He fastened the clips and tried very hard not to remember where he’d gotten this or who had worn it last, because there was only so much his brain could take.
“Just hold the underwear. I’ll step in,” she directed.
He bent and held what looked to be grannie panties out and open while she grabbed on to his wrists for support and cautiously threaded one leg at a time into the holes. A few seconds later, she had underwear all the way over her belly and she burst into laughter.
“I look like a goober,” she said, still laughing.
“The clothes will cover it.” Thank God. Even as unattractive as his mom’s girly things were, Sophie still managed to look sensational in them. He could tie a garbage sack around her and she’d still light up a room.
The pants weren’t hard, but the shirt was more awkward. He merely stretched out the armholes until he could fit her arms through without making her do contortionist tricks.
“Want me to dry your hair?”
She blinked in surprise. “Would you? It would be so hard to do it one-handed.”
He reached for the blow-dryer. “Can you stand for this long or would you prefer to sit on the toilet seat?”
She put her hand on his chest and eased her way onto the closed toilet.
He started the dryer and threaded his hand through the strands as he motioned the blower up and down. After a few minutes, he took a brush from the counter and delicately drew it through her tresses.
She closed her eyes and held her face upturned just a bit, like she was experiencing the first rays of sun after a long winter. Wanting to continue pleasing her, he brushed the strands as he blew over them, until they shone like spun gold.
“No one has brushed my hair for me since I was a child,” she murmured, her eyes still closed. “It feels wonderful.”
“I’ve never brushed a woman’s hair before,” he admitted ruefully.
She opened her eyes and they smiled back at him through the mirror.
“I’m getting the idea that you were an expert at getting women out of their clothes and messing up their hair, but maybe not so much with anything that came afterward.”
“Not that many women,” he muttered.
She cocked her head, and he could see the question brewing on her lips.
Once again, a knock at the door interrupted them. Sam blew out his breath in relief, turned off the dryer and laid it aside.
“It’s open,” he called.
Donovan stuck his head inside. “I have Mom’s med kit if you want me to look over Sophie’s stitches. She’s insisting on calling Doc, but I made her wait to see what you wanted.”
“Yeah, okay, let me take her in the bedroom so you’ll have room,” Sam replied. “Tell Mom to hold her horses. Didn’t you explain to her the situation we’re in here? We can’t be calling everyone in Stewart County to come over.”
“Yeah , but you know Mom,” Donovan said in amusement.
Sam touched Sophie on the shoulder as Donovan backed out of the bathroom. “Can you make it?”
She rose tentatively and then smiled. “Amazing what a hot bath and clean clothes will do for you.”
Still, he took her hand and laced his fingers with hers as he led her out of the bathroom and toward his parents’ bedroom.
“Just have her sit,” Donovan said as he motioned toward the end of the bed. “This won’t take but a minute.”
Sam watched as Donovan carefully pulled Sophie’s shirt down over her shoulder so he could examine the stitched wound.
Impatiently, Sam stepped forward. “Does it look all right?”
Donovan turned to his brother. “Yeah, it does. It looks really good. I’ll just put on some more antibiotic ointment and fresh bandages and she’ll be good to go.”
Sam touched Sophie’s hair, now glossy and clean. She turned her face up to him, and he wanted to touch her more.
“Are you in any pain? Van can get you some more pain medicine.”
“Just ibuprofen.”
“Ma’s making a feast. You two should come down and eat. Then Sophie can take her medicine on a full stomach,” Donovan said.
Sam saw the longing in Sophie’s eyes and nodded at Donovan. “We’ll be down. Have Ma set up a tray so Sophie can sit on the couch where it’s comfortable.”
CHAPTER 12
CLEAN and warm. And now she was staring at a tray in front of her holding more food than she could possibly eat, but damn if she wasn’t going to give it her best shot.
There was a bowl of chicken and dumplings, a grilled cheese sandwich, potato salad and a plate of pot roast with mashed potatoes and gravy.
Marlene had jokingly told her that she’d cleaned out her refrigerator, and since she hadn’t known what Sophie liked, she made her a little of everything.
Mouth watering, Sophie dipped into the chicken and dumplings first. She ignored the goings-on around her and dug into each of the dishes, savoring each and every bite.
When the couch dipped beside her, Sophie looked up to see a teenaged girl staring curiously at her. She didn’t fit the mold of the rest of the Kelly family, and maybe that was on purpose.
She had an interesting shade of green through her chestnut hair, a nose piercing and a row of earrings in her left ear. While the girl wouldn’t have stood out in most high schools, here in this seemingly conservative, strait-laced household, she stood out like orange neon glow.
Since the girl continued to stare at her, Sophie stared back, childishly refusing to back down under the teen’s scrutiny.