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“What happened?” Doc’s voice came from the clinic. “What’s that smell? Is that ether?” His voice held a hint of panic that had Adam’s heart pounding.
Nora’s gaze flew to the shards of glass on the ground, then widened when she looked back to the shelf. Where a sputtering lamp was lit.
Doc appeared in the doorway just as Adam dropped the supplies in his arms and made a grab for the lamp.
“Everyone out!” Doc shouted. He turned on his heels and ran, grabbing Mr. Vernice around the waist so he could haul him out.
Adam snagged the lamp, grabbed Nora’s wrist, and dragged her out behind him through the back door. They ran to the front of the clinic, where Doc’s shouting had drawn a crowd. Wonderful. The whole town could witness yet another epic failure on his part. He sighed, released Nora, and extinguished the lamp.
Doc’s gaze darted around the crowd, his body relaxing just a hair when he caught sight of them. He rushed over. “Did you manage to get— Oh. Thank God,” he said when he noticed the lamp Adam still held.
He sucked in a huge breath and let it out slowly. “Mr. Brady…”
Adam sighed. That tone of voice never ended well. He held up a hand to stop Doc before he could continue.
“You don’t have to say it.”
Doc nodded. “I’m truly sorry, Adam.”
“That’s kind of you, Doc. But I spent the morning cleaning up my own vomit instead of your patients’ because I apparently do not have the stomach for even the smallest medical emergency, and I nearly blew up your clinic. Trust me, I have been fired for far less.”
Doc smiled. “I wish you luck, then.” He paused and then added, “Far away from my clinic.”
Adam laughed and shook Doc’s hand. “I’ll do my best.”
Doc left to open all the doors and windows to the clinic to air out the highly flammable vapor Adam had let loose when the ether spilled. It would take a while and a considerable amount of care to soak up the spilled liquid and air the vapors out of the cloths used so they could be safely burned and disposed of. Without causing an explosion, hopefully.
Adam turned to Nora, who had the grace to give him a sheepish smile.
“Sorry?”
He glowered at her, blowing out his frustration with a hissing breath when she gave him another tentative grin. He took her arm and pulled her with him behind the sheriff’s office.
“Where are we going?” she asked, though she made no move to extract herself from his grasp.
As soon as they rounded the corner, he spun her so her back was to the wall and caged her with his arms. She sucked in a breath but, again, didn’t fight him.
“Did you show up this morning just to try and get me fired?” he asked.
“No,” she said with a slight gasp. “I was passing by and thought I’d stop in and see how things were going. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”
“Hmm.” His gaze bore into hers as he tried to read the truth of her words.
He was fairly certain she spoke the truth. But he was also fairly certain if she hadn’t been actively trying to get him fired, the fact that it had happened again was definitely a perk for her.
He brought his hand up to cup her face, letting his thumb trail along her bottom lip. Her mouth opened with a little sigh that nearly dropped him to his knees. He leaned in closer, and she sucked in an almost imperceptible breath. His body screamed at him to close the distance between them, to taste those lips. Instead, he leaned his forehead against hers with a sigh that sounded more like a groan.
“I’m not going to marry you, Nora.”
She jerked slightly, but her lips curved into a smile beneath his still-caressing thumb. “You already did, Adam.”
He shook his head, though his own lips pulled into a slow smile. His hand bracketed her chin, and he leaned in—
“Nora?” a feminine voice called from around the building.
Adam released her and took a large step back just as Martha bustled around the corner.
“Nor— Ah, there you are.” She stopped short, her gaze darting back and forth between them. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything,” she said, her eyes shining with amusement.
