It wasn’t her job to do that kind of work in the field. He knew how hard it could be. He’d been emotional out there, shocked at how close his friends had come to losing everything. She was certainly feeling the consequences of all the pressure she’d felt today. She’d done a phenomenal job of shoving it aside and doing the job, but she would crash. “Not when you were the only one responsible, you haven’t. When you took over the clinic you took responsibility for this town, and you take that seriously. Even when the town let you down.”

“No one let me down. They just don’t like me. They don’t have to like me.”

Her words sounded hollow, and he wondered how much the day had cost her. She’d been there when the helicopter had come to take Janice to the hospital. She’d updated the medics on the patient’s condition and the way she’d stabilized Janice. Then she’d rechecked the baby, made sure Hallie was all right, and only then had she done a thing to take care of herself. Only after Hallie’s cousin had shown up to drive them to the hospital had she gone to take her shower and calm down.

And he knew she’d needed to calm down because despite her demeanor, she had to be a rolling wave of emotion. Once the adrenaline was gone, the trauma of the day would have been waiting for her. He knew.

Yet from what he understood, while he and Roxie and the new guys had been dealing with the fallout of the accident, she’d spent the rest of the afternoon on her job. She’d done two complete physicals with blood draws and all the paperwork, kept in touch with the hospital, and stitched up a tourist who had cut his hand fishing.

She’d sent Mabel home and finished out the last hour of her shift alone.

She needed someone to take care of her. He damn straight wanted to be the one to do it.

“I think people will have a different view of you after today. I know I do. Lila, I’m sorry about what I said. You be you because we need you. I think I might need you.”

She sniffled but shook her head. “No. I can’t do this right now.”

There was a knock on the glass doors. Armie sighed and looked back. Dixie stood outside the clinic, two bags in her hand. He did not need another smackdown between those two, and he wasn’t about to let anyone argue with Lila tonight. Tomorrow he would make his position clear to the rest of the town, but he could start here.

He shook his head. “Not now, Dixie. She’s going home.”

Lila waved her key card over the reader, completely ignoring his words. The doors slid open. “What do you need?”