When Julie sat down, she started going over her lists for the wedding, trying to keep one eye on the progress of the class. The next thing she knew, Pete was waking her up.
“Pete?” Why was the gym empty? Where’d everyone go? “Is class over?”
“Yeah, you fell asleep about five minutes into it.” He laid a hand across her forehead. “That’s what I thought. You’re burning up. I told you that you couldn’t keep up this pace you’ve been maintaining.”
She shoved up off the mats. The room spun and she fought to remain upright.
Pete grabbed hold of her elbow to steady her.
“I’m fine. I’m just a little worn down. After a full night’s sleep, I’m sure I’ll feel better.”
He watched her skeptically as he shoved a small bottle of orange juice into her hand. “Here, drink this and then I’ll take you home. You need the vitamin C and the electrolytes.”
“That’s not necessary. I can get home by myself just fine.”
“I might believe that if I hadn’t just watched you spend the last hour passed out in the corner. I’ll get you home tonight and then if you’re feeling okay in the morning, I can bring you into work. I work the late shift tomorrow, so it’s no problem.”
Julie wanted to argue, but honestly, she just didn’t have the energy for it, so she just nodded meekly. “Okay, thanks, Pete.”
When they got into his truck, she asked, “Hey, did I hallucinate, or were you and Toni looking awfully cozy when I walked in tonight?”
He gave her a blinding smile with a full-on blast of those dimples. “She asked me out to dinner on Wednesday. I’m assuming I have you to thank for that?”
“Well, that depends. Did you say yes or no?”
“I said yes.”
She smiled and closed her eyes as she lay back against the headrest. Her head still pounded in rhythm to her heartbeat. “Okay, good. Just save me a dance at the wedding.”
She dozed off to the sound of his chuckle in the dark.
She woke up and was startled to find Pete leaning over her, kissing her forehead. She jerked her head back in surprise.
“Sorry,” he brushed her bangs back over her forehead, his eyes glittering in the dark of the cab of the truck. “I just wanted to make sure your fever wasn’t at a dangerous level.”
“You can tell that with your lips?” Her voice was scratchy from sleep.
“Yeah, actually I can. I’m a lot older than my brothers and sisters and was left taking care of them most of the time. We didn’t have a working thermometer. I got pretty good at gauging when they were getting too warm.”
“So, what’s the verdict then, doctor?”
He gave her a half-smile. “I think you’re probably sitting at about 101 degrees. I recommend lots of sleep and fluids. Come on, I’ll walk you to your door.”
Chapter 14
Chris hobbled into the hangar. His knee was killing him. The nightmares were particularly bad last night, so he’d run twice his normal distance this morning. If he was exhausted enough, he would sleep too deeply for dreams, right? Probably not, but at this point he was willing to try just about anything. He had to sleep to be able to fly and it had to happen without pain killers. Mad Rob needed him to get his shit together.
He was surprised to see Mick and one of the other mechanics standing and frowning into the open engine cowling of the De Havilland. He detoured over to them. Mick glanced up and refocused his frown onto Chris’s knee. Obviously, Chris needed to work harder to cover that limp.
Chris nodded toward the engine. “What’s the problem?”
“It’s leaking oil and we’re trying to trace where it’s coming from.”
“Colt and I were planning to take it up this afternoon. Should we reschedule?”
“Probably.” He turned his scowl toward Chris. “Besides it looks to me like you should be elevating that knee today.”
“The knee is fine,” he mumbled. “There’s probably just a change in weather coming so it’s flaring a bit.”
“Hm-mmm.” Mick didn’t sound convinced. “I could have sworn they said on the news this morning we were supposed to stay in the mid-seventies all week and I’m not feeling my arthritis today.”
He didn’t like the knowing look in Mick’s eyes. “Well, maybe the barometer in my knee isn’t that accurate yet. Let us know when you think we’ll be able to take her up, okay?”
“Sure thing, boss.”
Chris walked across the hangar floor, concentrating on keeping his