Waiting for Willa (Big Sky, #3)(55)

“He’s going to be okay,” I remind her.

“I know. I just hate it when he’s sick. I’m always with him.” She sighs. “Oh, well, it’ll be fine.”

I pull into her driveway and quickly unpack the car. Shortly after, Jean and Dan arrive.

“Mom,” Alex says with tears in his eyes when they come inside. “I throwed up in the car.”

“Oh, no.” Willa cringes. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’ll clean up,” Jean says. “He got most of it in the bucket.”

“I can clean it up now,” I offer, but Dan shakes his head.

“It really isn’t that bad,” Dan says, reaching out to shake my hand. “How are you, Max?”

“I’m well, thank you.”

“I’m so glad you had a nice time,” Jean says with a smile.

“I’m just sorry that Alex got sick.”

Rocky sniffs about as if he hasn’t been here in a month, then he walks into his kennel and lays down.

Alex has trained him well already.

“We’re going to get out of the way,” Jean says. “We’ll be in town another week, so if you need anything at all, you just call.”

“Thanks so much,” Willa says, leading Alex down the hall to his bedroom. “I’ll call you later.”

I see the couple out, then join Willa and Alex. She’s just pulling fresh pajamas over the little boy’s head.

“You can rest in your own bed,” she says before pulling him in for a hug. “You know the drill. Get comfy, and I’ll go fetch you a puke bowl, a towel, and some crackers.”

“’Kay,” he says. “Can I have Rocky?”

“I’ll bring him back with me,” she promises and gestures for me to follow her to the kitchen. “This isn’t how I imagined saying this, but thanks for this week. I had a great time.”

“It sounds like you’re kicking me out.”

She laughs humorlessly. “You definitely don’t have to stay. The next day or so isn’t going to be enjoyable or sexy. Let me get him back on his feet, and then I’ll call you.”

Without answering, I lean in and kiss her forehead. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

But her mind is already occupied as she searches for a big bowl and the other supplies for Alex. I leave, calling my mom as I pull out of the driveway.

“Hey, bud,” she says. “How are you?”

“I’m great,” I reply. “But Alex has the flu. Willa’s with him, and I thought I’d go to the store for supplies. I just don’t know what those are. I need mom help.”

Her voice is full of joy when she says, “I love this phone call. Okay, he’s going to need some Gatorade. He’ll get dehydrated fast, so keep offering him lots of fluids. Crackers will be easy on his tummy. Maybe some Jell-O or pudding. Bland things that don’t upset his stomach more are the key.

“I’d start there. He’ll also get bored as he starts to feel better, so plan to watch a lot of TV.”

“I can do that,” I reply. “Okay, this is a good start. Thanks.”

“Watch his fever. If it stays high, take him to the doctor. Oh, and you’ll need children’s Tylenol for the fever.”

“Jesus, just text me a list.”

She laughs in my ear. “How’s Willa?”

“She’s great. Worried now, of course.”

“And how are things between the two of you?”

I should have known this would turn into a Q&A session.

“Good.”

“Come on, Max, give me more than that. Are you serious?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m gonna marry her for sure.”

“Don’t play with my emotions.”

“I’m not.”

There’s a moment of silence, and then Mom lets out a loud whoop.

“It’s about damn time!”

“I take it you approve?”

“Yes, and I’ll gain a grandson. I couldn’t be more excited. I’ll let you go; I know it’s going to be a busy couple of days with Alex being sick.”

“Love you, Mom.”

“Love you, too.” I can hear her move the phone away from her face, but she doesn’t hang up before I hear her yell, “We have to go to Montana!”

I hurry through the store, checking the list Mom texted over shortly after our talk. I add some wine for Willa, along with some snacks for her and me, and a frozen pizza for dinner, then hurry back to her place.

I walk in to chaos.

There’s crying and dog whines coming from Alex’s room, so I leave the bags of groceries on the kitchen island and hurry back.

Alex is covered in vomit, as is Willa, and Rocky is on the floor at the foot of the bed, watching it all unfold.

We’re all just lucky the puppy isn’t leaping in to eat what’s covering the two people I love.

“Okay,” I say, surprising both of them. I take Willa’s shoulders in my hands and kiss her forehead. “You go take a shower. I got this.”

“What are you doing here?” Her eyes already look tired. “It’s really okay if you go home.”

“Haven’t you figured it out yet?” I ask, shaking my head. “We’re in this together. I went to the store and bought provisions, which are currently on the kitchen island. You go get a shower and put those away. I’m going to get Alex fixed up.”