Prairie Fever

by Tessa Layne

“What is it, sweetheart? You feelin’ okay?”

  “Daddy?” her voice held a note of panic, and her eyes grew wide.

  In slow motion, it dawned on him what was happening, but before he could grab a bowl or jump out of the way, her stomach made a sickening gurgle, and his sweet little angel emptied the contents of her stomach all over the floor. And him.

  CHAPTER 23

  Oh­shit­damn­mother­fucker­what­the­fuck­am­I­supposed­to­do­now?

  Lulah let out a keening wail of horror. “I want mommy,” she bawled.

  “I know baby girl, I want mommy too.”

  Towel. He needed a towel. Breathing through his mouth, he opened the cabinets searching for the towels. Jesus. He’d lived here most of his life, why couldn’t he find the towels. Who went and rearranged shit after he’d moved out? He found them in a bin underneath the sink. “It’s gonna be okay, sweetie pie, just let me–”

  Her stomach made that awful sound again, and somehow, with the speed of one of the Crouching Tiger characters, he managed to whip out the trash can and catch most of the contents as they hurtled out of her. Oh, his poor girl.

  Now she was sobbing loudly, screaming for Suzannah.

  “I know, I know, honey.” He could hardly think through the buzzing in his ears. “Let’s get you cleaned up. Here.” He wiped off her face and threw another towel on her lap. He grabbed a third towel and tossed it to the floor. He’d get the sick cleaned up later, but right now he had to get her out of her clothes. Wait. Water. She needed water. Her mouth must taste like shit.

  He filled a glass and handed it to her. “Take a sip and spit it out, okay? It will make your mouth taste better.” He held out the trash can. Thank heavens she was old enough to know how to spit out water. He set the glass on the table. “Okay, let’s get you out of these clothes.” He helped her pull her arms inside her shirt. Fuck, she definitely had a fever, her torso felt like a furnace.

  “C-c-cold, Daddy,” she chattered when he’d tossed her shirt to the floor.

  “I know sweetie. You don’t feel good. But we’re gonna get you all better. Let’s get you out of these yucky pants.”

  Gunnar worked as fast as he could, pulling off shoes then socks, stripping her down to the Spiderman underpants she insisted on wearing. Picking her up, he carried her upstairs to his parents’ room. “Let’s see if we can find one of Besta’s shirts to put on.” He rifled through her drawers until he found a K-State tee. It would be enormous on Lulah, but it was clean. He pulled it over her head. “Here you are, baby. Now you’re a Wildcat.”

  “I want mommy.” Her lower lip stuck out, trembling.

  “I’m gonna call her right now. Here, why don’t you crawl under the covers? I’ll be right here.” He pulled back the bedspread and helped her settle. Keeping his hand on her back, doing his best to soothe his sweet girl, he dialed Suzannah again. “Hey there. So, ah… we had a little incident…”

  “I’m sick mommy,” Lulah wailed.

  Great. That was sure to worry Suzannah unnecessarily. “But I’ve got it under control.” At least as much as he could right now. “So, ah… give us a call?”

  He puffed his cheeks, blowing out a breath. What in the hell was he supposed to do? He hadn’t read the What to do when your baby gets sick chapters in the parenting books, because he figured Suzannah would always be around to take care of Lulah if she got sick. And of course, his books were stacked on the bedside table in the bunkhouse. To make matters worse, his laptop was back at the bungalow. But his phone. He could google from his phone. He punched in ‘4yo fever vomiting’. He scanned the results, growing more terrified with each entry. Meningitis? Measles? Scarlet Fever? It seemed fever and vomiting could be attributed to everything from mild childhood illness to life-threatening situations. And how was one supposed to know the difference? He closed the browser and scrolled through his contacts. Maddie would know, and she researched everything.

  “Hey, Gunn. Blake mentioned you had quite a morning.”

  He cut right to the chase. “Lulah just puked all over the kitchen floor, and she’s burning up. I have no idea where the thermometer is, or what to do, and I can’t reach Suzannah.” Fuck. He sounded pathetic. He tried to keep the concern from his voice, but this shit was serious. How was he supposed to help his baby girl? Worse, what if this somehow damaged her heart? He froze, stomach hollow, hands trembling.

