“You’re gonna be okay,” Amanda assured her, and looked back at me.
“Get her. Let’s go,” she said, standing back.
I picked her up and cuddled her up against my chest. She curled into me instead of lying limply in my arms, and that small fact helped ease my fear. She wasn’t lethargic. That was good.
“Come on, boys. You two go get in the Jeep,” she instructed, and went ahead of me to open doors for us.
Once we got to the Jeep, Amanda moved Jimmy to the front. She crawled into the back, then held out her arms. “Give Daisy to me. I’ll strap her in with me and hold her. You can drive this thing faster than I can.”
“Okay,” I agreed. I gave her Daisy, who went willingly. She didn’t know Amanda, but like the boys, she was willing to trust her completely. It was that angel’s face of hers. It was impossible for anyone to look like Amanda and be untrustworthy.
I ran around the Jeep and climbed in. We were speeding toward the hospital in seconds.
“How long has she had a fever, boys?” Amanda asked, looking back at them.
“Last night she felt warm and said her throat hurt. I gave her some Tylenol and put her to bed. Then all night she tossed and turned and cried. Her skin just got hotter and hotter,” Jimmy explained.
I was waiting on Amanda to ask why my mother hadn’t come home. Or if they had tried to call her. But she didn’t. Instead, she nodded. “Well, the two of you did a really good job taking care of her. No one else could have done a better job.”
If my little sister wasn’t sick and curled up in her lap, I’d grab Amanda’s face and kiss her. She had no idea how much those boys needed someone to affirm them. They never got that from anyone but me. Her praising them meant more than she could know.
“I shoulda called Preston sooner,” Jimmy said with a defeated sigh.
“You did exactly what you thought you should. You took care of her until you realized she needed a doctor. That’s all anyone else woulda known to do,” Amanda told him.
I pulled the Jeep up to the door of the emergency room and parked. They could tell me to move if they wanted to, but I was getting Daisy inside first.
Amanda handed her to me, and I took her straight through the doors.
The nurse at the reception desk gave me the usual annoyed look I got when I showed up with one of the kids. I’d been several times over the years.
“Sign in, please,” she said.
“It’s an emergency. Her fever is really high,” I explained.
“It’s the emergency room. Everyone in here has an emergency, I assure you. Now sign in please.” The woman’s bored tone infuriated me.
“She needs a doctor now. I can’t put her down and sign her in—she’s too sick to stand.” I tried not to snarl, but this woman was pushing me.
“Sign in,” she repeated.
My blood started to boil.
“What seems to be the problem?” Amanda’s voice interrupted the next words out of my mouth, which was probably a good thing.
“Y’all need to sign in and take a seat. He can’t seem to understand that.”
Amanda’s hand wrapped around my arm in a silent warning, and then she turned and walked over to the nurse coming out of a set of double doors.
“Hello, Diana. Could you please go tell Dr. Mike that I’m out here and I have a very sick little girl who needs to see him absolutely as soon as possible?”
“Yes, of course.” The nurse glanced back at me holding Daisy and motioned me toward her. “Y’all come on back with me.”
Amanda flashed her a grateful smile. “Thank you so much, Diana. We’re really worried about her. She’s been running a high fever for the past few hours.”
The nurse nodded and hurried to open back up the doors. Amanda walked over to me. “I’ll be right behind you. I’m going to go check on the boys and get them settled in the waiting room, and then I’ll head back.”
“They aren’t signed in or registered,” the lady behind the counter, who was determined I was not getting back there, said as she stood up.
The nurse frowned at the woman. “That’s okay. We’ll be sure to get the information we need. Amanda is Dr. Mike’s niece.”
For once in my life, I was thankful for Amanda Hardy’s social status in this town.
“Thank you,” I told her before following the nurse back.
Amanda
I don’t think I’d ever been so scared in my life. Keeping my cool wasn’t a strong point for me. I normally broke down in a fit of tears when things got tough. But seeing Preston’s panicked face had made something in me click. He needed me to be strong, so I was suddenly strong. It was the oddest thing. I knew he needed me, and I wanted to be there for him. Then I’d seen Daisy and my own panic had risen, but I’d managed to remain calm. Knowing they all needed someone to help them had made me act like an adult.
