Butterfly Bayou (Butterfly Bayou 1)

And he knew she’d needed to calm down because despite her demeanor, she had to be a rolling wave of emotion. Once the adrenaline was gone, the trauma of the day would have been waiting for her. He knew.

Yet from what he understood, while he and Roxie and the new guys had been dealing with the fallout of the accident, she’d spent the rest of the afternoon on her job. She’d done two complete physicals with blood draws and all the paperwork, kept in touch with the hospital, and stitched up a tourist who had cut his hand fishing.

She’d sent Mabel home and finished out the last hour of her shift alone.

She needed someone to take care of her. He damn straight wanted to be the one to do it.

“I think people will have a different view of you after today. I know I do. Lila, I’m sorry about what I said. You be you because we need you. I think I might need you.”

She sniffled but shook her head. “No. I can’t do this right now.”

There was a knock on the glass doors. Armie sighed and looked back. Dixie stood outside the clinic, two bags in her hand. He did not need another smackdown between those two, and he wasn’t about to let anyone argue with Lila tonight. Tomorrow he would make his position clear to the rest of the town, but he could start here.

He shook his head. “Not now, Dixie. She’s going home.”

Lila waved her key card over the reader, completely ignoring his words. The doors slid open. “What do you need?”

Dixie strode in and set her bags on the counter. “I didn’t know what you would want for dinner. I do know Bill’s kitchen is a wretched mess. Miranda never should have sold you that place. Here’s the deal. I brought Doc his lunch every day, no charge. It was my pleasure to help out a man who served the community even long after he was good at serving us. You are going to be spectacular at serving us, Doc Daley.”

Lila shook her head. “I’m not a doctor.”

Dixie waved that fact off. “Deal with it. We don’t understand the whole nurse practitioning thing. I might have been too sensitive earlier. I apologize.” She shook off the emotion he’d seen in her eyes and she was back to professional, practical Dixie. “Like I said, I didn’t know what you would want so there’s a big salad. I put all the fixin’s on the side. There’s also some meatloaf, green beans, corn, a big container of red beans and rice, and both bread pudding and chocolate pie.”

Lila looked at the big bags and her lips curled up slightly. “Trying to fatten me up?”

Dixie winked her way. “You need it, girl.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Lila said, holding her hand out to the café owner. “I might not have been sensitive enough.”

Dixie shook her hand before she turned and started for the door. “All is forgiven, then. I’ll be back tomorrow with a salad and the soup of the day. If you want to change your lunch order, call one of my girls before noon and let us know. Have a nice night, Doc.”

Lila frowned, stepping in front of the bags and looking inside. “Do you think she’ll come back and take them away? That’s what Miranda did. I didn’t care that they were her second-best cookies or that she made them to insult me. I liked that they were food I didn’t have to cook myself.”

Oh, it was bad. The words were coming out of her mouth, but there was absolutely not a hint of emotion behind them.

She stopped and looked around, her eyes flaring. “Where’s Peanut?”

He’d already settled Peanut for the night. She didn’t need to worry about the dog. She needed all the attention on her. “Noelle has him. Mabel let me take him home when I dropped Noelle and her friend there. They’ll take care of him. I gave them instructions on how much food he can have. I know he’s got to go slow. Beth is spending the night. He’s got two dog-loving teens to lavish him with affection. And Dixie’s not going to take your food. I think you made a believer of her. I know you made one of me. Let me take you home, Lila. Let me take care of you. I promise I won’t push you. I’ll drive you home, make sure you get fed, and I’ll sleep on the couch again because you need rest. You had a long, stressful day, and tell me that’s not exactly the time when you dream about it. Tell me you won’t sleep better in a brand-new place knowing someone is watching your back.”

She was still for a moment. “Just for tonight.”

Not if he had a say, but they were doing things her way. “Just for tonight.”