Against All Odds (38 page)

Her eyes fill with tears, but a smile covers her face. “I love you. To us, to new beginnings, and new adventures. To the man of my dreams, the owner of my heart and soul.”

We clink our glasses and take a sip, looking at each other. The air around us simmers with love. We’re working hard on our marriage and on ourselves, and if two people work and want better, they can have it.

Six weeks later…

I’m getting ready for a day trip. When I pulled out of my deal with Nate and Grayson’s company, it left me in a precarious position. I have the capital to expand, but using my own money on a business venture is dangerous and risky. So over the last couple of months, I’ve been working hard to find capital from an outside investor. I now have an investment company secured for the expansion, but the CEO is insisting I come to Fort Lauderdale and sign all the documents in person.

That would be a non-issue, but over the last week, Kylie’s been sick. I want to postpone, but that means delaying the capital I’ve worked my ass off to secure and possibly sending me back to square one. If I want the money, without having to use my own, I’ve got to go.

I’m on the way home from the grocery store with Gatorade and soup. Kylie seems to have picked up the flu. She can’t keep down liquids, and I’m concerned that if she gets worse, she’s going to end up in the Emergency Room. I don’t want to leave her alone, so I called Cali to come over for the day.

Fort Lauderdale is a three-hour trip from Tampa. The meeting should only go for three or four hours, so I think I’ll be back by midnight. I pull into my driveway, park the car, and get out. I walk straight to the kitchen, put away what I got from the store, and head to the bedroom to check on my girl.

I look at the bed and notice Kylie’s not there. I decide to check the bathroom. I open the door and call her name, trying to let her know I’m home. She doesn’t respond. I feel the hot burn of fear curling around me. She couldn’t have gone anywhere in the thirty minutes I was out.

I head for the living room and stop when I see her on the sofa, curled up and sleeping. My heart that was beating outside my chest slows as I watch her chest rise and fall. I walk up to her and notice she has a sheen of sweat across her brow. I sit on the edge of the sofa and try to rouse her by rubbing her hair.

“Hey, baby. I’m back,” I whisper.

Her eyes flutter open, and she squints at me. She looks pale, and I can tell she’s lost weight this week. Her face is thinner. Her hair is all over the place, and her eyes look dull and hazy. She looks worse than when I left her an hour ago.

“Coop.” Her voice is raspy.

“I’m home. Are you okay? Are you feeling worse?” My voice tightens with concern. She’s never had the flu this bad before, and usually at this point, it’s gotten better.

“Not good.” She grimaces. “I feel like ass.”

“What’s hurting? You’re sweating again?”

I pick her up and cradle her against my body. She reaches for my neck and grips me tight, burrowing in close. I sit with her wrapped in my arms, and my stomach knots. She feels hot and damp. Something feels off and I’m concerned. I think it’s time she goes to the doctor.

“Kylie,” I murmur, “I think we need to take you to the Emergency Room. Something doesn’t feel right.”

“It’s just the flu, honey. You know, I caught it from Cali,” she whispers, latching on to me tightly. “Do you have to go today? Can’t you just stay home and cuddle with me?”

My chest constricts at her request. I don’t want to leave her. I can’t stomach the thought of her being sick, especially this sick, and me being MIA. I don’t know what to do. I want the money, but right now Kylie needs me. I flick through ideas of how to delay this trip, and one hits me in the stomach.

“Yeah,” I say, overwhelmed. “Let me see what I can do.” I place a soft kiss on her head and breathe her scent, letting it relax me some. “I’m going to take you back to bed. When was the last time you took something for this fever?”

“About two hours ago,” she says and yawns.

I stand with her cradled to my chest and move to the bedroom. I deposit her gently back in bed and take a good look at her. She’s shivering. Chills rack her tiny body, and her eyes are barely open. Her skin looks pale and has an odd greenish-yellowish tint.

“Oh God, I’m gonna throw up,” she says, clutching her stomach.

I rush to grab the trash can and bring it to her face. Her body lurches, trying to expel whatever is eating at it, but nothing comes out. There’s nothing left inside her to throw up. Anxiety settles over me as I watch her struggle. I feel myself tighten with every heave. My heart beats rapidly, and my blood pressure spikes. I can’t take this. I can’t take her in pain.

“Let me get you something cool for your head,” I murmur. I’m all nerves as I go to the bathroom. “We’re going to the doctor. I’m not taking no for an answer.” My voice tells her that I’m not screwing around. We’re going whether she wants to, or not.

“It’s just the flu,” she mumbles, pulling the comforter over her.

“I don’t care what it is. You’re going. This isn’t up for discussion.” I walk into the bathroom and grab a cold compress for her head. I lay it on her face, wiping it along her eyes and cheeks. “I need to make a couple calls. I’ll be right back. Try to sleep for a little bit.”

I kiss her head, feeling the heat that emanates from it. Yep, definitely running a fever. The meds aren’t working. I return to the kitchen, scrubbing my hand across my face. I hate seeing her in pain. I pick up my phone and make a call I really don’t want to make.

“Wow, what do I owe the honor of this call? It’s been a long time,” he says, his voice rough and out of breath.

“Yeah, yeah,” I mutter. “You busy?”

“I’m at the gym. What’s up?”

“I need a favor,” I say, hating that I’m doing this.

