Read Breaking Her No-Dating Rule for Free Online

from the vulnerable nerve he’d accidentally struck and played along, faking a grin with her tease. “You have no idea. She’s going to make you cry like a baby.”
    His smile was equally slight, but it was a start. And it reminded her of where she should make him focus. Sobering, she reached for his hand but didn’t touch him, a request, open palms. “Can I see it?”
    Okay, that might’ve been a test.
    She’d been rejected more times in her life than any person ought to be—it wasn’t anything new to her—but the second she’d found out that he was a doctor he’d become her partner in dealing with this and keeping Mira out of it. She needed him to actually connect with her and be her partner in it. And a good person didn’t abandon her partner when he was hurting.
    When he placed his large, bloody-knuckled hand in hers, her relief was so keen she had to fight the urge to squeeze and wind her fingers in his. He didn’t shun her. Recoiling was about something else. He didn’t find her lacking.
    Nice skin, and considering she hadn’t had any male contact since she’d come back from Peru it wasn’t surprising that she wanted to relish the contact a little bit.
    She forced herself to examine his knuckles before he caught on, paying careful attention to the cracked and rapidly swelling skin. “Can you move your fingers for me?”
    He made a small sound as he got his fingers going, but his fingers moved smoothly at the knuckle, despite the swelling. “Well, we both know that it’s an old wives’ tale that you can’t move something that’s broken. Can’t know for sure that it’s not, but it looks good. Sorry, have to do this...”
    Still holding his injured hand for support, she stroked her fingers over the abused skin, just firmly enough to feel the structure. She knew it hurt, he stopped breathing until she stopped touching it. “Don’t think it’s broken. Everything feels intact. Could be some hairline fracture, though. Guess we’ll have to take a wait-and-see approach on this, along with poor Chelsea’s toes.”
    Breathing resumed, and he pulled his hand back, nodding. “I don’t think it’s broken either, but I’m a fan of X-ray...”
    “Come on. Let’s get this cleaned up, then we’ll get Chelsea’s medicine into her, and I’ll go and tell Mira what’s going on so she can join the fun later. While the storm is here, you two will keep watch over our patient guests in shifts so she can have time with Jack and you can have some rest. Welcome to your first rotation at Silver Pass Blizzard Clinic, Dr. Graves.”
    “Time with Jack?” he asked, as she turned toward the door.
    Ellory fished the keys from her coat pocket, unlocked the door and stepped inside, flipping on one set of lights as she went. “The past six months have been really hard for Mira, not that she’d admit it to anyone. Her fiancé was a louse. They broke up and the universe rewarded her for choosing to take care of herself.”
    “Jack from the avalanche, or do you mean her reward is having to do jack-all?”
    Ellory peered at him. “Have you never heard the name Jack before?”
    “I have and I’ve met a guest called Jack. But it’s also a noun or an adjective.” He followed her into the clinic. “Your manner of speaking is unusual. I’m looking for landmarks.”
    She decided not to comment on that—he didn’t seem like a big talker and she had jobs before her. She talked strangely. She dressed wrong. Blah-blah-blah.
    “I’ve been making notes of the supplies I took to the lobby. We’ll just write down whatever we need, I’ll go tell Mira and you can get the medicine for Chelsea. We should probably start charts for everyone too, but since your hand looks like hell, you tell me what you want it to say and I’ll do the writing.”
    *
    Anson followed her, enjoying the floral wake. The tropical scent reminded him she’d said something about Peru earlier. “Were you on a medical mission before you came