Cowgirls Don't Cry(36)

How was it that after only spending a week together she already knew she was going to miss him?

She reached up and fixed his hat, which pleased him, by the way his eyes softened.

“Jessie—”


“Brandt. It’s okay.” She skirted him and released Landon from his carseat, propping him on her hip.

She forced a smile and said, “Drive safe.”


Chapter Seven


Day two of Landon screaming was more than Jessie could take. She knew it wasn’t Brandt’s fault that he’d had to leave, but it was little comfort when she’d been up half the damn night with a cranky toddler.

All Landon wanted was to be held. But not held while she was sitting down. No, she’d paced the floor with him in her arms because constant movement was the only thing that soothed him. She’d begun to suspect he was cutting molars, the way he constantly gnawed on his blanket.

She’d had no choice but to bring him to work with her. The other kids in the daycare didn’t seem to mind that Landon clung to Jessie like a monkey and screeched like one if she set him down. Everyone would’ve been better off if she’d been able to stay home. But that wasn’t an option. How did single mothers handle all this by themselves? Juggling work and a sick kid?

Around noon Skylar came in to have lunch with her girls and she kept stealing glances at Landon.

What if Landon really was sick? And by bringing him here she’d somehow infected all the other kids? Flu and colds spread like wildfire in daycare. They took every precaution to prevent it, but kids’ immune systems weren’t fully developed. No matter how much bleach, hand sanitizer and Lysol they used, regardless of how many times hands were washed after runny noses were wiped, there was bound to be germs passed around.

So how was she supposed to know when it was something serious and not just the effects of teething or a cranky toddler?

She didn’t. Despite the fact she spent her days taking care of kids, this child health stuff was a mystery. Parents told her when their kid was sick. She rarely had to make that determination on her own, which made her feel even more helpless when she looked at Landon and couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the poor little boy.

After Skylar finished lunch, she took Jessie aside. “I thought we were through his adjustment phase.”


“I’m sorry. He started getting fussy Sunday night and I thought maybe it was because Brandt wasn’t around. But yesterday it got a little worse. He was fussier than normal. Last night after I took him home?

He was awful. Upset. Crying all the time. I think he’s teething. He hardly slept. I hardly slept.”


“Brandt didn’t get up and help you?”


“He wasn’t there. He had to take his mom to a funeral in Nebraska. He got back at three in the morning and he’s trying to play catch up at the ranch today. He’ll be around to help me tonight. If I survive that long.”


Skylar frowned and placed her hand on Landon’s forehead. He didn’t jerk away. “Have you taken his temp?”


“Not since this morning. It was around ninety-nine point four, which is not that far from normal.”


“He feels hot to me. How long has he been tugging on his ear like that?”


Jessie glanced down. Sure enough, Landon had a chunk of the blanket jammed in his mouth, but he also had his finger hooked just inside his ear. “I don’t know.” She looked at Skylar with utter confusion.

“Should I know?”


“Probably not. I doubt you could see it. I watched him from the lunch room and noticed it.” Skylar smoothed her hand over Landon’s hair. “It might be teething. It might be an ear infection. But I definitely think it’s worth a trip to the doctor to find out.”