Nick arrived home to see Dr. Meran's buggy parked in front. He'd been impatient to get his work done and get home all day because he wanted to see Charlie. She hadn't been up yet when he finished breakfast and left for the range that morning, so he didn't get the chance to see her. Not that he thought seeing her in the morning would make him want to see her less in the afternoon. He jumped off his horse and strode into the house with a purpose.
"Charlie! Mother! Audra! - " he shouted at the top of his lungs. He took off his new riding gloves and threw them into his hat that he tossed on the table in the foyer.
"Nick!" his mother's voice called to him from the parlor.
"Mother," he frowned as he strode toward her. He kissed her cheek and looked down at her. "Why's Doc, here?"
Victoria tilted her head. "Charlotte was feeling under the weather and Audra went for him." She smiled. "Charlotte insisted she didn't need the doctor, but I think that Audra's a little over-protective of her."
At that point, the doctor and Audra descended the stairs, speaking softly together. Nick and Victoria moved to intercept them.
"Hey, Doc? How is she?"
Dr. Meran's looked up, almost surprised to see Nick. "Well, she has a slight fever, so I've told her to stay in bed a day or two, but with rest she should be back on her feet soon." He turned to Audra. "Let me know if she takes a turn."
Audra nodded. "Thank you, Doctor."
He nodded, then said his good-byes and Victoria escorted him to the front door. Nick started up the stairs.
"She's resting, Nick," Audra said, catching his arm as he passed her.
Nick patted her hand. "Okay. I'll just look in on her. I'll be quiet."
Audra nodded and stepped off the bottom step and moved into the parlor.
After seeing the doctor off, Victoria turned to see Nick disappear into the hallway at the top of the stores. Then she looked and found Audra sitting alone on the settee next to the fireplace. She moved, nearly soundlessly, into the parlor. "Audra? Are you okay?"
When Audra looked up, her eyes were moist.
Victoria quickly sat down, next to her daughter. "What is it?"
Audra shook her head. "I promised I wouldn't tell anyone. Oh, but Mother, it's so hard!"
Victoria took her daughter's hand. "Well, I won't ask you to violate a confidence but does it have to do with Charlie being more ill than you or the doctor let on?"
Audra looked alarmed, then her eyes welled up and tears spilled over. She quickly dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief. "How did you know?!"
Victoria smiled, softly. "I have eyes, my dear. I can see that under the color that she got from the sun, she's still very pale. She doesn't eat much. You and Jarrod are extremely protective of her. And then there was the look exchanged between you and Dr. Meran." She held up her hand. "Don't tell me. She has her reasons for not wanting me to know and that's fine. She's welcome to stay here as long as she needs. When it is important for me to know, she will tell me." Then Victoria took Audra's hand, again. "But for now, you must be brave. I am here for you, always."
Audra gave her mother a hug and wiped her eyes.
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Nick opened the door to the guest suites and stepped in quietly. He moved over to the bed and saw Charlie dressed in a pale green nightgown, under the white down comforter. Her red hair splayed out in rivulets across the white pillow. Her long, dark eyelashes lay on her cheeks, which were pale despite the pink coloring caused by the sun the day before. Her pink lips even seemed a bit more pale. One hand was placed on her stomach while the other was curled near her cheek on the pillow.
He reached out and touched her forehead. She was warm.
Then she was smiling at him. "Are you ogling me, again, Mr. Barkley?"
He smiled. "Absolutely." He turned, grabbed the chair from the near vanity table, and brought it to the side of the bed. He leaned forward and rested his arms on the bed, taking her hand in both of his. "Now, ah, how are you feeling, Red?"
" Tired. Better, now," she smiled. "I guess I just overdid it, yesterday. You have to remember, I'm a city girl. I haven't been riding in a couple of years and I haven't ridden at a gallop since I was a child. And nobody in San Francisco would drive a buggy like that."
"Well, now, I'll have to be more careful in the future."
She turned and covered his hand with her other. "Don't you dare. I had fun, Nick. It was worth a day in bed."
"Doc said two."
She scoffed, leaning back and looking to the ceiling. "I feel better already." Then she looked at him with a smile. "Maybe it's the company."
He smiled back. "Then I'll have to stick around a bit."
Charlie sighed. "Good. Tell me about your day."
"Aw, you don't want to hear about that."
"Every detail. What time did you leave this morning? What was the weather like? Did you ride that monster of yours? What's his name?"
"I left around seven. The weather was cool and clear and the 'monster's' name is Coco."
"Coco?"
Nick smiled. "Well, that's his color, isn't it?"
"Yes, but it just sounds like a dainty name for such a brute."
His eyebrows rose. "Say, now, dainty?"
She smiled. "I said the name is dainty, not the horse."
He looked at her sidelong and decided that she was baiting him, but not seriously. He remembered her comment about him being easily riled. He smiled and wagged a finger at her."I'm not going to fight with you while you're in bed, Red."
Charlie smiled widely. Then she tried to pout. "You figured me out." Her smile spread again. "Now, tell me about your day."
Somewhere between chasing a stray that had broken through a fence and mending the fence, Charlie fell asleep. Nick touched her forehead, brushing her hair back. Then, standing, Nick leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. It didn't seem as warm as it had before. He smiled, pulled her blanket back up, moved to close the curtains, blocking out the late afternoon sun and walked out of the room, softly pulling her door closed.
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Nick came home to find Charlie sitting in a rocking chair on the porch with a glass of lemonade next to her. She was wearing a pretty white sundress with a green sash. Her hair was pulled back, but not pinned up. She was reading when he rode up.
She looked up and smiled. "Hello, Mr. Barkley. It's a hot day."
"Yes, Miss Evans. It certainly is," he dismounted and loosened the cinch on his horse's saddle.
"Would you like some lemonade?"
He approached, slowly, taking off his hat and wiping his brow with his handkerchief. "Well, yes, thank you."
She picked up a glass and poured from a pitcher that seemed to be sitting on the floor near her feet.
Frowning, he tilted his head and looked at where she placed the pitcher. "Is that a block of ice?"
Charlie nodded. "I wanted to keep the lemonade cold and Silas suggested a bucket of ice. I thought the bucket would cause the ice to melt too fast. So we went down to the ice house to think up a solution and I thought to try this. Turns out that the melting water on the soles of my shoes helps keep me cool." She held up his glass.
Nick smiled and took the proffered drink. Then he took the chair next to her. "How are you feeling?"
"Rested. Content. You?"
"Bone-tired, dirty and sweaty. Grumpy as a bear," he gulped his lemonade. "I'm going to take a bath before dinner and that should put me in a better mood." He stood again.
She nodded. "I wasn't going to say anything while you were standing downwind." Then she sipped her lemonade.
He put his glass down on the table, glaring at her. He saw the grin playing at her lips and stepped closer to her, leaning down to place a hand on either arm of her chair. When she lowered her glass, he grinned, menacingly. "Want a hug?"
She laughed. "I'd love one." She pushed him away. "After you take a bath."
He took her hands in his, leaned forward and placed a kiss on her nose. "It's good to see you up and looking well, Red. I'll be back for that hug and more of your sass."
She laughed again and pushed him away again. "Go take your bath, grumpy bear. If I'm not here, I'll be in the parlor."