Good Medicine by Bobby Hutchinson Page B

that doctors were impossible when something was wrong with them. “I’ve been here all night. I can’t walk, I can barely move.”
    He grunted. “Hurts like hell, pulling a groin muscle.”
    Nothing like stating the obvious. She tried to shift position so she could see him better and grimaced. “ Ouch . Damn it to hell, owowoww . Yes, it hurts, it hurts like fury, Silas. Now could you please—? ”
    He was giving her the strangest look. Why the hell didn’t he do something instead of just standing there as if she were a macabre exhibit?
    She was getting dangerously short-tempered.
    Finally, in one lithe, easy motion he swung down beside her. He took the pack off his back and pulled out a water bottle, crouching down beside her. Handing it to her, he surveyed of the ground, probably looking for bear tracks to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating.
    She tilted the bottle up and gulped again and again,not stopping until the water was gone, at which point her thirst was slaked, but her bladder was really going to burst.
    â€œNot much for sharing, huh?” He raised an eyebrow. “Good thing I’m not thirsty.”
    She ought to be grateful, but instead she just felt angry at him for being so damned casual and good-natured and—and fit.
    â€œGuess we better get you back to the village. Exactly how did you do this again?”
    She scowled at him. “I said, I accidentally slipped down from the walkway and my leg slid out from under me in the mud. Now, please, please, get me out of here.”
    The question was how. Jordan looked up at the walkway. He’d have to hoist her up and over the railing, which would take brute strength on his part and a disgusting amount of pain on hers. The very idea made her cringe. She didn’t do agony well at all.
    â€œI could radio for a helicopter.”
    â€œOh, could you do that, please?” Just for an instant, she thought he was serious. His teasing grin told her otherwise.
    â€œIf I had a radio, that is.”
    â€œI don’t exactly find this funny,” she snapped.
    â€œNeither do I.” But he was still smiling. “I’m gonna have to pack you out, not a cheering thought. I hope for the sake of my back you don’t weigh a lot heavier than you look.”
    She glared at him. “Why not just go and get help?”Although the thought of spending another hour here by herself brought her to the edge of hysteria.
    â€œLet’s give this a try first.” Settling his pack on his shoulders, he slid one arm under her thighs and the other around her back. She tensed in anticipation of pain, and the embarrassment of being carried like a child.
    He paused. “Try to relax, you’re stiff as a board. And hold on to my neck.”
    She did, and discovered that his neck was as muscular as most men’s biceps. She squeaked as he lifted her, and he grunted. It didn’t hurt as much as she’d anticipated, and he didn’t seem to be straining too much with her weight once he was on his feet. He bounced her a little, adjusting his grip, and that did hurt.
    â€œOw! Go easy, please. ”
    â€œYour wish is my command. Low pain threshold, huh?”
    â€œYeah.”
    She could feel the hard, sinewy muscles in his shoulders and his arms underneath her legs. Her bare, bitten, muddy legs, which she hadn’t shaved for a week.
    â€œYou been here all night, you probably have to pee, right? Do you want me to help you—?”
    She was a doctor, and bodily functions were pretty much taken for granted, but something about Silas propping her up as she yarded down her shorts made her decide she’d rather die of a burst bladder.
    â€œI think I can make it back to the village, thanks.”
    â€œLet’s just hope I can, and I don’t even have to go.”He let out an exaggerated grunt and made his way down the slope, circling the pond. “Good thing we’re going down