A Touch of Christmas Magic (Peppermint Hollow #2)

9. Kai

CHAPTER 9

KAI

Something woke me.

I froze, listening.

It was after midnight and the room was quiet except for soft waves crashing on the sound machine.

There it was again.

What was that?

I sat up just as Elsie whimpered.

Colby bolted upright. “What’s wrong?”

I scrambled from bed, switching on the small lamp, and Colby swung his feet to the floor next to Elsie’s bed.

“Fuck, what’s wrong with her?” Colby asked, his words so panicked and pained my chest ached for him.

Elsie’s tiny body shook, shivers traveling through her as she whimpered.

“We’re going to the ER.” I grabbed my jeans and shoved my legs into them.

“Is she having a seizure?” Colby asked, picking Elsie up and holding her close. “Why isn’t she crying?”

Yanking a hoodie over my head, I reached for a wad of socks and pulled them on. Slipping into slides, I pocketed my phone. “I don’t know, Cole, but I don’t think babies shake like that. Is she hot?”

Colby’s words cracked. “Yeah, she’s burning up.”

“Get dressed. Make sure you have your insurance card.” I took Elsie. “I’m going to take her temperature so we can tell the doctor and then give her Tylenol.”

Colby stood helplessly in the middle of the room.

I pulled him close to me, our foreheads pressing together. “Cole, get dressed. We need to go.”

Terrified.

I was terrified.

I hadn’t been around babies a lot, but watching Elsie shake and hearing her sad little whimpery noises broke my heart and sent ice racing through my veins.

Colby was worse off than me. She was my daughter in every sense of the word and I’d fight anyone who argued. But she was Colby’s flesh and blood. He’d watched her be born; a living, breathing piece of his heart, and she was sick.

Elsie had stopped the shivery shakes by the time I got the thermometer and the baby Tylenol. She was screaming at the top of her lungs by the time I took her temperature—which was a frightening 103.4 degrees. Luckily, she took the medicine easily before I stripped her from the sleep sack and wrapped her in a blanket.

Colby was dressed and ready.

“Here.” I handed Elsie to him. “Do you have your wallet?”

Colby popped the pacifier into Elsie’s mouth. “Yeah.”

We reached the kitchen where I grabbed the makings for the bottle, stuffed them in the diaper bag, and shoved my wallet in my pocket. Jangling my keys, I said, “I’ll drive.”

“Shit, the car seat,” Colby mumbled.

Fuck.

I hurried to where we left the seat sitting on the living room floor earlier and rushed back with it.

Elsie screamed her head off as we got her strapped in. Colby’s soothing words were laced with fear and heartache. “God, I hate making her sit in this thing.”

“She’ll be safe and warm.” I understood his reluctance, but the seat seemed the safest bet. “Let’s go. You sit in the back with her so she can see you,” I said.

As we headed toward my car, Blake sprinted over. “What’s wrong?”

Startled, but too focused on Elsie, I answered quickly, “She’s sick. We’re going to the ER.”

“Let me drive. Neither of you will be focused on the road.” Blake took my keys before I could argue, and we all piled into the car.

“Thank you,” Colby muttered as Blake backed out of the drive.

I’d climbed in the back with Colby, the baby carrier locked into the base between us. “It’s nearly one in the morning, why were you outside?”

Blake caught my eye in the rearview mirror. “Coming home from Trevor’s,” he said with a grin. “When did she get sick?”

“Earlier today, she was fussy. Wouldn’t eat, messing with her ears. We have an appointment with the pediatrician, but she woke up shaking,” Colby explained, his left hand on Elsie’s chest, one finger keeping the pacifier in her mouth.

I placed my hand over his, the fear evident in his tremor. “She has a fever of 103.4; I don’t know if the shaking was from being cold or…”

“It was scary as fuck,” Colby interjected. “Looked like a seizure. And she was just whimpering, not crying, like if she had teeth, they would have been chattering.”

Blake kept us talking on the drive to the ER.

Elsie was back to sleep thanks to the Tylenol, and her fever was definitely at least a little lower.

