Page 46 of Love and Memories

Bella got to her feet and grabbed the bucket handle. “Yeah. I’m fine for now, but thanks.” When she stood, lifting the bucket off the floor, her eyes glazed over and her body swayed to one side.

Travis was beside her in an instant, wrapping one arm around her and taking the bucket from her with the other. “Are you okay?”

Bella pressed a hand to her forehead and leaned against his chest. “I just got dizzy.”

Travis put the bucket down and lifted Bella into his arms. Her frame was small and light, even as her body sagged against him.

“There’s a bed in there,” Tammy said, pointing toward a room off the main area.

In just a few strides, Travis was in the bedroom and lowering Bella onto the old, bare mattress. “Bella, talk to me.”

She blinked rapidly but her body slumped onto the bed. “I’m okay. I think I just stood up too quickly.”

Unwilling to let her go yet, Travis sat on the bed beside her. “Do you feel nauseated? Does your head hurt?”

“I’ll get her some water,” Tammy said as she darted out of the room.

“Can you bring the first-aid kit too?” Travis asked as he lifted Bella’s wrist. He felt for the thrumming pulse and timed the beats.

He’d felt hundreds of heartbeats in his line of work, but he’d never focused so intently on the rush of life in another person’s veins as he did Bella’s. The steady confirmation beneath his fingertips anchored him to her. It was a direct path to her heart, and a solace to his worries.

“I’m fine,” Bella whispered.

Satisfied with her heart rate, he pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. “You’re hot.”

“I’ve been working. The doctor said I would have dizzy spells.”

Travis leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. He should check his own heart rate. Each pump in his chest banged against the cage of bones that protected it. “Has this happened before?”

“A few times,” she admitted.

“How many?”

Bella shrugged. “It’s usually when I stand up too quickly. I just forgot.”

Travis lifted his cap and pushed a hand through his hair before covering the tousled mess again. “What if you passed out and hit your head again? I think we should call your doctor and let him know this is happening.”

Bella’s soft hand rested on his arm, and he turned to face her. “He said it was fine. I promise, I’ll call if I feel like it’s necessary.”

Tammy’s quick footsteps drifted through the cabin moments before she appeared in the doorway. “Found the kit.”

Travis reached for it, pulled out a pen light, and turned to Bella. “Can you follow the light?”

He checked her pupils, then moved the light from side to side. Satisfied with the results, he turned it off and placed it back in the kit. Her blood pressure was fine, and she didn’t have a fever. “I think you should rest for a bit.”

“But I just got started,” Bella pointed out.

“I know, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

She let out a deep exhale, and her gaze stayed trained on him.

Man, he’d do anything to keep those beautiful green eyes looking at him. The heat spreading in his chest said he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. It was becoming more difficult by the minute to ignore how much he cared about Bella.

Ready or not, he was falling for the mysterious woman who’d quickly become the center of his world.

17

ISABELLA

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