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Grabbing some tissue, she wiped her mouth and tossed it into the pan before flushing the toilet. She felt rotten, and hadn’t gotten any sleep last night. Before leaving the Smith ranch, she’d had a headache, and her stomach was cramping. At first, she thought it might be that time of the month, but no, it was something worse.
By the time she got home to her trailer, she’d been able to wave Casey goodbye, and as soon as she got inside the comfort of her home, she’d gone to hell and back.
Standing back up, she washed her hands and dabbed at her face. She was sweating all over, and it wasn’t doing any good.
In a couple of minutes Casey would be here to take her to the ranch.
She moved toward the small sofa at the far end of the trailer and sat down. She wore a pair of sweatpants and a shirt that was so big it hung off one shoulder. There was no way she could work today.
Resting her head in her hands trying to stop the pounding, but when nothing happened, she felt the tears from the pain leaking out of her eyes.
She counted to ten and then to twenty.
Suddenly there was a pounding on her door, and she realized she’d fallen asleep.
Getting up, she made her way toward the door, and there was Casey.
“Hey,” she said, forcing a smile to her chapped lips.
“You look a fucking mess,” he said.
“It’s good to see you, too.” She pulled back and took a seat on her sofa. She was so tired, so exhausted, and standing was requiring too much effort.
“I’ve already had six ranch hands call in sick this morning.” Casey pressed a hand to her head and groaned.
“Did I give them food poisoning?” she asked.
“No. I phoned the doctor this morning, and there’s a rotten case of diarrhea and sickness going around town.”
“Oh, yay,” she said, feeling really tired.
“How long have you been feeling like this?” he asked. Once again, his hand was on her forehead, and she didn’t know whether to moan at the heat or push him away. She kept having hot and cold flashes. One moment she was really hot, the next so cold she was shivering.
“Erm, I didn’t feel well last night, and then I’ve not been able to sleep.” She yawned. “I think it best you go home. I’m not going to be much good there today. No one wants a sick person cooking food.”
For several minutes she sat in peaceful silence, but that soon disappeared as Casey picked her up. He did this as if she weighed absolutely nothing. He pushed his hands beneath her knees and supported her back.
“Let’s get you home,” he said.
There was no energy inside her to fight, so she rested her head against his shoulder. “This is nice.” He chuckled, and she placed a hand on his chest. “You’re so hard. I always wondered if you were all muscle or if something else was making you up. I like how you feel, and it’s so good.”
“Open up the truck, princess,” he said.
She reached out and opened the handle. He placed her in the truck, being careful with her. She loved how he was behaving with her, like she was the most precious thing in the world to him. She could certainly get used to it.
Her head was pounding, and she drew her knees up, wrapping them around her body, and moaning as she did. “I’m so tired.”
“Go to sleep, baby. Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll take care of everything for you.”
“Who’ll take care of you? I like taking care of all of you. It’s what I’m good at.”
Casey ran his fingers through her hair. She felt his touch, and whimpered a little. For so long she’d been craving his touch, and it was just so typical that she was getting it now.
“I don’t want to be like those other women,” she said, closing her eyes.
“What other women?”
“The ones that you screw and never look at again. I want to be special to all of you all of the time. I don’t want to be lonely. I want to love you all.”
With that, she fell asleep, letting the darkness claim her.
****
Casey pulled into the parking lot, and he waved Parker and Shawn over. They were just about to climb on their horses, but he wanted help to get her into her room.
“What is it?” Shawn asked.
“Our woman is ill.” He opened the passenger door and carried her out. She was still so tired that she rolled toward him, snuggling against his chest. Poppy wanted them; what she didn’t want was for them to treat her like others.
They all needed to show her that she was nothing like the other women.
“Is she okay?” Shawn asked.
“She’s been sick all night, and no one’s been there. This shit changes. I don’t give a fuck what she says. I want one of you to go and grab everything from her trailer, and to talk to Herbert. Let him know that Poppy’s not coming back to that trailer.”
