Page 80 of Warrior's Walk

“You’re wrong about me, Riggs. I may have a wild streak, but I’m not a wild card. I think you know exactly who I am. I think that’s why you’re able to love me, even when it scares you.”

Of course, he’s going to advocate for himself. Rhett is always looking for a loophole, always trying to push his agenda, and ever since I met him, I seem to be his agenda. It’s kind of cute, actually. “Is that what you think?”

“You’ve denied it before, but you’re a fuckin’ liar. When we were in the desert, the night I got hurt, I felt something when I met you. I don’t know what, but something, and I know for a fact you felt it too. Then, at Womack, you fuckin’ knew I would be there, that you would see me again when you said goodbye to me in Afghanistan. You were back for two fuckin’ weeks, spyin’ on me before you made yourself known. Why would you do thatif you didn’t care? Every time I need somethin’, every time I turn around, you’re there with a solution. I know you do that for all the guys, but look me in the eye and tell me it’s not different with us. I dare you.”

There he is, my cocky soldier. There’s the fire in his eyes that makes my blood heat. “The truth is, since I met you, no one else has been worth thinking about.”

He swipes away his tears and sniffles. “You wanna know how I know you’re the one? ’Cause I’ve never felt this way before about anyone or anything. Just you, Riggs. Loving you, yeah, that feels right, but also, I’min lovewith you. I know it for a fact. That might scare you, that might make you want to push me away, but you already know by now that I’ll just keep coming back. I’ll always come back to you, ’cause you’re mine.”

It’s best if I don’t say too much right now, or I’ll be a blubbering fucking mess like he is. “I’m yours?”

“Hell yeah. I claimed you the night I fuckin’ met you. I snotted all over your shirt. You’ve been mine ever since.”

He’s right. Absolutely fucking right. I’m his. “Well, now that we’ve got that settled, let’s focus on your mama. We can talk about us later.”

By the time we arrive, Retta’s already booked into a room in the ICU. Only Rhett is allowed in, and I watch through the observation window. She looks like she’s aged twenty years since the last time I saw her just days ago. But what’s more heartbreaking is Rhett’s face. His whole body is slumped over at her bedside. He’s constantly wiping away his tears, and his hair is a disheveled mess from running his fingers through it. If I could see his eyes right now, I’m sure I would see his entire heart in them, broken and suffering.

A nurse wearing blue scrubs walks by, and I flag her, desperately seeking information. “Hi, can you tell me anything about Loretta Marsh?”

“Are you family?”

I know this game, I play it with my patients. Of course, she can’t tell me anything if I’m not kin. “Yes ma’am, I’m Retta’s nephew.”

She checks her chart and then peers through the window at Rhett. “Would you like to wait until her son is finished visiting so I can tell you both together? That’ll give me time to get the doctor.”

I’d rather hear the news first, so I can tell Rhett privately. “That’s not necessary. I can discuss it with him as soon as we’re finished.”

She sighs and checks her chart again. “I can’t discuss her condition. You’ll have to wait for Doctor Anson for that, but I can tell you that, for now, she’s stable. Probably not likely to wake up soon because she’s drugged to the gills. We had to sedate her to bring down her blood pressure.”

“Can you tell me why her blood pressure spiked? Or what caused her to be brought in?”

“She was found unconscious in her home. Dr. Anson will discuss the reasons her blood pressure spiked with you. I’ll go page him.”

It’s bullshit. I know she can tell me; it’s right there in her chart and she has permission to discuss her patients’ conditions with family. The fact she’s deferring to the doctor tells me everything.

It’s bad. Real fucking bad.

I look through the window again, and Rhett raises his head as if he can feel my eyes on him. He shakes his head sadly, maybe indicating that it doesn’t look good. My throat works, convulsing like it’s having a seizure. How do I tell him? How do I findthe words to explain to Rhett that he’s likely going to lose his mother?

How do I break his heart when I swore to protect it?

Finally, after what seems like hours, but is likely only ten minutes or so, Doctor Anson approaches me. I wrap my knuckles on the glass to signal Rhett. He closes the door behind him so his mother can rest peacefully.

“I’m Dr. Anson,” he says politely, holding out his hand to Rhett. “You must be Loretta’s son. Which makes you her nephew,” he says to me. I don’t miss how Rhett’s head snaps to me.

“Pleasure to meet you, Dr. Anson. Can you tell us what’s going on?”

“Your mother was brought in unconscious. Her blood pressure spiked too high, and she fainted. We’ve given her medicine to bring it down, and she’s taking IV fluids for dehydration. We’ve also given her medicine to keep her sedated for now so that her blood pressure doesn’t rise again. It’s easy to become agitated when you’re not feeling your best, and pain can make it spike.”

“Pain, what pain? Why is my mama in pain?” Rhett sounds panicked, his voice climbing higher and higher.

“Your mother has an inherited condition called polycystic kidney disease.”

“What does that mean?”

“PKD causes clusters of cysts to grow throughout the body, mainly around the kidneys. Your mother’s kidneys are failing her. When the kidneys fail, the body begins to shut down because it can’t filter toxins. This causes high blood pressure and hypertension, which is what your mother suffered tonight.”

I’m thinking there’s no way Loretta didn’t know she was sick. There would be too many signs and symptoms she would have had to ignore. “Is she on the donor list?”

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