Page 76 of Not Looking
He nodded, and we dug in.
“Give me your plate,” Randy said when we finished. “I’ll wash them.”
“Absolutely not,” I protested. “I don’t want dirty water getting into that wound.”
He blinked.
“Actually,” I continued. “We should probably dress it again. Is it hurting at all?”
He shook his head. “It’s fine.”
“Good.” I nodded. “But I still want to put a fresh bandage on it.”
“Ok.” He paused and studied me. “I’ve smelled that before.”
“Hmm?”
A soft smile spread across his face. “It’s your protective scent. I smelled it yesterday.” He paused. “And I think before that.”
I chuckled and rubbed the back of my neck. “Probably the day we met.”
“Huh?”
My cheeks heated. “You were digging in the scrap bin, and several fell back in. I wasn’t facing you, and the sound… well… for some reason, my alpha side thought you may have been hurt.”
“From the scraps?”
I nodded.
Randy burst into laughter. “The worst I could get from them is a splinter.”
I chuckled. “I know. But it didn’t matter.”
His smile returned, and I was entranced by it. “You really got protective from that?”
“The guys at the mill still give me shit about it.”
He chuckled. “That’s sweet, but…”
“Why am I telling you?” I asked.
He nodded.
“I think…” I paused. “It’s small, something most people probably wouldn’t think to mention. But you’re important to me, and I want you to trust that I’ll be open with you.”
“Thank you,” he murmured, tone reflective.
“Come on,” I said, pushing back my chair. “Let’s change that bandage. Do you have supplies in here, or should I get the kit from your workshop?”
“Under the sink,” he replied.
“Ok.” I strode over and retrieved the kit, washed my hands, then wet a paper towel before returning to sit next to Randy. “Let’s see.”
He set his injured arm on the table and allowed me to remove the old bandage.
I used the paper towel to dab away bits of dried blood, then inspected the wound. “It’s looking good.” I touched the edges gently. “It’s not feverish, and doesn’t look like it’s infected.”
“It looked worse than it is,” Randy replied with a chuckle.
