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“He is? Why?” Once again, I was overstepping my bounds. Who was I to question what she did? But for some reason, I wasn’t shutting my mouth.Very unusual for me. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. It’s not my place.”
“It’s fine. I know it is...unexpected. But Ryker has given me some excellent suggestions,” she said. “I was looking for a campaign manager, but in the meantime, I thought I might take Ryker up on his offer to help.”
Campaign manager?I had suggested that to her. Wow. She took my idea seriously. I was honored. But that still didn’t explain what Ryker had to offer. He wasn’t from Tabiq. He knew nothing of our ways.
I needed to get out of the middle of this. “That’s great.” Holding up my medical bag, I said, “If I can steal him away for a minute, I’d like to take a look at his wound to make sure everything is healing well.”
Reesa got up and said, “Why don’t you use my office? Please take all the time you need.”
“We only need a few minutes, thank you,” I said.
Once she was out of the office, I opened my bag and pulled out some latex gloves.
“Are you planning on ripping out any more of my hair?” he asked.
I snapped the gloves in place and looked at him. “It’s possible. I haven’t decided yet. Now why don’t you come and sit over here so I can get the exam over with.”
He stood up and came over but didn’t sit down. “Not sure I like that. Get it over? Sounds like you’re not happy to be here. Why? Did I do or say something to upset you?”
No. Just being next to you makes me feel...uncomfortable.
“I have a lot going on at the hospital. I just don’t understand why you asked me to come to you instead of coming to the hospital as I had directed. This is a great imposition, not just for me, but for President O’Connor too,” I stated.
“I hope you believe me, but none of this was my idea. Reesa, I mean, President O’Connor suggested you come here. Not sure why. I never asked. Guess she was trying to make it more convenient for me, or she just didn’t want us to stop working. Does it really matter? Because if it does, you can go and we can just pretend as though you examined me,” he offered. “Hell, I’ll walk back to the resort if I have to.”
“Absolutely not! You’re my patient. You’re my responsibility. If something happened to you, I’d never forgive myself,” I stated firmly.
He chuckled. “And here I thought you didn’t care. I’m touched.”
I glared at him. “As apatient.”
“I’ll take it. “He smiled and took a seat in front of me.
“Good, because there is no way you are walking alone anywhere in Tabiq. It’s not...safe,” I stated, not wanting to say too much.
“I spent hours learning about what Tabiq has been through. Can’t imagine it was easy for you growing up here. But as a man, I don’t think I would have an issue. I actually worry more aboutyoutraveling alone,” he said in a tone I wasn’t used to hearing from him.
He was serious. Not sure what Reesa had told him, it couldn’t be the truth, could it? Did he know about the human trafficking that took place? Did he know how young women feared turning eighteen because it was the age when you might be taken from your family?
I looked into his eyes and saw something very unexpected. Compassion. Maybe even a little understanding of something that I still struggle with, and I had lived through it.
“It was...a very painful time for Tabiq. But things are better.” Not perfect by any means, but not as they were.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly.
“For what?” I asked.
“For giving you such a hard time at the hospital when you were just doing your job.”
“You mean like I’m trying to do now?” I asked, not wanting to talk about his...casual flirtation during his half-naked state. He didn’t need to know that I liked it, and that was what had been bothering me so much.
“Point taken. I guess I better let you look at the cut because I don’t want to be the cause of any additional stress in your life.”
He was right. The tension in my body was almost unbearable. It wasn’t his fault, and I shouldn't let him believe it was. But dealing with his joking manner now seemed easier than this new version of him. How could I be angry, or push him away, when he was practically admitting to being worried about me? It felt...nice.
As I cleaned the wound, with much more tenderness than I had at the hospital, I explained what was going on. “Mr. Stone, I...”
“Ryker,” he reminded me.
