Lie to Me (27 page)

He felt the shivers go though her, felt her grip his shirt, twist her fingers into the material as she took several deep breaths, unconsciously matching her ragged breathing to his deep, even ones, soothing herself unknowingly by following his pattern, absorbing the calmness and reassurance in his eyes.

He didn’t break their gazes, didn’t acknowledge anyone else in the silent room, his sole attention focussed on the woman who needed him.

“Okay,” she whispered.  “Okay.”

Slowly he smiled, just a small one, right before he placed a kiss between her eyes and straightened, keeping his hold on the gauze and his gaze on her.  “Right, doc, let’s get this show on the road.”

While Eric and Sandy readied the dressing trolley, Del and Ryder had Dee lay on the narrow bed, Ryder bringing the back up so that she reclined against it.  Sandy stepped in, taking his spot so that she had control of the gauze.

Del stepped back as Ryder walked around the bed, without a word moving further down so he could stand beside Dee’s shoulder.  Leaning in, he slid his arm under her neck, bending his arm up so that her head rested against his shoulder while he curled his fingers over her forehead and gently started stroking.

Del took her free hand and held on tight, watching the medical staff.

Dee relaxed against Ryder, but the tension was evident when she saw the syringe that now lay on the dressing pack.  The needle was delicate but he had no doubt that to her it was huge.

People might laugh about needle phobias, but he knew how much stress and fear they could cause to those with a phobia.

Eric glanced at him as he picked up the syringe before turning his attention to Dee.  “This will sting, Dee, I won’t lie.  But it’ll be over quick.”

Tension shot through her, her breath catching as she saw the needle.

Ryder turned her head so that her face was pressed into the crook of his neck.  “It’s all right, babe.  I’m here.”

When the needle slid into raw flesh, it would hurt, no doubt about it, the local anaesthetic was a real bitch, it bit like the very devil.  Out of the corner of his eye he saw Del flinch as Dee tightened her grip on her cousin’s hand.

“You’re doing great, Dee,” Del gritted out from between clenched teeth.  “Oh yeah.  Oh -
shit!
 
Ow!
  Sorry,
sorry
, it’s fine.  It’s all good.”

Ryder couldn’t help but flash her an amused grin, especially at the sight of her face screwed up in a grimace.

Del glared at him.

He winked at her right before his attention was drawn back to Dee as she pressed her face into his neck, her breath hot and moist as she drew a shuddering breath, muffling a whimper.

“Probably should have given her a sedative,” Sandy whispered.

“No,” Ryder replied. “She hates sedation.”

“It wouldn’t have to be an injection, a tablet or something.”

“Still no.  She hates feeling out of control.”  He stroked some hair back behind her ear.  “We’re doing fine, aren’t we, babe?”  When she didn’t answer, he pressed a light kiss to the side of her head.  “Yeah, we’re doing fine.”

The silence was punctuated with Eric’s low voice, Sandy answering as he cleaned the wound and then started to slide the needle and thread through the torn flesh, bringing the edges together.

There was no pain now but Dee still didn’t relax.  The knowledge, the scent of the hospital, the tugging on her flesh, was undeniable.  She wouldn’t relax now until she was home.

Eric worked steadily until the wound was neatly stitched together, tying off the thread and stepping back to drop the needle into the sharps container as Sandy cleaned the suture line and applied a waterproof dressing.

“You know the drill,” Eric said to Ryder.  “Keep it dry for twenty four to forty eight hours.  Stitches come out in ten days.  She can come here-”

“I’ll do it.” Ryder smiled slightly.  “I don’t think we’d get her back in here unless we tied her to the back of a truck and dragged her.”

“Fair enough.”  Eric grimaced.  “When was your last Tetanus shot, Dee?”

Oh great
.  Ryder looked down at her.

“Yesterday,” Dee’s muffled voice replied shakily.

“Uh huh,” Eric said.

“High school,” Del said.  “
Ow! 
Jesus, Dee!  He had to know!”

Dee eased her grip on her cousin’s hand.

