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Ben shook his head, confusion clouding his gaze. “But how’s that possible? Don’t mothers and daughters share the same blood type? I thought it was a given.”

“So did I, but apparently, that’s not how it works. She said some people with different blood types can share organs, but Mom has high levels of antibodies in her bloodstream. That means there’s a greater chance her body could reject my liver.” Her chest shuddered. “She said I probably have my dad’s blood type. So, I can’t help Mom who means everything to me”—she gritted her teeth—“but I could help him. I couldn’t believe it. I asked the nurse to check again, but it…it wasn’t a mistake.”

“This isn’t fair.” Ben closed his eyes, fighting back his own tears.

“So, then everything stopped. She pulled out the needle, slapped on a Band-Aid—in five minutes, everything had fallen apart.” Riley continued to rock, desperate to ease the pain crushing her heart. “I didn’t know where to go. You and Piper were working, Casey’s on vacation…I couldn’t speak to Mom—not yet.”

“You can always call me, ’kay? I’ll drop everything.” Ben pulled her into his chest and cradled the back of her head. “I’m so sorry.”

“I can’t believe it’s over…it hasn’t even begun.” She hiccupped into more tears and buried her nose in the softness of Ben’s t-shirt. “It’s not fair. She even has the most common blood type…”

“Which is what?”

Riley cried through her reply. “O positive, but who cares! Mine’s not compatible…I can’t save her, Ben!”

Swallowing thickly, he rocked with her in his arms, his hand gently rubbing her back. Their embrace was silent except for Riley’s sobs and Ben sniffing his nose. After holding her closely for a few minutes, he whispered into her hair. “Riles?”

“Hmm?” Nose congested, she sucked in breaths through her mouth.

“Maybe…I can?”

Riley lifted her head from Ben’s tear-soaked shirt.

“Maybe I can help Maggie.”

“You…? How?”

“She’s O positive?”

“Yeah?”

“Well…so am I.”

• • •

Wide-eyed, Maggie sat down at her table as her daughter, Ben, and Piper—who had faked a stomach bug to flee work—served up mac ’n’ cheese and salad. “I…I don’t know what to say.”

Riley grinned, her eyes still puffy from crying hours earlier. I don’t either. How do I even begin to thank my new boyfriend for offering to donate his liver? She set a plate down in front of Maggie. “Mom’s speechless—well, that’s a miracle!”

Maggie gave Riley one of those looks only a mother can give and then turned to Ben, warmly covering his hand with hers. “Ben, that’s incredibly kind of you, but I can’t let you donate.”

Ben sipped his water and smiled. “But I want to. Look, I know we haven’t known each other long, but you and Riley mean a lot to me and”—Maggie opened her mouth to interject, but he cut her off, blurting the words out as fast as he could—“I can’t sit back and do nothing, not if I can make a difference. I’d never be able to live with myself.”

Riley’s mom shook her head. “Ben, you can’t rush into this.”

“Believe me, I’m not.” He grinned. “Riley and I talked—for hours.”

“Yeah, we talked and cried and talked some more.” She smiled back at Ben. He’s seen me at my worst and didn’t walk away.

“Riley only agreed on two conditions: one, I wasn’t offering because I felt like I had to, and two, I wouldn’t try to win future arguments with ‘but I gave your mom my liver!’”

Riley leaned into Piper. “I mean, talk about fighting unfair.”

Ben picked up his fork. “So, we called the coordinator. One of the transplant surgeons was free, so we had a wee chat. He asked me some questions, made sure I understood booze is a no-go if I want to donate, and gave me the thumbs-up—I meet the initial criteria to be your donor.”

Tears brightening her eyes, Maggie squeezed his hand. “Ben, this is too much to ask.”

“I mean, it’s early days. I’ve passed the blood type test and nothing else, but”—he let go of Maggie’s hand so she could wipe away a few tears—“it’s worth a shot, right?”