Drawing Close: The Fourth Novel in the Rosemont Series (19 page)

Chapter 40

“Thanks for meeting me,” Susan said
as Dr. Aaron Scanlon slid into the booth next to her and wrapped his arms
around her. She leaned in to kiss him.

“What’s up?” he asked. “You sounded very
mysterious on the phone. What could you be giving away that could change our
lives?”

“A kidney,” she replied and watched his face
carefully.

He immediately grew serious.

“That could change our lives,” he finally replied.
“Are you on a donor list? Did you get contacted?”

Susan shook her head. “I need to tell you the rest
of the story. The real reason my mom and John are here.”

The waitress stopped by their table. Aaron ordered
them each the daily special without bothering to look at the menu and sent her
on her way. He turned back to Susan. She took a deep breath and told him about
her father’s secret life, ending with the revelation that Nicole Nash was a
very sick little girl. She leaned back into the booth. “She’s my little sister,
Aaron.”

“I’m sure you think that, but you can’t be sure.
You just got this news and you’re emotional—”

“I know it, Aaron. I look at her photo, and I know
it’s true. So does my mom.”

“And if she is your sister?”

“Then I need to get tested to see if I can be a
donor. I’ve done the research, but I don’t have to tell you. You’re a doctor.
Kidney transplants are done all the time, and they save lives. You can live a
long life with only one kidney.”

Aaron nodded. “That’s true, if nothing goes wrong.
But if you ever injure your kidney, you’d be in trouble.”

“Seems like an unlikely ‘what if,’” Susan
retorted. “And very wrong to hang onto an extra kidney that could save Nicole’s
life, just so I have a ‘spare’ on hand.”

“That’s if you’re even a match,” Aaron said. “And
there’s always the possibility of infection after the surgery. You’re allergic
to penicillin and other antibiotics. As a doctor, I’d advise you to be very
hesitant to undergo unnecessary surgery.”

“It isn’t like this is cosmetic surgery. This is
lifesaving for Nicole.” She touched his cheek. “I think you’re scared.”

He looked long into her eyes, then nodded.

“I’m scared, too,” Susan said. “I’m the biggest
wimp there is when it comes to medical things. I don’t even get a flu shot,”
she said and immediately regretted it. “I know I told you I’d gotten one, but I
chickened out at the last minute.”

“This will be a whole lot harder than a flu shot,”
he pointed out.

“I know that. But if I’m a match—if I could
donate a kidney and save my sister’s life—I have to do it. I’d like your
blessing and to have you by my side.”

The waitress placed plates of steaming chicken and
biscuits in front of them. Susan ate silently, watching Aaron in profile as he
picked at his food.

“I understand,” he finally said. “If the situation
were reversed, I would do the same thing.”

“Then you’ll support my decision to get tested and
move forward as a kidney donor if I’m a match?”

Aaron nodded.

“Can you take off work to be with me during the
transplant?” she asked. “Nicole will be having it done at Indiana University’s
transplant center.”

“I wouldn’t let you undergo anything like this
unless I were right there with you. I’ll see if I can get privileges to observe
during surgery.”

“Thank you, sweetheart. I’ll be a lot less nervous
with you there. I’m sure Mom will be, too.”

“Do you have any idea when this might take place?”
he asked.

“I’m getting tested this week,” she said. “That’s
why I had to see you today. I didn’t want to start down this road if you didn’t
know about it.”

“I appreciate that,” he said. “I don’t think I
could have talked you out of it.”

“No. You couldn’t have.” She cleared her throat
and picked up her fork. “If I donate a kidney, what happens to her?”

“This isn’t my field, but I think they’ll keep her
in the hospital until they’re confident the new kidney is working and the
surgical site hasn’t gotten infected. They’ll send her home on immunosuppressants,
with instructions to avoid anyone that might be ill.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Susan said. “Can she
live the rest of her life with my kidney?”

“She can,” he said. “Her childhood should be
largely unaffected.”

“What about my recovery?”

“Yours should be easy. A day or two in the
hospital, at most. They’ll do some testing to make sure the remaining kidney is
doing its job. If you don’t contract an infection, you’ll be fine.”

“You hear a lot about hospital infections these
days, and it’s scary,” Susan said.

“It’s a factor, for sure. I’ll give you special
soap to use when you shower and shampoo during the last few days before the
surgery. We’ve had good luck with it in our practice.”

Susan looked into his eyes. “Thank you for
supporting me in this. It means the world to me. Nothing is going to go wrong.
We’re going to have a big splashy wedding at Rosemont, and I’m going to be your
wife. We’ll have a passel of kids and live happily ever after.”

