70 degrees today. By far the warmest day of the year. BUT, a hard freeze is predicted for Saturday night, so we’ll hold out to see if the sap runs on Sunday.
—Colton Abbott’s sugaring journal, April 19
“Were you mad when I didn’t show up at the airport?”
“Not mad so much as worried you might’ve changed your mind about me.”
“I never would’ve left you stranded like that, even if I had changed my mind, which I haven’t.”
“That’s what Cameron said, too. She said if you were through with me, you would’ve said so.”
“She’s right.”
“Will you tell me? If you get to a place where this doesn’t work for you anymore, will you just tell me?”
“Yes. Will you?”
He nodded. “I’m not expecting to get there any time soon. Just so you know.”
“Me either. Just so you know. I’m sorry you had to fend for yourself in the big city. What do you think of it so far?”
“I hardly noticed a thing because I was so anxious to get to you.”
“Colton?”
“Hmm?”
“I think I’m going to be sick again.”
He moved quickly to grab the small trash can that sat next to the sink and got it to her with no time to spare. When she was done, he helped her out of the tub and into the towel he wrapped around her. He held her up at the sink so she could brush her teeth. “Bedroom?”
“That way,” she said, pointing. Like every other part of her, the vomiting had weakened her voice. She directed him to where he could find sweats and a T-shirt that he helped her into. Then he tucked her into bed.
“I know you’re going to object, but I’m wondering if you need a doctor.”
“No.”
“The longer this goes on, the more dehydrated you’re going to get, and that can go bad really quickly.”
“I don’t need a doctor.”
“Then you have to drink something. I’ll get you anything you want, but you have to stay hydrated.”
“Water.”
“Cold water?”
“That sounds good.” She looked up at him with blue eyes that were bigger than usual in her pale face. “You don’t know where anything is.”
He leaned over to kiss her. “I’m a resourceful kind of guy. I’ll figure it out.” It took him less than five minutes to locate glasses and fill one of them with water from a pitcher in the fridge that contained some sort of funky filter system.
When he returned with the water, he found her asleep and debated whether he should wake her to get her to drink something. He decided to let her sleep while she had a break from the vomiting and took advantage of the lull to clean the bathroom and gather her dirty clothes.
Then he sent Cameron a text to let her know what was going on.
She responded almost immediately, as if she’d been waiting to hear from him. Oh no! I hope she’s okay!
She’s miserable but seems okay. Full of beans as always.
That’s a relief. Thank goodness u r there with her.
I’ll be with her until she feels better. Keep me posted.
Will do. Thanks for the help earlier.
Happy to support the Colton and Lucy cause.
We’re a cause now?
I’m scared of you.
LOL. TTYL. That means: Laugh out loud and talk to you later.
Smart ass. I knew that.
I wasn’t sure you spoke text yet.
Colton laughed at her snappy comeback. She was funny. He’d give her that. The sound of a phone ringing in the apartment took him back to where her purse had spilled inside the door. He picked up Lucy’s phone and saw her dad was calling for the third time. Hoping he was doing the right thing, he took the call.
“Hi, Mr. Mulvaney. This is Lucy’s friend, Colton Abbott.”
“Where’s my daughter?”
“I’m with her at her apartment, but she’s sick.”
“Sick? With what?”
“Food poisoning, apparently. She had some bad sushi.”
“Oh no. Well, that explains why she hasn’t been answering her phone.”
“Is everything all right?”
“Everything is fine, but when your daughter doesn’t answer her phone you keep trying until she does, no matter how old she is.”
Colton smiled at the feisty reply. He could see now where Lucy’s sauciness came from. “You sound a lot like my own father, who would do the same thing if one of his daughters didn’t answer her phone.”
“Do I need to come there to be with her?”
“No, sir. I’m taking care of her, but I’m sure she’d like to see you when she feels a little better.”
“I’ll bring her some soup tomorrow.”
“I bet she’ll be ready for that by then.”
“I’ll get some for you, too.”
“Oh. Thanks. I’ll look forward to meeting you.”
“What kind do you like?”
“Mr. Mulvaney, one thing you’ll soon learn about me is there’s absolutely nothing I won’t eat.”
That drew a grunt of what might’ve been laughter from the other man. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He paused before he added, “You’ll call me if she gets worse, won’t you?”
“You have my word.”
“Very good then. Behave yourself with my daughter.”
Colton held back the need to laugh because that really wouldn’t have been wise. “Yes, sir.”
“Good night then.”
“Good night.”
