All The King's Horses: A Tale Of Eternal Love

by Downs, Alethea

  “The pregnancy helped it reappear earlier than it otherwise would have then.” Kent wasn’t letting this go. This drug had worked wonders. But if she tried to get pregnant too soon after coming off it then maybe the cancer could stage a comeback. She had been given her stint on the trial and she wouldn’t be given another one. “It takes two of us to make this decision, and I’d feel happier if we waited a few years before trying for another baby.”

  She screwed up her face. “I don’t want my children born too far apart.”

  “Better that then you being dead.”

  “You’re being overly dramatic, Kent. You have a tendency to do that from time to time.”

  He frowned at her. “And you have a tendency to pop a little insult in here and there when things aren’t going the way you want them to.”

  “If you didn’t frustrate me so much I wouldn’t be tempted to do it.”

  “Arguing back and forth isn’t going to get us anywhere,” he pointed out. “We’ll discuss it when you come off the drug.”

  She decided to let it go for now. She would get him to see sense when the trial was over and she was cured. He wanted another baby just as much as she did. It was just that he was so frightened for her welfare, and she loved him for that. But she wasn’t going to let his fear get in the way of giving him a son.

  ♥

  Kent put the phone down and with a face drained of color walked shell-shocked through to the kitchen.

  “What’s the matter, Kent?” Christy left the pots she was juggling on the stove and walked over to join him.

  Kent placed both hands on the back of a chair to steady himself. “That was Don Nelson on the phone. They’ve pulled the funding on the trial.”

  Christy stared at him blankly. “Pulled the funding?”

  “Don said the drug company has decided there’s not enough profit to be made out of FK14B and so they’ve cancelled the trial.”

  Her jaw dropped open. “But we’ve only got a couple of months to go before the drug has killed the last of the cancer cells off.” She began to panic. “Can’t Don do something? Can he at least send enough of the drug out so we can finish the trial?”

  Kent shook his head. “He says he can’t. The company is adamant that everything is to be wound up. They’ve quarantined what stocks of the drugs are left. Don said they’re going to destroy and all the research.”

  “But why…?”

  “It costs much more to manufacture the drug than they expect to make back out of it. It only works on certain cancers like yours.” He slammed his fist down hard on the table, “the lousy, greedy, bloodsuckers. Where’s their compassion?”

  “There must be some way around it,” she said desperately. “Surely Don can do something.”

  “He’s just told me that the scumbags have barred not only him but all the others who were working on the project from the laboratory.”

  “So he no longer has access to his research notes?”

  He looked at her and she could see the pure fury in his eyes. “He no longer has access to anything to do with FK14B. And if he talks about it to anyone they’ve threatened him with legal action. He was taking a risk just phoning me and letting me know.”

  “There must be something that can be done, some sort of legal action against them pulling the plug on the trial.”

  “By the time any legal action could be taken the drug company would have destroyed all the research as well as the stockpiles of the drug itself.”

  “But it doesn’t make any sense. Why would they do that?”

  “Fear, they fear some other company will get a hold of the research or even some of the drug itself and analyze it. That company may figure out how to manufacture and distribute the drug cost effectively.”

  “And that’s bad?”

  “As far as the drug company Don works for is concerned it is. They don’t want to lose their global share of the drug market. If someone else is selling an affordable cancer cure then it is highly probable consumers the world over will buy most of their drugs from that company.”

  “So the drug company that Don works for wouldn’t be turning over the same profit as before?”

  “That’s about the size of it. They couldn’t care less about you or the other cancer sufferers in the trial. You’re all just cattle to be experimented on and then tossed aside when it suits them.”

  Christy turned it over in her mind. Her doctor only had two weeks supply of the drug left. Her last blood test had shown up very few cancer cells, but they were still there. Two weeks supply wasn’t going to cut it.

  Tears had come into Kent’s eyes. “I so thought we had this thing beaten. I can’t believe anyone could do this to another human being. What kind of world are we bringing our daughter up in?”

  She went to him, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest. “Maybe my body will be able to do the rest. There’s very little of the cancer left now.” She could hear his heart beating against her ear like she had heard it so many times before. Only, this time it was beating so much faster, and she knew it was because of the fear that was gaining control of him. “Everything will be alright,” she assured him, looking up into his brown eyes and attempting a smile, “you’ll see.”

  He lost himself in her emerald eyes for a moment. “It had better be, Christy. I’d be less than half a man without you. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anybody, and that includes Talitha.”

  “Leave me to tell Daddy. He’s going to take it very hard, so it’s best if it comes from me.”

  He drew her in and held her tight, and she knew he would be desperately thinking of a way to get enough of the drug so she could be cured. He was a man of action so he couldn’t help himself. But this was one time she knew that there was nothing Kent London could do. As impressive a man as he was there was no way he could go up against the might of an international drug company and win. Besides, he was right when he had said the drug company would have destroyed everything before they could get an injunction. So there would be nothing left to salvage.

