She makes a disgusted face and then we both laugh.
“Honestly, though,” I say, pausing my grooming. “It’s been really good. All of it. Yes, the sex is phenomenal and he takes his time making things good for me. But it’s more than that. We have…” I fumble around for the right words. “We have something that I never thought I’d get to experience. And now I get to, and it’s partly because of this place, and the home and safe haven you all have given me.”
“Aw, Win, you’re going to make me cry.” Candice wipes at her eyes.
I swallow the emotion in my throat, and resume my grooming. By the time we’re done, my arms feel tired, and I’m hot all over. I need to sit down.
“Oof,” I say, sinking onto the stool near Rosie’s stall. “That lesson really seems to have taken it out of me.”
Candice drops into a crouch at my feet and looks up at me, concern in her eyes. “Are you sure it’s just that? You are looking a bit pale.” She feels my forehead with the back of her hand. “God, Win, you’re burning up.”
“Am I? I feel okay.” But even as I say the words, I feel my body slump to the side. Only the stall door keeps me from falling all the way over.
“I’m calling Jonah to come get you.” Candice’s phone is already in her hand.
“No, I’m fine. I swear. Jonah is working a lot today and he doesn’t have time. Just give me a minute and then I’ll be good to go.”
Candice ignores me completely. “Hey, Jonah. Yeah, Fuzz is fine. It’s Winnie. She’s really sick with a fever or something…I’d drive her home myself but I figured you’d want to know…okay, see you soon.”
She hangs up and looks at me. “He’ll be here in twenty minutes.”
By the timeJonah arrives at the rescue, I’m basically delirious. My fever is high, and Beau has already checked it twice. He gives Jonah a pack of flu meds and tells him to call a doctor if my fever doesn’t come down.
“Come on,” Jonah says, leaning down and lifting one of my arms up. “I’ll carry you to the car.”
“I can walk.” I try to get out of my chair. The room spins and I smack right back down into the seat and frown.
“Sure you can. You can show me later.” Jonah gently picks me up and I wrap my arms around his neck.
“You’re so strong,” I whisper against his skin as he carries me out to his car. “Like a horse. One of those really strong ones that pulls the beer truck and has the fancy hooves. You’re like ten of those.”
Jonah chuckles. “A Clydesdale? I’ll take it.”
“You’re nicer to me than anyone else ever has been, too.”
Somehow, we’re already at the truck, and Jonah deposits me into a seat. I hear the snap of the seatbelt buckle, and then feel a warm kiss against my forehead. My head lolls against the window.
I close my eyes for a bit on the drive home, and when I open them, I’m being carried into the house. Jonah lays me down on the bed, and tugs my boots off.
“Arms up, Winnie.” I do what he says, and let him peel my fleece and undershirt off. He replaces my clothes with a pair of his own soft pajamas. “Your pajamas are all silk and far too nice to get vomit on,” he explains.
I stick my tongue out at him, and try to say that I’m not going to vomit. But a shiver wracks my body. Jonah helps me get beneath the covers, but I still feel cold everywhere, and I start shaking again.
“Here.” Jonah grabs another blanket and then gets into bed beside me. “I’ll keep you warm.”
“But you…you sick,” I croak out, trying to express that I don’t want to give him my illness.
“I’ll be fine,” he says, wrapping an arm over me. Heat blooms around me as he tugs me close to his chest. “Don’t worry. Just sleep.”
Sleep sounds nice. Sleep sounds perfect. Almost as perfect as the man next to me. I like him even more than I like sleep.
“Shhh,” Jonah says, stroking my arm. “Sleep.”
I snuggle deeper into the blankets and do just that.
When I wake up,the room is dark and I’m alone. And I don’t feel cold anymore. Instead, I’m burning up. Sweat is running down my back under Jonah’s pajama top, and I toss the covers off angrily. I’m gross, and sick, and I need a shower.
I kick my feet over the side of the bed and try to get up. My head immediately starts pounding. Fuck. I’m sicker than I thought. I try to reach my water on the bedside table and end up knocking it over.