He lets out a long breath, and I can visualize him standing with a scowl on his face as he rolls his shoulders.

“This better not be about Kylie, Cooper” he says, his voice low but annoyed.

“Come on, Grayson, don’t fuck with me right now. You don’t even know what’s going on.” I exhale, my tone rough and distressed. “It wasn’t easy making this call.”

After a minute, he blows out a harsh breath. “Yeah, well, listen we all needed a break, and I have some shit going on that I need to talk to you guys about anyway. So tell me what you need.”

“I hate to ask you this, but I need to go sign some papers today. Tim’s insisting I drive to Fort Lauderdale and do it in person, but I gotta deal with something else.”

“What could be more important than that?” he asks, curiosity coating his words.

It’s been over four months since we last spoke, and I really don’t want to involve him in our lives just yet. But I’m in a tough spot. It’s time to suck it up and let him in on what’s going on.

“Kylie’s sick,” I say, my voice uneven.

“What? Sick? What do you mean?”

I run my hand through my hair. “I don’t know. She looks really sick. I thought about leaving her with Cali today, but she’s getting worse. I can’t take seeing her suffer like this. I don’t think it can wait. She needs to see a doctor, and it needs to be today.”

“Damn, okay. What do you need from Tim?”

“I need you to call him. I don’t know if you can pull some strings. Get him to work with me. I can fax the paperwork to him. I can’t and won’t leave my wife. Not like this. But I need that paperwork signed, like, yesterday. I don’t want to have to find another investor.”

“Let me ask you a question,” he says, his voice dropping low. “Do you still have me listed on the ownership papers?”

I still because I think I know what he’s asking. If he signs for me, then he’ll have to be a part of the new location. He has a small stake in the current office, but after everything that happened with Nate, I’ve been careful to keep the second location away from him. I want to branch out and buy him out.

“Yeah.” I take a deep breath. “But, Grayson, not to be an asshole, I’m doing this on my own. If need be, I’ll use my own money to do it.”

He’s silent. Gray’s a good businessman and doesn’t take matters like this personally. He finally says, “Okay. Tim owes me, and I’ll call in a favor for you. It shouldn’t be a problem. Now tell me how sick my girl is.”

“Your girl?” Irritation blooms and my protectiveness kicks in. I’m not sure who he thinks he is talking so casually about my wife after all the bullshit that went down.

“Sorry, bro, just an old habit. Please, tell me what’s going on with her?”

I sigh. If I don’t tell him, he’ll probably show up later to check on her. I hate this between all of us. I know the last couple months haven’t been easy on him either.

“She started throwing up last week, and it’s gotten progressively worse. She’s running a fever, and the chills are ridiculous. I can’t get them to stop for more than an hour. I swear she’s lost weight this week.” My head pounds, thinking of her in bed and in pain. “She’s keeps insisting it’s the flu. She caught it from Cali, who was sick with it, but I don’t know. Something’s telling me there’s more going on. I thought I’d just take her to Emergency Room. I think she’s dehydrated and needs fluids.” I head down the hall to check on her.

“Okay, let me… umm… I’ll call Tim and figure this out.” I hear shuffling in the background and then it gets quiet for a second. “Can I see her?”

I stare at Kylie, all bundled up, and my chest aches. I can’t stand to see her like this. I hate not being in control. Can Gray see her? I don’t know… I guess I owe him for this.

“Yeah, I guess you can,” I whisper as I step into the room and over to her.

“Thank you,” he murmurs.

“I’ve got to go. I’m taking her in now. I’ll call or text you from the ER.” I want to be done with this conversation. I look down at my world and feel a heaviness overcome me. Something’s definitely wrong.

“Okay, I’ll talk to you soon. And, Cooper, don’t stress too much,” he says.

“I’ve got to go,” I repeat a little more aggressively.

“Fine, we’ll talk later!”

The line clicks dead. “Yeah…”

I walk to the opposite side of the bed and pull back the covers, slip off my shoes, and crawl in behind her. I wrap my arms around her very warm body and stroke her stomach, holding her against me.

I whisper tenderly into her ear, “Kylie, sweet girl.” It comes out like a coo, something meant to stir her gently. She moves, moaning, and I rub her hair. “Hey, you. We need to get you up so we can get to the doctor.”

“I don’t want to go,” she groans, her movements lethargic.

“I know.” I lean over to kiss her cheek. “But you need to. For me, okay?”

“Can you carry me there? I’m too tired to move.”

“You know I will. I need you better.”

“Yeah,” she mutters. “Maybe this is getting worse.”

“I think so, baby. I’m going to get you some clothes. Then we’re heading out. I’ll call Cali so she can meet us there.”

“Thank you.” She turns and hits me with those glazed-over blue eyes.

“Nah, no ‘thank you’ needed. Just get better for me.” I kiss her head. “I miss you. I need my spunky girl back, yeah?”

“Mmmhmm.” She smiles, moving her hand to cup my dick. “I miss you, too. Especially this.” She strokes me through my jeans.

A small laugh and groan escapes my mouth. “Even sick, you’re my little sex queen.”

She laughs, and my shoulders lighten some. Her spirit always rises above, casting light on everything.

“Come on, it’s time to get ready.” I clasp her hand. “I love you.” I kiss her and move out of bed, hoping my girl’s not too sick. Because if she is, I’m not sure what the fuck I’m going to do.