I left Jimmy and Brent in front of the television with sodas and bags of chips I’d bought from the vending machine, then headed back to find Preston and Daisy.
Diana was waiting at the desk when I came by, signing some papers. I’d gotten lucky that she had walked out of the doors just when I needed someone to recognize me. I’d been going to church with Diana since I was a little girl. She’d also dated my mother’s much younger half brother back when they were in high school. Now they worked together. I teased Uncle Mike about it whenever I had the chance.
“Come with me. We’ve got her hooked up to an IV, and we’re running tests already. Mike stuck his head in and looked her over on his way to stitch up a head injury. He’s coming back, but from his quick look, he believes it is strep. A pretty bad case, but she’ll be fine. We are waiting for the results of the strep test now. As soon as we know, we’ll start the antibiotics via IV.”
We stepped behind the curtain and found Preston pacing at the foot of the bed while Daisy slept peacefully. He stopped and looked at me. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I replied. “Uncle Mike thinks it’s strep. She’s going to be fine. Sit down and stop pacing.”
“I’ll be back in a few minutes to check in. I need to go help set a bone,” Diana said before disappearing behind the curtain that separated us from the rest of the patients.
“I don’t know how to thank you enough. You just . . .” He paused and shook his head. “Took over. When I saw her there in that bed, so fragile, I was terrified. But you handled everything. Then we get here and you get her the best service possible.”
“I’m glad I could help. Emergencies typically aren’t something I deal with well, but today I just knew we had to get her to a doctor. Luckily, I’m related to one.”
Preston stared at me a moment, and then a small smile touched his lips for the first time today. I was so happy to see that smile. “You’re amazing, and you don’t even know it.”
My face grew warm and I ducked my head. I wasn’t amazing, but hearing Preston say it like he meant it made me hope for something I knew I couldn’t have. I’d been there when he needed someone. He was feeling grateful. He didn’t suddenly find me attractive and want me. Those were two different things, and I needed to keep that in mind.
The curtain pulled back and Uncle Mike stepped inside. His dark brown hair was cut short but did that messy thing in the front that only guys who looked like him at thirty-four could get away with.
“There’s my favorite Hardy.” Uncle Mike beamed when he walked into the room. That was his favorite joke. Especially now that he hated my dad. He loved to tease Marcus about me being the favorite.
“Hey, Uncle Mike. Is she gonna be okay?” I asked.
“Yep. Kid’s got strep. Bad case of it. Needs constant supervision and care. She’ll be fine after about thirty-six hours of antibiotic, but it’s real important to watch her and keep fluids in her, as well as make her eat small amounts once she starts to feel like it. She is contagious, so you need to keep her away from the other kids if possible. Biggest threat is if they eat or drink from[LF60] the same dishes she used. Once she’s had about twenty-four hours of antibiotics, she won’t be contagious anymore.”
I nodded, then reached over and squeezed Preston’s hand. His fingers laced through mine, and he squeezed back. Uncle Mike’s gaze fell to our joined hands before he went back to looking at the chart in front of him.
“I’m getting her prescriptions printed out right now. We want to keep her here a little bit longer to get the first round of antibiotics in her through IV before you leave.”
“Yeah, of course. Thank you, Doctor,” Preston replied.
Uncle Mike looked at Preston. “She yours?” he asked, shifting his eyes to me, then back to Preston.
He thought Preston had a kid. No wonder he was acting weird about us holding hands.
“No, sir. Well, yeah. Daisy is my little sister. I take care of her when my mom needs me to.”
Uncle Mike seemed to relax a little. “That’s awfully nice of you. Most guys your age wouldn’t be so responsible with a younger sibling.”
Preston didn’t reply. This was making him uncomfortable. I didn’t know a lot about Preston’s mom, but I did know her trailer was filthy and she ran off and left her kids at home alone for days. That was enough to know that the kids relied on Preston a lot.
“Thank you for seeing her so fast. I owe you one,” I told him, walking over to give him a quick hug.
He pulled me up tightly against him and whispered in my ear, “Watch out for that one,” then dropped his arm and nodded one last time at Preston before walking outside our room and closing the curtain behind him.
