Mike spoke softly. ‘We still haven’t got all the results back yet, of course. And I’ve scheduled a bone-marrow biopsy and MRI scan for tomorrow morning.’
Sarah made a low sound of distress that cut Rick like a sharp blade. Mike’s face creased in sympathy.
‘I know. I’m sorry. The good news is that his fever’s dropped and his lungs are clear. There’s no significant change in the size of his liver or spleen and his kidney function’s looking good. Even better, this doesn’t look like CNS involvement. I think the symptoms are probably due to a virus and we’ve got treatment under way to deal with it. Antivirals and antibiotics to cover all the bases.’
‘He was going to try and go back to school this week. Said he’d wear a mask even if it made him look like a freak.’
Mike shook his head, dismissing the possibility. ‘We’ll have him in here for a bit. I want to make sure he’s still in remission. If not, we’re going to have to get back into a pretty aggressive chemotherapy programme.’
Sarah closed her eyes and Rick could sense her struggle in trying to find the strength to face what was coming. He felt helpless.
‘What about HSCT?’ he asked Mike. ‘That’s going to be the best option, isn’t it?’
Mike’s expression was grim. ‘No siblings, unfortunately. Sarah’s the only family and she’s nowhere near a match. Nothing’s come up on the bone-marrow register and she hasn’t been able to trace Josh’s father.’ He turned to Sarah. ‘You didn’t get any further in your hunt in Auckland, did you?’
Her eyes were open now. She was staring at Rick but her gaze flicked back to Mike.
‘Actually, I think I did. Quite by chance and only because of Josh being admitted for the chest infection. One of the nurses in the ward had been working there for ages and she seemed to know everybody.’
‘And?’ There was an undercurrent of excitement in Mike’s tone.
‘I’ve got a possibility to chase up. I…I’m just not sure how co-operative he might be.’
‘You think he’d refuse to help?’ Rick could hear more than a hint of outrage in his own voice.
‘He might. He doesn’t even know he’s got a son yet.’
Rick gave a dismissive snort. ‘Tough. It’s not as if he’s had to take any responsibility so far, is it?’
‘No.’
Sarah’s agreement was cautious. She was giving him an odd look, as though wondering why he was pushing this, but there was an element of something like hope in her face and that made Rick feel good. Very good. He was helping here.
‘But that’s not exactly his fault,’ she added. ‘He didn’t know. I don’t think Josh’s mother even knew.’
‘Doesn’t matter.’ Rick was confident now. He ignored the way Max was staring at him as though he was about to step off a cliff or something. He could support Sarah in this quest. Help her. Maybe help Josh as well. ‘If he’s a decent human being,’ he said firmly, ‘then getting tested is the least he can do.’
Sarah looked away from him to Max who gave her a slow nod of encouragement. She looked back at Rick.
‘I hope you meant that,’ she said softly. ‘How soon do you think you could arrange to have the test?’
CHAPTER TWO
‘What?’
He was looking at her as if she was some kind of alien species, clearly unable to make any sense of her request. Sarah glanced at Max but he was watching his friend and had an expression of sympathy that made her heart sink. He knew how hard it would be for Rick to accept the idea he could be Josh’s father. And maybe he wasn’t. Maybe she was making life difficult for all sorts of people unnecessarily but she had no choice, did she?
This was about Josh.
Mike Randall was frowning. ‘I’m confused,’ he confessed. ‘What’s Rick got to do with this, Sarah?’
‘Absolutely nothing.’ Rick held up his hands in an eloquent gesture of denial. ‘Look, I’m sorry, Sarah. I’ve got no idea where this is coming from but you couldn’t be more wrong.’
Sarah swallowed hard. She directed her next words at Mike rather than Rick. ‘I was chasing someone I thought was called Richard. Known as Rick. I couldn’t find any Richard. Then someone suggested that Rick could be short for Eric and…bingo.’
She heard an angry huff of sound from Rick. He turned, walked a couple of jerky steps, shoving his sleeves clear of his wrists as though preparing to do battle. Then he swung back to face them all, shaking his head incredulously.
‘I mean, I know I haven’t exactly been a monk but…for God’s sake, I wasn’t even in the country at the time Josh would have been conceived…what, eight or nine years ago? I was in Sydney on a postgraduate surgical course for two years. Wasn’t I, Max?’
‘Ah…Yes, but—’
‘There isn’t a “but”.’ Rick was staring at Max with lines of bewilderment creasing his face now. He was being attacked here. Where was the back-up he clearly expected? Max looked as though he was in physical pain. He wanted, more than anything, to be able to provide the support his friend desperately wanted but he couldn’t do it because he knew something Rick didn’t.
Sarah waited, knowing that Rick would turn back to her eventually. She was the one initiating this attack, wasn’t she? So she watched him, seeing the way he straightened his spine and the way his hands curled into fists of frustration. It was the bewilderment that really got to her, though. A window of vulnerability in a man who might otherwise seem invincible. Big. Strong. Clever. Impossibly gorgeous right now with the sleeves of that dinner jacket shoved onto his forearms and the top button of his shirt undone with the ends of that black tie hanging on each side.
Sure enough, he turned to make eye contact with her and it was like a physical blow. As though she had betrayed him.
She had to swallow hard. ‘How old do you think Josh is, Rick?’
‘Seven,’ he said promptly, dredging up another fragment of a conversation in past weeks. ‘Or maybe eight.’ He flicked a challenging glance at Max.
‘That’s what I thought,’ Max said apologetically. ‘But it was a guess, Rick. I—’
‘I know he’s small for his age,’ Sarah interrupted, trying to let Max off the hook. ‘But he’s nine. Coming up to nine and a half. He was conceived in Auckland a bit over ten years ago.’
Rick was still glaring at Max. ‘You knew about this, didn’t you?’
‘Only since last night.’ Max sighed heavily. ‘It’s not as if I’ve had a chance to talk to you. Sarah promised not to say anything until after the wedding. I was going to warn you, mate.’
Sarah caught Mike’s glance. Friction on a personal level between these two men wasn’t going to be helpful. He raised his eyebrows and Sarah nodded.
‘I went to the States,’ she said, ‘to find the man who was on Josh’s birth certificate. The man my sister genuinely thought was Josh’s father as far as I could tell. He thought he might be, too and actually got excited by the idea. He couldn’t wait to do the DNA test and he was gutted when it turned out that Josh couldn’t possibly be his son.’
Rick snorted. ‘You’ll get the same result from me,’ he said coldly. ‘Except I won’t be pretending I’m gutted.’ He shook his head. ‘You’re