I followed my nose to the wonderful aroma of spices and meat and found Alissa stirring a rather sizeable pot of what I presumed to be spaghetti sauce. I wrapped my arms around her and smiled into the side of her neck.
“Thank you,” I said as if it wasn’t enough.
“It’s nothing,” she said and squeezed her cheek into the side of my face while keeping up with the stirring.
“Nothing?” I asked as I kissed the inside of her neck before turning her to face me and pulling her away from the stove. “Allie, do you not realize what you’ve done?”
“I did what anyone else would,” she said as if her actions were less than significant.
“No, you didn’t,” I said. “No one would have done what you did, honey. We’ve all been sitting here worried out of our minds, caring for Jasper and while you were doing the same, you held hope that maybe there was something we had overlooked.” My hand cupped her cheek. “Baby, whether this works out or not we’ll have known we’ve done all we could have done. This stem-cell thing…the success rates are higher than the old school methods.” I wiped the single tear that had fallen from her eye.
“It’s not like it’s a new thing, Pax,” she said. “Messing told you that he wanted to discuss further options. For all we know, he was going to mention what I found.”
“But you mentioned it first, baby.”
***
That night, I found myself watching over a sleeping Alissa. This woman who lay in peaceful slumber beside me had managed to worm her way into my head, then warm me physically beyond a boiling point, and fill my heart. I was bewitched. If I had to choose words to describe her, I would need an entire thesaurus and then some to give anyone a true glimpse of what I saw when I looked at her.
“You’re really beginning to freak me out with that staring,” she said with a sleep-hazed voice before opening her eyes and smiling up at me. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”
“I can’t. I’ve got too much going on in my head,” I said and yawned.
“Come here.” She pulled me so my head lay on her shoulder by her breast. “Just close your eyes and forget it all, you’ll know more about things tomorrow.”
Her fingers played with the hair at the nape of my neck and within seconds, I felt sleep take me and the faint feel of her warm lips on my forehead.
***
We sat in the office waiting for Doctor Messing to join us. I refused to let Alissa stay home. She deserved to be part of this whole thing. As far as I was concerned, she was family too.
“I understand that you’ve beat me to the punch about stem-cells?” Doctor Messing said and looked down at the stack of papers I had printed out and brought with Alissa and me that morning. “Judging by your reactions, it seems like you’re all in accord with going through with the procedure. Mr. Lowell, I understand by yesterday’s conversation over the phone that you’ve told me that when Jasper was born, you had his cord blood stored?”
I nodded. Julie flinched from the corner of my eye.
I turned toward her. “Julie, are you alright?”
“I did something,” she said and a guilty look crossed her face.
“What did you do, Julie?” I asked and I knew it wasn’t going to be good. Not good at all.
“I had the bank release it,” she said.
I shot up to my feet. “What?”
“Well, he was always so healthy and the place charged so much-”
“Julie, that was a joint decision,” I said. “Why didn’t I know about this? He’s my child too!”
“Because I knew how you’d react,” she said.
“And-”
“It’s not at all uncommon for parents to do what Julie’s done. I agree, the fees are astronomical and something ought to be done about that. I suggest we put this to rest and you two can deal with it in your own time. Regardless, it’s not all at a loss,” Doctor Messing said and instead of laying it on thicker to Julie, I took a breath and sat back down. The man was right. Alissa grabbed my hand and squeezed it and my anger eased slightly. “I can look through the databases and see if we can find something that way with regards to research donations. If not, then I’m afraid that we have one last resort and it’s spinal marrow which you’ll need to be tested to see if you’re suitable matches for Jasper. If you fail to be, Jasper will have to be entered onto our recipient waiting list. Unfortunately, we don’t have research programs for regular marrow donations. Now, if you’ll all excuse me, I have a patient assessment I need to be looking into and thanks to you folks, a fair bit of calls to make. I’m thinking I should have an answer to you by the end of this week if all goes well and we’ll be able to move forward from there.”
