Page 46 of Just One Kiss

Only a million.

Namely, why? Why did this have to happen to her son, who finally seemed happy, who had something in that training center that brought more joy than anything ever had for him before.

A little over a year ago, Carly had been worried about her son. He had a sadness in him she couldn’t quite place. He had a few friends through church, but mostly, he was a loner—but skiing changed that. It became more than just a passing fancy—and her son blossomed. He smiled more. He had friends. He’d even been out on two sort-of dates. Was everything going to change now?

“Is surgery the only option?” Josh asked.

Another good question. Why hadn’t Carly asked that?

“There are medications used to treat Long QT, but we would feel most comfortable implanting the device. Given what we’re seeing in his tests, that would be my recommendation.” Dr. Roby stood. “Any sudden burst of adrenaline can put your heart into a fatal rhythm. This isn’t something to take lightly.”

Carly resisted the urge to ask the man which person in the room seemed to be taking any of this lightly? Did he not see her son’s heart was broken—literally?

“We’re going to give you some time to discuss,” Dr. Roby said. “Just open the door when you’re ready for us to come back in.”

The two doctors left, leaving the three of them sitting in silence. Carly stood and walked over to Jaden, whose lower lip trembled.

She wrapped him in a hug and forced herself to hold it together.

You’re the strong one, Carly. He needs you to be strong.

It didn’t matter that she didn’t feel strong. It didn’t matter that her mind was spinning with worst-case scenario thoughts or that her fear and anxiety were at an all-time high. She had a son who needed her, and he didn’t need to see her falling apart.

She could do that later, when nobody was looking.

“It’s going to be okay,” she said.

Jaden’s jaw quivered and tears slid down his cheeks. He quickly wiped them away with a sternI’m okaynod.

Beside them, Josh stood, maybe feeling awkward and unsure. But he slid an arm around Jaden’s other shoulder and they stayed like that for a long moment.

Carly found Josh’s eyes over Jaden’s head and he gave her the slightest, almost undetectable nod—a nod that saidWe’re going to be okayand she clung to it. She had to believe it.

The knot of anger she’d carried around in her belly for all these years slowly began to unravel, only a little bit, but it was something, and she found herself grateful she wasn’t facing this storm alone.

She was the one with medical knowledge, and yet, in this case, that may be working against her. How little statistics meant to her when she constantly saw exceptions to every rule, when she constantly saw that common things weren’t always common.

“I can’t quit skiing.” Jaden wiped his eyes dry with the back of his hand.

Carly looked up to keep from crying. Why was this so hard? She’d been strong for sixteen years of this kid’s life—why was she flailing so badly now?

“Look, I know it’s not what any of us wanted,” Carly said. “But it’s treatable. That’s what we need to focus on. You get to go on living your life.”

“You don’t get it,” Jaden said. “If I can’t ski, I’m not living my life.”

She knew that. She couldn’t be insensitive to how he was feeling right now. This whole thing just stank—there was no way around it.

“Your health is the most important thing,” Carly said. “Let’s get that taken care of and then we’ll worry about the rest of it.”

Jaden’s gaze fell to the floor as he tried not to cry.

“We’ll get a second opinion,” Josh said.

Carly shot him a look.

“I mean, that guy might be great, but he doesn’t know everything.”

“Josh.”

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