“I just don’t want to burden you,” she sobs, hiccupping back tears as she pulls away from my chest. Her face is red, her eyes are puffy and her nose is clogged, but she still looks so damn cute. “I don’t want you to feel like this is your responsibility—”

  I stop her words by placing a finger against her mouth. “First, I don’t feel burdened. Second, you are my responsibility; I just need to get you to see that. I want to take care of you, Lane.” She offers me a wobbly smile, making me chuckle. “I’m in this, for better or worse. I want forever with you, Laney, and that forever started the second you drove back into town.”

  I run a hand up the side of her face and cup her cheek while planting a gentle kiss to her swollen pink lips. She sighs, her body relaxing into me, and I’m about to sigh with relief when she takes a deep breath, causing her to break out into yet another coughing fit. She braces one hand on my shoulder, the other covering her mouth. Her lungs wheeze, and after several seconds I become alarmed because she isn’t stopping. Pulling out a chair, I nudge her into it and grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator. She takes several small sips but continues to choke and sputter. “Laney,” I ask, trying to keep from panicking. “What can I do? Are you okay?” She nods her head with her hand still to her mouth and finally the coughing subsides.

  “I’m fine,” she squeaks, her voice raw.

  “You’re not fine.” Squatting down in front of her so we’re eye to eye, I grip her hand in mine. “You need to call Dr. Hopkins. Didn’t you tell me that she wanted to know if you started getting sick?”

  “That was when my blood counts had dropped, but they’re a little better now. It’s just a cold, Levi. I’ll be fine,” she says, dismissing me.

  “A cold doesn’t last this long. Jesus, Laney, you’ve been coughing for weeks and you don’t have any other symptoms. This isn’t normal. We’re calling Dr. Hopkins.” Standing up, I reach for my phone, but she snatches it off the table before I can get to it.

  “No. I promise, I’m fine.” My phone buzzes again while she’s holding it, and she looks down and then holds it out to me. “It’s Mason.”

  “Promise me you’ll mention it to the doctor tomorrow,” I say, disregarding my phone because this is much more important. Laney drops her hand back in her lap when she realizes I’m not answering the call.

  “I promise,” she sighs emphatically, rolling her eyes. “I promise I’ll tell her about the cough.”

  “Thank you.” My phone buzzes again and she shoves it at my chest then stalks out of the room, coughing the entire way. I answer the phone.

  “I can’t do it, Mason. I can’t go.”

  “You have to go. This isn’t an option, Levi.” I know my brother, and I can practically hear him pacing around his living room. “Look, I get it. You want to be here with her. But this is important, Levi, and I don’t want us to lose out on this opportunity.”

  “I know. I don’t want us to lose out on it either, but she’s sick, Mase, and I’m not just talking about the cancer. She’s got this cough and it’s getting worse, and I need to be here with her to make sure she talks to the doctor.”

  “She’s a grown woman, Levi; I’m sure she can talk to the doctor on her own. And I know that Luke would never let her go by herself. Fucking hell, Levi,” Mason grunts, his irritation obvious. “This is important. It’s important to me, and it sure as hell is important to our business. You have to go so just make it work,” he says with finality.

  I open my mouth to tell him to fuck off, but the asshole hangs up on me. I toss my phone on the table. What the hell am I supposed to do? Spinning around, I come face to face with Laney.

  “What did Mason want?” She yawns and tucks herself into my chest, wrapping me in her arms.

  “He wants me to go to Nashville tomorrow to sign paperwork for the investors.”

  “What? That’s amazing, Levi. I’m so happy for you guys!” Her eyes glitter with joy and it’s like a punch to the gut because I haven’t seen her smile like this in days. I’m realizing now how much I’ve missed it.

  “I’m not going.” Untangling her arms from around my back, I walk down the hall and into the bathroom. Seconds later, she comes barging in on me with my sweats around my thighs and my dick hanging out. She doesn’t seem at all fazed that I’m standing here taking a piss, and the sassy little vibes she’s putting off with her hands on her hips and her chin jutted out is turning me the fuck on.

