Page 77 of Ransom

"I should head back to the station." Adam touches my shoulder briefly. "Let me know about that rain check."

I watch him walk away, his back straight, ignoring Ransom's glare. The Adam who'd returned from deployment had been different—the cocky swagger replaced by a quiet confidence, the meanness burned away by whatever he'd seen over there.

"Blair," Ransom says, scowling at me.

I turn back to Ransom, my jaw tight. "Don't start."

"What's going on with you and him?" His voice has that edge I remember too well.

"Why is that any of your business?" I cross my arms. "Do you expect me to account for every relationship I've had in twenty-five years? Should I make you a spreadsheet? Do you think you have any right to that information? Do you want to give me a list of every woman you've been with?"

The sarcasm hits its mark. Ransom's face flushes, and he runs a hand through his hair—a gesture so familiar it makes my chest ache just for a second. "You're right. I'm sorry." He takes a breath. "I actually came to tell you I took Maggie home. She was getting tired."

My anger deflates. "Thanks."

"She… she doesn't look good," he says, making my heart shudder in my chest. He sees the panic on my face and holds up a hand. "I'm sorry. I mean she's not worse, but God, she's wasting away." He steps closer. "She said she's not getting treatment, that the doctors can't do any more for her. How are you handling her decision to stop treatment?"

The question hits like a sucker punch. My hands shake. "How do you think I'm handling it?"

Don't break. Don't break. Don't break.

"I hate it," I whisper. "But I can't force her to keep fighting. You didn't see what the chemo did to her last time."

"So she could be getting treatment. There's a chance? Because I know some specialists in Chicago—top oncologists. They could assess her case tomorrow?—"

I throw my hand up in front of his face, stopping his words. "We've been to the city, Ransom. I drove her to every appointment. Sat there while doctor after doctor said the same thing—there's no miracle cure."

"Then we look outside the country. There are experimental treatments?—"

A harsh laugh escapes me. "With what money? In case you hadn't noticed, I run a small-town garage. I'm not exactly rolling in international medical treatment funds."

Ransom looks like I slapped him. "I would pay. Of course, I would pay."

"No." I shake my head hard, unwilling to let even a little bit of hope in. "Don't do that. Don't give me hope." My voice cracks. "I've worked so damn hard to accept this. To be strong for her and Max. Because that's what she wants. I can't hope again. I can't spend the time she has left arguing with her or being bitter. I just can't."

Taking a long, shuddering breath, I give him the truth I couldn't give Maggie. "If I thought I could convince her to try anything, I would have signed that paperwork and taken your five million dollars. But I've tried. And I fucking failed." My lungs are tight; I can't get enough breath.

"Blair-" He reaches for me, and I slide back from his hands.

"Don't." I step back. "Please. Just don't."

Ransom drags his hands through his hair, frustration rolling off him in waves. "I get it. I do. But it feels wrong to just... give up."

"You think I haven't said that to her? Begged her?" My voice cracks. "She's done fighting. The treatments make her so sick she can't even hold Max. Can't read to him or play with him. And that's killing her faster than the cancer."

His eyes soften. "Max. That's her kid, right? She mentioned him."

"Yeah." Despite everything, thinking about Max brings a smile to my face. "He's six. Smart as hell, but has no filter. Like, zero. He told Mrs. Winston her face looked like a raisin last week."

Ransom barks out a surprised laugh. "Bet that went over well."

"She gave him extra cookies. Said honesty deserved rewards." I shake my head. "This town, I swear."

"You help raise him?"

"Yeah. Maggie had a hard pregnancy. Then I stayed to make sure she had help. Then I didn't leave because it was fun to be around them." I cross my arms. "And now, I can't leave because someone needs to be there when..." I can't finish the sentence.

"When Maggie can't be." Ransom's voice is gentle. "He sounds like a great kid. I'm looking forward to meeting him."

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