Read Online Somewhere in His Arms by Katia Nikolayevna - Free Book Online Page B

lay quietly and heard them moving around. Lucy took the cloth from her eyes and sat up. It was dark and Alec was sitting near the window looking out. He turned and moved toward the bed.
                  “Are you feeling better?” he asked quietly.
                  “I’m not sick,” she told him as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “I had a headache.”
                  “A headache that lasted for six hours? It’s seven.”
                  “I’m so sorry!” she cried out in dismay. “I forgot about dinner.” She stood up then sat back down as the room suddenly began spinning.
                  “Don’t try to get up. I can fix dinner,” he said as he started to leave. “You should rest.”
                  “Don’t be silly. I’m just a little lightheaded. I haven’t eaten all day.”
                  “Are you sure?”
                  Nodding, she stood up on solid legs and went through the darkened cottage to the kitchen where she started to pull out pots and pans. She threw some chicken into a skillet and started to peel some potatoes. “It won’t be long,” she said as he watched her from the living room. “Will chicken and fried potatoes be okay? I think I have some biscuits---”
                  “I’m sorry!” he blurted and came into the kitchen. He looked so guilty Lucy wanted to comfort him.  “I’m sorry I yelled at you.”
                  Lucy didn’t reply but kept on peeling potatoes. “I’m sorry too.”
                  “Sorry for what? I’m the one who behaved like an arse. You were only trying to help.”
                  “I was, wasn’t I?” she said softly. “But I should have asked.”
                  Swearing under his breath, he wheeled himself into the living room and turned on a few lamps. “Rudy told me to be nice to you. He’d kill me if he thought I wasn’t treating you right.”
                  Wiping her hands on a towel, she followed him out and watched as he fidgeted restlessly in his chair. “Alec?”
                  He raked his hand nervously through his hair. “I just didn’t want you to see.”
                  “See what?” she asked gently.
                  Alec began to pick at threads on his old robe. “S-Scars,” he managed and then cleared his throat. “I, um, was in Afghanistan and I have a few um…” he couldn’t finish.
                  Lucy was relieved. “Is that all?”
                  He glanced up, startled. This was hardly the reaction he was expecting. Somehow he thought she’d be repulsed by it, nurse or not. The others had been. “Y--You’re not disgusted?”
                  “Of course not! That’s why you didn’t want me to bathe you. Well, I don’t know why. I’ve seen worse.”
                  “No, you haven’t,” he said grimly. “It’s pretty bad.”
                  “Where?” she said, coming towards him. “Let me see.”
                  Alec backed away, wishing he hadn’t told her. “Not before we eat.”
                  “For heaven’s sake!” she cried, exasperated. “I’m a nurse! I’ve seen it all.”
                  “Later,” he choked, and turned around suddenly. “I’ll eat in my room.”
                 
                  He left her alone and wondering how bad could a few war scars be. But as Lucy prepared dinner, she began to sense that to him it would have been devastating. It would certainly explain his hostility toward others and why he’d gone through so many nurses. She felt guilty for all the horrible things she’d thought about him.  No wonder he’d shut himself off from family and friends. In a way she supposed Rudy had thought they’d