Happy Endings

by Rhondeau, Chantel

  Shifting sideways, she put her lips to his forehead, testing the way she remembered her mom doing when she was young. The heat from him seared through her mouth. Definitely not normal body heat from sleeping. Quinn had a fever.

  Outside of the circle of light from the kerosene lamp, it was complete darkness in the cave. She had no notion of what time it was, but it had to be the middle of the night since no light penetrated through the waterfall.

  Morning couldn’t come fast enough. She knew Quinn tried to not let on how much he hurt, and she’d ignored his grimaces to save his dignity. There was no hiding the fever, however, and it was a bad one.

  First things first, she had to get his temperature lower. With no medicine, her only option was cool water. She climbed out of the blanket and found her shirt. It was nearly dry. The light fabric would work well as a washcloth.

  Shuffling her feet across the area, she made her way carefully to the waterfall and plunged the shirt inside it, gripping tightly to keep the force of the water from ripping it away.

  Once it was soaked, she walked back to Quinn, crouching beside him and placing the shirt across his forehead.

  He jumped and recoiled away, ripping the shirt off and hugging his arms to his body. His teeth chattered and he moaned something incoherent.

  “Quinn, you have to hold still.” She retrieved the shirt to put it on him again.

  His eyes cracked open, and even in the low light, she saw how they watered. “Rissa,” he mumbled groggily, “what’re you doin’?”

  Even that much speech seemed an effort for him.

  “You have a fever. We need to get your temperature lower. I’m sorry about this.” She clapped her hand across his head, thwarting his feeble attempts to push her away. “Try to sleep.”

  “I’m thirsty,” he complained.

  She didn’t doubt it. Considering how hot he felt, he would dehydrate at a rapid rate if she didn’t keep fluids inside him.

  “Don’t move the shirt,” she ordered, snagging one of the empty bottles and filling it with water from the falls before coming back to his side.

  Larissa slid her arm beneath his neck, helping prop Quinn up so he could drink.

  When some of the water splashed out of his mouth and down his neck, he began shuddering uncontrollably. “It’s freezing.”

  Trying to blink back tears, the helplessness of the situation threatened to overwhelm her. How long would it be before someone realized they were missing? She didn’t dare leave Quinn on his own. Besides, she had never been in a rain forest and didn’t know how to begin getting home. She supposed she could follow the stream from the pool to the beachfront, and then walk around the island to reach the resort. She wouldn’t get lost, but it would take days. Quinn might not have days if this fever worsened.

  She had to get his temperature under control. Remembering an old remedy for fevers, Larissa found Quinn’s socks, dipping them into the waterfall and returning to his side.

  “Quinn, sweetie, this is going to be really cold, but I have to do it.”

  Feeling somewhat guilty for freezing him, she pushed the blanket away from his legs and grabbed his left foot, being careful not to move it more than she had to in order to fit one of the socks beneath his ankle. With quick motions, she wrapped the length of the sock around his lower calf and then under his foot, pulling it back to the front and tying the ends together.

  “Holy shit!” Quinn squirmed, jerking his foot back but then crying out with pain. “Damn it. What are you doing to me?”

  “I have to, Quinn.”

  When she took a hold of his right foot, Quinn did his best to fend her off. However, the fever made him so weak that he wasn’t a match for her. Within a few moments she had the foot wrapped in the cold sock.

  Quinn muttered curses under his breath, and Larissa knew she wasn’t his favorite person at the moment, but they didn’t have any other options.

  She sat on the hard stone and scooted toward Quinn’s head. He’d knocked the shirt off again. She replaced it, making soothing sounds and stroking his wet hair.

  If this didn’t work, they were in more trouble than she could manage.

  All she could do was stay awake, keep the clothes on his body wet and cool, and pray someone came for them soon.

  ***

  Quinn woke feeling bleary. His head pounded horribly and sweat covered his body. He forced his eyes open, squinting against the light coming into the cave. It felt like a vice squeezed his head. The light made the pain worse.

