Page 81 of Sawyer
“Is he alright?He said he doesn’t feel well.”
My chest warms at the caring nature this man has for my boys.
“Yes, just running a little temp and a bit lethargic.”My eyes sweep over my boy, who now looks paler, a light sheen of sweat coming over his face.
“I called Hudson.He’s going to meet you at home.”
I jolt at that, shaking my head, not that he can see me.“Oh, I’m sure we’re all okay.Some rest and soup will help him.”I’m thankful for the suggestion, although my stomach curdles at the thought of food.
“Too late, I’ve already told him.He said he’ll meet you at home in an hour.He’s out that way anyway.”
“Sawyer….”He doesn’t have to do this.He’s in the city, and he should be concentrating on his work.Me and the kids don’t want to be a burden.
“Acts of service,” he says quickly.
“What?”I ask, confused.
“It’s my love language.Get used to it.I’m getting on the jet.I’ll be there tonight,” he tells me before the call goes dead, and I sit, staring at my phone in shock for a second before Kevin rips me back into reality when he grabs his stomach and moans before vomiting all over me and the entire interior of my car.
This is going to be a long night.
36
Sawyer
Panic.That’s what I felt when I heard Kevin’s voice on the other end of the phone.He sounded weak and frail, and when he asked me to come home because he wasn’t feeling good, I grabbed my things and was out of my office and in my waiting town car before Annabelle even got on the phone.I left my most senior manager in charge of our issue, something I’ve never done, but I didn’t even think twice about it.The trip in my jet was quick.I instructed my pilot to fly like the wind, and I landed in Whispers just in time to witness what looks like the end of the world.
“God, I need water,” Annabelle moans from where she’s lying on her bed, her temperature soaring, her hair damp, clutching her stomach like she’s in acute pain.My heart rate escalates.
“Bucket!”Kevin yells from down the hall, and I make a mad dash, passing him a clean bucket before I run to the kitchen, filling the water jug and taking it back to Annabelle.All the while, Noah is sitting on the sofa, happily watching cartoons, eating a bag of chips I had in the car like he’s won the lottery.And from the looks of his family members, I’d say he has.
“Thank you,” Annabelle whimpers.As I sit next to her, I reach out, pushing her damp hair from her forehead.
“Mmmmm… ready to run back to the city yet?”she quips.Her eyes are half-closed as she’s barely lucid, and while I’ve experienced stomach bugs before, it’s never been anything that looks remotely like this.
“Nowhere else I’d rather be.”I watch her carefully.Kevin has pretty much vomited as much as he can, although I can still hear him dry retching.He’s bedridden, weak, and barely keeping down water.Annabelle is deathly pale, her skin almost a gray color, the love and light that I usually see in her sparkling blue eyes absent.
“Liar.Let me get up, so I can get dinner for Noah.You don’t need to stay.”She starts to sit up, grimacing, and I frown at her stubbornness.
“I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you.”I grab her shoulders and assist her to lie back down.
“What did you guys eat in the last twenty-four hours?”I ask her, keen to understand how this could happen.
Her eyebrows pinch.“You think it’s food poisoning?”
“Has to be.This isn’t just a stomach bug.”
“When we got home yesterday, Noah didn’t eat.He wasn't hungry after your place, but Kevin and I had some vegetables from the garden like we always do and some pasta.”Pasta would’ve been fine.So should the vegetables.
“What about this morning?”
“I haven’t eaten anything today other than coffee at work.Kevin and Noah both had Pop-tarts.”She rolls over and groans, clenching her stomach.“Can we stop talking about food…”
My cell rings, has been all day.I had meetings planned, conference calls, but I left it all and came back here as soon as Kevin asked me.I was gone for less than a day, and I shouldn’t have left in the first place.
“Sawyer, you don’t have to be here.I know you have a million things to do.I’ll be fine,” she says after hearing my cell ring for the hundredth time, just before she sits forward, her eyes widening, and she dashes to the bathroom, the door slamming behind her, but not before I hear the now familiar retching that she’s been doing all night.
Hudson has given me strict instructions to give them both plenty of water and keep them hydrated, but they can’t seem to keep anything down.