Chapter 19
The week passed and I found myself pacing the living room after dinner on Thursday. Alissa had started her new job on Monday and as luck would have it, she ended up having to stay behind for a team meeting and was running late. I was waiting on her to get home so I could tell her the news.
When the door to my townhouse opened, I pounced. I had her back pinned to the door and kissed her like a man starved of oxygen. She smiled into my kiss and wrapped her arms around my neck while I trailed my lips down to savour the soft skin that peaked through the top of her light pink camisole.
“Now that’s quite the welcome,” she said and giggled before I nipped the skin above one of her breasts, causing her to moan. “What’s gotten into you?”
“I owe you a lifetime of welcome home’s like this one,” I said against her heated flesh before capturing her mouth with mine again, and spun her around before setting her back down. “Mind telling me why I’ve been mauled walking through the door? You keep evading my question,” she said. “I’d like to know what I did so I can do it again.” She giggled.
“We got the call,” I said and saw the disbelief, the relief and the overwhelming joy cross her features. “They’re going with a marrow harvest if the blood-work proves that either Julie or I are a match; first thing tomorrow we’ll be tested.”
She looked at me in shock. “What? That quick?”
“Yeah.” I said and smiled. “They couldn’t find anything in the database.” She pulled my face into hers and kissed me hard.
“That’s our last resort but it’s great news that we can finally move ahead.”
I kissed her tenderly. “I love it that you’re referring to everything that’s going on as our dilemma and not mine,” I said.
I explained everything to Alissa as she sat and ate the plate I had made and kept warm for her. Tomorrow was the day where things could change for the better. First thing in the morning, Julie, Jasper, and I would be heading in to the hospital to run a battery of tests and discover if we were donor matches to save our son. If it worked out, they would schedule a marrow harvest get to work on synthesising the latter so it could be transplanted into Jasper.
Alissa had called her boss, notifying her of the great news. Now that she was involved, she refused to leave my side. The minute she ended the call, I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her into me. I grabbed her phone from her, set it on the kitchen countertop and leaned in for a kiss.
“Get that sweet ass of yours up those stairs and to the bedroom.” I pulled away and looked at her face before continuing. “I want me some dessert and you, gorgeous are on the menu.”
She laughed but didn’t move. “Have you used that line on anyone where it’s worked?” A growl formed in my throat and I picked her up and wrapped her legs around me, her skirt riding up her thighs as I proceeded to rush us toward the bedroom.
I hadn’t expected the sudden bout of clumsiness that hit me or the sultry assault that Alissa would bring on to cause such an event. With a long swoop of her tongue from my collarbone to my jaw and a pinching nip to the skin below my earlobe, my knees buckled on the third step from the bottom of the staircase.
“Fuck,” I said under my breath but one look at Alissa told me that she hadn’t been hurt; quite the opposite, really. She
wore a smirk and seemed to be amused with our unexpected tumbling. “You just couldn’t wait, could you?” She shook her head.
Her hands went to work straightaway as I watched her rip my button-down, its buttons spilling everywhere. Her nimble fingers tackled my pants and before I knew it, she had managed to push them down to my knees by rubbing her feet down the sides of my legs. I hiked her skirt up further and attempted to get rid of her underwear and realized that there were none. I looked up.
“Someone got them all wet earlier so I figured I’d lose them,” she said with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.
“Damn, baby.” I groaned and kissed her nice and fierce before reaching for her camisole.
With a hand on her lower back, I arched her butt up off the step and plowed into her, generating a sensual cry. She wrapped her legs around me, arching into me as I propelled into her. Her arms were at her sides, preventing her from sliding down the step. Her heels dug into my rear as I turned up the heat.
The sound of skin slapping filled the air. The sight of her spread out under me made me want to take her to heights unknown. When the urge to explode hit me, I buried my face in her neck and bit down on her shoulder. Her tight heat clamped down harder than it ever had on my length and with a guttural cry we both came—hard.
