25. Chapter Twenty-Five
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
EZRA
H e hadn’t expected Maylee to be sick when he got to her house. She didn’t get sick often, but when she did it was bad. How she had gotten sick would be a question for another time.
Ezra looked out the corner of his eye to see Maylee sitting in the chair he placed in the kitchen, watching him. Everything in him wanted to put her in bed and make her relax but he also didn’t want her to try and come down the stairs while she was sick. She was out of it, not fully aware of her surroundings. What if she slipped on the stairs, fell, and hurt herself?
Yeah, that wasn’t something he was going to risk, but he was going to have to put her in bed once he got everything made. He couldn’t carry her and the drinks and food at the same time. It wasn’t safe for her because he wouldn’t have a good grip on her, and she wasn’t strong enough to hold herself up .
“Have I told you what a good girl you are? How pretty you are today?” he asked.
Her face screwed up, and she lightly shook her head. “Sick. No pretty.”
It was his turn to shake his head at her. Stirring the soup one last time, he looked over at Maylee. “Even when you’re sick, you’re pretty. Beautiful. Stunning. And I don’t want to hear anything else besides that.”
He turned back around and stirred the chicken noodle soup. Quickly checking one of the noodles, he turned off the heat and took it off the hot burner. Now it was time to break the news to her of him having to put her in bed and leave her sight for several minutes.
“Lee, I’m going to need to put you in bed, and then I’m going to come grab the soup and your drinks,” he said, gently.
She whined and shook her head. He had expected this. She seemed to be more needy than normal, which was fine, but he couldn’t carry everything and her at the same time. It wasn’t safe for her, and it was his top priority to always ensure her safety.
“Maylee. It’s not safe if I try to carry you and everything else. I don’t want to trip and fall and hurt you. I won’t have a good grip because I’ll be carrying other things as well. Putting you in danger is not on my list of things I’m willing to do.”
She blinked several times. Ezra had no clue if she was comprehending everything he’d said to her. She looked like she was in a daze from being sick, which probably meant she was struggling with comprehension.
“Daddy is going to put you in bed, and then I’m going to quickly grab everything and come back,” he said as he picked her up.
Maylee immediately snuggled into his arms. He loved the feeling of her wrapped around his body, her body pressed against his.
Carefully ascending the stairs, he patted her bottom with each step. Hopefully, this calmed her by the time he got to her room.
“Such a good girl,” he whispered. He gently placed her on her bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. “Daddy will be right back.”
Maylee whined and closed her eyes, clearly exhausted. After he kissed her forehead, he left the room and headed for the kitchen.
Ezra was so glad he’d come to check on her. What if he hadn’t and become more sick? She hadn’t been able to get up and move, which meant if her condition had worsened, she wouldn’t have had a way to contact anybody.
Though, people would have asked where she was. No doubt her boss would have contacted him if she’d gone missing for more than two days. And by that point, everyone in town would know she was missing.
Ezra grabbed several of the baby bottles and tucked them in his arm before he grabbed the bowl of soup. He was going to ensure she ate at least half of this and drank everything. She needed the nutrients. He hoped he wouldn’t have to give her a laxative or an enema, but if it came down to it, he would.
Maylee wouldn’t like it, but it was going to have to be that way. Perry had given him a time frame, and Ezra was going to follow it. It was for her health, which was one of her rules, so she wouldn’t be able to argue against it.
He quietly entered her room, where Maylee was half asleep. She kept blinking and looking at him, but he could tell she wasn’t really awake. He had no doubt she hadn’t rested much since she’d arrived home but since he was here, everything was crashing down on her.
Once he’d placed the bowl and bottles on her nightstand, he sat down on the edge of her bed and ever so gently ran his fingers through her hair, trying to slowly wake her. He didn’t want to startle her.
“Lee, can you wake up for me? I’ve got food for you that you need to eat,” he murmured. Every part of him felt so bad for waking her but she needed to get something in her system.
Maylee whined and unsuccessfully tried to roll over.
“I know you don’t want to wake up, but Daddy needs you to. I need to get some food and liquids in your system so you can get better faster.”
“Nu,” she whined again. “Sleeps.”
“Maylee. This is a health rule that you cannot disobey. Do you want to get in trouble?”
She turned toward him and shook her head.
“Then, be a good girl for Daddy and eat half of this soup I brought and all the drinks. If not, then I’ll make a mark in your book for later.”
That quickly got her attention. Ezra helped her sit up and positioned two pillows behind her.
“Such a good girl,” he whispered. “My good girl.”
He grabbed the soup from her nightstand and slowly started to feed her. She wasn’t starving, but she was a little hungry. Hopefully, as he continued to feed her, she would regain her appetite in a day or two.
“You only have to eat at least half of this bowl. If you want more, then you can eat more, but I want at least half gone,” he said.
He watched her eyes as she looked down at the bowl before nodding. He honestly expected he would have to fight to get her to eat.
It took them several minutes to get through half the bowl. Maylee relaxed against the headboard and closed her eyes.
“I’m going to crawl into bed with you. You can snuggle up against me while I feed you the bottles. I’ve got two waters and one chocolate milk. We’ll start with the water and then you can have the chocolate milk and then end with the water.”
She nodded, and Ezra made a mental note about threatening to put a mark in her book when it came to her health rule while she was sick. This seemed to work wonders. And if she did disobey, he would make a tick. It wasn’t a threat but a promise.
Maylee was in the middle of the bed, so it was easy for him to slip under the covers and get in. She immediately snuggled into his side, and he grabbed one of the bottles and put it up against her lips. She immediately started to suckle on it, and he let out a sigh of relief. Hopefully, he would be able to keep her drinking a lot.
As Maylee fell asleep in his arms, he grabbed his phone from the side table and one-handedly texted Justin.
Ezra
Taking personal days. Maylee is sick and I’m taking care of her.
Justin
Sounds good. Let me know if you need anything.
Ezra put down his phone, his focus back on Maylee. Her eyes were closed, and he could tell she was falling asleep but continued to drink while she did so.
Perfect.