and forget about my crappy day. Tell me something.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Something that’ll make me smile.”
He was quiet for a few moments and then said, “My sisters used to dress me up and make me attend tea parties.”
She couldn’t help it. She laughed. It started as a small bubble of warmth deep in her core and then blossomed. “You’re kidding.”
“Not even a little. They treated me like one of their dolls. It was awful.”
Contrary to his words, she could hear the smile in his voice, as if it was a funny, if slightly humbling, memory.
“They’re older than you, I take it.”
“Yes.”
“You’re the baby, huh?”
“Yep, just like you.”
“How many sisters do you have?”
“Five.” He laughed. “It was a running joke in our house that my dad was determined to keep trying until he had a son.” Doc’s voice grew richer, warmer.
“Wow. And I thought I had it bad with three older brothers.”
A wave of dizziness came out of nowhere and washed over her. Tina’s eyes popped open. “Whoa.”
“What’s wrong?”
She blinked several times until the room stopped spinning. “I don’t know. I just got really dizzy there for a second.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I just ...” Her stomach began to roil, even as a cold feeling swept over her. “Uh, scratch that. I’m sorry. I have to go.”
Tina disconnected the call and rushed toward the bathroom, stumbling several times as her stiff joints refused to cooperate. She barely made it to the toilet before her dinner made a sudden and violent reappearance.
“Where the hell did that come from?” she moaned into the empty space around her, but she knew. She’d been pushing herself too hard, and her compromised autoimmune system was pushing back.
She remained on the floor until she was certain there was nothing left, then crawled back toward her bed. Her head was now pounding, her entire body ached, and she had a full-blown case of the chills.
Her phone was still lying where she’d tossed it, the blinking light indicating a new message. She picked it up and forced herself to focus.
Doc: What happened? Are you okay?
Doc: Do you need anything?
Doc: I can be there in thirty, faster if you need me to be.
Doc: TINA. Let me know you’re okay. Please.
Doc: Thirty seconds more, and I’m driving down there.
Despite feeling like crap, Doc’s texts made her smile.
Tina: I’m okay. I think I picked up the flu.
She’d barely hit Send when a message came back.
Doc: What can I do? Do you need anything?
Tina: No, just rest.
Three dots appeared and then disappeared. This happened several more times before the next text came through.
Doc: Okay. If you need anything—and I mean, anything—call me.
Tina: I will, thanks.
Doc: Get some rest. Call me in the morning and let me know how you’re doing.
Tina managed to send him a thumbs-up emoji before the body shakes took hold.
Chapter Eighteen
Doc
Doc waited all of fifteen minutes after Tina’s abrupt gotta go before he grabbed his go-bag, jumped in his Rubicon, and headed down the mountain. He’d sent several texts, and she hadn’t responded to any of them.
Was he overreacting? Maybe.
Did he care? Not particularly.
The only two things that mattered were that Tina was ill and that he might be able to help. More importantly, he needed to know she was okay.
He was quite well aware that he might be pushing a few boundaries. They were still in the early stages of their relationship, but he already felt invested, and from what he’d been able to glean from their nightly convos, she didn’t have a lot of people who had her six.
Tina’s answering text came through when he was at the town limits. Doc made a sudden hard right into the twenty-four-hour gas station on the corner, his breath coming easier as he read her message twice more and tapped out a response.
Several brief texts later, it was clear that she didn’t need his immediate assistance. For now, he would rein in his baser urges, but if she wasn’t feeling any better tomorrow, he would be back with supplies and whatever else she needed.
Instead of heading right back to Sanctuary, Doc figured he might as well top off the tank as long as he was there, so he pulled up to one of the open pumps. He was swiping his card when another vehicle pulled in on his right to do the same.
Doc didn’t pay much attention to the pickup at first. It looked like half the vehicles in Sumneyville, except that it was newer than most.