  Maddie muffled the phone, and he could hear a deep voice responding to whatever it was that she’d said. “Hang tight. I’ll be over in a few.”

  “I’m upstairs in mom and dad’s bedroom. Back door is open.”

  Twenty minutes later, Maddie still hadn’t arrived. Gunnar paced the bedroom floor as Lulah slept fitfully. Is this what it had been like for Suzannah when she’d found out about Lulah’s heart? Had she experienced the same sense of sick helplessness, the paralyzing fear? No. It had to have been a thousand times worse for her. Still, he was more than a little freaked out. What if this was something more serious than the flu? She was his world, and he couldn’t imagine her not in it.

  He picked up the phone to try Suzannah again, just as Maddie’s name appeared on the screen. “Where are you?” he barked.

  “Road washed out. I’m so sorry.”

  He fisted his hand, swallowing a curse. And took a deep breath. “What do I do? Tell me what to do?”

  “I think your mom has some children’s Motrin in her medicine cabinet. I brought it over when Henry was teething.”

  “Is it still good?” He was already at the top of the stairs, bounding down two at a time. If his mother hadn’t ‘rearranged’ it, the cupboard closest to the back door held first aid supplies.

  “It should be fine.”

  He flung open the cabinet, rifling through the bottles until he found a purple and white bottle marked Children’s Motrin. “Found it.”

  “And you’re sure it’s marked for children?”

  “Yep. And it’s got one of those cup things.”

  “Okay, good. She’s probably just got a little bug, Gunn. It’s nothing to worry about. I promise.”

  Tell that to the fear monster currently chewing through his belly. “What if–”

  “Gunnar,” Maddie cut in firmly. “Chill. She’s fine. Kids get sick all the time. You can handle this. A colicky horse is much more serious.”

  Oh.

  Well, yeah. That was a life-threatening situation for the horse. “So are you saying I’m overreacting?”

  Maddie chuckled. “Just a little. But it’s understandable. The first time Henry got a fever, I called your mom, terrified. Just be sure to make her drink plenty of fluids, even if she doesn’t like it. Little kids get dehydrated super quick.”

  Fluids. He could do fluids like a champ. “I’ll call if I need anything else.” He hung up and grabbed the water glass he’d left on the table and took it upstairs with the medicine. He measured out the grape flavored goo, and then gently shook Lulah. “Here princess, this will make you feel better.”

  She made a face and shook her head back and forth. “Yucky.”

  “I know, but we’ve gotta get your fever down.”

  “Where’s mommy?”

  The question punched him in the gut. He wanted her just as badly. “She’s stuck at work hon. But she’ll get here as quick as she can.” He had no idea how that would work with the road washed out, but he’d tell her anything to get her to take her medicine. “Please, honey? Let’s just take a sip.” He airplaned the purple goo. “On three. One, two, three.” Surprisingly, it worked, and she opened her mouth, then promptly grimaced. “Good girl. I’m so proud of you.” Lulah glared at him, and if hadn’t been so worried, he’d have laughed. He drew his finger down her nose. “I love you, baby girl. I’m always gonna be right here for you, ’kay?”

  “Love you too, Daddy,” she murmured, eyes growing heavy.

  Gunnar’s throat squeezed tight. His heart thumped harder, feeling like it might burst from his ribs. Until this moment, he’d nev
er experienced anything more beautiful in the world than a sunrise in the Flint Hills. But hearing the words I love you from the mouth of his child, his sweet angel, sick as she might be, eclipsed everything. He’d had no idea his heart could become so full, and yet here it was, painfully expanding right out of his chest. He dropped a kiss onto her hot forehead, squeezing his eyes shut and committing the moment to memory. This moment would be one he remembered on his deathbed.

  Rising, he went to the window and pulled back the curtain. The rain still came down, but not so heavy at the moment. He grabbed the phone and sent a text to Suzannah, wanting to outline half a dozen concerns, at least. Instead, he settled for keeping it simple.

  G: Gave Lulah Motrin. And water.

