Page 49 of Reckless Curves
“You want me to get tested?” Tom’s heart throbbed inside his chest. “Shit.”
Sam put a hand on Tom’s shoulder. “Will you let them test you to see if you’re a match? And if you are, would you be willing to donate a piece of your liver to Dad?”
A lump formed in Tom’s throat and he couldn’t answer.
“I know this is a lot to dump on you, little brother, but I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t so important.” Sam squeezed his shoulder. “I know that things aren’t good between you and Dad, so if you don’t want to do this for him, do it for me and for my kids. They love Dad and he’s a good grandfather.”
Tom couldn’t deny that. Vincent had been a crap father, but with his grandkids… Vincent seemed to try to make up for being a shitty father by showering his grandkids with love. But Tom hated his father, didn’t he? He expected to feel a sense of satisfaction that his father was getting what Tom thought he deserved, but sorrow crowded his heart instead.
You don’t feel sad over people you hate;he reasoned. “When do these tests have to be done?”
“Tomorrow morning,” Sam answered. “The sooner the better. His time is running out. Will you do it?”
Tom thought of his son. Connor would love to have a grandad. His other grandad had washed his hands of him. Was Tom going to hold on to anger for something that couldn’t be changed and deny his son? Vincent was all the grandparent Connor might have. “Yeah, I’ll do it. What time?”
“Eight. I’ll meet you at the hospital,” Sam said with a brotherly smile.
“Okay.”
Pulling Tom in for a hug, Sam whispered, “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me.” Tom returned the manly embrace. “I’ve done nothing yet.”
Sam drew back. “Just you agreeing to be tested means a lot, Tommy. It will mean everything to Dad. You can visit him tomorrow.” He smoothed down Tom’s tie. “There. You’re all set. Have fun tonight. Oh, no eating after midnight. You have to fast for the tests. You can drink water, but that’s it.”
Tom masked his fear with a smile. “I will. Now get out of here so I can get going, too.”
“Right. See you tomorrow,” Sam replied, going out the door. He stopped on the threshold. “Congratulations. I think you’ll make an excellent father, little brother. I can’t wait to meet Connor and introduce him to our family.”
Tom closed the door with his heart thudding in his chest. He stood in the foyer trying to absorb all the changes that were suddenly in his life. His earlier good mood vanished, and the worry meant the last thing he felt like doing was going out to a fancy restaurant. However, he didn’t want to disappoint Kendra.
With a groan of dismay, Tom pulled off his tie. Kendra was a perceptive woman and she’d see through any facade he’d put up. He flopped down on the couch, pulled his cellphone out of his pocket, and hit Kendra’s number.
“Hello, Mr. Lorde.”
He grinned at the smile in her voice. “Hello, Miss. Black.”
“Did you call to tell me you’re running late? I warned you not to be,” Kendra said with mock-severity.
Tom sighed and leaned his head back against the couch. “No, I will not be late, but do you mind if we order in, or if I pick up something?”
“Oh. Yeah, sure.” Her voice went flat. “That’s fine.”
“I was ready, except for my tie when Sam showed up,” Tom said. “I—It’s Dad. His new liver isn’t working.”
“What new liver?” Kendra asked.
“Marcus didn’t tell you?”
“Um, Marcus doesn’t mention you much around me.”
Pain slashed at Tom. “Wow. I didn’t realize just how much he disliked us together.” He stomped the hurt down. “Dad had a liver transplant, but his body is rejecting it.”
“Oh, Tom, I’m so sorry.”
He gave a short, mirthless laugh. “Yeah, me too, which surprises me. Anyhow, I have to go to the hospital tomorrow to see if I’m a match. I’m so sorry, honey. I was really excited about showing you off. But I feel like shit being happy when Dad’s facing death.”
“I completely understand about this kind of stuff, Tom, and I think it’s generous of you to do this for your dad. You’ve said before that you two didn’t see eye-to-eye most of the time,” Kendra said.
“That’s an understatement.” Tom leaned forward and rubbed his forehead. “God, I want to get drunk.”
“Don’t you dare, Thomas Lorde!”
Kendra’s shout startled Tom so much that he almost dropped his phone. “Okay, okay! I won’t, I was just saying—”
“I’ll go grab some food and come over. Pointless wasting a babysitter—unless you’d rather be alone.”
“I’d love some company—” The line went dead and Tom looked at the phone.
Then he laughed at Kendra’s text, “See you soon,” and got off the couch to go change.
