Free LeClerc 01 - Autumn Ecstasy by Pamela K Forrest

not too sure what I’m doing.”
    “Is that why you had no fire when I arrived last night?” he asked, stopping again to cough.
    “I’m afraid it was never necessary for me to learn the art of building a fire.”
    “Kindling first,” he instructed as he lay down and pulled several blankets over him. “Then small sticks. When it’s burning good, add the bigger logs.”
    Linsey carefully added several large logs to the fire and watched the greedy flame lick hungrily at them. Feeling a great sense of pride for her simple accomplishment, she turned to Luc, waiting for praise for her efforts.
    His eyes were closed, and as she walked nearer, she heard his heavy, labored breathing. His face was deeply flushed, and beneath the furs his body shook uncontrollably.
    “You can’t get sick.” Linsey felt panic race up her spine. “Promise me you won’t get sick.”
    “Not sick,” he muttered between coughs.
    “Could have fooled me.”
    “Haven’t been sick since I was a child.”
    She placed a hand near the unscarred side of his face, careful not to touch him, and was startled by the heat radiating from his skin. “Please,” she pleaded softly. “I don’t know how to take care of myself. How can I take care of both of us?”
    He opened his eyes, his dark gaze locking with hers. A slight smile crossed the rugged face, and Linsey noticed a deep dimple in his cheek. “I just need sleep, Timid Deer. Keep the fire burning so we don’t freeze.”
    “You just can’t be sick.”
    “Not sick.”
    “If you get sick, you could die,” Linsey’s voice lowered to a whisper. “If you die, I’ll never get home. I’ll live here until the food runs out, and then I’ll starve to death.”
    “Your concern for me is touching,” Bear replied, his voice laced with sarcasm. “I am not sick!” His voice rose to a roar only to be broken by another fit of coughing.
    “Sick and grumpy,” Linsey moaned.
    Bear gritted his teeth and tried to prevent another cough from escaping. “I will be well after a little sleep. I promise I won’t die.”
    “Oh, please,” she whispered, “I don’t know what to do.”
    He lifted a hand toward her, but it fell back to the bed far short of its goal of her cheek. His feverish gaze locked with her worried one, and a gentle smile touched his mouth.
    “It will pass, mon ange, after I sleep.” His eyes drifted closed as the smile faded. “Keep the fire burning.”
     

CHAPTER FOUR
     
     
    The cold, crisp day gradually faded into the twilight of approaching night. Meticulously tending the fire while keeping a distant watch on the sleeping man, Linsey was unaware of the change and was startled when she realized it was growing dark. She had spent long hours fighting the panic that threatened to overwhelm her. Without the aid of the sick man across the room, she would be helpless in this wilderness; her very existence depended on him.
    Each time Bear had wakened during the long day, he had seemed worse. His breathing was a harsh, labored wheeze, splintering the hush in the small cabin. Occasionally he muttered faintly, the words too indistinct for her to distinguish.
    It had been several hours since he’d last been awake, and his sleep was becoming more restless, the muttering louder. She cautiously approached him and pulled the furs snugly beneath his chin.
    “Bear? Are you awake?” She was unaware of her choice of names or that she never thought of him as Luc.
    After trying several times to rouse him, Linsey reluctantly admitted to herself that the fever had sent him beyond normal sleep. She walked back to the fireplace and stared into the dancing flame, as if looking to it for guidance.
    “You’ve got to do something,” she mumbled to herself. “If you don’t, he will probably die.” She rubbed a hand wearily across her forehead. “Merciful God, what do I do?” It was a prayer, a plea for help.
    Linsey sat down in the chair she had occupied most of the day, put her elbows on the