  Larissa sat next to him. Although she stayed upright, her head kept nodding onto her chest.

  Had she stayed up all night taking care of him?

  “Larissa?”

  She startled and sat bolt upright, staring around the area in apparent confusion. When her eyes met his, she smiled. “You’re okay.”

  His headache begged to differ. “How can you tell?”

  “The last few times you woke up, you didn’t know who I was.” She leaned forward, putting her lips against his head. “Thank goodness. Your fever broke. I’ve been so afraid.”

  He couldn’t remember much of anything. The last thing that he knew for certain was a memory and not a feverish dream, had been eating the fruit Shane packed. “How long have I been sick?”

  “Just overnight.” She slipped her hand beneath his neck and brought a water bottle to his lips. “You need to keep drinking.”

  Quinn obeyed, even though the simple act of rising enough to drink made him feel as though he’d went on an all-night bender and drank everything in a bar. He really must have hit his head hard when he fell.

  “Thanks for taking care of me,” he said after she got him settled flat against the blanket.

  She nodded and stood. “I’m just glad the wet clothes worked.” Turning away from him, she put on her underclothing and shimmied into her pants. “I need to go get that papaya I found yesterday so we have something to eat. Do you think you’ll be okay while I’m gone? It shouldn’t take long.”

  Worry lines etched her face in deep creases and she chewed a fingernail as she stared out at the cave entrance. She looked exhausted.

  “Damn it.” Quinn snorted in frustration. “I sure know how to show you a good time, don’t I? I wouldn’t blame you if you never want to see me again.”

  “What?” She turned back to face him, a crease between her eyebrows. “How can you say that? After everything we shared, why would you think I wouldn’t want to see you again?”

  Now she seemed angry. Quinn was good at reading women, for sure.

  “I’m disappointed,” he said. “That’s all. I wanted to show you a good time and instead...”

  Her face softened and she nodded. “Instead the horses run off, we’re starving, and I spent the night wondering if you were going to die.”

  “Yeah. The stuff dream dates are made of.”

  “It makes our relationship unique.” She knelt down, kissing him softly. “Think of the story we’ll have to tell when people ask about how we met.”

  He chuckled, glad she seemed to be taking all of this so well. Also, if she thought people would ask how they met, she must plan on sticking around for a while. That was all promising.

  “All right, then.” He ran a hand across her cheek, staring deep into her eyes and hoping she could sense the emotions he wasn’t yet ready to talk about. “I’m putting my life in your hands. Quite the role reversal, isn’t it? I’ll stay home while you go hunt for our breakfast.”

  She laughed and stood back up, grabbing his shirt off the ground and pulling it on over her bra. “Hardly hunting, but I’ll be happy to bring food home to my man.”

  Quinn was still smiling when she slipped on her shoes, blew him a kiss, and left.

  ***

  After a search of the area, Larissa finally found a stick long enough to reach the fruit. As much fun as it was flirting with Quinn about him being her man, her mood wasn’t as jovial as she tried to pretend. They were in serious trouble.


  She’d hoped that as soon as the sun rose, Quinn’s family would come storming up to the meadow, ready to rescue them. Unfortunately, they were taking longer to get here than she would prefer. So far, the only good thing that had happened today was the storm clouds cleared up.

  Jumping as high as she could while swinging the stick, Larissa worked steadily at getting a few more papaya free. She wanted to take back as much as she could carry, that way she didn’t have to leave Quinn alone again. Although his fever had broken, she was worried about his health. He swallowed all that water into his lungs and the gash against his skull was a nasty one. He could have infection anywhere from his lungs to his brain, not to mention whatever was wrong with his leg.

  As she gathered the fruit, a whirring sound broke through her concentration, competing with the singing birds and the sounds of running water.

  She knew that sound. A helicopter!

  Larissa stared up at the sky, searching for source of the sound and praying it wasn’t a resort guest taking a tour, but Quinn’s family looking for them.

