Page 58 of An Endless Memory

No. This man’s first glimpse of me naked was not going to be when I was a disgusting mess.

First glimpse? Like there was going to be one at all?

“I got it.” I could get out of my sweats and roll into the tub.

He set the towel by the base of the tub. “I’ll come back to check on you. Use this to cover yourself if you don’t want me seeing anything.”

I nodded and then he was gone.

Thirteen

Eliot

I roamed the kitchen and living room, waiting for Lily to get into the tub. Christ, she looked like she was barely conscious. Her eyelids were hooded, and she was as gray as the tile floor. It’d taken all my restraint not to sit next to her and pull her into my lap.

Only the horror in her gaze kept me from doing that. But the stark relief was also as apparent. She would’ve been in trouble on her own. That dog could’ve dragged her across the county.

Why didn’t she call someone?

Because she was stubborn as hell.

I stopped at her fridge. There was a child safety lock on it. For the kids or for the dog? I found a kids’ electrolyte drink. I poured her a glass of that and a cup of water. She hadn’t touched what looked like crackers that lay by the wall, but fluids were probably more important. I’d taken care of enough sick cattle and horses in my time to know that.

On my way back to the bathroom, I stopped in Cali’s room and took the tablet out. She was starfished across the covers, her limbs splayed, but she was in pajamas. I got the throw blanket from the living room and covered her.

Kellan’s monitor showed he was still passed out.

I knocked lightly on the slightly ajar bathroom door. “Ready?”

“Yeah,” she croaked.

I took a second to run through the rules. No looking. No trying to catch a glimpse. No ogling if I saw something. This wasn’t the time. She needed help, not a horny man at her side.

I stepped in. The toothpaste was sitting at the edge of the sink. She must’ve brushed her teeth. She was in the tub and had her head leaning on the back wall. The towel I’d left her to cover herself with was draped down her body and half-concealed by bubbles. Her flesh was visible, but the wet fabric did nothing to hide her tempting curves.

Nope. Not going there.

I got a hand towel from the cabinet, folded it, and handed it to her. “For behind your head.” I set the drinks on the tub’s ledge.

“Thanks.” She took a tentative sip. We both knew she had to try.

The smell of vomit had dwindled. While she drank and rested, I gave the toilet a quick wipe down and washed my hands.

“You didn’t have to do that.” The cups were back on the ledge and her eyes were closed.

“Hard to feel better when everything’s dirty from being sick.” I sat on the toilet lid. “How’d you end up with Bug?”

She opened her eyes. They were already clearer. She looked tired as hell but not quite ready to waste away. “His owners moved and dropped him off to get euthanized.”

“That sucks.”

“It does.” She let out a gusty breath. “It’s like that though.”

“You sound like Sutton.”

“She worked with the family a lot, we all did, but they just weren’t prepared for that amount of dog.”

“Why didn’t you say anything about him?” Or about how sick she was?

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