They went as fast as they could without making too much noise. The closer they got, the more Undrea’s stomach knotted up. If Ethan was in there and Nina was doing something awful to him, what was Undrea supposed to do?
How was she supposed to keep Nina from harming him? Because that was exactly what she’d want to do. What woman didn’t want to protect the man she was falling for?
Even if those feelings were all magic dust and moonbeams.
Ethan’s head hadn’t stopped spinning since he’d opened his eyes a few minutes ago. There wasn’t much point in having his eyes open, actually. He couldn’t focus on anything. Not with the room twirling like a carnival ride and him feeling like he’d eaten one corn dog too many.
He’d closed his eyes right away. Was he going to throw up? He hoped not. But he definitely wasn’t feeling right. And he wasn’t sure why. He’d had another episode, he knew that. But this wasn’t like one of his usual spells. They never made him sick like this.
He thought back to the last thing he could remember clearly, hoping to focus on something that might help quell the nausea.
A beautiful tail in a bathtub. He smiled. He’d been at Undrea’s house. Is that where he was now? It must be. He wasn’t quite ready to risk opening his eyes and throwing up on her guest bed, however, so he kept them closed. She was probably wondering what was wrong with him. He should have told her about his episodes. “Undrea?”
Off in the distance and to the left of him came a hissing sound. Bowie?
“The fish girl isn’t here.”
Nina. At Undrea’s? He had to look. He peered out between slitted lids. The spinning had tapered off enough for him to realize he was in his own bedroom. And he didn’t need his glasses to make out Nina standing at the foot of the bed. Bowie was nowhere that Ethan could see.
He had been at Undrea’s. “How did I get here?”
“I brought you home,” Nina said. One arm was crossed against her body, supporting the other arm so that hand could rest on her chin. “You had an episode.”
He knew he’d had one, but he didn’t remember it happening. He never did when his body shut down like that. Even so, something felt wrong. The blank spot in his memory was even bigger than usual. He shook his head. Bad move. His stomach revolted instantly. He closed his eyes and willed the nausea to go away. “I don’t remember.”
“You never do.” She let out a little half-sob suddenly. “Oh, Ethan, you were so ill. I was afraid you’d hit your head when you passed out.”
He risked another look. “And you came to my rescue?”
She seemed to realize his eyes were open again. She clasped her hands in front of her and walked around to sit on the side of the bed. “I did.” She smiled sweetly. “Don’t I always?”
“Yes,” he whispered. What was he not remembering? Why was the blank space so big this time, so hard to navigate around? “How did you know where I was?”
“Andrea called me. Asked me to come get you.”
“Undrea,” he corrected. Was that possible? Had Undrea done that? Why couldn’t he remember? But then, why should this time be any different than any of the others? “Where’s Bowie?”
“Downstairs, eating.” She put her hand on his arm. “Rest now. You’ll feel better in the morning.”
“Okay.” But he didn’t want to sleep. He wanted to figure this out. And he wanted these wretched blackouts to end.
But no doctor, not even the specialists Nina had found for him, had discovered the cause of his troubles. Proof that there were things money couldn’t buy, he supposed.
“Do you want anything before I go? Something to drink? Something to eat?”
The mention of food made his stomach roil. “No,” he whispered as his mouth watered with another onslaught of nausea. “Nothing.”
“All right. I’ll close the door so you can sleep. I’ll sleep in the guest room tonight, too. I don’t want to disturb you, sweetheart. You rest now.”
A few seconds later, he felt her get up, then the door closed.
He lay there, feeling miserable. And a little sorry for himself. And a lot angry. What was going on with him? He was perfectly healthy otherwise. Okay, maybe his diet wasn’t the best, but he’d had more tests than he’d thought possible, and not a single one had indicated that his food choices were definitively to blame.
Didn’t stop Nina from trying to feed him healthy things all the time.
He sighed. Maybe he was too hard on her. She wasn’t perfect, but she wasn’t as bad as all that. After all, she really did seem to be looking out for him.
And she was right that she’d always been there for him when he needed her. These attacks had started not long after they’d met.
Stress, the first doctor had said. And many doctors after that. But stress had become the fallback answer because there was nothing else to pin them to.
His frustration grew. Not just because of the episodes but because there seemed to be no cure. And no way to find one. If the problem couldn’t be accurately diagnosed, how could it be solved?
He wasn’t used to things like that. Problems, yes. But he’d yet to run into one that couldn’t be solved. Even his ion membrane would eventually be worked out. He knew it. Time and effort. That’s all it took.
Except when it came to his health and figuring out what was wrong with him.
He exhaled and tried to calm his racing mind. All of that angry thinking was probably just making things worse. He needed to focus on something calming. Something that wouldn’t raise his stress levels any higher.
Instantly, his mind went to Undrea.
He smiled. Now that was a happy thought. But after a moment, a new worry crept in. How had things gone between her and Nina?
Nina said Undrea had called when he’d had his episode. That seemed…odd. She would have had Nina’s number from the fish tank business, but why hadn’t Undrea called 911? She was a practical woman. And that seemed like the practical thing to do.
He also questioned Undrea calling Nina because of the tension between them. After all, Nina had shown up at Undrea’s house for the sole purpose of telling Undrea to back off.
Or something like that. But whatever it had been, that incident seemed like it might keep Undrea from reaching out to Nina. He wouldn’t blame her for that either.
A little twinge at the back of his brain felt like a memory trying to come through. What had triggered that? Thinking about Undrea? Thinking about Nina going to see Undrea?
He tried to remember, tried to narrow down his thoughts to the fragment trying to slip through.
But as the seconds ticked by, the fragment evaporated, leaving him even more frustrated.
He opened his eyes and stared into the darkness. A little moonlight came through the window, enough that his eyes adjusted and he could see shapes. The spinning had almost completely stopped.
He wished Bowie was with him. The cat was a great distraction and a wonderful comfort. Ethan felt like that’s what he needed right now. Something to take his mind off what had just happened to him, but he didn’t want to read or be on the computer or his phone. He wanted the connection of another living being.
One who wasn’t Nina.
He sat up slowly. What a terrible thought to have after she’d done so much for him, but he couldn’t help what he felt.