Clearly, this was why she was irritable and misbehaving.

Clearly, another woman with more experience with children would have read the signs.

Clearly, I should have been paying more attention to my charge and not freaking out about Mitch and then fooling around with him on his couch.

Clearly, I sucked as a guardian.

“No, I don’t think Mara’s got that but I’ll go to the drugstore. Yeah, thanks, later,” Mitch said, flipped his phone shut, his eyes coming to me. “My sister says children’s Tylenol and we should get a thermometer. If her fever is bad and stays bad, we need to take her to the ER.”

“Okay, are you doing the drugstore run or me?” I asked.

“I’ll go, you good here?”

I nodded and took her hair from his hand. He nodded back and leaned across her to kiss my forehead. Then he straightened and was at the door when I called his name.

He stopped and looked down at me. “Yeah?”

“She doesn’t have any insurance,” I whispered.

His jaw clenched, he nodded and said softly, “Don’t worry about that now, sweetheart. Let’s get some medicine in her and ride it out. Yeah?”

“Yeah, Mitch.”

“I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.”

Then he disappeared.

Billie had drained herself dry and I had her in bed with a new cool cloth on her head. I had also managed to clean up her sick in the living room without vomiting (though I did gag a lot) and had blown out all the candles and figured out his remotes to turn off the music by the time Mitch got back. He came in and I was curled around Billie in his bed. Billie was curled around me and she was whining, moaning and clearly in a state and therefore I was inwardly in a state because her noises and the way she was clutching me was scaring me to death.

Mitch hit the door and my eyes went right to him.

“Hurry,” I whispered.

“Right,” he whispered back.

He dosed her and took the cloth from her forehead because it was heated clean through while I coaxed her to hold the thermometer under her tongue. Mitch came back with a newly cooled cloth for her forehead and an extra one to put at the back of her neck. Then he took out the thermometer, read it and muttered, “Fuck.”

“How bad?” I asked.

“Not good,” he said, dropped the thermometer on his nightstand and pulled his phone out again. Billie pressed into me and started shivering so I moved us both so we were under the covers. I stretched out on my side, pulled her into me and returned the cold cloth to her head as Mitch talked. “Sorry, Penny, her fever’s one hundred and three, she’s shivering and she’s burrowing so hard into Mara, it looks like she wants Mara to absorb her.” He paused as I watched him and his eyes never left me. “Yeah, I gave it to her.” Pause. “Yeah.” Pause. “Right.” Pause. “Yeah, I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know.” Pause. “Yeah, thanks, honey, later.” And he flipped his phone shut.

“Your sister?” I asked.

“Yeah. She says wait it out. Give her another dose when it’s safe which is four hours and check her temperature then if the fever doesn’t break. If it’s worse than now, take her in.”

“Mitch,” I whispered with fear in my tone because I didn’t know much about fevers but little Billie’s body being a hundred and three seemed bad to me.

Then I stared as he sat down on the bed, yanked off his boots, got up, lifted the covers and climbed into bed opposite Billie and then he slid into Billie and me.

“Mitch,” I repeated my whisper, this whisper had fear too but it was an altogether different kind.

“I’ll set the alarm to wake us in four hours and we’ll check her.”

“Um…maybe you shouldn’t be in this bed –” I started.

“Want Mitch,” Billie whined, somehow managing to burrow into both Mitch and me at the same time.

Shit!

His eyes locked on mine.

I tore mine away to look down at my cousin and say, “Billie, Mitch needs –”

She cut me off, “Want Mitch.”

Shit!

“Okay then I’ll go to the –”

“Want you. Want Mitch. Want Mitch!” Her voice was getting loud and I heard her fear so I lifted my hand, stroked her hair and cuddled her close.

“Okay, he’s here. I’m here. It’s okay,” I cooed.

“Cold,” she muttered.

“You’ll be okay,” I whispered and tipped my eyes to Mitch.

“Don’t go,” she whispered back.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I assured her softly.

“Make sure he doesn’t go,” she demanded, shifting awkwardly so she could move one of her little arms and grasp onto his shirt with her little fingers.

“I’m right here, gorgeous,” Mitch murmured and started stroking her back.

“Cold,” she muttered and burrowed again into both Mitch and me.

I took in a deep breath to calm my heart and my panic, panic for Billie and panic seeing as it appeared I’d be sleeping in Mitch’s bed with Mitch again. Finally I laid my head on the pillow. Mitch rested his head in his hand and his elbow in the pillow. Through this our eyes stayed connected.

“How many kids does your sister have?” I asked quietly.

“Three,” he answered.

I nodded. This was good. His sister was clearly an expert.

I pulled in a deep breath and pulled Billie closer. Billie pulled Mitch closer and then burrowed deeper into both of us. Mitch kept stroking her back and, luckily, it didn’t take long before she fell asleep.

When I knew she was asleep, quietly, I shared what I thought earlier, “She was acting funny. She’s rarely in a bad mood but I didn’t even –”

He knew where I was going and therefore cut me off with a whispered, “Mara, don’t.”

I shook my head. “She doesn’t have insurance, Mitch. If this is bad –”

“Mara, sweetheart, don’t.”

I held his eyes.

Then it all hit me like a freight train. Everything that was happening. Everything that had happened. All of it coming at me so hard, I couldn’t hold it back. None of the fear that was crushing me at the same time it seemed to be dragging me along somewhere I didn’t know and I was scared to go so I had to let it out.

