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“Hey, baby girl,” Jason whispered, taking Carli out of Tahlia’s arms.
“I’m really sorry about this,” Tahlia apologized. “She’s been asking for you all morning.”
“It’s okay,” he answered immediately, pressing a kiss to his daughter’s head. “Hey, baby.” His hand went to her forehead and he frowned. “How long has she had a temperature?”
“It started in the middle of the night. I was going to give her medicine, but she kept throwing up.”
Tahlia looked past Jason to me, giving me a sympathetic look. “Sorry about this.”
“It’s not a problem,” I reassured her.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it. Let me know if you need anything,” Tahlia smiled, brushing her fingers across the little girl’s cheeks.
I closed the door behind Tahlia, then turned to Jason, wondering what I could do to help. He sat on the couch, rubbing his hand up and down Carli’s back as she snuggled into him.
“Can I get you anything?”
He shook his head, his concentration completely on his daughter. Part of me really wanted to stay, but the other part of me wondered if I was intruding. He’d never had this with her before, and it felt like I was only in the way.
“I should go.”
His eyes lifted to meet mine. “You can stay if you want.”
I smiled at the way Carli slept on him. “This is something you should get all for yourself.”
An amused smile crossed his face. “The potential of her getting sick on me? You don’t want to share in that?”
“You know what I mean. She needs you right now, and this is your first time getting to comfort her when she’s sick.”
“I think you’re making this out to be more special than it is.”
Maybe I was, but I never got that. I never held my daughter in my arms when she wasn’t feeling well. I never got to feel her snuggles when all she wanted was me. Maybe it was a silly thing to remember, but it seemed important, even if he didn’t realize it.
“I’ll just?—”
“Izzy,” he said softly, holding out his hand to me. “Stay.”
I was about to tell him I couldn’t, but I really didn’t want to go home. And to be honest, he looked so damn sexy with his daughter sleeping on him. Maybe other women dreamed of a man who would focus on her one hundred percent of the time, but after what I’d been through, watching him cherish his child like this was a flashing neon sign of things to come. And I wanted to be part of it.
I strode over and sat down beside him, resting my hand on Carli’s back. The heat pouring off her instantly had me worried. “She feels really warm.”
He nodded. “I don’t know what to do.”
Unfortunately, through my own experience, I knew exactly what to do. We couldn’t give her medicine since she kept throwing up, but we needed to cool her down. “Let’s give her a bath. It might help her relax and bring down her temperature.”
“Yeah? Shouldn’t I give her a cold shower?”
I shook my head. “You’ll make her shiver, which will only raise her core temperature.”
He stood gently, careful not to wake her, and we headed upstairs. I went ahead of him, making a lukewarm bath for her. She was going to hate it, but if it helped, she’d be feeling better soon. I was in the bathroom when I heard it, the retching and Jason’s low curse. I hurried toward her bedroom just in time to see Carli crying as Jason held her away from his body that was now covered in puke.
“Hey, it’s okay,” I said, rushing over to take her from him. “I’ve got this.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, shooting me a panicked look.
I nodded and pulled her into my arms, rubbing her back as she sniffled. God, she must be miserable. “I’ve got this. Why don’t you get cleaned up in the other bathroom?”
His eyes locked on his daughter and the indecision warred on his face. I knew he didn’t want to leave her, but if he stayed, he’d only make her vomit again from the smell.