A Heart Decision (26 page)

She should only know what all the guys at their
college had called BJ behind his back after one of his dates spread
it around campus how much he’d spent on her in a single
evening.

Had Luke been envious of
Blow Job Elliott
and
all the female attention he’d received? Damn straight. However,
what he’d felt then couldn’t begin to compare to the insane
jealousy he experienced now when he thought about Ben making love
to Sabrina.

“So who are we talking to today?” she asked, yanking
him out of his memories.

“I made an appointment with Jake Manion. He hung out
his shingle about a year ago.”

“The high school football coach? Doesn’t he deal
mostly with teens and families?”

“Yeah, but he has his doctorate in general
counseling.” Luke shrugged one shoulder. “We both played
quarterback in college. Although, he was good enough to go
pro.”

“You would’ve been, too, if you hadn’t screwed up
your shoulder. You still managed to win a heck of a lot of games
for your team.”

“I appreciate your high opinion of my athletic
ability, but I doubt I would’ve been drafted. His son, Alex, is
playing at Penn State now. I figured, since Jake and I have
football in common, I’d be more comfortable talking to him than a
stranger.”

“Makes sense.”

They drove quietly through the center of Redemption
to the country road that led to Jake’s home. The tires crunched the
gravel on the road’s shoulder as he turned the car into the
Manions’ long wide driveway, which could accommodate at least eight
vehicles.

Jake’s sprawling rancher sat on several acres of
property that included a small duck pond behind the house.

Sabrina pointed to the large Victorian on the
opposite side of the shaded road where a big hairy dog slept on the
wraparound porch beautifully decorated with pumpkins, cornstalks,
and mums. “I didn’t realize Jake lives right across the street from
Nick and Sam Riverá.”

“The name’s familiar, but I don’t—”

“You met them at my birthday party. Their daughter
Dani used to be one of my patients.”

“Right.” He nodded. Not that he really remembered
the couple.

When they climbed out of the car, a beautiful blonde
woman stepped out of the house, carrying an infant on her hip. “You
must be Luke. I’m Maggie, Jake’s wife.”

“Hi. It’s nice to meet you.” He balanced on his
crutches, shook her hand, and introduced Sabrina, who gushed over
the baby.

“What’s this sweetie’s name, and how old is
she?”

“This is Katie, also known as Katie-Kat or Kitten to
Jake. She’s almost seven months old and is already spoiled rotten
by her adoring father.”

“Well, I can see why.” Sabrina stroked the baby’s
blond head and slanted a smile at Luke. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

“She is.” His throat tightened as he imagined what
their baby would look like if he could give Sabrina a child. If
their daughter took after her, she could easily resemble the
Manions’ little girl, except their baby would have bright green
eyes instead of blue.

“Come in.” Maggie led them into the house and down a
center hallway to the office situated off a giant great room which
was adjacent to a huge country kitchen.

“Great layout,” Luke told Maggie.

“Jake gets all the credit. I married him and moved
in long after the house was built. But I really love this place.”
Maggie sat Katie in a baby swing and jerked her head toward the
study. “Go on in. Jake’s waiting for you.”

Luke poked his head in the doorway. “Hey, Coach. Or
should we call you Doc?”

“Why don’t we keep things informal? Call me
Jake.”

The dark-haired man was probably seven or eight
years older than Luke, but he still had an athlete’s build. He
stood and closed the door behind them. After Luke introduced
Sabrina, Jake gestured to the sofa. “Have a seat and tell me why
you wanted to see me.”

They settled side by side on the couch while Jake
sank into the armchair facing them, a yellow legal pad in his lap.
It took Luke over fifteen minutes to explain his medical situation,
his relationship with Ben and Sabrina, and everything that
entailed.

“Anyway,” he said in conclusion, “the receptionist
at the genetic testing center told me I should choose someone to
support me through the process. I figured since Sabrina will be
doing that, she should come to these counseling sessions.”

Jake glanced at her. “And how do you feel about all
of this? Do you want Luke to be screened for Huntington’s?”

