Boss Meets Baby(121)

‘What on earth has happened?’ she asked breath-lessly,— coming into the room. ‘I was in the hall and I heard you cry out. Oh, good gracious! Was it the hot coffee, lassie?’

As she saw that Georgia had clearly taken charge, and— knew what she was doing, some of the anxiety drained out of the housekeeper’s face.

‘It spilled across his wrist. Just a little longer,’ Georgia told Keir, when she saw him flinch again in pain. ‘Believe me this will help. Moira, do you think you could find me a clean, dry dressing? And if you wouldn’t mind going into my bedroom and getting my handbag? I’ve got some arnica in there, which is good for shock. We’ll wait here.’

‘Stupid bloody thing to happen!’ His expression fierce for a moment, Keir shook his head from side to side as if in disbelief.

‘I’ve often found that when I’m angry I end up hurting myself somehow,’ Georgia shared with him gently, not wanting to inflame his temper any further, but— needing to make what she hoped was a helpful observation. ‘Perhaps you need to find a safer way to release the anger you’re holding on to and let it go?’

‘No doubt you’re right.’

He reflected on his reluctant yet compelling visit to the attic earlier—the first in the nine months since he’d been back at Glenteign. He’d been searching for something…exactly what he didn’t know…but something that might give him some clue as to how he was going to overcome this great weight of sorrow and pain in his heart. But Keir had not left that room of memories feeling much forgiveness or any closure in his heart about his past. Instead, rage had welled up inside him afresh at what he and Robbie had endured, and the indelible scars it had left him with.

He was only beginning to realise now, after suffering— this stupid accident, how dangerous it was to let that rage dominate his emotions. Georgia—in her surprising wisdom—was absolutely correct with her sage advice. Except that Keir didn’t know how he could begin to ‘safely’release the rage and hurt he felt inside. Since he’d been back at Glenteign he’d almost felt like a prisoner there, locked inside his painful memories, with reminders at every turn, instead of a man in charge of his own destiny. He knew that such a debilitating state of affairs could not go on…

‘But there are some things that are almost too damn hard to do and, I can’t help the way I feel,’ he continued, his mouth a thin, bitter line. ‘What? You’re not going to tell me I should try harder?’

There was something so bleak in his riveting blue gaze as he trained it directly on Georgia’s face that her heart constricted in pain. She tore her glance from his with difficulty, and focused once more on the running water splashing onto his arm.

‘I wouldn’t presume to tell you what to do. I think you just need to try and stay calm. It won’t help the pain if you get yourself more agitated…no matter whether you’re hurting inside or out.’

Minutes later, Moira appeared with a small first aid kit, from which Georgia selected a dressing of the appropriate size. She instructed Keir to sit down in the cane chair next to the bath so that she could apply it to his arm. Thankfully, she was able to peel back the soaked material without any detrimental effect to his scalded skin. The wound looked red and angry, but— she could already tell that in a week to ten days’ time— it would heal nicely, without even leaving a scar.

Relief ebbed through her in a thankful wave and, tipping— out an arnica tablet from the packet she had taken from her handbag, she gave it to Keir. ‘Put this on the end of your tongue and let it dissolve. It will help with the shock. I’m just going to put this dressing on for you, and then you should go and put your feet up for a while. Perhaps you could lie on one of the big sofas in the library? They’re nice and comfy. Then I’ll bring you up a cup of hot, sweet tea.’

‘Oh I can do that for the Chief, lassie! I’ll find some of his favourite biscuits too.’

Glad to have something else to do other than stand by and watch Georgia put Keir’s dressing on, Moira bustled out of the room again.

Finishing her task, Georgia sat back on the edge of the bath and smiled. ‘I think you’ll live to fight another day!’

‘Thanks to you.’ Grimly examining the stark white dressing covering a large area of his forearm, Keir quickly moved his gaze to look at Georgia instead. ‘My own private nurse as well as my very efficient secretary…Does your after-care extend to tucking me into bed tonight, I wonder?’

‘Definitely not!’ Although her retort was smart, Georgia sensed a wave of heat suffuse her cheeks.

‘Pity.’

There was the semblance of a rueful smile about his lips, but his piercing blue eyes could not disguise his longing.

Trying to convince herself that it must simply be the aftermath of shock, or the surge of adrenaline that came with it, Georgia regarded his hard handsome face with renewed concern. With its sculpted lean angles and the firm cleft in the centre of his rather arrogant chin, there was something about it that was so compelling that she was filled with the strongest, almost— irresistible desire to touch him. Not just with the gentle ministrations of a healer either. But with the almost overwhelmingly demanding need of a woman who knew herself to be dangerously beguiled by him…

‘You really should go and lie down for a while!’ she— exclaimed, jumping up from the edge of the bath. ‘We have to be careful that shock doesn’t set in. You can be quite ill otherwise. Shall I help you into the library?’