Her smile was infectious.
“You really like this, don’t you?” he asked.
“Well, duh,” she said, shooting him a goofy grin. “Relieving people’s pain, getting to work on the complexities of the body, all within the confines of a millimeter or two? What’s not to love?” She tucked her chin to her chest and fumbled, trying to tie the smaller strings for the neck closure behind her. “You clearly hate lab work, but don’t you at least like this part of it?”
Dan didn’t want to dampen her enthusiasm with a definitive “hell no,” so he shrugged and reached out a hand. “Here, let me.” He turned her gently, brushing her hands away. His fingertips grazed against the nape of her neck, and she sucked in a breath. He hummed to himself as he tied the knot, fighting a smile at her reaction.
“All done.” He felt her take a deep breath, her shoulders rising, before she turned. When she faced him, she was composed and serious.
“Thank you,” she said evenly. “Like I said before, his chart notes indicate he’s a tough patient, so try to not let him bother you. I’ll need you to be ready with certain tools, but the most important thing you can do is keep the suction steady so blood and debris don’t pool during the extraction.”
He nodded, ready to work, wanting to impress her. She turned and headed into the room.
“Hello, Mr. Owen. I’m Dr. Horowitz, and I will be your student dentist for today’s procedure. How are you?”
A surly-looking man in his midfifties sat in the dental chair, arms crossed against his chest and a firm grimace on his face.
“I’ve been waiting for fifteen goddamn minutes for you to show up. So, not great, sweetheart,” he said, looking Harper up and down.
“It’s Dr. Horowitz,” she said, and Dan pressed his lips in a firm line to hide his smile. “I’m sorry to hear about your wait. We’ll get started right away.” Harper washed her hands at the small sink in the corner.
Mr. Owen scoffed, then turned appraising eyes on Dan. He gave Dan a once-over before offering a stiff nod of approval. Dan had a sense of where this was headed, and he didn’t like it.
“All right, let’s get started,” Harper said, snapping on gloves. “Do you understand what I’ll be doing today? We have plan—”
“Why don’t you let the doctor speak, sweetheart,” Mr. Owen said, cutting her off and waving an impatient hand at Dan. “Let the man do his job.”
The air whooshed from the room. Dan’s eyes snapped to Harper’s but, to his surprise, she looked unfazed. Despite her calm, he was swarmed with the need to defend her, protect her.
“As I said before, I’m Dr. Horowitz, your student doctor. This is Dan and he will be my assistant.”
Mr. Owen turned to Dan with an incredulous scowl. Dan stared back in silence, arms crossed over his chest. Mr. Owen apparently took Dan’s disdain as a nonverbal declaration of allegiance, directing his next words only to him.
“I don’t know what this—this…” He flapped his hand toward Harper. “… girl thinks she’s doing, but I’ll have you take the tooth out. It’ll need muscle. A small thing like her won’t do it right.”
Dan’s anger burned, and he opened his mouth to tell the dick exactly what he was going to use his muscles for, but Harper cut him off.
“Mr. Owen, I’m highly prepared for your case. I’ve done extensive treatment planning with the surgical clinic’s attending, and your general dentist. Dan is a first-year student on a rotation to observe and assist. Now, let’s begin. I would hate for you to be even further off schedule, since timing is so important to you.”
She said this with kind indifference and turned to lower the patient’s chair. Dan balked at her level-headedness when all he wanted to do was rip this asshole’s tooth out with his bare hands.
“No! I’m not having some stupid little girl working on my mouth! Get me a male doctor. Now.”
Dan took a step toward the man. “Okay, ass—”
Harper cut him off.
“Dan.” She said his name with a snap, and he shut his mouth at the angry flash in her eyes. She fixed him with a stern look for a moment before turning to Mr. Owen.
“Why don’t you tell me exactly what concerns you.”
Her spine was stiff and her stare hard as she said this, but Dan still wanted to step in and defend her. He didn’t want this man’s toxic words to touch her. Dan knew how easily another person’s doubt could seep below the skin like a poisonous cloud, settling into bones and chipping away like a cancer. He wouldn’t let anyone do that to Harper.