Country Wishes

by RaeAnne Hadley

  He continues until he's crouching in front of me. "Tessa, is that you?"

  "Yes, and I'm fine, you didn't need to stop. I'll be okay," I say quickly.

  "Well, how about we get you up on your feet first?"

  I try to move my leg, but as I bend my knee, it hurts so bad.

  "I saw you fall, Tessa, please let me help you out. There's no shame in having someone help you."

  I try again, but I don't grab onto him; instead, I put my hands on the ground and try and lift myself up, but I don't get very far.

  His arms hold onto me, lifting me up. I didn't notice him shift, but he’s right behind me, assisting me in standing.

  "Can you put pressure on that leg?"

  "Yes, I'm fine." I’m not really, that pain keeps shooting up my leg.

  "What are you doing out here?" he asks.

  "My car broke down by Rosewood Avenue."

  "And you thought you'd walk home?"

  "Yes, it didn't seem overly far."

  He shakes his head. "Tessa, you have my number; you should've called me. If I couldn't make it, I could've sent someone for you." I glare at him. "All right, all right, I know you like to do things on your own terms, but right now, I don't think you're going anywhere with your ankle swollen like that."

  I wipe away the hair that's falling across my eyes because of the rain. Knowing I can’t do this on my own, I give in. "Okay, can you please drive me home?"

  He winks at me, the grin on his face showing before his lip turns up in a smile.

  "What was that? I didn't quite hear you?" He puts his fingers behind his ear, mocking me.

  I growl back at him and repeat, "Please can you help me?"

  He doesn't give me any warning and, all of a sudden, I'm lifted in the air, his arms wrapped around me as he walks me to the car.

  I try to shake him off, get him to let me go, but he just laughs even more.

  Chapter Two

  NOAH

  What a day it's been today. It's been so busy ever since my business partner went on maternity leave.

  Natasha's passion has always been the horses, so she tends to deal with the big animals, and I deal with the cats, the dogs, all the birds and the small animals in town; Hopeful Vet Clinic, for animals big and small. But today, one of the horses is going into early labor, so I've had my arm up some horse’s butt. While it did get me out of the office where I was dealing with the paperwork that was starting to pile up, it has thrown me behind schedule for the day.

  As the property is just on the border of the next town, I'm driving down the curve on Sayers Rd, the rain pelting the windshield when I see a figure up ahead stumble then drop.

  Shit.

  Was that an animal or a person? As I near the place I saw something fall, I pull over and get out, popping the hood of my jacket over my head. I can now see that it's a person. Is that…

  "Tessa, is that you?" I ask, crouching down to Tessa.

  Tessa, the woman of mystery.

  I see her a few times a year for her pet Max's checkups. She hates coming into town and pretty much keeps to herself. I wish I saw more of her. The first time I saw her, I was mesmerized by her beautiful green eyes, her full luscious red lips. I know she's self-conscious of the glaringly obvious scar running down her face, but I think she's gorgeous. I just wish I could see more of her, as the consults are not nearly long enough.

  "I'm fine; it was just a fall," she replies through clenched teeth, obviously in pain.

  "Well, how about we get you up on your feet first?"

  She tries but fails, clearly in pain if her face is any indication.

  "I saw you fall, Tessa, please let me help you out. There's no shame in having someone help you."

  The stubborn woman tries to get up herself, but I swoop her in my arms, taking her weight.

  "Can you put pressure on that leg?"

  "Yes, I'm fine.”

  “What are you doing out here?”

  “My car broke down by Rosewood Avenue."

  "And you thought you'd walk home?”

  "Yes, it didn't seem that far. "

  "Tessa, you have my number; you should've called me. If I couldn't make it, I could've sent someone." She gives me a death stare, letting me know what she thinks of that. "All right, all right, I know you like to do things on your own terms, but right now, I don't think you're going anywhere with your ankle swollen like that."

  I can see the moment she realizes she has no other choice, and a grin begins to form.