And I did. “Insurance. Lawyers. A new apartment. Childcare. Mitch, honey, I’ve got money but not that much. If we have to take her to the hospital that might clean me out. And I didn’t even know she was sick when she was acting like she never acts. I don’t know what I’m doing, it’s…everything, all of it, it’s too much and…” I choked, swallowed, pulled it together (slightly) and then I finished in a small voice, “I didn’t even know when my baby was sick.”

I shut up when his hand left Billie’s back, came to my jaw and his thumb pressed against my lips.

“Mara, baby, don’t,” he whispered again. “This is not for now. For now, she’s asleep. They got a roof over their heads, food in their stomachs, people who give a shit about them and a ride to school tomorrow. Don’t think about that shit now. We’ll think about it later. We’ll talk about it and we’ll sort it out. But, for now, sweetheart, it’s all good.”

“Billie doesn’t have food in her stomach, she just vomited it all up,” I reminded him.

He grinned and reminded me, “Well, Bud does.”

He held my eyes and I stared into the soulful, fathomless depths of his.

Then I heard Billie’s steady breathing and felt the steadiness in Mitch’s eyes communicate itself to me as his words penetrated and the freight train tossed me aside. I took a deep breath and I nodded.

Then his thumb swept my lips in a sweet brush but his fingers stayed at my jaw as he ordered gently, “I got her for a second. Go, get ready for bed, come back, you take her and I’ll do the same.”

I kept staring at him. Then I nodded again. I carefully extricated myself from Billie and did what I was told. In my nightie with my face clean and moisturized, I slid under the sheets and Mitch curled Billie into my arms. Then he cautiously moved out of bed, did the same (though I doubted he cleaned his face and moisturized). Then, bare-chested (again) and wearing pajama bottoms (again) he joined Billie and me and curved his big, long, warm body into us both.

Oh boy.

To take my mind off Billie, Mitch and everything, I asked, “You’ll set the alarm?”

He nodded.

I curled deeper into Billie and bent my head so my face was in the top of her hair. She was right, the shampoo Mitch gave her smelled pretty.

“Go to sleep, Mara,” I heard Mitch say softly.

Right, like that would ever happen with Billie having a temperature of one hundred and three, shivering and throwing up. And with me being a mother figure but not having that first clue what to do. And me again in bed with Ten Point Five Detective Mitch Lawson after I let him slide right into second base on his couch without even trying to tag him with the ball.

“Okay,” I agreed.

* * *

Mitch

Ten minutes later, Mitch watched Mara fall asleep.

Carefully he rolled, set the alarm, turned out the light, rolled back and pulled both beautiful females into his arms.

Then he fell asleep.

* * *

Billy

Billy lay staring at the dark ceiling after tiptoeing back to bed.

He’d gotten up because he’d heard Billie getting sick. It didn’t happen often but when his sister got sick, he had to take care of her.

Then he’d hid and watched (when he could) and listened the whole time Auntie Mara and Mitch took care of her.

That was why he heard what Auntie Mara said.

She didn’t have the money to keep them and she was scared.

She could change her mind.

She could change her mind.

And he couldn’t let her change her mind.

He’d also heard what Mitch said.

Mitch was on Billy and Billie’s side and was trying to make sure Auntie Mara didn’t get too scared.

This meant two things for Billy.

It meant he had to do everything he could to keep Mitch around so Mitch could keep Auntie Mara from being scared and leaving them.

It also meant he and Billie had to be real, extra good so they didn’t make Auntie Mara want to go away for other reasons.

He could be good, especially for Auntie Mara and he could be certain Billie was good.

As for keeping Mitch around, he didn’t figure he had to work too hard to do that. Mitch liked Auntie Mara like a lot. Guys didn’t look at girls like Mitch looked at Auntie Mara if they didn’t like them and like them a lot. And guys didn’t touch girls and get close to them all the time like Mitch did with Auntie Mara if they didn’t like them and like them a lot.

Still, he’d have to do his part to keep Mitch around.

He didn’t mind that, he liked Mitch. Mitch was an okay guy and bought Billie a pink teddy bear (twice, he knew, though Billie didn’t and Billy wasn’t going to tell her).

And anyway, Auntie Mara looked at Mitch (when he wasn’t watching) like Mitch looked at Auntie Mara (and he didn’t care if she was watching) so Billy figured she’d want him to stick around too.

* * *

Mitch

Four hours later, Mitch’s alarm sounded.

He was on his back and, just like last night, there was one beautiful adolescent female and one beautiful adult female pressed into his side, both their arms thrown over his gut. Billie’s head was at his ribs, Mara’s on his shoulder but this time, Mara’s leg was tangled with one of his.

He carefully but quickly threw out an arm, turned off the alarm then put his hand on Billie’s forehead.

Cool and clammy, her hair slightly wet, the fever had broken. It came on fast and broke just as fast. Thank Christ.

He turned his head and stretched his hand out again, reset the alarm for morning then cautiously slid out of bed, taking care to replace his body with a pillow under Mara and Billie but neither female moved even to twitch.

He didn’t think for a second of moving to the couch. Instead he walked out of his bedroom, went into the living room, locked the door, turned out the lights, moved through the apartment and back to his room.

Then he slid back in bed, settled on his back, moving the pillow and replacing it with his body and both beautiful adolescent and adult females snuggled back into him.

He stared at the dark ceiling thinking about hearing Mara call him “my Mitch”. He also thought of how she went wild with just the brush of his thumb on her hard nipple.