She’s probably right. Garrett wouldn’t have thought twice aboutallowing me to be around him sick, aside from the fear of me catching it.
“I’ll take my chances.”
She smothers a grin, bobbing her head. “Thanks for looking out for him. I…think he’ll be set until tomorrow with all that,” she says, gesturing to the basket. “Guess I’ll head home.”
“I’ll let him know,” I say, moving to the side to allow her to make her way down the steps.
She stops at the bottom, turning to look over her shoulder at me. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you better when he’s up to it,” she says. “Don’t let him tell you he’s fine. He’s bored out of his mind.”
I nod. “I’ll sit with him.”
She smiles widely. “See you around.” She waves a hand over her shoulder, sauntering to her car with the grace of a dancer.
The snow-covered driveway would be enough for me to tiptoe, but she doesn’t miss a beat, easily gliding over the slick white powder with ease.
Heading inside, I move straight to the kitchen, placing the perishables into the refrigerator and depositing the basket onto the table.
“Jack?” Nick grumbles from the couch.
I turn to find him facing the TV, sprawled out on the couch, under a blanket that appears to be made for a child. It’s not, but due to his size, it’s completely inadequate.
“It’s me. Alyssa. I brought over some supplies, and Jackie asked me to sit with you for a while.”
He turns around, offering a lazy smile. “She shouldn’t have asked that of you. I’m fine.”
I place a hand on my hip. “You’re not. You look pale as death.”
“That sounds ominous. Let’s hope the stomach bug doesn’t take me out. Not a manly way to go.”
I smirk. “You had a different way of going out in mind?”
He makes a face. “Don’t we all?”
My nose wrinkles. “Umm…no. A tad morbid and very premature to think about dying, don’t ya think?” I tilt my head. “I’ve had enough death for a while.”
He grimaces. “Well…when you put it that way…”
I smile. “Okay, sick boy, what are we doing? It’s three o’clock, and I have some time to kill.”
He licks his lips. “You really don’t have to sit here with me. Jackie is overbearing as hell and bound and determined to play matchmaker, no matter how you feel about it.”
I laugh. “Lucky for her, I kinda like you. And for the record, I was coming over here to check on you well before I ran into her.” I glance around the room, looking for another blanket. One that will actually cover the man. “Where are your blankets?”
“What’s wrong with this one?” he asks, lifting the small navy fleece.
“For starters, it’s small enough to belong to Zoey.”
He chuckles. “Fair point.” He motions toward the hall. “You can grab my comforter. Jackie just ran it through the laundry. It should be on my bed.”
I nod, heading toward the back of his house, until I find his room at the end of the hall. It’s the only door that’s open. The bed is made, but the black comforter is folded and draped at the end. Moving forward, I reach out to grab it when something falls, the noise coming from what appears to be the adjoined bathroom.
I peek around the corner to find a bottle of Tylenol lying on the floor. Jackie didn’t mention when he last took medication, so I grab the bottle and the comforter on my way out.
“Have you taken anything lately?” I ask, lifting the bottle of pain meds.
He purses his lips. “No, actually. I’ll take two of those. If you don’t mind?”
I smile, making my way to the kitchen and grabbing a glass of water before offering the pills and water to Nick. When he’s done, I remove the small blanket, draping his comforter over him.
