Night by Night

by Tymber Dalton

  She put her shoes on and ran to do that, then grabbed herself another drink of water. Before he could stop her, she darted back to the bathroom again.

  At least she was now at the age where, unless they were at some sort of venue where he didn’t feel comfortable letting her out of his sight, she could use the bathroom on her own.

  While she did that he grabbed her gym bag and backpack. Once they were in the truck and on the way home, she started talking his ear off about school that day, and her friends, and evvverything.

  He nodded where appropriate, he hoped. At least with her in the backseat she couldn’t tell when he wasn’t paying close attention to her like she used to could.

  Right now he was trying to decide what to make for dinner. If Dox wouldn’t let him pay rent, and wouldn’t let him give him grocery money, the least he could do was take up the slack and do chores and cook for the man.

  Maybe Eliza’s right. Maybe I should take him at his word.

  The thought of looking for another place to live right now and moving again was not just daunting, but physically exhausting.

  But if they were going to be living with Dox for a while, he was going to have to convince his friend to let him pay him something. He couldn’t stand not paying their way. It wasn’t like Dox was a rich man, either. Sure, he was far better off than Hank was, but he didn’t want to ruin their renewed friendship by being a mooch.

  It would be a while before he could save up funds to afford another place for them. He now had a car payment, higher auto insurance because he had to have comp and collision—and a gap rider while he still had payments—and he really needed to get JJ health insurance. That meant buying health insurance for himself.

  On top of everything else, that wasn’t in the budget right now. If he had to, he’d tap into the emergency fund, but the thought of doing that grated on him and made him feel like a failure.

  The lesser of the two “evils” was to take Dox at his word and continue living with him. For his part, he was enjoying it, and he knew JJ was, too.

  Hell, it’s kind of like we’re husbands now. I take care of him, and we don’t have a sex life.

  That thought made him silently snicker.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Two weeks into JJ’s summer break, it was usually Maddox who dropped her off at June’s and picked her up in the afternoon from Eliza’s. With their rainy season upon them, sometimes Hank ran late getting home when the crew had to stop working for a rain or lightning delay, but the short duration of the storm meant they could continue once it abated.

  JJ had spent the weekend mostly lounging on the couch and watching TV, acting like she wasn’t feeling very good, like she was tired, but she wasn’t running a fever. At least she was staying hydrated. It seemed every time he turned around she was drinking water. It was a weird weekend, though, because Hank’s boss asked him to work Saturday and Sunday to help another crew finish a job that’d gotten delayed due to weather, and he’d make overtime for it.

  Maddox had sent him out the door to do it with full assurances he’d take care of JJ. He knew damn well Hank would feel guilty as fuck if he turned down the opportunity to earn extra money, even at the expense of his days off.

  In fact, Hank had already left for work on Monday morning when Maddox realized JJ had fallen asleep on the couch where she’d ended up after breakfast. “Sweetie, we need to get ready to go.”

  With school out, he didn’t have to get up quite as early as he’d had to when he had to drive her to school, so that meant he was usually lying there in bed watching Hank quietly get dressed in the morning and staying out of his way.

  And trying to hide his own erection over the view, since Hank didn’t bother acting bashful while getting dressed.

  Why would Hank feel he needed to?

  Bonus for Maddox.

  “I’m tired, Uncle Dox.”

  “I know, sweetheart, but you need to go to Aunt May’s. Maybe Aunt June will let you take a nap in her office again.” She’d done that twice last week. It wasn’t uncommon for the extra exercise to do that to new students at first, they’d assured him. And she was the youngest student in their day camp.

  He finally got her out to his car and in her car seat, where she promptly fell asleep again. But by the time they’d arrived at the gym, she seemed more awake and nearly normal.

  Instead of just letting her get out and watching her go inside, he parked and walked her in.

  June was manning the front counter. He hugged JJ good-bye and sent her on while he stopped to talk to June. “She’s acting a little tired this morning. She’ll probably need a nap.”

