Cael prowled the ER, his brothers at his side. “What’s going on back there?” he groused, staring at the door leading to the examining rooms.

Jaxon walked over, placing his hand on his shoulder. “Be cool, man. You know they’re gonna check her out.” He worked as an EMT and had taken care of her until the ambulance arrived.

They looked over as Rafe walked in, carrying a tray of coffee from a neighborhood coffee shop, with Eleanor accompanying him with a bag full of sugar and sweetener packets and little containers of creamers. “I hate hospital coffee,” she explained, handing them out to everyone.

“Do you know anything yet?” Rafe asked.

Dragging his hand through his hair, he said, “No. They kept asking about her medical history, but I don’t know anything. I called her brother and he’s on his way.”

Miss Ethel rose from her chair and walked quietly across the room until she stood toe to toe with him, her head tilted as she peered intently into his eyes. Lifting her hand, she placed it on his arm and said, “How strong are you, boy?”

His brow furrowed as he fought to understand her meaning. “Strong?”

Nodding, she said, “Do you love her?”

“Yes,” he replied instantly.

“Do you love her with a strength that is unbounded?”

A cold trickle of fear slid over him and for a second he allowed his gaze to shoot over his brothers, seeing their expressions of confusion, before dropping back to the woman whose respect he wanted to hold more than anyone’s. “I have that strength, Miss Ethel.”

She held his gaze in silence for what seemed an eternity, before giving his arm a squeeze. “Good. You’ll need that. For her. And for you.”

Before he had a chance to question her further, the doors opened and Robert rushed in.

“Where’s Regina?” he shouted, drawing the attention of everyone. His gaze scanned the room, landing on Cael and he stalked straight to him. “What the hell happened?”

“Easy, Robert. They’re running tests now. She passed out—”

“I knew it. I knew this…you…were a fucking mistake. Jesus, I told her…I warned her.”

Cael was struck frozen at the accusation, mouth open but unable to speak. Taking this in, Jayden stepped forward, demanding, “What are you talking about? We all saw her…it only takes one look to see she’s happy with him.”

Hands on his hips, Robert glared. “Fuck happy, right now,” he stated firmly, startling the entire gathering. “I just want her alive.”

“What…what…?” Cael finally muttered.

“She’s a childhood cancer survivor, man,” Robert bit out. “And it’s fucking returned.”

The nurse called for Robert to go back and, without hesitation, he headed through the doors, leaving Cael, stunned, standing in his wake, the others as speechless as he.

Cael stood in the doorway, his feet rooted to the gleaming tile floor, a sense of déjà vu descending. The many times he stood in the doorway, girding himself, before walking into Cindy’s room came slamming back into him. Only this time it was different. It was Regina’s room. My Red. My Red has cancer.

Hearing voices, he hesitated behind the partially closed curtain near the door that protected the patient’s privacy.

“Please don’t be mad,” Regina was saying. “I knew I was feeling woozy, but so wanted to go meet Cael’s family.”

“Sis, I’m not mad. I’m worried. You’ve been ignoring the signs, even though the doctors told you months ago that things were getting worse.”

“I know,” she replied, her voice laced with regret.

“Jesus, Regina. You were going to cut your hair for you. That was supposed to be for your wig when the chemo starts again. Fuck, sis…you gave it to his niece.”

Cael’s legs threatened to give out from underneath him and he grabbed onto the doorframe to hold himself up. She cut her hair for her. The wig was supposed to be for her. But, she gave it to Cindy.

Regina and Robert were silent for a few minutes before she spoke again. “Is he here?”

“I think he’s outside somewhere.”

“Can you find him? See if he’ll come in to see me. I want…no, I need to talk to him.”

Cael stepped back quickly, moving to the side of the door, and waited. Robert stepped into the hall and his gaze swept around, landing on him.

“She’s awake and would like to see you.”

Nodding, he started back toward the door, but a hand on his arm stopped him.

“Please,” Robert begged. “Be gentle with her—”

Interrupting, he said, “I know you don’t know me, so I’ll allow this for now. But what you gotta get is I’m in love with your sister. I’m not going anywhere.” Shaking off his hand, he moved past the curtain and into the room.

Once inside, his feet took him to the bedside, but he was surprised he did not stumble along the way. Regina lay in the bed, pale with dark circles underneath her eyes, familiar machines whirring in the background.

“Hey,” he said, moving to the chair and sitting before taking her hand.

Regina watched Cael enter, her eyes never leaving his face, and recognized the pain etched in his eyes. He’s just been through this with Cindy…it’s too much to ask him to go through it again.

“Hey,” she replied, sighing heavily. “I’m so sorry—”

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart.”

Nodding, she countered, “Yes, I do, Cael. I’ve known. I’ve known for a while that the cancer was coming back.”

He remained silent, so she forged ahead. “That night we met? I had found out that week that the tests were showing the cancer had returned. I went out that night and just wanted to have a good time. I wanted to have a drink, dance, and if I met someone, then that was fine too.”

“No names,” he said softly, his thumb rubbing her hand.

With a rueful snort, she agreed. “Yeah…but I had no idea how many regrets that night would bring.”

“I have no regrets,” he said, his voice hoarse.

