Courting Katarina (17 page)

Katarina had every right not to answer.

Alex went across the hall and looked in her sewing room. The seamstress had obviously been here. He read her note to Katarina. “I finished the list of dresses we discussed and sewed two bodies. I couldn’t find…” Alex skimmed the rest of the note…. “Hope you get feeling better. See you Monday.”

Katarina was sick and too proud to ask for help. He took his cell phone from his belt and dialed her number. After the fifth ring, she answered, then went into a coughing fit. At least, he assumed it was her. Kevin’s concern was far understated.

“Katarina? It’s Alex. I’m in the living room, and I’m here to check on you. Kevin said you’re sick.”
There was a crash on the other end. He pressed End and ran to her room, relieved when the knob turned.

Katarina was huddled under two layers of comforters, her cheeks flushed and her body curled into a fetal position. Her eyes opened slightly, then drooped closed.

“Katarina…” he gasped. He touched her forehead and pulled his hand back. “You’re burning up!” He reached for the covers and pulled off the top layer.

“No. I’m cold,” she croaked, then began coughing.

He looked around. There wasn’t a glass, or any sign of medication. “Do you have a thermometer?” No response.

Alex went to the kitchen and brought her a drink. “Come on, Katarina, sit up and take a drink. We need to get some fluids in you.”

Katarina turned her head.

He found Katarina’s phone on the floor between the bed and the end table. That must have been the crash he’d heard. When he reached Emily she asked him to bring Katarina in to the office.

“Could you come here? I can’t even get her to sit up to take a drink. It doesn’t look like she’s had a thing to drink since she came home four days ago. She’s set up a vaporizer, the room’s a sauna and she’s burning up.”

Emily gave him instructions and agreed to be there in less than an hour. Alex searched for a thermometer,
trying to ignore her persistent cough. He couldn’t find anything to give her for the fever, then realized he wouldn’t be able get it down her anyway.

The doorbell rang, and he was relieved to see Emily, even though she started drilling him for information he couldn’t supply.

“I just got home today,” Alex explained. “Adam and I worked on the plans until late last night. I had no idea Katarina was sick till Kevin mentioned it this morning when I went in. She seemed fine last weekend.”

As they both went to Katarina’s room, Alex tried to explain their disagreement, and that he thought she was still avoiding him.

One look at her sister and Emily started pulling things from her bag. “She was pushing too hard. I’ve tried to tell her she can’t do that.”

“I tried to tell her the same thing.”
Among other things
. “That was some of what we argued about. She told me it was none of my business.”

Right now he just wanted to know what was wrong with Katarina.

His sister-in-law sat on the edge of the bed. “Kat, it’s Emily. I’m going to take your temperature and do a strep test. We’ll know something soon, honey.” She placed some gadget in Katarina’s ear and removed it when it beeped.

Alex stared at the contraption, suddenly feeling like a total idiot. “What’s that?”

“A thermometer.” She glanced at it, and started
yanking the remaining covers from Katarina. “Good grief, Katarina, you’re cooking yourself. Take these,” she said, handing him another quilt and a blanket. Dr. Emily checked Katarina’s pulse.

Alex tossed the comforter to the floor. “What happened to the little glass thing you put in the mouth?”

Emily laughed. “Ancient history. We have to get her temperature down. Do you know where there’s a basin or bowl I can use to sponge her off?”

“No, but I’ll find something.” Alex returned with a bowl of tepid water and grabbed one of the pretty washcloths from the basket in Katarina’s bathroom. Emily took the culture, then placed the swab in a tube and pinched the end. Katarina started coughing again. “Let’s get some fresh air in here. Heavens sakes alive, Katarina, it’s perfect breeding grounds for germs.”

Emily turned to him. “If you’ll make her some juice, I’ll change her clothes. Then let’s move her onto the sofa while her room airs out. I don’t want her in a draft. We should also change the sheets.”

Alex closed the door behind him, went to the kitchen and took the juice from the refrigerator. He quickly jotted down a list of groceries to pick up when he had a chance.

