Teamwork Read Free

it were a sticky web, and the last thing I wanted was to be in a grump when I had so much to do.
    Working on autopilot, I went through a couple of exercises with a hip-replacement patient who was ready for discharge, then scooted around my other patients, telling them I’d be back to see them at various points during my working day.
    Ten minutes later, I was in Raven’s room again. He was exactly where I’d left him, hunched on the side of the bed, staring through the gap in the curtains. The brooding atmosphere radiating from him was almost palpable.
    “Here I am,” I said in a falsely bright voice. “Let’s take these out then.”
    No reply.
    That suited me just fine.
    It took only a few seconds to take the needles out and drop them in the sharps bin. Once again I warmed my hands by rubbing them together. “I’m going to touch you now,” I said as I always did before laying my hands on a patient’s body from behind.
    Silence.
    My palm absorbed heat from the solid curve of his shoulder, but it wasn’t as intense as before and I curled my hand over his other shoulder to compare. “How is it feeling?” I asked quietly.
    I heard him swallow. “Better.”
    “Has your pain score dropped from a two?”
    There was a long pause. “Yeah, maybe a one now.”
    A bubble of triumph swelled within me. “Great, just what I hoped and certainly some of the heat has gone.” I lifted my hands from his wide frame and moved away from the bed. “Are you up to standing?”
    He gave a humph and stood.
    Damn, the man was tall. I knew he would be, but against my five feet three, his beyond six seemed even more pronounced.
    He turned to face me and I couldn’t help but let my gaze slide down what was a truly magnificent body. If he could just keep his huffs and grunts inside, he would have been a fine specimen of a man—roped with muscle, bronzed like a warrior’s shield and darkly exotic with his long, shiny hair, angled features and dramatic tattoo.
    Stop it, woman. Not only is he a total grump, you’re at work. He’s your patient.
    I took hold of his lower arm and looked up into his sulky face. “Let your forearm lay heavy in my hands, that way I do the lifting and not you. We’ll just do passive exercises today and I’ll show you the others tomorrow.”
    Silence. Just a tightening of his lips and a small nod.
    His breaths breezed steadily over my cheek and I averted my gaze so I could watch the movements of his shoulder rather than looking into such a hooded expression.
    Very gently I lifted and rotated his arm so that his shoulder joint received a soft work through all the angles it needed to. His limb was heavy but I suspected he was still supporting some of it and not completely relaxing into my hold. I wished he wasn’t. It would have been a better workout if he’d let me put in the effort rather than him.
    “Do you want the sling back on?” I asked when I’d finished.
    “Should I?”
    “Yes, probably a good idea.”
    “You know best.”
    I reached it from the bed and walked back up to him. Normally standing next to a patient who was wearing only his boxers wouldn’t have affected me, not in the slightest. It was something I did every day. But there was something about touching this athlete, aligning the material over his arm, then sliding around him to move aside his hair and fasten a knot, that sent tingles up my spine. Once again I berated myself. I had a job to do, joints to exercise, techniques to show him. If his health was really causing problems with his career, I needed to give him a good assessment and the best advice I could for his onward recovery.
    I only hoped the female side of me understood that, because I wasn’t known for staying in control when handsome men were around.
    “Can I get back on the bed?” he asked, his sullen tone shaking me from my dreamy state.
    “Sure, go ahead.”
    He maneuvered himself onto the mattress. I reached for the sheet to help him but he snatched at it