“Kendalland I will get tested too,” her mother said over the phone. “You just never know with thesethings.”
“That’s sweet of you, Mom, but Dr. Lambert says genetic background has a lot to do with it. Holi’s bio mom is a Cuban-American. I doubt you and Kendall would work. Your family is Irish and… where’s Kendall’s family from?” sheasked.
“Well, Cajun on his mother’s side and Norwegian on his father’s,” Melindasupplied.
“Yeah, somehow I don’t think Irish, Cajun, and Norwegian stem cells are going towork.”
“We’ll see,” Melinda said, clearly not wanting to give up hope that she could help her stepdaughter. “But if you ask me, I really hope that woman is amatch.”
That womanwas how the woman who raised Holi referred to the woman who’d given birth to her. Melinda Hagen could forgive Denise Gonzalez for having an affair with her husband, but she could never pardon the way she’d abandoned her child without so much as a backward glance. When Denise had contacted their father years ago in an attempt to reconnect with Holi, Melinda had wanted to refuse, but Dylan Reeves had left it up to hisdaughter.
“It’s about time she contributed something to her daughter’s life. That’s the least she could do,” Melinda murmured, making Raineylaugh.
“I just hope someone can donate,” Rainey said on asigh.
“And if none of the four of them are a match? What then?” Melinda asked, worry edging hervoice.
Rainey blew out her breath. “Then we have to hope someone turns up in the nationalregistry.”
“Someone with a similar genetic history?” her momasked.
“Yeah, more thanlikely.”
“So, Cuban-American deadbeat and self-absorbed coonass, is that right?” Melindaleveled.
Rainey laughed again. “Something like that.” But even though her mom was making a joke, Rainey knew the general population of people with the same genetic mix as Holi had to besmall.
“So you reached all of her people?” her momasked.
Rainey rolled her eyes. “Everyone butDad.”
Over the phone, she heard her mother mutter a curse. “You get Larry?” sheasked.
“Yep.” Larry Wilson was her father’s manager. Nine times out of ten, Larry was the one who’d answer when she or Holi called their father. “I told him the score. He apologized for Dad and said he’d callback.”
“Well, what the hell was he doing that he couldn’t answer his own damn phone?” Melinda asked, clearly losing hertemper.
“Mom, just leave it. He’ll call back. He’ll get a blood test. We all know he will,” she said, trying to calm her mom down and settle herself at the same time. This was a matter of life and death, after all. Dylan Reeves might be a lousy father, but he wasn’t cruel. “Expecting him to suddenly behave differently because Holi is sick is justdumb.”
Her mother gave a sad chuckle. “I suppose you’re right.” She went quiet for a moment. “Holi says you’ve been moping around the house lately. Everythingokay?”
Rainey forced a laugh. “Wh-what? That’s ridiculous.” In her own ears, her voice sounded two octaves too high. “She’s just not used to being home with me allday.”
“Hmm,” her mother murmured doubtfully. “What about the young man you were seeing a couple of weeks ago? Holi said you seemed to like him quite a littlebit.”
She rolled her eyes. “Jeez, Mom, is that all y’all do when you get on the phone? Talk about me? I’m fine,” she insisted. “I mean, I’m worried about Holi, but I’m totallyfine.”
In her mother’s silence, she could almost picture her penetrating gaze. Her green eyes could read Rainey so well she was glad for once that her mom wasn’t in the room with her. “I can come to town whenever you need. I have plenty of sick leave and vacationtime—”
“Save it for when we find a match and Holi gets her stem cell treatment,” Rainey said grimly. “Apparently, that’s not going to be too muchfun.”
Chapter 13
With Kate’s help,Jacques had written enough songs in the last three weeks for Heroine to produce anotheralbum.
“The only problem is they’re all about your rain girl,” she grumbled as they rehearsed in the poolhouse.
“They’re just songs,” Jacques said, letting her reference to Rainey glance off him. Or at least hoping it looked like he had. He hadn’t seen or heard from her since Artmosphere, but as much as he wanted to deny it, he also hadn’t stopped thinking abouther.
