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In fact, I went back to feeling nothing but concern, because Dakota looked absolutely horrible. She was beautiful, obviously, but there was no question she was sick.
“Oh my God. Are you alright?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer to my question.
“I don’t think I was wearing enough layers when I was outside running around in the snow with you,” she replied, her voice hoarse.
Without waiting for an invitation, I stepped inside and closed the door. “You’ve been sick since then?” I questioned her.
With a big, heavy blanket wrapped around her body, she said, “I started feeling achy the next night. It’s gotten worse ever since.”
Understanding how long it took her to get to the door after I knocked, I realized just how exhausted she must have been. I felt horrible.
“Were you in your bed?”
She nodded.
There was something about seeing her in this state that was both adorable and heartbreaking all at the same time.
I wrapped my arm around her back, my hand settling on her opposite shoulder. “Come on,” I urged. “Let’s get you back in bed.”
For a brief moment, I thought I felt her body tense, but I wrote it off as my mind playing tricks on me.
I walked beside Dakota and helped her back to bed. As soon as she climbed in, I noticed how badly her body was trembling. My guess was that she had a fever.
“Do you have a thermometer?” I asked her.
Pulling the blanket up to just beneath her chin, she shook her head.
I placed my hand on her forehead, confirmed my suspicions, and asked, “Have you taken anything for your fever?”
“I don’t have anything here,” she rasped.
Damn it. She’d been here for at least two days feeling horrible with absolutely no relief while I took my time trying to devise a plan to convince her to have dinner with me.
“Okay. You hang tight. I’m going to run back over to my place, grab a few things, and I’ll be back,” I told her.
“What if I get you sick?” she asked.
I offered her a smile as I reached up and brushed her hair back from her face. “Well, sweetheart, if that happens, let’s hope that you’re feeling better by then and can return the favor of nursing me back to health.”
Her lips parted, something strange washing over her expression. I wanted to ask her what it was about, but I thought it was more important to take care of her.
So, I promised, “I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.”
With that, I walked out of her bedroom and out of the cabin. As quickly as I could, I made my way back to my place, loaded up the things I thought I might need, and I locked up as I left. I wouldn’t be back to my place tonight. In fact, until Dakota was feeling one hundred percent, I’d only be back to take care of feeding the animals and to check on the woodstove.
By the time I returned to Dakota’s cabin, she seemed to have gotten worse.
“It’s so cold,” she said through her chattering teeth.
“I know. That’s your fever talking,” I told her. I grabbed the glass she had on her nightstand and said, “I’m going to get you some fresh water.”
Dakota didn’t respond. She just continued to tremble in the bed.
My legs carried me to the kitchen, where I dumped what was remaining in the glass before refilling it.
I took that and some medicine I’d grabbed from my place back to her bedroom. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I urged, “Let me help you up, so you can take this medicine to help with the fever.”