  “What do you mean you’re not going? You have to go.” Her mouth comes together in the perfect pout, and I fight the urge to bite one of her lips and see just how sassy she can be. I pull my pants back up, wash my hands and push past her on my way out of the bathroom.

  She follows me into the bedroom, which is exactly where I want her. I’m declaring our little argument the first fight since we’ve reunited, and I’m in need of some serious make-up sex. I shove my pants back down my thighs and Laney watches them fall to the floor. Then she looks back at me, trying to appear unaffected.

  “I don’t have to go. We can reschedule.” I stalk toward her.

  “What? No!” she says, shaking her head furiously. I grab onto the bottom of her shirt and tug it over her head. She looks down at her naked chest in confusion and then back up at me. “You have to go, Levi. You guys worked really hard for this. You deserve this.” She yawns, and as she takes in the deep breath, I hear a faint wheeze come from her mouth. Laney coughs once and clears her throat several times before speaking again. “Why wouldn’t you go?”

  “Because I need to be with you. I want to be with you.” Bending down, I scoop her up into my arms and carry her over to the bed. As soon as I set her down, she scoots back and buries herself under the covers and I curl up next to her.

  “You need to go,” she mumbles, resting her head on my chest. “I’ll get Luke or Mia to go with me to my treatment.” I smile to myself because she didn’t mention Benny. Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy. But if Laney wasn’t with me, I could see her with someone like him.

  “I don’t know, Laney—” She rises from my chest and shuts me up with a kiss.

  “It isn’t up for discussion. I will be fine, and I’ll be here when you get back.” She falls back on my chest and I grunt. “Speaking of that, how long will you be gone?”

  “I would leave tomorrow and come back on Sunday. We’re supposed to approve a building site they selected.” She nods, her smooth head rubbing against my chest. I’m so used to her bald head that sometimes I completely forget she doesn’t have hair . . . or eyebrows or eyelashes, for that matter. With the cold weather, she’s had to start wearing hats. I tried to take her to get a wig, but she didn’t like the way they felt on her head and I didn’t care either way, so she decided to go without.

  My fingers trace a loop around the top of her head, over and over, and within seconds, a faint snore drifts through the air. So much for the make-up sex. She’s been so tired lately—more so than usual—and I can’t help but wonder if it’s because of the chemotherapy or the cold. She slept a full ten hours last night, and it’s not even nine o’clock in the morning and she’s already back asleep. The small wheeze that I heard earlier starts up again each time she inhales and I prop myself up higher on the bed, bringing her with me.

  Laney’s breast is squished against my side and her silky smooth legs are tangled with mine. It feels so fucking perfect, except that my mind starts to wonder what the hell I’d ever do if she wasn’t here. I’ve gotten fairly good at shutting off those thoughts because I know they won’t get us anywhere. She’ll get past this. Laney will survive, and when she does, I’m going to put a huge fucking rock on her finger and change her last name.

  There is absolutely no way I’m going to fall back asleep, so I do the next best thing—I watch Laney sleep. Her shoulders rise and fall with each shallow breath, and a few times I lay my hand across her back just to make sure she’s still breathing. She’s so tiny and fragile, and I have no clue how her body has made it through everything that it’s been through. I’m in complete awe of her resilience and strength. I’ll never know how she puts a smile on every morning and pushes through each day the way she does, and I think it’s one of those things that I’ll just never understand. Often times I’ve thought about how easy it would be for her to be bitter and angry rather than hopeful. I know that she’s had her moments, but that’s to be expected. I also know that there are days when she just puts on a show, but the majority of the time she seems legitimately happy and upbeat.

