I wanted to die of embarrassment.
“Hmmm.”
“Don’t,” I warned. “Just don’t.”
His smile was full of laughter and teasing as he stood up straight. Colt’s hands went to my hips and a spear of heat went through me.
Unexpected.
Unwelcome.
Sort of.
“Sit on the edge of the tub. Stick your feet in the water and try not to fall in this time.”
“Where are you going?” I asked him when he moved away, taking his smile and warmth with him.
“Getting a washcloth.”
“Oh.”
He didn’t go far, just to a narrow linen closet to pull out a green washcloth and a big matching towel. After setting the towel on the sink, he came back to the tub. He kneeled and dunked the washcloth into the tepid water.
“Give me your foot.”
I awkwardly swung around and set a tender, scraped foot onto his knee. I marveled at his caress. For such a large man, a rough biker, it was completely surprising. He cleaned my foot and then gestured for the other. Just as he was finishing up, there was a knock on the bathroom door and then a female head popped in.
I frowned. Colt had said there were no women here to help me. Had he lied?
“Hi,” she greeted with a smile, her eyes darting between Colt and me.
“Hey.” Colt’s answering grin was easy when he looked at her, and useless jealousy blasted through my stomach.
“Clear out,” she commanded. “Let me get a look at the patient.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Colt gently set my foot down and then stood.
“Thanks for your help,” I mumbled, suddenly feeling shy. He nodded and dipped out of the bathroom, leaving me with the unknown woman.
“I’m Joni,” she introduced. “Colt got you out of your clothes already, huh?” Her blue eyes were teasing. She wore indigo scrubs with a pink heart pattern all over them and her sorrel brown hair was pulled into a perky ponytail.
“What?” I asked.
“Just giving you a hard time,” Joni said. “Let me see your wrist.” She examined my swollen appendage, and when she grazed the bones on the outside of my wrist, I saw stars and scrunched my eyes closed in anguish.
“Ah, sugar, I’m sorry. I can wrap it now, but you need an X-ray. I think it’s probably just a bad sprain, but it could be broken based on the pain you’re feeling.”
“Damn,” I muttered.
“Have you taken anything for the pain yet?” she asked.
I shook my head.
“Idiot,” Joni stated. “Colt—not you. Give me a minute to find some Tylenol. You should ice it immediately.”
She left me in the bathroom for a few minutes and then came back with a glass of water, four pills, and a bag of mixed frozen vegetables.
I swallowed the pills and then gave her my wrist. She was gentle as she wrapped it, crooning words of encouragement. When she was finished, she set my hand in my lap, covering it with the frozen veggies.
“Let me take a look at your feet. Jeez, what are you, a size six?”
“Five,” I corrected.
She shook her head. “I’m a size nine.” She set my right foot down. “You should stay off your feet, but you didn’t cut yourself deep. They will heal in a few days. Colt washed them with soap?”
“Yeah.”
Joni helped me out of the bathroom and into Colt’s room. She made me sit on the bed and then with great authority, opened a drawer of Colt’s dresser. Pulling out a pair of his navy boxers, she looked over her shoulder at me.
“Here,” she said. “You can wear these for now. I’ll throw your pajama bottoms in the wash for you.”
“Ah, thanks.” I pulled on the boxers, relieved that I wouldn’t have to parade around in my underwear. “You know your way around here…”
“I’m Colt’s sister,” she explained with a wide smile.
There was no mistaking the curl of relief that settled low in my belly.
Huh.
“Oh, I don’t—I didn’t think—”
Her grin intensified. “Yeah, you were thinking something about me, but you were too polite to ask. You rest now. I’ll go get you a plate of food.”
She shut the door behind her and I was alone on a surprisingly comfortable bed that begged me to take a nap.
A few minutes later, Joni returned with a plate of steaming food and a mug of hot coffee. My mouth watered. The fast food sandwich had been nothing more than a gut plug.
“Eat,” she commanded.
“You know, you don’t look a thing like your brother, but you have the same domineering personality,” I said as I dutifully lifted a bite of scrambled eggs toward my mouth.
She smiled. “Noticed that already, did you?”
“Maybe.”
“I look like our mom. Colt looks like our dad,” she said, explaining away their lack of resemblance.
I ate while Joni kept up a steady stream of chatter about her nursing job at the hospital. I didn’t have to contribute to the conversation, which was nice.
“So…you asked him to help you get rid of a jerk giving you a hard time at your work?” Her blue eyes were wide with curiosity.
The fork stopped halfway to my mouth. “How did you know that?”
“Zip told me.” She grinned, but then her smile slipped. “Zip said you also saw Colt fighting.”
I nodded. “It was—I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“My brother is crazy protective of women.”
“I’m glad he and Zip were there and prevented something really bad from happening to that woman.”
“Seems like good fortune, doesn’t it?”
“Very. They’re like leather-wearing guardian angels.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” She laughed. “So tell me something… My brother was smiling when he left the bathroom. That’s very unlike Colt. What did you say to him?”
“He wanted to take off my pants; I told him in his dreams. Unfortunately, I nearly drowned trying to take care of myself, so I needed his help and he got to take them off anyway. I think he enjoyed the show.”
She chuckled. “Keep giving him grief. He needs it.”
I didn’t want to tell her I wouldn’t be around to give her brother grief, but decided to keep it to myself.
I wondered why the thought depressed me.
After I ate, dressed, and had a cup of coffee, Colt drove me to the hospital where Joni worked. Awkwardly explaining to her that I didn’t have medical insurance was embarrassing, to say the least. She dismissed my statement with a wave of her hand and told me not to worry about it. I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I did have pride. Charity was charity, right? Still, I needed to know how badly I’d messed up my wrist and there was no amount of pride that would get in the way of that.
The X-ray confirmed I had a hairline fracture. It was an injury that would heal, but it would take close to six weeks and I’d have to wear a cast. I was also advised not to drive.
“Color preference?” Joni asked. “For your cast.”
“Oh. Purple, I guess.”
Forty-five minutes later, Colt drove me back to the clubhouse. He didn’t say a word and I kept my gaze on my injured wrist, feeling trapped, defeated, and generally pathetic.