When Love Matters Most

  “Yeah, well. I’m not feeling my most hospitable,” he muttered, but he opened the door. “C’mon in. Grab yourself a beer.”

  Cal laughed. “Much better. If you’re antisocial.”

  “I’m not usually, but it’s been a long, hard day.”

  Cal followed Rick into the living room. “Yeah. I heard.” He patted his friend on the shoulder. “Good job.”

  “So that’s why you’re here?”

  “Yeah. I thought you could use some company to celebrate.”

  “All right. Let me get you that beer.”

  “No. You sit down. I can get my own beer.”

  Cal joined Rick on the sofa a few minutes later, carrying two frosted bottles, and handed one to Rick. “Want to talk about it?”

  No, Rick wasn’t up to reliving it all just now. “Nah, but thanks.”

  “Okay.”

  They sat in silence for a few minutes.

  “So...what about Madison?”

  Rick turned to glare at Cal. “What about Madison?”

  “You going to see if you two can pick up where you left off?”

  “Are you kidding me? I doubt she’d give me the time of day, let alone anything else.”

  “You won’t know unless you try.”

  “The last time I spoke to her... No, there’s no chance.”

  “But if you explained to her what this was all about?”

  “You’re the one who told me she’d be pissed off if she thought I was trying to protect her and not giving her a say in it, remember? Do you really think she’d be more understanding now, after the fact?”

  “Like I said, you won’t know unless you try. Isn’t she worth trying for?”

  * * *

  RICK THOUGHT ABOUT Cal’s comments after Cal had left and late into the night. He almost convinced himself that Madison would understand. That she’d forgive him. He wanted her so desperately he was willing to try.

  But what would happen the next time he was in a similar situation? And he would be. It was the nature of his job. The cartel would regroup eventually, and they’d have even more reason to go after him then. What if he and Madison were married, maybe had a couple of kids?

  That thought made all the others pale in comparison.

  Had he really just imagined Madison and him married?

  It left him with such an incredible longing he found it hard to breathe.

  * * *

  MADISON HANDED JESSICA the huge bunch of flowers she’d brought and leaned in to give her friend a kiss on the cheek. “Happy Thanksgiving! Jessica, Cal, this is my father, Patrick Long. Dad, my friends Jess and Cal.” She beamed at the opportunity to introduce her father to her friends.

  “Your Honor, it’s a pleasure to welcome you to our home,” Cal said.

  “Oh, no. Please. No formalities here. ‘Patrick’ will do just fine. I appreciate the invitation, and the kindness and friendship I understand you’ve extended to my daughter.” He had Madison’s arm through his elbow and patted her hand.

  “And this is Scout,” Jessica said, before sliding her arm into the crook of Patrick’s other elbow and guiding him inside the house, with Scout at their heels. “Well, Patrick, we’re very glad to meet you. We’re both rather fond of your daughter. Girls,” she called when they stepped into the living room.

  The two little girls turned in unison from a dollhouse they’d been playing with in a corner of the room. They were nearly the same age and dressed in a similar fashion but total opposites in coloring. They were both wearing frilly pink dresses; Kayla, the dark-haired girl, had a bright yellow sash tied around her waist, while Haley, the blonde one, wore a rich brown sash, similar in hue to Kayla’s hair. Madison knew that the “switching of colors,” as they called it, had been something they’d done since the day Jessica and Cal were married.

  “Girls, this is Mr. Long. Madison’s father. Patrick, meet Haley and Kayla.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet two such beautiful young ladies,” Patrick said in his clear, deep baritone, and gave them a formal bow, making the girls giggle.

  Madison felt relaxed and happy as the afternoon progressed. She almost managed not to think of Rick in the company of her friends and father. As she’d anticipated, her father got along well with Jess and Cal, and the discomfort she’d expected to feel in their company because of Rick was nonexistent.

  It was obvious that Madison’s father was charmed by the bright, sweet, vivacious girls, and he looked meaningfully at her more than once over the dinner table. Madison was fully aware that he longed for grandkids. He’d have to be disappointed, because Madison didn’t think it was going to be happening anytime soon. She couldn’t see herself getting into another relationship.

  After dinner, Jessica excused herself to put Haley and Kayla to bed, and Cal made Patrick a whiskey sour.

  “Excellent drink,” Patrick said after sampling the rich amber liquid. Her father gave Jessica a warm smile when she reentered the room. “Thank you for the outstanding dinner and your generous hospitality. I’m delighted to see a young couple so obviously and deeply in love and, frankly, so well suited.”

  Cal reached for Jessica’s hand. “Thank you, Patrick. You’re a perceptive man, and I’m a very fortunate one,” he said, winking at his wife.

