Page 77 of Iron Unicorn

Once inside the limo, I let out a relieved breath. “Today has not gone to plan, Olivia.”

“I certainly wasn’t expecting anything like that. That poor little girl.”

I nodded, buckled in, and reached for the bucket with wine, waiting for Olivia to buckle in before pouring her a small glass and handing it over. “Your brother is going to be adopting one of the kids.”

“Good. They all seem to be sweet. I’m surprised they brought Jane if they were waiting for a heart for her.”

Well, there was no time better than the present, and I poured myself a small glass of liquid fortitude. “They weren’t, not until the Texan RPS went over the dossiers of the kids. They weren’t expecting your family to be in the hotel during the event. Once I found out that Jane was terminal and in need of a heart, I talked to Melody.”

Olivia’s eyes widened. “You made the arrangements?”

“I had to process an adoption to make her eligible to go to Maine. Texas’s healthcare system couldn’t afford the bill.” I winced at the thought of how much I’d paid on an impulse, although I refused to regret the cost of saving a child’s life. “There was an available heart, and Melody had put a tentative claim on it because the Texans had shown her Jane’s medical records. I solved the problem the only way I knew how.”

“Dare I ask how much the bill is?”

“Six hundred thousand. Jane has a lot of medical problems. But Melody thinks they’re treatable.”

Olivia whistled. “Yeah, I can see why the Texan system couldn’t handle the bill, not just for one kid. That pains me to say it, but that money could give quality care to alotof people.”

“It’s hard to put the needs of one over the needs of many, especially in a healthcare system that is open to everybody. She was getting treatment, she just wasn’t in line to get a new heart. A lot of issues need to be addressed at once, and from my understanding of the situation, without a new heart, the other issuescouldn’tbe addressed.”

“You’ll be a good dad, though.”

“I’ll be a train wreck of a dad,” I replied, shaking my head and taking a sip of the wine, a good semi-dry white. “Jane’s parents gave her up hoping for a new heart and health care, so I’m going to be a very temporary dad. I’ve already put in the request to have custody returned to her parents once the treatments are done. She probably won’t remember me as much more than some guy in a suit who came when her pony called before she went on a whirlwind trip to get a new heart.”

“I mean, you’re the one who also told her she’s getting a heart. It was clear on her face she knew she was dying. You’re the one who told her she’d live. That’s a big deal.”

“I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. I was just the fastest on the draw. Eddie was looking into it, your brother was looking into it, and I’m pretty sure Melody or Jack were only going to last a few more minutes before they were looking into it, too. She’d sounded pretty frustrated when I’d spoken to her. Had you known, you would have been jumping the gun, too. Your brother might have beaten me if he’d known she was terminal, but he’d gone off trying to buy the service pony for her and lost his chance. Clearly, she needs that pony.”

“Clearly. You’re not wrong. Had I known she was terminal and in need of a heart, I would have been fighting my brother for her.”

“You would have been fighting me for her. I’ve already established that your brother is too slow to beat me.”

Olivia considered me through narrowed eyes. “That would be interesting.”

Once I could without tipping her off, I would reward myself with another point. “You can be an honorary participant. I’m hoping her biological parents will step up to bat and handle everything, but I’ll figure something out if they don’t.”

“I can work with being an honorary participant. Are you all right?”

“I’m looking forward to some quiet time,” I admitted. “Knowing she’s on route to Maine helps. I’m almost glad I’m exerted. Only the really strong stuff is getting through right now.”

“How bad is your exertion?”

“It’s moderate. I’ll be wearing suppressors starting tomorrow morning for the day, and I’ll have them off at night. I’ll probably keep them on for a full two weeks just to make sure I’m rested. It’s mostly my empathy talent that’s going haywire, but my metalweaving could use a breather, too.” I would let her make assumptions on how I’d exhausted my talents unless she asked me.

For my metalweaving, I would blame the crustaceans, which would inevitably result in the princess seeking out more of my watery adversary for revenge. My empathy talent would be simple enough to explain away.

Being surrounded by upset people over a long period of time tended to do empaths in.

“You’ll be all right?”

“Assuming nobody tosses me into a holding tank with my enemies again, I’ll be fine,” I promised. “Melody just wants me to take a break for a few days. I’ll do two weeks just to be safe rather than sorry, especially since she’s going back to Maine to oversee Jane’s operation.”

“I hope she’ll be all right.”

I nodded. “Jane will have the best chance possible to have a long and happy life. For better or worse, we’re doing what’s best for her. Truth be told, I’m more worried about the other kids. They’re likely expecting her to come back to the orphanage. They seem to like her well enough.”

“I doubt any of them will be going back to the orphanage if my brother has anything to do with it. He’ll start making calls to families who could add a child to them, and elite families won’t have any problems footing the medical bills or getting help with providing care. And the royal families? It’ll give the nannies something to do when the littles are a little older. Or an excuse to hire an extra nanny. Will’s been wanting to hire another nanny, and a new kid would justify the expense.”

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