Beginning of Forever (Heaven Hill #7) (15 page)

T
he Blackfoot family had settled into a routine since their vacation in late August, but October had come roaring in like a lion and thrown them completely off track.

Meredith sighed, she was tired. So very tired.

“Is she down for the count?” Tyler asked as he walked into the living room, towel-drying his long hair.

“God, I hope so.” She smiled ruefully.

Adalynn was always a force to be reckoned with. Even sick with the stomach flu, she’d managed to run them ragged. “I kinda do too,” he whispered. “I don’t want her to puke in my hair ever again.”

She giggled, holding her arms out for him. “She didn’t mean to do it.”

“I know.” He collapsed on the couch next to her. “But if I ever have to deal with getting that out of this hair again—it will be too soon—and I might be forced to cut it.”

Meredith shot him a look. “The hell you will. I love your hair.” She ran her fingers through it, getting the tangles out as she did. “It’s one of the main reasons you get lucky,” she flirted.

His dark eyes heated as he glanced over at her. “Is that right?” He threw the towel on the floor, and within seconds, he had her spread out on the couch, her body underneath his.

“Completely right,” she breathed as she circled her arms around his neck.

The words he whispered were laced with dark promise. “Then we’ll just have to see if I can give you better reasons besides my hair.”

“As much as I’d like to make you prove that, I am so freaking tired right now.” She sighed, lying back against the couch. “I already called CRISIS and let them know I wouldn’t be in for the next couple of days. I still have a ton of vacation time.”

“There was a point where I don’t think you ever took a day off from that place. I know that it helped tremendously in your recovery, but I’m glad to know it isn’t what your life is about anymore. Certain things about that place worry me,” Tyler admitted as he had a seat on the couch, lifting her head into his lap. With lazy strokes, he ran his fingers through her hair.

“Oh my God, that feels good. I’m so tired that even my hair hurts.” She laughed softly.

“I’m sorry you had to deal with the initial bout of sickness by yourself,” he apologized, laying his head back against the couch.

Denise had been watching Addie for the day, and when Meredith had dropped her off, she noticed she wasn’t as lively as normal, but it was early in the morning and sometimes that was how Addie was. Three hours into her workday at CRISIS, Denise had called and told Meredith that she thought Addie had a stomach virus.

This was the first time since she’d come to live with them that Addie had ever been sick. Worried, Meredith called Tyler and explained to him what was going on but told him she’d be fine on her own, and he could keep on working. This was how normal couples did it; when you were mom and dad, you made things work. He’d lasted a total of two hours before she’d heard his bike coming up the driveway, and she’d almost cried with relief. Addie had been repeatedly sick, and she’d cleaned up more puke than she ever thought possible.

“It’s okay. I’m glad you showed up when you did though, and I’m really sorry that she got your hair.” She grimaced, reaching up to grab a strand of his hair that brushed her arm.

“Me too.” He laughed.

When he’d stomped up the front porch, he’d been like a savior, carrying crackers and Sprite. They’d managed to get some of both into their little girl, but it had still been a few hours before the puking had stopped. “I called the doctor’s office to make sure we didn’t need to bring her in,” Meredith told him, her eyes getting heavy. “They said it’s a virus going around, and there’s nothing they can do about it. As long as her fever doesn’t last and she can keep liquids down, then we shouldn’t worry.”

He dragged a hand across his face. “Her fever broke an hour ago, I took her temperature myself.”

“Good.” She breathed out a sigh of relief. “I don’t wanna get up from here.”

“Then don’t.” He pushed her up, situated them, and pulled the blanket they kept on the back of the couch down, placing it over top of them. “Let’s get some sleep,” he whispered, reaching up to turn the light out on the table that sat next to their couch.

That sounded like the best idea she’d ever heard in her life.

Sometime in the wee early morning hours, Meredith knew she was in trouble. Her stomach clenched and then unclenched, saliva pooled in her mouth, and her head swam. Fighting to leap up off the couch, afraid that she was going to puke all over Tyler, she tried to break his hold on her.

“Let me go,” she yelled at him, as she struggled to stand and run to the bathroom.

Tyler came in after her, holding her hair back as she lost everything in her stomach.