“Shit man,” Colby said as we neared the hospital. “How are you going to get home? Let me call my dad?—”

“No worries, I’ll get an Uber.” Blake pulled into the ER drop-off zone. “I’ll fill the guys in; keep us posted. Call if you need anything.”

“Go on,” I told Colby. “I’ll park and be right in.”

He released the car seat and hurried toward the sliding doors.

Blake got out and moved to the passenger side while I got in on the driver’s side. As he entered his info on the ride-share app, I circled the lot looking for a place to park.

He walked with me toward the ER entrance.

“Thanks so much, man.” I pulled him into a hug. “Neither of us were in the right frame of mind to drive.”

He slapped me on the back. “No worries. Seriously, call if you need anything.”

I left him in the little vestibule and hurried inside.

Colby was next in line. Elsie was screaming. He looked like he was about to cry.

I took the carrier and got Elsie quiet—thank god for pacifiers.

Maybe it was because of the way Colby looked. Maybe it was because it was a baby. Or maybe we just lucked out, but the lady at the check-in counter worked quickly and had someone come to take us right away.

“Parent or guardian only,” the older nurse said as she met us with an electronic tablet.

My heart sank.

“I’m the father. This is my husband,” Colby said, his words strong and determined.

And then my heart stopped.

Colby’s free hand took mine. I wondered if the nurse recognized the extreme stubbornness on his face as he jutted his chin as if waiting for her to say I couldn’t come.

“Come on, then,” she said, leading us to a tiny cubicle-type space with three walls and a curtain across from what seemed to be a station or hub for nurses and doctors.

Colby sat on the bed with the carrier by his side and I took the chair in the corner, shoving the diaper bag underneath.

Therese took all the details we could give her and asked about a million questions. She was quick and efficient, perhaps not overly polite or comforting, but she got the job done.

“You can keep her in the carrier or hold her until the doctor comes in.” She swiped a thermometer over Elsie’s forehead. “They may want a rectal temperature reading later, but this will work for now. Her temp is down to 100, so the Tylenol is keeping her comfortable.” Therese typed a few more things into her tablet and stood to leave.

After the curtain had been whipped closed, the rings noisily scraping across the rod, Colby leaned his arm over the carrier handle and rested his head on his elbow. “Fucking hell, Else,” he whispered hoarsely. “Shit,” he muttered, sitting back up. “We should have asked if she can take the bottle if she wakes up.”

I stood. “I’m going to take a piss, I’ll stop by and ask on my way back.”

Colby just nodded, his eyes flat with fear and exhaustion. “Thanks.”

Unsure if it was the right move—Colby claiming me as his husband earlier had done a number on my head—I moved to stand in front of him and pulled him into a hug. I’d hugged the man a million times over the years, but this time was different. This time we were scared silly about Elsie. We were exhausted. And we’d had months of cuddling together while we slept, growing the bond that had held us together for so many years, watching each other be a father to the most gorgeous baby in the world. And maybe it was wishful thinking on my part, but I swore Colby held me tighter. He was just terrified and tired, that was all it was.

“Thank you for being here,” he mumbled into my shoulder.

I held him a bit longer before slipping from the small space and glancing around for the restrooms. As I made my way to where the sign indicated, I noticed a coffee machine. Based on the fact I could smell the burned, stale coffee wafting through the air, I didn’t think it held much promise, but if we ended up being in the ER for long, it was maybe our only hope.

A thought hit me. Shit. What if we got admitted? Was Elsie sick enough to need to stay in the hospital?

The bathroom was a small one-person set-up, but luckily, no one was using it. Flushing the toilet and washing my hands, I took a long, deep breath. We’d cross that bridge if we got to that point.

As I headed back toward our little room, I couldn’t help but think about Colby calling me his husband. I knew he’d only done it because they weren’t going to let me in, but his words had gone straight to my heart.

And to my dick.

Which was fucked up since we had a sick baby at the ER, but the thoughts of what it would be like to be Colby’s husband ran rampant through my mind. To cuddle with him in bed because we both knew exactly what was happening. To touch him, hold him, kiss him. God, I wanted to kiss him so damn bad.

