The next afternoon Lindsey stood in the hospital room watching Jack sleep. He wore a surgical mask over the lower half of his face, to keep him as germ free as possible. It was worth the inconvenience before and after the procedure. The important thing was after the marrow transplant, she knew Jack was going to get better. Tomorrow would be a long day for all of them. Her mother was back at the hotel resting, too.
Lindsey looked out the window at the cold December day. So many times in the last week she’d thanked God for this miracle. Not only for the bone marrow, but the chance Jack had gotten to see his sons again. She doubted the Randell brothers would ever take him back as their father, but they’d all moved on enough from the past to want to help.
She felt the raw emotions surface again and fought them. She needed to be strong to handle the next few days. But not everything was so easy to put aside or forget. She thought about Brady. He’d probably gone back to Utah by now. Over the past few days, Tess had called several times to keep her informed, but she hadn’t heard anything about Brady’s review board. Not that Lindsey had asked.
“You’re looking awfully worried.” Jack’s voice broke through her reverie. “Is there something else the doctor’s told you?”
“No. Just that you’re going to be around a long time.” She kept a safe distance. “You should be resting.”
“Seems that’s all I’ve been doing,” he told her. “Speaking of which, aren’t you tired of hanging around my room?”
“Someone has to make sure you behave yourself.”
He ran a hand over his gray hair. “I’ve been too weak to do anything else.” He glanced around. “Please, tell me your mother left to get some rest.”
“Yes, about an hour ago.”
“Then I want you to go, too.” He raised a hand when she started to argue. “Please, Lin, you need to get out of here for a while.”
She bit down on her lip. “Are you trying to get rid of me.”
“Oh, no, darlin’.” He held out a hand and she came to him. “I know this has been hard on you and your mother, but it’s going to be okay.”
“We don’t want to lose you.”
“You won’t. We have our miracle. A second chance.” He hugged her close as her tears fell freely. Finally he spoke again. “I have a feeling this might be about something else entirely. Maybe a certain air force captain.”
She pulled herself together and stood. “It doesn’t matter. He’s gone back to the base. I’m not going to run after him, either. Not when he didn’t have a problem leaving me.”
Jack pulled the surgical mask down to make a point. “He’s in the air force, Lin. He doesn’t have a choice.”
She raised a hand. “I know, I know. The military comes first. I just wanted him to care enough about me to ask if I want to share that part of his life.”
“There’s no doubt Brady cares for you, Lin, but he has commitments. You’ve got to give him time to work through them.” Jack smiled. “You’re a lot like your mother. Believe me, you won’t be easy for him to forget.”
She wanted to believe him, but Brady was still gone. And she was here...alone.
“You’re tired, honey. You need to get some rest, too. You’ve spent all your time helping me.” He gripped her hand. “How can I thank you for bringing me together with my boys? Starting tomorrow, I’m going to take charge of this family again. What can I do to help you?”
She loved him so much. “Just stay around a long, long time.”
He grinned. “I’ll do my darnedest.”
“Good.” She smiled.
Suddenly a familiar figure appeared at the glass partition. It was Brady, looking tall and handsome in his air force blue dress uniform, his cap tucked under his arm. His once-shaggy black hair was now cut military short.
Her heart accelerated more as she glanced up at the man’s face, and familiar brown eyes stared back at her.
“Hi, Doc,” he said from the doorway. “Your mother told me you were visiting your dad.” He turned to the bed. “Hello, sir. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
Jack sat straighter in the bed and replaced his mask. “No, of course not. I wish I could invite you in, but there are rules.”
Brady smiled. “Not a problem, sir. Wouldn’t want to do anything to upset tomorrow’s procedure.”
“That might not be taking place if you hadn’t started things. I’m grateful to you for offering to be a donor.”
“I’m glad everything worked out.”
Lindsey couldn’t believe he’d shown up here. “Brady, I thought you were going back to your base.”
He checked his watch. “I am. I just took a detour. My connecting flight leaves in a few hours. But I wanted to see how Jack and you were doing.”
She felt herself blush.
Her father spoke. “I’m doing fine, Brady, even better after tomorrow.”
“I wish you only the best, sir.”
“And I appreciate you coming by,” Jack said. “We never got much of a chance to talk. Sam and I were close growing up, but things changed over the years. I believe your father would be happy his sons are back at the Rocking R.” He smiled. “I hope if you ever get back to Ft. Worth, you’ll stop in and see us. I’ll tell you some great stories about your daddy.”
Brady nodded. “I’d like that, sir. Right now, I have some things to straighten out with my career.” He turned to Lindsey. “And lately things have gotten more complicated.”
Lindsey could feel the heat of his gaze, making her uncomfortable. “Dad, I think I will go back to the hotel.”
Brady stepped in. “Lindsey, could I talk with you?”
She sighed. “I don’t think there’s anything to say.”
He blocked the doorway. “Please, let me walk you out.”
She nodded, then glanced at her stepfather. “Now, you better get some rest, too. Bye, Jack.”
Brady said his goodbye, too, and allowed Lindsey out into the corridor, then they walked to the elevators.
Her chest tightened at the thought of talking with him. “What are you really doing here, Brady? We already said everything.”
“You think we could find somewhere to talk?” He checked his watch. “Maybe I can walk you to your car. You look dead on your feet.”
“Just what every woman wants to hear.”
He took a step closer. “I didn’t mean it that way. You’re a beautiful woman, Lindsey. Missing some sleep could never take that away.” He took her by the arm and walked her to the elevator. Silently they rode down to the first floor, then out the front doors and across to the parking structure.
Lindsey walked fast, aching to get this over. Soon they were next to her SUV.
She drew a calming breath. “Why are you really here, Brady?”
“I wanted to make sure you were okay. I couldn’t leave things the way they were, Doc. Without letting you know what you mean to me.”
Before she could speak, his mouth closed over hers in a tender kiss that only made her want more. More than he could give her.
He pulled back. “I told myself I wouldn’t do that.” Frowning, he cursed. “But I can’t help remembering how you felt in my arms.” He paced back and forth. The sound of his shoes echoed in the deserted structure. Then suddenly he stopped in front of her. “I never expected to find someone like you. Someone who made it so damn hard to walk away.” He drew a long breath. “And as much as I want to make you promises, Lindsey, I can’t right now.”
She loved this man, and right now nothing else mattered but that. “I’m not asking you to, Brady.”
“You deserve more. I don’t want to leave you, but I committed time to the air force. I could be deployed again.”
She hated the fact that she understood. Yet she was afraid for him, too. “That’s an excuse, Brady. We all have commitments, but that doesn’t mean we can’t work out some sort of compromise.”
He rested his forehead against hers. “I’ve got some ghosts to face—obligations.” He checked his watch. “I have to go. My flight leaves...”
Lindsey nodded. It took every bit of strength inside her to step back. The air force was his life. Flying was his passion. She’d known that from the start.
With tears blurring her vision, she watched him walk out of her life.