IT WAS ALMOST a week after the holiday before Deacon could make it out to Loretta’s farm to work on the fence. The job site had been busy as hell, and he’d put in a lot of overtime hours. He’d called Loretta and let her know he wouldn’t be able to make it until Friday, but she’d told him there was no hurry and his job had to come first.

He appreciated that she understood, but he wanted to finish the projects at her place.

They’d seen each other at their softball game on Tuesday night, and that had been fun. Hazel had come along, and he discovered she loved coaching them from the bleachers. But Loretta had paperwork to do after the game, so they hadn’t hung out after.

So after work on Friday, he loaded up his truck with supplies and headed out to Loretta’s house. When he parked in the driveway, he was surprised not to see Otis or Hazel already outside, or coming out to greet him like they typically did.

He got out of the truck and went to the front door to ring the bell. He heard Otis’s deep bark announcing his arrival. Maybe Loretta was keeping him inside because of the heat. When Loretta answered, the dog was right there at the door, his tail whipping back and forth.

“Hey,” Loretta said. “Come on inside. It’s blistering hot today.”

It sure as hell was. The temps were only getting hotter, hovering right at the century mark. Deacon was damn glad they had the air-conditioning installed in the building they were working on, or it would be an oven in there.

He told Otis to sit, and when he did, he scratched him behind the ears, then followed Loretta into the kitchen.

“Where’s Hazel?” he asked.

“Asleep on the sofa. She hasn’t been feeling good the past couple of days.”

Deacon frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that. What’s going on with her?”

“I’m not sure. She’s had a low-grade fever, and she’s complaining of stomach pains.”

“Huh.” Since he didn’t have kids, he had no idea what that could be. “Something going around?”

“Not that I know of. I’ve talked to the parents of some of her friends, and they’re all fine. I’m hoping it’s just a bug and it’ll go away. But it’s unusual for her to get sick. She’s usually really healthy.”

Now Deacon was worried. He wandered over to the living room, where Otis had taken up a spot lying on the floor in front of Hazel.

Good dog.

Deacon took a peek over the back of the sofa. Hazel was curled up, sound asleep, her cheeks tinged with pink. He brushed his hand over her forehead.

Yeah, it was warm.

Damn.

He wandered back into the kitchen, where Loretta had fixed him a tall glass of ice water. He picked it up and took several swallows, then set it down on the island. “Thanks. Did she eat anything unusual?”

Loretta shook her head. “She and I have eaten all the same things, and I’m fine. Though, honestly, she hasn’t been eating much. She says she’s not hungry.”

“You worried?”

“Not yet. Kids pick up things all the time, especially viruses. Typically, they run their course, and then Hazel bounces back fast. But I’m keeping a watchful eye on her.”

“You know best.”

“Obviously she’s not going to her grandparents’ this weekend. Sorry about that.”

He reached out and took her hand. “Don’t be sorry. Hazel always comes first.”

She sighed, then smiled at him. “You are so understanding. Don’t you ever get mad?”

“You should see me on the job site. I get mad plenty. But about this? Never.”

“Thanks.”

“Mama, I don’t feel so good.”

Deacon looked over toward the living room. Hazel was sitting up, and she looked pale.

Loretta slipped off the bar stool and went over to the sofa. “What’s wrong?”

“I feel sick.”

“Let’s go.”

They disappeared down the hall and into Hazel’s bathroom, shutting the door.

Otis wandered down the hall, staring at the closed door. He whimpered there, scratching at the door.

“Otis.”

The dog came to him, so Deacon decided to distract him.

“Let’s go outside and play. You can follow me while I work on some fence.”

Otis wagged his tail and stopped whimpering, so Deacon figured getting Otis out of the house while Loretta tended to Hazel might be a good thing.

They walked out the front door. Deacon let Otis into his truck, and he drove off, heading down the property to work on the fence.

Maybe they both needed some distraction so they wouldn’t worry about Hazel.

