A Heart Decision (21 page)

All they could do was wait.

And pray.

“I can’t believe this is happening.” Annie sniffled.
“We were just discussing this in bed the other night.”

Sabrina glanced at Luke and then back at Annie. “You
told my brother, didn’t you?”

Annie nodded. “He said he’d rather die than have me
saddled with taking care of him.” She buried her face in her hands.
“I’m so afraid he won’t have the will to live through this.”

“Ty’s a fighter,” Sabrina reassured her, stroking
her sister-in-law’s head.

“He has to be okay.” She sobbed. “Sam’s not even
three months old. He’ll never remember his daddy.”

And Mandy and Noah wouldn’t remember Tyler all that
much better.

Luke’s head snapped up as the door to the waiting
room opened, and Dr. Huntley strode in to speak with them.

“Mrs. Fitzpatrick, your husband came through the
surgery really well. He’s being taken to the ICU where we’ll be
administering drugs to assist in reducing the swelling to prevent
any secondary insult to his brain.”

“So he’ll be all right then?” Annie asked, making
Sabrina wince at the desperate hope in her sister-in-law’s
voice.

“I’m sorry.” The neurosurgeon spread his hands in a
helpless gesture. “I can’t give you a reliable prognosis yet other
than his chance of survival is much better now.”

Sabrina stood and shook the doctor’s hand. “Thank
you for dropping everything to treat my brother.”

“I was glad to do it—especially since I earned a lot
of points with my fiancé’s ex.” Dr. Huntley chuckled. “The neuro
attending will be able to tell you a lot more about your brother’s
condition in the next forty-eight hours.”

“How long before he wakes up?” Luke asked.

“Unfortunately, there’s no way to predict that. It
could be hours or even days.”

Or never
. Sabrina looked at her feet to avoid
Luke and Annie’s gaze.

Huntley continued, “The longer the swelling and his
coma continues, the more likely he’ll sustain permanent brain
damage. Now, it’s just a matter of waiting.”

And praying her brother wouldn’t end up physically
or mentally compromised—or, worse yet, in a permanent vegetative
state.

~*~

Shortly after two in the afternoon, Luke finally
convinced Annie to let Sabrina take her to the cafeteria for
something to eat. They left him to watch over his friend while they
were gone.

“Ty, please,” Luke whispered as he squeezed Tyler’s
hand. “You’ve gotta be okay. I already lost one friend this week, I
can’t handle losing another.”

“How is he?”

He flinched and glanced up at Ben looming in the
doorway. The control he’d been hanging onto by a thread snapped. He
dropped his head and rocked forward, hugging himself. “He’ll be
lucky if he remembers who I am let alone that he promised to kick
my ass. Damn it!” He raked his fingers through his hair. “In
kindergarten, he convinced me to eat paste, for fuck’s sake.”

Ben stepped between the hospital bed and the
wheelchair, laying his arm around Luke’s shoulder. “Stop talking
like that. You haven’t lost anyone. Tyler’s gonna be okay.”

“What about you? Aren’t you still pissed at me?”

“Nah.” Ben shook his head. “It’s hard to stay mad at
a guy who would give up the woman he loves for his friend. Tyler
blasted me after you had dinner with him the other night. He helped
me see what a jackass I was. Sabrina has always loved you, and I
knew it when I proposed to her. I’ve accepted she won’t be happy
with anyone but you. Frankly, I deserve to be shot for putting the
two of you in such an awkward position. I can only plead guilty by
reason of insanity—and desperation.”

Luke smiled over at Tyler. “Thanks, buddy, I knew I
could count on you to butt in.”

Ben heaved a sigh and glanced sideways at Luke. “He
also told me why you’ve been so anti-marriage. I’m sorry.
Huntington’s is a bitter pill to swallow.”

“Wait a minute.” Luke grabbed Ben’s arm. “How’d Ty
know? I didn’t tell him.”

“Annie did. She made him promise not to say anything
to you. Of course, that didn’t mean he couldn’t tell me.”

Which meant Sabrina must have told Annie.
“Apparently, I have a lot of friends with big mouths.”

“I guess so. I wish you would’ve told us yourself.
It had to have been tough dealing with it alone all this time.”

Luke shrugged. “Hey, life is like a game of poker.
Some of us get better hands than others. And when you’re dealt
shitty cards, you don’t show ‘em or let anyone see you sweat.”

