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Despite the tears they'd both just shed, Taylor had to laugh.
"Now," her mother said as she stood abruptly, "since you and Justin already have plenty on your plates, and I know I'll only be in the way if I stay, I'm going to collect Bruce and head back to the airport to get us both on the next flight home. Please, just promise to let me know the test results the moment you get them."
"Of course I will," Taylor said, "but you don't have to go." For all her intent to be strong and grown up, now that Caroline was planning to leave, Taylor suddenly felt like a little girl again. One who wanted to cling to her mom for dear life.
"Don't worry, your father and I are planning to come out for a long visit in the near future. But for now, I can see that you have everything well in hand. And Justin--" He had risen at the same time, and she reached out to clasp his hands in hers. "I may not always have been your biggest fan, but I can see you genuinely care for my daughter. Thank you."
"You're the one I need to thank," he said, his voice slightly gruff. "You raised an incredible woman. You and your husband should be very proud."
"We are." Caroline pulled Taylor into her arms, and as they held each other, Taylor felt closer to her mother than ever before.
Ten minutes later, when her mom and her ex were on their way back to San Francisco, Taylor sank onto the couch. "That was exhausting."
"And awesome." Justin put his hands on either side of her face and kissed her once--softly, sweetly. "You really impressed your mom when you told her it was time to let go."
"I'm afraid I hurt her."
"You didn't. At least, not in the long term. I can't believe that she would have raised a strong, independent woman to be anything but exactly that." His phone dinged in his pocket. "It's time to meet with the donor."
He didn't ask if she was up for it, and she appreciated that he didn't. If he was certain that she was strong enough to deal with what came next, no matter how difficult, then she was going to do her best to believe it too.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Justin didn't try to liven up their drive today the way he had when they'd gone to UC Davis. He was still gunning to be Taylor's donor, but she clearly needed a little time to process. Especially after her mother and ex-boyfriend's unexpected visit this morning.
If he could have rescheduled this meeting, he would have. But speaking with a donor was an important part of the evaluation process, and the transplant center wouldn't let him proceed until he'd talked with at least one. Plus, he really hoped that hearing what the donor had to say would help Taylor wrap her head around him helping her this way.
"Before we go inside," Taylor said after Justin had parked the car, "I just want to make sure that if hearing this woman's story gives you any doubts about donating a kidney to me--for any reason at all--you'll promise to tell me."
It was on the tip of his tongue to say, yet again, that he didn't have any doubts and that nothing could possibly change his mind. But knowing that wouldn't help his cause, he simply said, "I will." And, of course, he had to kiss her. A soft and sweet but also deliciously sexy kiss. He hoped it would help settle her nerves. Or, at the very least, give her something else to focus on.
"You're amazing, Justin." He was glad to see a small smile playing on her lips. "Here I am freaking out about everything--and then, with one kiss, you make me almost forget what I was worried about in the first place."
"Almost?" He brought her mouth back to his so that he could whisper against her lips, "Hopefully, this one will make you completely forget."
God, how he loved the little sounds of pleasure she made. If they were anywhere else, at any other time, he would have driven away to find a place where they could see their passion all the way through. But the dinging from his phone was an insistent reminder that pleasure would have to wait a little while.
Taylor fixed her hair with the help of the mirror on the visor. "What are the odds she was looking out the front window and saw us making out?"
Thankfully, from the amused tone of Taylor's voice, she didn't seem particularly worried about it. "I don't know about her," Justin said, "but I'm thinking that guy over there certainly enjoyed the show." He was grinning as he pointed to a man raking leaves at the far end of the street.
"And to think that my mother wasn't always your biggest fan, when you're always such a good influence on me," she teased as they got out of the car.
Hand in hand, they walked up the stone steps. Taylor rang the doorbell, and seconds later, a petite woman with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes opened the door. "Welcome! I'm Debra, and I'm really glad you both could come meet with me today."
"Thank you for meeting with us, Debra. I'm Justin Morrison, and this is my girlfriend, Taylor Cardenes."
They both shook her hand, and then she led them inside her home, a striking contemporary with a vineyard behind it.
"Your home is beautiful," Taylor said, taking in the floor-to-ceiling windows and gleaming wood floors.
"Thank you. My husband and I just finished remodeling. For most of the past year, we've lived in the barn out back." She pointed to the barn, which had been converted with large windows throughout. "I run my candlemaking business out of it, so it's good to have a little separation between work and play now." r />
"I'm sure you're busy," Taylor said with a nervous smile, "and we don't want to keep you too long..."
Waving away Taylor's concern, Debra said, "I'm always happy to meet with anyone the Davis transplant center sends my way." She gestured for them to come sit down in a sunroom. "I just made this lemonade from the Meyer lemons in my garden." She poured them each a glass, and Taylor took a big gulp before setting it down.
"How about I tell you my story," Debra said, "and then you can ask whatever questions you like."
"That would be great." Justin held Taylor's hand firmly in his. He could feel her trembling, just enough that only he could tell.
"My friend Maya was like you, Taylor. She was the picture of health--vibrant, pretty, with no outward signs that anything was wrong. We were roommates ten years ago, and sometimes she would stay in on the weekends, saying she'd had a hard week at work and just wanted to chill, but there was never anything that made me suspect she was unwell. Not until I came home early from a business trip and found her on the couch, crying. You have to understand, she was one of the toughest people I'd ever met, so I knew something was wrong. Really wrong. That's when it all came spilling out, that she had PKD and her kidneys were shutting down. She was weeks away from dialysis, and she was scared. Not only about the disease, but also because she didn't feel she had any other options." Debra paused to take a shaky breath. "I'm sorry, even now, when I think back to how sad, how lost she was. I get all choked up."
"Please," Taylor said, "don't apologize for anything."
"We can't tell you how much we appreciate your opening up your home to us and telling your story." Justin squeezed Taylor's hand. "Especially since I know exactly how you felt that day. I only found out about Taylor's diagnosis this week."
"There's nothing like realizing that all that time, someone you love has been getting sicker and sicker, and you didn't even know," Debra agreed. "When I asked Maya how she could have been so ill without telling any of us, or asking for help, she told me she didn't want to ask anyone she knew for a kidney. That it was too much, too big a favor to ask of anyone she loved. We argued about it, of course. I told her I would get tested immediately, even though she told me not to. And when it turned out that I was a match, and I insisted on donating a kidney to her, there was some yelling and crying--but in the end, she realized I was serious, that I wouldn't even freak out about having to write a will before the procedure."
