Page 40 of Tempt Me-

“What’s wrong, princess?”I ask.

“I have a cold.”She treats me to a big, deliberate sniff.“And Grandma says I have temperature.”

My heart squeezes as it always does when my daughter gets sick.

“And I miss Mia,” Bailey says on a whine.

I can’t help but grin.I extend my hand to Mia, out of screen view.

She doesn’t take it, but she slides closer so she can be in the screen area.“Hey, Bailey.You don’t feel well?”

Bailey shakes her head.“I miss you,” she says again.

“Me, too.”

I have an easy fix for what ails her.“How about a visit when I get back?”

She perks up, smiling at my suggestion.“Okay, Daddy.Bring Mia, okay?”

I laugh at the expected request.“Okay.”

Bailey takes a long sniff, and I frown.I hate that she is sick and I’m not there to take care of her.

“Hey.I bet your grandma would give you orange juice if you asked.And I’m also betting grandmas give the best hugs to make you feel better.”Mia smiles, forcing Bailey to grin back.

“Grandma!Can I have orange juice?”Bailey yells, causing me to wince at the decibel level she reaches.

“Let me talk to Grandma, kiddo.”

Another yell, and my mother’s face appears in front of the screen.

“How high is her fever?Did you call Dr.James?I can be home in two hours if she needs me,” I say, already thinking about what I need to do to clean and lock up the cabin.The idea has been in the back of my mind since realizing Bailey is sick.

“Oh my God, Austin.You’d think I didn’t raise a child myself!”my mother chides me.“Bailey has a cold.Her ears don’t hurt, her throat doesn’t hurt, and she’s got 100.1.Barely a fever.If it’s not gone tomorrow, I’ll make an appointment.No reason to rush back.”

“Okay,” I say, relaxing and easing back against the cushions.It is an instinctive reaction to worry.

Just as I worry now about the fact that Mia didn’t take my hand.I don’t understand and wonder what happened in the few minutes that caused her to back off.

“Grandma, orange juice,” Bailey says to my mother.

“Please,” Mia and I automatically say at the same time.

I grin, but she doesn’t smile in return.I shoot her a curious look, wondering what is wrong.

“We’ll be home tomorrow anyway.But I need you to keep Bailey for a little while longer.I hope we’re close to wrapping up at last one of the problems,” I say, not wanting to mention Kayla in front of Bailey and upset her.

“Okay, say bye to Daddy and Mia,” my mom says.

“Bye!”Bailey says.

“Feel better,” Mia says.

“Love you,” I add.

No sooner has the screen gone blank than Mia rises and walks across the room.“Is something wrong?”I ask.

She shakes her head.“I’m just a little tired.I thought I’d lie down and take a nap.”