Chapter 15 #2
Ruby watched us. “Ruby kiss?”
Tex chuckled. “I think our girl’s jealous. Better give her a kiss, Da.”
I leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Love you the most, Roo-Roo.”
She turned. “Teck?”
He laid a kiss on her head. “Me too, munchkin.”
“Maybe she’s feeling better? Maybe this was a false alarm.”
“Maybe,” Tex said, pulling out the thermometer. “Let’s see… Nope. She’s got a fever. It’s not too high, but it’s there.”
“Damn.”
“Get dressed, Holly. I’ll put her in the bath. See if that helps.”
“What if it doesn’t?” I turned to pull open my dresser drawer and yanked out a worn T-shirt. “We should just take her to ER, right? Aiden’s clinic won’t be open yet.”
“Why take her all the way there when we could go a few doors down?”
I turned, surprised. “What, to his house?”
“Why not?” Tex said.
“Uh, because he and Knight are sleeping? Because he’s not actually available for house calls? I don’t know.”
“Don’t be silly, darlin’. Knight will kick our asses if we don’t go to them first, don’t you think?”
“I guess it might hurt Aiden’s feelings if I didn’t ask…”
“Exactly.” He carried Ruby out of the bedroom. “We’ll head over as soon as you’re ready.”
I dragged my T-shirt over my head. “You don’t want to try the bath first?”
“Nah, I’d rather get an expert opinion,” he called back from the hallway. “You’ll have peace of mind much sooner.”
Well, that was true. Even if the bath seemed to help, we wouldn’t know what was wrong or if it would only get worse later.
I hurried to pull on boxer briefs, jeans, and socks. I dressed in a hurry, only adding a swipe of deodorant so I wouldn’t offend anyone.
Tex was in the living room with Ruby. He’d found a T-shirt and his trusty ball cap, but he still wore sweats. He’d shoved his feet into some flip-flops rather than the cowboy boots he usually wore, and it just looked wrong.
He’d changed Ruby into a fuzzy sweater and sweatpants covered in unicorns. “Ready?”
“Yeah. Should we call ahead?”
“Already did,” Tex said.
“Okay, good.”
We went out the door, and I locked it behind us. Tex carried Ruby, and I walked alongside him. Knight’s trailer was only a few lots down the street. His motorcycle sat at an angle on one side of the driveway, and Aiden’s Honda Accord took up the other space.
The sun was just coming up, painting everything in a pale pink glow. Tex opened the metal gate, and I followed him up the sidewalk to the porch. When we got there, he pulled open the screen door and banged on the front door.
“Knight! Aiden!” Bang bang. “Wake up, guys!”
What the hell?
“You said you called ahead!”
“I did. They didn’t answer.”
“Tex!”
Ruby started to cry. Damn it all. I took her from him and cuddled her against my chest, bouncing her gently and singing softly to settle her down. She gnawed on my shoulder, which was…odd.
“Is she…biting me?” I asked Tex.
He glanced over his shoulder and grimaced. “Ruby, no no, hon. Don’t bite.”
“It doesn’t hurt,” I mused. “She’s just never done that before.”
She stopped biting and rubbed her face against me.
“Huh. I think I know what’s wrong,” Tex said.
The door swung open, and a very disgruntled Knight peered out at us.
“What the hell are you doing here at the butt crack of dawn?”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “It’s Ruby. She’s sick or something, and I was worried. But if it’s too early—”
“No, no.” He stepped back. “Come in. I’ll get Aiden.”
Tex and I stepped inside, hovering near the doorway while Knight retreated down the hall. A few minutes later Aiden emerged, dressed much as Tex was, in sweats and a tee. His hair was rumpled from sleep, and he had a crease down one side of his face.
Knight followed him.
“I’ll make some coffee,” Knight said. “Stop hovering by the door like we’re about to kick you out. Sit down and get comfortable.”
