merely nodded his head.
“I'm sorry, Nick. I caused a ton of trouble for you.”
He quickly shook his head and reassured her. “No, you didn't, Kara. You were being honest with what you believed, and I respect that. As a doctor, I know it was the concussion. Dr. Stone suggested I get a blood test right away when you said that, though, and I'm glad he did. Now I have that, which proves there was no alcohol in my system when I did your surgery, or at least shortly afterward. I'm not going to be in trouble, Kara, so don't worry about it.”
He watched as she nodded, and could tell she was thinking about something, so he gave her time. “So if she reported this and it's not true, will she get into trouble?”
“Can we talk more about that when you're home?” She hesitated, and he could tell she wasn't comfortable leaving it at that. “Let me say she might, but could we talk more about that later?”
“Okay,” she agreed. “So did you know they were going to come talk to me this morning?”
“I knew they might,” he admitted. “I didn't want to warn you, though, because I wanted them to get a true reaction from you, nothing rehearsed.”
“Well, they got that, I'm sure.”
“You didn't have any problems, did you?”
“No. I just didn't like what they were saying about you, and I let them know that.”
“Did you tell them we're going out after you're released?”
“No. I didn't think that was any of their business.”
“Neither do I,” he agreed, as he took her hand and squeezed it.
“So,” she said a bit hesitantly, “I get the impression she's a real busybody. Am I right about that?”
He paused, looking at her. “I understand why you'd ask me that, but let me warn you, I don't like gossip. It doesn't help anyone, but it certainly can hurt people. I don't allow it around me. Like I said, I understand why you'd ask me that now, and this one time I will answer that and say that yes, in my opinion she needs a husband that would take her over his knee for gossiping.”
Kara laughed, but soon noticed Nick wasn't laughing, but had a serious look on his face. “Like I said,” he reiterated, “I don't like gossiping.”
“Neither do I,” she said, “so we should get along well. I got the impression she was a real busybody, and I wasn't impressed. That's why I asked you.”
“Now, enough about all that. Eat your lunch. Your body needs good nutrition to heal.”
Chapter 3
After they'd eaten, Nick checked her foot and decided the swelling had gone down enough he could put a cast on it. He helped her sit up on the side of the bed, but insisted she sit there for a few minutes to be sure she didn't get dizzy or lightheaded. He called and asked Ellie to bring in a wheelchair and the two of them helped her into it, making sure she didn't put any weight on her foot. He took her to a little room that had what he needed to put her cast on.
They visited while he worked, and he was happy to see how easily they seemed to find things to talk about. It seemed to him they had a natural chemistry and got along well. Their conversation or time together never seemed forced, which was wonderful. Once the cast was on, he helped her back into the wheelchair. “As soon as Dr. Stone checks you out and gives me the all clear, I'll teach you how to use the crutches,” he told her.
“How does Dr. Stone fit into the picture? Why does he have to give the okay before I can learn how to use crutches?”
“I want to be sure you've healed enough from your concussion and you're not going to be getting dizzy or lightheaded. We definitely don't want that happening with you on crutches.”
“Oh,” she said, a bit dejected. “I guess that makes sense.”
“Yes, I guess it does,” Nick confirmed. “So you're not going to be getting up and about much until he says it's okay for you to.”
“And I can't go home tomorrow unless I've been up and walking with the crutches and you know I can do it; right?”
“That, among other things, yes. I want to be sure you're okay on crutches, without getting dizzy when you're up, and without your foot swelling.”
“So my entire future is resting on Dr. Stone,” she said in a very dramatic way, with a grin.
Loving her sense of humor, Nick agreed. “You could say that.” He'd just gotten her back to her room and was helping her into bed.
She saw the smile in his eyes as he said that, and pushed on. “I hope Dr. Stone gets here soon then. He's one man that I'm really anxious to see again right now.” Nick loved the adorable, though teasing, look she got, and the sparkle in her eyes. “Plus he's very easy on the eyes,” she said with a look of pure mischief.
Just then Dr. Stone walked into the room, but stopped when he heard her words. She and Nick both turned to see him, and Dr. Stone's face turned red, as did Kara's. Nick looked at the two of them and laughed. Both of them turned their red faces to Nick, who was laughing so hard he couldn't say anything for a couple of moments.
He finally got his composure back and turned first to Dr. Stone. “She was kidding. Teasing me, actually.” He looked at Kara and grinned. “That serves you right, you feisty little brat.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead, letting her know he was teasing.
Dr. Stone, seeing Nick kiss her forehead, was initially surprised, but quickly joined in the teasing. “I'm sorry, did I interrupt something here?”
Nick answered for the still red and speechless Kara. “No, but a brief explanation may be in order. Kara has agreed to go out to dinner with me when she's released, and since I had a free day today we've gotten to know each other better. I told her she wouldn’t be released until I'm sure she can handle crutches and her foot won't swell, and that won't happen until you say she's recovered enough from her concussion to be up on said crutches. She has an adorable sense of humor and was attempting to tease me, but when you heard her it sort of backfired on her.”
He'd taken one of her hands in his and was using his thumb to gently rub it in the very calming fashion he'd done earlier, which seemed to help her relax. Kara noticed and appreciated that little gesture. She smiled up at Nick, then addressed Dr. Stone. “What he said is true, and I apologize.”
Dr. Stone smiled genuinely at both of them. “No apology necessary. In fact, teasing him is fine. It's probably a good thing if you can give this guy a hard time now and then.”
“Why is that?” Kara asked.
“I've gotten onto Nick a few times, telling him he needs to get out there and find him a lady. He always tells me he'll know the right woman when she comes along, or it'll take a special woman that sees things as he does, or something like that. So maybe having a good sense of humor and knowing how to give him a hard time occasionally is a requirement for dating him. I know it'd make me happy, knowing someone's giving him a hard time now and then.”
Kara could easily see that Dr. Stone and Nick were friends,
