CHAPTER 2

The next morning after Candy gets breakfast ready and on the table, she goes over to the stairs and shouts, "Jeremy, you better get a move on! Breakfast is ready!"

She turns as she hears the front door open and Jeremy saying, "Good. I'm starved."

With a surprised look and a big smile she says, "Where have you been?"

"I had to go talk to Jason about something." He sees her big smile vanish quickly before she starts for the kitchen without saying another word. He grasps her arm gently, "Candy, it's not what you think. Just hear me out, okay?"

"Breakfast is getting cold," she replies without looking at him.

"Not as cold as its gotten in here all of a sudden," he says. They stare at each other before Jeremy says, "Candy, I went to tell Jason that I was going to take some time off. That's all."

Candy looks at him and knows he's being honest with her. "Why are you taking time off?"

"Because of my recurring headaches. I tried it my way which only seems to have made them worse. So now I'm ready to try what everyone else has been telling me. Take some time off and relax," he answers.

"I'm so glad you've finally come to this conclusion. What can I do for you?"

He puts his arms around her waist and pulls her closer. "Nothing, except for what you're already doing." He kisses her tenderly. "Come on, let's eat. Then I'm going to go back to bed to see if I can get some more sleep."

"That sounds wonderful. I might even join you," she giggles.

"Candy, you do remember what Allyn said about us having relations, don't you? If I'm going to try things her way now, then we can't, you know," he moans.

"I remember. As much as I hate the thought of that, I understand the reasoning. She didn't say we couldn't hold each other. I'll be good, I promise."

"I'll try to be good, too," he chuckles.

They go eat breakfast with Molly and Chris. Afterwards, the kids leave for school and Jeremy goes on up to get in bed while Candy cleans the kitchen. She checks on Jeremy and seeing that he is sound asleep, she decides to go back downstairs to do her usual housework.

With each passing day, Jeremy finds himself more bored than the day before. Candy won't let him do anything except lay around, fish, and groom his horses, but they do go on picnics and take long leisurely walks. What he would give to pick up an axe and chop some wood. He still gets headaches but nothing like the ones he got before. Still, he tries to hide them when he gets one. He doesn't want Candy to worry.

One day he is in the barn brushing down his horse, Brownie. As he moves the brush through Brownie's mane, he talks to him in a soft soothing voice. "I tell ya, Brownie. I don't know how much more of this tranquil life I can take. I feel like I'm losing my masculinity. If this keeps up, Candy is going to be more manly than me and she is far from being a man," he chuckles. He accidentally drops the brush and as he bends over to retrieve it, a pain shoots through his head dropping him to his knees. His hands fly up to cradle his head. It takes several minutes before he can take control and stand again. "What just happened?" he asks of no one. This can't be from concussions, can it? I'm going to have to find a way to see Allyn without Candy knowing about it. It'll only worry her and then she won't even let me out of bed.

He waits until Candy is in the middle of doing laundry before he tells her, "Candy, while you're busy with the laundry, I think I'll go into town and see if anythings going on. Maybe stop in to see Lottie and have a beer. Do you mind?"

"I wish I could go with you, but I have too much to do. Are you sure you'll be all right?"

"I'll be fine. Don't worry," he leans over and gives her a quick kiss. "Do you need anything from Ben's?"

"I can't think of anything, but thanks for asking. Jeremy, you will take it slow, won't you?" she asks.

"I will. I promise. See you in a few hours."

"I love you!" she calls after him.

"Love you, too," he calls back.

The first thing he does is go to Allyn's to talk to her. "Allyn, are you sure these headaches are coming from my concussions? I had a really bad one earlier today. Dropped me to my knees."

"That bad, huh? Jeremy, sit on the table and let me have a look." He sits down and she takes his vitals and looks into his eyes with her special scope. She runs her fingers over his head to see if she feels any lumps. "So taking time off hasn't helped any? You're not doing anything strenuous, are you?"

"You kidding? Candy won't let me do hardly anything. The heaviest thing she'll let me lift is my fork. It's driving me crazy."

"Well, good for Candy. You listen to her, you hear?" She goes to her medicine cabinet and retrieves another bottle of laudanum to give him. "Here take this just in case you need it. Jeremy, I'm going to get in touch with this place in San Francisco that may be able to help you."

"What can they do that you're not doing? Is it a hospital?" he asks.

"No, it's not a hospital per se, but they can do so many different tests. At least they can rule out other things like a brain tumor." She sees the startled look on his face. "Don't worry, I honestly don't think it's a tumor, but it would be good to have a second opinion. I'm very good friends with a woman that works there. Her name is Lisa. If anyone can find out what's causing your headaches, it's her."

"If you say so. All I know is I can't go on much longer like this. I need to get back on the mountain and do my share of the work. You'll let me know when you hear something?"

"I will. Until then, just take it easy and get plenty of rest."

"Hrmph," he grunts. "That's all I do now. Thanks Allyn. Oh, don't mention this to anyone, especially Candy. She worries about me too much as it is."

"That's because she loves you."

"I know. I'm a lucky man. See you later and thanks." He leaves and heads for Lottie's. A beer is calling my name, he chuckles.