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Eric was quiet when Cain picked him up from school, but told the both of us he’d just had a long day. Judging by the crease in Cain’s brow, he was worried about it, especially after Eric went to bed early.
I hoped he was just tired like he said he was.
Quickly, I figured out I was wrong.
I was snuggled up in my fuzzy blanket with Cain when he suddenly bolted out of bed. For a second, I was confused, but then I heard the sound of a child’s cry and knew exactly why he’d run.
Throwing a robe on, I went out in the hallway. Cain was kneeling in front of Eric, who had tear-stained cheeks.
“You’re burning up,” Cain said, his hand on Eric’s forehead.
“I don’t feel good. I threw up.”
I could sense tension from every inch of Cain’s body, and suddenly, I was feeling the same as he was.
Suddenly, I wished I knew more about kids and sickness.
“Dr. Connor warned me about this,” Cain said. “I need to call him. And clean up the?—”
“I’ll call him,” I offered. “Hand me your phone.”
I thought Cain was going to turn me down, but he looked between Eric and me and then passed me his unlocked phone, and I found the contact.
“Hello?” a man’s voice answered. He sounded sleep ruffled and I felt bad forwaking him up.
Then I heard Eric sob, and I no longer felt bad. Still, I’d never called a doctor in the middle of the night, but I also had never lived in a place like Strawberry Springs before.
“Hi,” I said. “I’m Mollie, a friend of Cain’s. Eric is really sick and he wanted me to call you.”
“Eric’s sick?” There was movement on the other end of the line. “Well, it’s not unusual. Kindergarteners get a lot of things. What are the symptoms?”
“He threw up and has a pretty high fever. Oh, and Cain is very panicked.”
“He’s serious about Eric, so I’m not surprised. I’ll be over in a few minutes. I can test to rule out a few things and bring some Pedialyte.”
“Wow, do all doctors in small towns do house calls?”
Dr. Connor laughed. “No, but I’d do it for Cain and Eric. See you soon.”
He hung up after that and I blinked in shock at the phone. Did Cain know that Dr. Connor was making a house call specifically because he was asking?
Cain was running Eric a bath when I found him. “Dr. Connor is on his way.”
“What?” he asked. “I thought he would just tell me what to do over the phone.”
I shrugged. “He offered. He said he could rule out a few things.”
“I don’t feel good,” Eric muttered, and Cain’s attention was back on him. I made sure the washer and dryer were ready to clean Eric’s bedding before pulling up what to do for a sick kid on my phone.
Headlights appeared in the driveway twenty-five minutes later, and I opened the door to a tall man with light brown hair.
If I wasn’t already smitten with the man upstairs, he would have turned my head. He was over six feet with a lithefigure and an unfairly sharp jawline. His hair was longer, going past his ears, with a middle part that he pushed back when he saw me. He had on black-rimmed glasses that did nothing but accentuate his handsome features.
“Hi,” I said. “Are you Dr. Connor?”
“Call me Henry,” he said. “Where’s Eric?”
“Upstairs. I think I just heard Cain get him out of the bath.”