“I have a daughter in stage four kidney failure and have no way to continue to pay for her treatments.” Moisture forms in her eyes, but she blinks a few times and it’s gone. “I have no one else to turn to, or I wouldn’t be here.”
I stand up, shocked at what she’s telling me. Not only the fact that she has a daughter, one with kidney failure, but also because she came to me for help when I know I’m the last person she would choose to ask. This is hard on her. I can see it in the wariness in her eyes as she looks at me imploringly. I can see it in her slumped shoulders. She’s putting on a brave face, but looking closely, I see past the bravado. She obviously cares deeply for her daughter, just as any mother should. The situation must be very dire.
“Tell me more,” I demand. An ache forms in my chest for the child, right alongside the anguish building for her mother. I’ve always had a soft spot for children. I may never want one of my own, but any child suffering triggers a deep-seated need to fix whatever’s ailing them.
Ellie clears her throat and switches from one foot to the other. Then crosses her arms over her chest protectively. She’s nervous or scared. I can’t tell which, but the thought of her feeling either has me on edge.
“She developed an infection after having strep throat. The infection caused her immune system to overproduce antibodies, which damaged her kidneys. It can normally be treated with medication, but her kidneys are too far gone. She’s currently undergoing dialysis, but the doctors aren’t hopeful.”
“What do you mean, they aren’t hopeful? What’s her other options?”
“She needs a transplant,” she answers, her voice low. “If she doesn’t get it, she’ll die.”
Her voice cracks on the last word. I lock my knees in place to keep from going to her. I may be a bastard to most people outside of Malus, but Ellie’s always been able to get to me. From the very first moment I laid my eyes on her beautiful gray ones, she had me mesmerized. And fuck if they still don’t captivate me. Even when they’re filled with pain.
But I lost the right to offer her comfort twelve years ago when I ended things with her the way I did.
“Where’s her father?” I ask, keeping my tone even. I want to hunt the guy down and beat the shit out of him. Either he’s an asshole and not in the picture, dead, or a worthless piece of shit that can’t provide for his family. I didn’t notice a ring on Ellie’s finger, so I’m banking on one of the first two.
“He’s uh… never been in the picture,” she says, her gaze sliding away from me.
I eye her. There’s something she’s not telling me.
“What about your parents? If I remember correctly, they were more than capable of taking on your daughter’s medical expenses.”
Her parents were snobby Catholics who never associated with anyone who didn’t believe in the same faith. I only met them once and never wanted to see them again.
“I haven’t spoken with them since they disowned me. They’ve never met Maisy and never wanted to.”
Anger on Ellie’s behalf has my hands balling into fists. I really fucking hate people sometimes.
I don’t consider myself an overly friendly person. The only people I allow to get close to me are my brothers, Mae, and my women. I care for the people of Malus, consider them friends and family, and would do damn near anything for them, but I keep a wall between me and most people. Besides Dale when he was alive, Ellie has been the only other person I’ve allowed myself to open up to.
As soon as she said she needed help taking care of her daughter’s medical expenses, it was hers. It’s the least I can do after putting her through what I did when I broke things off between us. And it’s not like I can’t afford it.
“There’s more,” Ellie’s whispered words has my eyes focusing back on her.
She starts picking at her nails, a habit she had twelve years ago when she became anxious, and I become suspicious.
I narrow my eyes. “What?”
“She has a rare blood type. One that isn’t easily found among organ donors.”
“Is she already on the donor list? I’ll see what I can do about speeding up finding her a kidney.”
Instead of answering, she takes several steps back until she’s standing in the doorway. It’s not until then that her eyes leave mine. She looks to the left outside my office and holds out her hand.
“Maisy, come here, sweetie.”
I clench my jaw. Up until then, I’ve managed to ignore the tiny voice in the back of my head whispering shit about being jealous of the man who gave Ellie a child. Who gave her something she dreamed of having one day. I’ve pushed those thoughts away so far, but I’m about to be forced to face them, and I don’t know how I feel about it. Part of me desperately wants to meet her daughter, knowing she’s a big part of Ellie. Another part wants to stop it from happening. I’m man enough to admit it scares me shitless, because giving Ellie a child was something I greatly wanted to do. It was just never something I could offer her.
I look away from the doorway to give myself another moment, but when I look back, I realize there’s not a damn thing I could have done to prepare myself for what I see. She’s older than I expected, and there’s no mistaking she’s sick from the pallor of her skin and the frailness of her body. All of that barely registers though. What I’m fixated on is her face. She has dark brown hair and bright green eyes. The same exact eyes I look into in the mirror each morning. The same eyebrow shape as my own. And if that’s not fucking telling enough, she has a small indent in her chin, exactly like I do.
As the girl stands at her mother’s side, my accusing eyes shoot up to Ellie’s. What in the ever-lovin’ fuck is she playing at here? This girl, who looks to be around ten or eleven, is mine. If the striking resemblance didn’t tell me so, the look in Ellie’s eyes screams it. She has her arm protectively wrapped around Maisy’s slender shoulders, and she’s looking at me with guilt and resolve. Something else lurks in her gaze. Bold defiance, maybe? Whatever in the hell it is, it pisses me off. What I did back when we were together is thrown out the window in the face of her deception. I may have been an asshole then, but that’s no excuse for keeping my daughter away from me.
“Do you want to explain to me what exactly is going on here?” I ask calmly.
It takes super human effort to keep from exploding. No matter how hot my blood’s boiling right now, Ellie’s explanation doesn’t need to be made in front of my… daughter. Fuck, that’s something I never thought would ever happen.