“Mmm,” she said into my neck. She nuzzled my cheek as I pulled away to look at her. I loved it when I turned her into a mumbling mess of satiated flesh and bones.
I smirked. “So much for the bedroom,” I said and she laughed as she tilted her head back and rested it on the carpeted stair to catch her breath.
“Tuckered out already, handsome?” She ran her hands up and down my chest, looking up with a sly grin.
“Hardly,” I said and flexed a certain appendage that was still buried deep inside her, far from flaccid. Her eyes grew wide at the feel of me. “The more I have you, the more I want you.”
“With that said, I suggest that you get me up there real quick, playboy,” she said and leaned in to lick my bottom lip while tightening the muscles that were still wrapped around my still needful shaft.
After a bit of clumsy fumbling, giggles and a very delightful view of Alissa’s uncovered behind, we made it to the bedroom. I was hot on her tail and when she tripped while hopping around to remove her shoes, I took the vantage point.
“Well, well, well…” I walked my naked self up to that sweet derrière she was offering me while bent over to stabilize herself from her fall. She straightened up and my hand made haste with the zipper on that skirt of hers while she reached back and handled her bra. I bent down and followed her skirt as gravity took hold of it, trailing my fingers down the smooth and toned skin of her legs. I tapped her right leg so she would lift it. When her foot came down, I kissed the back of her knee. She let out a mewing moan of sorts. She lost her balance and leaned forward again for stability. By the time I had kissed the back of her other knee, she collapsed over my lap.
“Well I was thinking nice and hard from behind but this will most definitely do,” I said into the skin at the back of her neck and nipped her.
I came out of the bathroom to find my woman turning down the bed, dressed in a short satin bathrobe, her dampened hair curtained to one side. She noticed my staring as she removed her robe and settled herself under the covers.
She smiled. “Is everything okay?”
“Perfect,” I said and crawled in beside her. I gave her a peck. Her hand lifted and cupped my cheek before she gave me another quick kiss in return.
Contrary to a week ago, I fell asleep right away. My anxieties for the next day were replaced with a sense of relief that it was quite possible that I would have Jasper back as the normal four-year-old he should have always been.
Chapter 20
We awaited news from Doctor Messing while Todd was consoling a rather depressed Julie who was worried about the news that had already been delivered prior to our testing. Given the high-risk nature of Julie’s pregnancy, her donating marrow was no longer an option seeing as the procedure would put her and the baby at an increased risk. Regardless, Julie had gotten her blood tested. It might have been a shot in the dark but if she were a match, we’d have to bid our time until the baby was born and her own health issues stabilized before the procedure could be done. All wasn’t at a loss but according to Julie, it was.
As I paced the room, Alissa got up from her silent ponderous state and grabbed my arm when I walked by her.
“Pax, you’re driving yourself crazy, sit down,” she said. “The doctor should be in soon. It’s already been two hours since they’ve done the blood-work.”
And sure enough, as I settled in the chair next to her, Messing walked through the doors. With that sombre look on his face, I presumed that he wasn’t the bearer of good news. I was trying to convince myself that I was reading too much into things but I couldn’t move past that soul-numbing, heart-thumping, gut-wrenching feeling that overwhelmed me.
“Guys, I’m afraid it’s not good,” he said. “Neither of you are a match. I’m urging you to face the reality that this may not work out in the best of scenarios. I’m sorry.”
My world began to crumble around me again as my back fell against the back of my chair from the blow of the bad news. Doctor Messing stood in front of us in silence, allowing the facts to sink in.
“But,” Alissa said.
“Yes, Ms. Hidgins?” he asked.
“Can’t anyone be deemed a match?”