“The difference is, keeping your shitty hand a
secret can’t help you in life. Your friends’ support could.”

“I didn’t want you pitying me.”

“There’s a big difference between concern and pity.
Now, are you gonna marry Sabrina or not, jackass?”

Luke glanced at him askance. “If you love her even
half as much as I do, you’d want her to be happy.”

“I do—enough to let her go.”

“The problem is, if I marry her, she’ll only get
hurt. She’s been taking care of sick kids her whole adult life. I
don’t want her saddled with an invalid husband. It’s time someone
took care of her. I know you would do that.”

“And so could you. You have no idea if you’re
carrying the gene.”

“Even if I have the test and it proves I’m negative,
I was snipped back in college, so I’m shootin’ blanks. She deserves
the chance to be a mother.”

Ben did a double take. “Seriously? Why didn’t you
ever say anything?” He slapped his forehead before Luke could
answer. “Oh, right. I would’ve asked why you did it. You know
vasectomies can sometimes be reversed.”

“After all these years?”

“There’s always adoption or a sperm donor.”

“Face it, pal, I can’t bluff my way through this
hand, and neither can Tyler.” Luke released a sarcastic snort.
“Hell, maybe he and I can become roommates again someday and wear
matching bibs.”

“I hate to ruin your fantasy, but Annie will never
let you have him.”

True. His friend’s wife would care for Tyler until
the day he died, no matter how much he hated it.

Ben punched him lightly in the arm. “But I can see
Sabrina and Annie pushing the two of you through the park
together.”

“Gee, that’s a comforting picture.” Luke smiled at
Tyler. “What do you think, Ty? We can have the girls soup up our
wheelchairs, so we can race BJ in his McLaren.” He glanced over at
Ben. “Sabrina says it can help to talk to him.”

“Help who?” Ben’s mouth curved in a wry twist. “Us
or him?”

Did it really matter?

~*~

At eight o’clock that evening, the attending
neurologist finally gave them some good news. Tyler’s Glasgow score
was higher, which meant he was a little closer to regaining
consciousness.

By nine, Sabrina could barely hold her head up.

Luke pressed his lips to her forehead. “Princess,
let me take you home to sleep for a few hours. You told us earlier
that Tyler isn’t likely to wake up before tomorrow.”

“I can’t leave Annie here alone.”

“She won’t be. Ben will stay with her, won’t you?”
Luke looked at his friend and lifted his eyebrows in a hopeful
arch.

“Absolutely. The nurse is getting a blanket and
pillow for her. I’m hoping she’ll sleep a bit in the waiting room
while I sit with your brother.”

The way the two guys took care of Annie testified to
how much they both loved Tyler.

Ben caressed Sabrina’s cheek. “Listen to Luke. You
won’t be any good to Annie or your brother if you collapse from
exhaustion. You need to be well-rested for him when he wakes up.
He’ll need you here a lot more tomorrow than now.”

They were right, and she was too tired to fight with
them, anyway. In a daze, she followed Luke toward the hospital’s
exit. It wasn’t until they were halfway to the car that Luke’s
wince and gasp called her attention to the crutches under his
arms.

“Wait a minute, you idiot. Where’d you get
those?”

“One of the nurses lent them to me. She’s storing
the wheelchair for me until tomorrow.”

“How does she know if you’ve been cleared to use
crutches or not?”

“I told her I was and proved I knew how to use
them.”

“You’re not supposed to put that kind of pressure on
your wrist yet.”

“Oh, well.” He shrugged. “You’re in no shape to be
loading and unloading a wheelchair, either.”

“But doesn’t your wrist hurt?”

“I’ll live.”

Why did men have to be such macho jerks? She dug her
heels in and refused to budge another inch. “Let me, at least, go
get the car and bring it to the door for you.”

The fact he didn’t argue confirmed how much pain he
was still experiencing.

When she pulled her Accord up to the exit a few
minutes later, Luke opened the driver’s door. “Scoot over. You’re
too tired to drive.”

“And you’re not?”

“Humor me, okay?”

“Fine,” she huffed, hoisting herself over the center
console into the passenger seat. The next thing she knew, Luke was
gently shaking her.

“Come on, baby, wake up. I’d carry you up to bed if
I could.”

