He offered her a weak smile. “Just try not to smother me. I don’t want to expire that way after surviving a flood.”
“If you didn’t feel so sick I would punch you right now,” she said without any real heat in her voice.
He’d given her a powerful scare, so he allowed her to fuss over him. To be honest, it was nice having her obviously care so much about his well-being. But that was the only thing that felt good now. His body ached, his head throbbed, his throat was raw and his chest felt tight. Not to mention he managed to feel both hot and cold at the same time.
As Sunny tucked him under half a dozen covers, he was happy to have them because the shivers were beginning to take hold of him and he didn’t want her to see. Didn’t want her to worry when he’d done his best to reassure her that he was fine.
When she placed a glass of water on the nightstand, he managed to dredge up a tired smile.
“If this whole business-consulting thing doesn’t work out, I think you could have a future in caretaking.”
“I only do this for people related to me.”
While he might technically fit that description now, someday he wouldn’t and he’d be on his own. Sunny would still be taking care of family members, but he would no longer be one of them.
“I’ll leave the door partially open in case you need something.”
His eyelids already heavy, all he could offer in response was a single nod. At least sleep would release him from thoughts about how at some point he was going to lose the woman he loved and how he wished he was selfish enough to tell her the truth and ask her not to go.
* * *
SUNNY JERKED AWAKE on the couch. Thankfully this time she wasn’t holding her computer. She’d given up trying to concentrate on any of her work and curled up under the one quilt she’d left for herself. Had a dream woken her? She listened but heard nothing other than the gentle hum of the refrigerator. Even the rain seemed to have stopped or was only falling so lightly that it couldn’t be heard inside.
Since she was awake, she decided to check on Dean. She hadn’t liked how he looked as he’d been falling asleep, and she feared him developing pneumonia or some sort of infection after his near drowning.
A chill ran down her spine and she sat up rubbing her arms. She had to stop thinking about what might have happened because it hadn’t. Dean might be sick now, but he was alive. That was the most important thing. If she’d lost him...she would have become convinced this ranch was cursed and would have stopped at nothing to get her dad and the twins away from this land before it claimed someone else she loved.
That thought startled her. Did she love Dean? Well, of course she did. She loved Maya too. No matter how much she traveled and how many people she met, Dean and Maya were still her two best friends in the world. She hadn’t really thought of Dean that way until she’d come back this time, until they’d spent more time together and he’d agreed to help her with a plan that anyone else would have walked away from in a heartbeat.
She eased into the bedroom and noticed that Dean had tossed off at least half the coverings she’d layered atop him. Maybe she had gone a bit overboard, it not being the dead of winter and all. But when she moved closer, Dean groaned in his sleep and her instincts immediately told her something was wrong. She felt the heat radiating off him before she even touched his forehead.
Her heart shuddered. He was burning up with fever.
She rushed to the kitchen and filled a metal mixing bowl with cool water then grabbed a couple of clean washcloths from the bathroom. After placing one wet cloth on his forehead, she pulled down the covers with the aim of using the other washcloth to cool his arms and hands. She startled when she saw he’d pulled off the T-shirt he’d been wearing and was bare chested.
Stop staring and take care of him.
Dean woke as she was wiping down the feverish flesh on his chest.
“What are you doing?”
He sounded hoarse, so she helped him lift himself enough to take a couple of fever reducers and wash them down with plenty of water.
“Go back to sleep.” Without thinking, she reached up and smoothed the furrows that had appeared on his forehead before she replaced the freshly cooled washcloth.
He did exactly that within moments. Throughout the night, she kept up her vigil. It was a balance between helping him through the fever and not letting him become chilled. As the time crept closer to dawn, fatigue started weighing heavy on her eyelids. But she wasn’t willing to leave Dean alone. She harbored what she knew was an irrational fear that if she left him for more than a few moments, he’d take a turn for the worse.
Sunny eyed the empty half of the queen-size bed. Maybe she’d stretch out and catch a few winks. It was nothing romantic, simply her being there in case he needed her. But if she kept sitting in the chair she’d brought in from the kitchen, she was in danger of falling over into the floor. The last thing she needed to do was knock herself out on the nightstand.
Still, as she lay down beside Dean, lying on her side to face him, it felt like a step she’d never thought to take. Okay, that wasn’t entirely true. After that second kiss they’d shared, she’d imagined it more than once. But despite being married, that kind of intimacy was not part of their deal.
The deal. It felt as if they’d made that stupid deal a lifetime ago. Did she really think it would work? Not to mention the longer she was back in Wyoming, back on this ranch, the more difficult it was to imagine her dad in California. Would things really be okay once her dad’s leg healed and she’d gone back to hopefully her new position at the company? She could plan to visit more often, even if the visits were shorter. Her dad could hire another caretaker for the twins while he worked. Dean obviously liked Lily and Liam, so he’d keep an eye out for them too.
Still, she couldn’t dispel the knot in her stomach at the idea of being separated from her family again. From Dean.
