Cowboy Come Home (14 page)

“You went to public school?”

“Yeah. But I came home afterward. She worked out of the house. She bought me a computer and encouraged me to entertain myself with it.”

He paused, and she slipped a spoonful of ice cream in.

“Don’t try to talk too much. Doc said you had to rest.”

“You’re probably more tired than me.”

She gave him another bite of ice cream.

By the time the ice cream was gone, he was almost asleep. He scooted over a little and patted the bed beside him.

“What?” she asked, confused.

“Lie down a few minutes. Keep me company.”

She stared at him. “You’re kidding, aren’t you?”

Almost like Toby, his lips turned down. “I’ve been lonely.”

“You’re supposed to rest.”

“I’ll be resting. Besides, you owe me one. I had to put up with Butch.”

She started to protest his words about Butch, but as tired as she was, the bed looked so comfortable. With a sigh, she slid next to him, resting her head against the pillow. “Okay. Just for a minute.”

His arm tightened around her, pulling her a little closer. Then he kissed her brow.

His warmth was probably from fever, but it was soothing to her tired body. She wouldn’t stay. But she deserved this moment out of time.

That was her last conscious thought.

Until seven o’clock the next morning when a booming voice awakened her from the doorway.

“What the hell is going on around here?”

Chapter Eleven

C
amille struggled to open her eyes. Her ears told her Jake Randall was back home. That couldn’t be true.

But it was.

And he was staring at her and Griffin as if they’d committed a mortal sin.

“Calm down, Jake. It’s not what you think,” Griffin protested, his voice rusty.

“It sure as hell better not be,” Jake said, his voice a little calmer.

“Daddy?” Toby called from down the hall.

Camille heard his feet pounding as he sprinted for his father.

“Where’s Mom?”

“She’s not here yet, son. Pete and I came ahead, but the rest of them are in San Francisco, taking an extra day.” After giving Toby a hug, he asked, “Have you been missing school?”

“Not a single day. I tried to stay home because of Torie and Caroline, but Camille and Uncle Griff said I had to go.”

Camille had gotten awake enough to start pushing back the covers. She was still dressed in jeans and shirt. She even wore her tennis shoes. She looked up to find Jake staring at her.

“I accidentally fell asleep,” she muttered.

“What about Torie and Caroline? Is something wrong?”

“Chicken pox,” Toby announced succinctly.

Jake spun around, as if he intended to race off to Caroline’s room.

“Wait, Jake. Don’t awaken the girls.” Camille tucked the cover back around Griffin. “Are you feeling better?” she asked.

“I think my fever’s come back,” he said with a sigh.

Jake stared at his cousin. “Are you sick, too? What do you have?”

Toby supplied the answer again. “Chicken pox.”

Pete appeared behind Jake in the doorway. “The boys are still sleeping. And they have red dots on their faces.”

Toby sighed. “Chicken pox,” he repeated a second time.

Camille smiled. “Maybe you should wear a sign, Toby, so you won’t have to tell them a hundred times.” She started for the door. “I need to get Griffin more medicine and something to drink. Then I’ll fix you a quick breakfast, Toby. Go get dressed. Maybe your dad will drive you to the bus stop this morning.”

“Of course I will. Look, I didn’t mean to sound so—so censorious earlier. I was surprised. But I didn’t like the idea of you two—I mean, it might be hard to explain to Toby,” Jake explained, his cheeks almost as red as Camille’s. He immediately changed the subject after she nodded. “But how long has this been going on, Camille? And where are Red and Mildred? Don’t tell me they overslept, too.”

She tried to smooth her hair with her hands as she eased past Pete and Jake. “No, they’re in Cheyenne, where Mildred’s cousin lives. The lady fell and broke her hip and didn’t have anyone else to take care of her.”

“And Red left you here alone?” Jake demanded, his voice rising in exasperation.

“No, he left me here with Griff, who has been terrific. At the time, we didn’t know we were going to have an outbreak of chicken pox.”

“Couldn’t you have called Red to come home?” Pete asked reasonably, more relaxed than his brother.

“Of course. But Griff just came down with it yesterday, so I hadn’t quite decided what to do. Besides, the cleaning ladies have been helping me.”

“How bad do the boys have it?” Pete asked.

Jake murmured about checking on Caroline, while Camille, with Pete following after her, went down to the kitchen.