I stopped for a moment to look at a little sign about antibiotic-resistant infections—damn, medical stuff was scary—when I heard the nurses at the station talking.

“I don’t know, the little one that just came in isn’t looking good.”

“Yeah, if I had to guess, she may not make it.” That three-pack-a-day voice belonged to Therese, no doubt.

What the fuck? Was Elsie sicker than we thought? How did they know she wasn’t going to make it?

I rounded the wall and stepped to the counter. “Excuse me,” I said, my voice cracking. “I shouldn’t have been eavesdropping, but you also shouldn’t be talking about patients. We haven’t even seen a doctor yet, but you’re talking about our baby not making it?”

Confused faces stared at me.

And then one of the nurses reacted. Her mouth formed an O. “Nooo. I’m so sorry. Oh my god, no. We weren’t talking about patients.” She bustled to a little shelf and pointed to a tray of plants. “The overnight shift has a green thumb, and we get plants brought in from other floors in hopes of saving them.” She held up a tiny succulent. “We just got this one from a nurse on the day shift. We’re good, but we’re not miracle workers; not sure this little one is going to survive.”

My brain worked to resolve the initial fear and the current embarrassment, and I stumbled over my words. “Oh, um, sorry about that. New dad here and I’m not functioning all that well.”

Therese, not being as bad as I’d originally thought, smiled. “It’s okay. You’re right, we need to watch the words we use so misunderstandings don’t happen.” She nodded toward our little room. “The doctor is heading in now.”

Giving a feeble little wave, I ignored my burning cheeks and rushed to follow the doctor into Elsie’s room.

“Hi there,” the older man said. “I’m Dr. Dunkirk. You’re in luck, I used to have my own pediatric practice before I retired. A man can only play so much golf, so I take shifts here a few times a month. All the docs are good,” he smiled warmly, “but I’m a bit biased to say I’m the best, at least with sick babies.” He checked the tablet he held. “Mr. Burke?” He glanced back and forth between Colby and me.

“I’m Colby Burke.” Colby stood and offered his hand. “This is my husband, Kai.”

I shook the man’s hand dumbly, my brain synapses misfiring at the repeated claim of me being Colby’s husband.

“Okay, gentlemen, tell me what’s going on with Elsie?” He peeked at her sleeping soundly. “I’m guessing we’ve got some baby Tylenol on board?”

“Yeah, her temperature was 103.4 when she woke up. I gave her the Tylenol before we left to come here.”

“We have a doctor’s appointment with her pediatrician tomorrow,” Colby explained, “but she woke up shaking, kinda looked like a seizure, scared us to death.”

“She’s not going to be happy with me here in a minute, I’ll need to do a quick exam and check her out.” Dr. Dunkirk typed on his tablet. “The shaking very likely was just from the fever. 103 is pretty high; you know what it’s like to get the shivers when you’ve got a fever.” He tapped something else on the screen. “There are events known as febrile seizures. Those are often brought on by infection or fever. They’re scary, as most seizures are, but harmless for the most part.” He turned the tablet toward us. “Did the event look like this?”

We watched a short video of a child having what was labeled a febrile seizure on the screen. From the corner of my eye, I caught Colby shaking his head along with me. “No, nothing like that. Just shaking and making a little whimpering noise.”

“Like if she had teeth, they would have been chattering,” I added Colby’s description from earlier.

“I’m going to go with just shakes from the fever. If you notice the seizure activity like you saw on the video in the future, definitely get in with your pediatrician. I’ll send you home with some literature on what to do during febrile seizures. I’m leaning toward saying it wasn’t seizure activity, but it’s something to keep in the back of your minds if it were to continue.”

“And if it is , it’s not harmful?” I asked.

“Not harmful, but something the pediatrician will want to monitor. Many kids who have febrile seizures grow out of them.” He put his tablet down. “Okay, I’m going to make her unhappy. Hate to do it, but I need to check her out.”

Unhappy was an understatement; Elsie screamed bloody murder. Why wouldn’t she? The doctor had Colby strip her down to her very wet diaper. He checked her tummy, listened to her breathing and her heart, and examined her eyes and nose. When he got to her ears, he clucked, “There’s the culprit.”

