9781631052323ForeverKindofCowboySullivan (14 page)

“Eight.”

“Wow. I
only have one and he’s a pain in the ass.”

“Aaron
Jefferson. I will not have you talking like that!” his mother yelled and
Jeremiah smiled.

“Sorry,
Mom.”
The kid
grinned at Jeremiah and then took his place in line for food as Jeremiah headed
for the coffee in the corner.

Jeff
came around the corner with Terri and their boys. He left Terri at the table to
grab some coffee himself. “Did you hear from Dad this morning? Have they taken
the tube out?”

“He
hasn’t called. I figured nothing has changed yet.”

“I plan
to go into town to see her later. I’m hoping she’s awake and talking.”

Jeff
leaned in to talk softly. “Dad told me what you’ve done with the finances.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.”
He glanced at Terri as he
smiled. “Can you help me do some investing?”

“Sure.”

After a
minute, he whispered, “Are there really millions in the bank?”

“Yes.”

“Wow.
How the hell did you do that?”

“Smart
investments.”

“I
would say so.” He clapped Jeremiah on the shoulder before he headed to the
table to sit next to his girl and their boys.

Jeremiah
was glad his brother trusted him enough to ask for financial advice. It meant a
lot to him to have a close relationship to his family.

After
breakfast, he went into his office to go over the bills and income from the
last month at the ranch to see how much more he could safely take to put into
investments for his parents. He didn’t want to bleed the ranch dry.

The
computer screen blurred, making him rub his eyes to bring it back into focus.
That’s it. I’m calling the doctor.
He
grabbed the office phone from the receiver, pulled out the rolodex of cards he
kept and then dialed Dr. Evans’ number.

“Dr.
Evans’ office.
How may I help you?”

“Hi.
This is Jeremiah Young. I need to make an appointment with Dr. Evans.”

“Can I
ask what this is concerning?”

“I’m
not sick or I don’t think so, but I’ve been having some blurry vision, numbness
and tingling in my hands and legs. I fell off a horse about two weeks ago and I
want to make sure I didn’t pinch a nerve or something in my back since I landed
pretty hard.”

Once
the receptionist made him an appointment for two days later, he hung up the
phone so he could go back to work on the financials. He had to get the bills
straight this afternoon before leaving to visit his mom.

When he
walked into the hospital room several hours later, he was delighted to see his
mother sitting up in bed eating some
Jello
. “You look
a lot better than when I saw you a few days ago.” He leaned in a kissed her on
the cheek. “How do you feel?”

“Like
I’ve been kicked by a horse.”

“I’m
sure.” He took a seat in a chair near the side of the bed. “Are they going to
move you to a regular room soon?”

“Yes,
later today. I have to have surgery on the leg tomorrow.”

“Well,
that sucks.”

“How
are things at home?”

“They
are fine, Mom. Don’t worry. We’ve got it.”

She
patted his hand and then squeezed his fingers. “I know you do, Jeremiah. I’m
not worried.”

 
He raised an eyebrow.

“Okay,
just a little, but you know me.
I can’t not worry.”

“Jeff
is handling the daily things. The rest of us are doing what needs to be done.
You just get better.”

“Have
you heard anything about the man who hit me?”

“Other
than he’s still in jail, no. He’ll be charged with drunk driving at least, but
that doesn’t carry a lot of weight anymore. He’ll probably get probation or
some shit.” She looked at him with that
mom
look
. “Sorry.” He squeezed her
fingers. “Where is Dad?”

“Out
flirting with the nurses, I’m sure. They all know him by name and wave every
time he comes into my room.”

“He’s a
personable guy.”

“He’s a
flirt, but I love him anyway.” She took another bite of her food before she set
the spoon down. “What’s happening between you and Callie? Something good, I
hope.”

“We’ve
come to an understanding that we love each other.”

“Fantastic,
Jeremiah! I’m so happy for you. You two will be very good for each other, I
think.”

“I
think so too.” He rubbed his hand where the fingers had gone numb again.

“What’s
wrong?”

“I’ve
been having some numbness and tingling in my hands and legs as well as some
blurry vision.”

“Didn’t
you fall off a horse a few weeks ago?”

“Yeah.”
He held up his hand. “Don’t say
it. I’ve already made an appointment with the doctor for in a couple of days.
I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“Well,
to be safe you need to get checked out.”

“I
know.” He glanced at his watch. “I should go,” he said, climbing to his feet.
“I know they only allow you five minutes in here.”

“So
soon?”

“Yeah.
I want to drop by Callie’s and
let her know how you are doing. She was worried.”

“Tell
her hello for me.” She kissed him on the cheek as he leaned in to kiss her. “I
love you, Jeremiah.”

