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Her anger finally exhausted her. She grew heavier in his arms, and her anger melted into pain-filled pleas. “It's c-cold. I want out… please? I’m sorry, Daddy! I’m sorry I was bad. I’ll be good. I’ll be good. Promise, Daddy. Promise.”

“You are not bad, sweet girl. You’re sick. We have to do this to get you better. It’s almost over, babygirl. I’m so proud of you. Daddy's gonna take care of everything."

Whether from the tone of his voice or his use of the word, Daddy, she calmed. Eventually, she began to shiver. That was his signal to get her out and dried off. She leaned against him and sobbed.

His poor girl. With perfect timing, Trace called to him from the door to Chance’s suite, “Doc Bradford is here. Call me when you’re ready for him to come look at Joy.”

"Hear that, gypsy? We can get you out now. Daddy's got you. You're gonna feel better in no time. That's my good girl. You just trust Daddy, and he'll take care of everything."

Turning off the water, he wrapped her in a towel. She snuggled into the soft cloth. Lifting her in his arms again, he carried her to his bed. They could figure out a room for her once she was on the mend.

Another knock at the door broke the silence. Joy was practically asleep in his arms. Before he could speak, the door opened, and Kenzie stood there with a small gift bag in her hands. "I thought Joy might need these."

Motioning his sister in, he asked, “What is it?”

"Trace told me Joy was back. I'm so glad you finally found her. I've been worried sick. Anyway, I remembered what she wore at the Friendsgiving, and I thought she might be able to use something warmer to wear. I brought some pajamas and something comfortable for her to wear once she feels better."

That was his sister, Kenzie. All heart. They might tease her, calling her tiger, and Lord knew she did have a temper and could have a smart mouth. But she had a heart of gold, and never met a soul she wasn't willing to help.

"Thank you, honey," he said. "I think that's perfect. Would you tell Trace to bring Doc Brad up here in about five minutes?"

Kenzie nodded. “Sure thing. Let me know if she needs anything else.”

When the door clicked shut, Chance pulled out the pajamas Kenzie had brought. He helped Joy with the purple pajama bottoms and pink thermal top. When Joy felt better, she would enjoy the cartoon animals on the pants and the giant bear face on the top.

He looked in the bag to see what else Kenzie brought and found the well-loved purple duckbilled platypus he’d grabbed from the cabin as they’d left. Taking it out, he tucked it in beside her on the bed.

When Chance called, Trace brought Doc Bradford to Chance’s room.

“Thanks for the house call, Doc,” Chance said. “This is Joy. She hasn’t been in town long, and I found her at one of our cabins. Trace says she has white spots on her throat, but we need you to look at her and get her some medicine. Her fever is almost a hundred and four. I had her in the shower, but it’s already starting to climb.”

“All right, let me see what we have here. I don’t suppose you want to leave the room.”

There was a bigger chance of having a snowball fight in hell. “No, I don’t suppose I do.”

With a nod, Doc began his exam. “Yep, she’s got white spots down there. Do you have any guesses about how long she’s been sick?”

Damn, he hated to admit this. “No. Today’s the first time I’ve seen her since the Friendsgiving.”

Doc nodded, putting his stethoscope to Joy’s chest. He listened for what felt like a long time. That didn’t bode well. The tightness in Chance’s chest grew tighter.

Doc turned his head to Chance and asked, “I don’t suppose you know if she’s always had a heart murmur.”

Fuck. “No. Is that dangerous?”

“Not necessarily. But it’s something that needs keeping an eye on.”

Doc turned back to Joy, uncovering her and pulling up her top to expose her abdomen. And fuck if he didn’t want to shove the doctor away and pull her shirt back down. What was this Little girl doing to him?

“Come take a look at this. I want you to know what to look for in case it happens again while she’s…visitingyou.”

Chance stepped close and looked down at Joy’s stomach, ignoring the fact that the old sawbones was way too perceptive. What he saw explained Joy’s earlier behavior in the shower. “Snakes on her skin.”

Doc nodded. “Yes. In medical terms, it’s a macular rash. This, coupled with the spots on her throat and the heart murmur, leads me to think she is in the middle of a rheumatic fever flare-up. She probably had strep throat as a child, left untreated. I’m leaving prescriptions, one for an antibiotic and the other for an anti-inflammatory medication. I’ll call Stan at the drug store and tell him to have them ready.” He glanced down at Joy. “I’ll have him make up exactly what you’ll need. Keep her calm and quiet for atleast a week. Once she’s been fever-free for a week, bring her into the office and I’ll do some more tests.”

“Rheumatic fever. Is that dangerous?” Then, thinking of Kenzie and Tilde, he added, “Is it contagious?”

“The rheumatic fever isn’t, but the strep throat that triggered it is. And it can be dangerous. If she had frequent or severe flare-ups, it could damage the valves of her heart. But we'll do tests to see about that once she’s better. Keep a close eye on her. Remember, rest and quiet for now.”