When he came back, it was the sound of two engines, not one, rumbling outside the small cabin. I peeked out the window as an attractive man, several years older than both me and Ben, was climbing out of a pickup truck. He was tall, broad shouldered with dark hair, and what looked like an easy smile. He was far better looking than most of the doctors I’d ever been under the care of. Much more rugged and capable looking. I doubted he played golf on the weekends. He said something to Ben which made him scowl and turned toward the house without waiting for Ben to respond.
The doctor’s footsteps were heavy on the stairs leading up to the door and his knock was brisk as he pounded on the door mere seconds before walking in. “Echo, I’m Thomas MacKenzie. Let’s get you checked out and off this mountain before another storm moves in. I’m sure you’re ready to get back home.”
I wasn’t ready, but I’d learned long ago that running away from the things I didn’t want to face didn’t lead to anywhere good. I reached out and shook the hand he offered, taking a moment to really look at him. “Thank you for going out of your way to come and get me. I’m sure you’re busy, being the only doctor around for miles.”
I wondered if he could be the one. Was he the man my sister was so sure was the one meant for her? He was without question an extremely good looking man, and his smile was contagious, but there was something in his manner, an abruptness and dismissiveness that I couldn’t see Xanthe gravitating to. Faced with the potent MacKenzie charisma, it was easier for me to see why she had fallen and fallen hard.
“No problem. We look after everyone who wanders into our neck of the woods. A lot of folks come up here not understanding how dangerous it can be. You’re far from the first stranded tourist I’ve had to rescue.” He looked over his shoulder as the door opened and Ben came into the room. His eyes landed on me and then skimmed over the man in front of me as his beard twitched when he frowned. “You’re lucky you crashed so close to Ben’s cabin. A little farther up the road and no one would have heard a thing. You would have been stuck out in the snow until the road crews came through with the plows. All in all, you were very lucky.”
I lifted an eyebrow in Ben’s direction. “I am lucky.”
The doctor shifted his gaze between the two of us and cleared his throat when the tension in the room became palpable. “Have a seat and let me look you over. Not much we can do for your shoulder other than put your arm in a sling. The upside of that is other travelers will feel bad for you because you only have one hand and offer to help you out.” He grinned at me and I couldn’t resist grinning back.
I took a seat on the edge of the bed and let him poke and prod at me. I winced when he moved my hair to look at the wound on my head, tugging harder than Ben had been over the last few days. It was starting to heal but still sore. I also cringed when he tugged on my injured arm but none of it made my vision blur or my nerves fire off with unbearable pain. He listened to my heart with a stethoscope he pulled out of his coat pocket and shined a light in my eyes which made me sneeze. It was probably the quickest exam I’d ever been given but considering my injuries were a couple of days old and Ben had done his best to fix me up, there wasn’t much for Thomas to do.
He ordered me to take a couple of Tylenol for my shoulder, cast one last look between me and Ben, and told me he would be waiting in the truck when I was ready to head down the mountain.
Once Ben and I were alone, the air in the room around us felt like it got heavy. Every molecule was filled with all the things we wanted to say but couldn’t. We’d been racing toward this moment from the moment he saved me. I didn’t want to say goodbye but I couldn’t say until we meet again because that would give me hope when I didn’t really have any.
I walked over to where he was leaning against the counter, hands braced in front of the sink. I put a hand on the center of his chest and looked up at him. I forced a lopsided grin and tapped my fingers on the front of his shirt to the erratic beat of his heart.
“You have a problem, Ben.” I leaned into him so I could kiss that line on his throat that had nearly stolen his life away. “You met a girl in the wrong place, at the wrong time, but there is no arguing she is the right girl for you.” I pulled back and sighed as his hands lifted so he could pull my entire body into his. It was a hug that warmed me up from the top of my head to the tip of my toes. “She’s counting on you to figure out a way to make it work because she is very good at causing problems and you are very good at solving them.”