“Ask him,” Everly said. “You have a lot of yucky emotions in your heart, and your aura looks like a mud puddle. If you want, I’ll be there with you when you talk to him.”
Bertha’s eyes were misty. “You would do that for me, little miss?”
Everly nodded. “You’ve been with me through a lot of hard times with my gift. I want to be there for you.”
“I’m going to think long and hard about the advice you all gave me. Toodles!” With a wave, Bertha was gone.
“Family is hard, Daddy.” Everly climbed into Ten’s lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “It’s especially hard when someone is being a complete and total dumbass.”
Ten snorted. He didn’t like his daughter saying that word, but it was the most apt in this situation. “I can’t argue with you there, but when people are being dumbasses, that’s the best time to let them know you still love them and how much you want to help.”
“I love that you’re so patient with Dad, and he’s a dumbass all the time.” With a giggle, Everly kissed Ten’s cheek and hurried to Ronan.
“You call me a dumbass and then want a hug good night?” Ronan grabbed his daughter and twirled her around in the air. “Do you want me to read to you before bed?”
Everly nodded and tucked her head under Ronan’s chin. “Something with a happy ending.”
“You got it.” Ronan waved to Ten and headed out of the room. A few seconds later, Ten heard his footsteps on the stairs.
Ten hadn’t been able to see how the drama with Corny would play out. Based on what Everly said, it could go either way. It made Ten wonder what he would do in a similar situation. Would he give his own father a kidney, even knowing David’s faults? Would those very faults be the determining factor in his father living or dying?
Scarily enough, Ten didn’t know which choice he would make.
9
Ronan
Despite the family drama swirling around them all, Ronan had gotten a good night’s sleep. He’d been up early, wanting to go over what little information the police had on Sebastian Stark’s death. He hoped Paul really did have evidence the police hadn’t bothered to collect in their rush to judgment over how the teenager died. The last thing he wanted was to be responsible for bringing more pain to the broken man.
“Have you been able to connect with Bash, Ten?” Fitzgibbon asked as he pulled up to the Stark house.
“No. Honestly, I’ve been so caught up in this thing with Corny. Bertha came to see us last night, asking for advice.”
“How’s she taking all of this?” Jude asked, turning in his seat to look at Ten.
“Not well. She hasn’t spoken to Carson and Cole yet because she’s not quite sure where she stands on the idea of one of her sons giving up a vital organ to a man who has been out of their lives for thirty years.”
“Maybe someone else will be a match when they run Corny through the organ transplant database,” Jude suggested.
“He’s a criminal with a history of drug and alcohol abuse. The only thing he’s likely to get is a swift kick in the pants.” Fitzgibbon shook his head. “Damn, that didn’t come out right. Corny doesn’t deserve to die because he made mistakes in life, but I’m also not sure if he deserves the kind of help Carson or Cole would have to give him.”
“We all agree we’d give each other a kidney with no questions asked,” Ronan said. He’d donate his own heart if it would save Ten or the kids. “It’s a different matter when you’re giving the gift of life to a total stranger.”
“Corny is their father,” Ten said, sounding as if he was waffling on the family connection.
“For all intents and purposes, Corny is astranger,” Jude said. “Giving money like Jace volunteered to do is the easy part. Going into that operating room with two kidneys and coming out with one is another story. Not to mention all the dangers associated with the surgery—bad reactions to anesthesia, blood clots, strokes, MRSA, falling in love with a hot doc, and boning him from your hospital bed with all the alarms blaring because your pulse is tachycardic. Then there’s all the pounding footsteps racing to your rescue as you wipe your lips with your sleeve. ‘I’m so sorry, Nurse Cumsalot. I was giving the patient mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, through his dick.’” Jude snorted, laughing at himself.
“Slow down there,Grey’s Anatomy.” Fitz rolled his eyes.
Ronan hooted along with Jude.
“Get it together, you two,” Fitzgibbon said, all business now. “We’ve got a grieving father in there who needs answers about the death of his son. We’re the only ones who can give them to him.” Fitz eyed Ten in the rearview mirror. “You good to go?”
“Yeah, I can feel Paul’s pain from here. It’s like the house is saturated in grief like a clothesline full of laundry in a hurricane.” Ten shook his head. “I can’t sense Bash, but we’ll see what happens when we get in there.” Ten opened his door and got out of the SUV.
Ronan came around to Ten’s side, holding him back at the top of the driveway while Jude and Fitzgibbon headed for the side door. “I’m sorry for being such an idiot with Jude. My mind should have been on the case.” More than anything, Ronan hated disappointing his husband.
“It’s not that, Ronan. Paul is just so sad. The only thing he has to live for is solving his son’s death. Even if there is a killer and we somehow manage to catch him or her, there is nothing left for him at the end of the line.”
