Page 163 of Her Boss, Her Rancher: Sunrise On The Ranch

Jared stood there, dressed in his usual jeans and blue chambray shirt, face unshaved and hair unruly. Her heart skipped but she was too concerned about Sienna to think about anything else. Still, Jared’s presence just had a way of disrupting her normal breathing patterns. “What’s wrong with the baby?” he whispered immediately.

“I’m not sure,” she answered, keeping her voice low. “She was fine last night. And this morning her nose is running and I think she has a fever.”

“You think?”

“Yes, she’s warm, but my baby thermometer is broken, so I’m not sure. Sorry about breakfast.”

He waved her off. “There’s enough leftovers to feed my entire crew. Don’t worry about cooking today.”

“Thank you.”

“So besides a baby thermometer, what else does she need?”

“That’s it. I think I have everything else.”

“Let me see what it looks like. I’ll make sure you get a new one.”

“Okay,” she whispered. “Give me a sec.”

She went into the bathroom and returned right away, showing Jared the thermometer. “This is it.”

He took it out of her hands. “I’ll have a new one delivered from the pharmacy in town.”

She stared into Jared’s concerned eyes. Gosh, he really cared about Sienna. If Bella blew it with him, it might be the biggest mistake of her life. “Thank you.”

He nodded. “Just keep that sugar plum healthy, will you?”

The baby slept most of the day and Bella managed to get some rest, too. Sienna had no appetite really, only munching on baby crackers and sipping from her bottle. The thermometer Jared had delivered from the pharmacy registered a low-grade fever, which meant Sienna’s body was fighting off an infection.

Bella got up to shower and change her clothes. She took her computer to the other room and began going over her notes. She was in the middle of designing a different version of a Christmas morning soufflé when Sienna began coughing. The cough was rough, coming from deep in her chest, and nothing Bella had ever heard before. She raced over to her and sat her up immediately, holding her until the coughing fit was over. And then Bella touched her face. “Oh, no, Sienna.” The baby was burning up.

She raced to the door and called down for help. “Jared! Marie!”

Sienna’s hacking returned. It was deep and guttural, like barking.

Bella heard Jared’s footsteps on the stairs and the sound put her a little bit at ease. She needed him right now. “What’s wrong, Bella?”

“It’s Sienna. She’s burning up and the cough...it’s horrible. I think she’s wheezing. She’s not getting enough air.”

He walked over to Sienna and the frightened look in his eyes added to her own fear, but his voice was calm as he picked up the phone. “I’ll call Lauren. She’ll know what to do.”

Bella stayed with Sienna, encouraging her to drink between her coughing fits. The wheezing got worse, and raw panic seized Bella’s stomach. Her baby wasn’t breathing right.

Jared hung up the phone and strode over to the bathroom. “Bella, while I get the shower going, you get Sienna and hold her on your lap on the toilet seat. We need the room to steam up real fast.”

She didn’t have time to question him. She did as he asked, picking up the baby and bringing her to the bathroom. He closed the door behind them.

“We need Sienna to breathe in the steam until she’s back to normal. Lauren is pretty sure it’s croup. It means a ride to the hospital later, but only once we’re sure the steam is reducing the swelling in her throat. That’s what’s causing the wheezing.”

“Should we call the paramedics?”

“We could but, honestly, Stone Ridge is so remote, it’ll be faster to drive her to the hospital ourselves. And Lauren says not to be scared. She’s calling ahead to our local hospital. It’s small but efficient and this way they’ll be waiting for her.”

“Okay, okay.” Her own breathing nearly stopped, but she trusted Jared’s instincts on this.

“Encourage her to breathe in and out.”

The room steamed up pretty fast and they sat there for long minutes as the baby began to breathe easier and easier.