Page 170 of Heartless
Sienna
As we drove away from the cemetery, I shut my eyes, only reopening them when Jake took my hand and set it on his thigh.
Drawing from the strength of his touch, I took a deep breath.“After my meeting with Joel, I called Dr.Hailsham to ask about being an organ donor.He confirmed some of what Joel had said: I was healthy enough to do it, but he was also reluctant because of the complexity of the surgery.”
My throat tightened.My fingers did too.
Jake responded with a quick glance in my direction.“I’m here, baby.”
I cleared my throat.“Since I was six, he bought me Christmas gifts every year that I was allowed to open before Christmas.He...he used to call me his little Kintsugi, like the Japanese art because he said my heart was mended with gold.He was my special, kind uncle who took care of my heart, and I—” I swallowed hard.
Jake kissed the back of my fingers, and I loosened my grip.
“I want children.At least two because if I die when they’re young, I don’t want them to...they’ll have each other.There’s a high chance that the CHD makes getting pregnant naturally a challenge.”
Jake’s gravelly voice filled the car.“You’ll have them and live to see your great-grandchildren.”
I hung on to his words for long seconds.
“We’re nearly home, baby.”
“Dr.Hailsham called me on Monday and said he’d done more research and wanted to give me the full picture.”I turned to Jake’s profile.“Today he said his research concluded that I could go through the surgery and be fine.”I shook my head.“He never says ‘fine,’ and the way he said it...his face...I just knew.I knew he was lying to me.When I asked him, he admitted that Nigel promised him tons of money for his hospital if he convinced me to go through with the donation.”
I turned my head toward the window.“I can’t trust him anymore.My duncle ...”My sentence hovered unfinished while the car veered into the underground parking of our building.
With my hand back into Jake’s, we entered my apartment.
He locked the door behind us and pulled me to him.“Come here, baby.”
I melted into his sheltering arms.He held me tight.Then he carried me to the sofa where he sat me in his lap, and I buried my forehead in the base of his throat.
I needed him.
And he was there.
Chapter Forty-Two—Banana Pudding
