Page 119 of Love, Lies, and Whiskey

“Good.” He looked at Seeley and Juliette, and something in that steady gaze made the hair on the back of her neck prickle. “I’ve looked over the biopsy results. Lucas has Hodgkin’s disease, which is a type of lymphoma.”

Tears sprang to Juliette’s eyes. The room spun, and she struggled to keep herself in check, wanting to scream No! You have the wrong kid! but needing to be strong for Lucas. She knew he didn’t have the wrong kid, regardless of how hard she’d tried to bury her head in the sand, and now Seeley’s arm was wrapped protectively around Lucas, the tips of his fingers brushing her shoulder. You knew, too. That was why you did all that research.

“What is that?” Lucas asked.

“It’s a type of cancer that affects your lymphatic system, but it’s very responsive to treatment and highly curable.”

“Cancer?” Lucas snapped. “I don’t have cancer. I’m not sick. Look at me. I’m fine.”

Juliette put her hand over his. “It’s okay, Lucas.”

He yanked his hand away. “No, it’s not. He’s wrong. Do another test.”

“I’m sorry, Lucas, but the biopsy was conclusive,” Dr. Santowski said gently, leaving no room for argument. “It’s not uncommon for kids your age to find a swollen lymph node as their first indicator that something is wrong and not to have any other symptoms.”

“No. You’re wrong,” Lucas insisted. “I don’t have cancer.”

“Lucas, look at me,” Seeley said sternly, turning his entire body toward Lucas, keeping one hand on his shoulder, and holding his gaze.

“This is messed up, Doc,” Lucas said shakily.

“This is messed up,” Seeley said with all the love, compassion, and strength a father should show. “No kid should ever get cancer. I know this sounds scary, but you’re strong. You’re a frigging bull rider, buddy. There’s nothing you can’t get through, and your mother and I, and everyone else in our family, will be by your side every step of the way.”

“Every step of the way,” Juliette reiterated.

“We’ll fight this together, and we’ll beat it. Okay?” Seeley said.

Teary eyed, Lucas said, “What if we don’t? What if I…?” Tears slid down his cheeks, breaking Juliette’s heart.

“That’s not going to happen,” Seeley said, putting his arms around him, then reaching for Juliette, too, as she got up and hugged Lucas. Seeley put his arms around both of them, his body, their armor against the awful unknown.

As tears fell from Lucas’s eyes, drawing her own, Seeley held them tighter, their great protector. “We’re going to beat this. Don’t you doubt that for a second,” Seeley said, as if he truly believed he could control their son’s fate.

She desperately wanted to believe he could.

He held them until Lucas stopped crying, and his grip eased. Then he put one hand on Lucas’s shoulder, the other on hers, his gaze moving reassuringly between them. “Are we ready to make a plan of attack, so we can beat this thing?”

She and Lucas nodded. She was so glad Seeley was there, because she was afraid if she tried to speak, more tears would fall.

Seeley squeezed Lucas’s shoulder. “We’ve got this, Rodeo.”

Why did the nickname make her want to cry again?

She took her seat as Lucas sat back. He set his jaw and crossed his arms, drumming his fingers, looking like he did at four years old at Josh’s funeral, when he was consumed with grief and shock and trying so hard to be brave.

Seeley put his arm around Lucas again, the tips of his fingers touching Juliette’s shoulder, and addressed the doctor. “What’s next?”

“I’ll order a PET scan, which is like the CAT scan you had, Lucas, but we’ll look at your whole body to see if any other lymph nodes are affected. That will allow us to stage the cancer and determine a treatment plan…”

Chapter Thirty-One

AFTER A FEW fitful hours of sleep, Doc glowered at the clock, as if it were at fault for it being four o’clock on a fucking Monday morning. It had been five days since they’d learned Lucas’s diagnosis. His PET scan was scheduled for tomorrow morning, and while they were keeping things as normal as possible, Doc was struggling inside. He needed to get out of his own head.

He slipped quietly out of bed, trying not to wake Juliette, quickly showered and dressed, and pulled on a flannel shirt over his T-shirt as he headed upstairs to check on Lucas.

When Lucas had asked if they could bring their horses to the ranch and spend the weekend there, Doc had been thrilled. That was what he’d wanted all along, to have Lucas and Juliette in the one place he knew they’d be surrounded by love and support. As far-fetched as it was, he hoped his grandfather was right, and some of the ranch’s magic might help heal Lucas and kill the motherfucking cancer. He’d grasp at every fucking straw there was if it would heal his boy.

The door to Lucas’s room was ajar for the dogs.