Monroe, Marla - Their Border Lands Gift [Men of the Border Lands 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (9 page)

Kate rushed over to kneel by his side. She looked up at Bruce in hopes he would have some good news.

“He hasn’t woken up all night, Kate. He’s running a fever, but so far, it isn’t serious. His wound has some redness around it, so I’m worried it’s getting infected.” Bruce’s lips thinned when she bit her lower lip.

“How high has his fever gotten?” she asked.

“Just one hundred so far. I’m keeping a close watch on it.”

“What can I do to help?” She wanted to do something. Sitting around watching him would drive her crazy.

“Kate, if you want to help, you could fix us something for breakfast,” Bruce suggested.

“Cook? Um, sure. I can do that.” She took one last look at Mike and brushed a kiss on his warm forehead then walked out of the living room into the kitchen.

She poured a cup of the coffee and sipped at it while she searched to see what the men had available to cook. The coffee was a bit strong, but she felt she needed it to deal with the two men who her brother had given her to.

That thought tightened her gut and things further south. Her pussy leaked a small amount of her arousal. She couldn’t help but be attracted to them. They’d saved her not just once, but twice, and were two of the most ruggedly handsome men she had ever met. Her inner desire to know them more intimately had been a fantasy. Now, it could very easily become a reality if Mike didn’t recover.

He had to get well. She couldn’t imagine life without her brother in it. He’d been her mainstay for years now. Once he was well, things would go back to how they had been. Yet deep down inside, she knew that wasn’t possible. Yesterday had only proved that he couldn’t keep her safe by himself. Fear threatened to overwhelm her as she tried to push the thoughts back for the time being. She needed to cook something for them for breakfast. They were taking care of Mike and deserved a filling meal.

Kate settled on deer steak with gravy. She was just about to start cooking when Marcus walked into the kitchen. He smiled at her and grabbed a basket and a bucket.

“I’m going to go milk the cow and grab whatever eggs I can find from the hens if you want to wait for me to come back.”

“You have hens and a milk cow?” She could cook them eggs to go with the steak.

“Yep. I’ll be back in a little while. Hold off for about thirty minutes.” He pulled on his coat and slipped his feet into a pair of boots standing at the back door.

Then he slipped outside, letting a swirl of cold air in to circulate around the kitchen. Kate shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. She sipped on the coffee and thought about what her future would hold even if Mike recovered. He would insist that she had to find two men. Even if these two didn’t want her, he would surely pick one of the other two sets of bachelors in the area.

Neither of them were the least bit attractive to her. They all seemed so young, when in fact they were about the same age she was. If she was going to be honest, she would have to admit that she was attracted to Bruce and Marcus. They aroused more than just a curiosity about them. They left her wet when they touched her or talked to her. She’d felt scandalous thinking about them when they were obviously grieving over their late wife.

The back door opened, startling her. She looked up and found Marcus struggling to shut the door with a basket in one hand and a bucket nearly full of milk with the other hand. She raced to the door and pushed it shut against the wind.

“Getting colder outside. I expect it’s going to snow soon. Got to get over to your place and do something about the mess we left behind.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought about that.” She shivered at the memory of the two men.

“Fuck! I’m sorry I brought that up, Kate.”

“It’s okay. I’m going to have breakfast ready in just a few minutes.”

She busied herself at the stove, still keenly aware of the other man in the room. He strained the milk and then left it covered by the back door where the cool air seeped beneath it.

Kate quickly filled two plates with deer steak, gravy, and eggs. She carried them into the other room for the men then returned with fresh coffee.

“Do you want a glass of milk? I didn’t think of that.” She clasped her hands in front of her.

“No thanks, Kate.” Bruce waved toward the kitchen. “Go fix your plate and come sit down and eat.”

“I ate while I cooked. I can watch Mike while you eat.”

“That would be good. We’ll go on into the kitchen, then.” Bruce stood up and Marcus followed him.

Kate took Mike’s hand in hers and squeezed it. She leaned over close to his ear and talked to him.

“Fight, Mike. You’ve got to fight for me. I can’t deal with life all alone. Don’t leave me like this.” She squeezed his hand and waited in hopes he would squeeze back, but his hand remained flaccid in hers.

She checked his forehead several times to find it slightly hotter to her. She took the thermometer she found on the table by the couch and placed it under his arm. When she pulled it out several minutes later, it read 101.4. She shook it down and replaced it in its holder on the table.

Marcus walked in as she stood up to go get them.

“What is it?” he asked. He seemed to be aware that something was wrong.

“His temperature is up.” She told him what it was.

“Damn, I was afraid of this. He’s getting an infection. Without antibiotics, we’re just going to have to sweat it out of him and hope it will work.”

“I don’t want him to die, Marcus.” Kate felt the tears well up in her eyes.

“I know. We’re going to do everything we can to keep him alive.” He ran his hand down her arm. “Why don’t you sit with him for a while and monitor his temperature while I clean up the kitchen.”

“Where is Bruce?”