“They’re doing all right. Better actually now that both of them are sick. Richard couldn’t understand why Russell didn’t want to play.”

They’d reached the kitchen, and she began preparing breakfast. As soon as she had the bacon cooking, she poured a glass of lemonade and got Griffin’s medicine. “Can you take this up to Griff? He’ll need help drinking because he doesn’t have much strength.”

“Sure. Anything else?”

“As soon as the boys wake up, they’ll want an oatmeal bath. There’s a packet in the bathroom. After they’ve soaked awhile, gently dry them off and apply lotion to their bumps. Oh, and encourage them not to scratch.”

Pete took the glass and medicine and disappeared.

Camille told herself she could’ve managed, but the relief that filled her that some of the Randalls had returned made her less confident.

As she turned the bacon, Jake entered the kitchen. “The girls are still asleep, except for Miss Torie,” he said, carrying the baby. “I changed her diaper and I think she’s hungry.”

“Yes, I’m sure she is. She was the first with the chicken pox, and she’s getting better. Can you fix her a bottle?”

“Sure. We owe you a lot, Camille, for keeping things going, taking such good care of our babies.”

She smiled over her shoulder at him as he poured formula into a baby bottle. “You’d better think of a real big treat for Toby, too. He has been wonderful. We couldn’t have managed without him.”

“You mean something more than a coconut?” Jake asked, a grin on his face.

“How did you know he was concerned about that gift?”

“I teased him before I left. He tried hard to look enthusiastic, but he’s not a good actor.”

“Maybe not, but he’s a terrific family man, just like the other Randalls. Including Griff. Griff cleaned, cooked and took care of the little ones.”

“Glad to hear it. He’s not used to a lot of family.”

She smiled but said nothing else. She wanted to give Griff his due, but she didn’t want to initiate any discussions about what Jake saw this morning.

As if he read her mind, he asked, “What was going on this morning?”

Stirring the eggs she was scrambling, she considered her answer. Finally, she said, “I was talking to him, to see how he was doing, and I fell asleep because I was so tired. I must’ve run up and down those stairs a million times yesterday.”

“So he behaved himself?”

She spun around to stare at him. “Jake Randall, how dare you accuse Griff of—of...”

“Now, Cammy, you’re Megan’s sister, family, you know. I feel responsible. And we all know Griff is, ahem, attracted to you.”

Though her cheeks were bright red, she turned back to the eggs before they could burn. “Griff and I understand each other, Jake. And he’s a gentleman.” Well, most of the time. The kiss when he passed out was a bit of a surprise, but she wasn’t going to mention that. Or his hallucinations or dreams or whatever they were.

Pete came back down. “I think Griff is ready for breakfast, Camille.”

“Good, thanks, Pete. Jake, you’d better go tell Toby breakfast is ready.”

She put the platter of eggs and bacon on the table and began making toast. As soon as Jake returned with Toby, she fixed a plate for Griffin and left the menfolk in charge at the breakfast table.

“Griff? Are you hungry?” she asked as she slipped into his room. His eyes were closed, but they flickered open as soon as she spoke.

“Yeah. I need to get my strength back.”

“No, right now you need to rest. You’re still running a fever.” She crossed to the bed and settled down on the edge of it.

“Did Jake give you a rough time?” he asked as she arranged pillows behind his back.

Her arms were almost around his head, and she looked down at him with a smile. “Yes, and he blamed you.”

When Griff frowned, she realized he didn’t recognize her teasing. “I’m teasing you, Griff. Everything’s fine. I explained that I fell asleep because I was too tired.”

“Because I left you stranded.”

“Open up.” She stuck a bite of eggs in his mouth. “You didn’t choose to get sick. You need to remember that.”

He sighed. “I know, but it was rotten timing.”

“Have a drink of milk.”

“Milk? Don’t I get coffee?”

“Milk is good for you. Now, eat your breakfast and drink your milk.” She spoke as if she were addressing one of the twins.

Griff’s eyes narrowed. “Hmm. What bribe do I get?”

“Bribe? You mean you want a cookie afterward?”

“No, not a cookie. If I drink my milk, I think I should get a morning kiss. On the lips,” he added firmly.

Camille couldn’t help smiling. He sounded so much like one of the little boys. “Okay. One kiss for one glass of milk.”

Without another word, he picked up the glass and downed the entire contents. Camille stared at him in amazement.

