Last Of The Joeville Lovers

“She’s on the list, but the timing...” Taylor heaved a sigh and decided to tell Josh what was really on her mind. Maybe saying it out loud would give her more confidence. “If there isn’t a donor by the time I get there, I’m giving Mom one of mine.”

She glanced at him, half expecting him to argue the dangers. His jaw muscles knotted and he didn’t comment for the longest time. Then he said, “I wish I could’ve done something to help my mother.”

Taylor stared at him, waiting for more, but nothing came. It was common knowledge at the hospital that Max was widowed, yet she’d never been sure what had happened. How could Josh have helped her? There had been gossip about a possible suicide, but no one seemed certain. It had occurred years before her arrival on campus, and Dr. Max Malone wasn’t one to provide grist for the rumor mill. His private life was just that.

Whether in the classroom or seeing to patients at the hospital or his home clinic, Max was all business. He had a tender and caring heart, but beyond that, he was pretty tight-lipped. If Mom hadn’t told her stories of the techniques he’d pioneered in orthopedic surgery at the University of Michigan Hospital, Taylor might never have known what a remarkable doctor he was. She’d been truly lucky to have such a man as her mentor.

Suddenly Josh pasted on a toothy smile and looked her way, putting aside whatever had been churning behind his troubled blue-gray eyes. “You’re a brave woman, Taylor Phillips.”

She chuckled softly. “I don’t know about that. I try not to think of the surgery and afterward. I just know I have to do something.” He winked at her in that roguish way of his and returned his attention to the skies ahead, falling silent once again.

Why did he play these constant games? For a while she’d thought she’d seen a glimpse of the real man, but the curtain had closed. Once again he took on the air of a carefree playboy and she felt a wave of disappointment, not certain why. Curious, she studied his sun-streaked sandy hair, which hung carelessly over the collar of his aviator jacket, and she wondered if he worked at this unruly look or if it came naturally with his behavior.

He banked the plane unexpectedly, and she jerked against her seat belt. Annoyed she turned her head and muttered caustically under her breath. “Fast with cars, planes and women. What a man!”

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing. I—” The single engine sputtered and the nose dipped radically. She gripped her armrests. “What was that?”

He leveled the plane, seeming unconcerned. “She’s an old plane. Don’t worry about it. Everything’s okay.”

She spotted the airport just ahead and wished they were on the ground safely.

“Next time I take you for a ride, I’ll have my new plane and you won’t look so worried.”

She crossed her arms and tried to relax, glad the engine noise had returned to normal and that they had begun their descent.

A new plane, she thought. Must be nice. Here she would be paying on student loans well into the twenty-first century, and this guy’s talking about buying a plane as if it were no bigger deal than a pair of boots. She’d been right to think he was a self-centered, spoiled—

“Will you call and let us know how your mom is doing?”

Taylor stared at him a moment. Who was this man? And why was she even wasting time trying to figure him out?

Josh glanced over when she didn’t answer.

“Y-yes. Sure.” She closed her mouth and watched the smooth landing, shrugging all thoughts of Joshua Malone from her head and worrying once again about the days ahead.

She would make her plane without a problem. If only there wasn’t a layover in Minneapolis—it would take at least another seven hours until she reached her mother’s side.

Please, God. Don’t let me be too late.

Josh helped her down the steps and carried her bags across the tarmac to the terminal. Taylor seemed a million miles away and he understood. He wished he could think of appropriate words to comfort her, but he remembered hearing all the platitudes after his mother’s death and how he’d felt. So he remained silent and walked alongside her to the gate.

He stayed with Taylor until her row was called, then he wished her good luck and watched her move gracefully down the jetway.

A feeling of anxiety stirred behind his rib cage. He didn’t know why or when the game had changed, but he knew it had. Taylor Phillips was no longer just another challenge. He was starting to care about this woman—what made her tick, what would happen to her in Ann Arbor, and when would she return?

He spun on his heel and strode toward the exit.

How had he let this happen?

Two

The men’s room door opened ahead of Taylor as she neared the entrance to Intensive Care, and the sad figure of John Phillips emerged. At first he didn’t notice her, his head down, shoulders rounded, no doubt from fatigue as well as worry.

“Dad!” She moved quickly to him and welcomed his warm embrace. He squeezed her tight, and for the longest time said nothing. Over her father’s shoulder she said gently, “It’s going to be okay, Dad. I’ve made a decision.”

He stepped back and eyed her curiously, his face looking more lined than she’d ever remembered. Taylor took him by the shoulders and stared into his weary dark eyes, hoping to instill a measure of hope in him. “I’m going to give Mom one of my kidneys.” He started to shake his head, but she stilled it between her hands. “There’s no point arguing with me. While I’m seeing Mom, would you try finding her doctor...have him paged, if need be.” She looked around them and added, “Where’s Michael?”

“Your brother’s in the chapel.” He stared at the tile floor. “Sweetheart—”

“Please, Dad. Just find the doctor. Let’s not waste time.” She kissed his cheek as if he’d agreed and then punched the metal square on the wall. The large double doors to ICU swung open and she raced to the desk beyond.

“I’m here to see Angela Phillips. I’m her daughter.”

“Room six to the right...but you can only stay a few minutes.”

“Thank you.” She tore around the corner, found the room and came to an abrupt stop in the doorway. Tubes ran to bags and monitors in all directions. She’d seen it hundreds of times before, but none had been her mother...except for that one time years ago after the car wreck. Then, like now, Mom seemed so frail and vulnerable, so unlike the vibrant and energetic woman she had always been.

Angela’s eyelids fluttered, then opened to narrow slits when she rolled her head toward the door. Taylor let out a cleansing breath and raced to her mother’s side.

“Taylor—” Angela reached out a shaky hand, IVs channeled through a heplock into a puffy vein. “I’m so glad you made it—”

In time. Those were the words that hung between them, but Taylor refused to believe them.

“Mom, you have to fight this.” Then she forced a smile. “You’re getting a new kidney. Everything’s going to be all right.”

Angela closed her eyes and a sweet smile curved her lips. “I can’t let you do that, dear.”

“Who said it was me?”

Angela squinted at her with a knowing look.

“Well, I’m going to do it, so there’s no point discussing it.” Taylor glanced at the monitors and read the numbers. They would have to improve before surgery, but now that Mom knew there was hope, surely she would fight harder.

She had to.

Taylor couldn’t imagine life without her mother. They had always been so close, even when separated by miles. The weekly Sunday night phone calls were followed by long, chatty letters. There was nothing they didn’t share.

“Taylor?” Angela whispered, as she closed her eyes again.

Taylor leaned across the railing and kissed her mother’s clammy forehead. “I’m right here, Mama.” She kept her face near, and Angela’s lips barely moved.

“You have to do something for me—”

“Anything, Mama.” She swallowed hard to keep from crying. She had never seen her mother this sick, not even after the accident.

Angela squeezed Taylor’s hand and she watched tears escape from behind her mother’s closed lids. “Please don’t hate me—”