Treading Water 03 Starting Over by Marie Force

Author:Marie Force
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780983475491
Publisher: BookBrewer
Published: 2011-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

After Dennis left, Brandon went looking for Mike. He had missed her incessant chatter that afternoon. From the second-floor hallway, he saw her bouncing a ball on the sidewalk that ran along the back of the building.

He went down the back stairs and out the door into the warm mid-April day. The yellow forsythia bushes in the backyard were in bloom, and the air was filled with the fragrant smell of spring. Brandon couldn’t remember the last time he’d noticed a change of season.

Mike was concentrating on dribbling the ball and didn’t see him coming.

“What’s up, squirt?”

Surprised, she looked up at him. “Are you done working?”

“For now. What’re you up to?”

“Nothing.”

“What’s the matter?”

She shrugged.

“Want to walk down to the park?”

“I guess.”

“Go tell your mom.”

She went into the house without her usual exuberance and was still listless when she returned wearing a sweater.

Brandon lifted her to his shoulders to carry her the short distance to the park. “So how come you never play on the swing set in the yard?”

“My mom won’t let me. She says I’d need a tetchis shot to play on that rusty old thing.”

Brandon laughed. “You mean tetanus? I guess it is kind of rusty.”

As Brandon pushed her on the swing, he studied the playground equipment and was struck with an idea that took shape over the next few minutes. He was startled out of his thoughts when she suddenly asked him to stop pushing her.

“What’s wrong, honey?” He eased the swing to a stop. “You’re not yourself today.”

“My stomach hurts,” she said, clutching her middle.

He ran a hand over her face and discovered she was burning up. “You’ve got a fever. Come on, let’s get you home.”

“Wait,” she said when he tried to pick her up. “I think I’m going to throw up.”

Brandon moved fast to carry her over to the big open garbage can and held her as her little body convulsed with wave after wave of nausea. He’d never felt so helpless.

When it was finally over, tears spilled down her cheeks. “Sorry,” she whispered.

Her embarrassment broke his heart. “Don’t be sorry, baby. You couldn’t help it.” He tugged a bandanna from his back pocket and wiped her face and mouth before he hoisted her gently into his arms.

She rested her head on his shoulder and was asleep before he made it through the gate at the park.

Brandon got her home as fast as he could and tapped on Daphne’s door.

She was alarmed to find Brandon carrying a sleeping Mike. “What happened?”

“She said her stomach hurt, and then she threw up. She’s really hot, too.” He followed Daphne to Mike’s room and settled the child on the bed.

Daphne untied Mike’s red sneakers and pulled them off. “She seemed fine when she came up to tell me she was going with you.”

“She was kind of blah.” Brandon smoothed the hair off Mike’s hot forehead. “Definitely not herself.”

“I’m going to go grab the thermometer. I’ll be right back.” She returned a minute later and gasped when the thermometer reached 102 degrees.

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