  "Okay, can you please drive me home?" she whispers.

  I wink at her and put my hand behind my ear in jest as if I didn't hear her, earning me a growl as she asks again. She's so cute when she gets mad, I think to myself as I lift her up in my arms.

  She fights me, but her small frame does nothing and I have her tucked into my truck before she causes any more damage to her ankle. I may not be a person doctor, but if her swollen ankle is anything to go by, I'd say she has severely sprained her ankle, if not broken it.

  I have never met a more stubborn woman. After arguing in the car, I couldn't get her to agree to go to the ER to check if her ankle was broken, but I demanded that she allow me to call the local doctor to pay her a home visit. She argued but backed off when she realized I wouldn't let up until she agreed.

  "You can put me down now, Noah. I can get the door, I'm not an invalid."

  I raise my eyebrow at her. "Are you serious? You can't even put pressure on it. Give me your key." She fumbles around, ignoring me while trying to get to the door. I take the key out of her hands.

  Opening the door with one hand and keeping hold of her with the other, I push it open and ask her where the couch is. She doesn't answer me; she crosses her arms but points to the right just as I see the corner of the sofa come into view. Max, the German Shepherd, comes running at me. "Calm down, boy. Your momma has been hurt." I put her down on the couch, and he's all over her, licking her face while she rubs him back.

  I push his face away, making him sit. "Now that's a good boy," I say, rubbing his face. Turning around, I grab some cushions from the couch and lift her foot up, resting it gently.

  "Now, where do you keep your pain pills?" I ask after I have helped her change out of her wet clothes.

  Tessa just glares at me, her arms crossed again. The action lifts her chest, and I can’t help but take a glance. Her scarf is long gone, and I can see her beautiful brown curls that I just want to twist my hands in.

  I know this can’t be easy on her, I think it’s a combination of embarrassment and anger at herself for falling making her grumpy.

  "Come on, Tessa, you don't need to be a hero. Please just let me get you some painkillers. Just until the doc comes and gives us the verdict."

  She takes a moment to think about it and adjusts herself to get comfortable on the couch, but I see her wince in pain. I just stare at her until she gives in, directing me to the bathroom cabinet for painkillers.

  After grabbing the pills and stopping in the kitchen to get her a glass of water, I take a seat opposite her. It's not long before we hear the doorbell ring.

  "That'll be Dr. White. He did say he wasn't far from here."

  Letting the doctor in, I show him to where Tessa is sitting. Her demeanor has changed. Her shoulders have hunched, and her eyes don't seem to look at either of us.

  But she must be in pain as she is answering the doc's questions.

  Deciding she probably doesn't want me to watch while the doctor consults with her, I take Max outside to feed him and let him do his business.

  Coming back inside, I hear the doctor packing up, ready to leave.

  He nods at me when I walk in. "So she'll need someone to help her out. I don't think it's broken, but she's agreed to go to the hospital in a few days if it gets worse." I nod, and he continues, "I've tried to tell her she's going to need some help, but she's refusing, saying she can handle herself. She can't."

  I look past the doctor to see Tessa.

&
nbsp; She's glaring daggers at the doctor. If looks could kill…

  "I'm right here, you know? You don't need to speak as if I'm not in the room. And I said I could handle it, Dr. White. I appreciate the concern, I really do, but I've been living by myself for a long time, and I'll be fine."

  I cross my arms. "I'll be here, Dr. White. I'll keep an eye on her." I don't bother looking at Tessa, but I can hear her sputtering and muttering "no way in hell" as I walk the good doctor out.

  "Please keep her off that foot. If she's got any chance of the swelling going down, she needs to rest. I've put a bandage on her, but she really needs to stay off it as much as possible."

  "I've got this, doc. I've got people who can help me in the clinic. I'll be popping in and out all day, and I'll stay here overnight. I promise I'll look after her."

  "Good. I'll be back in a day or two. Call me if it gets worse."