Amused by the exchange with Lucy’s dad, he placed her phone on the counter that divided her kitchen and living room. With her asleep, he finally had a chance to take a look at her charming living space. He could see her everywhere—in the wide variety of colors that all seemed to work perfectly together to the furniture that had been purchased with comfort in mind to the modern artwork on the walls. Like Lucy, her place was practical yet artistic and modern as well as whimsical.
On the mantel over a gas fireplace, he found a collection of figurines that looked old and priceless. He wondered how she’d come to have them and looked forward to asking her about them. As he was perusing a bookshelf full of romances, mysteries and thrillers, his stomach let out a loud growl that reminded him he hadn’t eaten since lunch. He went into the kitchen and opened the fridge to see what Lucy had on hand. Other than several containers of yogurt, some wilted grapes and the filtered water, there wasn’t much of anything to keep a guy alive. Luckily, several takeout menus were affixed to the fridge with magnets. The choices were awe-inspiring for someone who lived alone on a mountain: pizza, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Italian, Mexican and everything else anyone could ever want.
The variety of choices had his mouth watering. He wanted all of them, although knowing sushi had made Lucy so sick had him putting aside the Japanese menu. While his first inclination was to order a large meat-lover’s pizza and call it a day, he decided it wouldn’t hurt him to broaden his horizons and chose chicken pad Thai. He would’ve killed for a couple of beers, too, but he wasn’t leaving Lucy for any reason, especially one as frivolous as beer.
Tomorrow he’d get them stocked up with food, beer and anything else they needed to hunker down for a few days. He peeked in on her curled up in a ball in bed before he went out to see if he could find the Red Sox game on TV since he hardly ever got to watch them play. Mostly he caught the games on the radio and had no idea what many of the players even looked like.
While he had no trouble at all finding the New York Yankees television station, there were no Red Sox to be found on any of the staggering number of channels she had available. Since he had no interest in watching the Yankees, he skipped around until he found an action movie that looked somewhat interesting.
He’d settled into watch the movie when he heard a noise from the bedroom that had him up and running. Colton grabbed the trash can he’d placed by the bed and got it to her just in time to save the bed from a direct hit. This time was much worse than the time before and seemed to go on for ages, when it was probably only ten minutes. But every one of those minutes cost her strength she didn’t have to spare.
“I’m getting nervous here, Luce. I really think we need to take you to the ER.”
“No,” she said when she finally fell back on her pillow. “I’m okay.”
Colton chose not to argue with her. He took the trash can to the bathroom to wash it out and came back with a fresh washcloth that he used to wipe her face and mouth. “Your dad called. He was worried when he couldn’t reach you. I talked to him. Hope that’s okay.”
“You talked to my dad?”
“I did. He’d called three times so I figured he was anxious to speak to you. I told him what was going on and he said he’s going to bring you soup tomorrow.”
“Oh good. Okay.” She looked up at him warily. “Was it strange to talk to him for the first time that way?”
“Nah, it was fine. We had a nice chat.”
“He wasn’t like, you know, weird that you were here?”
“He told me to behave with his daughter, and I assured him I would.”
She groaned. “Ugh. I hope that’s one promise you don’t plan to keep.”
“Tonight I plan to keep the promise. But once you’re feeling better, look out.”
“Good,” she said with a sigh. “Sorry about all of this. Not the night we had planned, that’s for sure.”
“Stop apologizing. It’s not your fault. Do you think you could drink some water?”
“I can try.”
He held the cup for her while she took two sips. The small bit of effort seemed to further exhaust her.
“I’m so sorry I’m such a mess,” she said with tears in her eyes.
Stretching out next to her, he linked his fingers with hers and looked down at her. “Please don’t be sorry, and you’re not a mess. I’m just glad I was here when you needed me.”
“None of the guys I’ve dated in the past ever would’ve done something like this for me.”
“Then you’ve been dating the wrong guys.”
“Clearly.”
“What now?” he asked when her eyes filled.
“Are you ever going to be able to look at me again and not see and smell puke?”
Colton laughed. “Honey, I grew up with nine siblings. Someone was always puking. Dogs were pooping and peeing everywhere but in the yard. We had goats at one point, and they were forever wandering into the house and making deposits. We had chickens and even a cow with an attitude. And then there were the horses Hannah and Ella had. They blackmailed their little brothers into mucking out their nasty stalls. Trust me when I tell you I’m not easily intimidated by a little puke.”
“A little puke?” she asked, seeming to appreciate his effort to downplay her illness.
“Okay a lot of puke. But you’re still incredibly cute even when you’re puking.”
She wrinkled up her nose and still managed to look adorable. “Something’s seriously wrong with you.”
“You’re not the first person to tell me that. How about a little more water?”
