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“But, Jarrett—”
“Oh, and she still gets child support, too.”
Jarrett thought he heard a curse word, but he wasn’t sure.
“This is—”
“I’ll see you up here later,” Jarrett interrupted. “And not a word of this to Rylie.”
He disconnected before Matthew could protest again. Giving Gabe up would tear him apart, but better him than Rylie. She needed Gabe, and Gabe needed his mother almost as much. Jarrett would see him as often as possible, and he hoped for more than two weekends a month. Of course, he would also keep a close eye on this jerk Rylie was in love with. Though maybe he wasn’t so awful. It was hard to imagine Rylie having such poor judgment.
Back in the room, he and Rylie both tried to read a book to pass the time, but neither could concentrate. After scanning all the TV channels, they finally settled on the weather channel. A home improvement show had almost been chosen, but when a pipe burst, they’d both voted it too stressful.
Food was delivered to the room for lunch. The taste was fine, if less salty than desirable, but neither of them had any appetite. It was hard to eat, knowing their son was lying on a hospital bed, attached to tubes, with some kind of bacteria destroying him from the inside out.
“I was thinking,” Rylie said, pushing her plate away, only two bites missing from her hamburger. “Maybe that day your sisters came and we had all those vegetables out… maybe he went into the kitchen when I wasn’t looking and ate something.”
Jarrett reached across the narrow table, covering her hand with his. “Don’t do this, Rylie. Don’t try to trace it back and lay blame.”
Her chin quivered. “But I keep thinking if we just hadn’t had those raw vegetables in the house, this might not have happened.”
“We couldifourselves to death, believing we could’ve done something different… controlled the outcome. The truth is we can’t control anything, especially when we’re dealing with cancer. It’s a horrible feeling, and I hated every minute of it when I was in the battle. It’s the reason I like everything in my life to be in order.” He stroked the soft skin on her fingers. “But it’s all an illusion. We’re not ever in control, even when we think we are. That’s what prayer really is… admitting that we don’t have control and trusting the One who does.”
Her head moved up and down—three little nods—and she blinked, drying her eyes again. “You’re right. I’ll remember that.”
More than ever, having seen how soft she was behind her tough façade, he wanted to find a way to protect her. She’d made her choice… to follow her heart back to the other guy and a better chance of having her own children. Hearing it had hurt almost more than he could bear, but he hadn’t let it show. He still had four weeks with her, and he planned to enjoy every moment.
The thought of her leaving was depressing, but at least it was a distraction from watching Gabe lie motionless. If only he would wake up and flash that mischievous grin, grab his microphone and sing at the top of his lungs.
At two o’clock, the nurse came in to check his vital signs, as she had every hour since she’d started her shift that morning. “Looks like his temperature came down a little.”
“It did?” Jarrett said. “How much?”
“102.6.” She pressed the digital thermometer to his forehead again. “Yes. I get the same reading, every time, so it’s definitely come down.”
Jarrett’s heart raced. He didn’t want to get his hopes up. “Will you tell Dr. Campbell?”
“Tell me what?” Dan strode inside. “Is there a problem?”
“His temperature’s dropped to 102.6.” Rylie moved beside Gabe and touched his forehead, as if she could sense the difference. “Does that mean we cured the infection?”
“We can’t say for sure, but chances are we’ve got the right combination of antibiotic cocktail. We’ll do another blood draw, and if everything looks good, we stick with this regimen until there’s no sign of infection.”
Jarrett pumped his fist into the air. “Yes! Thank God!”
He spread his arms wide and Rylie flew into them, almost knocking him off balance. They laughed and hugged, spinning in a circle. Then, without thinking, he kissed her. An accidental kiss. Just a quick peck on the lips. But in that fraction of a second, her lips had responded.
Or was it my imagination?
There was only one way to find out.
He lowered his mouth toward hers, watching her crystal blue eyes, hoping to see permission to kiss her again. But it wasn’t there.
Instead, he saw raw passion… maybe even hunger.
With blood pulsing in his ears, he brought his mouth closer to hers, mesmerized by the way her eyelids drooped in response. This time, when his lips touched hers, there was no mistaking the way her mouth moved to meet him. He wasn’t sure why it was happening, but it seemed like a bad time to stop and ask. And since it might be the last time she ever let him kiss her, he might as well be thorough.
Sensing her desires, he brushed his mouth across hers with a tantalizing feathery touch, drawing farther and farther back, until she surged against him, her hands twisting behind his neck to pull him closer. He answered her in kind, one hand cupping her jaw, the other tangled behind her head, as he feasted on her delectable lips. Her fervent response was his undoing. It was all he could do to stay on his feet.
