5

 

“Mama, can we leave yet?” Zac swung his legs off the edge of the bed as he hugged his bear. “Please.”

“In a bit, honey. I left Grandma a message, and she’ll be here as soon as she’s finished with her meeting.”

“Won’t you ask Nate? He’ll be here quicker than Grandma.”

“Nate?” The sound of his name caused Shayna’s pulse to stutter. She’d felt a connection to Nate, though she couldn’t explain it. Somehow, he seemed to really understand what she was going through, and his gentleness and concern left her longing for more. “Just because he came to see you yesterday doesn’t mean he’ll come back every day. He’s busy, Zac. Nate’s got football things to take care of.”

And that little mess with the police, too. Shayna found it hard to believe, after only a few hours with Nate, that he was the kind of guy who would knock the stuffing out of another guy for no reason at all—at least off the football field and unprovoked. What was the rest of the story? What had led him to deck a guy on the street outside that restaurant the night he was arrested, with a crowd of strangers looking on? Maybe, if she got up the nerve—and if Nate ever returned—she’d ask him.

“But I want to go home.” Zac’s voice kicked up a notch.

“I know, honey. I do, too.”

“Why did our car have to break?”

“It just needs a new tire. That’s easy to fix—as soon as I have the time.” And the money. Shayna forced the thought away. Zac didn’t need to know the hefty price tag that came along with his treatments and medication. If things didn’t get better soon, though, she’d lose her cozy home and have to move back in with her mom. She loved her mom, and they got along great, but moving back in with her would be a dozen steps in the wrong direction.

“I’m getting hungry.” Zac gnawed his lower lip, and the paleness of his cheeks made the spattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose stand out even more than usual. “My belly’s rumbly.”

“You are? It is?” That was a good sign. Maybe the anti-nausea drugs were kicking in. Shayna reached for the call button beside the bed. “I’ll ask the nurse to bring you a snack.”

“No more yucky hospital food,” Zac protested. “Please, Mama.”

“Hey, there.” A tall figure filled the doorway, casting a shadow across the room as he blocked the hallway lights. “How about some chicken nuggets?”

His deep voice startled Shayna, and she dropped her cell phone in her lap. “Nate! What are you doing here?”

“Well, that’s a fine welcome.” As he took a step into the room, light from the hallway framed his long, lean legs and broad shoulders.

“Sorry. I just wasn’t expecting you.” Shayna was glad for the clothes her mom had brought when she’d stopped by to visit Zac last night. At least the wrinkled blouse had been traded for a hunter-green, cable-knit sweater and a fresh pair of jeans. “I thought you were going to call.”

“He did, Mama.” Zac bounced on the bed while he spoke, his golden eyes shadowed with evidence of the restless night he’d suffered through. “When you went to the vending machine for some pretzels.”

Shayna frowned and waggled a finger at her son. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Nate said he wanted to surprise you.” Zac’s grin was contagious. “I guess he did, huh, Mama?”

“Another surprise.” She rolled her eyes as Nate offered Zac a triumphant fist pump. The two were mischief together, plain and simple. “Well, he’s certainly full of them.”

Nate settled on the edge of the bed beside Zac. “I brought you back your ball. Check it out.”

“You already got it signed?” Zac offered Nate a high-five. “Wow! That was fast. Thanks, Nate.”

“I have a few connections.” Nate handed him the football. “There are still several signatures missing, but we can take care of that next season.”

Next season…Shayna’s belly tumbled at the words. She knew good and well Zac might not have a next season.

Nate glanced up, and Shayna turned away to hide her tears. Not soon enough, though. Nate reached for her hand and squeezed gently, as if he understood. She drew a tissue from the box on the bedside table and swiped her eyes. Then she sucked in a breath and gave one, quick shake of her head. “I’m OK,” she mouthed.

“I got wind that the doctors are springing you today, buddy.” Nate’s fingers twined with Shayna’s as he turned to address Zac. “Are you ready to go home?”

Zac’s lips curled into his signature gap-toothed smile. He nodded profusely and hugged his football to his chest. “Yes, sir!”

“I’ll be your personal chauffer today, and I think you’ll need this before we go out into the cold.” Nate pulled a Titan’s cap from the pocket of his jacket. Then he wrapped Zac in a signature-blue team jacket he’d tucked beneath one arm. “You like it?”

“Wow, yeah.” Zac’s eyes lit up as he slipped his arms into the jacket’s sleeves. He admired the cap before he plopped it on his head. “Can I ride up front with you, Nate?”

Nate paused at the purplish-blue burst of bruises on the back of Zac’s hand as it poked through the sleeve’s opening. The IV had really done a number. He smoothed a finger over the bruises as he spoke. “I brought my SUV, so we can all ride up front—you, me, and your mom.”

“Wait.” Shayna stepped between them. “My mother’s coming for us in a while. I should call her and let her know we don’t need a ride.”

“She’s held up at a meeting,” Zac added, tugging the hat brim low over his eyes. “That happens sometimes.”

“I know who your grandmother is.” Nate nodded to Zac. “She was my physics professor when I played for the university.”

“Now she’s head of the whole department,” Zac informed him. “And Mama says that’s pretty important.”

“It is.” Nate squeezed Shayna’s hand. “And I’ve already called to let her know I’ve come for you instead.”

