“No way.”

“Seriously, you need to wear this so you don’t get sick.”

“You called me,” she says, shaking her head as she sets the broth and crackers on the coffee table, then sits across the room from me on a chair, sans mask. “I’ll be over here, out of the germ zone.”

“Noel.”

“Joy,” she mimics, and I narrow my eyes at her, making her laugh. “Tell me about your date the other night.”

“First of all, nice suit you chose,” I say, and she grins without denying that she took Jace shopping. “He looked hot in it.”

“Right? So hot. You’re welcome. Tell me everything.”

“Dinner was delicious and eventful.” I tell her all about the woman stopping at our table, ignoring me and hitting on Jace.

“Bitch,” Noel says with a scowl. “I’m surprised you didn’t trip her.”

“Well, I thought about it, but I don’t think that was her first rodeo. She knew exactly what she was doing, and how it would make everyone at the table feel.”

“Tramp,” Noel mutters. “I just don’t understand. Why are women so horrible to each other? Why are they so desperate to tear each other down? Because that’s exactly what that is, desperation.”

“I don’t know. I mean, if it were me, and I’d had a couple of romps with Jace and had a crush on him but saw that he was with someone else, I might have said hi, but I wouldn’t have made a big production of it like that.”

“Of course, not,” she says. “And if she thinks that’s the way to make men come running to her, well, she’s not very good at this.”

“That’s just it, do men go for that sort of thing? Because it was not sexy to me, and Jace was pissed.”

“As he should be.”

“But maybe some men would think it’s hot?”

“If they do, they’re not the men we want putting their penises in our vaginas,” she says with a sigh. “How was the show?”

“So good. Totally lives up to the hype. The rest of the evening was a lot of fun.”

“Good, I’m glad she didn’t ruin it for you.”

“It’s not his fault, although he did apologize. And he felt the need to tell me about her, I guess to get it all out in the open.”

“That’s good. Even though I’m sure you didn’t want to know much, it’s good that he doesn’t feel like he has something to hide, or that he doesn’t want you to be privy to everything.”

“I’d rather he be honest, yes,” I agree. “So, that’s about it.”

“That’s it? The outfits I picked out didn’t lead to some earth-rocking sex?”

“Well, yeah. That happened.” I shrug a shoulder. “But I’m not telling you about it.”

“Damn. Well, should we just watch some Netflix then?”

“Let’s do it.”

I’m finally feeling better.

It seems the fourth day is the charm. I’m still stuck at home, but I’m not throwing up, the fever is gone, and I’m only a little achy.

I’ll take it.

But I am suffering from cabin fever. Jace came and spent the night with me again last night, but I encouraged him to go back to his place today to continue working on his projects. We don’t know how long he’ll be off work, so he should get as much done as he can, and babysitting me isn’t productive.

Especially now that I’m not helpless anymore.

Angela has been hopping in and out of her box. The puppies are more restless, wanting to roam around and play. In another week, I’ll be weaning them off their mother’s milk and giving them puppy food.

I can’t believe how quickly they grow.

“Hey, girl,” I say to Angela as she comes to my side and nudges my leg, wanting some love. “Do you have some cabin fever, too? Maybe we should go for a walk.”

Some fresh air sounds just perfect, so I grab a leash and my sweatshirt, and we’re off, on the same route that I used to take Nancy on.

I have no doubt that Angela will learn the route in time. She has a tendency to pull on the leash, so I have to take my time, teaching her how to behave. But by the time we’re headed back to the house, she’s calmed down and is walking by my side.

Yes, she’s going to be a snap to train. German Shepherds are highly intelligent. It’s why they’re such good service and police dogs.

Just as I walk through the door and Angela scrambles over to her box to check on the pups, my phone rings.

“Hi, Levi.”

“Hey, Joy.” His voice sounds weird. “Wyatt’s in L.A. with Lia, and Mom and Dad are on vacation. Jace won’t answer his fucking phone.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I need a ride,” he says grimly. “I’ve been shot.”

My whole world stills. “You’ve what? Are you at the hospital?”

“Yeah, at the ER. I’ve been discharged, but—”

“I’ll be right there.”

I hang up on him, grab my keys and purse, and race to the hospital, breaking several speeding laws on the way.

My God, Levi was shot! We always knew this was a possibility, but I never thought it would actually happen. I wonder how bad it is. Is he bleeding too badly? Is he in a coma?

“Jesus, calm down. None of that is the case if they discharged him. And, you talked to him.”

I shake my head as I turn into the ER parking lot. I hurry inside and find Levi sitting in a chair in the waiting room. His right jeans’ leg has been cut up to his hip, and he has gauze wrapped around his thigh. He stands, and I rush to him.

“Oh, thank God.” I wrap my arms around his stomach and hug him tightly. “You’re okay.”

“I told you I was discharged,” he says, patting my back awkwardly. “You can just take me home.”

“Like hell,” I mutter as he limps beside me out to the car. “I’m not taking you home. You’re on painkillers.”

“So?”

“So, you shouldn’t be alone,” I say as I pull out of the parking lot and head toward home. “You’ll come stay with me today.”

“I don’t need a mother,” he grumbles. “I just want to go home and fall asleep for about twenty-four hours.”

“I’m the boss,” I reply. “And you’ll do what I say. You need to come home with me.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

“Don’t care,” I say as if there’s no room for argument. “How did it happen?”

“Fucking drug dealers,” he murmurs and leans his head against the door. I frown over at him and want to ask more questions, but he’s already asleep.

I wonder why he couldn’t reach Jace. I’ll try to call him when I get home.

But when I turn the corner to my house, Jace’s car is in the driveway.

I pull to a stop and reach over to nudge Levi. “Hey, sleepyhead. Wake up. I have a guest room waiting for you.”

“Just take me the fuck home.”

“No.” Not intimidated in the least, I get out and hurry around the car to help Levi from the vehicle. He leans on me as we walk into the house.

“There you are,” Jace begins when he sees me, then stops in his tracks at the sight of Levi’s arm wrapped around my shoulders. “What the hell happened?”

“He’s been shot,” I inform him.

“Tried to call you,” Levi says.

“I was driving, and the sound was off on my phone,” Jace says. “You didn’t leave a message.”

“Called Joy,” he says.

“Those are some good pain meds,” I comment as I lead him through the house to the guest room, grateful that it’s on the first floor.

“Let me look at it,” Jace says, reaching for the bandage on his brother’s leg, but Levi shakes his head. “Already had it looked at. Stitched up. I can’t even feel it.”

“Just wait until those meds wear off, pal,” Jace says grimly. “Did the bullet go through?”