Maybe, she thought, rubbing the towel over her hair, she needed to sort herself out before deciding whether the change in her relationship with Kiah was advisable and should continue?
But deep in her heart, she already knew: a fundamental change had taken place, whether they liked it or not. All she could do was prepare as best she could, and see where it ultimately led.
Then her already chaotic world was further disarrayed by an email from Toronto South formally offering her a full-time teaching position, as the deputy chief of orthopedics.
She sat back, looking at the screen, her heart racing. It seemed like something of a miracle, the culmination of all her career dreams. While they’d originally asked her to stay on as a lecturer, and she’d refused, the position of deputy chief hadn’t come up before.
It couldn’t have happened at a worse time.
Yet, the choices she faced career-wise seemed nowhere as important as deciding what to do about her feelings for Kiah.
She still hadn’t told him about the job offer from Dr. Hamilton, and didn’t really plan to tell him about the Toronto offer, either, until she figured out what she wanted to do. Hopefully, the director would be discreet and not spread the word about wanting her to stay.
Part of her rebelled at the thought of leaving St. Eustace; yet, she also had to be practical. Letting her emotions over the change in her relationship with Kiah muddle her thinking wouldn’t help her make good decisions.
She spent most of the day going over the tutorial plans she was working on for the hospital, trying to lose herself in work rather than let her mind obsess over the night before. Yet, more than once she found herself staring off into space, smiling, her body tingling at the memories bombarding her.
By the time Kiah got home, she was glad to set her laptop aside, as she looked up to smile at him. His gaze seemed watchful, making her wonder what he was expecting. So she went out of her way to sound casual, almost breezy, as she greeted him.
“Hey,” she said. “Long day, huh?”
“Emergency cesarean,” he replied, flopping down beside her. “Her OB was on the other side of the island, and couldn’t make it back in time to operate. Mom and baby doing well. Father’s a blithering mess, though. It’s their first.”
Mina chuckled. “So many of them are, when delivery time comes. I don’t think the fact they’re about to be a father truly sinks in until they actually see the baby.”
Kiah smiled, resting his head back on the couch and closing his eyes. “And I don’t think any of them have a clue what to expect during the actual birth. Intellectually, they have an idea, but the reality still comes as a shock.”
There, that was normal, she thought, except for having to battle the urge to grab him, kiss him, take him back to bed. He didn’t want that new twist in their relationship to become a regular part of it, so she had to honor his wishes.
Let him make the first move, if he wanted to.
“Miss Pearl left food in the fridge, but I wasn’t sure what you’d want. It looks as though she thought we’d be inviting an entire army over while she was gone.”
He chuckled, rolling his head to look at her. “That’s how it always is, when she leaves even for a couple of days. And when she comes back, she’ll want to know why it looks as though nothing was eaten.”
“Well,” Mina said, stretching, and swinging her feet down to the ground. “In that case I guess I should go and pull something out so she doesn’t get mad at us.”
“Mmm-hmm,” Kiah agreed, even as he was reaching to pull her onto his lap. “Don’t want Granny vexed.” With a hand on her nape, he tugged her unresisting form close. “She’s scary when she’s vexed.”
“That she is,” Mina agreed against his lips, her heart singing, her pulse going haywire.
It wouldn’t last forever, she knew, but she’d take whatever he wanted to give.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHARM AND MISS PEARL came back the following day, both exhausted, and with the older lady limping.
“It’s just a sprain,” she said, when Kiah asked her what had happened.
“We were going down to the river this morning, and Granny slipped,” Charm said. “She scratched her hand, too,” she added.
“Let me take a look, Miss Pearl.” Mina tried to guide the older woman to a chair, gently insistent when it looked like her patient was going to balk. “It won’t take a moment.”
While she grumbled, Miss Pearl allowed Mina to remove the bandage she’d wrapped around her ankle, so Mina could see the affected joint. Kiah went and retrieved the first aid kit, and, on his return, took a look at his grandmother’s hand.
After a thorough examination of the ankle, Mina looked up at the older woman.
“There’s a fair amount of bruising and swelling, so you know I’m going to prescribe the RICE treatment, don’t you?”
Miss Pearl looked as though she wanted to argue, but Kiah looked up from dressing the cut on her hand to say, “Listen to Mina, Granny, and don’t be difficult.”
“RICE? What’s the RICE treatment?” Charm asked. She’d been leaning over Mina’s shoulder, watching what was going on.
“It stands for rest, ice, compression and elevation. Granny needs to stay off her foot for a couple of days, put ice on her ankle and keep it wrapped up. And she should keep her foot elevated, too.”
Charm straightened and gave her great-grandmother a long look. “Okay, Granny, you’re under chair arrest for the next couple of days, and Sheriff Charm is going to keep an eye on you, so make sure you behave.”
Miss Pearl scowled, but no one paid her ill temper any mind, as they all pitched in to make her comfortable.
Once she was settled, with her leg up on a low table and ice pack in place, Kiah said, “Charm, go have a shower, while
