r. Hutchinson. Are you trying to raise my blood pressure?”
“Whatever it takes, honey. Whatever it takes.”
The gentle flirting reassured him. Simone looked a hell of a lot better now than when he’d first arrived and found her on the floor. He shuddered inwardly at the memory. If he had any say in the matter, she would never get to that point again.
His patient managed to eat half of the eggs, one piece of bacon and an entire slice of cinnamon toast. It was probably too much, but he didn’t have the heart to refuse her when she was clearly starving.
She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “That was wonderful, Hutch. It seems to help when I don’t have to be the one to fix it. Yesterday, I took one look at a raw egg and had to dash to the bathroom.”
“Understandable. Let me clean up the kitchen, and then I have an idea.”
The chore didn’t take long, but once again, Simone was asleep when he returned. He decided to let her rest for a little bit. He needed to deal with a few urgent work situations if he was going to stay here semipermanently.
After half an hour of answering emails and texts, he was done, for the moment. Like Simone, part of his responsibilities could be dealt with remotely. His patient list was very small so far. Most of what he had been doing in these first few weeks was consulting on cases. Since he had access to the electronic records in his department, some things could go forward unchanged.
When he entered her bedroom this time, she was awake. Her color was better, and her eyes were brighter. “More dinner?” he asked.
“No. But so far, so good with what I ate.”
“Excellent. I know you’re exhausted, but what if we take one short stroll around the backyard? The exercise will do you good, and it will help you sleep more deeply. I’ll be right beside you.”
“Okay.” She climbed out of bed on her own, waving him off when he tried to take her arm. “If this is going to work, you can’t treat me like an invalid. I can go to the bathroom by myself.”
He didn’t like it, but he had to tread carefully with Simone. Her fierce independence was going to be at odds with his need to cosset her.
When they made it outdoors, the heat of the day had abated. The air was fresh and sweet. Simone’s backyard was a rainbow of color, flowers blooming everywhere.
He put an arm around her waist. “Lean on me,” he said. “And tell me if you need to stop.”
They didn’t speak as they made a lazy circuit of the premises. Simone’s legs were shaky...that was easy to tell. But she powered on. By the time they made it back to the starting point, she was leaning on him heavily, and her breathing was rapid. He scooped her up in his arms and climbed the shallow steps.
“Good girl,” he said softly. “I’m proud of you. Food and exercise. You’ll make it yet.”
“My hero,” she smirked.
His lips twitching in amusement, he managed the knob and bumped the door open with his hip. “Do you want to go ahead and take a shower now? Or do you need to rest first?”
Simone looked up at him with big eyes. “Are you offering to join me, Doctor?”
“Do you need medical assistance?”
“I’m sure I do.”
The little brat was taunting him, but there wasn’t a chance in hell he was going to make love to her tonight. She knew the power she had over him, and she wasn’t afraid to use it.
He deposited her on the bed and inspected the bathroom. If he put the tiny vanity stool in the shower, Simone wouldn’t have to stand the whole time. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s do this.”
She raised up on one elbow. “Don’t you still keep a change of clothes in the car?”
Actually, he did, but he’d forgotten. Finding Simone semiconscious had thrown him off his game. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, if you’re going to help me shower, you’ll get soaked. You should go get what you need before we start.”
“True.”
She watched him intently.
“What are you thinking, Simone?” he asked. “I don’t like that look.”