“If that’s what it’ll take for him to feel he can
become my husband without worrying he’ll one day be a burden to
me.”

“So that’s a yes.”

She nodded.

“Do you think it’s possible he’ll become a burden if
he gets sick?”

“No, of course not. I love him.”

“Luke mentioned you’re a nurse, so you know that
what you feel for someone doesn’t make it easier to watch him
suffer. Nor does love make it more fun to take care of that person
when he becomes an invalid. So I’m asking again—do you think you
would feel resentful if Luke gets sick?”

“I’m guessing I’m supposed to say yes.”

“There’s no right or wrong answer. Only honest
ones.”

She glanced at Luke and shrugged. “Of course it’s
possible I’ll occasionally feel put upon. I wouldn’t be human if I
didn’t. But you don’t stop loving someone simply because they’re
sick.”

“Especially if one of the reasons you think you love
them is because they’re sick.” Luke muttered.

Sabrina spun her head toward him. “Why would you say
something like that?”

Jake stared at him and raised his eyebrows,
indicating he wanted to hear the answer to that question, too.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because you’re a
compulsive caretaker. It makes me wonder if part of the reason
you’re so hung up on me is because you think I’ll need you
someday.”

“That’s ridiculous. I was in love with you long
before I ever knew you might have Huntington’s.”

“So,”—Jake gestured to her—“would you say you have a
lot at stake in whether Luke decides to be screened and in the
outcome of the test?”

“Sure.”

“In that case, do you think you’re the best person
to advise him on this subject if he asks for your opinion?”

“Wait a minute.” Luke held up one hand. “Are you
suggesting she’ll try to influence me one way or the other out of
self-interest?”

“It’s not a question of whether she’ll
try
to
influence you.” Jake leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees.
“A better question is
can
she?”

“Change my mind?”

“Yes.”

“Of course she can sway my decisions. I love her and
care what she thinks.”

“As you should if you’re thinking of marrying her.
But if her opinion matters, you should ask someone else to go
through the decision process with you. Someone completely
impartial, who has only your needs and best interest at heart.”

Great. Jake didn’t believe the woman he loved should
be involved. Luke glanced at her. “What do you think about
that?”

“I want to say that’s ridiculous.” She smiled. “But
I
would
be speaking from my own interest, which is to be
consulted in everything that affects the chance of spending my life
with you. So, if I’m going to be honest, I would have to admit
Jake’s probably right.”

“If we’re ruling out all the people who might try to
influence me, then it would include everyone I know. Tyler wants me
to marry you, and Ben would prefer that you marry him. My mother is
out, as well as all of my brothers and sisters. They all want me to
have the test and marry you.”

Sabrina shook her head. “Not
all
of
them.”

He glanced at her askance. “Who doesn’t care if
I—”

She raised her eyebrows. “Dante?”

“
No way
.” He waved his hands in front of him
as if he could erase the idea. “I can’t believe you would even
suggest him.”

Jake scribbled something on his pad. “Don’t you get
along with Dante?”

“I’ve never even met him.” Luke launched into the
long tale his mother shared with them less than a week ago. He
finished, saying, “So basically, everything I believed about who I
am was invalidated.”

The other man’s mouth twisted for a moment as if he
wasn’t sure how to respond. “It seems as if you’re dealing with a
lot right now. Do you think it’s wise to make such an important,
possibly life-altering, decision while you’re in the middle of an
identity crisis?”

“I’m not really having an actual crisis.”

“You’re not? Then why’d you ask to see me?”

“Honestly?” Luke sputtered. “Because the genetic
testing center won’t screen me unless I get counseling first.”

“Now I’m crushed.” Jake clutched his chest and
chuckled. “Here I thought it was because I’m so popular. Seriously,
why do you think the center requires you to get counseling to
qualify?”

“Because it’s a big decision, and they want me to
have a clear head while I’m making it.”

“Exactly,” Sabrina agreed.

“Since you came for my professional advice, here’s
my two cents,” Jake said. “I think you should consider meeting your
biological father and half-brother. I’m not suggesting you ask
Dante to get involved in your screening process, but Tony is
dealing with the disease, and you must have questions about him and
Dante.”

