When Hearts Collide - By James, Kendra Page 0,51

and waited for the Tylenol to kick in. The child moaned several times, then fell into a fitful sleep.

Molly tried to keep her eyes from closing, but she was so tired. She knew she should tell Pearce about the temperature, but the way Gracie clung to her made it impossible to disengage herself without waking her. Molly didn’t want to leave her alone. With her high fever, Gracie could have a febrile seizure.

It was the longest thirty minutes Molly had ever spent. Finally the medication began to work, Gracie’s body cooled, and she slept peacefully. When Molly was sure her fever was down, she tiptoed out of the room and down the stairs.

Pearce snored softly. Should she let him sleep? Gracie’s fever was down, at least for now. But if it were her child, she would want to be woken no matter what. She reached out her hand.

He roused with a gentle shake of his shoulder and stared up at her with sleep-hazed eyes. Then he was smiling. His lips curved in a tempting come-hither look that almost distracted her from the reason for her visit.

“Gracie has a fever.”

“Is she okay?”

“I gave her Tylenol. The fever’s come down, for now.”

He threw the covers off. “I’ll come up.”

Molly increased the pressure on the hand she had forgotten was still on Pearce’s shoulder. “She’s okay now. The fever is under control.”

“Please, Molly, help me up.”

“I’m going back up with her now. Why don’t you stay here? I’ll come get you if the fever returns.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

She had no idea if Gracie’s fever would return, but she knew she needed rest if she were to look after a sick child. Returning upstairs, Molly crawled into bed beside Gracie. Her body remained cool, and without rousing, she snuggled against her. Molly’s eyes were heavy and drifting shut, but before sleep came, she set a mental alarm clock to wake in two hours to recheck the child’s temperature.

The room was still bathed in darkness when she startled awake for the second time that night. Had Gracie’s fever come back? But the child remained sleeping and the body snuggling against her was warm, yet not feverish.

The nightlight cast a soft glow on a pale face surrounded by damp blond ringlets. Molly counted each slight rise of the sheet. The child’s breathing was even, no longer labored. She put a hand on her forehead. Molly sighed with relief that the fever remained at bay.

She crossed to the bathroom and ran a facecloth under the sink. Gracie slept through Molly wiping her forehead and changing her sweat soaked pajamas. Pulling a sheet over her small frame, Molly tucked it around her shoulders, then went back to her own room to rest for an hour.

Before the sun rose, Molly was back in the room. The child lay on her back, her open palms resting by her head. The glow of a nightlight showed two bright red, clown-like circles in the middle of chalk-white cheeks. Molly didn’t need a thermometer to know the fever was back full force. She gave her another dose of Tylenol then carried the child downstairs. Pearce must have heard. He was already at the door of his room.

“Pearce, her fever’s back.”

“Do we need to call Doctor Graham?”

“I’ll call him, if you sit with her.”

Pearce followed them to the family room. Molly left Gracie on the sofa cuddled in Pearce’s arms.

“I’ll be right back,” she said.

She returned in five minutes with a tray of ginger ale, crackers, bananas, and the bottle of Tylenol. “Doctor Graham suggests continuing with the Tylenol and fluids for today. If she still has a fever tomorrow, he’ll come and see her.”

That was how her day went. A constant battle with a raging fever, warded off for short periods with Tylenol, only to return a few hours later. At least Gracie was taking fluids between her periods of watching cartoons and sleeping on the couch. Pearce stayed with her. His concern and gentleness made tears well in Molly’s eyes more than once during the day.

It was at one of those times when Gracie, fever free and crayoning, looked up at Molly, concern darkening her luminescent blue eyes. “Molly, are you sad?”

Molly started and her hand flew to her eyes. She wiped at the tears. Sensitive to the mood swings of those around her, Gracie wanted everyone to be happy. She forced a bright smile before turning to the child. “No, I’m fine,” Molly lied. “I just had something in my eyes.”