“You don’t need to do that,” Drew said.
“Save your voice and go.” Annie gave her a nudge and then watched with concern as Drew wobbled toward the bathroom. Images of Drew falling in the shower and hitting her head flashed through her mind. “Will you be okay alone in there?”
Drew grabbed on to the door frame and turned to face Annie. Dimples formed in her flushed cheeks. “If I say no, will you come in with me?”
Instead of being annoyed about the flirting, Annie couldn’t help smiling. “Are you on any medication, or is your fever causing these hallucinations?”
Drew laughed. The sound quickly turned into coughing. She bent over and gasped for breath.
Annie took a step toward her. She didn’t like seeing Drew suffer. “Maybe I should take you to a doctor.”
After straightening, Drew lifted a hand. “No doctor. It’s just a simple cold. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay,” Annie said after a moment’s hesitation. “But if it gets any worse than this, I’m taking you to the ER.”
Drew nodded and stepped into the bathroom.
Clothing rustled behind the closed door. Annie waited until the water started in the shower. Reassured when she heard no sounds of a fall or cries for help, she picked up the crumpled tissues and threw them into the trash can. She opened the window, letting in fresh air, before she walked back to the bed. One touch showed her that the sheets were soaked with sweat, so she stripped them off. When she straightened with her arms full of damp bedding, she realized she didn’t know where Drew kept sheets and pillowcases. She heaped the pile of laundry onto the floor and knocked on the bathroom door. “Drew?” She opened the door just an inch, careful not to peek in Drew’s direction. “Where do you keep fresh sheets?”
The water was shut off in the shower. “In the linen closet in the hallway. But you don’t need to—”
“I know. I don’t mind, really.” Annie didn’t. She found that she liked taking care of Drew. When she heard the shower door slide back, she quickly closed the bathroom door and went to get fresh bedding from the linen closet.
When she stepped into the hallway, Cab jumped up from his place next to the bedroom door and ran after her with a faded yellow tennis ball in his mouth. He dropped the ball in front of Annie’s feet and looked at her.
“Sorry, Cab, maybe later. First, I need to take care of your mom.” Annie pulled a fresh set of sheets from the closet and returned to the bedroom. While she made the bed, she let her gaze trail around the room.
A large bookcase filled the wall to her right. Annie tilted her head to read the titles on the book spines.
Wines of Europe
stood next to
Moby Dick
and a few
Babylon 5
paperbacks. One shelf held books with titles such as
None So Blind
,
Backwards to Oregon
, and
Tropical Storm
.
Are those lesbian romances?
She was tempted to find out, but Drew would be out soon. While she straightened the sheets, she looked at the gold and silver trophies on the bookcase’s top shelf.
The engraving told her that Drew had won first and second places in archery competitions five years in a row.
Not this year, though. Is that because her parents died?
She sat on the edge of the bed and put a fresh pillow case on the pillow. Her glance fell on the photo on the bedside table. A couple was strolling through a vineyard, a little girl with long, curly hair riding on the man’s strong shoulders. A broad grin dimpled the girl’s cheeks and revealed a gap where one tooth was missing.
Annie smiled back at the girl, who seemed so happy with her parents.
The bathroom door swished open, letting a cloud of steam escape into the bedroom.
When Annie glanced up, Drew leaned in the doorway, clad in just a large towel that was wrapped around her upper body. Annie gaped at the damp skin of Drew’s muscular shoulders and then took in her bare thighs.
“I forgot to take a fresh T-shirt with me into the bathroom,” Drew said. The towel parted when she bent over a drawer.
Annie wrenched her gaze away. “I’ll ... uh ... I think I’ll get a few groceries for you.”
Drew straightened and turned, then swayed.
“Careful!” Annie hurried over and wrapped one arm around Drew to steady her.
“Just turned too quickly and got a bit woozy,” Drew murmured against Annie’s shoulder.
A fresh ocean-breeze scent drifted up from Drew’s skin, and Annie became aware of Drew’s warmth pressed against her side, separated by just a towel. “I think you’re running a fever. You’re really hot.”
“Oooh, thank you. I’m glad you think so.” One dimple made a momentary appearance as Drew grinned at her.
“You’re impossible. You know what I mean.” Annie guided Drew to the bed and pressed her down on it. “Sit before you fall down. Where are your sleep shirts?”
Drew pointed to one of the drawers. “And ... um ... can you get me a pair of clean underwear too? They’re in the bottom drawer.”
Her cheeks now probably as red as Drew’s, Annie got the two items of clothing from the drawers and handed them over without glancing at the black panties. “I’ll get the groceries now.”
“Annie?” Drew called after her.
Already at the door, Annie turned.
“Thank you,” Drew said. “There’s a set of keys on the table in the hall. Take them. Then you can let yourself in.”
Annie nodded.
Fetching Drew’s underwear and having my own set of keys. You’d think I really was her girlfriend.
* * *
Normally, Annie bought only the bare necessities when she went grocery shopping. But this time, as she unpacked the paper bags, she realized she had gone overboard.
Three different kinds of teas, half a dozen bottles of Gatorade, cough medicine, nose spray, a package of Tylenol, three boxes of tissues, and fresh fruit covered the counter while the soup heated on the stove.
She placed a bowl of soup, sage tea, and the medicine on a tray. Cab shadowed her as she tiptoed upstairs with the tray and opened the bedroom door.
Drew lay in bed with her eyes closed and the covers pulled up to her chin. Her usually tan face had gone pale.
Cab squeezed past Annie and ran up to the bed. Before Annie could stop him, he nosed one of Drew’s hands and whined.
“Hmm?” Drew opened one eye, then the other and looked around for a moment. “Oh.”