“There’re straws in the cabinet over the stove. Could you grab me one?”
He kissed the back of her hand before he released it. “Coming right up.” As he walked out of the bedroom, a loud buzzing noise echoed through the apartment. “What is that?”
“Someone’s at the door.”
“Oh, I ordered food. Hope that’s okay.”
“Of course it’s okay. You must be starving.” She talked him through the steps of answering the intercom and buzzing the delivery guy into the building.
After exchanging cash for food at the door, Colton stashed his dinner in the kitchen, brought her a straw and helped her take a few more sips of water. “How about I go get you a sports drink to help restore the electrolytes?”
“What do you know about electrolytes?”
“Search-and-rescue training. There was a whole section on dehydration.”
“You’ve had search-and-rescue training.”
“Yep. Me and all my brothers. It’s a hobby of ours in the winter.”
“Only you would be entertained by going out into blizzards to search for people.”
“It’s really fun, especially when we find them alive.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it as you won’t catch me alive—or dead—in a snowstorm.”
Chuckling, he said, “So, sports drink? Yes?”
“Sure. There’s a bodega on the corner where you can get stuff like that, and there’s money in my purse.”
He leaned over her to kiss her forehead and then her lips. “I gotcha covered, babe. Do they sell beer at this so-called bodega?”
“Yes, they do, but we’re right around the corner from one of the best beer stores in the city.”
“You have beer stores here?”
“We have everything stores here.”
“Tomorrow, or the next day when you’re feeling better, I want to see the beer store. Tonight, I’ll be happy with a six-pack of something cold and American. You sure you’ll be okay if I leave for a few minutes?”
“I’ll be fine. I’m super sleepy. Go ahead and eat and then get your beer. I’m okay.”
“If you’re sure. I’ll be quick.” He put the bucket on a towel on the bed next to her. “Just in case, and I’m going to shut the door while I’m eating so the smell doesn’t get in here.”
Her wince said it all. “Thanks for that.”
“Get some rest. I’ll be back soon.”
“You’ll need keys. Bring them here, and I’ll explain them to you. I think they’re out there somewhere.”
“They were still in the door when I got here, so I know exactly where they are.”
“Wow. I have very little memory of that. This whole day is a blur. My dad would have a total cow if he ever knew I left my keys in the door. You can’t tell him.”
“I won’t, but only if you promise you’ll never do it again.”
“Let’s hope I never have another day like this one.”
After she’d schooled him on how to use the two keys he needed to get back in, he left her to sleep, went to eat his dinner and then left to do his errand. At the bodega, he bought the sports drink, chicken soup and ginger ale for her as well as eggs, fruit, cereal, rolls, cold cuts, milk and beer to sustain him until she felt better. Even at close to midnight, the streets were busy with cars and pedestrians bustling about like it was midday.
By the time he got back to the stairs that led to her building, his bags were beginning to get heavy, which had him wondering how a city person grocery shopped. He needed to ask Lucy about that. From what he’d seen of it, he decided he liked the energy of the city and that he could go out at midnight, walk around the corner and get what they needed. How cool was that?
So far, the city had a lot to recommend it, and he could see himself spending time here. Although his opinion might change after a few days of nonstop hustle and bustle. One thing he could already see for certain was that her world and his were as different as they could possibly be, and yet here they were with genuine feelings for one another.
Could he see himself living here? Probably not. He would have trouble making a living here since his one marketable skill relied on sugar maple trees in Vermont to be useful.
So much for not getting ahead of yourself. No one was talking about moving, so why was he thinking about such things? There was no need for those thoughts right now. It was too soon, for one thing. And for another . . . He blew out a deep breath. For another, it was becoming increasingly more difficult to imagine a life that didn’t include Lucy. Which was why his thoughts were straying into places they shouldn’t be going. Yet.
The keys took some juggling with the bags in his arms, but he finally got into the first-floor door and up the two flights of stairs. Inside the apartment, he put the bags in the kitchen and went right to check on Lucy, who was sleeping peacefully. Thank goodness. He’d been worried about her getting sick again when she was home alone.
Assured that she was okay, he stashed the groceries and popped open a beer. Walking over to the big windows that overlooked the street below, he watched the goings-on outside for a while and tried to imagine what it would be like to live amid so much activity all the time. He tried to picture Sarah and Elmer here. They probably wouldn’t know what to make of it.
He certainly hadn’t seen this evening unfolding the way it had, and it probably ought to scare the piss out of him that he’d rather be with Lucy when she was sick than with any other woman he’d ever met. However, it didn’t scare him so much as cement his resolve to figure out a way to make this work. The alternative was no longer an option.