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“You’re doing a good job.”
“Thanks.”
Cade spoon-feeds me the broth. It’s rich and savory and goes down surprisingly easily. He’s calm and patient, and even when I half cough as he puts the spoon to my mouth and I spray him in broth, he only chuckles and wipes my face with the corner of his sleeve.
“Sorry about that.” I’m embarrassed.
“Don’t worry about it. You had enough?”
I nod. “Thanks.”
I’m suddenly exhausted again. My limbs are heavy, and I don’t think I can sit up any longer. My leg is throbbing. I hope the Tylenol will kick in soon.
“She needs to get some rest,” Reed says.
It’s only when I go to pull the blankets back up around me that I realize I’m only in my t-shirt and panties. Something else dawns on me, too, and a fresh sense of mortification heats me from the inside. Though I’m aware that I’m dehydrated, my bladder is so full it’s almost painful, and there is no way I can get to the toilet on my own.
“Can someone help me to the bathroom?”
“Of course,” Reed says.
He scoops me up as though I weigh nothing. He carries me to the bathroom and literally places me on the toilet. He doesn’t leave.
I find the strength to raise my eyebrows at him. “I think I can manage this part alone.”
“Oh, sure. Shout when you’re done.” He leaves the small bathroom and closes the door behind him.
I really don’t want Reed helping me off the toilet. I know they’ve been caring for me since I’ve been sick, but I’d like to keep at least a fragment of dignity.
I finish up and pull my panties back up and use the wall to stand. My thighs tremble, and I struggle to put weight on the injured leg. I have no choice but to stop.
“Reed?”
I feel utterly pathetic. He opens the door and comes back in, then he scoops me up again, holding me against his chest. I wrap my arms around his neck and bury my face in his shoulder. Maybe I should care more that he’s just practically had to carry me on and off the toilet, but honestly, I don’t have the energy to care.
Just that tiny thing has sapped all the energy from me, and I’m thankful to be back in my bed, even if it is just a bare mattress on the floor. I note how I’ve got a couple of extra blankets and realize the men have donated theirs to me. I don’t want them to go without, but I know if I try to give them back, they’ll only refuse, and I don’t have the strength to fight them.
A WHOLE WEEK PASSESbefore I finally start to feel like myself again.
The cut on my leg is still healing, but no longer looks sore and angry, and I’m able to bear weight on it. I hate that I haven’t been able to help with any of the chores while I’ve been sick, and that the guys have been carrying me.
I want to do my part.
First, though, I need to wash. I’ve been brought wet rags and soap to clean up as best I can in the bathroom, but what I really want is to submerge myself in the cold, rushing water of the river. I know I’ll feel so much better after I’ve ducked my head under. There’s something revitalizing about it. It makes me understand why people are submerged in water to be baptized.
Reed and Cade are both out, checking the traps and gathering firewood. Darius stayed with me, though I told him I didn’t need a babysitter. They’re all still worried that I’ll take a sudden turn, though. I won’t forget how they took care of me when I was sick. They could have written me off, but instead,they nurtured me. I never would have thought them capable of being so caring. I have no doubt that I wouldn’t have made it if it wasn’t for them. I owe them my life.
“I guess I don’t smell great,” I say to Darius apologetically.
His sense of smell is far better than any of ours. He uses his other senses as his eyes.
He throws me a grin. “You’re fine.”
“That’s sweet, but I’m really not.” I lift an arm to sniff at my armpit and grimace.
“Do you want me to help you down to the river?” he offers.
“If that’s all right?”
