I considered it for a moment before shrugging. “I’ll think about it. But I swear, Dad, you better be good from here on out. If you can’t respect my privacy, I’ll move out.”
His jaw turned to stone. “Now, Doe, don’t go threatening me like that.”
“Don’t give me a reason to!” I shouted.
“I said I’m sorry, didn’t I?” he grumbled.
“All right, you two.” Mom stepped in, always the referee. But it was usually her between Dad and one or all three of my brothers. I couldn’t remember a time she’d ever had to moderate between Dad and me. “Doe, your dad apologized and promised it won’t happen again. But if it does, I’ll help you find a place myself.”
Dad’s mouth fell open, his eyes flashing with irritation. “Marissa—”
“No,” she snapped. “This is over. I’m not going to spend the rest of my night arguing with either one of you. That’s how it’s going to be. You respect her privacy and you don’t cross any more lines when it comes to her relationship with Jenner, or I will be shopping with our daughter for an apartment or house of her own.”
* * *
The morning ran as smoothly as ever, which was only made even better by getting to start it with a kiss from Jenner. It put a smile on my face as I took care of the animals and then helped Bert out with some of the paperwork before I had to get ready for my appointment.
By the time I came downstairs, Aspen was just walking up the steps to the porch. Mom had told me before I’d gone up for my shower that she had some things to take care of in town. And because Dad literally climbed the walls when she wasn’t within shouting distance, he went with her. For years, Aspen had been a regular guest at our house. My parents considered him one of their own, and if his parents had allowed it, I was certain Mom would have tried to adopt Aspen.
“Well, well, well,” Aspen said with a grin when he saw me. “Our Doe is looking as beautiful as ever.”
I rolled my eyes at him when he bobbed his eyes at me. He was a good-looking guy with his slightly shaggy blond hair and blue eyes. He wasn’t nearly as tall as my brothers, but he was still a little taller than me. His family owned the car dealership just outside of West Bridge, and his parents expected him to take over once he was finished with college, settle down, and marry the right sort of girl—or so I’d overheard his mother saying on more than one occasion.
According to Mrs. Williams, I wasn’t the “right sort of girl” for her son. If she ever pulled her head out of her ass, she would realize that no girl would ever be right for Aspen. But other than my brothers and me, no one else was likely aware of that. Aspen had played football in high school and had even been recruited by several college teams, but he had no desire to go any further with that sport or any other. He’d chosen Vanderbilt for college, but I knew if Jackson had given him the smallest hint that he wanted Aspen with him, he would have applied to Arkansas.
I wasn’t sure that Aspen hadn’t applied and just kept silent about it, but Jackson had kept his mouth shut, so Aspen had stayed behind.
The two of them were frustrating as hell. Neither had come out to anyone, with the exception of Bryant, LJ, and me. Jackson might not have actually come out to our brothers, but they had more or less suspected and had asked him when he was going to grow a pair and just admit he was into guys and not girls.
The three of us had tried to get him to come out to our parents repeatedly, but for whatever reason, he wasn’t ready to tell them. As far as I knew, only two pro baseball players had ever openly admitted to being gay, so I wasn’t sure how fans and other players would react to Jackson if he ever came out publicly. But I knew in my heart that our parents and the rest of our family wouldn’t have an issue with it.
Still, I’d stopped pushing my brother to do something he wasn’t comfortable with. He had a right to keep his sexuality to himself, and I would respect his decision.
Aspen didn’t have the supportive family Jackson did, however. His dad was extremely homophobic, and I actually feared for my friend’s life if his father or any of his uncles ever found out about his sexual orientation. That didn’t mean Aspen wouldn’t risk it all just to be with my brother. He would give up everything, his family and friends, his home—none of it meant more to him than what he felt for Jackson.
“Are you sure about this?” Aspen asked as he drove us into Nashville.
“This isn’t a whim, Asp,” I assured him. “I’ve been doing research on it for years. I’m fully committed to seeing it through. My brothers have been giving me hell about it ever since I told them about my plan, so I would really appreciate it if you would simply have my back and support me through all this.”
“Of course I have your back, Doe.” Taking my hand, he brought it to his chest. “You’ve been nothing but supportive of me for years. Fuck, you’re probably my closest friend in the universe. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t have any second thoughts.”
“No second thoughts.” I gave him a bright smile, and he squeezed my hand before releasing it. “Thank you for going with me. I had no problem going on my own, but I really do appreciate having someone by my side.”
“Anytime, sweetheart. I’m here for you no matter what.”
11
Jenner
The nurse gave me a grim smile over Pixie’s head as she held the door open for us. In this office, where the majority of the patients had some form of blood cancer, it was hard for anyone to give a brighter greeting, although the staff tried to stay as upbeat as possible for everyone. But they all loved Pixie, and we knew this visit wasn’t going to bring good news.
Minutes later, we were in an exam room waiting on the doctor. Sitting in the chair beside me, Pixie shivered, and I quickly shrugged off my jacket to wrap around her shoulders. She had on a sweatshirt and a jacket of her own, but she stayed cold. Once she was bundled up, I fixed the turban beanie on her head to make sure that her scalp was covered completely, then adjusted her mask that was attached to the button sewn into the side of the turban.
As tiny as she was, anyone could easily mistake her for a small child sitting there all covered up. The only telling signs of her age were the lines around her eyes. Even after all the hell she’d been through in her life, she always found a reason to smile.
“I’m okay,” Pixie tried to assure me, her eyes crinkling up, letting me know she was smiling beneath her mask.
“I know.” It was a lie, though. I didn’t know if she was okay—or if she ever would be. We’d had hope, but this journey with her leukemia had been a roller coaster. There had been so many ups and downs, and I knew she was ready to get off this fucking ride once and for all. But I would ride this damn thing until one of us fell off it.
There was a brisk knock on the door a moment before it opened and Dr. Contreras walked in. He had his tablet tucked under his arm, his eyes going straight to Pixie even as he shook my hand.
“Well, don’t just stand there looking at me,” Pixie grumbled. “Sit down and let’s hear it.”
A weak laugh escaped the doctor, but he did as instructed. Dropping onto the rolling chair, he set his tablet on the counter and started pulling up Pixie’s latest results. “I think we all knew what this was going to tell us, but I still held out hope.” I could see regret in the man’s eyes when he met Pixie’s gaze. “I’m sorry.”