“Quick jab, babe,” Ryder said softly in her ear.  “Hang on to me, squeeze the hell out of your cousin’s hand.  It’ll all be over shortly.”

“Thanks, Ryder,” Del said tersely.  “Thanks a lot.  My hand will never be the same again.”

Thankfully the Tetanus shot was done with a minimum of cringing from Dee, while Ryder soothed her with soft words and more stroking to her hair, and Del patted her hand.

Placing the empty syringe and needle into the sharps container, Eric gave her shoulder a small rub.  “All done, Dee.  Everything is over.  Now, in regards to the wound, Panadiene will be fine for the pain, it’s going to ache for awhile.”  He looked at Del.  “Does she have any at home?”

“No idea,” Del replied.  “Her First Aid kit is so piss-poor she probably only has Tic-Tacs in there.”

“I heard that.”  Dee pulled her face from Ryder’s neck to look sheepishly at Eric.  “Sorry, Eric.  Really, I’m so sorry.”  She slid an embarrassed look at Sandy.  “I wouldn’t really ram the trolley up your clacker.  Honestly.”

Sandy snorted a laugh.  “I grew up with you, Dee.  If I thought you were serious about it, I’d have hit you with a bed pan.”

Eric grinned.  “Just remind me next time to get Ryder as soon as you walk into the A & E, not wait.”  Slanting a look at Del, he shook his head.  “You of all people should have known.”

“Hey, all I saw was the blood everywhere and I got her down here fast.  That was luck on its own,” Del retorted.  “I wasn’t thinking of her doing her nut over a needle.”

Looking down at Dee’s pale cheeks, Ryder felt a surge of protection go through him, and he dropped a kiss on top of her head.  “Come on, babe.  Let’s get you up, make sure you don’t faint.”

“As if,” she retorted with a flash of her old spirit.  “I’m made of tougher stuff than that.”

“Sure,” muttered Del, shaking her red hand.  “You keep telling yourself that.”

Ryder placed a steadying hand on her back as Dee sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the narrow bed, transferring his grip to her waist as he studied her face closely.  “Just take it nice and slow.”

Surprisingly, she didn’t give a sharp come-back, one of her hands gripping his forearm instead for several seconds before she gave a nod and slid off to stand.

Immediately he moved with her, stepping back to allow her room but keeping close so that he could brace her if she started to feel faint.  His hands stayed on her waist, steadying her.  “Okay?”

“Okay.”  She nodded.

Rather than move away, he stepped in, sliding his arm around her waist to draw her unharmed side against him.

God, she fit so well, the top of her head on level with his shoulder, her soft curves so warm against his harder frame. She felt so good, so right.  All he wanted to do now was take her home and tuck her into his bed, make sure she was safe, watch her through the night.  Shame he didn’t have a reasonable excuse to take her to his home.

She wobbled a little, so no doubt she was still not feeling too crash hot after an experience that while mild for some, for her was pretty traumatic.  The adrenaline rush was seeping away, leaving her tired and drained.  Bed was the best bet for her.

Ryder nodded to Sandy and Eric.  “Thanks.  I’ll get her home.”  His gaze flicked to where Del was watching with a small smile on her face.  “Both of them.  Woman, fall in line.”

“Can my heart beat any faster from your mastery?”

“Very possibly.  My sexy side does get the sheilas going.”

“Oh boy.”  She moved up to stand beside Dee.  “How are you feeling?”

“Like I was sewn up against my will.”

“Then behave next time and you won’t get threatened with me sitting on you.”  Del gave her hair a quick, fond ruffle.  “Come on, chick, let’s get you home.”

Outside, Ryder spotted Del’s car and steered both girls over to it, his arm around Dee’s waist, his other hand at Del’s back.  “You okay to drive?”

“No worries.”  Del opened the passenger door and watched as he settled an unusually quiet Dee inside.

Leaning across Dee, Ryder fastened the seat belt, shifting back enough to study her face.  “Okay, babe?”

“I’m fine.”  Her smile held nothing of her usual confidence.  “Thanks for everything.”

