Beth wanted to scream at Mack for saying such a thing, but she knew he was right, knew it was exactly what Tony needed to hear from his hero. She held her breath, praying he would say more, praying he would tell Tony that that time hadn’t yet come.
Mack gave Tony’s hand a squeeze and reached up to settle his cap more firmly on his bald head. “But you know what?” he said gently. “I’ve got to believe that Dr. Beth here knows what she’s talking about. It’s too soon to give up.”
A faint glimmer of hope lit Tony’s eyes. “You think so?”
“I really do,” Mack said. “I think there’s a lot more fight in you, Tony. And I promise you that I’ll be right here with you every step of the way. If the day comes when you can’t bear one more treatment or one more needle, you say the word. Okay?”
Tony nodded. “And you won’t let my mom be too sad?”
Mack cleared his throat, carefully avoiding Beth’s gaze. She could tell that he, too, was fighting tears.
“That’s the thing about moms,” Mack told him. “There’s no way to keep them from being sad, but they always, always understand.”
Tony struggled up and threw himself into Mack’s arms. “I love you,” he whispered.
Beth saw Mack’s arms tighten around the boy, but his words were muffled when he responded. She didn’t have to hear them, though, to know that he’d once more said exactly the right thing.
And in that moment of deepest despair, when her heart was breaking for Tony, she also felt it fill with something else and was finally forced to admit that she was wildly, madly—and totally unexpectedly—in love with Mack Carlton.
Chapter Twelve
Mack left Tony’s room half-blinded by tears he was struggling not to shed. Oblivious to everything, he strode down the hall, took the stairs two at a time and left the hospital, needing to escape from the overwhelming emotions, needing fresh air and…hell, he didn’t know what else. He’d never felt like this before, completely and utterly helpless. He hated discovering such weakness in himself.
He was also shocked to discover just how cleverly Tony had slipped past all of his defenses. What had begun as a good deed, what had continued as a way to keep seeing Beth, had turned into genuine affection for the boy. No, even more than that, he loved the feisty kid with the smart mouth and the brave heart. And today he’d fully realized for the first time that he actually could lose him.
He was halfway to his car when he finally heard Beth’s cries and realized she’d been chasing after him the whole way. He stood in the parking lot and waited for her to catch up.
“I can’t talk about this,” he said flatly when she was still several yards away.
His warning apparently fell on deaf ears, because she faced him with a stubborn set to her jaw and compassion in her eyes.
“I know you’re upset by what happened in there,” she began. “Who wouldn’t be?”
“Beth, I told you, I am not discussing it,” he said again. He didn’t think he could bear it. He didn’t want the raw emotions reduced to words, didn’t want to hash it all out in a calm, reasonable way. Facts couldn’t possibly tell the story. Nothing she said, however hopeful, could give a guaranteed future to Tony.
“Mack, I know you must have a thousand thoughts running through your head about what just happened in there, but you handled it exactly right,” she continued, talking right over his objection. “You were wonderful. You were encouraging and reassuring, but you didn’t sugarcoat anything. Most important, you didn’t dismiss what Tony had to say. It’s not easy to hear, but Tony needs someone he can be honest with, someone who won’t flinch when he says what he’s really feeling. He is so lucky to have you.”
Lucky? If she thought Tony was lucky in any way at all, much less just because Mack was around, she was crazy. Tony didn’t need Mack. He needed a miracle.
Trying to comprehend where she was coming from, Mack stared at her through his sunglasses. They were hardly necessary with dusk falling, but they were the only shield he had to keep her from seeing the despair that must be in his eyes. Even so, he could tell that she understood, that she was desperately trying to reassure him, when it should have been the other way around. He should be the one bolstering her up. That conversation couldn’t have been easy for her to hear, either.
He drew in a deep breath and forced himself to speak. “You have no idea what it took for me not to sit there and curse God and medicine and everything else right there in front of him,” he admitted finally.