A strange sound greeted me. A whimper. I was through the door at a run. What I saw had me screech to a halt. I stood there, frozen, as realization dawned. I should not have left her alone, even just for a few hours.
I was a bad daughter. Horrible. The worst. She needed me and I had failed her.
“Oh, Mom . . .” I whispered, running the last few feet to her bed. She must have gotten out awkwardly and fallen. I knew she’d be bruised at the very least. But it was the blood on her lips that scared me. “Can you breathe?”
She nodded, but I could tell her breathing was labored. The cancer had spread. We knew that already. We just didn’t know how much. But if she was in pain all the time, she was doing an excellent job of hiding it from me.
“How long has it been getting worse?” I asked quietly as I helped her get back into bed. We were definitely going to the hospital, but I knew she would argue. And I wanted to make her as comfortable as possible for now while I cleaned her up and called her doctor. It wasn’t a short drive and she wasn’t going to go willingly.
I would need to guilt her into going. And I had no compunctions about doing it. Yes, I would stoop to emotional blackmail. If I had to manipulate the woman into doing what was best for her, I would. I loved her that much.
And I’d learned long ago that she would gladly martyr herself for her loved ones without batting an eye.
“I didn’t want to ruin your day,” she said as she settled back against the pillows. She slept with a wedge behind her back to ease her breathing. Keeping her chest elevated had made a huge difference at first. Now, I wasn’t sure what to do to help her, or if anything could.
“Well, that’s silly. You’re a thousand times more important than a picnic!” I said, trying not to raise my voice. But she was making herself ill to protect my feelings and it was not okay! “A million times!”
“How was it, though?” she asked. She was pale, but she had a definite twinkle in her eye. I sighed and went to get a wet washcloth to clean her mouth. I needed to call her doctor. But I sat on the edge of the bed and smiled while I wiped her face clean.
“It was nice.”
“Nice?”
“Really nice. Now have a sip of water. I need to call Dr. Gilbert.”
“Don’t bother him on a weekend.”
I gave her a look of disbelief.
“You are kidding, right? Mom, this can’t go on. The treatment isn’t working. And I know you’ve been lying to me about the pain.”
She frowned and looked away.
“Nothing is going to stop this, Meli.”
I squeezed her hand.
“I don’t believe that. But if it is true, then we at least need to make you comfortable. Now, I’ll be right back.”
I got up and left before the tears came. I didn’t want her to see me cry and there was no holding them back once the door closed behind me. But what use were my tears? They did Mom no good at all. I couldn’t make her feel worse. She had just said everything we’d both been thinking but afraid to say. Nothing was going to stop this. And we both knew it.
What a couple of liars we are, I thought as I headed to the kitchen to make the call.
Chapter Fourteen
Nick
Tonight’s the night.
Tonight, I would take things further. Bring Melissa to my house after dinner. Have a real night together.
Tonight, I was seeing Melissa.
Maybe she’d let me taste her this time, I thought. I’d been in a constant state of arousal since our first kiss. Hell, I’d been wound up since the first time I saw her at the stables, all grown up and prettier than a picture.
In just a few short hours I would go and pick her up.
I lifted the panties I’d stolen to my face and inhaled. Yeah, it was fucking creepy. But she smelled so fucking good. And I couldn’t seem to stop myself from touching the soft white cotton, jealous of anything that got to be so close to her sweet little pussy.
Goddamn, my perpetually hard cock was ready to tear its way through my jeans, hop on my ride, and break every speed limit known to man just to get to her. I’d borrowed a car to pick her up, though. I was going to get my own four-wheel ride soon, too.
A man needed his bases covered when he had precious cargo to take with him.
I’d planned the night perfectly. Dinner at a cozy little Italian bistro that the girls all said had killer food. I’d make sure she ate well. I loved watching her eat almost as much as I loved grabbing onto her curves. We’d try everything, from appetizers to desert. Then hopefully, back to my place. Maybe not for the whole night. I wasn’t sure if she’d want that. But we could be alone for a few hours at least, I hoped.