He needed consistent hydration and the medicines as often as he could take them.
He was a thirty-nine-year-old healthy guy.
Judging by his muscular physique, the man was extremely fit.
He’d kick this nasty flu pretty easily, but he’d have a rough few days while he did it.
I gathered up the things I needed and went back to the master bedroom.
I’d already discarded my jacket and my boots, knowing I was going to be staying for a while.
Jerk or not, I couldn’t just leave someone who was sick and vulnerable.
Cole could use my help for a while, even if he didn’t want to admit it.
“Cole?” I called softly as I sat on the side of the bed. “Wake up for just a minute so you can take some medication.”
His eyes opened, and he glared at me in silence.
Okay, that look was a little intimidating, but I ignored it because I knew that he needed my help right now.
He told me to leave three times.
I told him I wasn’t going every single time he uttered that demand.
The two of us were at a stalemate, but I was healthy enough to stand my ground for as long as necessary.
Cole…wasn’t.
He finally took the medications and downed some of the water I’d brought for him.
“Happy?” he asked in an annoyed voice that was rough and raw from the virus.
I smiled at him. “Enormously. You don’t need to suffer through the flu. Better life with pharmaceuticals when you need them.”
“I feel like shit,” he grumbled. “I just wanted to sleep until the worst of this passed.”
“If you get dehydrated or your fever gets too high, it’s just going to prolong the misery,” I warned him.
“You’re probably right,” he admitted in a reluctant baritone. “Hell, I don’t know. I’m never sick. Leave the water and medicines and go home, Lauren.”
He closed his eyes, and I watched as his breath evened out a little.
I doubted that his sleep would be restful because his cough was bad, but I was hoping that his fever would come down soon.
I went to the kitchen and quickly texted Devon’s wife, Reese. She was a nurse practitioner, and I wanted to make sure there was nothing else I could do for Cole.
My friend quickly assured me that there was nothing else I could do but treat the symptoms and that the flu would run its course.
Reese:If you don’t want to stay, Lauren, I can come and stay with him to make sure he takes his meds and hydrates. I heard that Asher is out of the country, so he can’t be there for Cole right now.
Me:Not necessary. I’m already here, and Millie sent everything he could possibly want or need to get through the flu.
Reese:He’ll be absolutely impossible. He’s not going to want anyone there when he’s sick. He was a complete assholeafter he got shot. Millie was the only one who could handle him. He tried to push everyone away.
Cole getting shot hadn’t been that long ago. He’d gotten injured saving Reese’s life from a homicidal madman. He’d risked his life for hers, and Reese was never going to forget that. If I wasn’t already here, she’d be over here in a heartbeat for Cole.
Me:I’ll be fine. He’s too weak to really protest much right now. I’ll get out of here as soon as he’s capable of being impossible.
