“Got in a few minutes ago,” Chase said. “Sorry, I thought you’d be done by now. I just need to grab some antibiotic ointment and a couple of four-by-fours. My med kit needs restocking.”

Lily tilted her head, feeling as if she’d missed a step. Her first thought had been that Chase had come to see her. Apparently not the case, which was embarrassingly disappointing. “Sure, but do you usually restock from here? Because I’ll have to adjust my threshold for reordering inventory if that’s the case.”

“Not usually, but Sarah doesn’t mind if I top off in an emergency.” Chase shrugged and then winced. “I’ve got a full day here and don’t have time to get down to the station to resupply.”

“I thought you were out on a call about a bear,” Lily said, coming around the front of the desk. “Did someone get injured? Is that why you were out all night?”

“No, just took us all night to track the bear, get her back to her home territory, and track down the asshat owners who were running hunting dogs on restricted public land.”

“Long night. So, the bandages?”

“Big bear, restless sleeper. While we were getting her strapped in, she rolled over and took a swipe. No malice intended.” Chase grinned, a crooked grin that would’ve been charming if Lily’s antennae hadn’t already been reading high on the BS meter.

“Who got injured, Chase?” Lily repeated slowly.

Chase averted her gaze for a second and then sighed. “I might have a scratch on my shoulder. It’s damn hard for me to reach back there by myself.”

“A scratch,” Lily said coolly. “I see. Let’s go on back to the treatment room, and I’ll take a look at it.”

Chase glanced at her watch. “I don’t really have time, and it’s just—”

“I haven’t tested the extent of my authority here, but I suspect if I called Nat and told her you aren’t fit for duty, she’d have to find someone else to take your calls.”

Chase narrowed her eyes. “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

“Come on, Lily,” Chase muttered, but dutifully trudged toward the hall and the treatment rooms.

Lily got a good look at her back as Chase walked in front of her. “Chase, your shirt’s shredded, and there’s blood on it.”

“The shirt looks worse than me. My turnout vest got the worst of it.”

Lily was still processing. She’d handled rat bites, dog and cat bites, even horse bites. This, as with so much with Chase, was new territory. “You were mauled by a bear, and you didn’t go to the emergency room?”

“Lil,” Chase said, glancing over her shoulder, “we field-dressed it. It’s fine. Like I told you, we had to track down and deal with the dog runners. We’ve been trying to catch this particular crew for the last six weeks.” She grinned, something of a feral grin that struck Lily as extremely sexy, which seemed totally inappropriate in the moment. Was totally inappropriate.