Bella did her best to avoid dramatics as Jamie extracted every individual wood chip from her finger, but she couldn't avoid the wincing and occasional yips in pain. By the time he'd finished, it felt as if hours had passed by; her upper arms were stiff from holding their position for so long, and her bottom lip was red and swollen from being chewed on. Despite the pain and her desire to bury her hands and her dress pockets, the healer within her reason that he was right—she needed to prevent infection, lest she lose all her fingers.

"Like I said," she managed, shifting her gaze to a random pot in the corner of the kitchen in her attempt to hide her discomfort from Jamie, "Do what you need to do. I trust you."

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