Highland Doc's Christmas Rescue / Festive Fling With The Single Dad. Susan Carlisle

against him. After hesitating a moment, she rested her arm around his middle back and hobbled to the minibus. She couldn’t ignore the sensations simmering in her core any more than she could ignore her agonizing leg.

      Lyle held her steady until she reached for the frame of the door. Cass was climbing into the minibus when she was lifted off her feet and placed gently on the floor. She looked over her shoulder. “Thanks.”

      “No problem. Have a seat and move down.” Lyle wasted no words. He was all business.

      She did as she was told, scooting down to the end of the small bench seat. Lyle joined her. Their bodies touched all the way along one side. Strangely she wanted to rest her head against his shoulder but she resisted the urge. She refused to show any more weakness. What would Lyle think of her if she had given in to that impulse?

      Ron close the doors. They were soon moving. Lyle’s attention remained on the woman on the gurney, which was locked to the floor with straps. She still hadn’t regained consciousness. Lyle took her pulse as they rode. He gave Cass a nod.

      From what Lyle had said, Cass assumed that they were headed to the castle. By the winding of the road she could tell she was right. After making a big circle, Ron backed the minibus to a stop. Seconds later he opened the door.

      Lyle climbed out with one agile move. “You stay put,” he told her. “I don’t want you to fall. Someone will be out to get you.” He didn’t wait for her response before he and Ron unhooked the gurney and rolled the woman inside.

      Cass forced herself not to shake. Memories of lying in the rubble of that building flooded back. The sound of her calling Rufus’s name and him not answering. The waiting until someone could get to her. Panic rose when Lyle didn’t come. Pain throbbed through her body. She needed to get out of here.

      She searched the area she could see. It was a part of the castle she wasn’t familiar with. The vehicle was backed up to a small loading dock with two double doors. Her impatience grew to be an almost living thing. She had to do something. What if Lyle needed her help? Just as she was about to rise, Ron came through the doors, leaving them swinging. He gave her a glance then hurried down the steps nearby. Her heart dipped. He must be going after the man up front.

      With Ron and Lyle concentrating their energies on the injured people, it would be some time before someone would come to assist her. She decided she wasn’t in so much pain that she couldn’t get herself inside.

      Giving her leg a rub, she pushed up off the bench, making sure she didn’t use her right arm. It took effort. With a tight jaw she made it to her feet. She slowly moved out of the minibus, steadying herself by pressing her hand on the side of it. Just as she was stepping off, the doors swung open again and out came Melissa, pushing a wheelchair.

      She positioned the wheelchair just outside the van doors and stepped inside. “Lyle sent me out for you. He said you wouldn’t stay seated long. I guess he was right.”

      Cass didn’t like Lyle thinking he knew her that well, but she couldn’t deny he was right. She took a step forward, trying to keep as much weight as possible off the leg. Cass couldn’t deny the wheelchair was welcome.

      “Here, let me help.” Melissa supported Cass to the chair and assisted her into it.

      With Cass secure, she pushed her inside. They entered a large emergency examination room complete with all the most up-to-date equipment. Cass was fascinated. She’d had no idea this area of the clinic existed. There were many facets to Dr. Sinclair and his “clinic”.

      Lyle stood beside the older lady, who still lay on the gurney. Thankfully she was now conscious and talking to him. Ron was busy cleaning the driver’s head wound at an exam table nearby.

      “What can I do to help?” Cass asked, putting her hands on the arm of the wheelchair, preparing to stand.

      Lyle gave her a piercing look of reprimand. “Nothing. You’ve done enough. You need to take care of yourself.”

      “Surely you need some help.” Cass looked from him to the man Ron was seeing to and back.

      Another member of the nursing staff rushed in. Behind her came another.

      “We have plenty of help. Melissa, please see that Cass gets to her room. I’ll let Flora know what’s happened. She may want to examine you. Melissa, Cass actually might also benefit from some time in the hot tub.” Lyle’s attention returned to his patient.

      Seconds later Cass was being wheeled out of the room. It didn’t take Melissa long to get her up to her room and hot water running in the tub. Cass gratefully slipped into the whirling water, looking forward to the relief it would bring her leg and arm. She’d survived her first emergency without Rufus. It had been a sad moment but somehow an encouraging one. In a small way, Cass was moving forward.

      Lyle was ready for some rest but he needed to check on Cass first. The ambulance from Fort William had arrived to take the injured woman to the hospital. Lyle had stitched the gash on the man’s forehead and sent him home with family members. After a quick check on Cass he was headed for his cottage and bed. The adrenalin spike of handling an emergency had worn him out.

      He knocked lightly on Cass’s door in case she was already sleeping. After waiting a minute and getting no answer, he turned to leave. He would see her tomorrow.

      The door opened a crack. “Yes?”

      He could only see a sliver of her but it was enough to tell that her hair had been pushed back and her face was freshly scrubbed. She looked adorable and unsure at the same time.

      What was it about her that captivated him? That pulled at him like no other woman he knew did. Was it her strength? Determination? Her vulnerability? He needed to solve the puzzle and move on. Cass wouldn’t be here long and he wasn’t going to waste his emotions on anyone he didn’t intend to keep forever. He’d already gone down that road.

      The dirty street behind him was graveled with disappointment and heartache. He had vowed the lane ahead would be paved with the love and loyalty of a woman who wanted him as much as he did her. A lifelong partner. The next time he fell in love, he would get it right.

      He shoved that fantasy aside and concentrated on what he was there for. “How’re you doing?”

      “Better after a hot bath.”

      “Good. You were impressive out there, Cass. You stayed in control. I know you must have been in pain. You should have said something. More than that, I should’ve thought.” Guilt filled him. “I’m sorry.”

      She opened the door wider. “Hey, I’m an EMT. I’m trained to help.”

      “True, but you’re also a patient here. I should have remembered that.” She looked cute in her T-shirt with her pink-tipped toes.

      “I’m fine.” For once her eyes weren’t clouded with hidden feelings. In fact, there was a hint of a smile in them.

      “I’m glad. Then I’ll let you get some rest.” He needed to go. Right now. He started down the hall.

      “Hey, Lyle.”

      He almost kept going, but curiosity got the better of him.

      “You were pretty impressive out there too.”

      He smiled. It felt good to have someone praise him, especially Cass. He was confident in his abilities, but it didn’t hurt to have others notice. His father certainly hadn’t. “Thanks. Sleep well, Cass.”

       CHAPTER FOUR

      CASS’S HAND SHOOK as she wrapped it around the handle of the glass door of the canine therapy center the next afternoon. She had said she’d keep her appointment and she would. But she wasn’t