“Okay.” Her eyes closed and she snuggled into his side. “Can I tell you something?”
“Anything.”
“When Mom stopped caring what time I went to bed, kids at school said I was lucky. But I like this better.”
The smile fell from his mouth and his hand fisted. Every so often, Avery let another little crumb of information drop about her last year with her mother, and even though he wanted to know everything, each new detail hurt like hell. Because he hadn’t been here to take care of her. He hadn’t even known she’d needed him so badly.
“Me too, Ave. I love you.”
She sighed, and without opening her eyes, whispered, “I love you too, Daddy.”
He remained beside her until her breathing evened out, then he pressed one more kiss to her head before rising from the bed. He moved quietly down the hall before stepping into his bedroom to see Sadie curled into a ball on the edge of the mattress.
Damn, she looked so small and vulnerable. He hated it. He perched on the bed and touched her forehead. Just like earlier, it wasn’t hot, but still her exhaustion and headache made him worry.
“Sadie?”
Her brows drew together and her eyes tightened. “Hmm?”
“I’d like to call a doctor, just to check you out.”
“No, I’m okay.” Her eyes opened but they were glazed over.
He cupped her cheek. “For me, Sadie. Please.”
She sighed, eyes fluttering closed again. “Okay.”
Lowering his head, he pressed a kiss to her temple before rising and stepping into the living room. They only had one doctor in Misty Peak who did house calls, and although he’d never used the guy, word of mouth said that he was older anddidn’t put a lot of time into his patients. But he was better than no doctor at all.
He made the call and twenty minutes later, a knock came on the front door.
Eastern pulled it open. “Doctor Vincent. I’m Eastern Walker. Thanks for coming.”
The man dipped his head. “The patient is your wife?”
“Partner.” The word slipped out easily. “She’s in here.” He led the doctor into the bedroom, where it took a few minutes to rouse Sadie.
The doctor introduced himself. “Hi, I’m Doctor Vincent.”
“Sadie.” She pushed up into a sitting position.
“I’m going to check your blood pressure, temperature, and heart rate, then I’ll ask you a few questions.”
Eastern gave Sadie and the doctor some privacy by stepping out of the room. Sadie hadn’t asked him to, but he wanted them to have space to do what they needed to do without his overprotective ass hovering.
Less than ten minutes passed before the doctor stepped into the hall.
Eastern frowned. “You’re done already?”
“Yes, Mr. Walker. Miss Sandler is dehydrated, and she informed me that she ate some bad cheese last night, in combination with alcohol.”
Eastern’s frown deepened. “And you’re sure that’s all that’s wrong?”
“She doesn’t have a temperature, her blood pressure isn’t overly elevated, and by the sounds of her night last night, yes, I’m certain it’s mostly dehydration. Painkillers, lots of fluids, and rest is my recommendation.”
Eastern should be happy, shouldn’t he? So why was his gut still in a knot?
He walked the doctor out before returning to the kitchen and grabbing some aspirin and water. When he returned to the bedroom, Sadie lay on her side, eyes hooded as she watched him.