“I love
you too, Mom. I’m sure everything will be fine with the surgery. We’ll get you
home in a couple of days with some physical therapy and you’ll be good as new
in a few weeks.”

“
Grr
,” she grumbled. “I hate being laid up.”

“I
know, but at least you’re alive.”

“Yes.
Thank God for watching out for me.”

“I’ll
try to come by again in a couple of days if they haven’t let you out by then to
give my brothers a chance to visit.”

“The
nurses have been doing a complete double take with each of you. I think they
aren’t going to let me leave just because they want the man candy that keeps
coming in to see me.”

He
laughed. “I’ll tell everyone to behave themselves.”

“You do
that.”

“See
you soon.”

“Love
you!”

“Love
you too.”

He
drove back to Bandera with lots of things on his mind—from the problems with
his visions to his love for Callie. He couldn’t wait to bring her into the
family even though she seemed reluctant to do it just yet. Fear and uncertainty
probably had something to do with it. Really, this had all happened rather
quickly so he couldn’t blame her at all.

When he
pulled into the garage, he parked his truck next to the building and then went
around to the open bays where they worked on cars.
“Hey,
babe!”

“Jeremiah?”

“Yeah,
who else calls you babe?”

She
laughed as she came out from under the hood of an old Chrysler. “No one, but
you I would hope.” She gave him a smooch on the lips. “Did you visit your mom?”

“Yes.
She’s looking a lot better. They’ll be doing surgery on her leg tomorrow and
she’ll have to stay in the hospital a couple of more days, but then she’ll be
home with rehab, I’m sure.”

“Sounds
awesome.
I’m
so glad she’s doing better.”

“Me
too.”
He
leaned in as she twisted a wrench on something under the hood. “Do you want to
get some dinner?”

“I
can’t tonight. I promised my dad I would be home. He hasn’t been feeling well.”

“Okay.”
He moved around behind her, kissing her neck before he ran his tongue around
her ear. “I’m going to miss you.”

She
shivered, but tipped her head to the side so he could do more. “I’ll miss you
too.”

“How
about tomorrow?
We can have dinner and maybe do a movie in town?”

“I
can’t. I have plans with Mandy, Peyton and Paige. We planned a girl’s night
out.”

“All
right, day after tomorrow.”

“Sounds
good.”
She
turned around in his arms and looped hers around his neck. “Did you make a
doctor appointment?”

“Yeah.
Day after tomorrow, so we’ll go
out after my appointment.”

“Good.
It’s important for you to find out what’s wrong.”

“I
know.” He moved around to kiss her on the lips. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

“I love
you. I’m going to worry.”

“Then
I’ll have to kiss you until you forget to worry.” He ran his tongue along the
seam of her lips until she opened for him on a moan. As their tongues tangled,
he lost himself in her kiss, totally forgetting where they were until someone
honked from outside. “Sorry.”

She
giggled, actually giggled. He thought it was cute. “I’d better get back to
work.”

With a
smack on her butt, he said he’d see her later and headed to his truck.

Man, I love that girl.

Chapter
Thirteen

Jeremiah
didn’t like the look on the doctor’s face. He seemed worried. When the doctor
worried, he needed to worry too. “We’ll need to do some x-rays and tests,
Jeremiah. I’m not sure what’s going on with you, but I don’t think it’s a
pinched nerve.”

“What
could it be?”

“There
are several things I won’t go into right now because I don’t want you getting
on Google to look up the different diseases. I won’t know until next week after
we get a CAT scan of your head, do some nerve tests, and get some x-rays of
your back just to make sure you don’t have a disc out or something. I don’t
think that’s what it is because you don’t have pain in your back. You’ve told
me your vision blurs. Those kinds of symptoms along with the numbness and
tingling are something we need to look at more closely.”

“Thanks,
Doc, but you’re scaring the hell out of me.”

“I’m
sorry, but until I know more, I can’t give you any more information on things.”
He patted him on the shoulder. “You’ll be okay until we get the tests done. You
can get the CAT scan today at the hospital in San Antonio. I’ve already called
to schedule you an appointment. They had a cancellation, so they could get to
you in about an hour if you can get there.”

“I’ll
get
there,
besides, I want to check on my mom. They
were supposed to be releasing her today. I haven’t heard from my dad.”

“I’m
glad she wasn’t hurt too badly. A broken leg heals. Other more terrifying
injuries don’t.”

“I know
what you mean. She was lucky.”

“Yes,
she was.” Jeremiah stood. “Now, go get the CAT scan, make an appointment for
the other tests and get those done, then make an appointment to see me next week
so we can go over them.”

“Thanks,
Doc.”

