The Kissing Stars by Geralyn Dawson Read Free Book Online

beyond her reach. Frustration welled up inside her. She was too tired for this. She wasn’t prepared for him. “Please, Gabe.”
    After a moment’s hesitation, he released her. “What’s the matter with him, anyway?”
    Tess pushed her hair back away from her face and smoothed her skirt as she gazed with concern at the man lying prone in the bed, “I’m not at all certain. Andrew has suffered fevers in the past, but this one is different. This one frightens me. It’s worse than ever before, and we’re afraid it may be contagious.”
    Gabe lowered his arm to his side, the washcloth dangling limply from his hand “Contagious?” he said with a sharp edge to his voice. “This fella’s illness may be contagious so they send you in to nurse him? Why not one of the men I saw outside? What is he to you, Tess? Was I right the first time?”
    He sounded jealous and it surprised her. He’d never displayed that particular character trait before, and he had no right to act that way now. But at the moment, she didn’t have the energy to fight that particular fight. “Andrew is my friend, and I’m here because I was with him when he collapsed the day before yesterday.”
    Skepticism curled Gabe’s lip. Her hand tingled with the need to slap it off his face and the reaction surprised her. As a rule, she didn’t believe in violence.
    “I’m telling the truth,” she insisted. “He suffers from recurrent malarial fevers. That’s why I left the state fair earlier than planned. He needed a fresh supply of quinine.”
    “If you brought the quinine, then why is he still sick?”
    Frustration overwhelmed her. “That’s the problem. His recovery lasted only days. This may well be a different type of illness entirely. He spent a month up in the hills tracking the white stallion, and we don’t know what he may have come in contact with.”

    “The white stallion? Oh, never mind. What does the doctor say?”
    “The nearest doctor is in Eagle Gulch, and he refuses to come out here. We use our best judgment in dealing with illnesses, and in this case that includes keeping quarantine.”
     “Quarantine?” he croaked.
    “Yes, quarantine.”
    Gabe glanced down at his feet, then slowly looked back up. “You and this naked guy.”
    “And now you.”
    “Me.”
    “Yes.”
    Gabe muttered an epithet, then strode over to the stack of clean bedding, retrieved a sheet, and draped it across Andrew’s loins. For a moment, he stood beside the bed studying the fevered patient, his brow furrowed in thought. “Well, this isn’t exactly how I had it figured, but I guess it’ll give me time to ask my questions.”
    Questions. Wonderful . As if fighting death for Andrew wasn’t bad enough, now she’d get to war over the past with Gabe. Tess dosed her eyes and sighed. “Andrew comes first.”
    Gabe scowled and dipped the towel into the basin. He twisted it, wringing away the excess water, and turned toward the bed.
    “Wait.” Tess touched his arm. His muscle was steel beneath her fingers and for a brief flash she remembered what it was like to be wrapped in his arms. No, Tess. Don’t do that to yourself . “If this fever is transferable by physical contact, I’ve already been exposed. You haven’t. There’s no need for you to take the risk.”
    Gabe looked down to where her pale hand rested against his bronzed skin. His nostrils flared as he filled his lungs with air. Tess fought the urge to step closer.
    “Risk?” His mouth twisted into a wry smile. “Haven’t you heard? I’m a hero. Risk-taking is part of the job description.”
    Gabe gently removed her hand from his arm. “I’ll deal with your…friend, Tess. Now, why don’t you give me a rundown of his symptoms, tell me what I can expect. Then we can make a plan on how the two of us can work together to get him well.”
    The combination of too little sleep and too much Gabe Cameron had scrambled her brains. She wanted to maintain her defenses against him, but the