“Ear infection?” Colby asked.

“Bingo-bango. This right ear is pretty nasty. The left is getting there.”

“The parenting book and his mom suggested it was probably that based on how she was acting. Not eating, pulling at the ear.”

“Are ear infections common?” I asked.

“One of the most common illnesses in infants and children, for sure; they can come on in an instant it seems. I’ve had many a patient examined in the office with no ear infection and by the time they got the little one home, the pain and fever had started.” He did one final check. “We’ll get her started on antibiotics. Keep your appointment for tomorrow. If infections start to be recurrent for her, your pediatrician will likely refer you to an ENT for tubes, but that’s a ways down the road and requires more than just a few infections.” He brushed his hand over Elsie’s head. “Sorry, little one, I’m all done.”

Colby changed her diaper quickly. “Can she have the bottle?” He looked at me.

Shit. I’d forgotten to ask.

Dr. Dunkirk nodded. “She’s probably hungry. Sucking on the bottle hurts the ears, but the Tylenol is helping for now, so she can try.”

As he finished typing and asked us which pharmacy we wanted to use, I mixed up the bottle. Colby got Elsie dressed and she was chugging the bottle within moments as I re-packed the diaper bag.

“Gentlemen, you’ve all had a rough night. Get the antibiotics started and she’ll be good as new.” He finished typing and tucked the tablet under his arm. “My son and his partner were new dads just like you not so long ago. Even with a pediatrician as a father, they were overwhelmed in the beginning with how scary a baby can be.”

Something flamed to life deep in my chest.

And then shattered.

Dr. Dunkirk’s son had an actual husband.

A real family.

I had nothing but make-believe.

No. I pushed the thought aside. Colby wasn’t my husband, and Elsie wasn’t my flesh and blood, but none of that made a difference in how real we were. He was my best friend. My soul mate. We had twenty-five years of friendship behind us.

The rambling thoughts of an exhausted mind were worthless.

Dr. Dunkirk wished us a happy holiday season, assured us the prescription had been sent, and went on his way.

Helping to get Elsie back in her carrier, I focused only on getting her home and feeling better. The rest of it would have to wait until I was clear-headed.

Maybe after Christmas.

It was nearing four o’clock in the morning when we finally got home with the prescription. Risking waking her for the day, but begging the universe to let the darkness and illness be enough to get Elsie back to sleep easily, we changed her diaper, gave her Tylenol, and got the first dose of antibiotics into her. As I rocked her and topped her off with the last little bit of the bottle, Elsie’s eyes drifted shut.

“I texted Dad and Allison. They’re going to come over around seven. Figure she’ll be up by then. They said they’ll watch her for a while so we can sleep.” Colby’s words were laced with exhaustion.

“Perfect. I know we have work stuff, but I need at least a few hours before I can function without being a zombie.”

“Same.” He watched me put her down in her bed. “You’re getting good at that. Used to be scared to lay her down.”

“Practice.” I yawned. “I’m going to collapse if I don’t go to bed. You want a water?” I was pretty sure neither of us had anything to drink since the day before.

“Please.”

I headed to the kitchen and returned to find Colby climbing into bed. Tossing his water on the bed, I made a quick trip to the bathroom, downed my water, and joined him.

“Today was shit,” I muttered.

“It was. Thanks for being there with me.” Colby rolled toward me and pulled me close. Kissing the top of my head, he said, “I’m lucky to have a friend like you.”

Oh god.

What we had was so good, so right.

So special.

But it could be so much more.

Or my horny ass could destroy twenty-five years of friendship if I pushed for something my best friend didn’t want.

“Nowhere else I would have rather been,” I said.

We both snorted.

“Okay, home in bed with a sleeping baby would have been better than the ER, but you know what I mean.”

That time, we fell asleep together, Colby’s warm arms strong and protective around me.

I knew without a doubt why dating had never worked out for me. Didn’t matter; guy, girl, non-binary, no one held a candle to Colby Burke in my heart.

CoJack forever drifted through my dreams.