“You’re
welcome, my boy. Tell your family hello for me. Remind them to get their
checkups. I know how you boys are about coming in to see me.”

“Yeah,
only for broken bones and such.”

After
he thanked the doctor again, he paid his tab before he headed out to his truck.
He didn’t like thinking about this for another week, but he didn’t have a
choice, he guessed. At least tonight he could lose himself in Callie for a few
hours.

* * *
*

When he
pulled up to her house two hours and forty-five minutes later, he smiled.
Spending the evening with her would erase all the bad thoughts from his mind
and heart, leaving only her to fill the void. He climbed out and walked up to
the door.

With a
quick rap of his knuckles, he heard Callie call out that she’d get it before
she opened the door.
Damn
. She looked
pretty even in something as simple as a sweater and jeans. “Hi.”

“Hi.”
She pushed open the screen for him as she stepped back. “Come in.”

“Thanks.”
He shut the door behind him before he slipped an arm around her waist and
dragged her in for a quick kiss. “You taste amazing.”

“It’s
dinner. I thought I’d cook.”

“What’d
you make?”

“Lasagna
with French bread and salad.”
She stepped back. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving.”

“Good.
How about a beer? I have some in the fridge.”

“Sounds
good to me.”
He checked out her butt in those jeans as she walked back into the kitchen.
What a nice ass!
She returned a few
minutes later with a bottle of beer and a kiss before she went back into the
kitchen to finish getting dinner ready.

“How
did the doctor go?”

“He
didn’t tell me much.
Just scheduled some tests.”

“Like
what?” she asked, setting the table with plates.

“CAT
scan, blood work, x-rays. You
know,
the normal stuff.”

“Did he
say what he thought might be the problem?”

“Not
really. He wouldn’t tell me his thoughts.” He took a sip of the beer in his
hand. “He didn’t want me looking stuff up on the web and self-diagnosing.”

“Smart
man.”

He
chuckled and took another sip.
“Yeah.
He knows our
family well.”

Her
father came out of the bedroom, limping slightly on his left foot.

“Are
you okay, Daddy?”

“Yeah,
just my MS acting up again.”

“MS?”
Jeremiah asked, not sure what that was.

“Multiple
Sclerosis.
I’ve had it for years. Makes my limbs go numb so I have to walk with a cane
sometimes. It’s a bitch of a disease, but I get by.”

Jeremiah
startled when her father described his symptoms. It sounded just like what he’d
been going through. “When were you diagnosed?”

“About
fifteen years ago. I take a medication daily to keep the symptoms at bay, but
it’s hard to manage some days. Today was one of those days.” He smiled at
Callie. “Thank God for Callie at the garage. She handles the stuff I can’t on
bad days.”

“Wait.
Don’t you have some of the numbness stuff too, Jeremiah?”

“Yeah,
but don’t you go telling me I have Multiple Sclerosis. I can’t be laid up in a
wheelchair or something for the rest of my life. Besides, the doctor didn’t
mention that. I’m sure if he thought it might be some disease, he would have
said something.”

She put
both her hands on his cheeks. “Just stop. You fell from a horse. We know how
that can mess with a person. Don’t jump to conclusions just because my dad has
some of the same symptoms you’ve been experiencing.” She kissed him and then stepped
back but not far enough he’d lose touch with her body. “I love you. It doesn’t
matter what it is. We’ll deal with whatever it turns out to be.”

He took
several deep breaths to calm his racing heart. He couldn’t be sick. He didn’t
feel sick. He felt fine except for the symptoms. “What if it is?”

“Don’t,
Jeremiah. Don’t freak yourself out.” He put her arms around his waist, burying
her face in his neck. “I love you.”

“I love
you too.”

“Are
you two getting married?”

She
shook her head before she reached up and gave Jeremiah a quick kiss on the
lips. “No, Dad. This is all new. We are dating for now.”

Her
father sank down onto one of the dining room chairs, propping his cane up on
the table. “Well I’m glad to see you together. You two are cute.”

She
stepped back from Jeremiah and went back into the kitchen to take the food out
of the oven. His mind whirled with questions. He wouldn’t drag her into an
uncertain future if he had some kind of terrible disease like Multiple Sclerosis.
He couldn’t. That wouldn’t be fair to her. She already had to deal with her dad
having
it,
he wouldn’t subject her to a life with a
cripple for a husband.

Dinner
was a hushed time as Jeremiah reflected on the dire straits of his possible
diagnosis. He absolutely refused to tie her down to a man who wasn’t a hundred
percent healthy, one who could take care of her, not the other way around, one
who would be there for her and their children in their time of need, not a
shell of a man who couldn’t wipe his own ass.

