Luke(17)

The first litany that exploded from Carmen came in Spanish.

"English, English," Luke urged, reaching out to support her hand, which came away from her chest bloody.

"English?" she sputtered. "How's this for English? Your damn fancy window in the living room was stuck open, and it looked like rain so I had to climb—" She sucked in a harsh breath. "Don't squeeze it, you idiot!"

With one arm around her, the other supporting her hurt hand, he moved past Faith and went inside. "Let me look at you."

"You must have painted that stupid window open," Carmen said. "Big surprise there, eh? Big hotshot doctor who can't hammer a nail? The wind started bringing in dirt—"

"Carmen—"

"And damn you, I'd spend the afternoon dusting—"

"Shut up. Carmen, this is Faith McDowell. Faith, Carmen."

"Nice to see you again. I'm not doing windows anymore, you thankless bastard," Carmen said, and beyond the temper in her voice, Faith heard genuine pain.

"If I'm so thankless why did you come looking for me instead of going to the E.R.?"

"Because they're crooks."

Still holding on to Carmen, he looked at Faith. "She needs stitches."

"Stitches? Well, that explains why there's spots spinning in front of my eyes…" Carmen clamped her mouth shut as the whites of her eyes flashed.

"Perfect," Luke grunted as she fainted, scooping up her lifeless body in his arms. "Lead the way before I collapse from the dead weight."

Humor. Faith hadn't imagined he had any. Racing ahead of him, flipping on lights as they went, she led the way to a patient room.

And over the next hour, as he stitched Carmen's hand, he showed Faith a lot of that humor as he dealt with Carmen's medical phobia in the most heartbreaking, tender way she could have imagined.

"Elevate it," she said to Carmen at the exact same time Luke did.

He looked at her. "I'm going to prescribe painkillers, too. Want to say it in tandem?"

"I'm not against painkillers," she said so primly he laughed.

"Wow. Stop the world. We agree again." Hands on his hips, he turned to Carmen and let out a long-suffering sigh. "I suppose you'll need a ride."

Carmen swore at him in Spanish, then sniffed. "Si, I took a cab here."

When Luke got her to the back door, he stopped and looked at Faith. "Thanks for letting me treat her here after hours. Just bill me. I've got to get her to my car now." He was supporting all her weight. "She's going to break my back."

Carmen used her good hand to hit him upside the head.

Luke grinned. "See? You're feeling better already."

Faith held the door open. "So … see you next Saturday."

His gaze met hers over the top of Carmen's head. The humor was gone now, and suddenly she braced herself. He was going to say he wasn't coming back.

Which, really, would be fine. More than fine. They rubbed each other the wrong way, they … also rubbed each other the right way.

"Next week," he agreed softly, and then he was gone, leaving her staring out into the night, wondering if she felt relieved … or terrified.

*

On Monday morning Luke was called into Leo's office at the hospital. "Good news," his friend boomed.

"Faith McDowell gave you a glowing recommendation. You must have made quite an impression these last two weeks, with all those hot oil therapies and healing touches."

Luke opened his mouth, saw the twinkle in Leo's eyes and relaxed. "Sure. Make fun. You're not the one having to give up two and a half months more of Saturdays."

"You don't either."

"What?"

Leo lifted a brow. "She released you. Said that while she was impressed with your grasp of alternative healing techniques—"

Luke snorted.

Leo shot him a long look. "You don't need to fulfill the rest of your time at the clinic."

Faith had released him from his duty.

This was just about the last thing he expected. He waited for the elation. For the satisfaction. For the sheer overwhelming relief.

Leo laughed at his confusion. "I thought you'd be dancing in the hallways at the news."

"Yeah." Luke walked the length of the office and looked out the window. Dancing in the hallways? He would, but suddenly his stomach had fallen to a region somewhere near his toes. "Leo—"

Leo's pager went off. "Sorry, gotta run."

Yeah. So did Luke. The E.R. was full and they were short staffed. Over the rest of the day he removed two spleens, set a broken hip, stitched up a motorcyclist … and never stopped thinking about Healing Waters. Faith.

Why had she released him? She needed him, she'd said so. She needed his visible, public support. She needed the free additional medical staff. She needed … him.

He couldn't shake it, which was the only reason he stopped by the clinic after his shift instead of going home. It had nothing, nothing at all, to do with wanting to see her again.

No one answered his knock downstairs, but that made sense as the clinic was always closed on Mondays. Going around the back, he took the stairs, which were lined with potted plants. On her porch sat a comfy looking wooden swing. Her back door had a large window in it, lined with lace, which allowed him a clear look into her lit kitchen.