Chapter 13
Thirteen
Eliot
I roamed the kitchen and living room, waiting for Lily to get into the tub. Christ, she looked like she was barely conscious. Her eyelids were hooded, and she was as gray as the tile floor. It’d taken all my restraint not to sit next to her and pull her into my lap.
Only the horror in her gaze kept me from doing that. But the stark relief was also as apparent. She would’ve been in trouble on her own. That dog could’ve dragged her across the county.
Why didn’t she call someone?
Because she was stubborn as hell.
I stopped at her fridge. There was a child safety lock on it. For the kids or for the dog? I found a kids’ electrolyte drink. I poured her a glass of that and a cup of water. She hadn’t touched what looked like crackers that lay by the wall, but fluids were probably more important. I’d taken care of enough sick cattle and horses in my time to know that.
On my way back to the bathroom, I stopped in Cali’s room and took the tablet out. She was starfished across the covers, her limbs splayed, but she was in pajamas. I got the throw blanket from the living room and covered her.
Kellan’s monitor showed he was still passed out.
I knocked lightly on the slightly ajar bathroom door. “Ready?”
“Yeah,” she croaked.
I took a second to run through the rules. No looking. No trying to catch a glimpse. No ogling if I saw something. This wasn’t the time. She needed help, not a horny man at her side.
I stepped in. The toothpaste was sitting at the edge of the sink. She must’ve brushed her teeth. She was in the tub and had her head leaning on the back wall. The towel I’d left her to cover herself with was draped down her body and half-concealed by bubbles. Her flesh was visible, but the wet fabric did nothing to hide her tempting curves.
Nope. Not going there.
I got a hand towel from the cabinet, folded it, and handed it to her. “For behind your head.” I set the drinks on the tub’s ledge.
“Thanks.” She took a tentative sip. We both knew she had to try.
The smell of vomit had dwindled. While she drank and rested, I gave the toilet a quick wipe down and washed my hands.
“You didn’t have to do that.” The cups were back on the ledge and her eyes were closed.
“Hard to feel better when everything’s dirty from being sick.” I sat on the toilet lid. “How’d you end up with Bug?”
She opened her eyes. They were already clearer. She looked tired as hell but not quite ready to waste away. “His owners moved and dropped him off to get euthanized.”
“That sucks.”
“It does.” She let out a gusty breath. “It’s like that though.”
“You sound like Sutton.”
“She worked with the family a lot, we all did, but they just weren’t prepared for that amount of dog.”
“Why didn’t you say anything about him?” Or about how sick she was?
“I didn’t want you to worry. Cali told Mom and Dad, and they asked if I knew what I was getting myself into.” She pursed her lips. “As if I haven’t worked with dogs for years. But you’ve seen Bug get away from me.”
She wanted to prove she could do it before anyone had a chance to question her. “Has he been too much?”
Her chuckle was faint. “He’ll be too much for at least two more years. Maybe three. But he’s improving already. Cali’s become his human, and she’s serious about training him.” She exhaled and shut her eyes as she rested her head on the folded towel. The bubbles were slowly dissipating. I fought to keep my gaze off the growing visible area around her breasts. Wet fabric did nothing to hide the swell of her tits.
I was losing the battle. I dropped my gaze to my hands.
“Cali’s been a big help as we train him on the boundaries of the property. At least he’s used to other animals. The barn cats will eventually get used to him.”
“Any other animals you’ve collected since I’ve been here last?”
Her smile was faint. “Your sister saved the two baby goats that lost their mama.”
“Or you would’ve?”
“I’d have only needed some new fence.”
I chuckled. “You collect animals at an alarmingly high rate, Lily pad. You started with a snake, and now you’ve got Pebbles, Bug, and several barn cats.”
She opened her eyes. “I grew up the baby in a chaotic house. It’s my norm.”
“Your home must’ve been full of love.”
“It was. Annoying and smothering, but yes, it was full of love.” A shiver racked her body.
“Do you need more hot water?”
“Yeah, but I don’t want to move. I think I could finally sleep.” Her eyelids were getting droopy.
