Page 87 of Close Match
And hot damn, I’d give up the Caps winning the Stanley Cup again to capture the look on the good doctor’s face when Linnie says, “Maybe the DNA test proving I’m his biological daughter? We kinda thought it might be important for me to be tested.”
I can’t restrain my grin as Spellman begins sputtering, “You…he…” But he becomes very still when they both smile—an identical smile.
Spellman starts wheezing. And I can’t control the laughter. My mother elbows me and asks, “Can you behave?”
“No, I’m sorry. I’ve been waiting for this day for way too long.” It just happens to be a bonus that it’s being handed to me by the woman I’m falling for who has eyes and a smile that’s identical to the father figure I’ve respected, admired, and yes, loved for years. The first time I saw it, a man handed me cupcakes for no other reason than he didn’t want me to be left out. And the last time it was directed at me with such openness, Linnie was fluttering her lashes before I rolled her onto her back this morning and kissed her good morning.
Singularly, each of those smiles could light up the room, give power to the sun, and rejuvenate a soul. Together, I think they can perform a miracle. And by determination washing over Spellman’s face, so does he.
Picking up the phone sitting by the side of his hip, he lifts the receiver to his ear. “I need to arrange for an immediate HLA-match testing done for Everett Parrish.” His face contorts in frustration. “No, I’m not sending them down to the lab. Have a technician come to my office. This is a VIP situation. Both he and the potential donor are sitting right in front of me.” There’s a pause. “Fifteen minutes? Fine.”
The receiver slides off his cheek. He places it back in the cradle. “Ms. Brogan, we have VIP status at the hospital to protect patients like Mr. Parrish and yourself.” He winces a little. “I’m not going to lie and say there haven’t been breeches in the protocol where information hasn’t leaked in the past.”
Linnie flaps her hand at him. “My relationship with my father isn’t going to remain a secret forever, Doctor.”
“Adding additional stress during a procedure such as this could…”
“I don’t plan on having a news conference,” she says exasperatedly. “If it comes out that I’m here, all you need to say is that I know him through a mutual acquaintance. Since our blood types were the same, I was tested to see if I was a compatible donor.”
Spellman looks at her with something like admiration. “You know, if you ever give up acting, you’d have a great career in communications or public relations.”
He has no idea why we all start laughing and can’t stop until there’s a knock on his door signaling the arrival of the technician,
* * *
“Now,please be aware, it could take weeks for us to get the results.”
“Weeks?” I’m shocked.
“There are many things that are done to the blood, Mr. Parrish,” Dr. Spellman explains calmly.
“Is there anything I should do differently in the meantime?” Ev says as he rolls down the cuff to his shirtsleeve.
“Yes, relax. Enjoy the holidays. Nothing’s going to change between now and then,” Spellman says bluntly.
Right. Relax. I wonder how the hell that’s supposed to be possible when I look over at Linnie. Her eyes are shining with unshed tears. “No matter what, we tried, right, Ev?”
“Right, darlin’.” He pulls her in for a close hug. “Thank you for even coming this far with me.”
“Of course,” she replies shakily. Burying her head in his chest, I hear her say, “That’s what family’s supposed to do, right?”
And it guts me when Ev’s eyes pass through me as he says, “They never have before, Linnie. That’s what makes this so special.”
Turning my back, I try to modulate my breathing while absorbing the ache, the pain that never quite seems to disappear over knowing I wasn’t enough to save another person.
No matter if it’s trying to talk them down off a ledge or give them the blood from my own body.
Fifty
Evangeline
The weeks seem to fly by even as they’ve crawled. My emotions are all over the place, turning on a dime. I know why. I miss Mom with every inhale and worry about Ev with every exhale. It’s only in my heart I can acknowledge my growing feelings for Monty, that he’s what pushes air into my lungs at all.
And it’s Christmas.
Char has gone whole hog around the farm, demanding every building be lit up like something out of a Martha Stewart fairy tale. I’m both terrified and astounded that the men who work here bend so easily to her will. And then there’s Lorrie, who brought me a present of one of her school pictures framed after the holiday riding demonstration which her grandmother attended. Lorrie and I spent hours together over the weeks talking. She told me not too long ago, her grandmother apologized to her. “It isn’t that Grandma didn’t want to do my hair, Miss Linnie. It was that she couldn’t. She isn’t capable. It’s hard to be angry at someone who just can’t do something,” the bright young girl explained.
Monty’s gone to the airport to pick up my sister and Simon while Ev and Charlotte finish a few things around the house. At loose ends, I decide to get in my workout while I can since I know it’s going to be a crapshoot while they’re in town visiting. It’s going to be wonderful to have them here, but there’s still going to be a piece of my heart missing. Twirling in a cutoff gray sweatshirt, I wonder what my mother would think about this. Was I judging her too harshly when I never had an opportunity to ask her about any of this? Especially when it’s led me to such happiness?
