Page 94 of Tumbleweed Temptation
She snorted and turned back to her editing. “I’ll let you know as soon as he gets here.”
Relieved she didn't ask any more questions, he turned back into his office, his stomach in knots. He wished he could tell Ginny, could talk it out with her, practice what he was going to say. He could think of no good way to tell a man he was probably going to die.
But Mr. McKay took it pretty well. He nodded as Austin laid it out for him, explained treatment options, explained that the diabetes was a sign.
“So why are we doing a biopsy if you’re pretty sure that’s what it is?”
“We want to be a hundred percent before we start with treatment, to know the best way going forward.”
“What if I choose not to take the treatment?”
Knowing what he did about Mr. McKay, the question didn't surprise Austin. Well, not as much as it might have. He leaned forward on his desk.
“Sir. You’re not an old man. Why wouldn't you want to fight with every part of you to live?”
“You’re telling me the survival rates are really small. Why would I ruin the rest of my life by putting poison in my body?”
“I’m going to lay out all your options, and of course it’s your decision, but if it was me, at your age, I’d do anything I could to stick around. You’re stubborn as hell, so I would put money on you being one of the survivors.”
The older man looked at him for a long moment. “I’ll think about it.”
“I have your biopsy scheduled for next Friday. I can go with you—”
Mr. McKay pushed to his feet. “I’ll let you know.”
Denial. Austin knew that well. He’d give the man a chance to let everything sink in, and then he’d visit him to make sure he was doing okay.
Well, as well as could be expected.
Geez. He needed some joy right now. As soon as he was sure Mr. McKay was gone, he stepped out of his office to find Ginny. He wished he could unload on her, but right now he just needed to see her, to touch her. She was the only thing keeping him afloat, and he hadn’t even touched her in days.
She stepped out of the second exam room holding a box of trash bags, and looked up in surprise when he stepped toward her, looped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him.
Her hands went up to her sides, as if in protest, before he lowered his mouth to hers. He teased her lips apart softly, and she sighed against his mouth, her hands dropping to his shoulders, then around them. Everything in him went quiet at the scent of her, the taste of her, and he pressed deeper.
“So this is why you wanted her to come work for you?”
The voice on the other side of the desk had Ginny jolting so hard she bruised his lower lip. He stepped back from her, lifting his hand to the injured area. Ginny pushed around him.
“Good morning, Mrs. Aguilar,” she told Sofia’s mom breathlessly. “I’ve got your exam room ready.”
“Indeed.”
Mrs. Aguilar looked from one to the other, a glint in her eye that Austin couldn't decipher, but Ginny wouldn't look at him at all. That, he could read loud and clear.
Okay, so he’d messed up. He shouldn’t have kissed her in the office. He shouldn’t maybe have kissed her when they hadn’t even talked about what the last kiss had meant, when he’d gone ahead with his life acting like that kiss hadn’t even mattered.
It had mattered. But his life had turned upside down right after it. He should have let himself turn to Ginny, but he hadn’t.
They needed to talk, but now they couldn’t. After Mrs. Aguilar’s appointment, Mr. Soto was coming in.
And tomorrow was the funeral.
“Hey, can we get dinner tonight?” he asked when he walked out of the exam room after Mr. Nazareth left. She already had her purse and her tote with her manuscript over her shoulder, ready to escape. He wondered if she’d planned to leave before he even came out.
“I can’t. I told Grandpa I’d bring home some fish from the diner, and I still have a lot of work to do before my deadline.”
“Gin, we need to talk.”