“He’s gone to your place to take care of things. He’ll be back in a few hours.” Marcus moved the chair closer to where Mike lay on the couch and urged Kate to sit down. “I’ll just be in the kitchen if you need me.”

Kate nodded without looking at him. She hated for anyone to see her cry, and it seemed she had cried a lot around them. Once he was gone, she took a damp cloth and bathed Mike’s forehead and face. The fire continued to radiate enough heat that she was hot, but knew it was for Mike’s benefit that they kept it built up. One of them had draped several blankets over him as well.

Nearly an hour later, Marcus came in and suggested she get up and walk around some while he checked over their patient. Kate got up and moved around the living room for a few seconds, but drifted back to watch Marcus check her brother’s wound and dressing. The skin around the stitches was puckered and an angry red. He cleaned the area with alcohol and covered it with a new dressing of gauze and tape.

“Help me turn him a little, Kate. We don’t want him to end up with pneumonia if we can help it.” Together they turned him farther on his side.

Mike immediately began coughing some. Kate rubbed his back in circles, hoping he would be okay. When he settled down again, she sat back on the chair and bathed his face and neck with the cool, damp cloth.

Several hours later, Bruce returned, looking haggard and exhausted. He carried two suitcases with him.

“I packed up some of yours and Mike’s clothes so you’ll be comfortable while you’re here,” he said by way of explanation. “I’ll stick them in the bedroom for you to unpack when you get ready to get to them.”

“Thanks, that was really thoughtful of you. I know you have to be exhausted. You’ve been up for at least twelve hours, I’m sure.”

“I’m fine. I’ll head to bed after dinner. I’m going to shower now. Where’s Marcus?” Bruce frowned.

“Upstairs doing something. I’m not sure what.”

“How’s Mike doing?”

“His wound’s infected and he’s running a higher temperature, but it hasn’t gone any higher since this morning.” Kate attempted a smile.

“Good. I’ll send Marcus down to relive you so maybe you could fix us something to eat.” Bruce turned and headed for the stairs.

Kate couldn’t help but smile at the fact that she had become the cook for them. No doubt they preferred her cooking over theirs. She figured she preferred hers over theirs as well. She had learned to cook at her mother’s knee from the time she was ten and able to follow directions. She missed her mom and all the valuable lessons she’d taught Kate. Times like these, she could use her mom’s advice on what she should do.

“Kate, I’m back. You can go see what you can rustle up for dinner.” Marcus laid a hand on her shoulder.

“Okay. There’s no change. I’m just washing his face and neck with the wet cloth.”

“Let’s turn him again before you go.”

They rolled him to his other side so that his back faced the fire and his face the back of the couch. Kate arranged a pillow to help keep him propped so he wouldn’t roll off the couch.

Dinner proved to be a quiet affair with Marcus eating while watching Mike. She and Bruce ate at the table. Both men had seconds while Kate barely managed to eat half of her meal.

Worry over Mike’s condition stole her appetite.

Bruce helped her clean up the kitchen. She wasn’t used to having help and told him she could handle it by herself, but he insisted, so she kept her mouth shut.

Around nine that night, Bruce came in and roused her from her chair next to Mike.

“I know it’s early, but we need our rest with the way we’re watching your brother. Let’s go get some sleep, Kate. Marcus will wake me up to relive him around two in the morning. You need your rest as well.” He took her hand and pulled her to her feet.

Marcus walked in, and before she knew what to expect, he hugged her and kissed her on the forehead.

“Sleep well, Kate. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“’Night, Marcus. Wake me up if there’s any change in him, okay?” She begged him with her eyes.

“I will, Kate. You and Bruce get some rest.” Marcus gave her a little shove toward Bruce then took her chair and sat down.

Chapter Eight

Relived of her nursing duties, there was nothing she could do but follow Bruce upstairs. He opened the door to the bedroom then closed it behind them to keep in any heat they generated. Without the fireplace, they were dependent on each other and the mountain of covers that were piled on the bed. She felt much more comfortable with the covers than her bedmate.

“We can shower together. That way we both get hot water. Plus, there won’t be any cooling off in the bathroom when we open and close the door for each other.” Bruce strode toward the bathroom carrying a pair of warm-ups. “Grab your sleep clothes and come on, Kate.”

“I don’t mind taking a shower after you,” she said, rummaging through the suitcase he had packed. It was surprisingly neat, and he’d been thorough. Everything she might need seemed to be there.

“You don’t have to shower with me, Kate, but Marcus and I are your men now. Your brother signed you over to us even before this happened.”

Kate’s gasp sounded loud in the quiet of the room. “What are you talking about?”

Bruce’s lips grew thin, but he pulled out his wallet then extracted the papers Mike had given him the day before. He spread them out and handed them to Kate. She read over them and upon seeing their names in her brother’s handwriting, she knew she was lost. With shaking hands, she handed the papers back to Bruce and slowly began taking off her clothes in the chilly bedroom.

“Kate, if you don’t want to do this, it’s okay. You’ve had a lot to deal with in the last twenty-four hours.”

She continued removing her clothes despite his assurance that she didn’t have to.