Heal My Heart

THREE

Nicolette would prove it to him and she'd make him apologize for doubting her. Of course, right now she needed to stop the bleeding. His whole left arm's sleeve was soaked in his blood.

After helping him on the cot, she proceeded to assist him in removing his uniform jacket and then his shirt. It was extremely difficult not to see how much he'd changed since he'd been a rotten young man who constantly picked on her as a child. Military life had made him into a man... in all aspects of the word. But she couldn't focus on that. Instead, she needed to concentrate on his bloody arm.

Once she had him on the cot, lying on his side with his injured shoulder up, she rushed to the medicine cabinet and gathered some of her supplies. Over the years she'd been slowly building up her Veterinarian practice, even if she had to hide everything in the hillside until she was ready to confess to the world that she'd been studying to become a Veterinarian.

As she cleaned his wound with alcohol, he groaned in pain. Slowly, the blood was removed from his skin and helped her to see the wound better. The bullet had passed right through his shoulder, leaving an exit wound. No wonder he had lost a lot of blood. She placed bandages on both wounds, applying pressure. It was painful for him, which was evident by his tight expression.

"I'm sorry for hurting you," she told him, "but I'm trying to stop the blood flow."

Hissing through his teeth, he nodded.

"Just breathe through the pain."

"Yes, I know," he grumbled.

She studied his face and wondered about his life in the military. He knew, so did that mean he'd been shot before? "Adrian? Have you been shot before?"

He blinked his eyes open and met her gaze. "Yes, once."

"Where was the injury?"

"My leg."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He shot her an impatient glare. "No."

She shrugged. "It might take your mind off your pain now."

He inhaled deeply and then his breath slowly slipped out of his mouth. "It was right after I'd joined. My unit was sent to clear some land for the military to set up another fort. But the unwanted men on the land didn't want to give it up so easily."

She gasped. "Was anyone killed?"

"Two men. One of them was a friend of mine, and the other man was an outlaw."

She frowned and her heart clenched. She remembered at age twelve when one of her best friends had died from pneumonia. She'd mourned for the longest time. Even now, she missed Elissa. They had both loved animals and had wanted to become Veterinarians. Nicolette was sure Elissa would be proud of her for what she'd accomplished.

"I'm sorry for your loss," she whispered.

"Thank you."

Silence grew between them as she continued to apply pressure to both wounds, but even if there wasn't anything being said, his gaze bore into her as if he was trying to peer deep into her soul. He'd always had the most amazing hazel eyes, and now that he was much better looking, she found his eyes to be dreamier. He had probably made many women swoon over the years. Thankfully, she'd never become one of his victims.

After a few minutes, she lifted one of her hands to see if his wound had stopped bleeding... and breathed a sigh a relief when it had. She checked the other wound and was happy to see her pressure had helped stop the flow. She took a needle and thread and proceeded to clean them in preparation for sewing him up.