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“Not to mention rude,” she said, folding her arms in front of her.
“Yeah, that, too.” He smiled despite himself.
“You think that Trevor needed a more experienced doctor,” Lexie said.
“Yes.” He watched as her posture stiffened. “That’s how I feel.” And he had good reason.
Lexie lifted her chin.
“No offense,” he said. “I’m sure one day you’ll be great.”
“I’m good now. And I have Dr. Marcus’s expertise to draw on if I need help.” She hugged her body tighter. “You know what, I don’t need your seal of approval to volunteer my time for a good cause.”
“You do if you’re going to provide medical attention for the people that I care about.” He found his voice rising as memories of Kristin pushed to the forefront of his mind. He’d thought that he’d dealt with those issues. For the first year after Kristin’s death he’d visited the church pastor for counseling every week. What had happened had been tragic. It was a rookie mistake by a first-year doctor, but nothing happened by mistake. God had a plan in everything that happened, even the things that hurt.
“Well, if that’s all.” Lexie turned on her heel and reached for the door knob.
“Wait.” Without thinking, he reached out to stop her, grabbing her arm gently. “Don’t leave mad.” He’d brought her here to make amends, not to make things worse.
She whirled on him and opened her mouth, probably to argue, when her gaze caught on something. “What happened?” she asked, concern knitting itself in her brow line.
Mason looked down at his arm. “Oh. That. I got called to an illegal bonfire earlier. A bunch of high school kids had a fire too close to the woods. We already have one forest fire going out there. Carolina Shores doesn’t need another. Anyway, one of the girls stumbled as I approached them and I had to catch her.”
“You got burned,” Lexie said.
“Not bad.” He’d had worse. Burns and abrasions were part of the job description.
Lexie stepped closer. “It’s bad enough. Did you put burn cream on it?” she asked.
“I’m a fireman. We firemen like our scars.”
She didn’t smile at his joke. “I have cream in my car’s first aid kit. I can get it for you.”
“Not necessary.” He didn’t want to bother her, and he had a first aid kit of his own. He was fully capable of applying ointment to his own wounds.
Hurt shone in Lexie’s eyes as she looked up. She took his refusal personally, not that he blamed her after the way he’d treated her since she arrived. Even Trevor had noticed. “No offense,” he said, holding up his hands. “I just don’t want to bother you.”
“It’s not a bother. I’m a doctor,” she said. “Taking care of people is my job.”
An anchor of guilt settled in his gut. Her heart was in the right place. “Okay then, Dr. Campbell. Please, doctor me up.”
A hint of a smile curved her rose-tinted lips. He tried not to notice, but she was even more beautiful when she smiled. Noticing Lexie’s beauty felt like a small betrayal to Kristin. His late wife was dead, though, and admiring another woman was harmless. It wasn’t like he intended to act on his feelings. He wasn’t ready for romantic involvement yet, and maybe he never would be again. Besides, Lexie had risked her life for a wedding dress, which he assumed meant she was taken.
So why didn’t she have a ring on her finger? he wondered now.
“I’ll be right back.” Lexie jogged downstairs and was standing back in his living room with a medium-size black bag a moment later. She gestured toward his kitchen table. “Let’s sit over there.”
He dutifully walked over and sat, laying his forearm down for her to inspect.
Her forehead creased as she leaned forward. “You need to take better care of yourself.”
He’d heard that before. It was one of Clara’s favorite things to say. “Is that your medical opinion?” he asked. She smiled again, and he felt like he’d just won a contest.
“Yes, it is.” Her cheeks blushed a deeper rose color. “Not that my opinion matters to you.”
“It matters. I just...” He wouldn’t explain himself to Lexie. He didn’t talk about Kristin to anyone anymore. After hours of counseling, he was done talking about it. “I’m sorry,” he said again, flinching as she swiped a small square of gauze across his burn.
“Big baby.” She grinned as she glanced up and met his eyes.
Those would be fighting words at the fire station. She was teasing him, though, and that felt like a step in the right direction.
“There.” She applied a bandage and pulled away. “All better.”
“Send me a bill,” he said, joking with her. When he wasn’t resisting her, he found himself being pulled toward her. He stood from the table. “Shall we?”
“Shall we what?” she asked, her mouth dropping open as if he’d taken her by surprise.