Chapter 41

Loretta Nash waited along the side
of the road across from Rosemont and watched as Dr. Allen’s Suburban exited the
driveway and turned in the direction of Westbury Animal Hospital. She looked at
the clock on the dashboard of her car. It was shortly before seven in the
morning. She’d dropped her kids off with the babysitter in the hope of catching
Maggie Martin at home before she headed to the office. Loretta didn’t want to
ring the doorbell before seven. In fact, she didn’t want to ring the doorbell
at all. But she knew she had to do this, for Nicole.

Loretta waited for the traffic to clear, then
pulled her car onto the driveway and slowly proceeded through the trees to come
to a stop in the large clearing in front of the house. She gripped the steering
wheel as she scanned Rosemont’s stone facade, looking for movement at any
window and seeing none.

Loretta opened her car door and forced herself to
climb the stone steps to Rosemont’s massive mahogany door. She took a deep
breath and said a silent prayer.
Please, Lord, guide my words and open
Maggie’s heart.
Loretta lifted her hand and grasped the iron door knocker,
letting it fall loudly into place.

Loretta stood, rooted to the spot, shifting her
weight from foot to foot. After what seemed like an eternity, Maggie opened the
door. The two women stood, staring at each other. “Mayor Martin,” Loretta
began, “I’m sorry to disturb you so early.”

“You’d better come in,” Maggie said. “I’ve been
expecting you.” She motioned Loretta to follow her through the house to the
large farmhouse table in the breakfast room and pulled a chair out for Loretta.
“Can I get you a cup of coffee?”

Loretta shook her head. Maggie sat opposite her
and waited.

Loretta twisted a lock of her hair. “I know you
hate me, Mayor Martin,” she began.

Maggie shifted in her chair. “I don’t—”

“Please. Let me get through this,” Loretta interrupted
and placed her palms solidly on the table. “Before I lose my nerve.”

Maggie nodded.

“I wouldn’t blame you. I’ve done a lot of things
in my life that I’d like to undo. My relationship with Paul is one of them,”
she looked down at her hands. “I’m very sorry that I hurt you. And now I have
something even harder to tell you.” Loretta’s voice cracked. “I believe that
Paul is my daughter Nicole’s father.” She paused and cast a quick glance at
Maggie, who remained motionless. “Nicole is very sick. She has a congenital
birth defect that has caused her kidneys to fail and she needs a transplant.”
Her voice was barely audible as she said, “Your children are the best possible
donors for Nicole. They might be the only ones who could save her life.”
Loretta choked back a sob. “I’m going to contact them, and I wanted to tell you
myself.”

Maggie looked at the terrified young mother in
front of her. She leaned across the table and brought both of her hands to rest
on Loretta’s. “I know,” she said softly.

Loretta gulped and turned her face to Maggie’s.
“What do you know?”

“All of it,” Maggie said. “Susan sent me a photo
of you and your children, taken in the hospital. I knew the moment I laid eyes
on Nicole that she was Paul’s. I tried to talk myself out of it.” Maggie sat
back in her chair. “But I knew. Susan heard about Nicole’s condition through my
granddaughters. I thought that she was getting better. But then she took a turn
for the worse.”

“I was so hopeful earlier this summer.” Loretta
glanced out the window. “But here we are.”

“I’m so sorry,” Maggie said.

Loretta turned back to her. “This will come as
quite a shock to your children, but I’ve got to call them. Nicole has no time
to lose. I was hoping you wouldn’t turn them against me,” she concluded in a
rush. “For Nicole’s sake.”

Maggie held Loretta’s gaze. “I’ve already spoken
to them,” she said.

“When?”

“John and I flew out to California last weekend. I
needed to tell them about their father in person,” she said. “Just like you’re
doing now.”

“And?” Loretta felt like she couldn’t breathe.

“They’ve both agreed to be tested. Whichever one
is the best match will donate a kidney.” Maggie watched as relief washed over
Loretta Nash.

“They said yes?”

Maggie nodded. Loretta sat, trying to take it all
in. She turned to Maggie. “You both went all the way out there because you knew
Nicole needed a kidney from one of them?”

Maggie nodded again.

“That was a very kind thing, Mayor Martin.”

“For heaven’s sake, call me Maggie. I’d be lying
if I told you that this hasn’t been difficult for me, but when I thought of
your sweet little girl, I knew what I had to do.” Maggie went to a drawer in
her kitchen and pulled out a pen and piece of paper. She printed her children’s
phone numbers on it and handed it to Loretta. “They’re expecting your call.”

Loretta folded the paper carefully and put it into
her purse. She rose from the table and faced Maggie. “You’ll never know how
grateful I am,” she said.

Maggie walked with her to the door. “I did some
research. I understand that kidney transplants in children are very
successful.”

Loretta tried to smile. “That’s what they tell
me.”

“We pray for Nicole and your family every day,
Loretta,” Maggie said.