  Dropping the fruit, she took off at a run for the meadow. Whether tourist or rescue party, no one would ever see her down in the trees like this, and Quinn had mentioned his brothers and sister didn’t know about the cave behind the fall. She had to get where they could see her.

  The helicopter came into view just as Larissa broke through the trees.

  She waved her arms above her head as she ran. “Here, here,” she screamed as loud as she could. “We’re down here.”

  Even though she knew the people in the helicopter couldn’t possibly hear her, she continued waving and screaming.

  Within a few moments, the helicopter was right overhead and began to descend into the clearing.

  Larissa backed up to the trees, sagging with relief against the nearest one.

  Quinn had been right. His family came for them. They could get him to a hospital now and everything would be okay.

  The possibility of infection lurked in the back of her mind, taunting her with worry, but Larissa pushed that thought away. Quinn would be fine. He had to be.

  Because she just might be falling for him.

  ***

  The trip down the pathway to the helicopter was excruciating. The only thing that made it bearable for Quinn was the fact that Larissa sat next to him in the chopper, holding his hand. He hoped he wasn’t bruising her hand by squeezing so hard when they took off, but it was either that or cry.

  A man crying was not sexy.

  “I’m sorry about this,” he mouthed, not wanting Brad or the pilot listening in to their conversation over the headsets.

  Larissa shook her head and then kissed his cheek, putting reassuring pressure against his palm.

  What had he done to deserve this chance with her? Maybe his hard work for his family had paid off in some cosmic way or something. He gave up art for the good of the family, and through his job was able to meet Larissa. It was a fair trade. After all, she seemed perfect in every way.

  Just thinking about the way her ex had treated her got Quinn’s protective instincts all tangled and snarling. The fact that Jacob’s idiocy led to Quinn being able to date her was the only thing that made it okay. But he still hated how shy and ashamed she’d been to show him her chest.

  Sure, he’d felt the scars across her breast, but he admired her for them. And, he admitted to himself, she had nice tits, even with the scars. He had to get his leg better fast so he’d have another chance to grope them.

  “It’s good to see you’re still smiling,” Brad shouted into his headset over the whirring of the helicopter blades. “I couldn’t believe it when Shadow and Sunfire showed up this morning. I knew something must have gone wrong.”

  “I’m just glad you came up in the helicopter,” Quinn replied. “I couldn’t have gotten out of here on horseback.”

  Larissa frowned. “Are you doing okay? How bad is the pain?”

  “I’m thinking of other things to keep my mind off it.” Quinn wiggled his eyebrows. “Luckily, you gave me memories to distract me.”

  Brad folded his arms and turned away, scowling out the side window.

  Larissa’s cheeks turned bright pink. “You mean the way I got you back into drawing, right?”

  The helicopter shifted to the side, causing Quinn to hiss in pain as his leg slid on the bench.

  Luckily, his discomfort was enough to make Larissa forget her embarrassment. “Be careful,” she scolded the pilot. “No sudden movements.”

  “Sorry ma’am,” the pilot replied.

  Even though Quinn knew the man was doing the best he could, he’d rather have Larissa upset with the pilot’s flying skills rather than Quinn’s momentary lack of tact around his brother.

  A short time later, the pilot prepared to land on the helipad next to the island’s clinic, just as Larissa had firmly ordered when they first climbed inside.

  Since Brad had called ahead once they were within cell phone range, the area exploded into activity as soon as they touched down.

  Dr. Carl Peterson rolled a wheelchair up to the helicopter, his nurse by his side.

  “Brad, you’re going to have to help me lift him down here,” the doctor said. “If there’s a chance he broke something, I want to keep it as still as we can.”

  “I don’t think it’s broken,” Larissa hurried to explain, “but there’s something wrong with it. I was going to massage it out, but I was afraid to without x-rays first.”

  Quinn grunted when the men lifted him down to the waiting chair. “Besides the fact that it hurts like a bitch.” He reclaimed her hand as soon as Brad moved out of the way. “Don’t leave me, Larissa.”

