Page 15

Zoe

“Ugh,” I groaned, pressing my hands to my head, feeling the heat against my palms.

A fever.

Lainey .

I tried to shoot up, but my body felt like lead with aches and pains stabbing my legs with the slightest movement.

“Listen, you gotta stop hooting at random dudes, Lil’ Bit,” Coast said, making me turn my heavy head to see him moving in the room with Lainey in one arm and a brown bag in his other.

He’d changed out of his bloody clothes from the night before and was wearing the outfit I’d borrowed from him and washed with the intention of dropping it off at some point.

“Hey, baby,” he said, seeing me. “Shit. I was right, huh?”

“Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. Skipped one dose of meds because she was feeling fine. But we just took another dose. She’s got a stuffy nose now too, but is in good spirits. You look like hell.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Let me check on Mama, okay?” he asked Lainey, placing her down in her playard.

“I’m okay.”

“Not as pale and sweaty as you look, you’re not.”

He wasn’t wrong.

I didn’t remember the last time I felt so crummy. Maybe never.

“Oh, you’re burning up, babe,” he said as his cold hand touched my face. “Let’s get some medicine in you too.”

“I can get it,” I insisted, even as I flopped back onto the mattress, feeling completely wiped from just trying to get up.

“Body aches?” he asked.

“God, yeah. Everything hurts.”

“Sounds like the flu.”

“Lainey…”

“Doesn’t seem to be in any sort of pain. She’s drinking her formula and acting normal enough. Didn’t get much sleep last night, but she’s looking more drowsy now.”

“You stayed,” I said, watching him as he grabbed pills and a sports drink bottle to bring over to me.

“Had a feeling you were going to need some help. Now take these and chug the drink. Can’t have you getting dehydrated.”

“Thanks,” I said, forcing myself to sit up and take my medicine. “I—”

“Knock knock,” Brooke called as she rapped on the door.

“I’ll get it,” Coast said, walking over to unlock it.

“Oh, well, hello there,” Brooke said.

She and the kids were all ready for the pool, and Joshua had a giant, floppy hat on his little head this time.

“Oh, no. Did you get sick too? They’re little petri dishes, these kids, I swear,” Brooke said.

“How do you do this?” I asked her, barely keeping myself from whimpering as I crossed my legs.

“Do what?”

“Be a mom when you’re sick.”

“I know I’m supposed to have some sage wisdom or something to give you. But I just let the kids destroy the place and eat garbage until I feel better. Looks like you have help, though.”

“He can’t—” I started.

“He can,” Coast cut me off.

“You have a life.”

“Parties can wait until you two are better.”

“Take a good, hard look, girls,” Brooke said to her daughters. “That’s a good man right there. Even if he is very, very clumsy and clearly walked into a door. Isn’t that right?” she asked, giving Coast a ‘work with me here’ look.

“Never look where I’m going,” Coast agreed. “Walked face-first into this,” he added, waving at his face.

“Well, I won’t stick around. Can’t risk these three getting sick. But if you need anything, you know where to find me. I think I still got me some of those masks to wear to come over, if I need it. Just holler, okay?”

“Thank you, Brooke. Really.”

“Don’t worry,” Coast said, shrugging. “I got them.”

“I bet you do. Okay. Down to the pool before that family gets back from visiting their granny. Mean little j-e-r-k-s they are,” she added with a head shake as she nudged her kids away from the door.

“She seems nice,” Coast decided as he closed and locked the door.

“She’s an angel,” I agreed. “The second she met me, she was acting like we were the oldest of friends. I’ve always envied people like that.”

“I’ve always been able to get on with people,” he said. At my raised brow, looking at his face, he smirked. “When I want to.”

“That’s never been me. I’ve always been a little awkward around new people. My mom used to worry it was because I was an only child.”

My gaze slid toward the playard, wondering if that was going to be my daughter’s fate as well.

It certainly didn’t seem like I would ever have another child. Even if I really did genuinely love being a mom. It was the whole having to trust another man again enough to be with him part that seemed very unlikely.

“I guess having people like Brooke around her might help Lainey be more extroverted too.”

“It’s good to have a circle. It’s not easy doing this shit alone,” he said, waving around the room.

There it was again.

That familiarity.

The deep knowing.

Like he understood the battle. Like he’d gone through it himself.

But he didn’t have children.

“Yeah,” I agreed, trying to force my heavy limbs to climb off the bed. “Especially in times like this.”

“Need a hand?” Coast asked, walking over to offer me his before I could insist I could do it myself. Despite having very little confidence that I could.

