Soup now?”
    “Sure.” She watched him skeptically as he emptied the bag and set two bowls on the small kitchen table. Fortunately, Jared was a bit of a neat freak, so the place was clean. She wouldn’t think he was a slob as well as an axe murderer.