Once
dinner was over, he excused himself to leave. He needed to think. Thinking
meant alone time even though he wanted nothing more than to kiss her, touch
her, hold her, and make love to her.

As he
walked out to his truck to go home, she stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Jeremiah,
don’t leave.”

“I need
to, Callie. I need some time alone.”

“Don’t
shut me out.”

“I’m
not.”

“Yes,
you are. You’re thinking way too much about this. Don’t. Wait until the doctor
tells you what is wrong before you start planning your future. You have no idea
what the diagnosis will be and you are doing exactly what he told you not to
do. Self-diagnosis is a bad thing. Please? I love you.”

“I love
you too, but I can’t be with you right now.”

“Please,
don’t leave. Don’t do this, Jeremiah.”

“I’m
sorry, but I have to.” He leaned in to kiss her lightly on the lips before
climbing into his truck and leaving her standing in the driveway.

* * *
*

Over
the next few days, she called constantly to check on him. Sometimes he
answered,
other times he let her call go to voicemail. He
couldn’t face her right now, not until he talked to the doctor, which was
today. Hopefully they would have some answers for him so he could move on with
his life in whatever capacity that entailed.

He sat
nervously in the waiting room of the doctor’s office for them to call him into
the back. He hated this, hated doctors, hated hospitals, and hated what he was
doing to Callie, but he felt the need to protect her even if it was from
himself.

“Jeremiah?
Come on back,” the nurse said.

He climbed
to his feet and then she put him in one of those small little waiting rooms to
go crazy in. They needed to make the things padded or something.

Lucky
for him, the doctor didn’t wait too long before coming in to take a seat on one
of those little rolling stools.

“We
have you test results in, Jeremiah.”

“And?”

“I’m
afraid it isn’t good news. It’s not a pinched nerve. I feared the worst and
it’s not that, so you have to be thankful for the small concession. At first I
thought it might be a brain tumor with the symptoms, but it’s not. You have
something called Multiple Sclerosis. It’s a disease process affecting the nerve
cells in your brain. It’s an auto-immune disease where your immune system
attacks the brain cells by mistake, damaging the myelin sheath of your brain,
spinal cord, and eyes. When these nerve endings get damaged, it affects your
movement and your eyesight.”

“Is
there a cure?”

“No.
I’m sorry, there isn’t.”

“Fuck.”

“There
are medications to handle the symptoms. You can even go into remission where
you won’t have symptoms at all for a long time.”

“So I
have to be on some medicine for the rest of my life?”

“Yes.”

“What
is the eventual outcome of this?”

“Everything
in our life leads to death, Jeremiah. Some people are completely disabled from
this. We won’t know what type of MS you have until we’ve sent you to a
neurologist who can study your symptoms and decide the best course of action.”

“This
isn’t fair, you know. I just found the girl of my dreams. My future is set.
Now this.”

He put
a hand on Jeremiah’s shoulder. “I know, son. You’re in the prime of your life.
Don’t get too worked up about it yet until you see the neurologist in San
Antonio. The guy I’m sending you to
is
fantastic in
this field. He knows his stuff. He’ll help you manage things so you’ll have the
best quality of life.”

Dread
hit him in the chest like a brick.
What
am I going to do about Callie?

“If you
have any general questions I can help you with, don’t hesitate to call me. I
would suggest making a list of things you would like to ask the specialist
before you go so you can make an informed decision about your care. This isn’t
the end of the world, son. You can lead a normal life for the most part as long
as you stay on the medications the doctor prescribes for you. You can still
marry, have children, and be the young man you should be right now.”

“Thanks,
Doc.”

“You’re
welcome. I’ll have my nurse make you an appointment with the neurologist. You
stay here while she does.”

The
doctor walked out as a tear slid down his cheek. He couldn’t ask Callie to
marry him now. He wouldn’t make her deal with this. Better he cut it off right
now and
save
her the pain.

The
nurse came in a few minutes later as he angrily wiped the wetness from his
face. Men didn’t cry and he wasn’t going to let himself break down again.

“Here
is your appointment card with the neurologist. It’s set for Monday.”

“That’s
fine. Thank you.”

“You
can stay in here as long as you like. Gather your thoughts, but just remember
,
this isn’t the end of the world. People are diagnosed with
this disease all the time. They go on to live happy, healthy, and productive
lives. You’re still young. You can handle this.” She smiled softly and walked
back out the door, leaving him alone.

He sat
in his truck for several long minutes as his mind raced from one subject to
another and back. Callie was at the forefront of his thoughts though while he
tried to decide what to do. He’d already pushed her away, trying to save her
the heartache of living with a man who wasn’t whole, but he would have to tell
her the diagnosis and live with her anger as he shut her out of his life for
good.