I rose and grabbed the towels. She clocked my movements, some color finally entering her cheeks.
Holding the bath towel by the edges, I turned my head. “I’ll close my eyes.”
A couple heartbeats went by, then water sloshed. The sound of the drain squelching filled the bathroom, then splashing as she rose.
I kept my eyes shut. My brain was happy to fill in an imaginary image of her wet and naked. I suppressed a shudder of desire. I could not get an erection when she’d just been puking.
The towel was plucked from my fingers. “Just a minute,” she said.
I felt her move around me. I didn’t have to look to know she was being careful not to touch me.
“Okay.”
I peeled my eyes open. She was mostly dried off, and she had a smaller towel wrapped around her head. The pale-blue towel was around her body, covering most of her cleavage and falling to her midthigh.
“How are you feeling? Steady?” I tracked every goose bump covering her body and stuck on a cute little mole by her right shoulder. Then another farther along her clavicle. How many more could I find?
“I think I’ll be fine.”
Not good enough. I opened the bathroom door. She was full-on shivering and ready to cross to her bedroom, but I didn’t let her get far.
“Hold still.” I picked her up, cradling her in my arms.
“Oh my god.” Her complexion paled, went gray, then turned a shade of green. She clutched at the flap of towel holding everything together.
Shit. Swinging her into my arms was the wrong move. “I’m gonna walk slow, okay?”
She swallowed hard and nodded.
With deliberate movements, I navigated down the hall. Her bedroom door was open and the light in the hall was enough to illuminate the inside.
“Can you see all right?” I asked in a low voice. Kellan’s even breaths filled the room.
She nodded. “I just need to grab a pair of shorts and a shirt before I get into bed.”
“Let me clean up the bathroom, and I’ll come back to check on you.”
I did as I said, leaving her to dress. I returned to her room with the drink and water. There was a clean puke bucket on her nightstand. She was tucked under the covers, but in the faint glow of the night-light, her shivers couldn’t be hidden.
“You’re cold.” I set the glasses down.
“It’s the bath. I’m sure I don’t have a fever. I’ll warm up in a minute.”
That wasn’t good enough either. My boots were already off, so I climbed into bed right behind her.
She stiffened and rolled to her back. “Eliot!” she whisper-shouted. “What are you doing?”
“Warming you up. Sorry. Shoulda asked first. Want me to leave or lend you my body heat?”
She blinked, and I heard her swallow. “You are really warm.”
“A damn furnace, honey.”
She sagged into the mattress. I crowded behind her. She was warm already, but her shivers lessened the closer I got. I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against me while strategically angling my hips back. My dick had taken notice of the woman in my arms, and it didn’t care that she’d been hunched over the toilet bowl less than an hour ago. She was soft in all the right places.
“Get some rest.”
“Mmm.” She sounded skeptical. “I don’t know if I can.”
“Want me to sing you a lullaby?”
Her soft chuckle shook her body. “Sure. I’ll be on the receiving end of one for once.”
The only song that came to mind was a country song about a toxic relationship, but it was a good one to sing acoustically. My shower would attest to that.
I started singing, my voice low, only for her ears. She was stiff at first, but eventually, her shivers subsided. Soon enough, her breathing grew steady.
I should go. She was warm and asleep. My work here was done. I could take the monitor and go to the other bedroom so I could get some sleep before Kellan woke up.
But I didn’t move. I relaxed around Lily, buried my nose in her sunshine-smelling hair, and drifted off.
Lily
I woke up in the snuggliest of cocoons. I was warm, my stomach wasn’t pitching in all different directions, and the fatigue from yesterday was fading. I wasn’t full of energy, but I could stay in this cozy nest for eternity.
My mind was sluggishly trying to wake up. A giant weight was pressed against my side—or was I pressed against it? A big, warm presence was in the bed.
Wasn’t I divorced?
Since when had I woken up this comfortable with Carter? He’d always complained about how much I wanted to cuddle with him. He’d said I was needy.
This wasn’t Carter in bed. I was divorced. I had also remarried.
