Page 91 of Close Match
“Bad dream?”
“You could say that.” More like a living nightmare.
“Come back to bed. I’ll hold you until you sleep,” Linnie whispers, pressing a kiss between my shoulder blades. I ease my back against the pillows. She curls up and begins stroking my chest.
Once again, the strength of the woman I’ve fallen for has saved me from the uncontrollable thing that wants to see me crumble.
Fifty-Two
Evangeline
January
I’ve got the post-holiday blues. I’m running in the gym in Ev’s basement because I refuse to injure myself on Virginia’s icy roads. Apparently, this state gets snow, something Monty thoroughly enjoyed my shock over. “I thought you people below the Mason-Dixon Line avoided fluffy white crap,” I accused.
Monty kissed me hard before replying, “You New Yorkers avoid it too. It’s black sludgy crap up there.”
Char and Ev laughed at us both while serving up a delicious meal of homemade lasagna.
We’re all on pins and needles waiting for the test results to come back. Ev shrugs, but he’s exuding anxiety. I’ve walked in his study in the afternoons to find him staring out the window. Char has been trying out new recipes like mad to distract herself, and Monty? He’s decided it’s his mission to try to teach me how to ride outside of the beginner’s class I’ve been enjoying with Lorrie and the kids. He’s a lot more patient with a class of six-year-olds than he is with just me.
I feel like Dr. Spellman’s silence is causing us to reach a breaking point. If we were going to have good news, we’d have heard something by now. Increasing the speed and incline on the treadmill, my legs pump harder and harder, trying to run away from the inevitable conclusion staring me in the face.
Shawn Mendes is blasting in my ear, so I let out a yelp when I feel my earbud being yanked out. I almost face-plant when Monty steps in front of me. “Slow it down, baby.”
Planting my hands on the handrails, I lift my knees and jump to the sides of the rapidly moving tread. Quickly, I slap the Stop button. “What’s wrong?” I pant, yanking out the other bud.
He rests his arms on the treadmill as it lowers back into place. “We just got the call from Spellman. He wants us in his office in two hours.”
My legs wobble as I jump down and they hit the solid floor of the gym. I’m about to sprint up the two flights of stairs to Monty’s room—the room I’ve basically moved into—when he stops me. “Hold on a second.” Cupping my overheated, sweaty face between his fingers, he lowers his mouth to mine.
The kiss is gentle. It’s not meant to arouse but to soothe. My eyes drift shut just before it ends. “I want you to understand before we move an inch that even if this only started by giving him hope, you gave Ev—all of us—so much more.” My eyes fly open to reveal Monty saying a million words with his eyes we don’t have time for.
We’re about to find out if I’m a close enough match to help save my father’s life. Yet— “I just got this feeling in the pit of my stomach our whole life is going to change.” I drag my fingers down his cheek.
Turning, I fly up the stairs.
* * *
A little less thantwo hours later, we’re escorted into Dr. Spellman’s office. “Hell, if I’d known the bastard was going to be on time for once, maybe I’d have driven faster,” Monty mutters.
“If you’d have driven any faster, I’d have needed air sickness bags,” I retort. “Those curves right by the house are hell on my stomach.”
Ev looks a little green himself as he collapses into a chair. “All I have to say is thank God we have an E-ZPass. Jesus, did you see the traffic in the other lane?”
Char flaps her hand. “Those poor people who deal with that commute every day. I can’t even begin to imagine.”
“If we’re lucky, maybe some of them can ‘remote work’ like Linnie does. Isn’t that what you said when we first met?” Monty lifts my hand to his lips. I’m tempted to squeeze his lips together to get back at him for taunting me, but I realize he’s only trying to put the room at ease.
“Not all of us are lucky enough to have your job, buddy.” I can give as good as I get. “Roll out of bed, have food ready, stroll out to work at whatever time suits us. It’s going to be hell on your system when I’m not there to convince you to stay in bed.”
Monty flushes as Char bursts out laughing. Ev chokes, coughing just as Dr. Spellman comes in the room. He frowns at my father. “Everett, I hope you’re not getting ill. After all the trouble you went through to find a donor, it would be poor timing to have to ask the poor girl to wait for you to get better.”
The collective air is sucked out of the room. My head is spinning dizzily. “Wait, you mean…”
The stick-up-his-ass doctor smiles. “Yes, Evangeline. I wanted to be completely certain, so I asked for the tests to be run twice.”
Ev interrupts. “That’s the reason for the delay?” Relief is evident in his voice. Char is curled under his arm, quietly sobbing. My father’s eyes are bright as well.
