Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
“Declan called me the moment he realized you were sick, too. He needed help, and he thought that I would have some good advice. Of course, when he offered to fly me out on a private jet, your father had to tag along because he couldn’t stand the idea of me going on a private jet without him.”
“He flew you out on a private jet?” I scrubbed a hand over my face, trying to clear my foggy thoughts. “When did you arrive? How long have I been asleep?”
“Almost seven hours. Your father and I have been here about an hour. Did you know private jets can get you here much faster than those commercial ones?”
My head was spinning, and I couldn’t tell if it was because of the virus or the insanity that my mom was spouting. Nothing was making sense. Declan had called my mother and actually flown my parents to Cincinnati from Phoenix just to take care of their sick son and granddaughter. I didn’t know what to say. How to feel. It was all too overwhelming.
“And we are going to have a long talk, Mister. How could you not tell us about the fire or the boyfriend?” my mom added in a low, hard tone.
Shit. I was in trouble.
“No, be nice to me.” I grabbed her cool hand and pressed it to my sweaty forehead. “You can’t be angry. I’m sick.”
“Out of four kids, you were always the biggest handful.” There was a wealth of love and warmth in her voice, allowing me to sink into the bed and edge closer to sleep.
A soft knock on the door had me opening my eyes. Declan eased his way into the room. His gaze immediately sought me out, but darted to my mother a second later. “Chef Donovan has prepared a light late dinner if you are hungry. Mr. Cain has already gone down to the breakfast nook. Joy has fallen back to sleep after taking her medicine.”
My mom threw me a very pointed look as if to say, “A private chef, huh?” and then turned to face Declan. “Thank you, Declan. That sounds wonderful.” She kissed my forehead, completely fearless of catching this demonic virus. “Get some sleep. I’ll check on you in the morning.”
Yeah, I could imagine the long talk that was headed my way the moment I started feeling the slightest bit better.
As Mom walked past Declan, she lightly patted his arm and smiled up at him. Declan nodded, his usual stiff and reticent self, before walking over to sit on the edge of the bed.
“How are you feeling?” he inquired.
“Like all my insides have been flipped inside out. As much as I love Chef Donovan’s cooking, I don’t want to eat. Sorry I’ve stolen your bed and made it all germy.”
“It’s okay. I’m taking your bed so I can be closer to Joy, but I’ll leave the door to your bedroom and this one open. Shout if you need me. Your parents are sleeping in the guest bedroom on the first floor.”
My eyes fell shut, and I blindly groped for his hand until I finally caught it for a weak squeeze. “I can’t believe you called my mom.”
“When you became sick, I panicked. Even with your instructions, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to care for you and Joy properly. What if Joy needed to go to the hospital? It wouldn’t be fair to Franks and Donovan to ask them to care for you in my absence. From your descriptions of your family, you seemed close to your mother, so I thought I could call her for advice. It was her idea to fly out.”
A small grin formed. “But you volunteered the private jet.”
“It was only fair since she was offering to go to the trouble of traveling across the country. Are you angry with me?”
I huffed a weary laugh. “Nope. Not at all. My mom knows exactly what kind of a whiny baby I can be. She can handle me. You take care of the little princess.”
“I will, but you should know that the little princess has likely destroyed my sense of smell for the rest of my life.”
A laugh broke free, but it turned into a groan. “Don’t make me laugh,” I groaned. “My stomach hurts, and I’m constantly afraid of shitting myself. Go away. Let me sleep.”
Declan brushed a kiss to my fingers before releasing my hand. He rose and turned off the lamp. I was asleep in a second.
Five. Days.
The plague swept the entire house, taking out everyone except for my mother.
The woman had to be part cockroach or something. Or had the immunity of Superman because it was so rare for her to get sick. But I guess that came from raising four hell spawn.
Joy got through the worst of it within twenty-four hours, but Franks went down next, followed by Donovan. I was mostly on my feet after forty-eight hours, though I was still hesitant to touch food. Unfortunately, as soon as I started moving, the virus took out both Declan and my dad.