“Yeah,” he answered but didn’t move from where he sat.
He wanted to get up, but the headache that had started two hours ago had taken root. In no time, it would be a full-blown migraine, and he would do anything to keep it from intensifying. This was the first one he’d had in two weeks, and it dispelled his theory that they were possibly going away for good. Ever since the incident that ended his career as a SEAL, he’d been battling them, and each and every time, he prayed that one would be his last.
“You’ve got a headache,” Reese said softly, taking one step into the office.
Brantley could see so much concern in those brown eyes, and it hit him somewhere in the center of his chest. It pissed him off that he’d spent the better part of the day sulking over the fact that Reese hadn’t told him he’d nearly gotten married at one point in his life. It was a stupid worry, he knew. Something he had no business harping on. There were a lot of things they didn’t know about each other, a lot of things they would eventually learn.
Yet it still made his stomach twist into knots.
Reese flipped off the overhead light, then pulled the cord to close the blinds. Even though the sun was still shining through, it helped. Some.
“Come on,” Reese urged, moving over and holding out his hand. “I’ll get your medicine.”
Because he knew the migraine was inevitable and it would be a hell of a lot easier to be in his bed in a completely dark room, Brantley nodded and put his hand in Reese’s.
When he stood, Reese stepped in close, cupping his cheek with his free hand before pressing his lips gently to his. Brantley felt some of the tension ease from his shoulders even as the shift in position made his head throb more.
Without another word, Reese led the way downstairs, through the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water on the way to their bedroom. By the time he got there, Brantley had no choice but to ease down on the bed and close his eyes. The nausea always hit him when he walked, and the throbbing had increased tenfold in such a short distance.
He heard the click of the lamp when Reese turned it off, followed by the sound of the medicine cabinet in the bathroom opening, closing, then footsteps coming his way.
“Here,” Reese whispered as something pressed against Brantley’s lips.
He opened his mouth, took the pill, and accepted the water Reese helped him with.
“You want me to undress you?”
Brantley nodded, wishing like hell Reese would ask that question when he was well enough to come up with a quip to lighten the mood.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen now.
When Brantley woke up, the pain was like a knife in his skull. The instant he was conscious, the nausea hit him like a freight train.
He groaned and managed to roll out of bed, stumble to the bathroom. His knees hit the tile floor with a thud, seconds before he heaved. This was the worst part. Wasn’t the blinding headache enough? Vomiting only made it worse. A vicious cycle that he found himself in as he fought to breathe in slow and steady, willing the pain away enough to get him back to the bed.
Several agonizingly long seconds later, he stumbled to the sink to rinse his mouth out. The action took effort, but he managed. It wasn’t until he returned to the bedroom that he realized Reese wasn’t there. The clock on the nightstand read 0128.
He paused long enough to look at the door, considered going to find him, but gave up the ghost when his stomach pitched again.
The headache had to go before he—
“Let me help you.”
Reese.
A foreign sense of relief swept over him as he crawled back into the bed. “I thought you were gone.”
“Went to get this.”
Brantley’s eyes were closed, so he couldn’t see what Reese was referring to. Then there was something cold against the side of his neck, and Reese’s hand was curling beneath his head, lifting it and adjusting the pillow so he could tuck the cold can at the base of his skull.
Never had he considered using a cold can to alleviate the pain until Reese. Oddly enough, the home remedy did help. Some.
When he felt the mattress dip, he reached for Reese, sliding his hand over Reese’s knee and exhaling slowly.
“Sleep,” Reese urged.
The last thing he remembered before he drifted off was how good Reese’s fingers felt as they massaged his temples.
Chapter Three
Thursday, December 24, 2020
The following morning, Reese was up before the sun. He managed to extricate himself from the bed without waking Brantley, hoping to give him a couple more hours of uninterrupted sleep. The migraine had proven to be brutal, which was par for the course, and Reese knew Brantley hadn’t slept soundly because of it.
“You ready, girl?” Reese asked when he got to the living room to find Tesha curled up in her bed. “Wanna go for a run?”
That got her attention, and instantly Tesha was up, her entire body wagging with excitement.
She did love her morning exercise.
“All right. Lemme grab my shoes.”
It only took a moment to pull on his shoes, tie them, get Tesha harnessed, and then they were out the door. The air was thick with humidity, dulling the chill that would’ve otherwise been there. Reese yanked his hood over his head, then took a minute to stretch.
This morning he opted to forgo music. There were some days he needed the motivation, others when he preferred only the sound of his breathing. It allowed him to blank his mind, forcing away all thoughts, all worries. They would be there when he was finished.
“Come on, girl. Let’s do this,” he said, taking off from the porch, Tesha trotting along beside him.
For now, this was what he needed.
Two hours later, Reese was sitting, laptop and coffee in front of him, at one of the empty desks in the barn, skimming through his emails when the door opened and Brantley strolled in. The tension lines in his face had eased and his eyes were clear.
“Headache gone?”
“Finally.” Brantley stopped, pinned Reese with a skeptical glare. “Why exactly are you here? You do know it’s Christmas Eve, right?”
“I do know that, yes. But you were sleepin’ and I needed somethin’ to do. Plus…” Reese nodded his chin in the direction of the second floor.
“I won’t bother to ask why she’s here,” Brantley grumbled.
Reese hadn’t either. Last time he’d questioned JJ about why she was at work when she should’ve been enjoying her personal time, she’d nearly taken his head off.
“Did you get breakfast?” he asked Brantley.
“Bagel.” The frown on his face told Reese he wasn’t enthused with his morning nourishment.
Usually Reese cooked something for them after their morning run. But since he’d been solo this morning, he’d settled for overnight oats and a bowl of fruit. Not to mention, there were times when strong smells would unsettle Brantley’s stomach, and Reese had been wanting to avoid that, too.
“Please tell me there’s coffee.” Brantley started toward the small kitchenette they used mainly for their daily java.
“It’s fresh,” he said, his words punctuated by the sound of the dog door slapping closed, followed by, “Tesha!”