He ran upstairs and got a pillow from his bed and clean linens from the closet. Just as his mother had when he was a boy, he spread the sheet on the sofa and placed a clean pillowcase on the pillow. He
thought a minute, then ran back up the stairs to see if she kept extra sheets for her bed in her room or in that same upstairs linen closet. This house, while very nice, was about as functional as a bunkhouse.

“Alex. We’re ready. She won’t wake. If you wouldn’t mind helping her to the other room, I umm…shouldn’t.” Emily’s hand brushed her abdomen. “I shouldn’t lift her.”

He looked at his sister-in-law, stunned. Had he been here, away from his own life, that long? Making a quick calculation, he estimated Kevin and Emily had been married just under two months now. “You mean…you’re pregnant?”

Emily’s face matched her red hair. “A honeymoon baby. I just took the test yesterday. We’re not making it public knowledge yet, but I don’t want you to think I’m being a wimp. Normally I’d try lifting her myself.”

“Of course you can’t take a chance. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” Emily smiled. “Let Kevin tell you about the baby, please. He’s dying to break the news, and I’ve begged him to wait until the first trimester is over.”

Silently he nodded. The last thing he was thinking about right now was ruining his brother’s secret.

“I have the sofa ready for her.” Alex cradled her in his arms, one hand under Katarina’s shoulders and one beneath her knees. “Come on, sweetie.”

He carefully eased his way through the door.
Looking at the seemingly lifeless form in his arms, he couldn’t believe it was spunky, vivacious Katarina. How could a few days change a person so drastically? He instinctively pulled her closer, wishing he could be the man she wanted to protect and take care of her.

And in the meantime, where was the man who was supposed to be doing just that? Did Katarina even realize Ron should be helping her through tough times like this? He realized that because their father had walked out, all three sisters had a serious independent streak in them. Self-preservation, he guessed. “Is she even conscious?”

There was a long pause before Emily answered. “For all practical purposes, no.”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“I don’t think it’s strep. Without her cooperation, I couldn’t get a clear diagnosis from listening to her lungs, but I think I heard a crackle in her left lung. The cough alone is a pretty good indicator of pneumonia. X rays will give us a definite answer.”

“I’ll be glad to take her. What time?”

“Thank you so much, Alex. I’ll call the clinic to see when we can get her in. My only other choice would have been to call an ambulance.”

“If she has pneumonia, shouldn’t she stay in the hospital?”

“Unless there are other complications, I think we can handle it here, if you don’t mind. After we get her medicated, she’ll sleep most of the time. I guarantee
she’ll get more rest here than at the hospital. I’ll come by a few times a day to check on her, and if you could do the same, she should be okay. I could hire someone to come in and help her for a few days.”

“You don’t need to hire anyone, I’ll be here.”

Emily smiled as she moved to the kitchen. “I see you have a list started already. I’ll run to the store to get these things and get her prescriptions filled. Call if you think of anything else.”

He nodded, then took the sheets to the basement and started the laundry. He stepped outside for a breath of fresh air.
God, I shouldn’t be feeling so protective of Katarina
. He reviewed the list of reasons he shouldn’t let himself fall in love with her. She was too young, and he couldn’t pretend the nine-year difference in their age didn’t exist. She bubbled over with optimism, and he could barely manage pessimistic realism. She longed to experience life, and he was ready to settle down. He watched the summer breeze rustling the trees. “What am I going to do? It just isn’t fair, God. Why now? Why her?”

“Ahem.”

He jumped at the sound of Emily’s voice. “Oh. I thought you were gone.”

Emily smiled. “Kat finally woke up and needed to use the rest room, so I waited to make sure she made it back to the sofa okay.” Emily closed the sliding door behind her. “Why don’t we talk?”

He suddenly felt like a sixteen-year-old all over again having
that
talk with his mother. “I’m sorry Emily. I’ll get out of her life as soon as possible.”

“Why? Is that what you want?”

“I don’t want to hurt her. She…has Ron.”

The redhead laughed. “I’m the wrong person to talk to about Ron, but
please
don’t leave on his account. Do you love Katarina?”

Was there nothing shy about these sisters? “I haven’t even answered that question for myself, Em.” He felt his heartbeat racing. “I’m the last person she needs. But I don’t understand why that boyfriend of hers isn’t in the picture right now.”

