Violets in February by Clare Revell Read Free Book Online

OK, calm down. No need to do your block, I only offered.” He touched his head as if to check it was still on his shoulders and backed out of the room.
    Lucy closed her eyes as the door shut. Pain made her cranky; she knew that. But this…this made any other aches and pains she’d ever had vanish into the vast blue yonder without a trace.
    ~*~
    Jed leaned against the door as he closed it. Flaming sheila would try the patience of a saint, and a saint he was not. Nor did he want to be. Ever.
    Tim came through the door from the dispensary into the small hallway. “Jed? Have you seen Lucy anywhere?”
    Jed cleared his throat.
    Just a shame he couldn’t rid the woman from his mind the same way. Seeing her like that…seeing way more of her than he wanted to, had forced his mind to go places it had no business going. “Dr. Boyd wanted to dress. She can’t walk, so I carried her. What did she do?”
    “She fell somehow and dislocated her knee. But she needs to go to the hospital and get the whole leg X-rayed.”
    A short cry of pain came from the room behind him.
    Tim knocked on the door. “Luce, you OK in there?”
    “No…” The strangled cry let on more than she probably wanted.
    “Excuse me.” Tim opened the door and went in, closing it behind him.
    Jed shook his head, and strode back into the main clinic. He looked at Vic and pointed to the crate. “So, your supplies are here. Everything the doc ordered came.”
    Vic frowned at the crate. “She ordered flowers?”
    Jed stifled a smile. “That’s a personal package for the doc. Someone knows she likes them, I guess.”
    Vic unpacked the crate and signed for the delivery. “I’ll see she gets them.”
    “I’m not going and that’s final!” Lucy’s raised voice echoed through the entire building.
    “Lucy, be realistic. You can’t walk or bear weight.”
    “Hence the crutches.”
    Tim marched into the clinic. “Vic, reason with her.”
    “There is no reasoning with Lucy, you know that. She’s as stubborn as they come.”
    Lucy slowly pulled herself into the room. Her normally pale skin was white, with the exception of the bags under her eyes. Sweat beaded her brow. Pain wracked her features and filled her red-rimmed eyes. Her left leg didn’t touch the ground and it was evident just that short distance had exhausted her. “I’ll be fine. I’ll sit to treat people. The guys can fetch and carry for me.”
    “Fine.” Tim pointed to a chair, his tone curt. “Sit.”
    Lucy lowered herself to the chair, her face creasing in agony.
    Tim leaned his hip against the counter. “OK, so a patient comes in. Late twenties, early thirties. Female. Severe damage to the knee. Dislocated patella, which was replaced on scene by a local tribesman.”
    Jed chuckled. He knew exactly where this was going.
    Lucy scowled.
    Tim continued with a faint smile on his face. “Only the knee is too swollen for that to be the only problem. Upon examination, you conclude there is a possibility that the knee joint itself maybe be dislocated. Or there could be ligament damage. Or the cartilage is torn. Either way, the foot is cold to the touch and swelling. What do you do?”
    Lucy’s scowl deepened. “I’d tell my boss to stop making things up and quit being stupid.”
    Tim’s eyes narrowed. “What do you do?”
    “Tim, really…”
    “Oh my days, woman!” Jed groaned in frustration. “Stop being such a stupid dill and tell the bloke what he wants to hear.”
    She turned to him. “Dill?”
    “A stupid dill actually,” he repeated. “Means the same as drongo. You may think you’re the ant’s pants around here, being the only doctor and all, but even I know what the bloke wants to hear.”
    Color filled her cheeks for a second. “I’d send them for an X-ray and MRI,” she said quietly. “It may need surgery. And if the foot is cold, there could be arterial damage or something blocking the blood flow.”
    “Thank you,” Tim said firmly. “You leave with Jed.