“We could if ourselves 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.
A flash of light caught his eye. Vaguely aware that others were in the room, he steadied his breathing, wondering how to end their encounter in a way that would make the kiss appear casual, rather than the act of a starving, ravenous man.
In what he hoped was a stroke of genius, he moved his mouth up her cheek, planting soft kisses as he went, ending with a peck on her forehead. Then he switched back into hug mode and muttered about how happy he was Gabe was getting better. Limp against him, she mumbled her agreement. Still supporting her weight, he glanced over his shoulder, hoping neither one was paying attention.
The nurse stood frozen, an IV bag hanging from her fingers. Arms crossed, Dr. Campbell lifted a single eyebrow. “If that’s how you celebrate a slightly lowered temperature, you’re going to need a private room when I tell you the infection’s gone.”
Rylie went from sagging to rigid in two seconds flat, pushing away from him, chin tucked down to hide a face that had to be glowing red, while her fingers combed her disheveled hair. That kiss might not have been Jarrett’s brightest move, but at that particular moment, he had no regrets. So what if a doctor and a nurse saw him making out with his wife? They hadn’t done anything illicit. Besides, the hospital staff wouldn’t dare to smear the reputation of their biggest benefactor.
A raucous cackle of laughter split the air. “That’s my boy, Jarrett! Looks like you finally saw the light, thanks to a little help from Manny.”
He whipped around to face Juanita, standing just inside the door with a phone aimed his direction.
“I got most of it on video, but I got a couple of still photos, to go along with it,” she said, wearing a shameless grin. “Your momma’s going to love this!”
“Juanita, you’d better be lying.”
“Smile!” Her phone flashed in his eyes.
“On that note,” said Dr. Campbell as he shuffled toward the door, herding the nurse in front of him, “we’ll leave you to… to do whatever it is you do when we’re not here. Just remember there’s no lock on the door.”
Evidently, only he and Juanita found his statement funny, but they laughed loudly enough to make up for the others.
Rylie had to hand it to Jarrett. He’d done his utmost to distract Juanita from her relentless quest to discuss their marriage by recounting every detail of Gabe’s treatment, some of which she suspected he was making up on the fly. Beside her on the couch, he carried on with great animation, his hands whirling in the air, adding some important remembered detail every time she attempted to change the subject to their relationship.
“So then they switched to an IV antibiotic cocktail with vancomycin and some kind of fluoroquinolone. And then…”
Juanita’s eyes glazed over as he droned on about prophylactic antibiotics and fungal infections. At least his monologue had given Rylie time to get over her humiliation. Although, since Dr. Campbell had met her when she was hanging from the bed by her feet and then witnessed her kissing Jarrett like a hormonal teenager, she rather hoped she’d never see the man again.
As Jarrett started in on the issues with antibiotics and resistant bacteria, Juanita silenced him with a finger in front of his face. “I see what you’re doing here.”
“I wasn’t—”
“Nope.” The finger waved. “All I want to know is if my boy is getting better and how long he’s going to be sleeping like a zombie. You answered that the first minute after I got here and now you’re just talking over my head.”
From her seat next to Gabe’s bed, Rylie yawned. “Yeah, he was putting me to sleep.”
“Thanks a lot.” Jarrett bared his teeth at Rylie.
“And I know why he’s doing it.” Juanita stood up and walked to the other side of Gabe’s bed. “I’ve been asking him when he’s going to give you a real wedding, but he doesn’t want a big to-do.”
