Page 39 of More Than an Ex-Girlfriend

The poor guy has it rough.

CHAPTER14

ARCHER

My head is pounding when I wake up. Stretched out on my stomach, I keep my face buried in the pillow. I’m not sure how long I’ve been asleep or when I ate last, but I’m hungry and exhausted even though I just woke up.

When I shift, cool fingers trail along my back. Lettie is here, calming me in the way she used to. Her fingers skim right over my scars, and the sensitive skin tingles at her touch.

I turn my head to look at her. “Hey.”

“How are you feeling?” Her fingers continue their dance on my skin.

“A little better, I guess, but my head still hurts. Honestly, I don’t remember much of what happened earlier today. Or... how long have I been sick?”

“This is the end of day two. You’ve been pretty out of it. Talkative on occasion, but you’ve slept a lot.”

I stay still so that she’ll keep brushing her fingers on my back because it feels really good. “Hopefully, I didn’t say or do anything embarrassing.”

How much did I say? Did I tell her that we were messaging each other for months? I’ve been thinking about it more after she messaged again. Was that dream I had about kissing her not a dream at all? If it did happen, should I pretend it didn’t? Will she do the same?

“Nothing too embarrassing. Want some Jell-O? Or I have chicken soup on the stove if that sounds better. You kept Jell-O down earlier.”

The “too” confirms that something happened. But I’m not prepared to find out what I did. At least not right now. I might never be ready for that.

“Soup sounds good.” I roll to my side. “You didn’t have to do this, Lettie. You have a job. You don’t need to stay here and babysit me.”

“It’s fine. Tessa covered for me.” She slides off the bed. “Let me get you some soup.”

“Hey. Doing all this means you might get sick, and this is not fun.”

“I know. But we’re neighbors.” She winks and walks out of the room.

That is probably supposed to mean something, but I have no idea what. It seems that Lettie now has inside jokes with the loopy me, and I’m clueless.

Minutes later, she sets a tray in my lap. “For starters, here’s a small bowl of soup, but there’s a big pot. So if it settles well, I can bring you more.”

“Thanks.” I dig right in. The noodles are flavorful and there’s chicken in every bite. “This is amazing. What brand is it? I’ll have to buy this kind.”

Shaking her head, she flashes a giddy smile. “I made it. From scratch. You were sleeping, so I threw together some dough, made the noodles, then cooked the soup.”

“I’m impressed. This is incredible.” I shovel down the rest of the bowl. “Aren’t you going to eat?”

“Already did. Want more?”

“Yes, but I should make sure this will stay down.” I still feel cruddy, but now that I’m awake, the walls are closing in. “I let the ranch know I was sick, right? Everything is a blur.”

“They know and were understanding. You aren’t the only one with the bug.” She takes the tray and walks out of the room.

“The other guys must be slammed.” I toss back the covers. “I should probably—”

She rushes in. “Get your butt back in bed. That’s what you should probably do. Those guys don’t want your germs. Are you trying to get the rest of them sick?” She touches my arm. “Tessa’s husband, Garrett, messaged me this morning to check on you. He said they were doing okay.”

Garrett helps run the ranch and will one day take over. His reassurance that things are running smoothly gives me permission to recuperate without feeling too guilty.

I stand and rub my face, wishing the room didn’t feel like it was leaning. “Even if I did chores by myself away from everyone else, I’d likely end up hurting myself. It’s like I’m in a fog.”

Lettie plants herself in front of me and touches the back of her hand to my forehead and then my cheek. “You feel warm again. Please will you just get back in bed?”

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