  “You know she drinks a lot of water, right?” June asked.

  “Yeah. Hank’s always on her to make sure she doesn’t get dehydrated. Haven’t even had to remind her lately. He’s always worried about it because of the heat. He has to watch out for it because of work.”

  “Yeah, but she’s not working on a roof in a Florida summer,” June said. “And she’s been a little moodier than normal for her.”

  “Do you think there’s a problem?”

  “I’m not a doctor. But if she’s not herself in a day or so, you might want to drop by her pediatrician and have her checked out.”

  “Okay.” He knew Hank had a pediatrician for her, and Maddox even had the info stored on his phone, just in case. Except she’d been healthy ever since they’d moved down, as far as he knew.

  He headed to work and decided not to stress Hank out by relaying the information. He’d handle it. If it turned out she was just being a moody kid, he didn’t want Hank freaking out over nothing, especially when he was already stressing enough. He didn’t have health insurance for them yet, but he’d insisted that Maddox start taking a hundred a week from him to help with expenses.

  The only reason Maddox accepted it was because he knew trying to fight Hank on this point any longer would only heap more stress and guilt on the man’s plate. For now, he tucked it into his savings account.

  He’d just finished lunch when his cell phone rang with a call from June, which was unusual and disturbed him before he even answered it.

  “Hey, what’s up.”

  “I hate to do this, but you really should come pick JJ up and take her to the doctor.”

  His pulse spiked. “Why? Did she get hurt?”

  “No, but she threw up a few minutes ago. She’s not running a fever, but you really need to get her seen today. My gut’s telling me there’s something wrong. I called Eliza after you left to ask her if she’d noticed anything, and she said JJ’s been drinking a lot of water, and hitting the bathroom a lot.”

  “Well, yeah, if she drinks she’s going to pee.”

  “No,” June insisted. “Not in a normal kid way.”

  “What do you think’s wrong?” He stood and started gathering his things so he could work from home after getting her seen at the doctor’s office.

  “Maybe nothing. Maybe just a stomach bug. I’m not a doctor. But you need to tell them all these symptoms. Also, has she been losing weight?”

  “What?”

  “Weight. Has she lost any weight?”

  “I don’t know.” He tried to think back. “I don’t know what she weighs.”

  “Have them look at her records. It should be in there if he just had her school physical done before he moved down here.”

  “Okay. I’ll be there shortly.”

  He ended the call and told Marcia what was going on before he hurried out to his car with his stuff. On the way over there, he called the pediatrician’s office and confirmed they could see her. Bryce had drawn them up a power of attorney so Maddox could do anything like this for JJ without having to drag Hank out of work for non-emergencies.

  When he arrived at the gym, May directed him back to the office, where JJ was curled up asleep on the couch, a fleece throw over her and a bucket on the floor next to her. June was working at her desk.

  “I’ll carry her bag for you,” June
said. “I got her stuff ready.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re going to take her to the doctor right now, right?”

  He stared at her, knowing something was going on. “Just tell me your thoughts.”

  She glanced at JJ before meeting his gaze. The petite woman was intimidating. He loved her to death, and so did JJ, but he suspected if you got on her bad side she could take you apart at the seams.

  “She was cold. That’s something else lately I’ve noticed, that she gets cold really easy. Have them check her blood sugar.”

  “What?”

  “Just…ask them. Tell them all her symptoms and then ask. She might need a different diet. She’s doing a lot of physical activity. Her blood sugar might be low.”

  He tried to calm himself. “Okay.”

  JJ woke up when he picked her up to carry her out to the car, but fell asleep almost before he’d pulled out of the parking space. He ended up carrying her into the doctor’s office because she was fussy and grumbly and tired.

  As he sat and filled out paperwork with her in his lap, he shoved aside the thought that yeah, he was a dad now, and he wished he could be her dad.