“Where’s my kiss?”

She took the napkin she’d added to his tray and wiped off his milk mustache. Then she leaned forward for a chaste kiss on his sexy lips.

That kind of kiss wasn’t what he had in mind. One arm came around her neck, and he pressed her against him, his lips moving against hers, urging her mouth to open to his.

“Ahem! Am I interrupting?” Doc asked from the doorway.

Camille sat up so quickly, she almost tumbled the tray to the floor. “Doc! I didn’t know you where stopping by.”

“Yeah, I thought I’d better check on Griff here, but he seems to be doing real well.”

“He—he was still running a fever this morning. And he wants coffee. Is that all right?” She was afraid Griffin was going to say something inappropriate, so she stuck more eggs in his mouth as he opened it.

“Coffee’s fine. Why don’t you bring us both up one. I left early so I could come by here. Didn’t get my usual cup.”

She looked at Griffin and the food left on the plate. “Okay. Do you want to finish feeding him?”

“Be glad to.”

She gave Doc the tray and hurried from the room.

Doc settled down in the chair and scooped up a forkful of eggs. “You’re getting real good service, Griff.”

“Yeah,” Griffin agreed, chewing his eggs and avoiding Doc’s stare.

“You get any medicine this morning?”

“Yeah.” He reached over and picked up a piece of toast from the tray.

“we’ll need to take your temperature before you drink that hot coffee. But it looks like you might be having a mild case.”

“So I can get up?”

“Absolutely not. You’ve got at least a couple more days in bed. And maybe longer.”

Jake entered the room with two mugs of coffee. “I understand someone wants coffee in here.”

Doc took his with a sigh of appreciation. Griffin discovered he wasn’t that anxious for coffee after all. Especially when it was delivered by his eagleeyed cousin.

“Griff and Camille seem to be getting along just fine,” Doc said casually, and Griff almost spilled his coffee.

He set his cup on the lamp table. “Doc,” he said warningly.

Jake’s expression sharpened. “What do you mean?”

“I interrupted them kissing this morning. And I’m not sure what was going on when Griff passed out yesterday.” Doc picked up Griffin’s second piece of toast and took a bite.

Jake eyed his cousin, and Griff couldn’t meet his glance. He knew he had no business kissing Camille, but she was so tempting.

“I’ll discuss that with Griff later. Now I need to ask you about Anna,” Jake said, his voice turning serious.

“Anna? What’s wrong with Anna?” Doc dropped his lazy teasing at once. Anna frequently assisted in his office, in addition to acting as midwife for the county.

“She’s expecting again. Will the chicken pox be a problem?”

“Lord have mercy. Yes, it will. Is she here?”

“No. Pete and I came ahead. The others are in San Francisco for a day of shopping.”

“Well, it’s not like measles, but the more she avoids illness, the better off she’ll be. Can they stay in San Francisco a few days longer?”

Griffin groaned. “I’ll pick up the bill for an extended stay, Jake.”

Jake stared at him, “You think the chicken pox is your fault, cuz?”

“Well, I—”

“Don’t be foolish, boy,” Doc admonished. “Though it’s a nice offer. Brett can pay for his own second honeymoon. You should concentrate on your first.”

Griffin stared at him, his mouth open, and Jake laughed. “You sure shut him up, Doc. I’ll go call San Francisco, then take Toby to the bus stop. See you later.”

As soon as Jake had left the room, Griff grabbed Doc’s arm. “Doc, what you saw was—I mean, I’m not getting married. Ever.”

Doc sipped his coffee, then said, “You sure are a Randall. Are all of you born with fear of marriage, or are you taught it from the cradle?”

“I was taught from the cradle...by my mother.” Griff sank back against the pillows, suddenly tired.

“You’d best rest, boy. Remember, stay in bed. And if you don’t want to get burned, you shouldn’t play with matches.” Without waiting for an answer, he left the room, coffee mug in hand.

Griff finished his piece of toast and sipped his coffee, thinking about what Doc had said. He was right, damn it. Griff had no business kissing Camille so much. So why was he doing it, other than because of Camille’s sexiness?

Was he changing his mind? Had his cousins’ happy marriages made him believe in everlasting love? Confusion filled him. He didn’t know what to think.

After another sip of his coffee, he gave in to the exhaustion filling him and drifted off to sleep, thoughts of Camille on his mind.