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ourselves.”
    Casey moved the ice pack from Ryan’s face. “Man, she clocked you good.”
    “Wait!” Meg’s brows shot up. “That had to hurt. Let me see your hand, Tara.”
    Tara reluctantly held out her aching palm.
    “Ouch.” Meg cringed.
    That had Ben zipping across the room and taking her bruised hand in his. “Can you move your fingers?”
    The girls gathered around as Ben gently probed her hand. He finally said, “I think it’s just a bad bruise. Joyce, will you get Tara an ice pack too?”
    Joyce huffed out a breath as she left.
    Ryan sat up. “I’ll go home and take some aspirin.”
    “Nope.” Ben pushed Ryan onto his back again. “We aren’t done with you yet.” He turned to his sisters. “Meg, get up here and sit on him and hold his shoulders down. Casey, you hold his head still. Sorry, buddy, but we need to straighten out the damage.”
    Tara couldn’t watch. She shut her eyes as Ben counted backward. “Three, two, one.”
    Ryan let out a loud curse, and then a slow groan. He scowled at his brother. “You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”
    “Only a little. Tara, you want to come check his teeth now? He’d probably bite my fingers if I tried.” Ben helped Meg off of Ryan and to the floor, while Casey moved away from the table to make room.
    Tara slipped on a pair of gloves and stood beside Ryan. As badly as her right hand throbbed, it was obvious Ryan’s pain was ten times worse.
    Because of her.
    Her eyes stung with tears.
    Meg ran a hand up and down Tara’s back. “He’s going to be fine and just as pretty as before, Tara. He must’ve startled you somehow, huh?”
    Not too long ago, Meg had accidentally seen the scars on Tara’s torso. Tara hadn’t told Meg what happened, but she must’ve put two and two together. Tara was grateful Meg had never pressed for an explanation. “Yeah. Maybe I took that self-defense training a little too seriously?”
    Ryan’s eyes locked with hers. “I’m not mad at you, Tara.”
    “Thank you, Ryan.” Relief washed through her. “Open up, please.”
    Concentrating only on his mouth, not all his glorious, bare-chested muscles, she pressed two fingers against his front teeth, happy when they didn’t move and he didn’t flinch. After a little more gentle probing, she tugged off her gloves. “Luckily, your teeth fared better than your nose. If they’re still bothering you after a few days, will you promise to come see me?”
    Ben slid next to her and said, “I’d listen to her, Ry. Tara just proved she’s the only one in town who can kick your ass.”
    Ryan closed his eyes. “I’m never going to hear the end of this, am I?”
    His sisters and brother all said, “Nope!” in unison.
    Joyce finally came back with an ice pack. Ben traded it for a prescription from his pad, and then gently took Tara’s hand. He gazed into her eyes and smiled before he laid the blessedly cool pack on her palm. “Fifteen minutes on, fifteen off. And if it still hurts in a few days, promise you’ll come back and see me?”
    Ben was an incredibly handsome man. So why wasn’t her stomach doing that flipping thing it did when Ryan smiled at her?
    While Ben flirted with her, Ryan slid off the table and stood to leave. Tara pulled her hand from Ben’s and said, “Can you make it home all right, Ryan?”
    Casey wrapped her arm around her brother’s shoulders. “Meg and I will walk him home and tuck him into bed.”
    Ben called out, “Pick up his meds on the way out from Joyce. Be sure he eats before he takes them. And Ryan, take it easy today!”
    Ryan lifted a hand in response.
    Casey said, “We’ll make sure he does.”
    Tara started walking behind them, but Ben said, “Can you wait a second please, Tara?”
    “Sure.”
    “So his teeth and gums looked okay?” As Ben jotted notes in Ryan’s chart, a single strand of his perfectly styled and gelled hair moved. Ben was like a Ken doll, perfect in every way. Maybe too perfect. Would a woman have to fight