Honor Bound(71)

"Then it is serious?"

"His current condition is extremely serious."

"Will he die?" She could barely control her wobbling lips long enough to ask the hateful question.

"I don't know," the doctor replied honestly. "I'm gonna fight like hell to keep him." He squeezed her shoulder in reassurance. "Excuse me, now. I should get back."

"May I see him?" she asked, clutching at the sleeve of his lab coat.

"I don't advise it. He's got tubes going in and out. To see him now would only frighten you more."

"She wants to see him." Lucas's sibilant whisper was more threatening than a shout. He and the doctor stared each other down for several seconds before the doctor relented.

"For one minute, Mrs. Greywolf. No more."

When she returned to the corridor, she was crying copiously. Lucas placed his arms around her and patted her gently on the back. But as before, she felt the invisible barriers between them, and there was little solace to be found in his aloof bearing and cool, gray eyes.

They spent the entire day and night in the hospital waiting room. Aislinn refused to leave even long enough to eat, though the nursing staff kindly urged her to. No one approached Lucas. Aislinn thought it was because they were afraid of him. What went on in the brain behind that implacable face remained a mystery to everyone but him.

Shortly after dawn on the second day, the doctor reported that Tony's condition was still serious. "But when he first arrived, I wouldn't have laid odds on him making it this long," he said, with a hit of optimism. "I think he's a fighter."

Aislinn took heart. She grasped at any straws of hope. Gene and Alice arrived soon after that. They had posted notices that the clinic would be closed and had made the long drive, unable to stay away any longer. Their sudden appearance had such an impact on Aislinn that she dissolved into tears of gratitude.

The Dexters expressed alarm at how drawn and pale she looked and begged her to check into a hotel and rest. She steadfastly refused. But they did talk her into eating the hot meal the hospital cafeteria sent up on trays for Lucas and her.

They were sitting in the waiting room, finishing their breakfast, when Lucas glanced up. He angrily tossed his napkin down and stood up, banging the table with his shin. "Who invited them?" he asked rudely, apparently not caring if the approaching couple overheard him.

"I did." Aislinn's voice was as unsteady as her knees as she stood up to confront her husband, who was obviously furious, and her parents, whom she hadn't seen or spoken to since her marriage. "Mother, Father," she said, stepping forward, "thank you for coming."

The Andrews seemed at a loss as to what to say or what to do. Eleanor fidgeted with the ivory handle of her purse, and Willard looked everywhere but at his daughter and son-in-law.

"We thought it was the least we could do," Eleanor said to break a silence that had grown uncomfortably long. "We're very sorry about the baby's illness."

"Do you need anything, Aislinn? Money?" Willard offered.

Lucas said something thoroughly obscene and went around them, shouldering them aside as he passed. "No thank you, Father," Aislinn said softly.

She was ashamed that her parents' solution to any problem was money, but she forgave them. Their being there was a comfort to her and, in light of their bigotry, more of a concession than she had had any right to expect from them.

She was relieved of having to deal with the awkward situation when Alice stepped forward. "I'm Alice Dexter, Tony's other grandmother. Please forgive my son's bad behavior. He's extremely upset."

She spoke softly. What impressed Aislinn, as it had from the night she met Alice in the hogan, was the absence of censure or prejudice in her tone. She looked directly at Eleanor, whose dress cost more than what Alice would spend on clothes in several years. She was neither hostile toward nor intimidated by the other woman. She extended her hand. "Please come meet my husband, Dr. Gene Dexter."

Aislinn left the four of them to get acquainted and went to find Lucas. He was standing at the end of the hall in front of a window. He was broodily staring out at a cloudless day very much the way Aislinn imagined he must have stared out the barred windows of the prison. For a man who enjoyed being outdoors as much as he did, it must have been hell.

"Lucas?" She saw his shoulders tense; otherwise he didn't respond. "Are you angry with me for notifying my parents?"

"We don't need them."

"Maybe you don't; I do."

He spun around. Only an act of will kept her from recoiling from the rage burning in his eyes. Taking her hand, he dragged her into a room that the nurses had made available to them, but which neither had used so far. When the heavy door silently swung closed, he faced Aislinn furiously.

"I guess you miss their damned money after all, don't you? What's the matter? Didn't you think I could provide sufficient medical care for my son? Did you call Daddy, begging forgiveness for marrying beneath you and asking him to please drop by with his checkbook?"

"I don't deserve that, Lucas!" She slapped him hard, hard enough for his head to follow the path her flying palm had taken. When his face came back around, his teeth were bared, and he raised his hand in retaliation. However, he stopped the downward arc of his hand before it could make contact with her cheek.