No, she couldn’t have those kinds of thoughts. Or could she?
No. The kiss hadn’t meant anything. It would be incredibly stupid to let their relationship progress further knowing that she’d be leaving soon. It wouldn’t be fair—to either of them. She closed her eyes, wanting to escape her confusing thoughts in the blissful oblivion of sleep.
* * *
DEAN WOKE SLOWLY, his body still achy but no longer feverish. He’d realized before falling asleep the night before that he had a fever, and he had vague memories of waking a couple of times feeling like his skin was on fire. But Sunny had been there, taking care of him. How long had she stayed at his side?
Movement next to him gave him the surprising answer. Not only was Sunny still next to him, she was actually in the bed with him, though she lay atop the covers. The way she was curled up, however, told him that her body had cooled in the night. He covered her with the comforter that wasn’t trapped beneath her.
He watched as she instinctually snuggled into the warmth. He eased onto his side facing her. Even asleep with mussed hair and dark circles under her eyes she was beautiful. He resisted the need to wake her, tell her what she meant to him and ask her to stay, to make their marriage real. Despite her care for him the night before, his confession would likely send her running.
But as he thought about how each day brought her closer to leaving, he couldn’t help but wonder if he should take a chance. What was the worst that could happen? She’d leave, which she planned to do anyway. He’d lose his job and any opportunity to own the ranch? It wasn’t as if he hadn’t thought about what he’d do if those things happened. Starting over from scratch wasn’t high on his list of wants, but he’d been moving closer and closer to the conclusion that seeing if there was a real chance with Sunny would be worth it.
As if she could sense that he was thinking about her, Sunny’s eyelids fluttered open. She blinked a few times before her eyes widened and she placed her hand against his forehead.
<
br /> “Your fever’s gone.” She looked so relieved that he fell more in love with her, something he didn’t think was possible.
When she lifted her hand from his forehead, he grabbed it to keep her from leaving. Her gaze met his and she didn’t avert her eyes.
Expecting her to realize what was happening and make a speedy exit from the room at any moment, Dean released her hand and lifted his own to Sunny’s cheek. He let his fingers slide through her hair to the nape of her neck. As he ran his thumb softly along the edge of her jaw, she perhaps unconsciously leaned her head back against his hand. It felt like an invitation and he took it.
This wasn’t going to be a light feather of a kiss like the one they’d shared that night in his living room. No, this time he kissed her deeply, with all the feeling he’d held in check for years.
* * *
SOMEWHERE AT THE back of her mind, a little voice was trying to remind Sunny that she shouldn’t be kissing Dean like this, that she should pull away instead of letting him wrap his arm around her back and pull her closer. But that voice was an increasingly faint echo at the far end of a canyon.
She’d been so worried about him, afraid that despite her having saved him from the raging river, the cruel hands of death would still claim him. To have him emerge on the other side of the fever with more strength than he’d had the night before felt like a miraculous gift, and she couldn’t hold back how relieved and happy she was to receive it.
Neither of them spoke. If they had, she probably would have come to her senses and pulled away. Instead, she let herself enjoy the feel of kissing her husband.
When she started to worry that things would go too far, past the point of no return, and that she would let them, Dean seemed to sense her concern. Instead of pressing for more, he lifted his mouth from hers, tucked her against him and dropped a soft kiss on her forehead. Without words, he was telling her to rest, that she was safe from going further than she was comfortable.
She thought she’d be too excited, too nervous, too...everything to sleep, but the accumulation of worry and late-night hours spent trying to reduce Dean’s fever joined forces with the normal warmth of his body to lull her toward the rest she needed.
Her last thought before succumbing was that she’d never felt more comfortable, more right in her life.
* * *
DEAN RESISTED THE urge to whistle while he cooked breakfast. Though he ached from his unfortunate fight with the river the day before and fatigue still tugged at him, he simultaneously felt fantastic. He’d imagined sleeping with Sunny in his arms but had never thought it would really happen. He’d swear he could still feel her lips on his as she’d kissed him back with every bit of passion he’d felt. He’d barely stopped himself from going further, but he suspected that he should take things with Sunny in careful steps. But the fact that she was obviously attracted to him, had stayed beside him even after his fever had broken instead of running to the relative safety of the couch, gave him hope.
As he waited for the biscuits to bake awhile before starting on eggs and bacon, he started moving Sunny’s work materials that were scattered across the kitchen table. She’d obviously put in some time at her computer and sketching out notes on one of her projects after he’d gone to bed but before she’d discovered he had a fever.
Her pretty handwriting in an open notebook caught his attention, and he found himself skimming the words she’d written. As he moved through one bullet point after another, however, his happy mood started to evaporate.
It wasn’t more ideas for the ranch or directions for the festival or even things for Trudy to add to her themed dinners. Staring up at him was the end of his marriage.
