A Convenient Proposal(53)
“Ow.” He stumbled to the side, stepped into a hole and landed flat on his face. “Aw, hell.”
He lay there for a minute, glad just to be off his feet, even if that meant lying on the damp ground with bugs wriggling around underneath him.
Then something wet and slimy crawled over the nape of his neck.
He swore and sat up, swiping at the back of his head. Through the darkness, a pair of bright eyes gleamed at him. Panting breaths created puffs of smoke in the cold air.
A wet tongue slathered across his mouth.
“Well, hello again, Igor.” Laughing, Griff wiped his mouth on his sleeve. “Fancy meeting you here.”
Chapter Ten
After spending Sunday and most of Monday in bed with a freshly bathed Igor at her side, Arden did, indeed, feel almost back to normal.
How could she be otherwise, with the amount of attention and care she’d received? Mrs. Campbell had checked in several times a day, bringing soup, tea, books and even music—a portable disk player and a variety of CDs. She hadn’t, fortunately, insisted on actually turning the thing on, and Arden had ignored its presence in the bedroom.
Kathy had stopped by with more books and stayed to chat, then took Igor for a long walk. Lauren brought a loaf of homemade bread and a jar of strawberry jam—the first food Arden felt like trying once her appetite began to resurface. Dana’s chicken soup made a wonderful first meal.
Though he had to go to work Monday morning, Griff had remained within her reach most of the time, once he’d brought Igor home. He and Dr. Campbell and Jim recounted for her their “safari” into the “dangerous jungle” beyond the farm’s border, making her laugh even while she still felt sick.
She tried to thank them for the return of her precious Igor, but they refused to acknowledge anything out of the ordinary.
“Happens all the time,” Griff’s dad said, with a shrug. “He just needs to learn the boundaries, is all.”
“You can walk him out there, once you’re well.” Jim had ventured only as far as the bedroom doorway. “Show him where to turn around and come home. He’s a smart one—he’ll learn in no time.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Griff said later, as he sat in the armchair he’d pulled over so he could put his feet up on the end of the bed.
Arden frowned at him. “Are you saying he’s not smart?”
“Just the opposite. I think he knew where he was and what he was doing. He probably enjoyed his day as a wild thing in the forest.”
“Would he have come back on his own?” Her eyelids tended to droop—the medications for dizziness and nausea made her sleepy.
“I expect he would have tried, but they get distracted, you know, by this scent or that leading off in another direction. I’m just glad he found me.”
“Oh, so am I.” She reached out to pet Igor’s head, then let her hand fall on the part of Griff she could reach—his sock-covered ankle. “Thank you so much.”
He was still there when the medicines wore off in the wee hours of Sunday morning and she ran for the bathroom.
“Here,” he said, when she’d finished. “Let me wipe your face.”
Sitting on the side of the tub, Arden sighed. “I am so sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry for.” He patted her face with a dry cloth. “Everybody gets the flu.”
“I don’t.” She opened her eyes to see his skeptical smile. “Honestly, I haven’t been sick like this in years. Since college, at least. Except for the migraines. And even those had stopped.”
“Interesting.” Keeping an arm around her shoulders, he walked her back to bed. “I don’t know what you did before you went to Chaos Key. But maybe coming into contact with people again has introduced you to illnesses you haven’t encountered before. Pathogens are constantly mutating, you know, to avoid the immunity their hosts develop.”
“I keep forgetting you’re a scientist.” With a gulp of lukewarm tea, she swallowed the pills he offered. “When do you see Rajah again?”
“Monday afternoon will be my last visit. He’s doing great and I think Stacy can handle him from now on.”
“Miracle worker,” Arden murmured, snuggling in and closing her eyes as he tucked the covers around her. “Hero.”
“I’d better call the doctor. You’re obviously delirious.”