I turned back to Preston. “She’s going to be okay.” This time I smiled in relief and walked over to wrap my arms around Preston. He might not want me to, but I needed to hug him. He’d been so upset, and now it was okay. I needed this hug.
Chapter Thirteen
Preston
I stood in the doorway of my bedroom and looked at the two girls asleep on my bed. Amanda had fallen asleep reading to Daisy, and the book lay across her stomach. By the time we’d gotten Daisy back here and I’d tracked down my mom, Daisy was determined she was keeping Amanda. She’d begged Amanda to stay, and when Amanda had gazed over at me for help, I’d agreed that Amanda staying was a great idea. So Amanda had gone to pick up a few things, including several of her favorite childhood books, while Daisy took an afternoon nap.
It had given me time to call my mom and get the boys back to her while I kept Daisy. She hadn’t even argued or come inside to check on her when she’d shown up to get the boys. I hated sending the boys back with her, but I couldn’t keep them. I’d have to get a court order, and my mother was just vengeful enough to refuse me. Even if she allowed me to the boys were better off separated from Daisy while she was sick. Besides, I couldn’t do this on my own. Momma may be the suckiest mother ever, but she was home a lot more than I was. Then when baseball season started up, I’d be too busy to sleep, much less take care of kids. It was a no-win situation. I had to keep reminding myself that I’d lived through my life with my mom, and I hadn’t had a big brother watching out for me.
Amanda’s hands slipped and the book started to fall to the floor, causing her to wake up. She blinked several times, then turned her head to check on Daisy, who was curled up sleeping peacefully beside her. Amanda reached over and brushed the hair out of Daisy’s face and checked her temperature with the back of her hand before slowly getting up. Her eyes found mine when she turned to walk to the door. She ran her hand through her hair in an attempt to tame whatever she’d messed up, then smiled at me.
“Guess I was tired too,” she whispered as I stepped back and let her out of the room.
I closed the door behind her. “Yeah, Daisy kept you pretty busy.”
Amanda chuckled softly. “She’s a sweetie. I enjoyed spending time with her.”
She had no idea how much it had meant to Daisy. Amanda was the first adult female to give her any attention. “Thank you. I don’t think I’d have made it today without your help. She’s never been that sick before. It was scary as shit.”
Amanda smiled up at me. “After what I witnessed with you today, I am convinced you’d have been just fine. Never would I have imagined that you’d be such a stellar big brother.”
The teasing lilt to her voice was sexy. Everything about her was sexy. And she had a small bag packed with her things so she could sleep over. I wasn’t going to be able to control myself. I needed something from her. The emotions swirling inside me were taking over. Everything from attraction to gratefulness to relief. We’d conquered something together today. I wanted to celebrate. With her.
“I’m going to go get a shower and go to bed, if that’s okay. Where do you want me to sleep?”
Where I wanted her to sleep and where she was going to sleep were two different things.
“I’m gonna make myself a bed on the floor in the bedroom. You can take the couch. Unless, of course, you’re up for sharing the couch. Then I’d be all in. I’m a really good bed buddy.”
Amanda’s eyes went wide before she let out a giggle. “As talented as I’m sure you are as a bed buddy, I think I’ll pass. I can always take the floor in the bedroom if you want me to.”
The one night of my life I get Amanda to stay the night in my apartment, she would not be sleeping on the floor. I wanted her on my couch. Actually, I wanted her in my bed, but Daisy was kind of occupying that at the moment. I was going to make sure Amanda used one of my pillows, though. That way, I’d have her scent for a while after she was gone.
“No, I insist. You’re sleeping on the couch.”
Amanda studied me a minute. I could see the concern and uncertainty in her eyes. She wanted to ask me something, and she couldn’t decide if she was going to or not. I’d stand here and let her think about it as long as she wanted to.
“Did the boys get home okay?” she finally asked.
Not exactly what I wanted to talk about. I knew where this was headed. “Yeah, my mom came and got them.”
“Are they, um, I mean, uh, do you think they’re gonna be okay . . . there . . . I mean . . . ,” she stammered nervously.
I walked over to the couch and sat down, then looked back at her. “They have a phone. If they need me, they’ll call.”