When Drew sat up, Annie noticed with relief that Drew had managed to put on her sleep shirt.
Drew cleared her throat. “You’re back already?”
Annie had been gone for an hour and a half.
She’s really out of it.
“Do you feel up to a bowl of vegetable soup? Or maybe just some tea?” She helped Drew sit up and placed the tray across her lap.
Wrinkling her nose, Drew stared at the tea, but then she lifted it to her lips and blew on it before she took a sip. Her face brightened. “Yum. You put honey in it.” She sipped her tea for a while, then reached for the cough syrup. Her fingers trembled, and she wrestled with the childproof cap of the medicine bottle.
“Let me.” Annie sat on the edge of the bed and took the bottle from Drew. When she had it open, she took the spoon from the tray and poured out a spoonful of cough syrup. Instead of handing it to Drew, she held the spoon to Drew’s lips.
Like an obedient child, Drew opened her mouth, swallowed the syrup, and then shook herself. “Ugh. No honey in that.”
Annie suppressed a smile.
She’s cute when she’s sick.
After hesitating for a moment, Annie handed over the spoon. Feeding Drew the soup might be too much.
Finally, when the bowl was empty, Drew wordlessly took the Tylenol Annie handed her and swallowed it. She leaned back against the headboard and closed her eyes. “Can I ask one last favor before you go?”
“Go?” Annie shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere as long as you’re this sick.”
Drew opened her eyes. They were still glassy. “You don’t need to stay. I’m not that sick.”
“Oh, no?” Annie pressed her palm against Drew’s forehead. “You’re burning up.”
For a few moments, Drew leaned into Annie’s touch before she turned her head away and sighed.
“What favor did you want to ask?” Annie asked.
“Cab,” Drew said. “Would you take him on a short walk around the lake? He hasn’t been outside since this morning. We had another wine tasting today, and I didn’t want him to bother the guests, so I kept him inside.”
“You did a wine tasting while you’re this sick?” Annie shook her head.
“No. Heather, one of my employees, was pouring. So, will you walk Cab?”
“Sure. If you think he’ll go with me.”
Drew closed her eyes. With a tired smile, she mumbled, “He will. He’s a sucker for pretty blondes. Just pick up his leash from the hall table, and he’ll follow you to the end of the world.”
“I’m not planning on walking that far.” She wanted to be back at Drew’s side as quickly as possible.
When Drew didn’t answer, Annie realized that Drew had fallen asleep sitting up. She lifted the tray off Drew’s lap and wrapped an arm around Drew’s shoulders to urge her to slide down. “Come on, Drew. You need to lie down. You can’t sleep sitting up.”
Without opening her eyes, Drew let her body be guided down.
Annie stood looking at her for a few moments, taking in the dark shadows beneath her eyes. It was disconcerting to see the strong, vibrant Drew so weak and helpless. She tugged the covers higher around Drew and tiptoed out of the bedroom.
Downstairs, she called her neighbor to tell her she wouldn’t be home tonight, so she should feed Amadeus. Satisfied that her cat would be taken care of, she took Cab’s leash from the hall table.
Cab was at the front door before Annie reached it. He danced around, barely standing still long enough for her to clip the leash to his collar. When Annie opened the door, he pulled her out into the darkness.
* * *
The lights in the large barn next to the main house switched off just as Annie and Cab completed their walk around the lake. Two men stepped out of the barn and crossed the yard.
Annie froze.
Who are they?
It was nearly ten by now, so they weren’t visitors who had just finished a wine tasting.
Cab wagged his tail and licked the older man’s hands, obviously familiar with him and his companion.
Annie let her breath escape.
They probably work here.
The older man tipped the bill of his baseball cap. “Evening, ma’am. Martin Salerno. I work for Drew.”
Drew,
Annie mentally repeated.
Not Ms. Corbin.
Obviously, Drew was on friendly terms with her employees. She nodded at the two men. “Annie Prideaux. I’m a friend of Drew’s.” She had never been one to make friends easily, but calling Drew her friend felt right.
“How is she?” Martin asked.
“She’s sick as a ... um ... dog.” Annie glanced at Cab.
“That’s what I thought. She didn’t look good this morning.” Martin took off his baseball cap and raked stained fingers through his gray hair. “Take good care of her, please.”
“I will,” Annie said and watched the men walk away. They hadn’t questioned her presence or the fact that she was walking Cab.
Do they think I’m Drew’s girlfriend? Maybe she brings women home all the time.
The thought made her frown, and she got rid of it with a shake of her head.
You’re just pretending to be her girlfriend, so stop acting like a jealous lover!
When she returned to the house and peeked into Drew’s bedroom, the bed was empty. She opened the door more fully.
Drew shuffled through the room as if rocks weighted down her feet.
Annie rushed over and gripped Drew’s elbow to steady her. “What are you doing up? If you need anything, just let me know and I’ll take care of it.”
“Then can you please empty my bladder for me?”
“Oh.” Annie let go of Drew’s elbow so she could continue on her way to the bathroom. “Sorry,” she said with a rueful smile, “you’re on your own with that.”
A few minutes later, Drew returned from the bathroom. When she walked around Annie to crawl back into bed, Annie realized that Drew had her T-shirt on backward. She hadn’t noticed it before.
“What?” Drew asked. “Why are you staring at me?” She rubbed her red nose as if afraid that pieces of tissue might be clinging to it.
Annie smiled. “You have your T-shirt on backward.”
Drew glanced down at herself and ran her hand over her chest. “Oh.” She slipped her arms out of the sleeves so she could turn the T-shirt without taking it off.
Seeing Drew struggle, Annie reached over and tugged on the fabric to help.
Finally, the T-shirt’s front was facing forward, displaying in rainbow colors: “the other team.”