Dice gave me a pointed look.
“You spend five days in the hospital throwing up everything you’ve ever eaten without a shower, and then we’ll talk.”
“I get it,” he said. “I don’t like it, but I understand. Come on, let’s get you dressed.”
I’d just gotten situated on the couch when Ember arrived with Diablo. He bolted into the room and started to jump onto the couch, but Dice managed to step in front of him and block him. The look of confusion on Diablo’s face was comical.
“You have to be easy,” Dice said. “Momma’s sick.”
My sweet boy managed to contain himself, even though I could tell he was excited. He’d never been away from me for more than two or three days, and he stayed with my dad.
“Thank you for taking care of him. I hope he wasn’t any trouble,” I said.
“He was no trouble at all. I enjoyed having him at the house,” she said. “How are you feeling?”
“Better, but not great. I’m happy to be home though,” I said. “And thank you for packing a bag for me.”
“No problem. As soon as Dice told me what was going on, I knew you’d need some things from home.”
Diablo barked and ran to the front door when the doorbell rang. Harper appeared with a large box in her hands. “Don’t worry. I’m not staying,” she said. “I just came by to drop off some homemade soup. I wasn’t sure what you liked or what your stomach could handle, so there’s chicken noodle, broccoli and cheese, and potato. I made them this morning, so they’ll keep for a few days.”
“Thank you,” I said sincerely.
“You’re welcome. Let us know if you need anything,” she said as she headed toward the door. “You too, Dice. I don’t mind running to the store for you or coming by to hang out with Daphne if you need to go somewhere.”
“Will do. Thanks, Harper,” he said.
“I’m going to head out, too. I think we talked most of the old ladies into waiting to drop by to check on you, but you’ll likely get a visit from Irene and Evie later today.”
“That’s fine. I don’t mind visitors if they don’t mind me sleeping at random times,” I said.
“I’m going to pretend like you didn’t say that. You won’t have a moment alone if word gets out,” Ember joked. “I’ll see y’all later. Bye, Diablo.”
“Do you want some soup?” Dice asked after she was gone.
“Yes, but I don’t know which one. They all sound good.”
Dice looked in the box and gasped in surprise. “Harper made bread bowls. They’re still warm, and so is the soup.”
“Broccoli and cheese, please,” I said immediately.
Dice laughed and brought the soup over on a wooden tray.
“Where did this come from?”
“It was in the box with the soup.”
“How thoughtful,” I said and put a spoonful of soup in my mouth. “Oh, this is so good,” I groaned.
“Better than hospital soup?”
“That wasn’t soup. That was chicken flavored water.”
“Oh look. She put something in here for Diablo, too,” Dice said and held up a treat that looked like the ones Keegan had at the barn. “Can he have it now?”
“I don’t see why not,” I said and continued eating my soup. It was hard to keep myself from eating too fast. It had been days since I’d had anything decent to eat, and I didn’t want to overdo it with the first meal.
I’d just finished eating when I heard the back door open and close. Diablo lifted his head at the sound but didn’t budge, which meant it was Ink.