She blinked and glanced around at Luke’s yard and
the detached three-car garage in front of them. “We’re home?”

“Yup.” He smirked.

“All right, so I was more tired than I thought.” She
dragged herself out of the car and trudged to the door. “I hope
Jamal remembered to come feed the dogs and take them out. I’m
really not up to cleaning any messes right now.”

Luke unlocked the back door. “Don’t worry. Jamal is
as reliable as teenagers come.”

“That doesn’t say much, does it?”

The sound of the television greeted them as they
stepped into the house.

“Hey, Lieutenant,” Jamal’s voice echoed through the
dark.

“Speak of the devil,” Luke muttered as he swung
himself into the living room on his crutches. “What’re you doing
here, buddy?”

Jamal switched on the end table’s lamp. “I called my
mom and told her I was stayin’ to take care of the puppies in case
you couldn’t get home. I didn’t think you’d mind if I slept on your
couch.”

“I don’t, as long as it’s just you. It doesn’t look
like you’ve been doing much sleeping, though.” Luke waved toward
the empty ice cream carton, chip bags, and assortment of cupcake
and candy wrappers on the coffee table. “Do I have any food
left?”

Jamal flashed a sheepish grin. “A little.” He turned
to her. “How’s your brother, Miss Sabrina?”

“As good as can be expected right now. Thanks for
asking. And thank you for taking care of the dogs.”

“No sweat.” Jamal glanced at the large TV screen
where the movie,
Lethal Weapon
, was approaching its climax.
“I, uhh, I guess you want me to go home now, huh?”

“You’re not legal to drive until six a.m.” Luke
rubbed the kid’s head. “So finish your movie and then sack out in
the guest room until morning. Sabrina and I need to get some sleep.
If you leave before we wake up, make sure you lock the door on your
way out.”

Once again, Luke’s patience and affection for this
skinny disadvantaged kid touched something deep inside her. It was
comforting to know Tyler’s sons wouldn’t lack for male attention if
her brother failed to fully recover. Although, if Luke did
eventually develop HD, the duty as role model to her brother’s boys
could land completely in Ben’s lap.

~*~

Luke yawned and pulled Sabrina’s warm body closer.
As exhausted as he was, sleep wouldn’t come. His mind kept
spinning, imagining life for Tyler’s family if he ended up an
invalid.

“Are you still awake, too?” Sabrina murmured in the
darkness.

“Uh-huh. I can’t stop thinking about Noah and Mandy.
We need to stop at their house on the way to the hospital tomorrow
and see how the kids are holding up.”

“Okay. I can pick up a change of clothes for Annie
while we’re there.”

“No. She needs to go home for a couple of hours to
take a shower and see her kids.”

“You’re really worried about them, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.” His throat tightened. “I remember how it
felt to find out my father wasn’t ever coming home again. And I
wasn’t only seven years old.”

“No, but you’d just had a fight with your dad. That
couldn’t have been easy.”

He pressed his face into her herbal-scented hair. “I
can’t help thinking how awful it will be for them if—”

“Please don’t say it. I don’t even want to think
about that possibility let alone hear it. The kids will be
okay.”

“Yeah? Who’ll teach Noah and Sam to shave or walk
Mandy down the aisle when she gets married?”

“Aren’t you forgetting they have you?”

“Right.” He snorted. “For how long?”

“If not you, then Ben, or some other man like you.
How many of your Explorers don’t have dads?”

“Most of them.” It was probably what had drawn him
to the program in the first place. Luke hadn’t had anyone to fill
the void his dad’s death had left in his life. It was tough enough
being a teenager without having to struggle through those years
minus a father.

Tyler’s freak accident had given him a whole new
perspective on his own situation. The sudden tragedy underscored
how unpredictable life is for everyone. No one, regardless of their
family history, could rely on the future.

Even if he hadn’t inherited Huntington’s, he was
still a cop. At any time he could be killed on duty, struck by
lightning, or hit by a bus. Next week, next month....or even
tomorrow.

He only knew two things for certain. He loved
Sabrina, and she loved him—for better or for worse.

Sabrina heaved a sigh of relief as she pushed Luke
into Tyler’s room the next morning in a wheelchair she’d borrowed
from the hospital transport department. The doctors had taken her
brother off the respirator, and he was breathing on his own.