  “Damn it,” I hiss, tilting my head back on the pillow. I don’t want to go to Nashville, but I know I have to for Mason. I couldn’t forgive myself if he missed out on an opportunity like this because of me. Shifting Laney ever so gently to the side, I roll her onto her back, making sure she has a pillow under her head. I slip out of bed, tuck the covers around her body and throw on my sweats, wondering where in the hell I left my phone. I backtrack through the house and find it sitting on the kitchen table with three missed calls from Mason. Tapping his name, I hit ‘talk’ and he picks up almost instantly.

  “Well?” he snaps, not saying another word.

  “What time does our flight leave?” Grabbing a glass out of the cabinet, I fill it up with water and take a drink.

  “It’s like a four or five-hour drive, douchebag. We’re not going to fly.” Damn it. I fucking hate driving long distances. I take one more drink and empty the cup into the sink.

  “Whatever,” I growl. “What time do we need to leave?”

  “Cheer up, Buttercup,” he quips. “This is a good thing. We leave at eight in the morning. Where should I pick you up at?”

  “Pick me up at Laney’s.”

  “You got it.”

  “And Mason . . .”

  “Yeah?”

  “Don’t fucking call me back today.” I hang up the phone before he has a chance to respond, but right before I hit ‘end,’ I hear his booming laugh come through the line.

  My eyes rest on the stack of bills on Laney’s table, and suddenly the only thing I can think of is making things right for her. When I grab the pile, a folded piece of paper falls to the floor. Bending down, I pick it up and unfold it. Laney’s bucket list is staring back at me, and I smile at all of the things I’ve been able to check off of it. I laugh out loud when I see the line drawn through number six and recall the way she blushed when I changed the wording. My cock stirs when I remember the day we checked off number eight. I’ll never forget the look on her face or her tinkling laughter when she took off running from me at the quarry, and the way she squealed when I finally caught her and tossed her into the cold water. My eyes slowly make their way down the page and my breath catches in my throat when I find number fourteen. It wasn’t there before so she must have added it. I grab a pen off the counter and scratch through that one, making a small note next to it.

  Folding the list up, I put it back on the table then grab the stack of bills and start fixing things the only way I know how.

  “I’M NOT GOING. END of discussion, Laney. I’m not going.”

  It’s three o’clock in the morning. I spent the entire day yesterday checking on Laney because she literally slept all afternoon, only waking up once around five o’clock in the evening to eat, drink and go to the bathroom before she crawled back into bed, seemingly exhausted. Okay, I can understand that. But when she wakes up in the middle of the night with yet another coughing fit and a fever to boot . . . yeah, not happening.

  “I’m fine,” she stresses, curling up into a ball after taking the fever reducer I gave her. “You’re going. I told you, it’s just a cold.”

  “Cold, my ass. It’s not just a cold.”

  “Trust me, babe,” she yawns, pulling the covers up to her chin. “Your ass is far from cold. In fact, it’s pretty darn hot.” A wistful smile touches her lips as her eyelids bob heavily. I crawl into bed, wrap my arm around her scalding hot body and pull her toward me.

  “Now’s not the time for jokes, Lane,” I mumble into the top of her head before kissing it twice.

  “Mmmmm . . .” she moans before drifting off to sleep.

  I, on the other hand, stay up through the wee morning hours, constantly monitoring her temperature, which finally breaks around six o’clock. It’s now seven and I’m standing next to her bed, completely fucking exhausted, trying to figure out what in the hell I’m supposed to do. There’s no way I can leave her like this . . . I just can’t. My meeting will be a complete waste of time because I’ll spend the entire time thinking about Laney and wondering how she’s doing.

  Right when I’m about to text Mason and tell him I’m not going, a soft knock sounds at the bedroom door. I crack it open and Mia looks at me, concern marring her face. “How is she?” she whispers, crossing her arms over her chest.

  I slip out the door and Mia follows me into the kitchen. God bless her, she already has a pot of coffee ready to go and I fix myself a cup. “Her fever finally broke, but she coughed all night long.”

  “I know. I heard her.” Mia walks across the kitchen and refills her coffee mug. She brings it to her mouth and takes a sip.