  She trotted alongside them as Dr. Peterson wheeled Quinn toward the clinic. “Of course not,” she said. “I’m here for you.”

  When they got inside, Dr. Peterson shot rapid-fire questions at Larissa, and she explained what happened from her perspective.

  “And how long from when he screamed until you got him breathing again?” The doctor asked.

  Larissa shook her head and shrugged. “It felt like forever, but it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes.”

  Nurse Betty, Dr. Peterson’s wife and partner in the clinic, checked Quinn’s vital signs while the doctor made notes about Larissa’s story. “He’s running a fever,” Betty reported.

  “He ran one all night,” Larissa said. “I did my best to get it lowered, but I’m afraid of an infection in his head wound or something. Maybe his lungs, I—”

  Dr. Peterson held up a hand to stop Larissa, who was beginning to sound panicky again. “We’ll take good care of him, don’t worry. Betty, start an IV. He needs to be hydrated and we have to get his pain under control so we can get him on the x-ray table.”

  Once Betty had accomplished that and attached a bag of fluids to the line, the doctor injected something that soon eased Quinn’s pain and made him feel as though he were floating.

  “Whatever that is, Doc, keep it coming.” Quinn closed his eyes, enjoying the first sense of relief he’d had since falling.

  “Morphine,” Peterson said. “Works every time. Now, let’s get those pictures before it wears off.”

  “Can Larissa come?” Quinn asked.

  “Not to x-ray. She has to wait here.”

  “Don’t worry.” Larissa squeezed his shoulder. “I told you, I’m not going anywhere.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  John McCallister walked into the clinic while Larissa waited for Quinn to get back from x-ray. “What the hell happened?”

  Larissa widened her eyes, surprised at his harsh tone. He usually seemed so calm and in control. “The horses ran off. Quinn tried to call for help but fell and hit his head.” Okay, that simplified everything that happened in between those two events, but John didn’t need every detail.

  “Is he going to be okay?”

  Larissa shrugged. She thought this feeling of helplessness would go away once the helicopter had come to rescue them.
Instead, it had deepened. Everyone seemed to think she should have the answers. “I sure hope so, but you’ll need to ask the doctor.”

  John lowered himself into the chair next to her, running a hand across his eyes. “Susan’s been out of her mind with worry ever since Brad called to say the horses showed up without you guys. We shouldn’t have forced you into a date. This is our fault.”

  By that reasoning, it was also their fault she’d slept with a man she hardly knew, their fault that she might be falling for him. She kept telling herself she knew better than that. She couldn’t really care about someone she’d know such a short time, but Quinn sure made her feel special and sexy and wanted. She hadn’t had that for a long time.

  “Please don’t apologize for making Quinn take me out. We had a nice time until the storm came.” Well, and a bit after the storm, but that was definitely too much information.

  John looked at her and his gray eyes, so like his son’s, pierced into her. “It went... well?”

  She smiled. He sounded surprised. “Quinn showed me his artwork and even sketched a picture of me.” Her smile faltered. “Dang it. I left it there in all the confusion.”

  “He showed you his artwork?” If anything, John looked even more surprised. “He doesn’t even think I know about that cave. I’ve been so worried since he stopped going there and I saw how he tucked away all his old paintings and sketches.”

  Larissa wondered if she should tell John how much pressure Quinn felt coming at him from the family. It probably wasn’t her place. “He said he wanted to take up drawing again. He wants to sketch me on the beach.”

  John’s shoulders relaxed and he smiled. “Perfect. That kid needs balance. I hope you stick around, Larissa. He needs someone like you in his life.”

  Well, at least she had that stress out of the way. It was always easier if a man’s family approved of the person he dated. Not only had they initially set them up, it seemed the McCallisters would be perfectly happy for Larissa to continue dating their son. “I plan on it, sir.”

  ***

  Betty wheeled Quinn back into the examination room. Larissa had stayed, as promised, but his dad also sat next to her.