Squeezing his hand, she rectified, “Oh, no regrets about you, Cael. Just regrets that I wasn’t honest with you from the beginning. But, once again, I just wanted something normal. Something fun. I never counted on falling for you. So, yes…I have regrets.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because we weren’t supposed to become anything. And then, you took me to meet Cindy and I knew your life was full of your own family, your own needs. It seemed so selfish to add to them. God,” she cried, “then you walked back into my life and I wanted you so badly, I selfishly couldn’t say no. I’m so sorry, Cael. I’m so sorry to let you get so deep with me when I…when I might…”

“No,” he said, firmly. “You have nothing to be sorry for. From the moment I saw you it was already too late, Red. You were it for me. It just took me some time to realize that. And as for the other thing? You fight. We fight. You can beat it. You’re strong.”

Cael watched as a tear slid down Regina’s cheek and leaned over to capture it with his thumb. They were silent for a few minutes before he asked, “What now? What will they do?”

“I know Robert told you that I had cancer as a child. I had chemo when I was eleven and went into remission.” Her hand drifted up to absentmindedly tug on her hair while she added, “I lost my hair, so when it grew back, I only got it trimmed after that and kept it long. I think it was kind of like a security blanket.”

Unable to hide it from her, he blurted, “I know you cut your hair for your own wig but you gave it to Cindy instead.”

Eyes wide, she gasped. “You…you heard?” Her face contorted in a grimace. “I never meant for you to hear that.”

“Why? Why would you do that?”

Regina stared down at her hands for a few minutes, her chin quivering as she fought to control the sob that desperately wanted to erupt. Finally, blowing out a breath, she said, “I’m an adult. I don’t need that security anymore. But Cindy’s just a child. And I remember how much it made me sad to lose my hair.” Shrugging her thin shoulders, she added, “Honestly, it wasn’t a sacrifice. I had something that I could offer. Mine will grow back and so will hers.”

Cael’s mind whirled with the implications of all that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. Attempting to infuse his voice with confidence he did not feel, he said, “Okay. Okay, so next steps. What is the protocol?”

Blowing out another cleansing breath, Regina forced her response to be clinical. “We caught it early and the prognosis is good, actually. Um…they’ll start me on aggressive chemo and then try to find a stem cell donor. That will be the best chance to fight this once and for all.”

“Try to find?”

“Familial is best, but, well, Robert isn’t a good match. And I refuse to consider my nephew, Robbie, to even be tested.”

“Are they the only ones?”

“Oh, no. Anyone can be a donor, as long as the match is good.” Shrugging, she said, “They’ll find someone. Sometimes, it can come from another person who isn’t a good match for their relative, but might be a good match for me.”

Cael’s heart clenched inside his chest at the thought of Regina having to start the treatment. “Okay,” he said. She tilted her head in silent question so he added, “Okay, well, I need to talk to the doctors and to Robert.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I need to find out if this is the best hospital. Do you have the best doctors? Are you getting the best treatment? Are you—”

“Whoa…” she said, a slight smile creeping out for the first time since he entered the room. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. I’ve got everything under control. I’ve got my oncology team in place, so I’m good.”

“Good? You call passing out and having to be rushed to the hospital good?”

“Cael, shhh. Yes, granted, this has pushed forward the treatment that I hoped I might be able to avoid, but it’s under control.”

He quieted, but his mind continued to race. Cancer. Chemo. Stem cell transplant. Two doctors entered the room, interrupting his thoughts. He wanted to stay to listen to what they had to say, but they asked for privacy as they examined Regina. Nodding, he bent over to kiss her forehead. “I’ll be back,” he promised.

“She needs her rest,” Robert curtly stated, walking into the room.

Turning to him, he growled, “I’m not going to keep her from resting, but I’ll be back.”

“Gentlemen, what she needs is a calm environment, not being exposed to arguing,” one of the nurses, who walked in after Robert, proclaimed.

Cael held Regina’s gaze and squeezed her hand. “I need to go talk to the others.”

“They’re out there?” she asked with surprise. “Please tell them to go home and make sure Miss Ethel gets home as well.” Her face softened. “Honestly…I’ll be fine.”

Squeezing her hand one last time, he walked out of the room toward the waiting area, his heart pounding with the desperate out-of-control feeling he felt so often with Cindy. For a split second, he wondered if he were strong enough to do it again.

That evening, Cael returned to Regina’s room. Entering, he was grateful to find Robert gone. He did not blame her brother for his protectiveness, but he really wanted time alone with her. Slipping inside, he found the lights turned down low, her still form underneath the covers.

Tiptoeing over, he observed her sleeping, so he sat down in the chair next to her bed and stared, his mind still churning over the events of the day.

“Oh, Red,” he whispered, his gaze drifting over her short hair, knowing now why she cut had it so much shorter than what was needed for the wig. Soon, even the short hair would be gone. And the weight loss would get worse. And the nausea. And the fear. And everything else that goes along with the diagnosis and treatment.

“I’d give anything if you didn’t have to face this. Anything if we’d had more time before we were dealt this hand.” He rested his forearms on the bedrail and lowered his head to his arms, fear threatening to choke him. “God, baby, you gotta know how badly I wish you to be well.” He lost track of time, sitting by her side, before he finally pushed up, out of the chair, and stood over her bed. Bending to kiss her forehead once again, he whispered, “I want nothing but the best for you, Red. Goodbye, baby.”

He turned and tiptoed back out of the room.

Lying in the bed, not sleeping, Regina felt a tear slide down her cheek.