Dax
She was delirious fromthe fever. I should have checked on her much sooner because her fever was way too high, and now she was out of her mind. It was funny at first, but I couldn’t help but really worrying about her.
I used the washcloth to wipe her body down, her face, and her neck. She felt like she was on fire, and she kept mumbling almost incoherently to herself, but I’d heard what she said. It took me a second to keep the urge to flee under control. She was delirious with fever. She had no clue what the hell she was saying, and I’d be an idiot to think otherwise.
She was right about one thing, though. We needed to cut the month short because even if the fever was responsible for what she was saying, a part of her deep down inside was starting to think and feel things. This relationship was supposed to be convenient for the both of us. She was supposed to be a mom to Bow and a help to me, nothing more.
As soon as Samantha was feeling better, I needed to tell her this wasn’t working out. She was getting attached to more than just my daughter, and I didn’t want that. It wouldn’t be fair to her, and I never should have slept with her.
“Come on, Samantha,” I said, waking her up. She’d fallen asleep in the cool water, her body was covered in goosebumps and she was shivering. The flu Bow brought home was kicking Sam’s ass. I hated that she was feeling like shit. If her temp didn’t level off soon, I’d be taking her to the hospital.
She whimpered as I pulled her up into a sitting position and then to her feet. Her body was as loose as a wet noodle as I helped her out of the water and wrapped a towel around her.
“You always like this when you’re sick?” I asked her, trying to get her dried off enough that I could get her upstairs and back into bed.
“Only when my fever’s high.” She was at one hundred two when I checked it last. High, but not crazy for an adult. “Last time I was this sick, Josh went to a hotel and didn’t come back until I was better. I pretty much just slept.”
“He didn’t look after you?”
“Josh doesn’t do sickness.”
“Did he take in sickness and in health out of your vows?” Her ex sounded like a fucking asshole. I hated that she’d spent so much time dating and engaged to him. Hell, she almost married the jerk.
“You’re being sarcastic.”
“A little, but seriously he sounds like a douche.” I wasn’t being sarcastic so much as trying to push down my building anger at her ex fiancé.
“He was and he cheated on me with my best friend.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.”
“You’re not?” I finished drying her off and wrapped a towel around her body, lifting her back into my arms.
“No. If he hadn’t cheated with her, he would have cheated with someone eventually. At least I found out before the wedding.”
She had a point there. I carried her back into her room and set her on the bed. I couldn’t find an easy pair of pajamas to put on her or a nightshirt, so I ripped my shirt over my head and put it over her, helping her put her arms through the holes.
“You deserved better than that.” I leaned down and kissed her head, she was already starting to fall asleep again. Her eyes were closed and she was curling onto her side. The shirt barely covered her delectable ass.
“You deserved better too, Dax,” she whispered as I pulled the covers over her body and tucked them under her chin. Her uneaten food was still on the dresser, so I took it downstairs to throw it out, distracting myself from the shift that happened in our relationship.
It didn’t work. I tried to stay busy between doing things around the house and keeping Bow company, but Samantha was never far from my thoughts. I checked on her and forced food and fluids into her, but other than that, she slept a lot, only getting up when she had to go downstairs to the bathroom.
When she almost fell down the steps, I decided it was time to work on the upstairs bathroom since I was off work the next few days for fall break. Luckily, I’d already installed the stuff that required tools. All that was left was cosmetic upgrades that I’d been putting off because of time. We could have technically been using the upstairs bathroom already, but I didn’t want to use it until it was one hundred percent finished. That was something Bow and I started when we first moved into the old lighthouse.
“What do you think, kiddo?” I picked Bow up and nodded toward the wall as she looped her arms around my neck and looked at the three colors I had painted on the wall.
“They all look the same, Daddy.”
“They’re different, Bow. See that one,” I pointed to the patch of painted wall that was darkest. “It’s darker than the other two paints.”
“I don’t like that one.”
“Ok. So the dark one is out. What about this one?” I pointed to the lightest one and she shook her head, her little nose scrunching up. “Distant Star it is. You want to help me paint?”
“Yay!” Bow smiled and wiggled down from my arms.