“Night isn’t over yet.”  He pressed a kiss to her brow before he pulled out of the car and straightened.  Shutting the door, he steered Del around to the driver’s door, opening it as she slid behind the wheel.  “I’ll follow you home, make sure Dee gets upstairs okay.”

“We’ll be fine-” Dee began.

“I’ll follow,” he said firmly, and shut the door.

Del just nodded and started the car.  He followed not long after, pulling in behind the shops as Dee and Del were going inside the back door.

He couldn’t miss the broken pottery on the ground, the remnants of Dee’s geranium pots that normally flanked the back door.  Dirt was scattered amongst the pottery and the plants themselves lay discarded on the side.

Something wasn’t right.

Walking in behind the women, he followed them up the stairs, doing a quick check of the First Aid kit in the kitchen to ensure that Dee did indeed have adequate pain relief, before he leaned back against the bench and listened to Dee argue with Del.

“I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Don’t be stubborn.  I’ll just stay the night.”

“Del, I appreciate everything but I’m fine.  See?  All sewn up and in one piece.”

“What if you faint?”

“I didn’t faint at the hospital, I’m not going to faint now.”

Ryder looked from Del, standing with her arms folded and a stubborn expression on her face, to Dee, who stood with the same expression.  No doubting these two for cousins.  They were like two peas in a pod, except one was slimly curved, the other lusciously curved.

Dee looked at him.  “Tell her I’ll be fine.”

Del huffed.  “Tell her I should stay.”

“She’ll be fine,” he said.

Del’s jaw dropped.  “What?”

Plucking an Anzac biscuit from the biccie barrel, he took a bite.  “All Dee needs is a good night’s sleep.  She’ll be fine now.”  He pointed the half eaten biccie at Del.  “I’ll follow you home and then go to my place.”

“But-”

“You promise not go to down the stairs tonight, right, Dee?”

“Absolutely.  I’m going to bed.”

“And you’ll answer the phone when I ring during the night to check on you, right, babe?”

“What?”  When he arched an eyebrow, she sighed.  “Yes.  Fine.  Whatever.”

“There, see?”  Smiling, he placed his hand at Del’s back and started ushering her out of the kitchen and onto the landing.  “Let’s go.”

“I don’t believe this.”  Del glared at Dee from around Ryder’s arm.  “You feel faint or anything, you ring me!”

“Absolutely.”

Ryder glanced at Dee.  “No coming down the stairs.  We’ll lock it on the way out,  you go straight to bed.”

“Sure.”

He cast her a steely-eyed look.

“I promise.”

He pointed to the bedroom.

With a sigh and a sudden blush, she walked into it out of sight.

As they closed the back door behind them, Del turned to Ryder.  “What the hell, man?  She’s just had a traumatic experience!  You’re really going to leave her alone?”

Ryder held up the key.  “See this?  I can let myself in whenever I need to.”

“Hey, that’s the spare key she gave me and you borrowed.”  She held out her hand.

“Mine now.”  He dropped it into his pocket.  “She needs some peace and quiet to pull herself back together.  You know Dee, always in control, never freaks out.  Tonight’s little episode is going to worry her more than us.  Let her get over it the way she does best, on her own.”

“I’m worried about her.”

Slinging his arm around her neck, he pulled her in for a quick hug.  “Cute.”

“She’s right, you’re an arse.”

Steering her to the car, he waited while she got in, bending down to peer in the window.  “I promise I will call her several times during the night.  If she doesn’t answer, I’ll be over here like a shot.”

“You better.”  She started the car, the headlights flicking on to show the broken pottery in sharp relief.

Ryder’s gaze slid to the pieces.  “What happened?”

“No idea.  We heard a crash, came running out, Dee slipped and fell and cut her arm.  That’s all I can tell you.”

“Odd.”  Noticing Del’s troubled expression, he gave her a shoulder a pat.  “I’ll look into it tomorrow.  Now it’s late, go home and get some rest.  I’ll be right behind you.”

“I don’t need a babysitter.”