“Of course,” Doctor Messing said. “A familial match is always the easiest and best with regards to donor rejections but not everyone has the resources to find those donors and not everyone is willing to be a donor either. I’m sorry, but unless you find a suitable match on your own, there’s nothing else that can be done aside from adding Jasper to our recipient list which with his JMML, he could be without hope before a donor becomes available. Rest assured that Jasper has been added to the list, the instant we discovered the results.”
I heard Alissa gulp. “Thank you,” she whispered.
***
I sat in the SUV waiting for Alissa who had left her cell-phone in the room we had congregated in earlier. It had been taking her a while but when I was about to get out and go find her, there she was.
“Found it?” I asked when she got in and buckled herself up. She nodded and waved the device in her hand.
“I was thinking,” she said and I turned to look at her with my hand on the ignition. “What if we pooled all willing relatives and friends of yours and Julie’s together to see if they’re a match? I mean, it could work, right?”
“Alissa-” I said and sighed. I didn’t want to take away her hope but I wasn’t about to feed her any beyond measure.
“No,” she said, stubborn as ever. “I’m not giving up on this, Pax. You heard what Messing said. The statistics of finding a compatible match in time for Jasper through the lists is a slim chance. Why wouldn’t you try? Just try, dammit! Then you can say you’ve done everything. There’s no shame in asking for help.”
I should have known that she wouldn’t give up this easily. If she hadn’t given up on anything else that she’d worked on, including our relationship, then she wasn’t giving up on Jasper.
“I love you so much,” I said and cradled her cheek before kissing her forehead.
“I love you too but I don’t want to see you with that defeated look again until it’s time, baby, and now isn’t it.”
I nodded.
I dreaded the day that perhaps we were all going to face—the one that bore the ugly reality of Jasper’s mortality. I feared that she was putting too much faith in the goodwill of people and that she was choosing to ignore the real possibility that my son may not make it through, with or without a donor. Still, I couldn’t help but admire and respect her tenacity in the matter.
***
I was unlocking the front door when I heard a car’s engine cut from behind us. I looked back and saw none other than my parents.
&nb
sp; “This is not how I planned it,” I said more to myself than anyone else.
“Paxton?” Alissa said, looking at me. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her into me.
“My parents,” I said and she smiled at me. “Hey guys.” I smiled and moved from Alissa to greet them each with a hug.
“Is this the Alissa we’ve been hearing Jasper bragging about?” my mother asked and smiled at my girlfriend.
“The one and only,” I said. My mother attacked her in one of her hugs while my father patted my shoulder. “What are you guys doing here?”
“We were out running errands and figured we’d stop in to see how things had gone this morning,” my father said.
Alissa’s cell rang and she excused herself to the kitchen after the four of us had gone inside. I had just entered the kitchen to fetch refreshments for all of us when I overheard the tail end of her conversation. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” she said and was laughing as she put down her phone. When she turned, I saw the tears coming down her cheeks.
“Honey,” I said when our eyes met, “is everything okay?”
“Of course,” she said and wiped at her cheeks. She gave me a bright smile before walking to me, wrapping a hand around the back of my neck and pulling my face down to hers. She kissed me quick and hard. Her eyes twinkled when she backed away and all of my questions were lost. Her tears were genuine but then again, so was her joy.
“Need any help?” she asked as she headed for the fridge before I could get there. Forgetting what I was in there to do in the first place, I watched her as she took out the pitcher of lemonade, a tray of ice cubes and walked over to the counter where I’d laid the glasses with what seemed to be an added bounce to her step. That smile of hers never faded as she filled the cups and put everything else away. “Help me bring these out,” she said.
I couldn’t resist. “Come here,” I said and took the few steps toward her. I pushed the tendrils away from her face and tucked them behind her ear. “I don’t know what’s made you this happy but that smile of yours is amazing. I didn’t think anyone else but us Lowell men could put a smile like that on there.” I kissed her cheek and proceeded to grab two glasses and she grabbed the others.
Once Written, Twice Shy (The Broken Men Chronicles) Page 14