  “How did you two meet, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  Madison sat back, enjoying the last of her wine, listening to her friend explain how she and Cal had met in the aftermath of the earthquake. With good humor, Jess admitted that she’d been less than impressed by the injured cop with the bad attitude. She went on to say that they’d also met Kayla that day. Cal had rescued her from a collapsed building, the same one in which he was later injured when he went back to rescue Scout. Jessica had subsequently triaged and treated Kayla.

  She also described the circumstances behind Kayla’s adoption. “It was so tragic for Kayla to have lost her mother in the earthquake. She didn’t have relatives. Cal was trying to adopt Kayla on his own but was facing some roadblocks, being a single male. The San Diego Social Services Agency was concerned that Kayla had only had a mother’s influence and that it would’ve been too much of an adjustment for her to go to a single, male-parent household, with everything else she had to contend with.”

  Jessica smiled at Cal. “I think it was all meant to be. Cal and I, um, resolved our differences, and the timing enabled us to adopt Kayla. We’ve been so fortunate in so many ways.”

  Madison felt a twinge of regret for her own circumstances, watching the glow of love on Jessica’s face as she looked at her husband. Jess’s eyes rounded suddenly and she turned to Madison. “I can’t believe I haven’t told you what we’ve learned!” she exclaimed. “I realize you know all that background, but we just discovered some new facts.” She scooted to the edge of her seat and faced Madison. “You remember how I’ve been trying to get some information on Kayla’s history, her medical records and so forth, because of that surgical scar she has?”

  Madison nodded.

  “Well, Kayla’s mother had risked everything, left everything behind in Mexico—her family, her home, her job—and entered the United States illegally. But you knew that part.”

  Madison thought of what Rick had been doing and shot a quick, worried glance at her father. She couldn’t discern any negative reaction on his face. He was watching Jessica with interest, but she knew her father had an excellent poker face. He had to for the bench, because he couldn’t let his own views an
d reactions influence the deliberations of a jury. She slid her gaze back to Jessica.

  “I can’t imagine the courage that took, to leave everything behind like that.” She shook her head. “I’ve always considered myself a brave, self-reliant person, but I don’t know if I could have done that.”

  “I don’t know if I could, either,” Madison acknowledged.

  “But Kayla’s mother did. And here’s the news. Kayla had been diagnosed with a rare vascular disorder that progressively narrows the blood vessels and arteries supplying the brain. The condition constricts blood flow, which makes the formation of blood clots likely, leading to a high probability of stroke.”

  “Oh, no,” Madison interjected. She might have been a veterinarian, not a physician, but she understood the risks and ramifications of Kayla’s condition. “How old was she at the time?”

  “Just over a year. Anyway, the treatment is surgery, and only a handful of pediatric hospitals can perform it successfully. Although they’d diagnosed it in Mexico, Kayla’s mother knew that the surgery wasn’t possible there. Kayla simply couldn’t have received the care she needed in her country.”

  “The mother brought Kayla to California illegally to get medical care for her?” Patrick asked. Madison was still unable to detect any emotion on his face or his tone of voice.

  Cal nodded. “Can you believe that? The extent to which her mother went to get our beautiful Kayla her life-saving surgery.”

  “Extraordinary,” Patrick remarked. Madison thought her father sounded impressed. She kept her gaze on his profile as he continued. “How did she manage it? She wouldn’t have had insurance coverage, would she?”

  “We wondered about that, too,” Cal responded. “The most we were able to learn from a nurse who works at the hospital where Kayla was treated was that her mother had said she’d been a paralegal in Mexico. She was a single mother, university educated, had a good job. She’d owned a small house that she sold. She took the proceeds from the sale, all her savings and some money her family could spare, and came to California. Her education and experience might have helped her manipulate the system so they could stay here. She had false papers and no legal status.”

  “But surely a young woman in her circumstances, as accomplished as she was, wouldn’t have had enough to cover the cost.”

  “True.” Jessica nodded. “She’d worked a number of jobs here to support herself and her daughter, mostly cleaning houses, but that and the money she’d come with still wasn’t enough. The hospital had a charitable program, and the nurse said they covered the rest of the expense.”

  “Remarkable,” Patrick said again. “Quite an extraordinary young woman, I gather.”

  “I think so, too.” Jessica sent her husband a sad smile. “We suspect that if Kayla’s mother hadn’t come here to get the needed care for her daughter, Kayla would have succumbed to her illness.”

  “An extraordinary young woman,” Patrick said again. “A woman very much committed to her child.” Madison was touched by the revelation, but despite her father’s words she was anxious about his reaction. A knock at the door drew her out of her reflections.

  “I’ll get it,” Cal said, and strode out of the room. “Hey, good to see you!” Madison heard him say from the hallway. “Happy Thanksgiving!”

  “I know I said I wouldn’t be able to make it, but we wrapped our family dinner at my parents early, and I thought I’d stop by and take you up on the offer of a nightcap.”

  Madison froze at the sound of the familiar deep voice, followed by some murmuring. She couldn’t quite make out what was being said before she picked up the conversation again. “No problem for me,” Rick said. “If she’s okay with it.”

