Part 15 (1/2)

”It's almost time, darling,” Paige said to Angie. ”Go outside. Don't miss it.”

The crowd outside was growing; the cherry pickers, ladders and other equipment had been put out of sight. Jack stood at the far end of the porch, ready to join the extension cords. To get the best possible view, Angie crossed the street and stood near the clinic in the darkness, hands in her pockets, watching her breath cloud the air.

And then there were big hands on her shoulders.

There were any number of people who might do that, but she could feel it was him. Sense him. Then he bent his head and gently nuzzled her, making her smile. Oh, she was toast. She knew right then that she'd never be able to resist him.

As if he read her mind, he turned her around and stared down into her eyes for a moment before gently and briefly touching her forehead with his lips. And then he smiled.

”I thought you found me thoroughly resistible,” she said.

”I find you thoroughly tempting.”

”And would you call that practical?” she teased.

He made a face. ”Part of being good with secrets is not taunting a person with them,” he told her. ”I can't help it if you're tempting.”

”I'm sure that has mostly to do with being in a little town where there aren't too many temptations.”

”Or it could have to do with you. How was your day?”

”Slow and easy. Lovely. I've eaten a lot of Christmas cookies. How is Marie?” She cringed at the thought of sounding jealous, but she couldn't stop herself from feeling it.

”Having a good day today.”

He turned her around toward the tree, but he kept his arms around her waist, pulling her back against him. She glanced over her shoulder at him and said, ”I think my uncle Jack is watching.”

”Try not to worry. I learned to fight from four big brothers. I can defend myself and keep you safe.”

She was close to telling him that the number of women he vowed to protect was growing....

And then the tree lit up and the lights were so grand in the town, the street was filled with the brightness of an afternoon sun. There was a chorus of ”Ahhhhh,” then applause. Patrick's arms tightened around her. She leaned back against him and enjoyed the closeness. She had barely begun her fantasy of what else might happen between them when a truck came into town, horn blowing. The street was filled with people and the old truck's horn was separating them, parting the crowd, until it finally came to a stop right in front of the clinic.

Angie, acting on sheer impulse, wiggled out of Patrick's arms and ran toward the vehicle just as a woman got out of the pa.s.senger's side of the truck. She was holding a very large child wrapped in a blanket-a blanket on which there was a considerable amount of blood. A bloodstained towel covered most of the child's face.

On instinct, Angie went toward them. At precisely that moment, Mel and Dr. Michaels burst through the crowd, running toward them.

”Frank?” Mel asked. ”Lorraine?”

”It's Megan! She slipped-there was ice on the porch and a nail sticking out of the porch post got her right on the forehead. It's bleeding bad.”

”Come inside. Frank, you come, too. Let's have the doctor look at it.”

Angie turned to Patrick very briefly, holding up her hand toward him. That was her only gesture before following the man, woman, child and pract.i.tioners into the clinic.

It felt odd to her. First of all, no one questioned her presence there, as though she was already an a.s.sistant of some kind. Second, Mel began barking orders at her as if she had been trained in this clinic. ”I'll need a sterile pack of four-by-four gauze, sterile water, not saline. Cameron? Want an antibiotic?”

”I don't think we need an IV, but I'll go with cephalexin, broad spectrum IM. She had a teta.n.u.s shot last summer but give me some Valium and lidocaine. I'll get a suture kit.”

”Can you get that together, Angie?” Mel asked, handing her the keys to the drug cabinet. ”I'll take care of the syringes.”