His head snapped up. “What do you mean? We’re the Realm.”
Dessie reached him and patted his arm. “It’s okay. I already knew the truth.”
Emma handed over a scan. “I’ve never seen a tumor like this. The mass is attached to the corpus callosum with tendrils extending throughout the rest of the brain. I’d have to remove at least half of her brain tissue to get at it.”
“No.” Garrett planted his feet. Not once had he thought the Realm doctors wouldn’t be able to help the young human.
“Yes,” Dessie sighed. “It’s all right. The queen just verified what I already knew. The tumor is growing and will start to basically shut down my brain so it can’t function. I have about a month left.”
Emma’s gaze darted around as if she wasn’t sure where to look. “I’m contacting every colleague I have across the globe, but…”
Dessie took Garrett’s hand and looked up at him, her eyes so blue and full of life. “I’m fine. How about you show me your hometown before I head on down to Texas?”
His blood heated. He would not let her die.
Chapter Fourteen
Dessie had known not to get her hopes up again, but if anybody could help her, it was probably the vampire doctors. Though she wasn’t any sort of empath, she could feel the sorrow rolling off Garrett as they walked through the light rain past gorgeous log houses that all fronted the bluish-gray lake.
Every once in a while, a couple of men would stroll by, looking like guards patrolling but in casual wear. Smoke rose from several of the houses, and the scent of a campfire carried on the wind.
“I’m sorry,” she said. If she’d known she was going to hurt him, she would’ve refused his ride that first day.
“You’re not going to die.” He glanced down as if to make sure the heavy leather coat he’d found for her was keeping her warm. Then he took her hand, enfolding it in heat. “I won’t let you.”
Sweet. That was incredibly sweet—and a little arrogant.
They stopped in front of a western red cedar post-and-beam home with an arched double door.
“I guess this is mine.” Garrett glanced at an oval granite rock with numbers etched in it. “Let’s check it out.”
Dessie stumbled and then stared at the luxurious house. Even the landscaping was stunning, with autumn red daylilies lining the red, gray, and brown pavers of the walkway to the front door. The pavers were laid in a pattern, with a white paver in the center embellished by a crest of some kind. It was aKsurrounded by intricate and mysterious lines and points. Truly beautiful. “This is yours?”
“Apparently.” They walked by a bubbling water feature shaped like a grizzly bear. Golden leaves floated at the base and burnished orange flowers opened to the meager sun around the stones.
Wow. How could he sound so casual about such a lovely home? “If your family is here, why were you riding with the Grizzlies?”
“I was looking for my mate.” He reached the door and rapidly used a keypad before twisting the antique-looking knob to open the door on the left.
Oh. Of course. Lucky mate, whoever she might be. While Dessie wanted to meet as many people as possible before she passed on, she had no interest in meeting this mate. If her reluctance was motivated by jealousy for a guy she barely knew, then so be it. She could live with that.
He set his hand to the back of her waist and nudged her inside.
She stepped onto a tile landing and then stopped, stunned. Floor-to-ceiling windows on the other side of a sprawling great room framed the now-calm lake and the mountains surrounding it. While the lake didn’t have the cold beauty of the landscape where she’d gone to school, it was stunning and touched her. Deeply. “Lovely,” she whispered.
He shut the door and surveyed the room. “Looks comfortable.”
Gray couches made for slouching faced a stone fireplace with a plasma television above the mantel. The sofa and end tables matched the exterior of the home. A kitchen lay to the right, and a gray-and-blue pool table, as well as a bar, to the left.
Dessie moved into the living area just as a brunette emerged from what appeared to be the coat closet, flinging herself at Garrett.
He caught the woman and flipped her around in the air, laughing as he settled her and hugged her close.
She hugged him back, and even when he set her on her feet, she held on to his arms, looking up into his eyes. “It’s about time you came home.”
“I know.” He reached for Dessie’s hand and drew her toward the woman. “Des? This is my sister, Janie.”
“Hi.” Janie had the bluest eyes Dessie had ever seen. Next to her brother, she was incredibly petite, but she held herself with confidence. Good humor and curiosity lit her expression, even as she kept one arm around her brother’s waist.