Shayna released his hand. “How did you manage to get ahold of her while she’s in a meeting?” She gave her cheeks one last swipe with the tissue and tossed it into a corner trash can. “Even I can’t do that.”

“I told you, Shayna.” There was the signature, blue-eyed wink. “I have my ways.”

She sighed, resigned to his mysticism. Then she caught a glimpse of the skin on the inside of his left elbow and gasped. “Oh, your arm is bruised, too.”

“The phlebotomist missed my vein—twice.” Nate grimaced, rubbing the deep purple welt. “She was a newbie.”

“When did you have blood drawn?”

“Yesterday after I left you and Zac. I went straight to the lab and demanded they suck a tube of the red stuff right out of me. Then I signed on with the National Bone Marrow Registry.”

“You did? Really?”

“Oh, yeah.” He nodded. “And, as a result, I should be active in the donor system by week’s end.”

“Oh, Nate, that’s wonderful news.” Shayna’s eyes filled with tears. “Someone’s going to get very lucky.”

“It’s the least I can do.” He shrugged. “Besides, I’m the lucky one.”

“Did you watch the news segment at noon today?”

“No, I didn’t have time.”

“It was good…tasteful.” She nodded. “Maybe people will sit up and take notice.”

“I hope so.” Nate reached for Zac. “Hey, buddy, you look beat. How’d you like to ride my shoulders out of here?”

“Cool.” Zac’s grin nearly filled the room. The Titan’s jacket swallowed him as he raised his arms and wrapped them around Nate’s neck. “I’m ready, Nate. Lift me up.”

 

****

 

“Why are you doing this, Nate?” Shayna eased over on the couch. The sun had set, and the modest living room was steeped in shadows from the flicker of a small TV. Nate didn’t seem to mind that her house was a bit cramped and most likely the size of a toothpick box compared to his.

“Doing what?” Nate shifted Zac’s weight and rubbed his right arm. Shayna imagined it tingled as the blood began to flow once again. Zac had fallen asleep against him as they watched a movie, and Nate was careful not to disturb him through the movie, even though the position had to be uncomfortable. The little guy was out cold—the best stretch of sleep he’d enjoyed in a long while.

“Spending time with Zac. Why are you doing it?”

“I’m…not really sure.” Nate shrugged, careful not to jostle Zac too much. “I can’t explain it, Shayna. In all honesty, I never planned to spend more than yesterday’s visit with Zac—or you. But, now…”

“Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“That sounds good.” Nate reached for the remote and lowered the TV’s volume. “As long as you have decaf. I’ll be up all night, otherwise.”

“Decaf it is.” She set aside an empty bowl. The aroma of buttered popcorn wafted. Together, she and Nate had made quick work of the snack. “Let me put Zac to bed first.”

“I’ll do it for you. He’s heavy.”

“Not so much as before. He dropped another two pounds in the hospital this go ’round.”

“We’ll have to beef him up.”

“Not an easy task. Some of the medicines stunt his appetite.”

“Make me a list of his favorite foods—anything he likes that’s easy on his stomach—and I’ll bring a supply by.”

“That’s very nice of you, Nate.” Shayna reached for Zac. “I appreciate it.”

“Here, I’ll get him. Which way to his room?”

“Down the hall, first door on the left.”

“OK.”

Shayna followed Nate, silently thanking God for the gift of Nate’s fledgling friendship and his offer of groceries. She hadn’t been able to work full-time since Zac got sick, and what she managed to bring in fell woefully short of expenses. Her meager nest egg was dangerously close to depletion.

Shayna switched on a nightlight plugged into the wall beside the bed. “I’ll get his shoes.”

“Look at all the posters.” Nate scanned the moonlit room, drinking in the half-dozen photos of him in action that Shayna had mounted for Zac. He whistled softly. “I never imagined…”

“You have a gift, Nate—the ability to impact people. When you speak, they listen. It’s a wonderful and very powerful thing.”

“Sure, except for when you drop a playoff game-winning pass.” He placed Zac on the bed. “Then, no one wants to listen. They just want to criticize and second guess.”

“Do you think Zac cares a smidgeon about that dropped pass?”

“I guess not.”

“I know not.” Shayna shook her head firmly. “He sees only the good in you, Nate.”

“Why can’t everyone be that way—looking for the good and not the bad?”

“Because, not everyone has the eyes of a child.”

“And why does it bother me so much—what people say?”

“I’m sorry about that. But don’t lose any sleep over it.” Shayna tugged at Zac’s sneakers and dropped them on the floor before covering him with a Titan’s quilt. “Next season will be here before you know it and offer a whole new spectrum of possibilities.”

“Yeah.” Nate sighed. “At least I have that.”

“It’s more than most people.” More than Zac, who might very well be in his final season if a donor didn’t emerge soon. Shayna forced the thought away—she would not allow the negativity to take root and flourish. She had to trust God in this, as she trusted Him in everything.

“You’re right.” Nate brushed his fingers through Zac’s baby-thin hair, and the gesture stole Shayna’s breath. “Will he sleep through the night?”

“Maybe…probably not.”

“When’s the last time you snagged a full night’s sleep and a decent meal?”

“It’s been a while.”

“I imagine it has.” Nate took her hand. “Now, how about that coffee you mentioned?”

“Come this way.”