  There for a while, Mia had been sleeping on Benny’s couch when I would stay the night, but the past several weeks she’s insisted on staying here. I’m not sure if it’s because something happened between her and Benny, or if she’s just as concerned about Laney as I am and wants to be here in case she’s needed. I suppose it doesn’t really matter. She’s a great friend, and I’m just glad that Laney has her.

  “She’s going to be okay, Mia.” I wrap an arm around her shoulder and she nods her head.

  “I know. I just want her to be okay now.” A couple of tears slide down her face. “I can’t stand to see her go through this. It makes me sick to watch her lose weight and to see the bright light in her eyes dim. I’m not sure how much more of this I can take,” she cries, setting her mug down so she can wipe the wetness from her face.

  “I know. I feel the same way.” I fold her into my arms, and her shoulders tremble and shake. “We have to stay strong for her, okay?” She nods weakly against my chest and then pulls back, her face red and splotchy from crying.

  “I’m trying,” she says, her voice cracking as another batch of tears roll down her face. “It’s just hard. I want this to be over for her.”

  I pat her back awkwardly. I’m not sure it’s doing any good, but I really don’t know what else to do. It’s one thing to comfort Laney, but trying to comfort her best friend is something entirely different.

  “She’s almost done. Only a few treatments left,” I remind her.

  “I know. But then she has radiation every single day for six weeks. What in the hell is that going to do to her?”

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. She’s a fighter, Mia.”

  “Trust me, I know that better than most.” She sniffs, grabbing a Kleenex to wipe her nose. My phone buzzes with a text and I look down.

  Mason: I’ll be there in 30 minutes.

  “Shit,” I hiss, running a hand along the back of my neck. “There’s no way I can go to Nashville.”

  “You have to.” Mia smiles at me, her eyes still watery. “I have strict instructions from your woman that you are not allowed to bail on Mason.”

  I shake my head and chuckle. “Of course you do. When did she tell you that?”

  “She got out of bed last night to get a drink and I heard her stumbling around in the kitchen. We stayed up and talked for a couple of minutes.”

  “I don’t know, Mia. What if something happens? What if she needs me and I’m not here?”

  “I’ll be with her, and so will Luke. I promise that I’ll call you right after she sees the doctor, and then as soon as she gets done with her chemo, I’ll call you again.” She pauses, her eyes softening. “She wants this for you, Levi. So even if you don’t want to go for you . . . you should go for her. You know,” she continues, a nostalgic look on her face, “she used to talk about you all the time. I felt like I knew you long before we actually met. She was always so proud of you. Luke would call, and the first thing out of her mouth was always, ‘How’s Levi?’ followed by her begging him for information. She told me once what happened between the two of you, but I always had the feeling she wasn’t giving me the whole story. But I never pushed her or questioned it because I knew it wasn’t important. She loved you, and that was all that mattered.”

  My heart is jammed in the middle of my throat and I swallow hard, trying to push past it. There is no way I’m going to lose my shit in front of a chick, but just hearing Mia say that does something to me. It touches me in a way that I can’t even explain.

  “Okay, I’ll go,” I concede, although a sick feeling in my gut is telling me to stay. “But you promise to call constantly?”

  “I promise.” She gives me a friendly push toward the bedroom. “Now go get ready.”

  Laney is still asleep when Mason pulls up thirty minutes later. “I don’t want to wake her up,” I whisper, looking over at Mia, who’s hovering over Laney right along beside me.

  Mia places her hand gently on the top of Laney’s head. “She doesn’t feel warm. Maybe just let her sleep and I’ll have her call you as soon as she wakes up?”

  “Sure,” I say with a massive amount of hesitation. Bending forward, I place a soft kiss on Laney’s cheek, but it’s not enough so I do it a couple more times and then whisper, “I love you, pretty girl.” She doesn’t move or make a sound as Mia and I head out of the room.