“Shit.” She leaned her head against the porcelain finish, glad for the coolness against her face. When Tyler nudged her, holding out a wash cloth, she gratefully accepted it.

“You okay?” he asked as he rubbed her back.

She shook her head as she again tossed her cookies. This was going to be a very long morning.

*

“Yeah, I’m really worried about her.”

Meredith could hear Tyler’s voice, but it sounded like it came from a million miles away. She’d tried to move further than ten feet from the bathroom, but it hadn’t worked out for her. For hours, she’d puked. Her stomach was sore, her throat was burning, and she knew from looking in the mirror at some point that her eyes were bloodshot. She had no idea what Tyler was doing, and at this point, she absolutely didn’t give a shit.

“Since B’s been in the school system and had this a week ago, I figured she’d be okay to watch Addie,” Tyler’s voice trailed off as she tried to focus on what he was saying.

Addie, she’d forgotten Addie. She needed to go check on her, but she couldn’t make herself get up from the cool linoleum floor. It felt so good against her hot skin, but she shivered too, moaning her appreciation when she felt a thin blanket put over her. She pulled it up around her neck and tried to drift off to sleep.

“We’re gonna get you some help, baby,” she heard Tyler again. “Just hang in there for a little while longer.”

*

It seemed like forever until he heard the soft knock at their front door. Getting up from the bathroom floor, he quickly made his way to the front of the house and opened it, letting B and Jagger in.

“Thank you so much for coming,” he told them.

“Not a problem,” B told him. She had gotten out of bed, put on some sweats, her hair into a ponytail, and rushed over here, Jagger driving her Mustang, because he loved to drive it fast. “Why don’t you let Jagger drive you to the ER? You look beat,” she told the big man.

“I think I’ll be fine,” he argued.

“No.” Jagger put his hand on Tyler’s arm. “She’s right, you look tired as hell. No reason you should get into a wreck trying to get her there. It’s not that big of a deal. I don’t care to drive you and stick around.”

“I’ll be here, disinfecting,” B told him, holding up a bag of cleaning products. “This is not a pretty virus, and if you’re not puking yet, you’re lucky.”

“Okay.” He nodded. It wasn’t normal for him to let other people take charge, but right now he just wanted to get Meredith help. He knew she was getting dehydrated; he’d never seen anyone puke as much as she had, had never seen anyone that sick in his life. “Let me go get her.”

“Wait.” B stopped him, a hand on his shoulder. “When was the last time you took Addie’s temp?”

He fought to remember. It had been before they fell asleep, and then he had been consumed with Meredith since he’d woken up. He hadn’t even thought to check on his daughter. “Hours,” he admitted, swallowing roughly. “I didn’t even think to check on her.” He ran a hand through his hair and then let it drop to his side.

“I’m sure she’s fine, Ty,” B told him, encouragement strong in her voice. “I’m just gonna go check on her.”

He watched her walk towards Addie’s room and then turned towards the bathroom. “We’ll take the SUV in case Meredith gets sick again. I’d hate to mess up the Mustang.”

Within minutes, he’d roused her, and B had checked on Addie and confirmed she was sleeping peacefully. Before they walked out of the house, Bianca shoved a trash bag in their hands. “Just in case. A car ride might not be the best thing in the world for her right now.”

Tyler took the trash bag, thanking her, before he made his way out to the SUV that Jagger had pulled to the front of the house. Bianca watched as they left, hoping that they could give Meredith something to settle her stomach; she hadn’t looked good, at all. Sighing, she grabbed her bag of cleaning supplies and went about disinfecting the house. At least that was something she could do while she waited.

‡
Chapter Eighteen

U
sually Tyler Blackfoot was a very patient man. He’d been known to wait for hours, sometimes days or weeks, for the person he was watching to slip up. They always hung themselves, and he was always there to catch them. That patience had left him the minute Ashley met them at the doors to the emergency room and leveled him with a stare. She could tell he wasn’t going to let them do what they needed to, so she told him to wait outside. It had taken Jagger talking softly in his ear to calm him down. He’d reminded him that Meredith needed help and it would be best if they could work on her without him hovering.