Page 14 of Escape to Lighthouse Cove

“Oh, you shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble…” Now she sounded distressed, and Noah wondered what made her so apologetic for everything. It was a strange mix, the veiled antagonism and fretful apology, like she couldn’t decide whether she was angry or afraid.

“It wasn’t any trouble,” he stated firmly. “And you certainly need to get that bump checked out.” He turned back to Isaiah. “You can send him up, Isaiah. Thank you.”

Isaiah’s eyebrows rose slightly and belatedly Noah realized he wasn’t soundingquiteas churlish as he often did. No doubt the old salt was pleased about that. See, he didn’t need some therapy app to act like a normal human being, at least for a few minutes.

“I’m sure I’m fine,” Grace told Noah once Isaiah had left. She felt anxious in a way she couldn’t completely explain, about everything regarding this situation—the unfamiliarity of this gloomy, looming house, the pain in her head, and most of all, Noah Lawrence, looking so casual and yet in command, his arm draped around the back of the empty chair next to him, his blue eyes narrowed in a friendly yet assessing way, like he was trying to figure her out, and no wonder. She was acting like a lunatic, veering from one emotion to another, all of them jumbled up inside her.

Grace hated feeling so helpless, and yet she knew her pathetic attempts to assert some kind of control just came across as petty and ungrateful. Which was probably why she kept alternately thanking and apologizing to Noah Lawrence, even when all she wanted to do was leave.

“I’m sure you are, too,” Noah replied equably, yet with that hint of iron underneath that made panic clutch at Grace’s throat, so it was hard to breathe. She didnotwant another man telling her what to do, especially when he was doing it under the guise of kindly consideration. She knew howthatwent. “But it can’t hurt to make sure, right?” He raised his eyebrows in query and she stared miserably back.

Sheknewshe was overreacting, understood that Noah wasn’t anything like Brad—at least she didn’t know that hewaslike him—and yet the instinctive reaction of fear and fighting against those velvet-covered, iron-clad directives, no matter how futilely, was impossible to ignore or resist. She would not let herself become passive and helplessly compliant again, ever. She’d made that vow the day she’d finally worked up the courage to leave Brad, and she didn’t want to let go of it, just a few months later.

“I suppose so,” she whispered. But as soon as the doctor left, Grace told herself, she was going to leave too.

As much as she didn’t want memories to form her future, they were certainly crowding in right now. She looked away from Noah, biting her lip in anxiety as she waited for the doctor to arrive.

A tap on the door sounded just a minute or two later, much to Grace’s relief.

“Come in,” Noah called, and the doctor entered, a tall man in his mid-forties with thinning, sandy hair and a friendly expression. “Good evening,” he greeted them. “I hear someone hit their head on a rock?”

“That would be me,” Grace replied with a small smile, and at Noah’s suggestion she and the doctor repaired to the room where she’d woken up, the chaise acting as an examining table.

Instinctively, Grace had looked to Jacob, expecting him to accompany her, but her son had gone back to his chess game and with a small smile, Noah had assured her, “I’ll look after him.”

As uneasy as that made her—for the last six months Jacob had barely been out of her sight—Grace felt she had no choice but to agree, and she was glad at least that her son seemed so interested in his game, and hardly anxious at all.

Unlike her.

“You’ve had a bad bump,” the doctor told her as he examined the bruise on her temple. “And you might very well be concussed, considering the length of time you were unconscious… Mr. Lawrence said at least a minute?”

Grace shrugged unhappily. “It’s all kind of a blur, but I remember a few things.”

He nodded. “Well, if the pain doesn’t go away within a week, I’d suggest coming to the medical center in Machias for a CT scan.”

Grace already knew she didn’t want to do that. “I’m sure I’ll be fine,” she said firmly.

“Head injuries need to be taken seriously,” the doctor told her with a rather stern smile. “I advise that you be under observation for the first forty-eight hours, including at night.”

“What!” Grace stared at him in dismay. Right then, forty-eight hours felt like a very long time. “What do you mean,under observation?”

“Not alone,” the doctor explained patiently. “So someone can monitor you for any worsening symptoms.” He cocked his head, seeming bemused by her reaction. “But that shouldn’t be a problem, if your husband is willing to do it?”

Grace’s startled gaze flew to his compassionate one. “Noah Lawrence is not my husband,” she stated quickly. “I only met him today.”

“Oh…” The doctor frowned. “I’m sorry, I just assumed. In that case, is there someone else who could stay with you?”

Grace almost laughed. Who, she wanted to ask, would be willing to do that for someone who moved all of three days ago to a place with a population of six?

“My neighbor, maybe,” she said hesitantly, wondering if she could possibly ask Bab for something like that considering they’d only met once, and also whether she even wanted to, and the doctor nodded.

“All right, I should talk to your neighbor, then, and make sure they understand what to look for, and check on you every few hours?—”

“Oh, I…” Grace shook her head helplessly, which made her head hurt all the more. She was pretty sure she didn’t know Bab well enough for allthat. “Look, I really think I’ll be fine—” she began, only to fall silent at the doctor’s stern look.

“You might feel that way now, but I’m afraid, Miss…?”

“Wyatt. Grace Wyatt,” she informed him wearily. She was already losing the will to fight this battle, especially if this doctor was going to insist upon it the way he seemed to be.