“Yeah. I guess I do.”

“Jake has a point.” Sabrina took his hand. “You
could talk to Tony about how it feels to know he’s losing control
of his body and will slowly lose his mental faculties. Did he get
tested before he became symptomatic? If he did, it might help you
to know how he felt when he learned his fate.”

“I’ll think about it.” Luke shrugged. “But that
still doesn’t settle the question of who I should ask to be my
counseling buddy.”

“What about Cal? He cares about you, but he has no
stake in whatever you decide.”

Jake’s forehead furrowed. “Who’s Cal?”

“He’s a friend on the force,” Luke told him. “My
partner.”

“Well, if you trust him to have your back when your
life could be at risk, I suspect you can rely on him to have it in
this situation, too.”

“Isn’t it kind of senseless to ask someone else to
be my counseling partner? Whether she means to or not, Sabrina is
still going to sway my decision, especially if I spend a lot of
time with her.”

“That’s probably true,” Jake agreed. “So maybe you
should take a break from each other while you’re in
counseling.”

“I definitely dislike that idea.” She snorted
softly.

“Dislike is a major understatement,” Luke muttered.
“I
detest
the idea.”

Jake leaned back and crossed his arms over his
chest. “Your reaction to that suggestion indicates you have a much
more serious dilemma than simply deciding if you should have the
Huntington’s test. If you can’t handle a month or two separated
from Sabrina, how will you accept letting her go for rest of your
life if you decide she’ll be better off marrying your friend?”

Good question. He’d be damned if he knew the
answer.

Sabrina stared out the window of Cal’s Prius while
Luke silently drove back toward the center of Redemption. Even
though spending weeks without seeing Luke, let alone, not talking
to him, was the last thing she wanted to do, she had to admit Jake
Manion was probably right. The ex-NFL quarterback seemed to be a
psychologist extraordinaire who excelled at getting his patients to
see the hard truth.

Luke’s brooding silence, after Jake posed his last
question, implied a prolonged absence from her just might make his
heart grow fonder, as the adage claimed. A separation could very
well provide a greater inducement to marry her than her daily
presence ever would.

“You should probably do everything Jake suggested,”
she said as Luke pulled into the Redemption Café’s parking lot.

“I know.”

“What’re we doing here?”

“I thought you might like to have lunch before I
take you home.”

“Trying to squeeze in a little more time with me at
a place where you can’t ravish me?”

“Something like that.” He smiled at her sideways.
“You love flaunting your ability to read my ulterior motives, don’t
you?”

“You bet I do.” The reason she was so good at it was
because she had a secret agenda of her own. She wanted time
alone
with him.

“Why don’t I make us lunch back at my apartment,”
she suggested. “I stopped at Sallie’s Sweet & Savories
yesterday and bought over a pound of their roast beef.” The gourmet
deli and bakery in town was renowned for the high quality of their
cold cuts, salads, and baked goods. “I’d planned to invite the
Klausens to lunch, but Richard had a doctor’s appointment in Philly
this afternoon. The roast beef won’t be nearly as fresh
tomorrow.”

“You can have it for supper.”

“There’s way too much for just me. I don’t have your
appetite, which is big enough to eat as much as Mr. and Mrs.
Klausen put together.”

“They should be home by dinnertime.”

She lowered her voice to a more seductive octave.
“It’s nice and juicy, and I have that super hot horseradish/mayo
sauce you love. I also bought those poppy-seed Kaiser rolls you
like,” she told him, knowing full well he wouldn’t be able to
resist his favorite sandwich.

“Ms. Fitzpatrick, you’re trying to seduce me, aren’t
you?” he accused in a terrible Dustin Hoffman imitation.

She laughed and rested her foot on his dashboard, à
la Mrs. Robinson, pulling up the hem of her jeans to expose the
full length of her bent leg. “I don’t have to
try
,
Luke.”

“No, unfortunately for me, you don’t.” He shoved the
gearshift into reverse and backed out of the parking space. “You
had me at roast beef.”