Chapter 51

Living by candlelight in a small cabin with Dave. That was a thought. Not a particularly comforting one.

Before he'd snapped at her, she'd felt right at home. But his surliness, combined with the remoteness of the area, and the idea that he'd undressed her while she was unconscious, undermined her feelings of comfort.

He approached with the steaming water. Instinctively adopting the submissive behavior she'd learned from the wolves in the hybrid clan, Ashley pressed against the wall, only vaguely aware that the movement exposed her vulnerable neck and stomach.



"I frighten you." He set the basin on the table.



"No . . . no," Ashley hastily reassured him, lowering her eyes to avoid any hint of challenge. "I'm still sore . . . I . . . well, you know what I mean."



"You're disoriented, too. It's natural after a head injury," he picked up the penlight he'd left on the table, sat down on a wooden chair, and flicked it on. "Hold still," he lifted one of her eyelids. "I want to check your pupils."



He aimed the light into Ashley's eye and she flinched.

"Hold still! You're shining a floodlight in my eye and I see you're one of those cranky patients," he let go of her lid and began the procedure on her other eye.



"I'm not your patient, Doctor" She mocked.



"It doesn't take a medical degree to see you might have a concussion. You took a nasty blow."



"It's not a concussion. I'm sure of it." As if in protest, her head throbbed again. "Okay. How bad is it?"



He clicked off the penlight, put it down, and looked at her thoughtfully. His eyes reminded her of a stag she experienced during her unfortunate kidnap. It had regarded them, not with terror, but with resignation to its terrible fate. Feeling suddenly uncomfortable, she glanced away.



"Your pupils are no longer dilated, but you were unresponsive for quite a while." He poured disinfectant onto a cotton ball, then lifted the bandage from her forehead and moved the cotton toward the gash beneath. "This may sting a bit."



"I wasn't able to get much sleep during the last few days," Ashley offered, steeling herself against the bite of the antiseptic. "Maybe that's the reason I was out so long."



"Looks like you're going to live." Dave resettled her bandage. "Hungry?"

Ashley nodded.



"I'll fix you something to eat." He went back to the kitchen and turned a burner on under a porcelain saucepan, then began nervously pacing in front of the stove.



A bit unsettled by his restlessness, Ashley examined the cabin again. It was built almost like a fort. All the doors were set in frames over a foot in width and reinforced by heavy crossbeams. Oddly, only the bedroom door had steel plates, and she wondered why. Wouldn't it make more sense to fortify the front door?



She got up and began circling the room, touching this and that—the corner of the sturdy dining table, a chair, the refrigerator, a bookcase—wanting to make it all familiar, in some sense make it hers. As she passed the kitchen, Dave shoved a bowl toward her.



"Porridge," he said as he handed it over.

"Not very exciting, but it's easy to digest and sticks to your ribs."



Ashley peered down. "You have milk and sugar?"



"Will goat's milk do?"



Ashley smiled. "I haven't had goat's milk in years."



"Appetite was good. The patient's recovering."



"I am not your patient, Doctor Dave!" Ashley walked and talked.



Ashley outed out the porridge along with several teaspoons of brown sugar found in a bowl on the table, then sat down and dug in, surprised to discover how hungry she was.



"That was good," she informed Dave after she'd cleaned out the bowl.



"Want more?"

She shook her head, watching Dave with curiosity as he continued prowling the room. When he circled the table for the third time, he picked up her empty bowl and carried it to the sink. Then he moved to the open pantry and picked up a bottle.



"Tylenol," he said, placing it on the table. "Take a couple if it hurts too bad. But no aspirin. It exacerbates hemorrhaging." He paused for a moment, then began pacing the room again. "You seem healthy enough, but you were out of it long enough that I'm concerned."



"As I said, I've been skimping on sleep."



He eyed her thoughtfully, stopping at a bookcase where he picked up a slim volume. "I'd rather err on the side of caution."



Ashley touched her forehead. The bandage was tidy and secure. A real professional job. "You know much about medicine"



"The only one who isn't in the medical line in a family of nine," he let out a bitter laugh. "I switched from internal medicine after I found out I fainted at the sight of blood."



"I guess I'm lucky you stayed conscious long enough to treat me." Ashley smiled.



He smiled back before saying;

"I won't be out again tonight. If you get hungry, help yourself. The wood's a bit low, but should last the night."



"Thanks."



"Remember." He opened the door slowly. "My music's a bit odd. Pay no attention."



How odd could a man's music be? Ashley wondered as the door closed with an ominous click.