Cody pushed himself up. “Injuries?” He winced, unprepared for the wave of dizziness that struck.
With atskof disapproval, Doc pressed him back down. “No sudden movements. You need to rest.”
“You just said my wife is injured, and you want me to rest?” Cody attempted to get up again.
This time, Ella pushed him down. “Listen to Doc, Cody.”
He stilled under her touch, a smile threatening at her tone. “Are you bossing me around, darlin’?”
She lifted her chin. “Best get used to it for the foreseeable future.”
Doc mixed something in a cup before holding it out to Cody. “Drink this.”
Cody accepted the cup and peered inside. “What is it?”
“Laudanum. It’ll help you rest. That’s the most important thing right now.”
“Ugh. This knocked me out last time.”
Doc raised a brow. “That’s the point. Now, drink up, and I’ll be back to check on you tomorrow.”
With a sigh, Cody drained the contents in one long swallow. He plunked it down and looked at Ella. “What happened to you?”
“I fell off Preston. Twice.” She rubbed her arms. “I’m not used to riding bareback.”
Doc chuckled. “She was riding like the wind when she came into town. Saw her tumble myself when she brought that big horse to a stop.”
“What?” Cody blinked, fighting the haze settling over his vision. “Are you all right, Ella?”
“I’m fine.” She placed a hand on his cheek, gently rubbing her thumb along his jaw. “Don’t worry about me. You rest and heal.”
He didn’t have much choice, not with rattlesnake venom and laudanum making their way through his body. It sent him into such a deep sleep, he didn’t wake again until well into the following morning.
When he opened his eyes, a harsh pounding in his head made him wish for the oblivion of sleep once more. Why was it so hot? He thrashed, kicking off the heavy blanket holding him down.
“Easy.”
Ella’s voice sounded somewhere above him. Cody searched for her. The light coming through the window increased the pain in his head. He closed his eyes with a groan. Something cool and wet pressed against his face.
“You have a fever. Doc said that might happen. Your body is fighting the venom.” Ella moved the cloth over his face. “Keep fighting, Cody.”
He let his eyes open into slits. His wife sat beside him. She held a cup. “Can you drink this?”
Cody’s eyes fell shut again, but he parted his lips as best he could. Ella poured in water a little at a time, letting him swallow before giving him more. Voices floated in from the kitchen. “Who’s that?”
“Cassie and Miss Hattie.”
“Travis left?”
“Yes. He said…well, he had something to look into.”
Something heavy lay in her words. Cody opened his eyes to see her expression. It was carefully schooled. Alarms rang in his mind, along with the faint thought that he should know what that something was. “What?”Blast this brain fog.
She shook her head. “Nothing to concern yourself with right now. When you’re better, we’ll talk.”
He tried to push himself up. “You realize this is just going to bother me until I know what’s going on, right?”
Ella quirked a brow. “Back to a bear, are we?”