  Jessica glanced at Madison. Her expression was both apologetic and inquiring.

  I’m okay. Madison mouthed the words and caught her father’s concerned look, too. “Really,” she assured him just before Rick walked into the room, Cal’s arm slung over his shoulders.

  Madison wondered if that was to keep Rick from changing his mind once he saw her. “Guess who decided to stop by for a drink?” Cal said, the note of tension in his voice belying his relaxed demeanor.

  “Madison,” Rick said by way of greeting.

  His eyes lingered on her and she felt her mouth go dry. “Hello, Rick.”

  He turned his attention to her father, offered a hand. “Judge Long, nice to see you again.”

  Madison wondered if everyone could hear her heart thundering. She tried to listen to the conversation flowing around the room over the deafening roar in her ears.

  “Exactly!” Rick exclaimed.

  She’d missed the exchange between her father and Rick, but they seemed to be in agreement rather than contention. Oddly, now that she and Rick were no longer seeing each other, he and her father appeared to get along fine.

  Madison sipped her wine, hoping fervently that the feelings raging inside her weren’t evident on her face or in her mannerisms. Judging by the heat she felt on her cheeks, she suspected they probably were. She wanted to cry. She’d been fooling herself, thinking she’d get over Rick. Seeing him now, so animated and engaged in discussion with her father and Cal, she knew she’d been kidding herself.

  She’d never stopped loving Rick, despite the way he’d cast her aside. He still meant as much to her as he ever had. Watching him surreptitiously, and watching Cal and Jessica holding hands and laughing in unison at something Rick had said, she realized how empty her life was without him. Catching her eye, Jessica formed the word Sorry.

  Madison responded with an equally silent, It’s okay, but knew it wasn’t and might never be again.

  To distract herself from her heartbreak, she focused on the conversation. She was incredulous to hear that Rick and her father had similar views on the topic of immigration. Scout unexpectedly pressed his cold nose against her leg and she gasped in surprise. Everyone’s gaze shifted to her, but she only saw Rick and an unfathomable question in his eyes. She forced a smile and stroked the dog’s head. “He startled me,” she mumbled with a nervous laugh.

  Although Cal, Jessica and her father tried to engage her in the conversation, she remained quiet for the most part. When her father finally rose to thank their hosts and say good-night, she almost cried with relief. She’d desperately wanted to go, but knew it would have been rude for her to initiate it.

  “That was a pleasant evening,” Patrick said when they’d settled down with mugs of coffee in Madison’s living room. “They’re delightful people, and they’re obviously good friends to you.”

  Madison sipped her coffee and waited for the other shoe to drop. She was certain he’d raise the matter of Kayla’s mother. To her considerable surprise, he segued to another topic altogether. She was baffled and too curious not to pursue it.

  “Dad, can I ask you something?”

  “Of course. Has there ever been a time I didn’t encourage you to do so?”

  Madison rose from her chair and placed a kiss on her father’s cheek. “No, there never has. Tonight, at Jess and Cal’s place, you seemed...impressed by what Kayla’s mother had done.”

  He chuckled. “And why wouldn’t I be? It was a selfless thing she did. I expect it took a great deal of courage and conviction, not to mention love for her little one.”

  Madison felt her lips part. “But...what she did was illegal!”

  Patrick cocked his head slightly. “And what were her options? Jessica used to practice medicine and I expect sh
e was very good at it. She said Kayla might not have survived if she hadn’t received the needed surgery in a timely manner.” He looked at Madison, seeming to search her face. “What would you have done in her place?”

  Madison was about to say, “The very same thing,” but she realized that would’ve been admitting to her father the judge that she would’ve been willing to break the law. But her father had also conditioned her to believe that nothing bad could come from telling the truth. She held her father’s gaze and chose her words carefully. “I would have done whatever it took to save my child’s life.” She knew that was the only answer she could ever give to that question, but she watched nervously for her father’s reaction.

  “There you go,” Patrick said, patting her knee. “I’d better get some sleep. How about if I take you out for an early breakfast tomorrow before I leave for the airport?”

  Now Madison’s jaw did drop open. “Dad?”

  “You don’t want to have breakfast?”

  She made a surprised sound. “Yes to breakfast. But Kayla’s mother and what I said—you’re okay with the law being broken?”

  Patrick’s face darkened. “Of course I’m not okay with the law being broken.”

  “But...”

  He placed his mug on the coffee table and held up a hand. “Hold on a second, honey, will you?” He looked perturbed. “Haven’t I taught you to reason? Haven’t I taught you to consider risks and consequences when making decisions?”

  Mute, she nodded.

  “We live privileged lives. There are many people who don’t have the same privileges we do. How could we begrudge a young mother’s desire to get the best health care for her ailing child? Care that we take for granted?”

  Madison exhaled heavily, and rubbed her temples. “Dad, I’m confused.”