LORETTA DIDN’T KNOW what time it was when she finally got Hazel settled in bed, but it was dark outside. It had been a long bout of sickness, her poor baby girl. And she had totally forgotten about Deacon, who had probably gone home by now. She felt bad about it, but there was nothing she could have done. Hazel needed her. She hoped he understood.

She started down the hall, then realized she smelled something wonderful in her kitchen. She frowned, and when she turned the corner, she saw Deacon in there, cooking, Otis looking up adoringly at him.

“What are you doing?”

“I figured you might be hungry. I know I’m hungry.” He paused. “How’s Hazel?”

“Asleep, finally. But sick.”

He rested a hip against the kitchen counter, and she saw concern cross his features. “How sick?”

“I don’t think you want me to be graphic, especially while you’re cooking.”

“I have an iron stomach, Loretta. Go ahead.”

“She threw up several times. But I think she’s done now. I hope she’s done now.”

“I hope so, too. Poor baby.”

“She’s sleeping and seems calmer, so I’m hoping she’s settled in for the night.”

“I made chicken soup. I know it’s hot outside, but I thought soup would be helpful for whenever Hazel’s up for it. And for us.”

“I am kind of hungry. But first, I need a shower, if you don’t mind waiting.”

“I don’t mind at all.”

She nodded. “Thanks. It won’t take me long. I’ll be right back.”

She hurried into her bathroom and turned the water on, stripped out of her clothes, and got into the shower, letting the water stream down over her. She took the fastest shower on record, but at least she felt clean after. She combed out her hair, put on fresh clothes, then went back into the kitchen.

“That was quick,” Deacon said as he reached into one of her cabinets for bowls.

“I told you I wouldn’t be long. Let me help you.”

“No. You sit. I’ll do this.”

This was new, having a man deal with dinner. Admittedly, she enjoyed watching him spoon the soup into the bowl and present it to her, then slice the bread he’d made. Granted, it wasn’t homemade bread, but it smelled wonderful, and she was suddenly starving. Frozen bread, thawed and heated in the oven, would do quite nicely. He took a seat next to her at the island, and they started to eat.

“Fence is fixed,” he said after a few minutes.

“Oh, thank you. And thanks for staying. You didn’t have to.”

“I had work to do, and I was worried about Hazel. I wouldn’t have left even if I didn’t have things to do here.”

Her heart was filled to bursting with the feelings she didn’t want to have for Deacon. But they were there, and eventually she was going to have to face them.

But not tonight. Tonight she’d had enough to deal with. So she could live in denial a little longer.

“Thank you for being here.”

“You’re welcome. Oh, and I watered your vegetables. They’re looking good. I also put some fencing and some cages around the tomato plants, since they were starting to look heavy.”

“Thank you for that as well.”

“No big deal. I thought the fencing would help keep Otis out. I saw his footprints in there.”

She swallowed some soup, then laid her spoon down. “Yes. He thinks they smell good. He already jerked up one of the plants and was running around with it in his mouth the other day.”

Deacon slanted a glare at Otis. “Dude. You did that? Not cool.”

Otis gave him a wild thump of his tail from his spot in the living room.

“At least it was only one plant. I think after I yelled at him and even Hazel yelled at him, he’s convinced the tomato plants are not good things after all. He might ignore me, but he doesn’t like having Hazel unhappy with him.”

“That’s good.”

They finished eating, and when Loretta went to do the dishes, Deacon insisted she go sit on the sofa and let him clean up. She argued.

“You had a rough day. I’ll do this, and you go relax. We’ll watch something on television together after I’m done in here.”

He looked determined, and she was too tired to argue, so she finally went into the living room, grabbed a blanket off the back of the sofa, and began channel surfing.

Her eyes were seeing double as she sifted through the options, so she settled on a baseball game.

She was asleep before Deacon showed up.

He nudged her sometime later. “Hey. Time for bed.”

She blinked, barely conscious of him leading her toward her bedroom.

She crawled into bed and reached for him. “Thank you, Deacon. It means a lot that you’re here.”

He brushed his lips across hers and swept her hair away from her face. “I’ll always be here for you. Good night, Loretta.”

“Mmm, night.”

She rolled over and fell asleep immediately.