“I’m sorry to come so early,” I said. “We thought about going to the ER—”
“I’m glad you came to me first,” Aiden said. “Please, sit on the sofa. I’ll sit beside you. That way, you can hold Ruby while I check her out. She’ll feel safer.”
“Okay.” I crossed to the sofa and settled on the middle cushion. Tex squeezed in on my far side, watching as Aiden perched beside me and laid a hand on Ruby’s forehead.
“If she has a fever, it’s a low one,” Aiden said.
“It’s over 100, but just barely. We took her temp before we came over.”
Aiden nodded. “Sounds about right.”
Tex stroked my arm, making me aware of how tensely I was holding myself. I tried to relax. “What does that mean?”
“There’s a few potential causes, but with a fever this low, Ruby’s not in any danger,” Aiden assured me.
Tex cleared his throat. “Right before we came in, Ruby chewed on Holly’s shoulder.”
Knight returned with the coffee cups, looking as baffled as I was by that. He set them down in front of us.
“Thanks, Will,” Aiden said, using Knight’s real name, as only he did.
“Of course, Angel. I know how you need your caffeine to function.”
“You don’t drink coffee?” Tex asked.
I fidgeted, wishing we could get back to talking about Ruby, but it was good that Aiden didn’t seem worried, so I picked up my mug and sipped.
“I’ve got an energy drink in the kitchen,” Knight said, waving a hand toward Aiden. “Carry on.”
“Give me a sec.” Aiden stood and went down the hall. He came back with latex gloves on his hands. “Okay, I think I know what’s going on here.”
Aiden sat down beside me and pulled Ruby’s chin down so that her mouth opened. He slid a finger in to feel around, and Ruby instantly clamped down.
“Ow. Yeah. I feel her two-year molars coming in.” The tendons in his wrist flexed, the only sign he was moving his fingers. Ruby relaxed her grip on him, but he didn’t withdraw as I expected. Instead, he rubbed her gum, then switched to the other side of her mouth. “Feels good, huh?”
She gave a little sigh.
Aiden withdrew his fingers. “She’s teething. It’s totally normal.”
Tex nodded. “I thought that might be the problem.”
“Yep. You called it.”
“But she’s almost two and a half,” I protested. “Shouldn’t she have them already?”
“Not necessarily,” Aiden replied. “Some kids don’t finish teething until almost three. It varies.” He shrugged as if that was the end of the discussion.
I frowned. “But she’s in pain…”
“It’s uncomfortable, yeah. The fever is low, so no need to worry there.
You can give her some baby Tylenol. You can purchase some numbing gel at any grocery store, but don’t overuse it, okay?
A cool washcloth she can chew on will work really well.
Feed her cold foods like yogurt and that’ll help soothe the gums, too. ”
“No teething rings?” Tex asked.
“Well, you can, yes. Those work too. Whatever you do, you want it chilled but not frozen. It’ll help with the inflammation of her gums.”
“Thank you so much,” I said. “I was freaking out.”
Tex squeezed my arm gently. “You’re a good dad.”
I exhaled. “I hate the thought of going to work, though. Maybe I should call in?”
“No, I got this. We can go buy supplies before you have to be at the barbershop. We’ll get Ruby comfortable and you’ll see she’s okay before you have to leave, okay?”
I sighed. “Yeah, okay. If you’re sure you want to hold down the fort with a fussy toddler all day.”
“Hey, it’s why I’m here.”
Aiden looked between us, a small smile playing around his lips. “He sounds like he means it. I’d take him up on it before he changes his mind.”
I chuckled. “Good call.”
“I’m glad to see your living arrangement is working out so well.”
Was that innuendo in his tone? Well, he wouldn’t be wrong, but I wasn’t sure Tex was ready to tell everyone we’d hooked up. The man could barely handle the thought of being with me a few months ago. I didn’t want to shove him out of the closet before he was ready.
I stood and shifted Ruby onto my hip. “Yep. Tex is great with Ruby,” I said, averting my eyes. “Thanks for making time to see us.”
“Sure,” Aiden said. “Anytime.”