Sweet as Candy - Karla Doyle Page 0,61

pinged with an incoming text.

The doctor cleared Macy to go home.

“Finally,” Jake said, reading Candace’s message. Beside him on the couch, Trooper lifted his head and cocked it to one side. Jake stroked the dog’s fur until Trooper sighed and went back to sleep.

He rose from the couch, tapping a reply on his way out of the living room.

That’s great news. On my way now, I’ll pick you up from your place in fifteen minutes.

I’m already at the hospital.

Of course she was. Candace had barely left Macy’s side since last Saturday night.

Macy’s sore stomach and vomiting had gone from bad to worse in the course of a few hours, to the point that Candace had taken Macy to the ER. With a dangerously high fever and severe dehydration, Macy had required IV fluids for twenty-four hours, then an additional three-day-stay in the hospital. Poor kid had been through the ringer. So had Candace.

Then I’ll meet you at your place after you get her home.

After hitting Send, he stood at his apartment door, waiting for the reply his gut told him would pop up.

That’s not necessary. I’ve got everything under control.

And there it was. Candace, subtly shutting him out, as she’d been doing all week.

Jake had spent as much time as possible at the hospital. But between his long-ass shifts, visiting-hour restrictions, and the walls Candace had thrown up, he hadn’t been there nearly enough.

Now that she and Macy were on their way home, things were going to change. Multiple things.

No point in texting back. Everything else would be better said in person. He tucked the phone in his pocket, grabbed his keys and headed out.

Jake

“Jake.” Legit surprise registered on Candace’s face at the sight of him on her doorstep. “I didn’t expect to see you.”

“Told you I’d meet you here.” He raised the shopping bag he’d brought. “I stopped and picked up a few things for my two sweets.”

She opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it and gave him a soft smile. “Thank you. For whatever it is.” Stepping aside, she opened the door wide and ushered him inside. “Macy will be so happy you’re here. She asked about you constantly.”

Crazy how much he liked hearing that. “I wish I could’ve been at the hospital more. I hope she knows I would’ve been there if I wasn’t on duty.”

“I explained that you had to work. And I read her your texts.”

“Not all of them, I hope.” He winked and moved closer, tucking her soft, golden hair behind her ear so he could whisper into it, “Some of those texts were just for you.”

“I didn’t read her those texts.” Her breath hitched as he traced the shell of her ear with his tongue. “Jake…”

“I know.” He placed a kiss on her cheek, then took a step back. “Is Macy awake, or should I come back later?”

“Oh, she’s awake. After being confined to a hospital bed for the last four days, I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get her into her own.” Candace motioned him to go beyond the hall. “I told her she could play quietly in her bedroom. You can go up. And if you find her jumping on the bed or overdoing it in some other way—”

“Tell her she needs to settle down and take it easy.”

A hint of a smile—the first he’d seen in days—curved her pretty mouth. “I was going to say that you can keep it as your special secret and not tell me.”

“Really?”

She nodded. “A perk of being a fun friend and not a parent figure.” Her comment held no negativity or sarcasm.

That didn’t stop his stomach from twisting as if he’d downed a glass of sour milk.

He reached into the shopping bag and retrieved a coloring book and pack of markers, then handed the bag to Candace. “Nothing exciting in there, just some food stuff. I figured you probably hadn’t been to the grocery store since you’ve been at the hospital pretty much 24/7, so I grabbed a few things I thought might be good for Macy, while she’s getting back to normal.”

“Thank you. You’re always so thoughtful.”

Because he was always thinking about her. How she still didn’t realize that boggled his mind. “Think we can find a few minutes together later, to talk?”

“I think we should.”

At least they agreed about that. He pointed the rolled-up coloring book toward the ceiling. “I’m going to head upstairs. You don’t want to come with?”

Candace’s hair danced on her shoulders as