“Go to dinner.”
Her bright smile fell like a shooting star, falling away into nothingness. “Dinner?” she repeated, looking at him like her new professional opinion might be that he was crazy. “You want me to go to dinner with you?” she asked.
And if Mason wasn’t mistaken, she looked slightly horrified at the proposal.
* * *
Lexie took a tiny step backward, suddenly ready to bolt out of the room. She’d come up to have a private conversation with Mason, but he must’ve gotten the wrong idea. She was fresh out of a relationship—granted, it was one that had been over for a very long time. She wasn’t looking for anything more right now, though, and Mason needed to know that.
“Um. I’m not ready to go out with other...” Her words floundered on her lips. Would it be so bad going on a date with Mason? Things had fizzled between her and Todd a long time ago, starting last summer when she’d barely seen him. She’d been busy with her studies and he’d been busy with his social life. Their goals were no longer the same. The things they’d once enjoyed doing together were no longer enjoyable as a couple.
In retrospect, she’d done all the wedding planning with very little input from him. She and Todd had become a business, checking in with one another about menial things. The foundation that a relationship was built on was unsteady. There was no trust between them as Todd spent time with other females. They didn’t go to church together or study God’s word in each other’s company. Any feeling between them, especially love, was gone. “I, uh...” Her gaze fluttered up to meet Mason’s as she reconsidered.
“You think I’m asking you to dinner?” Mason asked, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I just meant dinner downstairs. With Clara and Rick. They’re probably waiting for us.”
The blood pooling to her cheeks made her dizzy. “Right. Of course. I’m not ready to eat yet.” She took another small step backward, needing to get out of this room before her embarrassment swallowed her up.
“Well, you’d better find your appetite because Clara won’t take no for an answer if you’re home. Everyone eats together.” He was looking at her strangely. “Are you all right?” he asked. “I hope you didn’t think I was coming on to you. I know you have someone else waiting to see you in that wedding dress of yours.”
Lexie swallowed. Clara must not have told him that her plans had been canceled. “Had someone else,” she said. “I don’t anymore. We called the wedding off.”
Mason nodded slowly, seeming to take this information in. “I’m really sorry to hear that.”
Lexie shrugged, trying to act like it was no big deal. It was, though. Not marrying Todd was life changing. The perfect plans she’d made were gone. “I know you weren’t coming on to me. Of course you weren’t.” She emitted a nervous laugh. Why would Mason be coming on to her? He didn’t even like her half the time. She gestured behind her, taking a few more steps backward. “Anyway, I’ll go wash up for dinner.” She turned and started to leave.
“Thank you,” he said as she left. “For doctoring me up.”
Even if he doesn’t want me to doctor anyone else in his life, she thought.
“You’re welcome.” The soft breeze was refreshing as Lexie escaped out of Mason’s side door and hurried down the steps. She’d gone from wanting his apology to considering a date that he wasn’t even asking her on. He’d thought she was still engaged so there was no way he had been coming on to her. Maybe the oxygen deprivation when she’d passed out earlier in the week had muddled her thinking.
She entered Clara’s house and slid off her shoes, leaving them beside the front entrance’s rug.
“Dinner’s almost ready, dear,” Clara called as Lexie padded down the hall toward the guest room.
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” In the guest bathroom, Lexie quickly washed her hands and ran a comb through her red-colored hair. She couldn’t help but think of Mason as she did. Eating a meal with him several nights a week would be a problem if she didn’t get her emotions under wraps. While Clara and Rick were hospitable people, her neighborhood evacuation couldn’t be lifted soon enough.
She headed back down the hall and into the kitchen. “What do you need me to do?” she asked.
Clara glanced back at her. “Oh, hello, dear. Can you grab the silverware and help set the table?” Her brow line pulled low over her gentle blue eyes.
“Sure.” Lexie didn’t budge. Instead, she continued to inspect Clara, whose face seemed to be frozen in a permanent wince. “What’s wrong?” Lexie asked.
“Oh, just a little headache.” Clara tried to offer her usual smile, but the movement made her wince harder, shutting her eyes momentarily and reaching a hand to rub her left temple.
“Did you take something for it?” Lexie asked.
“Yes. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” Clara gestured toward the drawer again. “We’ll need four sets of spoons and forks.”
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