Page 10 of Chance (Wild River Ranch #3)

J oy was so relaxed.

She hadn't felt so peaceful in years. It was as if she were wrapped in a blanket, ready for a snuggle. No wonder babies settled when they were swaddled. Her muscles held no tension at all.

The blanket wrapping her held everything in still, safe silence. Worry and fear didn’t exist in this space. It was nothing but bliss.

Only her nose itched. She reached up to give it a scratch, but the blankets kept her from moving. Whimpering when scrunching and twitching her nose didn’t help, and she struggled again to wrestle the blankets off her. Nothing worked. Holy cow! How wrapped up in blankets could you be?

"Stop, baby girl. Don't fight the ropes. Just relax and go back to sleep. Rest is what you need."

That voice. She recognized that voice. Why did she recognize it? She couldn’t remember, but she did know she'd never heard it filled with so much concern.

She tried to reach out to him. To touch him. If she could convince him to come into her blanket, maybe he would be better, too. But she still couldn't move. And her mind was fuzzy.

"I promise you're safe, little one. I’m right here. Your fever is still too high. You need to be still and rest.”

A gentle hand brushed away the hair clinging to her cheeks. Why was her hair stuck to her face?

Wait, did he say she had a fever? Was that why she couldn't move? Did fevers freeze your bones and muscles? It had never frozen her muscles before. Her eyes refused to open, no matter how hard she tried.

The last thing she remembered was being on the roof of her cabin. She was about to slide, but then someone scared her. And then she was falling.

Cracking one eye open, she glanced around a darkened room. A room she had never seen before. But she had definitely heard a voice. Why couldn't she remember who the voice belonged to?

"Sleep, baby girl. I'm right here with you. I won't let anything happen to you. Not again. You just focus on getting better."

She liked the voice. She wished it didn't sound so worried, but she had to admit, it felt good for someone to be worried about her.

Her brain was tired. It was going to be easy to follow the voice's instructions.