Operation Endurance

CHAPTER 13

Julie sank her head into her hands on her desk in her office. It had been a long day and every minute she was more exhausted than the one before it. God, her head was pounding and her sinuses were killing her. She didn’t have time to get sick this week. There was only six days before Jake and Cassie’s wedding.

Time! Crap, she was even later now for Krav Maga class. She dashed out from behind her desk to get to the gym.

When she arrived, she was relieved to see the guys had already set everything up for her. Toni and Pete were off talking to the side and that looked promising. Julie headed directly for Lyle and Stephen. “Thanks, guys, for covering for me. I had someone drop by the office just as I was leaving. I owe you all an extra case of beer.”

“We don’t mind,” Stephen said, “but are you okay? You don’t look so hot.”

She was suddenly struck by a sneezing fit, which made both guys back up a couple of steps. When it ended, she apologized. “Sorry. I think I may be coming down with something.”

Pete had finished his discussion with Toni and now he was the only one with the balls to get close to her germy self. “Do you need to go home? We can probably handle the class between the three of us.”

“No, I can’t leave. My contract with the hospital includes me teaching these classes, but I feel pretty crummy. So I think I’ll have a seat over here on the mats and let you all run the class tonight, if you really don’t mind.”

Pete’s eyes filled with concern. “No problem. We’ve got it handled. Relax.”

When Julie sat down, she started going over her lists for the wedding, trying to keep one eye on the progress of the class. The next thing she knew, Pete was waking her up.

“Pete?” Why was the gym empty? Where’d everyone go? “Is class over?”

“Yeah, you fell asleep about five minutes into it.” He laid a hand across her forehead. “That’s what I thought. You’re burning up. I told you that you couldn’t keep up this pace you’ve been maintaining.”

She shoved up off the mats. The room spun and she fought to remain upright.

Pete grabbed hold of her elbow to steady her.

“I’m fine. I’m just a little worn down. After a full night’s sleep, I’m sure I’ll feel better.”

He watched her skeptically as he shoved a small bottle of orange juice into her hand. “Here, drink this and then I’ll take you home. You need the vitamin C and the electrolytes.”

“That’s not necessary. I can get home by myself just fine.”

“I might believe that if I hadn’t just watched you spend the last hour passed out in the corner. I’ll get you home tonight and then if you’re feeling okay in the morning, I can bring you into work. I work the late shift tomorrow, so it’s no problem.”

Julie wanted to argue, but honestly, she just didn’t have the energy for it, so she just nodded meekly. “Okay, thanks, Pete.”

When they got into his truck, she asked, “Hey, did I hallucinate, or were you and Toni looking awfully cozy when I walked in tonight?”

He gave her a blinding smile with a full-on blast of those dimples. “She asked me out to dinner on Wednesday. I’m assuming I have you to thank for that?”

“Well, that depends. Did you say yes or no?”

“I said yes.”

She smiled and closed her eyes as she lay back against the headrest. Her head still pounded in rhythm to her heartbeat. “Okay, good. Just save me a dance at the wedding.”

She dozed off to the sound of his chuckle in the dark.

She woke up and was startled to find Pete leaning over her, kissing her forehead. She jerked her head back in surprise.

“Sorry,” he brushed her bangs back over her forehead, his eyes glittering in the dark of the cab of the truck. “I just wanted to make sure your fever wasn’t at a dangerous level.”

“You can tell that with your lips?” Her voice was scratchy from sleep.

“Yeah, actually I can. I’m a lot older than my brothers and sisters and was left taking care of them most of the time. We didn’t have a working thermometer. I got pretty good at gauging when they were getting too warm.”

“So, what’s the verdict then, doctor?”

He gave her a half-smile. “I think you’re probably sitting at about 101 degrees. I recommend lots of sleep and fluids. Come on, I’ll walk you to your door.”