  It made her heart heavy to think she would have to give up her plans of giving Kent a son. It would be too risky getting pregnant if the cancer wasn’t completely vanquished. She owed it to her small family to play it safe. She should be grateful she was blessed with a happy healthy daughter, and must be enough to satisfy her now.

  ♥

  Kent took the Bonnie Lass out on a charter the next day, but his mind wasn’t on the job. He felt sorry for his clients but for the first time ever he merely went through the motions instead of going the extra mile as he usually did. All he could think about was his beautiful wife and what she must be going through.

  Her dream of having another baby was gone, and just when they had both been on the verge of celebrating the defeat of the leukemia she was dealt this blow.

  How he hated big business. The drug companies, the oil companies, all those giant conglomerates who played God with the lives of the little people of the world. If only they could get off their bums and slide out from behind their corporate desks and see the misery they caused, then maybe they might find the tiniest seed of compassion in those stony hearts of theirs.

  Christy had decided to tell Jack today, and Kent knew the poor old feller would take it very hard. Christy and Talitha were all he lived for now. It was only the other day he was excitedly talking about what the family was going to do when Christy was cured, and all the fun he would have with them before his time on earth was through. He might have to moderate a lot of those plans now. In fact, he would probably have to cancel a fair few of them altogether.

  Kent gave some thought to Christy’s options. Conventional treatment hadn’t killed the cancer; it had merely sent it into remission for a while. But that may have happened anyway. He knew a few people who had never gone through any treatment go into remission.

  There were the various types of alternative treatments but did any of these really work? Or were they just wishfu
l thinking? Or worse still some elaborate scam set up to fleece desperate people of their life savings?

  Oh if only he knew what to do, who to turn to now. He felt completely helpless. He wanted to protect his wife but couldn’t, and that made him feel like a failure.

  As he chugged back towards the marina that evening the inky blackness of the water was no rival to the darkness of his mood. He was no closer to a solution than when he set out this morning. He was fighting an enemy he could not see, an enemy he could not touch, and so an enemy he could not defeat.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “Do you realize that’s the third ice cream you’ve bought for Talitha today?” Kent shook his head disapprovingly as the little girl tucked into a double scoop of chocolate dipped ice cream.

  “Yes, I am,” Christy said calmly.

  “You don’t think that’s spoiling her a bit?”

  “No I don’t.”

  “Why is it every time we go out somewhere you buy her several ice creams?” It had been puzzling him for a while now. Christy was normally the one who was careful not to give their daughter everything she wanted. He and Jack were the ones who were a little remiss in that regard. But when it came to ice creams Christy just kept them coming. And today was proving to be no different. They had driven three and a half hours south to take Talitha to the Auckland zoo, but her interest in ice creams was beginning to outweigh her interest in the animals.

  “Does it matter why I buy her ice creams?”

  “I think it does. She’s going to get incredibly fat if you keep doing that. It reinforces the wrong values.”

  “What have values got to do with me giving my daughter ice cream, Kent?”

  “It’s not teaching her self control, Christy.”

  Christy looked at Talitha to make sure she was occupied. A chimpanzee seemed to be holding her attention at the moment so she pulled Kent to one side so the little girl wouldn’t hear what she was about to say.

  “Do you want to know the real reason I buy her so many ice creams?”

  “Yes, I would actually.” He folded his arms and gave her his full attention.

  “So she’ll remember me if I die.”

  Kent’s eyebrows came down. “I don’t follow you.”

  “There’s a good chance I’ll be dead before that little girl turns five, Kent. If that happens there’s a good chance she won’t remember me when she’s older. That upsets me. That would upset any mother.”

  “Of course,” he said, instantly softening towards her. “So how do the ice creams fit into it?”

  “Between now and then I’m going to buy her as many ice creams as her little tummy can hold. Every time she wants an ice cream I’ll be with her, buying it for her.”

  “Yeah, I’ve seen that. But want I want to know is why?”

  “When I’m gone, and whenever someone buys her an ice cream, she will think of me. She will think of me because it was her mummy who always bought her ice creams.”

  His shoulders drooped. He got it at last.

  “For the rest of her life she will remember me, Kent, because ice cream will be there to remind her. So please don’t take that away from her, or me.”

  “I’m sorry, Christy,” he said sincerely. “I have no idea what you were doing. I promise you I’ll never mention it again.”

  She went up on tiptoe and kissed him on the lips. “I love you, Kent London, even though you might be a little slow on the uptake sometimes.”

  Talitha had looked back in time to see the kiss, “Mummy kissing Daddy?”

  “Mummy loves Daddy,” Christy said.

  Talitha looked at Kent. “Daddy loves Mummy?”

  “Yes, Sweetheart,” Kent answered, “Daddy loves Mummy very much.”

  ♥

  Six months after Christy used up the last of FK14B her body’s immune system was still holding the cancer at bay. The cell count hadn’t decreased but it hadn’t gone up either. It gave her hope that her body just might conquer this thing after all. The experimental drug had sent the leukemia running for cover and now it was up to her body to do the rest.

