Page 66 of Little Bits of Daddy (Montana Daddies)

He slid her jeans and panties down, taking them off entirely. Then he rolled her so she was facing away from Doc. She knew the drill and pulled her legs up to her chest. Clint placed theblanket back over her, rubbing her back gently as he sat on the bed, his thigh brushing up against her back.

“Good. Raise the blanket and part her bottom cheeks for me.”

She buried her face in the pillows as she felt Clint following Doc’s orders.

“Here’s the thermometer, Charlie,” Doc said quietly, slipping the cool, glass rod deep into her bottom.

Jeez, with how often she had this done you would think it would get easier.

It did not.

Clint rubbed her back, knowing this wasn’t fun for her.

Doc pulled the thermometer free moments later. “Keep her covered with the blanket. Charlie, you can roll over.”

She moved onto her back and looked up at Doc as Clint rearranged the blanket.

“Charlie, when is the last time you ate?” Doc asked.

She blinked. Then she forced her mind to think.

Doc made a noise of displeasure. “I’m guessing if it’s taking you this long to remember then it was too long ago.”

“Charlotte, what did you have for lunch?” Clint asked.

Lunch? She glanced over at the clock on the bedside table. Shoot. How was it two already?

“I think I forgot. Sorry. But I ate breakfast.”

“Really?” Doc asked. “And what did you have?”

“Ahh, Lucky Charms.”

Clint groaned. “Charlotte, that is not a proper breakfast.”

“Sorry,” she whispered. “I was in a rush and I wasn’t very hungry. There’s a lot going on at the moment.”

Clint ran his hand over his face. “This is my fault. I haven’t been around much lately. You think she fainted because she didn’t eat enough today?”

Doc reached out a hand and gently grasped hold of hers. He examined her nails and fingers. “When was the last time you drank some water?”

She licked her lips. “I’m…I’m not sure.”

Doc sighed. “Her temperature is up slightly and she has a bit of a red throat. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s coming down with a cold. But what really worries me is that she seems rundown. She appears to have lost weight. She isn’t eating or drinking enough. How about sleep? Is she getting regular naps?”

Clint’s jaw was tight as he shook his head. Poor Clint.

“Right. Since this is not the first time we’ve run into this issue and because we want you to be fully well for your wedding, I’m grounding you and putting you on bed rest.”

Her mouth dropped open. Grounding her? Could he do that? She looked over at Clint, who was frowning. Was he going to object?

“For a week?” Clint asked.

Wait. He was going along with this? Were they actually serious?

“Let’s make it five days. Depends on how quickly this temperature disappears. You’ll need to put her back on the suppository vitamins again.”

Clint just nodded. Crap. This kept getting worse and worse. She didn’t want those damn suppositories again. And she definitely didn’t want to be grounded or on bed rest. Whatever the hell all that entailed.

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