“You’ve done a lot more than that.” He shook his head, a dazed look in his eyes. “It’s still hard to believe that I came here looking for my father and found five brothers and now one of them is going to save Noah’s life.”
Lia ached to echo his newfound certainty, but didn’t dare. Duran needed to be positive now. His mindset would determine Noah’s attitude and that in turn would give Noah strength. But she had to keep a balance, stating the truth in careful terms, cautioning Duran, yet encouraging him in equal measure. From now on it would be a delicate line to walk, especially given the other complications of her burgeoning attraction to him and her deepening affection for his little boy.
“It’s true. Sawyer is a match and he may very well be the one to help Noah get well. But we’ve got dozens of details to work out now. You need to start by finding a transplant clinic. You may have to go out of state for that. But there is one in Albuquerque. There’s another in Dallas. I’ll be glad to liaison for you, but that decision is yours. And keep in mind, the wait time for the actual transplant could be several weeks and Noah’s recovery will be a lot longer.” She backed away and drew herself to her feet. “What I’m saying is that this is good news, but you both have a long way to go yet.”
“I know. I’ve read everything I could get my hands on for years.” Duran stood up, walked across the room over to the sink and splashed his face with cold water. He grabbed a paper towel from the holder and turned back to her. “I’ll do whatever it takes, however long it takes.”
Lia nodded, not trusting herself to speak as she tried to banish thoughts of the myriad of things that could go wrong. Duran needed to know them all, but not today. Right now, it was more important he believe in everything that could go right. “Are you ready to talk to Noah?”
“Oh, yeah,” he said, and for the first time he smiled.
In the waiting room, they found Noah and Sammy sitting happily at a children’s table playing video games and making all manner of boy sound effects. Josh and Eliana sat nearby watching them. They looked up simultaneously as Lia and Duran walked into the room.
“Dad!” Noah bounced up and ran over to them when he spotted Duran. “Sammy has that new game I was telling you about. It’s way awesome, come check it out.”
Duran swept his son into his arms and hugged him as though he would never let him go. “Sure, in a minute, okay?” he said, his voice breaking a little.
“What’s wrong?” Noah squirmed in his father’s embrace. “You’re squashing me.”
“Sorry, I guess I was.” Duran released his son, keeping his hands on his shoulders. “I missed you, that’s all. Did you have fun?”
“Yeah, we went to the video store. I found three games I want,” he added with a hopeful look.
“No doubt,” Duran said with a chuckle. “We’ll see about that later.”
Noah’s mouth twisted. “That always means no,” he grumbled. Wriggling out of Duran’s hold, he ran back to the table to watch over Sammy’s shoulder as the older boy manipulated the game with quick fingers.
“So, you gonna keep us in suspense?” Josh asked when Noah was out of earshot.
Lia and Duran exchanged a glance and he nodded slightly, giving her tacit permission. “Sawyer’s a match,” she said, giving them a brief outline of what she’d told Duran.
Eliana, her eyes bright, caught Duran by surprise with a warm hug. “That’s wonderful. We’ve all been hoping and praying this would happen. I can only imagine how awful the waiting’s been for you.”
“Noah’s got a long way to go yet.” Lia repeated her gentle warning. She smiled at Duran. “But this is a very good start.”
“Does Sawyer know yet?” Eliana asked.
“No, I’m going to call him as soon as we’re done here. I’m sure he’ll be happy.”
“’Course he will, you know that,” Josh said, including Duran in his assurance. “We all are.”
Duran glanced at his son and then turned his smile to his brother and Eliana. “I appreciate everything you’ve all done. I’ll admit I had doubts about coming here but right now, it’s looking like the best decision I’ve ever made.”
“Good thing, since you’re stuck with us all now,” Josh said with a laugh. “Hey, you think Noah would be up for a little celebration? I promised Sammy we’d go ridin’ today. Cort and Tommy’ll be there, and Anna. Ellie’s little sister,” he added for Duran’s benefit. “She and Tommy are sweet on each other.”
Eliana grimaced. “They’re just kids.”
“They’re teenagers and if Tommy’s anything like I was…” He finished with a grin and a shrug as Eliana muttered, “God forbid,” and rolled her eyes. “So, what do you say?” Josh asked. “You and Noah wanna come along? You, too, Lia. We’ll make it a real party.”
“I don’t know,” both Lia and Duran started at the same time. He gestured her to go ahead and she said, “I’m going to be tied up here until at least three. I’m sure Noah would enjoy the outing, though, if you think he’s up to it.”
Duran hesitated then said, “I need to talk to Noah first, explain to him what’s going on.” He looked at Lia. “Would you—”
“Of course,” she answered his unspoken request. Josh and Eliana agreed to wait while she and Duran took Noah back to the patient room to tell Noah about the test results and to decide on the afternoon’s plans.
It was easier, this time, telling Noah the news, because all she had to do was echo Duran’s explanation, adding a few words of encouragement. She was pretty sure Noah didn’t hear anything beyond Duran telling him Sawyer was a match anyway.
What she hadn’t been prepared for, though, was the rush of emotion when Noah flung himself at her for an enthusiastic hug.
“I’m gonna get better!”
Lia returned his hug, swallowed her tears and put on a smile for him. “We’re going to do everything we can to make that happen.”
“You’re the best doctor ever,” Noah told her, grinning from ear to ear.
“I don’t know about that. Your uncle Sawyer is going to be doing more than me. But thank you.” She blinked hard as she gently brushed a wayward lock of hair from his forehead. “I think you’re pretty special, too.”
She was glad for the reprieve when Duran repeated Josh’s invitation to go riding. Noah was practically glowing with excitement.
“Can we go now?” he asked. “’Cept—” He frowned. “I don’t know how to ride a horse. I only ride bikes.”
Lia laughed and gently ruffled his hair. “You don’t need to know how. You can ride with your dad or maybe Josh will find you a gentle older horse who’s not in any hurry. Do you like to ride?” she asked Duran.
He shrugged. “I’ve enjoyed it the few times I’ve done it but I can’t say I’m any cowboy. I’m a cyclist and so is Noah.”
“That won’t be a problem. Josh gives riding lessons to special-needs kids like Sammy. He’s good at matching people and horses.”
“Can everybody come?” Noah asked. “All my cousins?”
“Not today,” Duran said with a smile. “And we’re not going anywhere ourselves