Page 128 of Wyatt

Wyatt the superstar? He frowned at Tate. “I’m not the superstar.”

“Whatever, Mr. Blue Ox. Dad would shut himself in the den to watch your Bobcat games, and if we disturbed him, he’d send us out to the barn. Thankfully, I wasn’t around much for that part. But we all knew who Dad’s favorite was.”

Tate winked. Then he turned to one of the guys standing by the door. “Contact Swamp and tell him to give my brother a ride to the hospital.”

He slapped Wyatt on the shoulder. “See you tomorrow at the rally.” Then he let himself back into the room.

We all knew who Dad’s favorite was?

Wyatt had taken the elevator down, and Tate’s friend, Swamp, had met him in the lobby. He had led Wyatt out to an SUV in the lot, and now he wove through the city, turning finally onto Sand Point Way.

Swamp pulled up to the darkened taxi entrance near the side of the hospital.

Wyatt got out. “Thanks.”

Swamp lifted a hand and drove off.

The place was quiet, the hallway dark as Wyatt walked toward the main lobby. He noticed a light on in the coffee shop down the hall, a female barista packing up a display of stuffed animals. He dismissed the idea of a cup of coffee and followed the tile, scattered with geometric ocean life, to the elevator and took it up to the fourth floor.

Mikka’s room was dark, and it took a second for him to make out his mother sitting in the recliner reading something on her phone. Mikka lay on the bed, asleep. Wyatt eased the door open a bit wider.

“Ma?” he whispered.

She turned and offered a soft smile. “Wyatt. Honey. I knew you’d come back.”

He dropped his duffel bag on the floor, quietly. “Yeah. About that…I…” He ran a hand behind his neck. “So—”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake. I know this darling boy is your son, Wyatt. And I don’t need to know the details, but he’s a joy and a delight. I’m thrilled to be a grandma.”

Huh.

She got up, walked over to Wyatt, and put her arms around his waist. “And I love you. So just take a breath.”

Oh. Ma. His arms went around her. “I love you too.”

She looked up. “And Coco?”

“You know how I feel about Coco.”

“Yes, Number One, I do.” She let him go.

“Where is she, by the way?”

“Downstairs. She left to use the internet café just a little bit ago. She’ll be right back.”

Right.

He walked over to Mikka, then eased into the chair by his bedside. He could probably use more ice. “How is he?”

“He’s good. He had a lumbar puncture today. They got the results back. Sarai says that he has all the markers for ALL—Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia.”

He took that in, braced himself for the impact, and nodded. “So, now what?”

“Chemotherapy first, to kill the white blood cells, and then, maybe a stem cell transplant. But Sarai said she’ll go over all of this with you tomorrow.”

“I guess I should get tested to see if I’m a match.”

Her hand landed on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, son.”

---