Page 59 of Grumpy Sunshine

“Check his room,” I grumbled.“Fourth door on the right.”

“Oh, sorry.”Aella’s voice had me cracking one eye open again to see them squeezing through the door going in opposite directions.

“Sorry,” Reign replied.“Just asking if he knew where Copper was.”

“I think I just saw him in the kitchen, actually,” Aella replied, sounding awkward for a moment.

“Oh, thanks.”Reign left, leaving us alone.

“Close the door so no one else comes in,” I mumbled.

I heard it click quietly closed and barely managed to open my eyes all the way to watch her walking toward me.

She was balancing a few drinks, one of which was in a coffee cup, as she walked toward me.

“What’s in the cup?”I asked.

“Hot toddy,” she answered.“The elderly tech, Noreen, swears by them.I tried it one day a few months ago and I feel like it actually works.”

“Guess I’ll give it a try,” I grumbled as I weakly pushed myself up.

She shoved a few pillows behind my back, propping me up as best as she could, and waited until I was steady to hand me the hot drink.

I carefully sipped it.

“It’s not too bad,” I remarked.

Other than the alcohol being a little tart, the honey gave it a nice sweet flavor.

And the hotness factor soothed my aching throat.

She waited for me to finish before she took the glass from me and said, “Meds next.”

I took everything she handed me with small sips of water, handing the bottle back to her when I was done.

“This sucks,” I grumbled as I leaned farther backward.

“The flu isn’t fun,” she agreed.“Did your niece give it to you?”

“Yes,” I grumbled.“Though she’s faring way better than I am right now.”

“Kids usually do,” she agreed again.“I was actually coming here to thank you.”

I opened my eyes to look at her.

“What for?”I asked.

She crossed her arms over her chest, and if I had the energy, I would’ve grinned.

“Hate to be the bearer of bad moods, but I probably contaminated everything with flu,” I admitted.“You might want to spray some disinfectant on everything.”

She snorted.“If I’m going to get it, it’s going to happen whether I spray that down or not.”

She had a point.

“Sorry,” I apologized.“I truly should’ve read the warning signs.But I didn’t like the idea of you not taking any of that money for yourself.”

She sat on the edge of the bed and I blinked open my eyes, surprised to find them closed.

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