A Very Special Delivery

care.”
    The chair rollers clattered against pristine tile as he drew closer. “Sure they would. Families always care. Let me give them a call.”
    Her chest ached at the reminder of how lonely she’d been for family since Zack’s death. But neither Mom nor Chloe would come. Mom wanted to keep the peace and Chloe—well, her sister hated her.
    It occurred to her then that Ethan must be longing to take his baby and go home, a perfectly natural desire after five days of confinement with a stranger. But out of kindness and an overblown sense of responsibility, he didn’t want to leave her alone.
    “You don’t have to wait with me any longer, Ethan. I know you have other things to do.”
    “Molly.” He took the foam cup from her hand, set it aside, and then wrapped her fingers in his. With the most patient expression, he said, “I’ve made my phone calls. My job and friends know where I am now, and this won’t take that much longer. After all you’ve done for Laney and me wild horses couldn’t tear us away from here. I only asked because I thought you might want a family member instead of a virtual stranger.”
    To Molly, Ethan was no longer a stranger. Not even close. The admission sent a troublesome warning to her brain.
    Just then the door swooshed open and a doctor entered, white lab coat flapping out at the sides. Another nurse, clad in green surgical scrubs, followed. Molly recognized her as the doctor’s long-time assistant and smiled a greeting.
    Ethan squeezed Molly’s hand, then pushed off the stool to greet the newcomers. “Dr. Jamison.”
    “Ethan, good to see you. How’s the class going?”
    “Good. I’m learning a lot.”
    “Let me know if I can help.”
    “Thanks. I appreciate it. The people here in Winding Stair have been really good to me.”
    “The way I hear it, it’s the other way around.”
    Molly wondered what the doctor meant by the remark, but before she could ask, he ended the pleasantries and turned his attention her way. “So, what have you done to yourself, Miss Molly?”
    Dr. Jamison was the last of a dying breed, a family doctor who knew most of his patients personally. He was not only her physician, he was the McCreight family’s doctor, and thus he knew the whole ugly story of Zack’s death.
    She held her breath, praying he wouldn’t say anything in front of Ethan.
    The graying doctor pushed up his glasses and bent to examine her injury. “Quite a bandage you have here.”
    The tension eased out of her. “That’s Ethan’s doing. He’s a paramedic.”
    Dr. Jamison raised his eyes toward her companion, curious. “I remember someone telling me that. The lab, I think. Didn’t you take the gamma up to Chester Stubbs?”
    Nothing much happened in Winding Stair without the whole town knowing.
    “Yeah, that was me. Did the chopper make it out there?”
    “No trouble at all. They flew the Stubbses to Tulsa to ride this thing out. Now, what can you tell me about Molly’s accident?”
    “She has some loose bleeders,” Ethan answered. “I couldn’t ascertain their origin, so in lieu of proper supplies, we did the best we could to put pressure on it. The laceration’s deep and at least ten centimeters from knee to calf.” He spewed out a technical description of the cut, all the while hovering over the table, watching as Dr. Jamison removed the kitchen-towel bandage.
    “Hmm. I see what you mean.” The wound began to ooze immediately. “We’ll have to probe a bit, check for glass or other debris while we seal off those seeping vessels.”
    Ethan moved up to Molly’s side. His face was kind, sympathetic, almost tender.
    “It’s easier if you don’t look.”
    “You think I’m a coward?” she teased.
    But Ethan took the question seriously. “I think you’re as brave as they come.”
    He eased a pillow beneath her head and helped her lean back. All the while, her insides jumped and quivered. Ethan thought she, the biggest coward on the planet, a woman who suffered from anxiety attacks, was brave?
    He didn’t know her at all.
    As the liquid fire of the deadening agent entered Molly’s already insulted flesh, Ethan took her hand. “Squeeze if you need to. This stings a little.”
    She hissed though her teeth, trying hard not to give in to the pain. He’d called her brave. And even though she knew it wasn’t true, she didn’t want Ethan to know.
    “The worst will be over in a minute,” Ethan encouraged. “And afterwards, we’ll see if the van