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“Absolutely,” says Thane, his voice filled with love for our girl. He takes one of the smaller bowls from the cabinet and fills it with the angel hair pasta he offered me. Miles helps her sit on one of the bar stools, and I hand her a fork like I’m handing off a scepter to a queen.
“This is so good,” she says, twirling the fork in the pasta. “I bet it’ll be incredible with whatever sauce you’ll choose to go with it.
Riley must be too weak or too out of it to notice how we watch her eat the plain pasta, our eyes tracking every movement. When she slows after only eating half the bowl, I’m still proud of how much she did eat. “It’s so good, but I can’t eat any more.”
“You did good, honey,” says Thane, taking the fork and bowl from her. “I’m so proud of you.”
“We all are,” I say with a lump in my throat. She turns to Miles and murmurs something, and he scoops her into his arms. She must be too tired to walk back upstairs. With a nod of goodnight to Thane and me, he turns back toward the stairs and carefully carries her back to her room.
“I wanted to say thank you, Fox,” Thane says, startling me. I turn around and frown at him.
“What for?”
“For kicking my ass, basically,” he says with a smug smile.
“I would do that any day,” I retort, shoving his arm lightly.
“I know you would. But in this case, I mean kicking my ass about Riley. I waffled back and forth about her for so long when she’s everything I needed. She’s everything thatweneeded.”
“You just needed a little push. You would have come to the right decision eventually.”
“Would I have?” Thane frowns, and if I’m not careful, he’ll go right down the path of self-punishment. He hates messing up, and I think it will still be a while before he forgives himself for not scooping Riley up right away and making her part of the family.
“Yes, you absolutely would have. I know you think being a leader is all about making the right decisions, but it isn’t. It’s about makingadecision, period, whether it ends up being the right or wrong one. In this case, you decided to keep Riley, and it’s the best decision you’ve ever made. She has changed us all. Levi is more confident, and Miles spends more time relaxing instead of working overtime on his projects. And you—” My throat catches, and I clear it.
“And me?” he says softly, putting a hand on my shoulder.
“And you, you’re so different, Thane. It’s like having the old Thane back, the one from college that we all fell in love with. You smile more. You laugh more. You hang out with us instead of rushing off to your room and locking the door. We might be doing everything we can to help save Riley’s life, but I know she saved yours, too.”
“Fox,” he says in a pleading voice, and then, he’s pulling me into his arms. He wraps them around me and hugs me so tightly that it hurts, but I’ll never admit it. I hug him back just as tightly, and we stay like that, a silent embrace as we contemplate what could have been, and what could be.
Finally, he pulls away, clearing his throat. “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but Riley is improving. Her numbers dropped as low as they are going to get at the beginning of the week, and they’ve been trending upward every day since. Her leukocyte count is at a standard level again, and her kidney function is practically normal.”
“I have no idea what any of that means, but I trust you,” I say. “It may not be what you want to do for the rest of your life, but you’re a good doctor. I completely trust Riley and her health in your hands.”
He looks up the stairs as though he can still see Riley there, wistful almost. “It’s all up to Riley and her body. I think we can be hopeful, though.”
Hope. That’s all we’ve been living on for weeks, that perfect life with Riley so close we could reach out and grab it. I feel like I could make plans for the future and it wouldn’t be jinxing her progress so far. I can finally picture holidays with Riley, or taking her to visit places around the world that she’s only dreamed of.
Maybe kids are in our future, or maybe it’s just going to be the five of us and a handful of dogs. Or cats. Both. Maybe a parakeet.
No matter what, as long as Riley keeps improving, she’s finally got a shot at the future she desires. Whatever that looks like.
THIRTY-ONE
—
R I L E Y
Somehow,between taking care of me, twisting his ankle, missing practices, and all the other drama in his life, Fox was able to lead the Rogers City Ravens to the championship game against the Los Lagos Sharks. The game is today, and I’m not going to miss it for the world.
Even if I have to fight Fox to be able to go.
“You’re absolutely not going,” he says from my doorway, glaring at where I sit on the bed.
“Yes, I am,” I say, glaring right back. “I’m already dressed for it!”
I ordered a tailored jersey with Fox’s name on it and have even written his name on my cheek in the team’s blue and orange colors. I have a stuffed raven wearing a mini version of Fox’s jersey. I look like a model Ravens fan.
