“Sometimes I’m scared to close my eyes,” Tony whispered. “’Cause I’m afraid I won’t wake up.”
Ah, hell, Mack thought, blinking back tears.
“You don’t need to worry about that now,” Mack said, his voice choked. “Nothing’s going to happen while I’m here with you.”
Tony’s eyes blinked open and his expression turned serious. “It could, Mack. So if it does, will you tell my mom I love her?”
Mack struggled to maintain his composure. If this boy could lie here so bravely facing death, then surely he could give Tony the reassurance he needed to hear. “I think your mom already knows that,” he told Tony. “But I’ll tell her.”
Tony sighed then and finally allowed himself to fall asleep, his hand still clinging to Mack’s.
And somewhere deep inside, Mack’s heart broke.
Chapter Six
When Beth finally finished dealing with the emergency that had sent her racing away from Mack, she felt as if she’d been through an emotional wringer. The young patient who’d come in with a severe reaction to her chemotherapy had finally been stabilized and sent to a room. Beth would have given just about anything to go home to her own room, to spend an hour soaking in a hot bath and then to crawl beneath the covers and sleep for a month.
Instead, she drew in a deep breath, steadied her nerves and headed to Tony’s room to break the news about the transfusion scheduled for morning. She was not looking forward to the meeting with Mrs. Vitale. Maria had had just about all the bad news she could handle lately.
As Beth turned the corner toward Tony’s room, she spotted Mack in the hall, shoulders slumped, eyes closed. He was leaning against a wall, looking about as wiped-out as she felt.
“You okay?” she asked.
He blinked as if he’d been a million miles away, then smiled weakly. “How the hell do you do this every day?” he asked, his voice filled with respect.
Beth instinctively glanced at the door to Tony’s room. “A tough night in there?”
Mack nodded, his expression bleak. “You could say that. Tony asked me to tell his mom he loved her if he died during his nap.”
“Oh, no,” Beth whispered, her heart aching for him and for Tony. “I’m so sorry, Mack.”
“Don’t be sorry for me,” he said fiercely. “Be sorry for Tony. No kid should ever have to say something like that. He shouldn’t have that kind of weight on his shoulders. My God, how does he bear it?”
Beth put her hand on his arm, felt the muscle jerk beneath her touch. “I couldn’t agree with you more, but sometimes life simply isn’t fair or just. If you can’t accept that, then you’d better not choose medicine as a career.”
“Then you accept it?” he asked skeptically.
“I have to,” she said. “It’s not easy, but what else can I do? I have to focus on the times we win, not on the times we lose.”
“I don’t envy you. Compared to this, getting pummeled on a football field on Sundays was a piece of cake.”
She managed a weak smile. “Maybe I should give that a try sometime.”
He grinned. “I imagine you have some pretty tricky moves, Doc. How’s your throwing arm?”
“Like a girl’s.”
“Yeah, it figures.” His expression sobered and his gaze sought hers. “You know what else was on Tony’s mind tonight?”
She was almost afraid to ask. “What?”
“He thought I should ask you on a date.” Mack shook his head. “The kid is sick as a dog and he’s matchmaking.”
Beth grinned, despite the sorrow eating at her. “More proof that life goes on. Even a kid like Tony sees that.” She studied Mack’s tense expression and decided he’d gotten a whole lot more than he’d bargained for when he’d befriended Tony. “Tell you what. I’m going to break a vow and ask you on a date.”
Mack regarded her with surprise. “You made a vow never to ask me out?”
“I made a vow never to ask any man out,” she corrected.
“Any particular reason?”
“It tends to give a man the illusion that he has the upper hand,” she explained.
“And you don’t like relinquishing control?”
“Not especially.”
“But you’re willing to make an exception for me?”
“Yes, and don’t make me regret it by reacting predictably and letting your ego get out of hand. It’s dinner, Mack. Nothing more.”
Mack chuckled. “I think I can control my ego.” He gave her a thorough once-over with a devilish twinkle in his eye. “And my hormones, if it comes to that.”