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fever. It’s just a cold,” she said belligerently.
    “ Yeah well humor me then and
take this,” he said as he handed her the aspirin and home
remedy.
    He watched her face and saw as she
weighed her options. Once again she seemed to decide that relenting
to his request would get rid of him faster and she placed the
aspirin in her mouth and raised the mug to her lips.
    “ Be careful, it’s hot,” he
warned.
    He watched as she sipped the hot brew
and surprise light across her face.
    “ This is a hot toddy,” she
said looking up at him quizzically.
    “ My mom always makes these
for me when I’m sick,” she stated.
    “ My mom used to do the same
when I was young,” he said pulling a chair towards the side of the
bed.
    “ She used to use limoncello,
but I figured some rum and lime would work out just as well,” he
continued as he reached for the second mug and dish
cloth.
    He poured some of the hot water on the
cloth. Just enough to heat it and make it slightly damp. He reached
over and flipped the comforter up to reveal her feet. Letting the
cloth cool for just a few more seconds he took Veronica’s feet and
wrapped them snuggly in the cloth. He heard her slight moan and
looked up to see her face.
    “ God that feels so good,” she moaned
out.
    He grinned at her as he began to rub
her feet through the warm cloth.
    “ I take it back,” she
said.
    “ You can stay. Whatever you
do, don’t stop doing that,” she said as a long sigh escaped
her.
    Victor smiled and continued rubbing
for a few more minutes before removing the cloth and adding more
hot water. He placed the cloth down on the night table and reached
for the now empty mug in Veronica’s hand.
    “ Turn over,” he
instructed.
    He saw her struggle with the demand
for a moment before she nodded her head and rolled over to lay her
stomach.
    He pulled the comforter down to expose
her back then reached for the warm cloth and placed it gently on
her back. He chuckled when she groaned again.
    “ My nephew has a pretty weak
constitution,” he explained as he began to rub her muscles through
the cloth.
    “ He was born premature and
even though he’s nine years old now, he still doesn’t have the best
immune system. We learned this trick to help relieve shivers and
aching muscles a few years ago after he got a nasty flu bug,” he
said.
    “ He’s a good kid but very
stubborn. He hates getting sick, so he pretends like he’s not
hurting and that only makes it worse,” he said as he worked his
hands down her back.
    “ It sounds like you love him
a lot,” said Veronica, her voice coming out in a soft
whisper.
    Victor chuckled as he thought of his
precocious nephew.
    “ Yeah. His name is David and
he’s probably the most amazing kid in the world,” he
said.
    “ His dad died a few years
ago and he considers himself the man of the house. He told me the
other day to start calling him Mr. David,” he said shaking his
head.
    He felt Veronica’s shoulders move as
she laughed softly.
    “ He sounds like a handful,”
she said drowsily.
    “ He is, but I wouldn’t
change him for anything,” he replied.
    He told her stories about his nephew
as he continued to rub at her sore muscles. She asked a few more
questions but after a while she drifted into silence. Eventually
Victor heard her release a soft snore and smiled. She was asleep.
He removed the cloth from her back, rolled her onto her back, and
pulled the comforter back up to her neck before her body could
tempt him into doing something stupid.
    He glanced down at his watch
and wasn’t surprised to see that it was only seven in the
evening. Thank God for smart
phones, he thought as he left the room and
settled onto Veronica’s couch. He figured he could get some work in
and still be around if Veronica needed him.

CHAPTER
ELEVEN
    Veronica shuddered awake and
for A moment thought that she was back in New York. She was
freezing and it took her a moment to realize that she hadn’t woken
up in a cold