Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

A lexandra felt awkward knocking on Callum’s door that night. She'd left groceries on his doorstep earlier, then sent him a text to tell him so she didn't have to resume their earlier conversation, but facing him was inevitable. He had to have his cream applied regularly or he risked infection. And though her feelings were sore, she wasn't petty enough to want him harmed.

He answered the door fully clothed. The tips of his curls were wet. "Good evenin', Alexandra." He draped his hand over the top of the door, in no hurry to let her in.

"Hi. Are you ready?"

"Ready to take my med'cine? Aye, I am that." He hung his head sheepishly. "I apologize for any insult--"

"Don't be silly. You don't need to apologize. We'll just forget it, okay? You wanna let me in?"

"Aye." He stared into her eyes until she looked away, then he finally stepped back and opened the door wider, then wider still. "I assume ye're not alone."

She stopped in her tracks. "Callum." She said it like a warning.

"Sorry again," he said, then waved her out of the way so he could shut the door. "I'm havin' a hard time remembering the last conversation. I must have been a boor to make ye shoo me oot o' yer hoose like ye did."

She was sure he remembered every word. And now, he was playing some sort of game, and she didn't intend to play along.

"Not really. I just realized you were ready to be on your own again, that's all. I wouldn't want to hold you back, you know? Presumably the worst is over, pain wise. And your back is healing. It looks like hell, but the moisture is almost gone."

"Won't feel like a frog much longer, eh?"

"Exactly. Just don't forget your follow up appointment...if you're still in town in another week."

"If I'm still in town, aye. If not, I'll see the doc in Blairgowrie."

She forced a smile. "Just promise you won't trust your care to the vet."

They both chuckled.

"Fine. I promise."

He sat backward on a kitchen chair and lifted his shirt, exposing only his lower back. The tube of cream lay on the table.

"No more need for bandages," she said, "but it will get on your shirt."

"Just showered," he said. "And the shirt is clean. It can act as a bandage for the now."

"All right." She pulled over another chair and got to work spreading a thin layer of the white stuff over his now familiar back.

"Enjoy the shoppin', did ye?"

"Yes."

"Dinnae let me forget to repay ye before ye go."

"All right."

"And how's Spreag?"

"Fine." She caught her breath but kept her fingers moving while she tried to think of a way to cover her tracks. But as the seconds stretched out, she realized it was too late.

She hurried and finished, then put the cap on the tube and set it back on the table while he stood and faced her. She refused to look him in the eye.

"I'll be back at nine in the morning. Oh!" She pulled his pain meds from the pocket of her hoodie and handed them over. "Seven gummies and four Tramadol. We can get refills if you end up using them all. Just, you know, don't operate heavy machinery."

He didn't laugh, which made her worry.

"How bad is it, with just Tylenol?"

"Bearable."

He stood so close she could feel the heat coming off him. As soon as she left, he'd probably take his shirt off.

"Alexandra--"

"Don't start. It was just a natural response to a question I'd heard a hundred times in the last year. How is Spreag. He's fine." She shrugged.

"Alexandra."

"What?"

He set his hands on her shoulders and gently pulled her closer. "I want to thank ye fer yer kind and gentle care of me. Any man would be lucky...to have such a neighbor. A generous heart..." He lifted her chin and forced her to look at him. "Beautiful inside and out." He sighed. "I'll always be beholden to ye." He leaned down to kiss her but stopped before he got there. Instead, he pulled her against him and held her firmly. "Ah, love, I miss ye already."

She didn't mean to close her eyes. She didn't mean to wrap her arms around him to make it easier for him to hold her tight. She didn't mean to hug him back, inhale him, or to capture all the warmth she could...until he sucked that air between his teeth and she realized her hands were on his burn!

She jumped back. "I'm so sorry. I didn't do it on purpose, I promise!"

He chuckled, his smile forced. "O' course ye didnae--"

"I need to go. I... You can pay me later. I'll text you."

She fled. Such a coward. But it wasn't as if she were free to cultivate feelings for another man.

She hurried through the front door and went looking for Spreag. She needed to see him nearly as badly as she had that foggy night on the ranch.

"Spreag?"

When she couldn't find him, she freaked out so badly that she ran to the bathroom and threw up her dinner. And with her head over the toilet bowl, two questions repeated in her mind. Had he followed her next door? Was he still there?

“My poor wee lassie.” Spreag stood in the hallway looking at Alex’s reflection as she rinsed her mouth and pressed a towel to her face.

“Where were you?”

“Nowhere," he lied. "Waitin’ to be needed. How’s the patient?”

“He apologized for earlier and thanked me for playing nursemaid. Sounds like he might go back to Scotland soon and not wait until Christmas. I hope I wasn't too mean, sending him back home. But he crossed the line, you know?"

The rush of her words told him she was nervous, and he knew why. One firm embrace from another man and she was feeling guilty. Only the guilt was his. She'd needed physical attention for far too long, and it was his fault. He'd coddled her too long.

"Auch, sure he crossed the line. Though, he was out of his head."

"No. Not that out of it. Was he?" When he only shrugged, she panicked. "Holy crap. Do you think I should apologize? I mean, sometimes, lately...these hormones make me a little touchy, you know?"

He chuckled. "Aye, I may have witnessed it a time or two."

She closed her eyes and groaned. "If he cuts his vacation short because of me... And most of the time he's been laid up..." She covered her face with her hands and groaned again. "I'm a monster!" Then she headed for the front door.

At the sight of her running to another man, something inside him shifted. Something primal and territorial, and he suddenly wished Callum Fraser would hurry back home to Blairgowrie and keep his sheep-shearin' hands off another man's wife! And it was this drop of the devil in him that made him open his mouth. He knew just what would make Alexandra forget all about the neighbor.

"Dinnae fash, my love. Sleep on it, and if ye think ye should apologize, ye can do so in the mornin'. But for tonight, perhaps ye should turn in early. Wee Huntly and her mama have had a long day...”