Free The Secret Truth at Dare Ranch by Cheryl Gorman Page A

be?"
    Introductions
were made and Mitch explained the plan to buy Lexie’s ranch and build the
hospital. Mitch watched hungry interest light Tommy’s eyes.
    "A
hospital?" Emily echoed as she walked over. Her hands grasped two cups of
punch. She handed one to her husband, then snuggled close to his other side.
    "Yes,
honey."
    She
pursed her generous lips and drew her pruned brows together. "Oh, that’s
right. You told me about that."
    Lexie
walked to his side, her cheeks flushed slightly from the dance and a glint of
happiness in her eyes. It made him feel good to see her this way. He fingered a
strand of her hair. "You had your hair done. Looks nice."
    She
smiled. "Thank you."
    Dani
stepped up beside them and clasped Lexie’s hand. "Mommy, I don’t feel so
good."
    Lexie
leaned down close to Dani and brushed her hair back from her forehead. "Did
you eat too much ice cream again?"
    Dani
shook her head with her big eyes gazing up at her mother. "No, I haven’t
had anything to eat yet.” She rubbed her stomach. "My tummy hurts."
    Lexie
frowned and laid her hand on Dani’s forehead. "You do feel a little warm. I’d
better take you home.” She turned her attention back to Mitch. "You don’t
have to drive us. I see some of our neighbors leaving early. We’ll catch a ride
with them."
    "Dani’s
my daughter too. I want to help."
    Lexie
threw him a puzzled look. "Okay."
    # # #
    Lexie
sat on the edge of Dani’s bed and pressed a cold compress to her hot forehead. She
looked across at Mitch standing on the other side of the bed. She’d never seen
him scared before. The big bad executive didn’t have such nerves of steel after
all. "Relax she’s going to be fine. I called the doctor remember? This
thing has been going around."
    "Shouldn’t
you give her something for the fever and not just put a wet rag on her head?”  He
paced a few short steps them back again impatience evident in his face and eyes.
    Lexie
smiled at his inexperience with sick children. "The compress is for
comfort. She has a stomach virus and she’s already been throwing up. She can’t
keep anything down yet so we have to wait."
    Mitch
scrubbed a hand over his face and shifted from one foot the other. "Yeah. Okay.
Right. But for how long? What can I do?"
    Before
Lexie could answer, Dani opened her eyes and glanced anxiously from her mother
to Mitch and back again. She laid a hand on her stomach then started to cry. "I
feel sick again."
    Lexie
grabbed the small waste basket she’d lined with a plastic bag as Dani leaned
over and vomited into the bag. She calmly helped Dani lie back down and wiped
her face with the cool cloth. Tears dribbled from her daughter’s eyes and down
her cheeks. "I don’t like to throw up," she whimpered.
    "I
know, baby. But you’ll feel better soon, I promise."
    "Can
I have something to drink?"
    Mitch
reached for a glass of water sitting on the night stand and prepared to give
Dani a sip. Lexie raised her hand and stopped him. "No, we have to wait at
least twenty minutes. If she doesn’t have another episode after that time, then
we can give her a spoonful of water. If she keeps that down after another
twenty minutes we can increase the amount."
    He
put the glass down in frustration. "Well, how long do these things last?"
he asked impatiently.
    Dani
started to cry. Lexie gave him what she hoped was a harsh look. "Keep your
voice down. She’s already upset and you’re not helping. It’s important to
remain calm."
    Mitch
closed his eyes briefly and nodded. "Right. Sorry. But she won’t be sick
all night, will she?"
    Men.
They wanted to fix the problem immediately. They never tried to simply
understand it. "She might.” She wiped the cool, wet cloth over Dani's face.
Dani sighed and closed her eyes. "But if the vomiting continues for much
longer, I have some suppositories on hand just in case.”
    Mitch’s
eyes widened and a look of horror spread over his face? "Suppositories?"
    Lexie
couldn’t help but tease him a