With his mind made up, he hurried toward the stairs.
Hopefully, this wouldn’t be another thing that she would never forgive him for.
Chapter five
Thea
Everythingwasonfire.Her body was burning up, and there was nothing she could do about it.At the same time, everything was so cold she couldn’t stop shivering.
Thea drew her body into herself, wrapping her arms around herself and getting through one particularly violent shiver before attempting to swing her legs out of bed.
Moving her feet felt impossible, but she couldn’t lie in bed all day.She had Ginger and the other cat to take care of, and a store to run.
At the very least, she needed to get herself some water.
As she swung her legs toward the floor, she groaned at the movement, which sent even more shivers through her body.
How was she supposed to manage the store like this?She couldn’t, really.She’d have to close the café.
The urge to collapse back into bed was strong, but her mouth was dry.She needed water.She couldn’t get dehydrated.
If only she had someone else to rely on.She needed an apprentice, someone to help run the store if she got sick.Even though she never got sick.
She couldn’t think of the last time she’d been so under the weather that she could hardly get out of bed.
But this...This certainly was a doozy of an illness.
She finally managed to swing her legs over the end of the bed and lie there, flat on her back, trying to find the energy to force herself to sit.
The act of sitting up made her feel lightheaded, and she leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands.
She couldn’t pass out.She had no one here to catch her.
Would it be better for her to lie down rather than risk passing out while standing up?
She wanted her mother.
Something about being sick must create a reflex that you never outgrew, because Thea was a grown woman whose mother was long gone, but still, her mother was all she wanted.
But Mother wasn’t here, and she had animals to take care of, and she could not leave them alone.
She struggled to her feet, then sat back down as another wave of dizziness crashed over her.
Maybe she should take a nap before trying again.
There would probably be cat pee somewhere in the café with the new cat if she left them unattended for too long, but it would be better to clean up cat pee than to pass out and hurt herself.Right?
She was gathering her strength to begin another attempt at standing when there was a knock on her bedroom door.
Thea’s heart caught in her throat.Who had broken into the café?“Who is it?”
“It’s Nathaniel,” a familiar voice responded, and Thea sighed.
He was safe.She didn’t have to worry.But why was he here?
“How did you get in here?”she called back.
“I have a key, and people were worrying about you.”