“Thanks,” I said, letting him mostly drag me onto my feet. “I’m gonna get you sick,” I said when his arm went around my back, not seeming to trust me on my own feet. To be fair, my legs felt like jelly.

“Not likely. Whole clubhouse got the flu this last fall. I was the only one who didn’t catch it. I credit eating a lot of dirt as a kid.”

“Gross,” I said, wrinkling my nose.

“Need an escort to the bathroom?” he asked.

“No. No, I can do it,” I said, even though some part of me really just wanted to stay there up close and personal with him for another couple of minutes.

I made my way into the bathroom, grimacing at my reflection as I brushed my teeth.

Was I ever going to be around this man when I didn’t look like a greasy, sweaty, exhausted mess?

My body screamed its objections, but my mind decided that a quick shower was in order before I went back into the room.

I just barely resisted the urge to sink to the tub floor as I scrubbed. But at least I was clean as I climbed out and dried off. Only to remember I hadn’t brought any clothes in with me.

I tied the towel tight around me, ignored the flutter in my belly, and made my way out of the bathroom.

“Feel any…” Coast trailed off as his gaze scanned down me. Each inch his gaze lingered over warmed, tingled, begged for something I couldn’t give it.

Because I was sick, sure.

But also because I’d sworn off men.

For my sanity. For Lainey’s stability.

As if hearing her name in my mind, Lainey hooted, drawing my attention down to where she was lying on the bed in front of Coast, desperately trying to shove her foot into her mouth.

“Yes,” I said, sucking in a breath to, I hoped, clear my mind.

But the movement had my chest rising, drawing Coast’s gaze yet again, and making another stab of desire move through me.

“I feel a little better,” I told him as I rushed to the closet to grab clothes, then went back into the bathroom to dress.

Where I gave myself a stern lecture about getting the hots for Coast.

I mean, I couldn’t exactly blame myself. He was being a genuinely good guy to not only me, but my daughter. On top of that, he was ridiculously good-looking. Even if he was all bruised.

“Get a grip,” I grumbled to myself as I put my brush back down on the counter.

Just showering and dressing seemed to have sapped all my energy. My legs were ten times heavier as I made my way back out of the bathroom again.

“You’ve been really great,” I told Coast, meaning it. “But you don’t need to stay. I can—”

“I’m staying,” he cut me off. “Dunno why you want to argue about it.”

“I’m not arguing. I just know you have a life and friends and…

work.” God, work. I couldn’t afford to be missing work.

I mean, it was going to lighten my load that Coast had bought diapers and formula to last at least a month.

But still, I had to earn an income. And I definitely had to walk those dogs after the weekend.

“What’s the panicked look about?”

“Work,” I admitted. “Especially the dogs.”

“You walk ‘em on the weekend?”

“No. But I know the last time I was sick, I was down for a good four or five days.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

We.

My heart had no right to clench the way it did at that word.

“I can’t ask you—”

“You’re not asking. Are you always so shit at accepting help?”

“I never get offered help,” I admitted, finishing up the rest of my sports drink.

“Well, now you do. So don’t be a pain in the ass about it,” he said, getting a laugh out of me.

“I’ll work on that,” I agreed.

There was a wailing outside the door, followed by Brooke’s voice.

“Well, when you pull your sister’s hair, you don’t get to play in the pool anymore. Them’s the rules. You don’t gotta like ‘em but you do gotta respect ‘em. I think you need a little nap, don’t you, moody butt?”

“Maybe you need a nap too,” Coast said.

“I just woke up.”

“Yeah, but you’re sick.”

“I’ll sleep eventually. How’s she doing?” I asked, looking at Lainey as Coast flipped her over onto her belly.

“Yeah, I know. Tummy time sucks,” he said as Lainey grumbled. “But you gotta do it or you’re gonna have a wonky neck. And not to mention one of those flat heads. No one wants that. She’s good,” he said.

“Is she hot?”

“Not yet, no. Sounds a little stuffier now, though. But I found that thing you have that sucks the snot out, if it comes to that.”

“That one seemed a lot less gross than the one you have to use a tube and your mouth to suck out the snot.”

“You’re serious?” Coast asked, lip curled.

“I am. People swear by those. But I just can’t.”

“Remember the days of steam and tissues,” Coast said as Lainey’s head bobbed up and down like it was too heavy for her shoulders. “Supposed to be doing this on a hard surface,” he said, flipping her back onto her back. “Need to get one of those mats, right?” he asked her, reaching for his phone.

“You’ve spent enough—”

“Got plenty more to spend,” he said.

“Coast…”

“Zoe…”