“No.”
“Good,” Mia said.
He walked obediently to the guestroom and lay on top of the covers.
Mia leaned over him and took off her gloves.
“You smell wonderful,” Jesse said, catching the aroma of the outdoors and something else he couldn’t identify.
“Thank you. Open your shirt.”
Jesse did so.
Mia ran her hand along his chest, and then she did something he would never forget. She put her hand inside him. “Be still. Look at my face if this frightens you,” she instructed.
He did so, still in shock. She removed her hand and sat him up, removed his shirt, sat behind him, and moved her hands on the surface of his back before moving into his body.
“Breathe with me, Jesse. In…. and out… In… and out. You’re going to cough a lot, and hard. Murph, fetch a bucket. No that’s a trashcan, the puke bucket, hurry. Jesse, spit it in here.”
Jesse felt his chest burn, and then the coughing started. He emptied a small amount of foul water into the bucket.
“Murph, find Ethan and ask him, nicely, to brew some of Lazar’s wretched tea.”
“Not that stuff in the red canister,” Murphy said, wrinkling his face. “I can’t smell nor taste, but I can tell it’s nasty.”
“Yes and make it strong. Tell him to add some honey.”
Murphy disappeared.
Mia still knelt behind him. “You have a small amount of lake water still in your lungs. Did they warn you about the possibility of pneumonia?”
“Yes.”
“But you still left the hospital.”
“Evidently,” he said before he expelled more fluid.
Murphy appeared. “Ethan is brewing tea and has a pizza in the oven for you.”
“Wonderful. Speaking of wonderful, you did an excellent job of keeping Mr. Holden with us. I can’t wait for your overexaggerated tale.”
Jesse could have sworn he saw the ghost have two red spots appear on his face.
“Bad Mia,” he said and left.
“I’m sensing you two have a thing…”
Mia sighed.
Jesse felt his lungs burn, and he started coughing again. When he had finished, he said, “I believe you did that on purpose.”
“Don’t mess with me, Jesse,” she warned.
Jesse heard someone whistling just before Ethan appeared at the door carrying a tray. “Mrs. Martin, you’re home but a few minutes and you’re in bed with a new man. Tsk tsk.”
“Just playing doctor,” Mia said. “Put the tray on the table. I’m going to get some of that vile rub Lazar’s grandmother gave me when I caught the flu.”
“I’ll just stay here and stare at the half-naked man to make sure he doesn’t get away, master.”
“Good boy, Igor,” Mia said running down the hall.
“Why is she running?” Jesse asked. “And what is that appalling smell?”
“Your tea. You should have stayed in the hospital. There, you would have backrubs by gorgeous nurses. Here, you get the old hag.”
“Oh, there goes your bonus,” Mia said out of breath. “Hag, I’ll own up to, but old?”
“Do you want me to stay in the house, on the property, or go home?” Ethan asked.
“Where are you now?”
“Standing here…”
Mia climbed back behind Jesse. “Ethan…” she growled.
“In the carriage house.”
“That’s good. I will stay up with Jesse tonight. You get the day shift.”
“It’s daybreak in Alsace. Where are you supposed to be, Mrs. Martin?” Ethan asked.
“Traveling to tour some cathedral. Saint something or another,” she said, rubbing ointment on Jesse’s back. “Breathe in and expand your lungs… yes… good.” Mia slid out of bed and walked down the hall to the bathroom to wash her hands.
“Here, drink this,” Ethan said. “Sip, slowly. I put a lot of honey in it but…”
Jesse almost gagged.
“Finish it,” Mia said. “Or I’ll make you cough again.”
Jesse finished the tea. His eyelids drooped.
“Don’t be afraid. Sleep is part of the cure. I’ll stay with you tonight. Tomorrow, you should be right as rain. When I return from France, we’ll deal with what Murph did to you. Right now, rest.”
Jesse lay back and felt the covers being tugged out from under him. Mia gently moved him to his left side, and finally, he was tucked in.
“I put a towel here. If you find yourself drooling or need to cough, just do it. Don’t hold anything in. There’s a bucket if you can’t make the bathroom,” she said.
“Thank you,” he managed before he drifted. He remembered puzzling how Mia could be there with him and in France at the same time. It became too much and he allowed himself to sleep.
Chapter Thirty-one
Cid slid out of Sally’s room just before dawn. He walked down to Ethan’s cottage where he left the jeep he had borrowed. He got in and drove home. He saw Ethan had left a few of the outside lights on, but since they had a guest, Cid figured it was okay. He walked into his home just as the sun crested the tree line.
Jesse woke up, and aside from the foul odor of the ointment, he was no worse for wear. He showered and pulled on the PEEPs sweats that were setting on his bed when he returned. He followed his nose downstairs where Ethan was making pancakes.
“I brewed some coffee. You may want to add some water. I’m not much of a barista. It came out like syrup.”
Jesse poured himself a cup, and Ethan pushed an envelope across the counter. “Mia left this. Oh, and she wasn’t here,” he said.
“But she was,” Jesse argued.
“I know, Murphy knows, and I expect Ted knows, but it’s important that Cid doesn’t know.”
“But why?” Jesse asked lifting the envelope, expecting the smell of perfume but getting basil instead.
“It’s most likely explained in there. And it’s not your
