Read Online Sweet Salvation by Maddie Taylor - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Maddie Taylor
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his gaze. “For heaven’s sake, I can’t believe I just said that.”
“I can’t either, sweet Stacy, but I’m so glad you did.”
* * *
For the next two days Jared was there morning and night, helping her however possible. He brought coffee in the morning and got her settled on the couch for the day. He also brought a few magazines and the newest Nicholas Sparks book when he learned she was a fan. After making lunch and leaving it in the fridge, he kissed her goodbye and warned her to stay off her knee. He came back in the evening around six, made her dinner, and spent the evening chatting or watching TV.
There was a repeat performance on Friday, except instead of TV, he challenged her to a game of Scrabble. Once she’d outlawed medical terminology, Stacy had trounced him with ‘zany,’ earning forty-eight points on a triple word score.
Before he left, he explained that he’d recruited Marcy to check on her over the weekend because he was on call. The good news was that because she had been resting—and following doctor’s orders—the swelling had gone down significantly. He allowed her to be up periodically with her crutches but if the swelling returned, it was back to ice and elevation. Promising to check in by phone and a carryout dinner on Saturday, if his schedule allowed, he’d kissed her thoroughly before saying good night.
He was a perfect gentleman the entire two days. Except for the kisses, which had been mind-blowing, entirely too brief and left her totally dazed and disoriented, he hadn’t made any advances. He’d said he was working on getting a girlfriend. What happened to that? Once his pique with her had passed, he had proven to be charming, intelligent, possessing of a dry sense of humor, which she loved, and was fun. They chatted easily about work and common interests, which to Jared’s surprise included college football. Stacy had scoffed, reminding him she was from the south and southerners, both male and female, were diehard fans. That ignited a good-natured argument over which conference was superior, the Big 10 or the SEC. Of course, Stacy had won hands down. He had no argument against the seven national championships for the SEC in as many years.
They hadn’t argued since the day of her injury, except for when it came to her showering alone. He had insisted he be with her since she was unsteady, at least while getting in and out of the tub, which she had protested adamantly. She wasn’t sure where this relationship was going, but she was damn sure it wasn’t going there yet. He’d rolled his eyes, proclaiming that he was a doctor and saw naked women all the time. She had countered, stating ‘you haven’t seen this naked woman,’ going on to make the point that he’d ‘checked his professional boundaries along with his lab coat at the door the day he’d stolen her car keys and with each subsequent good-night kiss.’ The compromise was that Stacy, while wrapped in a towel, allowed Jared to help her in and out of the tub. In the end, she was glad he did, because she had slipped a bit and tweaked her knee. If he hadn’t been there to grab onto, she would have fallen and injured who knew what else. Naturally, he had growled and given her a long-suffering glare that said, ‘I told you so,’ loud and clear.
True to his word, he’d checked in by phone throughout the weekend, including getting updates from Marcy who he’d said was in charge by proxy. Although she had been briefly noncompliant the first day, she had followed his instructions to the letter ever since for two reasons: she needed to get back to work on Monday, and because she didn’t want to tick off Dr. Working on the Latter before she had a chance to see where things might go. The first, she had readily admitted to Jared. The second had been told to Marcy in confidence.
He dropped by Sunday evening with Japanese carry-out and to complete, in his words, a ‘final looksee’ before releasing her
“I can’t either, sweet Stacy, but I’m so glad you did.”
* * *
For the next two days Jared was there morning and night, helping her however possible. He brought coffee in the morning and got her settled on the couch for the day. He also brought a few magazines and the newest Nicholas Sparks book when he learned she was a fan. After making lunch and leaving it in the fridge, he kissed her goodbye and warned her to stay off her knee. He came back in the evening around six, made her dinner, and spent the evening chatting or watching TV.
There was a repeat performance on Friday, except instead of TV, he challenged her to a game of Scrabble. Once she’d outlawed medical terminology, Stacy had trounced him with ‘zany,’ earning forty-eight points on a triple word score.
Before he left, he explained that he’d recruited Marcy to check on her over the weekend because he was on call. The good news was that because she had been resting—and following doctor’s orders—the swelling had gone down significantly. He allowed her to be up periodically with her crutches but if the swelling returned, it was back to ice and elevation. Promising to check in by phone and a carryout dinner on Saturday, if his schedule allowed, he’d kissed her thoroughly before saying good night.
He was a perfect gentleman the entire two days. Except for the kisses, which had been mind-blowing, entirely too brief and left her totally dazed and disoriented, he hadn’t made any advances. He’d said he was working on getting a girlfriend. What happened to that? Once his pique with her had passed, he had proven to be charming, intelligent, possessing of a dry sense of humor, which she loved, and was fun. They chatted easily about work and common interests, which to Jared’s surprise included college football. Stacy had scoffed, reminding him she was from the south and southerners, both male and female, were diehard fans. That ignited a good-natured argument over which conference was superior, the Big 10 or the SEC. Of course, Stacy had won hands down. He had no argument against the seven national championships for the SEC in as many years.
They hadn’t argued since the day of her injury, except for when it came to her showering alone. He had insisted he be with her since she was unsteady, at least while getting in and out of the tub, which she had protested adamantly. She wasn’t sure where this relationship was going, but she was damn sure it wasn’t going there yet. He’d rolled his eyes, proclaiming that he was a doctor and saw naked women all the time. She had countered, stating ‘you haven’t seen this naked woman,’ going on to make the point that he’d ‘checked his professional boundaries along with his lab coat at the door the day he’d stolen her car keys and with each subsequent good-night kiss.’ The compromise was that Stacy, while wrapped in a towel, allowed Jared to help her in and out of the tub. In the end, she was glad he did, because she had slipped a bit and tweaked her knee. If he hadn’t been there to grab onto, she would have fallen and injured who knew what else. Naturally, he had growled and given her a long-suffering glare that said, ‘I told you so,’ loud and clear.
True to his word, he’d checked in by phone throughout the weekend, including getting updates from Marcy who he’d said was in charge by proxy. Although she had been briefly noncompliant the first day, she had followed his instructions to the letter ever since for two reasons: she needed to get back to work on Monday, and because she didn’t want to tick off Dr. Working on the Latter before she had a chance to see where things might go. The first, she had readily admitted to Jared. The second had been told to Marcy in confidence.
He dropped by Sunday evening with Japanese carry-out and to complete, in his words, a ‘final looksee’ before releasing her
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