  With another curse, he tossed the phone to the far side of the bed, trying his damndest not to give in to irritation over not reaching her. This was his karmic payback for not answering the phone earlier. Served him right for ignoring her when she needed him. He’d feel better once he heard Suzannah’s voice, and received her assurance that Lulah was fine. But he handled thousand pound beasts for a living, a toddler’s illness wasn’t about to bring him to his knees.

  Careful to avoid waking Lulah, he settled himself next to her, placing a hand on her back, to reassure himself she was still breathing. There was nothing to do now, but wait. He shut his eyes and tried to calm his breathing. Suzannah would call as soon as she got off work.

  It was dark when the phone startled him from a dreamless sleep. “Suzannah?” he mumbled, groggy.

  “Gunnar it’s Dottie. I’m at the hospital with Suzannah.”

  CHAPTER 24

  Gunnar sat bolt upright, adrenaline turning his mouth to copper. “WHAT?” Next to him, Lulah started. He lowered his voice. “Where is she? Is she okay? What happened?” He clutched the bedspread, willing her with all his heart to be okay. He couldn’t lose her, not after all they’d been through, not after what they’d shared this morning. It didn’t matter that this morning felt like years ago. He glanced over at Lulah, sleeping peacefully now that the medicine had kicked in, hardly able to breathe. His family would not be snatched from him like this.

  “She’s got whatever this bug that’s going around and got very dehydrated. Passed out when she returned to the clinic. Fortunately, Gloria was still there and heard the crash.”

  “Wait. Where had she been?” Gunnar offered a silent word of thanks to Gloria, picturing what might have happened if Suzannah had been alone.

  “I don’t have all the details. Some big accident west of town. She went to help.”

  “Of course she did.” Because she never said no when it came to taking care of others. He scowled, grim determination settling in his bones. That was it. As soon as she was well, they were going to have a chat about her self-care, or lack of it. He’d brought it up a few times over the month they’d lived together, once he’d realized how she was burning the midnight oil on paperwork. But the second he raised the issue, she firmly shut him down. No more. Not when she was jeopardizing her safety. “Where are you?”

  Via Christi. But don’t you dare think of dragging that sick little girl up here. Suzannah’s gonna be fine. She’s sleeping right now and they want to keep her overnight for observation. She hit her head when she collapsed, but they don’t think she has a concussion. Just a goose-egg.”

  “You sure she’s gonna be okay?”

  “I promise. I’m gonna spend the night up here with a friend of mine, and I’ll bring her right to you as soon as they release her. Don’t you worry about a thing, except keeping Lulah full of fluids.”

  “Noted.” He snuck a peek at her, then looked at her water glass, still mostly full. As soon as he got off the phone, he’d wake her up and make her take a drink.

  “We need to talk about the clinic.”

  “We need to close the clinic until further notice,” he growled. “I don’t want it reopened until we have a board meeting and we agree to hire some additional help. We were naive to think one doctor would be enough.”

  “I don’t disagree. You know that. But you also know who’s going to have a conniption.”

  “I don’t give a rat’s ass if Sanchez, the Brewer, or the Appleberrys quit the board over this. We burned her out and I won’t stand for it.”

  “Glad to see you finally stepping into the role,” Dottie answered wryly. “I’ll make calls once–”

  Gunnar cut her off. “No. I’ll make the calls, and I’m gonna make it damn clear I won’t tolerate any shenanigans when we meet.”

  *

  “Drink your water, baby doll.” Gunnar held out the plastic cup toward Lulah as they sat on the back porch slider.

  She took the cup with her pudgy hands and pretended to sip.

  “More,” Gunnar said. “Did you even take a sip?”

  Lulah giggled and shot him a sly grin.

  The tight knot that had taken up residence in his chest over the last few days began to loosen. Her laughter delighted him, and assured him she’d come through her bout of norovirus with flying colors.

  “When will mommy be here?”

  “Two winks.”

  She blinked her eyes. “One… Two. Is she here yet?”

  He reached over to tickle her. “No, silly girl. I bet she’ll be here in fifty seconds. Can you count to fifty?”

  He couldn’t blame Lulah’s impatience. He was as antsy to see Suzannah as she was. He’d had the scare of his life with both of them, and he just wanted to touch her, hold her, assure himself she was still flesh and bone.

