Page 65 of Theirs to Treasure

“Oh, Sam, I had to listen, you know. I had to let her vent. That’s my job, to keep it together, and not lose it. You know?” They both watched as her chin quivered. A tear stole down her cheek. “I don’t know how to make this better,” she whispered, sounding desolate.

“What did they say?” Sam asked quietly.

“Just her,” she mumbled.

“Okay, what did she say?” Chance demanded.

“She doesn’t want this for me. She’s disappointed.” Two more tears dripped down.

“What did she say, though?” Chance asked.

“Hmmm? What are you talking about?” Josie asked as she fell asleep. Chance put the apple juice glass on the nightstand and placed his hand on Josie’s forehead. “She’s still hot, but it doesn’t seem as bad as it was in her apartment.”

“Should we take her temperature again? What did Mama Betty say?” Sam sounded anxious, and Chance didn’t blame him.

“She said that fluids and Tylenol should take care of things. We should check her temp every four hours.”

“Let’s let her sleep,” Sam suggested. “I could use a drink.” He got up, pulled on a pair of sweats, and they headed to the kitchen. This time they skipped the beer and pulled out the Scotch.

“It sounds like it didn’t go well with her sisters,” Chance said as he braced his arms against the kitchen island.

Sam slumped onto one of the barstools and downed his entire glass. “It never occurred to me that we might have another obstacle besides Josie. I mean, I was only thinking about convincing her this could work.” When he saw his friend arch his eyebrow at him, he continued, “Okay, and I’ve been an obstacle. I admit it. But, Jesus, Chance, give me some credit for working on it. I’ve been seeing that counselor that Leif recommended twice a week. I know it’s only been a couple of weeks, but it’s already helped.”

“I know, Sam,” Chance said. “I’m really impressed with your efforts. I know that shit has to be hard as hell. I don’t know if I could do it, but for a life with Josie, yeah, I probably could.” Chance slammed his glass down on the counter, splattering the contents everywhere. “I really thought those girls would be fine with this. They love Josie. I know they want her happy. They seem so well adjusted, and open-minded.”

“Have you met them?” Sam asked.

“No, but I had them checked out pretty thoroughly. I wanted to know any potential roadblocks up front. Not that I was going to let anything stop me, but I just wanted to know about them. Hell, Sam, they’re college students. They’re at the experimentation age. They’re supposed to have an open mind about stuff like this.” Chance dropped his head in his hands.

* * *

Sam looked at his friend in horror. This was not the Chance Reynolds he was used to seeing. Chance always had a plan. If something went wrong, he went under it, over it, or around it. When he said as much, Chance told Sam that he didn’t understand.

“Those two girls are Josie’s life. Sam, if they aren’t on board, then there is no way Josie will go for this,” he explained.

“We don’t know for sure what Becca said. Josie’s sick. She could be overreacting to one little thing, blowing it all out of proportion.”

Chance got up and poured himself another drink. “I pray to God you’re right.”

Chance was passed out in his bedroom when Sam went in to take Josie’s temperature. He’d been in periodically to make her drink water and apple juice and to see if she needed to go to the bathroom. He hated to have to wake her up again, but he wanted to ensure that her fever hadn’t increased. He’d called Betty after Chance downed his seventh shot of whiskey and went to bed. Just hearing his foster mom’s soothing voice made him feel better. She’d explained that the flu was going around, and it was likely Josie caught it on the airplane flying to Florida.

Sam asked if Betty had known about Josie’s trip to visit the girls, and she admitted she had. Sam asked why Josie felt it was necessary to see her sisters just prior to their planned visit for spring break. Betty tried to explain how Josie just felt it was important not to surprise the girls with her relationship when they arrived. Sam was still wrapping his head around the fact that Josie had flown down to Florida, instead of telephoning or Skyping. It said a lot about her sense of responsibility.

When he got to the master suite, Josie was sitting up, reaching for a glass of water.

“Hey, before you drink that, can we take your temperature?” Sam asked.

“Sure.” Josie patted down her hair and pulled up the blankets, ensuring that she was completely covered.

“Baby, it’s a little late to be covering up now. Who do you think put you to bed?” Sam winked. He shook out the thermometer and popped it under her tongue. She stared up at him, taken by his smile. “If your fever is down, do you want to come out to the living room?” he asked.

She nodded her head. He reached down and pulled the thermometer out of her mouth and read it.

“Looking good,” he said. “Your fever is down to a hundred.”

“If that’s good, what was it before?”

“When we got to your apartment, it was about a hundred and three. Why didn’t you call us, Baby?”