  "Thank you, Dr. White.” I shake his hand and say goodbye, letting myself back in to see Tessa trying her hardest to stand. "God, what are you doing, woman?" I run in to make sure I can catch her.

  She doesn't look me in the eye, and it takes me a minute before I realize she means she needs the toilet. Oh fuck.

  When I agreed to help her out, I was thinking more along the lines of holding her close to me, carrying her to and from where she needed to go, enjoying some food together, getting to know her. What I didn't think of is how she's going to get to the toilet or shower.

  Oh god.

  Noah." I hear my name and look down at her. "It's okay; you don't need to do more than get me to the bathroom. I can take care of it from there.”

  I stare at her for a moment longer.

  "Right, sorry." I place my arm under her legs, and she wraps her arm around my neck. I deposit her as close to the toilet as possible and walk out, closing the door behind me.

  "I'm right here if you need me," I say, my forehead against the door.

  You don't know this woman. What are you doing? She doesn't want you in there helping her.

  After I hear the toilet flush, the water turns on, and I knock on the door before stepping into the room.

  Once she's finished drying her hands, I lift her up to take her back to the couch. I make sure she's comfortable before letting her know I will go fill her script and pick up dinner on the way back.

  She argued for a bit before realizing I wasn't taking no for an answer.

  Chapter Three

  TESSSA

  I wake up slowly; the sunlight coming in through the windows. Glancing at the side table, I see that it's after eight in the morning.

  Max usually wakes me up without fail around 7am.

  I try to get up and wince, the pain racing through my body and an assault of memories from yesterday flutters through my head.

  Oh god. If falling down hadn't been embarrassing enough, having an audience made it worse.

  And Noah, the insufferable fool, making himself at home and nominating himself as a caregiver as if we are long lost friends. I mean we are friendly, if you can call it that.

  A few times a year, when I need to take Max to the clinic, we see each other. He does always try to talk to me, and I try not to engage, but he draws me out sometimes.

  And while I used to look forward to his visits, I think I may have fantasized a different version of him.

  Trying to sit up, I wince a few times but manage to shuffle my body to a sitting position on the side of the bed.

  The door to the ensuite is only a few feet away, but it seems so much farther. Nature calls though, so I'm going to have to try and stand, putting pressure on my ankle.

  Taking a few minutes, telling myself it won't be that bad, I muster up some courage. Just as I’m placing my hands on the bed, ready to stand, Max comes barreling into the room followed by Noah.

  When did he get here? How did he get in?

  "Morning, what are you doing up? You should have called me." He walks around the bed until he stands in front of me. I look up to his freshly shaven jaw, making it even more prominent this morning.

  I look to the door behind him and back up again thinking I can't have him carry me again. But before I finish that thought, he has me in his arms, dropping me inside the bathroom.

  "You didn't—"

  He presses his finger to my mouth. "Say, thank you, Noah," he says with a smile on his face.

  "Thank you; I won't be long. I will need to feed Max before he starts eating the furniture."

  "Already taken care of earlier this morning, and I have breakfast cooking." He stands there with his arms crossed and a grin on his face, looking proud.

  I'm shocked. Why would he do this?

  "Just yell out when you're done. If you rest today, maybe tomorrow you will be able to try standing for a bit."

  He turns to leave as I yell out. "Noah!" He turns, his hand on the handle.

  "Why are you here, helping me?" I say in a small voice.

  "Because you need help, Tessa, and I like you. Also, it helps that I think you're hot." He winks, closing the door behind him.

  I falter slightly, grabbing hold of the counter, wincing as I do. He thinks I'm hot. It takes all of two seconds for me to realize that as I've just woken up, I haven't covered up as yet.

  Oh no. Covering up as soon as I wake up is not part of my morning ritual. I only have to worry about that when I leave the confines of my home, and I never have anyone over, ever.

  Okay not ever, but ever since the attack, I've never had a man stay the night.

