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“I already knew that, Jackson, but thank you for seeing me. How long do I have?”
“I’d say maybe six months at the most.”
“No.” Barb shook her head. “You will find a way to do the surgery.” She glared at me.
“Barbara, it’s okay.” Ian brought his hand to her arm. “We already knew this.”
She walked over to me, gripped my arms, and stared into my eyes. “He is your uncle, your father’s brother. If it were anyone of your brothers or my sons, you would be fighting to find a way to remove it. We don’t give up on our family, Jackson. Ian is your family.”
“Barbara, stop,” Ian said.
“No. I won’t stop because Jackson knows it’s the truth. If that were Georgia lying in that bed with the same type of tumor, he would move heaven and earth to save her, and the same goes for his brothers and cousins. The Kind family doesn’t turn their back on one of their own.”
“Aunt Barb, I’m not turning my back on him. Damn it. If I even attempted to remove that tumor, do you know the neurological damage that could occur?”
“Like I said. If it were Georgia, your brothers, or cousins, you wouldn’t just stand there and say it can’t be done,” she spoke through gritted teeth.
I looked at Ian, who had the same eyes as my father.
“I’m admitting you, and I’ll speak with Dr. Yuri. He’s one of the best oncologists in the country. That’s all I can do until I research this further.”
“I appreciate it, Jackson.” A small smile crossed his lips.
“You can’t keep this a secret, Aunt Barb. Our family has the right to know our fathers had another brother. Where have you been?” I turned and looked at Ian. “And why did my father keep you a secret?”
“For many reasons. I was a lot of trouble back then.”
“So you kept all of us a secret from your sons? When I had dinner with Grayson, he told me that you were an only child and didn’t have any family.”
“It’s complicated, and it was better that way. Now, I regret the decision I made.”
“Grayson didn’t mention to me that you were sick.” I narrowed my eye at him. “He knew I was a neurosurgeon, yet he never said a word.”
“My boys don’t know. They didn’t know what I went through two years ago, and they don’t know now.”
“How the hell could you not tell them?”
“I wasn’t about to disrupt the lives they worked so hard for. They had their own worries and stresses with their residencies and fellowships. They didn’t need to worry about me. Once I was better, I felt it was best they never knew.”
“And now?” I cocked my head.
“I will tell them when the time is right.”
I glanced at my watch. “I have to go. My fiancée is at home waiting for me. I’ll check up on you tomorrow. Try to get some rest.”
As I walked out of the room, I stopped when I heard Ian call my name.
“I’m sorry you lost your father so soon,” he spoke. “He was a good man, Jackson.”
“Yeah. He was a good man.” I walked away.
Aunt Barb followed me into the hall and grabbed my arm.
“You will try to help him, right?” She stared at me.
“I’ll do my best, Aunt Barb. But you,” I pointed my finger at her, “you have a lot of explaining to do. You may think it’s none of our business, but it is. And when your sons find out this secret you’ve been keeping from them—”
“I can handle my sons. If you need to tell them, go ahead. Soften the blow for me. I’ll be over to talk to all of you at some point. Just not right now.”
