"What?"

"You have to stay in bed," she said with a wry grin.

"That's crazy."

"I am not going to make another mad dash to the hospital with you practically comatose in the passenger seat. I am not letting you out of bed until your appointment on Thursday."

"I am not an invalid."

"You are not going to overdo it on my watch! The doctor said Thursday!"

"Forget it, I'm outta here."

"Then I'll have to call Sterling and Chloe."

That got him and he glared at her.

"I can't believe I woke up and actually had a single nice thought about you," he muttered.

"Welcome to the club of regrets! I can't believe I actually felt badly for you. You are ornery and stubborn-"

"And you're not?"

When she reached the house on Meadowlark, she turned into the long driveway. "Just get inside. All you have to do is take it easy for a few days. A few days! That's it."

Grumbling, he conceded. "And no mention of this to Sterling or Chloe."

"Fine."

"Fine."

They got inside and Julia helped Ben to his room. He started to resist, then seemed to think better of it.

Based on the look on his face, she thought the adrenaline that had carried him this far was deserting him. With effort, he stepped out of his sweats, then got underneath the covers that she held back for him.

Nothing else went that smoothly.

Over the next two days, Ben Prescott ran her ragged. He made liberal use of the intercom, buzzing her every few minutes.

He was thirsty.

He was hungry.

The covers were in a twist.

At the end of the second day, after the umpteenth trip, she snapped.

"What is it? I've brought you food, drink. I've plumped pillows, retrieved the remote from the floor,

adjusted the curtains. What now?" she demanded.

A sheepish smile tugged at his lips. "I'm bored," he said.

"You're running me ragged because you're bored?"

"Maybe. And even you're better company than none at all."

She slammed the door behind her as she exited. She didn't answer the intercom after that. She checked

on him at reasonable intervals. But that was it. On the third day, she did her best to focus on her own work. When she booted up her computer, she found another e-mail from the new station manager at KTEX TV. When Andrew Folly had sent an e-mail asking to meet to discuss her plans, she hadn't been ready. She had explained that while she was caring for Sterling Prescott's brother, she wasn't in a position to leave the house. As soon as he was better, she'd drop by the office. He had sent her a slew of e-mails since, all of which she had avoided. She hadn't even met the man and already she didn't like him.

But the more pressing, obnoxious man was in this very house.

"Julia!" she heard him call.

Since she had stopped answering the intercom, he had resorted to ringing a bell he had found. When she

hadn't answered that, he started hollering down the hall. She answered only when she couldn't take the

racket anymore.

She groaned and dropped her head onto the desktop. Once Ben got used to the idea of being waited on, he had taken to it like a duck to water. He'd barely set foot out of the bed, and then only to use the restroom. But fortunately, she would have sworn he was finally, truly healing.

So she no longer felt guilty when she ignored him.

A few minutes later the telephone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and didn't recognize the number.

She had seen Andrew Folly's work and cell numbers, so she knew it wasn't him.

She picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"I'm sorry for being difficult."

"Who is this?"

"Your patient."

"Why are you calling on the phone?"

"It was the only way to get your attention."

Julia sat back in her chair and couldn't help her smile. "You're not forgiven."

"Fair enough."

"Is there anything else?"

"Since you asked-"

She could practically see his smile.

"Is there any more of that chocolate pudding left?" he asked.

She had made pudding for dessert, the kind out of a Jell-O box, since she was strapped for time. Ben

had loved it better than the creme brulee she had made yesterday, or the strawberry shortcake she had made the day before that.

"I can't believe you like that stuff so much. Didn't you get tired of it as a kid?"

"Vendela Prescott doesn't serve Jell-O pudding in her home," he stated.

"Oh, yeah, I keep forgetting that you're Sterling's brother."

"Be nice."

"I am being nice. So nice that I'll bring you the last of the pudding."

They hung up and she stared at the receiver for a few minutes, smiled, then went to the kitchen. When

she walked into his room, she could tell he'd just had his first good shower since their hospital run. He

looked fresh and clean and incredibly handsome in a rugged way.

He took the fluted dish, spoon, and napkin. When she started to leave, he stopped her.

"So," he began, "how's it going?"

Turning back, she looked at him with a raised brow. "How's it going?"

"Yeah. Tell me what's happening with you."