Sawyer sighed. “Fine. We should grab the kids.”
Sawyer headed after the girls. He scooped up one toddler with his good hand, and Olivia jogged over to gather up the other. Olivia had Bella in her arms, and the girl squealed, trying to wriggle free. Olivia managed to keep a hold of her, though, and when she stepped into the kitchen, she let Bella go. The girl beelined for the bucket of toys. Lizzie did the same when Sawyer put her down.
“So where’s the first aid kit?” she asked.
“No idea.” He looked around the kitchen, then shrugged.
Olivia pulled out her phone. Lloyd had given her his cell number earlier, and she typed in a text: Hi Lloyd. Just wondering where the first aid kit is. No emergency, so don’t worry.
After a moment, there was a ping, and she read his reply.
“Top cupboard over the stove,” she said. “Sawyer—sit down.”
Olivia could reach the knob, and she tugged it open. The white plastic box was visible in the front of the cupboard, but when she stretched up, her fingers could only brush it when she went up onto her tiptoes. She’d need a stool or something. Sawyer sauntered up behind her, and when she dropped down to flat feet, she collided with his broad chest. He reached forward, over her head, and easily grabbed the box.
“I’m more useful than I look,” he said, his voice a low rumble.
He was so close to her, those dark eyes boring into hers. Her breath caught, and for just a moment, he wasn’t the old friend she could boss around. She didn’t know this Sawyer quite as well as she’d imagined. Because this wasn’t her buddy—this was a man who seemed to pin her to the spot with those dark eyes. This Sawyer didn’t know their history, and yet even without it, they were drawn to each other. It hardly seemed fair. This wasn’t supposed to get complicated...
Sawyer put the first aid kit into her hands, a half-smile tugging at his lips.
“Thank you,” she breathed.
“You’re welcome.” He turned then, and headed to the table. He pulled out a chair with a scrape and sat down.
Their problem had never been a lack of chemistry. His gaze followed her as she came over to the table and opened the first aid kit.
“You need the rest, you know,” she said pulling up a chair next to him.
“I don’t want to rest,” he replied.
“Sawyer, I get how frustrating this is,” she said with a shake of her head. “I really do. But could you just not reinjure yourself on my watch? That’s all I’m asking. After I’m gone, you’re welcome to do any stupid thing you like. But if you get hurt while I’m supposed to be keeping you in one piece...people will talk, and I don’t need more of that right now.”
She shot him a teasing look, and he rolled his eyes.
“I’m not so vulnerable as you seem to think.”
“This sliver begs to differ,” she said, and pulled a pair of tweezers out of the first aid kit. “Now, hold your hand flat—hold your fingers down with your other hand...like that. Good.”
She gave the sliver a little tug. It didn’t budge. She tried again, and it moved ever so slightly. Sawyer winced.
“That hurts,” he murmured.
“It would,” she agreed, her voice low as she focused on grabbing the sliver again. “Keep an eye on the girls, would you? Accidents happen too easily...”
Sawyer’s gaze moved toward his daughters, and as soon as his attention was off of his hand, she gave a pull and the rest of the sliver slid out of his flesh, a bead of blood filling up the wound.
“Ouch!” He pulled his hand back, but she didn’t let go of his fingers, tugging his hand back down to the tabletop.
“Stop that,” she said, reaching for a cleansing pad. She used her teeth to tear the package open, and gently wiped the area. “Let me see if I got it all.”
“So was that distraction there—telling me to watch the girls?” he asked.
“Bingo.” She shot him a grin. She gave his hand one last stroke with the cleansing wipe, then reached for a bandage. “There. You’re welcome.”
Sawyer inspected his hand. “Thanks.”
Bella came over to where her father sat and put a pudgy hand on his leg. “Up. Up!”
Sawyer picked her up and settled her on his lap. The toddler looked pleased with herself, and she leaned back against his shoulder.
“I need to get out there,” Sawyer said quietly. “I’m going crazy. I need to do something...contribute.”
Lizzie trotted over, a wooden block in one hand. She squatted down at Sawyer’s feet and smacked his boot with the block. He looked down at her solemnly.
“There are more important things to do, Sawyer,” Olivia said seriously. “Like remembering your daughters. You said you wanted to remember them, right?”
“I do,” he agreed.
“Well, this is how you’ll do that. And if, for some reason, you don’t get those memories back, you’re creating new ones.”
Sawyer met her gaze and heaved a sigh. He looked down at Bella on his lap, then at Lizzie, who was heading back for the toy bucket. “You’re very irritating when you’re right.”
“I know,” she said. “I always did drive you nuts.”
He smiled ruefully. “So this is just our dynamic, is it?”
“We always seem to fall back into it,” she confirmed. Even when he couldn’t remember their history, it seemed. This was how they’d always related to each other—relying on banter to cover over the deeper attraction they didn’t want to talk about.
“I have a doctor’s checkup this afternoon,” he said. “Wondering if you might want to come along for that. I’m not real sure how to get there.”
It was a good reason to bring her with him, but her stomach knotted up all the same. Did she want to go into town and face this community again? She’d seen another old acquaintance at the hotel—a cousin of a classmate who had pretended not to
