Read Online Anne Stuart's Out-of-Print Gems by Anne Stuart - Free Book Online Page B

Bailey didn’t turn in his direction. He wasn’t a man to put up an argument. He’d made a desultory request for Ethan to leave when he’d examined his patient, but Ethan had flatly refused. He’d stood in his corner, watching, as the old man thumped her chest, listened to her heartbeat through the lacy peach-colored bra.
    â€œPenicillin works best in cases like these. Problem is, I don’t have the adult dose with me.”
    â€œI thought Sal warned you…”
    â€œHe did, he did.” Bailey managed to sneak a sheepish glance in the general direction of Ethan’s feet. “But I didn’t have any on hand. Whole town’s been going through the flu.”
    â€œDamn the whole town.”
    â€œI brought some kid’s stuff. She’ll have to drink half a bottle at a time, and it tastes like some sort of candy, but it should do the trick.”
    â€œIt better, old man,” Ethan said.
    Bailey looked up for a moment, then veered his eyes away in shame and horror. “I haven’t made a mistake in a long time.”
    â€œNo. I’ve made sure of that. But when you do, it’s a real killer, isn’t it?”
    Bailey didn’t say another word. With Salvatore’s help, he tipped half a bottle of thick pink medicine down Meg’s throat, then set her back against the pillows. She opened her eyes for a moment, trying to focus them, but she didn’t look at the two men hovering over her bed. Instead, her gaze went directly to the figure standing tall in the shadows.
    It was too dark to see his face from the bed; he’d made sure of that. And even if she could, she’d probably only remember as a fever-induced nightmare. She shut her eyes again, drifting off.
    â€œShe needs to get out of those wet clothes,” Bailey announced then, keeping his head down. “And she’s going to need some nursing. I could send someone out—”
    â€œI’ll take care of it.” Ethan’s voice was low and implacable, and Doc Bailey nodded nervously.
    â€œMaybe later. I know someone—”
    â€œI’ll take care of it. Take the doctor home, Sal.”
    Bailey practically ran from the room without a backward glance at his patient. Ethan found himself half hoping the man would take a tumble down the twisting stone steps and break his miserable neck. Only the inconvenience of having to explain kept him from moving forward and giving the doctor a little push.
    â€œYou’ll be all right?” Salvatore paused in the doorway.
    Ethan glanced over at the woman on the bed. “We’ll be fine.”
    â€œEthan…”
    He didn’t take his gaze from Meg’s pale, pale face. “Yes?”
    There was a pause. “Nothing,” said Sal. And a moment later, they were alone.
    Â 
    M EG COULDN’T REMEMBER when the fear and anger faded. Maybe when the pain in her chest got so bad she didn’t have room for anything else. Maybe when the two men found her, the old, gentle one going for help, the younger, stronger one keeping her safe in the darkened turret.
    Night shifted into day, the rainy shadows filling the room. Strong, deft hands were caring for her, sponging off her fevered body, smoothing away her sweat-drenched hair, pouring that sickly sweet medicine down her throat until she thought she’d gag. She’d tried to open her eyes, but the darkness in the room made focusing close to impossible. She knew he was there, sitting beside the bed, standing at the window, pacing the floor as she struggled for breath. She knew he was there and she was at peace.
    She didn’t wonder about the monster downstairs in the bowels of the poisonous old building. She didn’t wonder about Salvatore or her father or her trip to Europe and freedom. For the time being, she was content to drift in a fevered haze, knowing that the dark stranger would watch over her.
    There was a time, when the room darkened into a