  Lulah counted to fifty three times before he heard Dottie’s car on the long drive. “She’s here, princess.”

  Lulah bounced on the seat next to him. He bounced with her, triggering peals of laughter. “You’re not ’posed to do that, daddy.”

  “No? Why not? I’m excited to see mommy too.” He bounced some more, just so he could hear her laugh another time. And to hide his nervous anticipation. When she stepped out of Dottie’s car, he jumped off the slider, grinning like a damned fool. But ask him if he cared? His heart just kept expanding the deeper he fell for the ladies he loved.

  He stopped within touching distance, drinking her in. It had only been a little over forty-eight hours since he’d left her standing on the porch, lips plump from their kissing, yet it felt like a lifetime.

  Lulah launched herself at Suzannah with a shout. “Mommy!”

  Suzannah swept Lulah into her arms. “I heard you were sick.”

  Lulah nodded. “But Daddy tooked care of me.”

  Suzannah slid a glance his direction. “Did he, now?”

  “He let me have popsicles.”

  “Did he, now?”

  Busted. But Lulah liked them better than water, and since they were stuck in the house…

  “Totally okay,” she said in his direction. “I’m just glad to be home.”

  He couldn’t stop smiling. “Hi, beautiful,” he said when she turned his direction, Lulah on her hip.

  Her smile matched his, lighting her face like sunshine. “Hi. I missed you.”

  He pulled both his ladies close, inhaling deeply as Suzannah ducked under his chin. “I was so worried.”

  “Me too.” Her arm wrapped around him, squeezing tight for emphasis.

  “Don’t ever let me go.”

  “Never. You either.”

  “No way. You’re stuck with me.”

  She tilted her chin, eyes shining. “Promise?

  “Yes. You?”

  She nodded, smile widening, letting out a small laugh when Lulah interjected. “Is this a Lulah sandwich?”

  Dottie joined in their laughter, and Gunnar could have sworn her eyes were a little misty. “See you at the diner at seven?”

  Gunnar nodded, growing serious again. “Hope and Ben offered to take Lulah during the meeting.

  “Suzannah,” Dottie said briskly. “Don’t you worry about a thing. Understand?”

  *

  Suzannah checked the notes on her table
t one last time as Gunnar pulled into the mud-filled parking lot next to Dottie’s Diner. A typically fifteen-minute drive had expanded into a forty-five-minute adventure thanks to Steele Creek still running over the bridge next to the Hansen spread. But Lulah was happily ensconced at home with Auntie Hope and Uncle Ben, whose drive had been much shorter. She shook off the trepidation that lurked at the edges of her conscious. She’d created an airtight proposal. If the board didn’t go for it, well… she had some serious thinking to do if they didn’t.

  Gunnar reached across the dash and gave her arm a squeeze. “You’ve got this, babe. We’ve got this. Your ideas are fantastic. Prairie could become a model for rural communities across the west.”

  “Do you think they’ll go for it?”

  “They’re fools if they don’t.” His hand moved to the base of her skull. “Are you okay with a kiss?”

  Butterflies took flight in her belly. “I’ve been fever free for over twenty-four hours. You?”

  “No fever. I feel great.” His mouth drew up into a sly smile. “And I’ll feel a helluva lot better when you let me kiss you.”

  She bit her lip, but even that wasn’t enough to stop the goofy grin from spreading across her face. “They say laughter is the best medicine,” she started, a breathless note to her voice. “But really, it’s kissing.”

  Gunnar’s eyebrows shot up, eyes crinkling with mirth. “That so?”

  She nodded. “My expert medical opinion.”

  Desire flickered in his eyes. “Well, I’m not one to disobey doctor’s orders.”

  She met him halfway, jamming her fingers into his hair, kissing him like she’d been starved. He kissed her back until she was dizzy, breath coming in shallow bursts. She’d have happily stayed in the truck, necking, but a rap sounded at Gunnar’s window.

  “You’re fogging up the windows, kids.” Blake Sinclaire admonished with a smirk. “You might want to refrain until after the board meeting? Don’t want to give anyone reason to accuse you of conflict of interest.” He winked and took Maddie by the hand, helping her navigate the parking lot-turned-moat.