An Unexpected Suitor by Anna Schmidt

Author:Anna Schmidt
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Harlequin (UK) Limited
Published: 2009-08-23T20:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Nola had trouble getting her eyes to open and she certainly could not understand why she was flat on her back surrounded by men talking in low murmurs. Someone was holding her hand while someone else gently lifted her head and pressed a wad of fabric underneath to form a pillow. Everything smelled of unfinished wood and paint.

“Where’s that doctor?” she heard a familiar voice growl.

Starbuck.

She tried to call his name and managed only a low groan. Behind her closed eyes her head throbbed.

“She’s coming around,” someone said.

Then from some distance away she heard a stranger’s voice announce, “Here’s the doc. Get back to work, all of you.”

“Nola?”

She managed to open one eye and the first thing she saw was Harrison Starbuck’s handsome face swimming just above hers. He gave her a shaky smile but his eyes were dark with worry. “Lie still,” he ordered and Nola sighed. He did have such an annoying habit of commanding others. Usually he did it with charm and even levity, but the way he was looking at her defied her to challenge him.

Reason enough, she decided, and struggled to sit up.

“Nola!” This time his voice was a shout and she grimaced as the sound ricocheted around the fierce pain in her head.

“There, there, Miss Burns,” a gentle female voice entreated. “Lie still so I can have a look.” Dr. Lois Wainwright and her sister ran the spa and homeopathic health facility just down the street from the tearoom. Nola had never had occasion to need their services until now, but she had heard high praise for their holistic approach to medicine and healing.

Comforted by the fact that she was in good hands, Nola collapsed back. She expected to find herself once again resting on the hard floor with its makeshift pillow that smelled of turpentine. Instead she was lying against the firm pillow of Harry’s chest. His breathing came in shallow but regular beats. When she turned her head so the doctor could examine the site of her injury, she found her cheek pressed against his shirt. The warmth emanating from beneath the soft fabric accompanied by the rhythmic beating of his heart soothed her.

“She’s going to recover, isn’t she? I mean, fully recover?” Starbuck asked.

“Let’s get her back to her house so I can conduct a more thorough examination,” Dr. Wainwright instructed. “I’d like her to lie flat for the time being. Could we borrow one of the wagons outside to transport her?”

Arrangements were hastily made, the men obviously relieved to have something concrete to offer. They brought another of the wide planks intended for the stage floor and gently moved Nola onto it, then carried her to the door and outside. The driver of one of the work wagons was waiting and the sudden brightness of the sunlight made Nola cry out and throw her arm across her eyes. Immediately the light dimmed as if the sun had suddenly gone behind a cloud. She squinted up and saw Harry holding his straw hat over her face like an umbrella.

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