“You’re not yourself,” he said quietly. “Is it the headache, or did Barry mention that Vanessa was here?”
She frowned, the ache in her head intensifying. “Vanessa was here?”
“Yeah. Only for a couple of minutes before I sent her away. She was upset.”
And she’d run straight to Cody. Not a surprise. “Barry didn’t say anything.”
“So the headache’s that bad.”
“I’m just not feeling well.”
He touched her forehead, the frown between his eyes deepening. “You’re hot.”
“I’ll finish the shift and go home.”
“Harper—”
“We’re busy, Cody. You need the extra hands. I’ll finish, then rest when I get home.”
“We can manage without you.”
She shook her head, stepping away. “I’m finishing my shift. I won’t drop any more glasses, I promise.”
The hard set of his jaw was the last thing she saw before she turned and walked away.
For the next couple of hours, she pushed her body to keep moving. But every minute that passed had the ache in her head intensifying and the exhaustion in her limbs deepening. It was almost closing time when Barry pushed a glass of water into her hand.
“Drink. You look like you could use it.”
Her gaze softened as she accepted the beverage. “Thank you.”
She sipped the water, feeling Cody’s intense gaze on her. He’d been watching her all night. Did she look as bad as she felt?
The last few customers were trickling out when Harper went to the office to check her phone. The screen blurred in front of her. At the creak of the door opening, her gaze shot up, but that quick change in focus had her world spinning.
She grabbed the wall to steady herself.
“Harper? Shit! You’re not okay.”
His voice sounded like it came to her through a tunnel. “I…I think I need to lie down.”
The words were barely out of her mouth before she was falling. The last thing she saw was Cody lunging toward her before her world went dark.
CHAPTER 14
Voices sounded around Harper. They were hushed, one deep and familiar. Cody. The other she’d never heard before, but it was a woman.
“She has a fever, probably the flu that’s been going around town.”
The flu…was the woman talking abouther? Was she a doctor?
“What can I do?” Cody sounded so worried.
She itched to reach out and touch him. Assure him she was okay. But her limbs felt heavy, her body so exhausted that even the thought of moving made her want to fall back into a deep sleep.
“I’ve given her some pain meds for the headache, which will also help her sleep. Make sure she stays hydrated. You can give her some Tylenol when she wakes up, but what she really needs is rest.”
Retreating footsteps sounded, and the voices became muffled. She let exhaustion pull her under. It was only when a warm hand cupped the back of her head that she came around again.
