She smiled, shaking her head and pinching my cheek affectionately. “I like taking care of you. Just let me dote. Oh! And please tell Kira I baked her the brown sugar oatmeal cookies she likes. Where is she anyway? I thought she’d come up to the house to say goodbye.”
“We were out late last night. She’s probably sleeping in,” I said, picturing her tangled in her sheets in her little cottage, that glorious hair splayed all—
I set those visions aside.
Charlotte eyed me as if she could read my thoughts. “How are things going with you two now that you’re actually married?” She’d wanted to come with us to the ceremony, but I’d told her absolutely no. At the time, I hadn’t wanted anything that would make the ceremony more awkward than it already was. Charlotte’s presence there would have only served to make us feel more uncomfortable…and make me feel guilty.
I sighed. “I don’t know. It’s hard to say with her. I barely know what she’s going to do from moment to moment, much less what she’s thinking.” Except that she’s resisting me. Was that why I wanted her so badly? The thought was oddly comforting.
“Hmm,” she hummed, looking thoughtful. “Yes, not many match that one for spirit, that’s the truth. Except maybe you.” She winked at me. “I’m glad you two went to dinner last night. It’s a good start.” She smiled, and before I could address that comment or tell her not to get any grand ideas, she continued, “Tell her to have a nice weekend. Oh! And tell her I got her list about the party. What a splendid idea! I’m not sure what the big rush is, or why she was emailing me at two in the morning, but Walter and I will stop in town this morning and order the invitations—I know a place that will print them right away. I still have Jessica’s address label list of who’s who in Napa and can email that to the printer once I’ve had a few minutes to go through it.” Kira had been up in the middle of the night? Why? Had she, too, been unable to sleep after what we’d done on the patio? Had she been tossing and turning, remembering the feel of—
“Tell Kira they’ll go out in the mail Monday,” Charlotte continued, interrupting my thoughts. Thankfully.
“And here, drink your orange juice,” she said, handing me my half-full glass. “There’s a terrible flu going around.” I did as she said, draining the glass just to stop her party talk and incessant nagging. She watched me carefully as I drank it, something almost nervous in her expression. Was she that worried about a flu? When I was done, she took my glass and rinsed it in the sink before I shooed her out of the kitchen, calling goodbye to Walter who was waiting in the foyer with their small suitcase sitting on the floor at his feet.
“Goodbye, sir,” he said, giving his wife a small, affectionate smile as she came toward him, fussing about all the things that were left undone, as if we might perish without her caretaking for the weekend.
I worked until late afternoon that day and then made a trip into town for supplies, returning about five. After a quick shower, I went down to the kitchen to put one of the casseroles in the oven for dinner. I texted Kira to let her know dinner would be ready at six, but an hour later, when she still hadn’t texted me back, I started to get restless. Was she ignoring me? I hadn’t seen her once all day. Was she holed up in that little cottage of hers, avoiding me? Come to think of it, wasn’t she planning on getting started in my office? I went to see if there was any sign she’d been there, but there wasn’t. I puttered around for a little while, but when my frustration levels had risen too much for me to focus on any one thing, I pushed away from my desk and went to grab my phone. I texted Kira again and then waited five minutes, drumming my fingers on the kitchen counter. Nothing. What the hell?
I was striding past the fountain before I even realized I’d left the house. What if she’d taken off for Brazil like I’d mentioned that day in the motel room where she’d been staying? Had she left me? Had what we’d done last night spooked her that much? My blood was pulsing through my veins with something I couldn’t identify—either panic or anger, or perhaps a mixture of both.
Would her suitcase be gone? Had she made a complete fool of me? Leaving me with nothing but shattered pride and a very real leg shackle, but no wife or the inheritance we’d agreed to split? I didn’t even bother knocking, striding through the cluttered front room and bursting into her bedroom, my heartbeat pounding in my chest at what I’d find. Don’t be gone. Please—
I expelled a giant breath when I saw her suitcase open on the floor, her clothes falling out the same way they’d been the day before. My gaze swung around the room, resting on the lump under the bedcovers. She was sleeping? At six at night? “Kira?” No answer. I moved to the bed and ripped the covers back. A small groan emerged and Kira pulled her legs up to her chest, rolling into an even smaller ball. “Kira?” I asked again, this time with the sudden worry that had swept through me lacing my voice.
Her face was covered with all that beautiful hair of hers, so I moved it back and put my hand to her forehead. Her skin was hot to the touch and she was sweat slicked but shivering. “Oh no, Kira, you’re burning up, sweetheart.” She only groaned again, moving her face in my direction but keeping her eyes closed. She mumbled something unintelligible and then shivered violently. Fuck me. This was my fault. I’d let her stay in this drafty, dusty place, caused her to take frigid showers for days on end. What was wrong with me? Guilt hit me in the gut and I put my arms under her, lifting her gently along with the quilt. “You’re coming up to the main house and that’s final. I’m laying down the law. I know somewhere in there you’re arguing with me, but I’m not taking no for an answer. You have no choice but to obey me. How do you like that, Wife?” I asked, trying to get some kind of reaction from her. She gave none other than pressing herself closer to me and shivering again.
I walked her carefully through the dirty, equipment-filled front room and kicked the door closed behind me, moving quickly through the unseasonably chilly, mist-filled evening. As I climbed the stairs with Kira in my arms, my head suddenly grew dizzy and I stopped, leaning against the banister for a moment. Well, that was strange. God, I hoped I wasn’t getting sick too. It would not be good timing. After a moment, the feeling passed, leaving only a strange buzzing in my blood. I brought Kira to the bedroom that had once belonged to my stepmother and laid her gently on the bed. I pulled the blankets back on the other side and then moved her over onto the sheets and covered her.
After smoothing her hair back and laying a cool washcloth on her forehead, I went to get some Tylenol. When I’d returned with the tablets, I shook Kira gently. “Kira, you need to tell me if you’ve already taken something. Kira?” She stirred, her eyes blinking up at me, the green even more vivid with the fever. “Kira, did you take anything? Any medicine?”
She shook her head and winced. “Didn’t have anything,” she croaked.
“Okay, then I need you to take these,” I said, holding the pills close to her mouth. She swallowed them and took several long drinks of the water I’d brought up, collapsing back on the pillows and closing her eyes once again. I took a moment to study her face. Her skin was flushed with the fever, her eyelashes long and dark on her cheeks, her lips dry and slightly parted.