Loretta walked down the steps. She had been so
scared of Maggie, but Maggie had been kind. This wasn’t at all like the last
time. She turned back to Maggie, who was silhouetted in the open door. Paul had
lied about his wife all along. Maggie Martin wasn’t a cold, calculating shrew.

“You were brave to come here, Loretta,” Maggie
called as Loretta got into her car.
I shouldn’t have been so rude to her
when she came to see me last winter,
Maggie thought as she watched her
drive away. She’d been angry—even cruel—and turned Loretta out
without giving her a chance speak
. I wonder what she wanted those months
ago.

***

Frank Haynes was already hard at
work in his office when Loretta rushed through the door of Haynes Enterprises
an hour later than usual that morning. He immediately got up and went to her
desk.

“Is Nicole all right?” he asked.

Loretta nodded. “Yes, she’s about the same.”

“I was worried when you were late, without
calling.”

“I’m sorry.” She looked up at him. “I went to see
Maggie Martin this morning.”

“How did that go?”

“You were right. She was nice.”

He nodded, willing her to go on.

“Said she’d known about Nicole when she’d first
seen her picture.” Loretta hung her purse on the hook under her desk. “Did you
know that she and her husband flew to California to tell her children about
Nicole? About everything?”

“I didn’t know that.”

“It was kind of them to do that.”

Frank Haynes tapped his pencil into his palm. “So
what will you do next? Are you going to call her kids and ask them about
getting tested to be donors?”

Loretta smiled. “I didn’t have to. They’d already
agreed after speaking with their mother. I spoke to both of them as soon as I
left Maggie and put them in touch with the people at the transplant center.
They said they’d get tested right away.”

“That’s wonderful news,” he said, thinking that
now he didn’t have to offer up his interest in Rosemont in exchange for their
cooperation.

“With any luck, she’ll have her transplant by the
end of the year,” Loretta said. “Maybe a new kidney by Christmas.”

Frank Haynes stopped and stared. If the transplant
were this year, he’d have to tap into his Rosemont fund to pay for it. He
wouldn’t have the money to buy out Maggie. He shook his head, pushing the
thought from his mind.
No point in thinking about that now. These things
take more time than anyone expects.

“Good news. I’ll leave you to it,” he said and
retreated to his office.

Chapter 42

Frank Haynes sat on the concrete
bench reading the
Westbury Gazette
, while he waited for the attendants
to finish the Super Deluxe Car Wash that he got every week on his Mercedes
sedan. A shadow fell on the page, and he turned to see what was blocking the
light.

“Charles,” he said, trying to conceal his
annoyance.

“Knew I’d find you here, Frankie,” Delgado
replied. “You’re as regular as clockwork with that car of yours.”

“So how are you?” Haynes forced himself to make an
effort. “You got out on bail right away.”

Delgado snorted. “Of course I did.”

“How’s it going? What does your lawyer tell you?”

“That their evidence is almost nonexistent, and he
doesn’t expect to go to trial. Says he’ll get it all dismissed on motions.”

“There you go, then. It’ll all turn out fine.”

“Turn out fine?” Delgado raised his voice.

Haynes stood and began to move away. “Keep your
voice down. We’re not supposed to be seen together, remember?”

Delgado followed. “It doesn’t matter to me if
we’re seen together. I’ve already been arrested.”

“And you just said you’ll get off.”

“With my reputation tarnished, and stripped of my
council seat.”

“If your lawyer gets you off, they’ll have to
restore you to the council.”

Delgado paused. “I guess you’re right about that.
And I still have enough clout to win an election against that idiot Knudsen, if
he gets grandiose ideas and decides to run against me.”

“You mean you have enough money to buy the
election,” Haynes observed.

Delgado smirked. “Same thing.”

“Why are you here?” Haynes asked. “I’ve never
known you to be particular about your car.”

“I wanted a word with you, Frankie. Thought it
would be good to run into you someplace. Make it look like a chance encounter.”

Haynes waited.

“I’m following my attorney’s advice—keeping
my hands clean and leaving it to him. But I want you to know, Frankie, that
I’ve got my boys out on the street, watching everything and everybody. I’m not
going to get caught flat-footed again. If someone needs to be taken care of,
I’m ready to do it.” He leaned in close. “Including you, Frankie. Don’t go
gettin’ no ideas of goin’ to the authorities to save yourself. I’ll know if you
do, and I won’t like it.” He chuckled. “That Forest Smith kid should be
shoppin’ for a coffin. Our precious mayor and the Wheeler kid are in my
crosshairs, too.” Delgado glanced at Haynes, then turned and retraced his steps
to the bench.

“You car’s ready, Mr. Haynes,” the attendant said,
extending his palm for the customary tip. Frank Haynes’ hand shook as he
fumbled in his pocket for his wallet.