Suddenly realizing he was snooping where he didn’t belong, he closed the notebook and moved it along with everything else to the coffee table. He hurried through the rest of the breakfast preparations, made himself an egg-and-cheese biscuit. Then he left the house before he had to face Sunny and the knowledge that no matter how nice things had been between them early that morning, she was still going to leave. She was always going to leave.
* * *
SUNNY STRETCHED LIKE a cat in the sun streaming through the window. It took a few ticks of her internal clock to remember where she was, which then caused her to freeze for a moment before turning her head to her right. But Dean was no longer beside her, and she wasn’t sure if she was thankful or sad. Maybe a confusing mixture of both.
She lifted her hand to her lips, remembering what it had felt like to really give in to the attraction she now fully admitted was there. And who could blame her? Dean was a very handsome man, a grown-up version of the cute kid and good-looking teenager she’d always known.
How was last night going to change things between them? Would it? It certainly shook the foundation of the plan they’d agreed to.
Knowing she couldn’t avoid him or the conversation they obviously needed to have, she got up and left the bedroom. She expected him to be in the bathroom or perhaps drinking a cup of coffee, but she quickly realized she was the only one in the house. She discovered her computer and various work detritus had been removed from the kitchen table. In its place was a note.
I let you sleep in, but I made breakfast. Enjoy your day.
She stared at the note, which had none of the warmth he’d shared with her earlier despite the kindness of the words and his making breakfast for her.
A glance out the window revealed his truck was gone. Had he gone back to work less than twenty-four hours after nearly drowning?
As she turned back to face the kitchen, she wondered if it was possible their kissing had been no more than an incredibly vivid dream. No, it had been real. But he hadn’t stuck around. Either he didn’t think they had anything to talk about or he’d assumed she’d be upset when she woke. Maybe that’s why he’d made breakfast, as an apology for going too far.
She wasn’t prepared for the rush of anger that surged up within her, nor did she understand it. And it didn’t wane as she ate breakfast, showered, dressed and got to work. When Maya showed up at her door with the twins midafternoon, the anger had only simmered down to annoyance. But she pushed it away and smiled at her niece and nephew, hugging and kissing them as if she hadn’t seen them in months.
“I saw Dean out working this morning,” Maya said when they sat across from each other at the kitchen table a few minutes later, each with a fresh cup of coffee. “That man does not know how to take a break, does he?”
“Evidently not.”
“Is that annoyance I hear?”
Sometimes it didn’t pay to have a best friend who could peg you so perfectly.
“Of course I’m annoyed. I save the fool from drowning, make sure he doesn’t die of a fever in the aftermath, and what does he do? Just up and goes back to work the next morning as if nothing at all out of the ordinary happened.”
“At least the sun has made a reappearance.”
“Well, I guess that’s something.”
When Maya laughed, Sunny looked up from her coffee, confused. “I fail to see the humor in this situation.”
“Of course not. You’re too busy being mad at the man you love.”
Sunny stared at Maya as if she’d lost her mind. “What in the name of heaven are you talking about?”
You know what she’s saying. You just don’t want to admit it, not even to yourself.
Shut up!
Maya leaned forward and pointed straight at Sunny. “You, my dear friend, are totally in love with your husband.”
“Maya Pine, if I had pulled you from the river yesterday and nursed you through the night only to have you—” she made a fluttering motion with her hand toward the front door “—not even take a day to recover, I’d be ticked at you too.”
Maya propped her chin in her upturned palm. “So you nursed him all night, huh?”
Sunny rolled h
er eyes, sat back and took a big gulp of her coffee while she tried not to think about how she was even wondering if Maya’s accusation could be true.
“What was I supposed to do? Let him fend for himself while he burned up with fever?”
“Why are you resisting the truth so much?”
“Because it’s not true.” It couldn’t be. “We’re just friends.”
That felt like a lie because it was. One did not kiss their “just a friend” like she’d kissed Dean only a few hours ago. She had the craziest thought that Maya might be able to tell Sunny’s lips had been kissed well and recently, so she brought the cup to her mouth again and drained it.
“I think you’re fighting the truth because you’re afraid to admit it. You’re afraid of caring about anyone else, afraid of losing them.”
“Wouldn’t you be in my position?”
“Yes, I would,” Maya said with surprising honesty. “But I also wouldn’t refuse to grab happiness wherever I could because you, of all people, know that life can be short. And what’s the use of living life avoiding being happy?”
“I’m not. That’s why I’m in this crazy position.” She gestured at the home in which they sat, Dean’s home. “I’ll be happy when Dad and the twins are with me in California, and I have a new position that gives me greater freedom to do what I want.”
Maya’s brows moved slightly toward each other, picking up on the new piece of information.
“I’m up for a promotion that will let me choose my clients. I fly to LA on Thursday to give the presentation to the panel making the decision about who to promote.”
Maya stared at her for a long moment before she lowered her gaze to her cup, which she fiddled with while seeming to try to figure out how to respond.
“I think you’re going to regret it if you get what you think you want.”
The Rancher's Unexpected Twins--A Clean Romance Page 20
