Page 14 of The Price They Paid

“Ms. Cordell.” Alice beamed as if pleased that I approved. “She also made this juice that you like so much. She picks the berries and fruits from her garden.”

“That’s wonderful. Please let her know how much I appreciate this.”

“She sent over a huge pot of soup and another pitcher of juice.”

“There’s more?” Maddox froze while straightening the room.

“I’m not sharing the juice,” I blurted. It was heavenly.

“But you are sharing that stew.” He darted from the room before I could object, and I laughed.

“I got the bread from the shop. I can get more of that if you’d like as well.”

I didn’t want Alice going out of her way, but it almost seemed as if doing so pleased her. “Yes, I’d love that. Thank you.”

Alice beamed even brighter, and I hadn’t thought it possible.

I ate as much as I could and finished off my glass of juice before getting comfortable. I was tired again.

“Why am I so tired?” I mumbled the question more to myself than to Alice.

“Being so close to him like that allows you to heal him continuously. I would have thought that it would be enough to heal him completely. That shows how much of his life force that he used to save you. He needs you rested to cure him. We need you to get better.”

Her words made me wonder about the accident. What had really happened out there? How bad was it? How bad had my injuries really been?

“I’m going to put you into a healing sleep that should help you sleep better and speed up the healing.” Alice caressed my forehead and memories of Seuss kissing my forehead before I’d awakened surfaced. I held onto the sweetness of that moment as I succumbed to a deep, restful slumber.

***

“Justice …”

“Seuss …” I pulled the pillow closer and tried to relax again.

“Justice … come to me …”

I groaned and wrapped my blanket around me tightly before sliding from my bed then padding to Seuss’ bedside. I slipped into bed with him, nestling close. I did all of this with my eyes half open. I laid my head onto his very cool shoulder and shuddered. I pulled a pillow to shield the chill before dozing back to sleep.

***

“Justice.” Maddox called out to me before lifting me.

I heard a loud growl and Maddox froze. I looked over to see Seuss’ face snarled though he wasn’t awake.

“Seuss, you said that Maddox could take care of me while you rested. I have to go back to bed.” I reached over and caressed his face and then his hair. Eventually, he relaxed, and Maddox carried me back to my room. Those aches and pains were back. So, we did another round of Alice’s treatment complete with soup and juice. Lesson learned. No more slipping into the Alphas bed at night. I relaxed into another deep, healing sleep so that I could face another day of battling wills with the famous Seuss.

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