Then he arched a tawny brow. “Did you fall from a cliff? Tumble down a flight of stairs? Leap from a galloping horse?”
Not liking his flippant tone, she retorted, “A carriage, actually. And then I was kicked by a horse.”
His countenance darkened. “That wasn’t very smart.”
She clenched her teeth. The man’s insistence on chiding her while her ankle throbbed and pain shot through her shoulder down to her fingertips was working over her last nerve. “If you must know, we were accosted while out shopping.”
His tawny brow went higher and he tilted his head. “Accosted?”
Katherine adjusted her arm into a more comfortable position, wincing at the pain the slight movement caused. “Two men commandeered our carriage. Thieves, I imagine.” Even as she made the suggestion, something inside her rejected it. “We had to leap free in order to escape.”
A frown deepened the lines between his brows. “You seriously jumped from a moving carriage?”
“It was entirely necessary, I assure you,” she retorted.
When she said nothing else, Hale flicked a glance at her shoulder. “It’s dislocated.”
“I know.”
The corner of his mouth pulled back. “Then you know what has to be done.”
“Yes, and if you would just call for a doctor to attend me, we’ll be on our way all the faster.”
“There’s no telling how long it’ll take for a doctor to come round and no guarantee he’ll be fit to do his job.”
Katherine frowned. “Then perhaps you could obtain a hack? I’ll call for a doctor once I’m home.”
“You can’t wait that long.”
“Just what do you suggest?” she snapped, losing patience with the argument and the painful discomfort of her situation.
“I’ll take care of it.”
She looked up in surprise. “No. You will not.”
His sigh was heavy with annoyance. “I’ve tended more injuries during my years in the ring than most doctors do in their entire careers. The longer you suffer in your current state the more chance there is for lasting damage. I’ll tend to you.”
The thought of him putting his large, calloused hands on her person, even to relieve her significant pain, caused her body to flush with heat and resistance.
But he was right. She couldn’t remain as she was.
Before she could voice her agreement, Frederick strode back into the room. He handed the glass of water to Katherine before turning to give the bottle of whiskey to Hale.
“Go visit with Claire.” Hale nodded toward the door. “She’ll be happy to see you.”
“But...” the boy began as he glanced toward Katherine.
Before she could assure him herself, Hale stated gruffly, “You brought her to me. I’ll see to her.”
Turning to the bed, Frederick carefully took a seat beside her. She had to grind her back teeth to keep from showing how even that slight movement caused pain.
“I’m sorry, Kit, I should’ve—”
“No,” she interrupted quietly. Refusing to look past her brother to the giant man behind him, she leaned forward to whisper, “You have nothing to be sorry about. If not for your knowledge of the city, we’d still be lost. Go on. Visit with Claire,” she insisted gently. “I’ll soon be myself again and then we’ll go home.”
He glanced down as though wanting to avoid her gaze. But then he stood. With another nod toward Hale, he once again left the two of them alone in the bedroom.
She sat in silence, watching from the corner of her eye as Hale opened the bottle of liquor by pulling the cork with his teeth, before stepping forward to offer it to her.
“You’ll need it.”
Wanting to argue but knowing he was right, she set the glass of water on the bedside table and took the bottle in her good hand.
Hale watched as she took a healthy swig of the whiskey. She had to breath deep to hold back the urge to cough at the fiery fumes. When he lifted his chin in a gesture indicating he wanted her to take another, she frowned but did as he asked.
Smirking at her reluctant acquiescence, he lifted his hands to release the queue at his nape. Holding the strip of leather in his teeth, he combed his hands back through his honey-colored hair then retied it.
He’d done the same thing that evening at his office. And now, just as then, something about the action—perhaps the way it caused his arms to flex, showing off every rope of muscle, or maybe it was the way he tucked his chin and looked at her from beneath his brows as he did it—reached down deep into Katherine’s core to tug at a delicate thread buried within her.
The twitch in his lips as he started toward her suggested he knew the effect he had on her. He probably affected all women in such a way with his raw masculinity, flickering smirk, and towering strength.
“Ready?” His voice was low and textured.
Katherine took another swig from the bottle, barely resisting the urge to shudder as the whiskey seared a path to her belly.
“You’ll need to lie flat.”
With a heavy breath, she shifted lower on the bed as he removed the pillows and tossed them aside. Pain arced through her when she started to lie back again, and she squeezed her eyes against the tears pricking behind her eyelids. Then she felt the solid press of Hale’s large hand beneath her mid back, adding support.
Her eyes flew open to find his gaze mere inches from hers. Her breath escaped through her lips in a soft puff.
“Easy,” he murmured thickly.
Once she was fully stretched out on the bed, he pulled his hand back. “I’ll need to check for any broken or splintered bone.”
Katherine nodded. Though she was tempted to close her eyes again, she focused on his face instead, studying the details of his rugged bone structure—how the crest of his cheeks sloped to the hard angle of his jaw, the dark golden color of the stubble that grew there and the darker fan of his lashes