  If only.

  When it came time for the insurance info, he returned the forms to the clerk. “Her dad doesn’t have health insurance yet. I’ll be paying for today’s appointment. Is there a discount or something for self-pay?”

  The office clerk nodded. “We do cash discounts.”

  “Well, it’ll be a credit card.”

  She smiled. “Same thing. I meant non-insurance.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  He sat to await their turn, JJ softly snoring against his shoulder, she was so deeply asleep. When the nurse called them back, he was able to rouse JJ enough she could stand on the scale. The nurse checked her weight, frowned, and then consulted her chart before tweaking the balance weights on the scale.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Dad, has she been on a diet or something?”

  “Step-dad,” JJ groused, climbing into his lap again.

  He let it go because it wasn’t worth wasting the time to clarify it. “No. She’s a couple of weeks into her gymnastics day camp, and she goes to a martial arts camp in the afternoon. She was doing the martial arts camp after school for several weeks before the end of the year, though. Why?”

  “How’s her appetite?”

  “She’s been eating normally, I guess. I haven’t noticed any changes. Why?”

  “Well, she’s lost four pounds since her last physical just before they moved down, it looks like.”

  “What?”

  “Let me get the rest of her vitals and then we’ll go from there. What are you here for again today…”

  An hour later, they’d done a urine test—which he’d asked one of the female nurses to help her with—checked her blood sugar, drawn blood to send out to the labs, and the doctor looked a little somber when he entered the exam room after reviewing the immediate test results. He pulled up a rolling stool to sit and talk with Maddox, where he sat in a chair with JJ in his lap again.

  “What’s wrong?” Maddox asked, fear filling him. Sure, he loved JJ like a daughter now.

  “I’m going to need you to bring her back to our office in the morning for her to have blood work drawn after a fast tonight.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “No food or anything but water after midnight. I want to run some more tests.”

  “What do you think it is.”

  “Well, for starters, her blood sugar is unusually high. There is no indication of a UTI in her urine, so that’s not causing any of her other symptoms. Her blood pressure is a little lower than I’d like to see. Based on all her symptoms, and on the weight loss in just a couple of months, and with the blood sugar levels, I’d like to be sure before I make an official diagnosis.”

  “But what do you think it is?”

  He met Maddox’s gaze. “I think the test results are going to show type 1 diabetes.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Hank felt exhausted when he returned home that evening. Using up his weekend working had been great for helping his bank account, but not so much for his body.

  When he arrived home he smelled dinner cooking and felt a little guilty he wasn’t the one doing it.

  It also surprised him that JJ didn’t come greet him at the door like she usually did.

  Dox, however, met Hank when he walked in. The grim look on Dox’s face didn’t bode well.

  “What happened?” Hank asked, fear rolling through him. “What’s wrong?”

  Dox took his lunch cooler from him. “Kitchen,” he softly said.

  “Where’s JJ?”

  “She’s napping. Let’s go talk. Come on.”

  Hank followed him. Numb, he stood in the kitchen and listened as Dox told him about picking JJ up and taking her to the doctor…and his preliminary diagnosis.

  “I…” He felt like he’d been gut-punched. “Can we get a second opinion or something? She’s a healthy kid. She’s rarely sick, even after she started kindergarten.”

  “That’s why I’m taking her in tomorrow morning for the additional blood work. That’s when he’ll confirm it, or look elsewhere. I already told Marcia and Derrick I need a couple of days off, and why.”

  “I…” He slumped back against the counter. “Can he be wrong?”

  “I doubt it. June even told me to have them check her blood sugar. She didn’t tell me she suspected diabetes, but after I called her once we were home, to tell her what was going on and that we might not be there tomorrow, she admitted one of her daughters’ friends when they were kids had T1D.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s the type of diabetes. T2D is the insulin-resistant type. This is the one they used to call juvenile diabetes.”

  “Wait. That’s the worse one, isn’t it?”

