CHAPTERTWO
Jessica spent most of the next day in bed with the covers pulled over her head, determined to sleep until she felt better. Her body ached, she was wracked with chills, and her head felt like it might burst open at any moment. She hadn’t had the flu in years and had forgotten how much it sucked.
Unfortunately, her busybody family hadn’t gotten the memo as first her sister and then her brother called to check on her. And just when she’d gotten back to sleep, her mom stopped by with homemade chicken noodle soup. Even though she had no appetite and would rather be sleeping, her mom had insisted on heating up a bowl and staying while she ate it.
“You have to stay hydrated, and the protein will help you heal faster,” she’d said.
The truth was that Jessicadidfeel a tiny bit better after the soup. Good enough that she’d propped herself up on the couch and watched this week’s episode ofGame of Throneson her DVR. By the end, she’d been barely able to keep her eyes open so she’d crawled back in bed and fallen into a fitful, feverish sleep.
A knock at the front door roused her from her stupor sometime later. She squinted through bleary eyes at the clock on her bedside table to see that it was just past six in the evening. And dammit, who the hell was waking her upthistime? She burrowed her face into her pillow, hoping whoever it was would just leave.
Another quiet knock.
Wishing her bedroom was on the front side of the house so she could at least see who it was, she crawled out of bed. If it was someone from her family and she didn’t come to the door, she wouldn’t put it past them to call the police for a wellness check. She shuffled to the front door and peeked through the peephole.
Mark.
Her stomach quivered, and it had nothing to do with the germs currently waging war inside her body. His dark, brooding stare was still her kryptonite, which just sucked as far as she was concerned. He’d shown his true colors when he traded her in after high school for his next adventure: the Army. He was a loner, a nomad, not the kind of guy to settle down and get married. Fine, whatever.
But she was twenty-eight now, and shedidwant to get married. Not that she was in any huge rush, but her choice in men these days definitely had more of an emphasis on long-term potential than casual fun.
Groaning inwardly, she pulled open the door. “What are you doing here, Mark?”
He held up a shopping bag. “Just came to see how you were feeling and brought you some sustenance.”
Curious, she took the bag and peeked inside. She saw a package of Popsicles and several bottles of Gatorade. And actually…a Popsicle sounded heavenly. “Thanks. That was really nice of you.”
“Figured your mom would have already brought over plenty of homemade soup.” He cracked a smile. Mark didn’t smile all that often, not for her anyway, which was a good thing because his smiles were absolutely dazzling, and she did not want to be dazzled by this man. Not this time.
Still, she felt herself smiling back at him. “She dropped off a big pot this morning.”
“That’s good. You feelin’ any better?”
“No.” Maybe even a little worse than yesterday. “I’d invite you in, but…I don’t want to infect you with my germs.” And truthfully, she was glad for the excuse. It was better that she and Mark see each other as little as possible. He stirred up all kinds of things in her, memories of a time when she’d been young and naïve and foolish.
He nodded. “Don’t want to keep you up anyway. I hope you feel better.”
“Thanks, Mark.” This was probably the most polite conversation they’d had with each other in eleven years.
“’Kay then.” With a wave, he headed for his SUV.
She closed the door and walked to the kitchen, pulling out a raspberry Popsicle as she went.I know, he’d said yesterday when she told him her address. How and why had he already known where she lived? It probably should have pissed her off, but for some ridiculous reason, it made her smile. She put the box of Popsicles in the freezer and was halfway back to bed when she remembered. Mark…land…she hadn’t called to put in her offer.
Crap.
Hoping it wasn’t too late, she reached for her cell phone and called the realtor. The asking price for the land was at the very top of her budget, and she’d been hoping to get it for less, but with Mark and the guys at Off-the-Grid also interested and probably having put in their offer yesterday, she decided she’d better offer the full asking price and hope for the best.
With that taken care of, she ate her raspberry Popsicle and crawled back into bed, hoping she felt more human the next time she woke.
***
“How come you get to have all the fun on the backhoe?” Ryan asked, watching as Ethan lowered the scoop on their rented machine and scraped up a bucketful of earth.
Ethan gave him a cocky grin. “Because I’m getting married this weekend.”
“And your wedding gives you dibs on the backhoe, how?” Mark asked, stepping closer to survey the hole they were digging. Soon this hole would become a mud pit, one of many obstacles that teams would have to cross during the upcoming Adrenaline Rush, their annual team-based obstacle course race.
“It just does,” Ethan said.
