Page 108 of Roaring Fork Rockstar

“We do.”

“Can my toys come with me?” she asked.

“Of course they can,” I said, watching as relief washed over Keltie’s face at Luna’s easy agreement.

“And will you come too, Mr. Holt?”

My heart swelled with love for this child who had somehow become as essential to me as breathing. “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away, Unicorn Girl.”

Luna smiled and kept coloring. I watched her small hands carefully select each crayon, oblivious to the storm gathering around her.

“Dr. Robbins is scheduling the transplant,”Keltie said once we were at the house and upstairs in the bedroom while Luna stayed in the kitchen with Victor. “It will be done at Children’s Hospital in Denver. Luna will need to undergo something called conditioning first—a process that lasts seven to ten days to prepare her body.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“High-dose chemotherapy, possibly radiation,” Keltie explained, her voice dropping. “It destroys the cancer cells and suppresses her immune system to prevent rejection of the donated cells.”

The reality of what Luna would face hit me anew. More hospital rooms. More discomfort. More fear masked as bravery from a child too young to understand why this was happening to her.

“When do we need to go?” I asked quietly.

“They want to begin next week,” Keltie replied. “Dr. Robbins says moving quickly gives Luna the best chance.”

I reached for her hand. “Then, that’s what we’ll do.”

We were on our way downstairs when my phone vibrated with a text. I swiped the screen and saw it was from Ben.

“I’ll catch up with you in a sec,” I said.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

Saying yes aloud would’ve meant I’d be breaking my promise never to lie to her, so I nodded once.

I reread the message.Remi told Phil that he lawyered up. Wants full paternity rights and primary custody post transplant. Says getting tested proves he’s committed to being a father.

I deleted the message, my heart hammering against my ribs. The battle for Luna’s life had begun. The battle for her future loomed right behind it.

29

KELTIE

The Denver skyline appeared ahead as we crossed the city limits. Luna slept peacefully in her booster seat while Holt drove, his hands gripping the wheel a little tighter than necessary as I gazed out the passenger window.

Familiar dread settled in my stomach—heavier this time, knowing what awaited us. The medical procedures that would ravage my daughter’s tiny body were necessary, but terrifying, nonetheless. And somewhere in this city, Luna’s biological father awaited the call to donate his bone marrow—a connection I wasn’t ready to acknowledge but couldn’t avoid.

“She’s been out for almost an hour,” I whispered, glancing at my daughter. Holt’s eyes met mine briefly in the rearview mirror, his face drawn with the same anxiety that clawed at my insides.

I was unable to speak around the lump in my throat. Behind us, I caught my father’s concerned gaze from the car carrying him, Sam, and Beau. Our convoy to what felt both like salvation and doom.

My hands trembled when the hospital’s familiar facade came into view. Luna stirred, blinking drowsily as she took in her surroundings.

“Are we here, Mommy?” Her small voice broke through the silence.

“Yes, baby. We’re here.” I forced a brightness into my tone that I didn’t feel.

Luna sighed, clutching Bunny tighter. “I don’t want more medicine.”

“I know, Luna-bug.” My vision blurred with unshed tears. At four years old, my daughter had endured more pain than most people faced in a lifetime.

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