“She needs to take it easy. I’m not surprised she got sick. She’s been running herself ragged for weeks now.” I heard the tap of metal on metal and the waft of something rich and warm. Soup. Despite feeling like shit, my stomach growled.
“We talked about everything last night—having kids. What I wanted.”
“What did you say?” Jackson asked.
“The truth—that she was more important to me than growing our family. You guys are more important to me. I don’t want that to change unless we all do.”
“That’s how you really feel?” Jackson sounded skeptical. “You really don’t want kids?”
“It’s not about what I want, Jax. It’s about this family and how we move forward. Sacrifices aren’t easy but we’ve all made them before.”
There was movement in the kitchen; cabinets closing, the sink running. I took a deep breath and stepped through the doorway. Hayden saw me first, a deep line forming on his forehead.
“Hey,” he said, crossing the kitchen. “You’re up.”
“I am.” I leaned against the wall. “But still not feeling great.”
Jackson looked me up and down. “I made you some soup. Want it in your room?”
The idea of soup made me equally starving and repulsed. I’d try to force some down. “Yes, please.”
Then I had a massive coughing fit that brought Hayden to my side and he wrapped an arm around me. “Babe, you look like you need to get back in bed.”
I nodded.
He touched my forehead. “You’re hot.”
“Thank you.”
His eyebrow raised. “Like, you have a fever again.”
I leaned against him. “Is that why everything hurts?”
“Probably.”
His next move was swift, bending and picking me up bridal style. My head spun. “Woah. Give me some notice.”
“Sorry.” He kissed my cheek. “But you look like you’re out of it and the last thing we need is for you to fall and crack your head.”
I touched the back of his neck. “You would know.”
He chuckled. “Damn straight. It’s not fun.”
Hayden carried me back to the bedroom and set me on the bed, pulling the covers up. Jackson followed with a tray of soup and a few crackers. Pain meds sat next to a bottle of something green.
“What’s that?” I asked, picking up the pills.
“Gatorade.” I made a face. “It’ll help with your electrolytes.”
I tossed the meds back and swallowed a mouthful. Yuck.
Anderson appeared in the door, his eyes searching and landing on me. “Everything okay here?”
“Yep,” Jackson said. “She’s just had her some medicine to reduce her fever and I made her some soup.”
Hayden gave me a stern look. “She needs to stay in bed.”
“Got it,” Anderson said, walking into the room and over to a chair that was closer to the wall. He dragged it closer to the bed.