  Talitha was growing rapidly and the bond between mother and daughter strengthening daily. But through it all the biggest slice of her heart still belonged to Kent. His love, his patience, his kindness and gentleness made her so desperately in love with him.

  When they had started out she had thought things would change in time. That those early stirrings she had felt for him would gradually settle down like they had between her and Mike. A mutual love and respect without the early intensity that had driven her heart to a heightened state of desire.

  But that in love phase had not worn off for. Three years had passed by since Kent had risked his life to save hers, and she was more in love with him now than she was in the beginning.

  She told herself every morning that it was impossible. A love like theirs should only exist in fairy tales. But every morning, as he told her that he loved her, and she felt the warmth of his lips pressed against hers she knew that it was true. He was still just as much in love with her as she was with him.

  They hated to be apart. When he went off on a charter a part of her went with him and she didn’t retrieve it until he came back again. She knew he felt the same. It was as if every moment together was prized, and every moment they were apart precious time they would never recover.

  She hadn’t thought a relationship like theirs was possible. Human nature wouldn’t allow it. But he always placed her first he had right from the beginning. Maybe that had been God’s original intention for marriage. Because when Kent placed her first she wanted to surrender to him completely, and when she did he placed her above his needs all the more. It was a symbiotic relationship, and it was impossible to imagine one without the other now. They had become so interwoven that they had almost become one.

  Christy wondered how Kent and Jack would cope if she were to die. Talitha was so dependant, and even though Kent was patient and loving with her he rarely had to have sole charge of her for more than a few hours. How would he handle it if he had to care for her twenty-four hours of every day?

  Even though Jack had been a wonderful father with her she doubted if he would cope with the demands of such a little girl. Maybe the two of them could muddle through together, but what Talitha really needed was a mother. Kent must remarry if she died. He must do it for their daughter’s sake.

  Christy hated the thought of Kent holding another woman in his arms the way he held her. She hated the thought of her husband making love to another woman even more. But what she hated most of all was the thought that he would be lonely for the rest of his life, mourning for her and their lost love. Another woman would cure him of that, and so she would give some thought to a suitable candidate if or when the cancer got a hold of her again. There were plenty of attractive and eligible young women in town who would be only too happy to link up with a man as desirable as Kent, even though he did have a little daughter in tow.

  Kent’s business was doing well too. So well in fact that he was thinking about buying another boat and hiring Bob Thomas as skipper. With two charter boats out on the water he would nearly double his income. Yes, Kent London was a very good catch indeed.

  She wanted someone who would not only be right for Kent but she must be a good step mother too. That would rule quite a few women out. But there were half a dozen or so she could think of that might just fit the bill.

  She mustn’t let Kent know what she was up to. It would upset him to discover she was planning a future for him that didn’t include her. But that was the reality of the situation. His future just might not include her.

  ♥

  “I still think that at two and a half she’s too young for a pony, Kent,” Christy said, as she watched her husband lead Talitha and her mount around the small paddock. “I’ve heard such horror stories of children being seriously injured or even killed by their ponies.”

  “That would be unsupervised children,” Christy,
” Kent insisted. “I’m going to hold the horse’s head the entire time she’s in the saddle.” He jerked a thumb in Talitha’s direction. “Besides, she’s a born natural. Just look at the way she sits in the saddle.”

  “Look at me Mummy, I riding my pony.”

  “Yes, I can see that, Sweetheart.”

  “I wouldn’t put her in harm’s way,” Kent called out, seconds before pony and rider disappeared behind a large oak tree. “I always put her safety first,” he added, when they had come back into view.

  “I know, but it’s my job to worry. She’s my little girl and I need to know she’s going to be safe.”

  Leading the pony over to where Christy sat on a blanket he lifted Talitha off the ponies back and placed her beside her mother.

  “What do you say to Daddy?” Christy asked her.

  “Thank you for taking me pony ride, Daddy.”

  “You’re welcome, Princess.”

  Kent sat down beside his wife and took the sandwich she handed to him. “It’s days like these that make life worth living.”

  “It’s a shame we don’t get to do this more often as a family,” Christy said. “You’re working such long hours these days.”

  “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.”

  She handed him a glass of lemonade. “That sounds ominous.”

  “How would you like it if we did a bit of traveling?”

  “What about your charter business?”

  “I think its progressed to the stage where I can take a less hands on approach to it now. Bob’s doing well on his boat and I thought I might hire a new skipper for the Bonnie Lass.”

  “So money isn’t a problem?”

  “Hasn’t been since I bought the second boat, in fact, things are looking very good for in the financial department.”

  “Oh, Kent,” Christy felt a warm wave of happiness roll over her. “it would be wonderful to have you home with us every day.”

  “That will be great,” he agreed, “but I was thinking more along the lines of doing some overseas travel.”