“What do you mean?”
The rustling of sheets tugged at my attention and I glanced over my shoulder just as she covered her breasts and crawled closer. “I saw your face when I was talking about Briana. You felt the same pain at that very moment and it had nothing to do with her, although you’ve been very empathetic. So, who was the girl who caused that much pain in your life? A girlfriend?”
Chuckling, I took her hand in mine, taking a few seconds to concentrate on the lifeline on her palm. Even tracing the long line. “I haven’t had a girlfriend since college.”
“Hmm… Not that you’re old or anything, but that’s a very long time to go without.”
I gave her a hard look, able to smile in hearing her laughter. “You sound exactly like my sister. She used to call me very old.”
Her eyes narrowed. “That’s who almost all your thoughts have been concentrated on. Admit it.” She poked me and had no idea she was poking the bear.
“I can’t imagine how much you’re hurting and angry about your sister. I can feel it buzzing in every sentence and everything you do, but this subject is… Off limits.”
With a heavy sigh, she looked away. “My dad was rarely home when Briana and I were kids. He was always working, traveling to foreign countries. While my mom tried to keep us engaged and doing all the things for two parents, I was Briana’s best friend. We did everything together. Everything.”
“I know. You became her guardian angel.” My thoughts drifted to her father. No dirt had been found on the man, yet my instinct was never wrong. Somehow, either he or his company had some involvement in the Privileged. I certainly wasn’t going to mention that to Reese.
“You don’t understand. Briana was three years old when she was first diagnosed with cancer. We thought she beat it nine months later, but it came back. Years of her life were spent in hospitals. As you might imagine, with my mother mostly running the household, it put a strain on her. Briana and I got even closer.”
Twisting on the bed, I locked eyes with her. Seeing tears in them yanked at the protectiveness inside. “I’m so sorry. She beat her disease though, right?”
“Only after a bone marrow transplant. See, I’d promised her I’d find a way to help her and I was able to.”
As a single tear slipped past her lashes, I held my breath, finally rubbing the tip of my finger through the tiny drop. “You were her donor.”
She nodded, closing her eyes briefly. “A perfect match. We didn’t know if it would work. The doctors said it was her last hope. Just a few weeks later, her body truly started responding. It was incredible to see her gain weight and her color return. A few months later, she was healthy and happy, able to live like a kid. I’d promised her that I would always be there for her. I failed.”
“You didn’t fail her, Reese. You had your life to live.”
“But I should have checked on her. By the time she hit seventeen, it was as if her personality had changed. Talk about sowing wild oats. She destroyed fields to plant them.” Her laugh was bittersweet. “I know for certain she was angry with me for leaving her.”
“You can’t blame yourself.”
“I know you’re right but try telling my conscience. That’s why I dropped everything and didn’t think about what I was getting into. I just reacted out of love. “
“Did you tell your parents?”
“Only that I planned on having a conversation with the Jacksonville police.”
“So they have no clue you’re in Miami.”
She shook her head sheepishly.
“Woman, you’ve got balls.”
“And I’ll be honest with you. I’d do it again. I’d do anything for this. I just don’t care. I need to tell my sister that I’ll always be there for her even if she refuses to have me in her life.”
As soon as she dropped her head, several additional tears falling, I lifted her chin with a single finger. “And you’ll get that chance. I made you a promise I intend on keeping. Love is difficult. Whether it’s for a family member, a friend, or someone you long to spend the rest of your life with. But in loving someone, you need to realize that no matter what you do, you can’t cocoon them from all evils in the world. It’s not possible.”
“Is that what you hoped to do with your sister?”
The woman was going to continue pushing me. I rubbed my eyes, feeling the exhaustion once again. “She was the princess of our family, much younger than her older brothers. Far too protected if you know what I mean. For her eighteenth birthday, our uncle got her tickets to a hot concert. You know that girl singer that’s all the rage?”
“You mean Janey Wilson? Yeah, the entire world knows who she is.”
“Well, my sister thought the sun rose and set on her. But the concert was in Chicago and a few of her friends were going. I was in charge of talking her out of it. She was just too young, too naïve.”
“But you didn’t.”
