The mother silently handed Emma an arrow, which she held up in comparison, guessing the arrow was embedded about two inches. The blunt tip on the arrow was barely pointed enough to puncture and was probably meant only for target practice. It probably hadn’t done any major damage, but it must have hurt like hell. She verified with the mother that all the arrows had been tipped the same.
The blond man grunted and said, “It’s okay, kid. Accidents happen.”
The father insisted on getting his name and address so they could take financial responsibility for their son’s actions. Duke gave his phone number to the anxious father as Emma sorted through her kit, looking for what she’d need to treat him.
“What are you doing?” the blond man asked her.
“What’s your name?” Emma asked as she took a seat at the picnic table by his head to talk to him and set him at ease. His tone was cautious, and she could see the anxiety in his green eyes.
“Gage. Gage Randall. What are you doing?”
Emma placed her hand on his firm back. “Gage, I’m Emma Guthrie. I’m a doctor and I’m setting up my supplies so I can treat you. I’m going to remove the arrow and clean out the wound. Your friend is right. If it’s not treated properly, the resulting infection will not be fun for you.” Or for your lovely tush.
It surprised Emma to think such inappropriate thoughts over a nervous patient so obviously in pain. For the first time in a long time she felt her cheeks heat up over dealing with someone’s private areas. She thought that response had been trained right out of her in medical school. As a family practitioner, she’d seen just about everything.
Quietly, in a deep, earnest voice the man said, “Not here.” He sounded very serious.
Emma looked around. “Where then? I’m not kneeling in your tent if I don’t have to. Wait.” The light was better inside the customized tent attached to the back of her Pontiac Aztek. She could sit on her folding chair, and he could lie on the bedding on the tailgate. He was tall, so it wouldn’t be comfortable for him, but it would be better than being out in the open. She looked up at Gage’s dark-haired and equally handsome friend. “Duke, right?”
He nodded and replied, “Duke Rivers.”
“Can you bring him to my vehicle? We’ll set up there.”
“Okay.”
Gage grimaced as Duke helped him rise stiffly from the picnic table, and they made their way to her campsite. She unzipped the tent and directed him to the opened cargo hatch. Emma was surprised that he made little noise as he settled. He must have a high pain tolerance level. She’d seen grown men cry over much less.
Duke made himself handy with the lantern while she reached around Gage to unbutton his jeans. He grasped her hand and stilled it. “What are you doing?” His hand was strong, impeding her progress, but not forceful.
“Gage, I just need to loosen the zipper so I can pull them down once the arrow is out. I need to give myself some room to work and I’ll have to clean the wound properly after the arrow is removed.”
Gage seemed to debate with himself for a few seconds then gently removed her hand from his fly and unbuttoned and unzipped his pants himself then settled back down.
“So, did you just get here?” she asked, making small talk as she sanitized her hands and prepared to remove the arrow.
“Yeah. We’d just set up the tent,” Duke said. “We were enjoying the view when it happened.” She glanced over at Duke and saw his crooked smile curl up on one side, and mischief twinkled in his eyes. There seemed to be more he wanted to say but didn’t. “This is a pretty cool setup you have.”
“I got a great deal on it. The customized tent was ideal for me because I love to camp.” The tent that came with the vehicle had been altered and another larger tent attached to it so that she not only had the enclosure for the back of the vehicle, but in addition, she also had a small private space at the end of the vehicle.
“We do a lot of camping, too,” Duke replied as he came close and watched her work. The combined scents of the two men in the small enclosure caused her to inhale slowly and appreciatively. A ripple of awareness quivered through her at his proximity. Her nipples hardened to tingling points, and warmth spread through her core. Glancing up, she caught Duke watching her curiously, and her cheeks tingled with heat.
“I feel like I know you from somewhere, Duke,” she said.
“Our work takes us all over. We’re IT consultants.”
She gloved up and wrapped her hand around the arrow close to the wound. To Gage she murmured, “Ready?”