  “It can be, if we don’t manage it properly. That’s why it’s critical we get her diagnosed now, if that’s what it is, and get her on a treatment regimen. Does anyone in your family have it?”

  Hank shook his head. “I don’t know. Wait…” He thought about it. “Mom’s mom had something. She had to take shots all the time.”

  “But you don’t remember why?”

  “No.” He felt numb. “She’s going to need one of those testing things, right?”

  Dox nodded. “Likely.”

  “Those are expensive, aren’t they?” He felt physically sick. “And I heard insulin is really expensive, isn’t it?” He wanted Dox to reassure him, to tell him this was going to be okay.

  The grim look on his friend’s face offered no solace. “I was thinking maybe it’s better you go to work tomorrow and let me handle this, and I’ll—”

  “Fuck that! I’m her father!” Then something else hit him. “Wait, how much was today’s appointment?”

  Dox shook his head a little. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Uh, yeah, I will worry about it. How much? Will they bill me, or do I need to pay you back? How’s that work?”

  Dox stepped closer and put his hands on Hank’s shoulders. “Stop,” he gently said. “I took care of it.”

  “I-I can’t let you do that!”

  “There’s no ‘letting’ me do it—it’s done. I’m taking care of tomorrow, too.”

  “No.” Hank shook his head. “No, I’m going tomorrow.” He pulled out his phone. “I’ll call my boss and tell him I need the day off.”

  Dox reached out and covered Hank’s phone with his hand. “I’m still taking her to the appointment tomorrow,” he gently said, “and I’m still taking care of the bill. If you want to come with us, okay, but understand, this is how it will be tomorrow. I’m handling everything. Okay? I’m in charge. I won’t accept no for an answer, buddy. Either you go to work and let me take her, or you ride with me, but I’m not arguing with you about this.”

  He stared into Dox’s brown gaze. Tonight it looked like chocola
te and dark coffee depths, intense, resolute.

  He knew that look all too well—that was Dox’s take-no-shit, non-negotiable look. He’d been the recipient of it countless times when they were kids, and every time, he’d always given in to Dox and done what he said.

  Always to Hank’s benefit. He’d never regretted it after the fact, even if he’d argued with Dox before giving in.

  Hank finally nodded. “I’ll ride with you.”

  “Okay.” He moved his hand, and Hank could barely believe the words coming out of his mouth as he quickly explained to Ken Listley what was going on.

  Once that was done, he started for the kitchen doorway because he wanted to put eyes on JJ and reassure himself she was okay. His pulse had started pounding, his head spinning during the phone call to his boss, panic threatening.

  But a hand clamped down on his arm. When he looked he saw Dox standing there, immovable.

  “Stop,” Dox softly said. “Take a deep breath. Don’t go in there all panicked and scaring her. She’s okay. The doctor and I talked to her.”

  “But—”

  “Do. Not. Scare. Her.” His steady gaze bored into Hank. “She handled the blood draw and finger-sticks today like a champ.”

  “She always was okay with needles,” he mumbled. “Nurses always said she was the calmest kid ever for her shots.”

  “Okay, then. We told her if it is that, then she’ll need medicine that will make her feel better again. She actually wants the tests tomorrow. She knows it’ll be uncomfortable, but she wants to feel better. She knows something’s wrong. She’s a smart kid.”

  * * * *

  Maddox knew this was difficult for Hank and had tightly reined in his own emotions. Was he scared?

  Fuck yeah, he was. He also knew if he showed the slightest fear that Hank would freak the fuck out, and then JJ would pick up on that.

  He had to be Hank and JJ’s rock right now.

  He pulled Hank in for a long hug. “Just breathe, buddy. We’ll take care of her. That’s what family does.”

  Except an idea had already started to form in his brain. Once they confirmed or ruled out the diagnosis tomorrow, he could take his next step. One he wasn’t sure how Hank would react to.