“That I won’t comment on. As for you, Alex, I will say to be sure what you want. My sister is an incurable romantic. While she, too, denies there’s anything between you two, I don’t believe a word of it. I suspect that if you were two years older instead of nine, there’d be no hesitation, for either of you. Don’t get me wrong, I think you and Katarina would be great together.” Before he could stop her, she rushed on. “It isn’t because you’re too old, or anything else. Katarina is terrified of looking for a father figure. She was engaged to an older man once. Most of the men in her life have been very willing to be the father she never had.”

He thought a moment. “That’s the last thing I’m feeling. She’s at a totally different place in her life.”

“Did you ever consider that she looks at your life as an endless adventure? To a woman who never
experienced anything more adventurous than an amusement park, jumping out of airplanes and climbing mountains is very appealing.”

“Ron should be the one to show her what life has to offer.”

Emily laughed. “Ron won’t be that man. You’re not listening to me, Alex. She doesn’t want to marry Ron. And no matter how much she says so, it won’t happen. He’s a security blanket. And he’s four hundred miles away.”

“Then again, I don’t want a relationship based only upon a need for adventure.”

“Life with the right person is one adventure after another, whether it’s cooking breakfast together or climbing Longs Peak. With the right person, the years between you melt away, and the only thing that matters is your love for one another.”

He hated to admit Emily was right. When he and Katarina were together, he felt younger. And she made his world seem new again. While he was grounded in reality, she taught him to dream. “I’ll think about it, Emily. There’s still the matter of Ron. In the meantime, it’s Katarina I’m concerned about.”

“I called the clinic and was able to schedule her for an appointment at one. Can you bring her in?”

“Of course. What do I do until then?”

“I couldn’t get her to swallow pills for her fever, so I gave her a liquid medication.” She looked at
her watch. “I’ll have the groceries and her prescriptions ready when you come.”

“Good. I’ll call Kevin, tell him I’ll be out for the day.” Alex stepped into the kitchen and poured a glass of juice for Katarina.

“Thank you, Alex. She hates hospitals. I appreciate your help in taking care of her.”

“Thank you for everything, Emily.”

“I hope our talk helped.”

“I hope so, too.” He smiled, still holding Katarina’s drink. He followed Emily outside to find an extra straw from a fast-food restaurant in the glove box of his truck. Once he found one, he took the juice to her. Her color looked better already. Whether it was the fresh air, her fever was down already, or simply that he felt comforted knowing she was being cared for now, he wasn’t sure. He knelt next to the sofa and coaxed her lips around the straw.

“Katarina, take a drink. It’s your favorite, cherry juice.” She took a sip, then another. He waited patiently as she finished all of it. Between drinks, she coughed weakly, in obvious pain with each one. “Good job, Kat. I’ll be in the other room if you need me.” She was already asleep, and he eased the straw from her mouth.

He felt her forehead and brushed the damp hair from her brow. His heart had never hurt like this. It had to be love. And as long as Ron was in the picture, how could he do anything about it?

Just remembering Emily’s comments made him angry. What did she mean, Ron wouldn’t be the man to share her love for the adventures in life? What sort of man was he, and why did Katarina insist she was going to marry him?

He went downstairs and moved the sheets from the washer to the dryer. As he straightened her room, he noticed Ron’s picture on her dresser. What was it Emily had said about him? He was her security blanket. Was he wealthy? Powerful? What did Katarina see in him that her sister didn’t?

Figuring Katarina kept a list of phone numbers by her phone, Alex looked until he found Ron’s number. Even if he didn’t want the man there, Katarina loved him, and he should be here to comfort her now. How was it Katarina had said it at the wedding?
I’m as good as engaged already
. Alex shoved the memory away. “Good for you, Kat. Let’s just see how engaged Ron is.” He dialed and waited. By the time the secretary transferred him to the man, Alex was fighting the urge to hang up. Why was he giving Ron another chance?

When Alex hung up the phone, he was madder than ever. Katarina’s notable “fiancé” couldn’t be bothered with her when she was ill. He’d “rather wait until she’s well enough to enjoy my visit.”

“No way am I going to give her your best,” Alex grumbled. “If you can’t do that for yourself, there’s no way I’m doing it for you.”