I blinked my eyes open. Enough light backlit the shades to make everything clear. My gaze landed on a stubbled jaw, gone a little slack in sleep. His lips were slightly parted, and his eyes were still closed. The dark sweep of his lashes on his cheeks matched the shade of his stubble. A lock of hair fell over his forehead.
Memories from the night before crashed back. I had been throwing up. He had cleaned up the bathroom and ran me a bath. He sang to me before bed. What a nice voice. I had my very own singing cowboy.
For a little more than nine more months anyway.
I stayed where I was, not moving. Was it wrong to enjoy this while he was sleeping? Was I crossing a line with my husband?
But he’d stayed in bed last night. A small tendril of hope wound around my heart. If I let it cinch tight, it’d cleave the organ right in two.
This guy could break my heart.
My divorce had devastated me. I lost my job and my home and I’d had to embark on a journey of single parenthood. But losing Carter hadn’t been what got me down. His betrayal, yes. The idea that I didn’t have the marriage I wanted, that I knew it had fallen so short of what I had dreamed of was what had throttled me. Moving home. That had kicked me while I was down. But ending my relationship with my husband? No. Of all the issues I’d gone through at that point, every one of them ranked higher than the actual breakup.
This man was dangerous. He would be so easy to fall for.
I could feel myself drifting…spinning…
Oh shit—was I going to throw up again?
I sat up. The room spun. I pressed my fingers to my head.
The bed shifted and he rose. “You feeling okay?”
Oh god, the morning roughness to his voice was all male. A complete turn-on.
“No,” I croaked. The mix of emotions inside of me was at odds. My stomach wasn’t protesting. I was unbalanced, but it had nothing to do with the illness that had swept through the family last week. “I’m better.”
My hormones were going wild. It didn’t help I was in bed with the hottest man I’d ever seen.
A glass of water appeared at my elbow. “I can get you cold juice, but maybe try a few sips of water and see if you can keep them down.”
I nodded and took the water. “Thanks.”
Kellan grunted, his little sleeper rustling against the sheet in his bassinet.
“I’ll grab him when I get back,” Eliot said.
“Why don’t you find something to eat?” I took a sip of water. “I’ll feed him and clean up. If I make it through that, then I should be fine today. I’ll probably just watch movies with Cali all day.”
I glanced over my shoulder. His eyes were hooded, but he was watching me. Was I imagining the hurt in his eyes? Did he think I was kicking him out?
I licked my dry lips. I’d need more than a few sips of water to feel normal again. “We’ve all had a rough week. If you feel like you’ve missed out on all the latest Disney movies, you’re welcome to stay.” I summoned a weak smile. “Cali would be delighted.”
His answering grin sent my stomach into another somersault. “Since she’s the one who called me, sure.”
“I’d like you to stay, too, but I’m afraid I’ll get you sick.”
“After last night, I’ve already tempted fate. Don’t worry about it. It’s been a while since I’ve had more than the bottle flu.”
“You’re missing work.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m missing work, Lily pad.” He stood and stretched with his hands high above his head.
I practically pivoted on the bed to watch the way his shirt crept up beyond his waistband to reveal the bronzed flesh of his back. His butt was clenched and his legs were strong posts.
I should not be filled with this much desire after being so sick. He’d taken care of me. He’d cuddled with me without grumbling. He was still making sure I had what I needed. Of course, I wanted to finish what started with that kiss in my kitchen all those weeks ago.
Wasn’t it that very mini make-out session that had kept him away for a month and a half? He was busy, but he’d also made those other times work.
The confusion didn’t help my dehydrated brain.
He brought his arms down and rolled his neck from side to side. “I’ll get some grub for Cali too. Take your time.” He pinned me with a firm stare. Did he catch me staring at his marbled ass? “And call for me if you think you’re going to be sick.”
I nodded, feeling absolutely and utterly cherished. I was the spoiled one, according to my siblings. The girl who took on too much and needed to be looked after because there were so many older brothers and sisters who made me their responsibility.
Yet, with Eliot, I didn’t feel smothered. The way he treated me made me feel precious. I’d soak up his presence while I could.