He was still thinking on that as he returned inside for the evening. It wasn’t until he was guiding Ross to bed that the child started coughing.
“Whoa,” Zack patted the boy on his back. “Are you all right? Here, under the covers. We don’t want you falling ill. I’ll bring you some water.” When he returned, however, and touched the boy’s forehead, Zack’s heart thumped for another reason.
Ross was warm. Too warm. The boy shivered as he drank the chilled water. Zack ended up staying the night beside his boy, neither of them hardly sleeping.
The fever came in fast on the boy, feeding fear into Zack’s heart. He had lost his wife to illness just two years prior. He wasn’t about to lose his boy.
By morning, he was frantic with concern as he moved around the house and tried to take care of Ross.
When he didn’t make it out on the range, his foreman came up to the ranch house to see what the problem was. Zack quickly explained the issue to Martin and then sent the man over to the next farm to retrieve Leah.
And then he resumed his pacing.
An hour later, Leah and Della arrived. The women hurried to the door, carrying blankets and towels. Zack grabbed everything he could to help them hasten, growing clumsy from his haste.
“What exactly is wrong with him?” Leah always went straight to business.
He had been practicing the words all morning but now they were gone. “He’s hot. He – Ross - my boy. It’s a fever, but - I don’t know…” Zack didn’t want to finish the words, feeling the dread cling to his spine.
It just couldn’t be what had taken his wife. It couldn’t be. The fear clawed at his throat as he stared at his sister desperately.
Leah brushed back her hair. She nodded to him and then nodded to Della.
“Let’s see how he is. I sent Robert to retrieve Doctor Crest. Perhaps he will be able to help. Has he slept at all? Come on, then.” She led the way into the house. Zack forced himself to stand back a second for Della to go before him. The young woman hesitated and then hurriedly followed after Leah, and then he brought up the rear, nearly on her heels.
“Leah! Della!” Ross sat up in his bed only to fall into a coughing fit.
Hurrying forward, Zack tried to fix the pillows and held one of his son’s shoulders to try and help. Anything to help his son. Even now, he could see Ella’s features in him and how the disease had taken his wife from him. He gave his sister a pained look. She had to be able to do something. The woman had her own kids and had cared for them through illnesses, hadn’t she?
When she met his gaze, Leah nodded. “Della, get him comfortable, would you? I’m going to start a fire. We’ll want some hot water for a bath. We can have him all cozy and clean for when the doctor arrives.”
The two women started moving about to take care of everything. Zack found himself only in their way, so he passed outside in the hallway. Though he wanted to say something to Della, to at least thank her for being around to help, he couldn’t find the words. The fear wouldn’t let go of him. He just needed his son to be healthy again.
Chapter 9
“Thank you.” Zack’s voice was hoarse after he closed the door to Ross’s room.
His son was finally resting. After a bath and a visit from the doctor, the young boy had finally dozed off into a fitful sleep.
When he turned around to face the ladies, his sister wrapped her arms around him. Della took a small step back and wanted to turn away so she could give them a quiet moment together. But she didn’t want to wander around a house that wasn’t hers. Especially one where she hadn’t even been invited to yet. Not formally, at least. So she stood there, stiffly, trapped.
Leah had instructed her to come with her in the cart. Though Della had wanted to be helpful upon hearing about Ross, she worried it wasn’t her place. Zack hadn’t wanted her at his home, and she didn’t want to be in the way. His eyes had hardly seen her when they arrived, however. She could see in his face the concern and fear for his son. Her heart went out to him as she wished she could only do more. No one deserved such trouble.
After one more squeeze, Leah stepped away. “You don’t have to do it alone. Zack, we’re here for you.”
He nodded hesitantly. “Thank you. I - I would appreciate it.”
“Doctor Crest said that Ross’s fever is stabilized,” Leah continued speaking. “That’s good news, understand? We just need to keep an eye on him. We must make sure the fever does not grow worse, and that he has plenty of time to heal. I’d put it at about a week, all right? Now, I have to return home to tend to the children, but I can come back later.”
Zack’s eyes widened. Della couldn’t explain the look on his face, but it made her heart break. “You’d leave?” he asked his sister hoarsely.
“No,” Della jumped in before she knew what she was doing. The siblings turned to look at her as though they had just remembered they weren’t alone. She didn’t know what she was doing, but she couldn’t let Ross suffer anymore. “I’m here. I can help.”
