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“Thank you again for breakfast. You sure you don’t need anything before I go?”
Kareena waved me off. “It’s the least I could do for keeping me company last night while I slept. You’re very sweet, young man, but if I wanted someone fussing over me, I would have told my daughter the truth.”
I snickered at Kareena calling me sweet. If only she knew her daughter wouldn’t agree with her.
“It’s nothing. You shouldn’t be alone at a time like this.” I hesitated before saying, “My mom…uhh…I went through something similar when I was Atlas’s age, and even though it was my fault she shut me out, it killed me that I couldn’t be there for her.” It’s been a minute since my mom’s accident, and I still didn’t like talking about it.
Kareena touched her throat with a shaking hand as she let my words penetrate. “My husband was sick for years before he passed, and my daughter spent her final year of high school visiting her father in the hospital every day instead of spending time with her friends and getting excited about college. I watched the light in her eyes dim every day, and I just…I can’t do that to her again.”
“Is it fatal?”
She looked at me and smiled sadly. “Very.”
My next breath rushed out of me. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’ve had my entire life to make peace with it.” She paused, and then, “I have the same illness my husband had. We were both born with it. It’s why we—” The teacup rattled in Kareena’s hand. “It’s why we never wanted to take for granted the gift God gave us. Atlas was the bright light in our darkest hour.”
“It’s genetic,” I guessed aloud. And then I sucked in a breath, feeling like the floor had been swept right from under me. “Is Atlas—”
“No,” Kareena said immediately. “She’s perfectly healthy.”
“How do you think she’s going to feel if you die alone while she’s hundreds of miles away with no idea that you were ever sick? She’s going to carry that guilt around for the rest of her life, Kareena.”
Atlas’s mom only shook her head—just as stubborn as her bullheaded daughter. “It’s my choice, and while I appreciate you, Rowdy, I know what’s best for my child.” She set her mug down and crossed the small space between us, clasping my hand between her much smaller ones. “Promise me you won’t tell her.”
“I—”
“Promise me, Rowdy. I can tell you care about my daughter, and while your age difference doesn’t excite me, I can tell you’re a good man. Even if you don’t believe it yourself.”
My eyes widened a little, and she gave me a knowing smile and patted my hand. “I wasn’t a nun before I met Atlas’s father. I’ve had my fair share of bad boys to know one when I see one, Rowdy Wray. You’ve got trouble written all over you.”
I gulped. “And if I wanted to…date your daughter?” I forced out. It was my first time admitting aloud what I truly wanted from Atlas. And to her mother, of all people. “You’re telling me you would be cool with that?”
“No,” she answered honestly. “You’re twice her age. No mother would be okay with that. And if her father was still alive, I couldn’t promise he wouldn’t shoot you on the spot.”
I smirked at that because I’d do the same if it were my daughter. Regret settled deep in my chest, and I suddenly wished I could have met Tyler Beck.
“But I know my daughter,” Kareena continued. “She’s strong. Stubborn and a little impulsive, but she knows her own mind. If anyone is biting off more than they can chew, it’s you, baby.”
“I wouldn’t have her any other way,” I said with a wide grin.
“So, do we have a deal?” Kareena prodded, her eyes shrewd. “You don’t tell her I’m dying, and I give you mytentativeblessing to date my daughter?”
I gulped, already knowing this was a bad idea but feeling myself wanting to agree for my own selfish reasons. Kareena couldn’t have been more wrong. I wasn’t a good man. “Fuck.” I huffed quietly. “All right. I’ll agree on one condition.”
“Yes?”
“You call someone to check on you every now and then, and you see a doctor.” I could tell she hadn’t been going, probably wishing to expedite her death rather than prolong her life.
Kareena’s already weak shoulders deflated even more. “Rowdy, I’m afraid that list will be very short and sad. My husband and I both grew up in the system. And when he became sick, it didn’t leave room for maintaining friendships.” She smiled sadly. “I’m afraid there’s no one to call.”
I nodded and tightened my grip on her hands slightly when she started to pull away. “Then let me.”
Kareena frowned, and I searched her features for signs of Atlas but found none. Atlas must have taken after her father. I tried to recall his face from the photos around the house, but then Kareena said, “Let you what?”
“Be there for you. I can give you my phone number. Anything you need, I’m just a phone call away.”
“I don’t know.” She peered up at me skeptically. “Are you doing this just to have your way with my daughter?”