  Turning slowly so as not to aggravate my ankle, I turn around to look in the mirror and see just how attractive I look. My hair is sticking out every which way, like it always is every morning. The one day I want my hair to look great when I wake up, and this is what I get. Why can't I wake up like all those TV shows where they bounce out of bed with not a hair out of place. Yeah, today's not that day.

  My hand automatically goes to my scars.

  My ugly scars.

  Noah telling me he thinks I'm hot makes me wish I didn't have this on my face. Makes me want to be the sexy girl that a hot gorgeous guy like Noah would want. I cover my face with my wayward curls to hide the scar. I finish up in the bathroom just as Noah knocks on the door.

  I stare at the screen rereading the last few sentences I wrote, unable to come up with the words to continue.

  “Come on, beautiful, let’s get out of here.”

  We make our way down the hall leading to the elevator banks, and as luck would have it, a couple is walking out of one. I quicken our steps to get into the elevator, hoping that Mia doesn’t change her mind. As much as I can see the hunger in her eyes, I can tell picking up a guy at a club is not something she normally does. I press the button for my floor and lean back against the wall keeping a small distance from her, as I know I won’t be able to stop myself when I touch her again. She stares back up at me as we wait for the doors to close. The minute they do she doesn’t hesitate to throw herself at me. Her lips slamming into mine in a passionate kiss, wrapping one leg around me. That’s all it takes to make me lose my mind. There’s something about this girl that makes me lose my senses.

  I know where the story needs to go from here, but words are failing me.

  Writer's block sucks!

  I'm a full-time writer which gives me the perks of working from home.

  I write under a pen name; a name which I've made up from a TV show and my father's name, Rose Drake.

  I don't usually suffer from writer's block; a quick walk in the mountains or playing catch with Max in the backyard clears my mind, enough to get the words flowing again.

  But my stupid ankle is keeping me from getting some fresh air. Shit, and that crazy vet keeps interrupting my thoughts — the tall, handsome, sweet, helpful man that he is.

  It doesn't help that another person hasn't touched me in a long time. The only contact I get is when I go to the doctors, but that doesn't count as Dr. White is pushing 70. I guess you could maybe count a couple of
visits to Noah. Now that I think about it, his handshakes do linger longer than a standard handshake should, and he was always touching my elbow or squeezing my arm.

  He does make it his mission to get me to smile. He always does that, and a visit was invariably prolonged because of it. I just thought he was a lovely friendly vet, that he was like this with everyone.

  Could he really like me that way?

  I shake my head.

  No, there's no way.

  Thinking back to this morning brings a smile to my face; how he carried me to the kitchen table, how he refused to let me cover up my scars, stating that I was in my own home. That there was no need as he enjoyed seeing my luscious hair frame my face. I didn't believe him but being that I couldn't get up with my ankle to cover myself, I let it rest. He was so sweet setting me up to my bed. He refused to leave me on the couch, saying since he had to go into work, it was best if I was close to the toilet.

  While I was finishing my coffee and enjoying the view of the mountains—the clouds hovering at the top, the light snow that was coming down—he was fluffing my pillows, leaving one to elevate my leg. He even put snacks and drinks along with some painkillers on my bedside table where I could reach them. The remote control and my computer had all been placed at arm’s reach. I was barely able to get out a thank you as I was a little choked up. Apart from my mother, I have never had anyone look after me, not like this.

  I was stunned that a virtual stranger had rearranged his schedule to take care of me, and can you believe he came back in the early morning to bring me crutches with a hot coffee from the Sweet Kiss Bakery?

  Oh, and he even asked old man Spencer to bring me some lunch as he was unable to do it himself.

  After another half-hour, I realize I'm not going to get any more words down today, so I shut down my computer, grabbing my Kindle to read. Deciding I need something distracting, something I can lose myself in, I choose to re-read one of my favorite gritty MC novels.

  "Knock, knock." I jump in the air, dropping my Kindle as Max jumps off my bed. He sniffs the air and realizes that it's Noah and not an intruder, so he rushes him for lots and lots of pets.