Mitch felt her tremble but she stepped forward, away from his side. ‘Hello, Max. It’s good to see you. And this is Jamie, my son.’
Mitch would’ve laughed if the situation hadn’t been so damned serious. Instead he groaned and held his hand tight at his side. Max’s jaw had dropped, and for once he seemed lost for words.
Jodi crossed the remaining gap to his brother. ‘It’s been a long time but you’re looking as good as ever.’
She hadn’t said that about him. Mitch studied the expression in her bold eyes. Aha. She was pandering to Max’s ego, softening him up, trying to prevent a tirade of questions. Especially when it was blatantly obvious who Jamie’s father had to be. And what was he doing about the situation? Letting Jodi down.
‘Max, Jamie is also my son.’ There were a million things he wanted to add to that bald statement. He and Max had an unvarying pattern to their conversations and arguments, which always included getting one over the other, a power struggle to come out on top. But not today. He couldn’t abide Max saying anything wrong about Jodi or Jamie.
Max blinked then drawled, ‘Even a blind man could see that.’
Jodi murmured, ‘Strong Maitland genes.’
Then Max got his second wind. ‘Jodi, it’s great to see you. Really. I’ve wondered what happened to you.’ And the guy hauled her into his arms for a hug, Jamie and all.
Mitch glared at his brother’s back. What was it about Jodi Hawke that attracted them both? Jodi had said Max had dropped her and that they didn’t have a strong relationship, not a lot of chemistry between them, but they had gone out for a couple of months.
Then after she and Max had split he’d been feeling particularly low about his adoptive parents’ bad financial situation and the bankruptcy suit that had been filed against them so he’d given Jodi a call to ask her out for a drink and a meal. One thing had led to another with Jodi that night. The chemistry between them had been hot, sparking and wild. He had to believe her when she said she hadn’t felt anything strong for Max.
Jodi backed away from Max, the thumping of her heart unnaturally loud. She’d seen the utter disbelief in Max’s eyes, quickly followed by shock when the realisation he had a nephew clanged into place. But he had hugged her as he always had, like a special friend.
Moistening her dry mouth, she filled him in a bit. ‘I’ve been in Dunedin all the time, working for a general practice when time allows. Jamie keeps me fairly busy.’
‘I imagine he does.’ Max was studying Jamie carefully. Seeing the illness? Of course he was. Anyone with half a medical brain would know this wasn’t a child brimming with good health.
‘Jamie has cystinosis and he’s been referred to Lucas Harrington. We’ve just come from seeing him.’ Max’s eyes widened, darkened as he absorbed this bit of news. She could see the thought processes going on in that bright intellect as he digested everything. Compassion clashed with surprise. Sadness nudged medical interest.
‘The poor little guy,’ was all he finally said, but there was a weight of concern behind each word. He really did care, really did understand what she might be going through.
‘Guess you never expected to have a nephew,’ she muttered.
A Maitland smile lifted the grim outline of his mouth. ‘There’s a good surprise in every day.’
Stunned, she could only gape at her son’s uncle. No nasty words, no snips at Mitch for obviously not knowing he’d fathered a child. This Max was new to her. Swallowing the lump sliding up her throat, she managed, ‘Thank you. Hopefully you’ll get to see him on a day when he’s got more energy and can chatter to you.’
‘I look forward to it.’ Max’s gaze fixed on his nephew, and a flash of hunger zipped through his startled eyes. It was gone so fast she wondered if she was mistaken. Replaced by his usual professional, don’t-think-you-can-touch-me demeanour. But, no, she had seen it, knew he’d be around to see Jamie some time soon. Her heart softened. Bring it on. And sorry, Carleen Murphy, we don’t need you after all. I’ve just touched base with the best surgeon in all respects available for Jamie.
Jamie’s eyes were closed as he sniffled against her neck. Her hands tightened around his thin body. ‘I’m sorry, Max, but we have to go. Jamie’s exhausted after seeing the specialist and having bloods taken.’
Mitch reached for Jamie, lifted him into his arms to relieve Jodi of her load, knowing she’d let him go now. She’d reached an understanding with Max that he hadn’t been a part of but which he found he didn’t mind. His brother was Jamie’s best hope and so all animosity had to be set aside. He’d seen the instant Max had comprehended his role in Jamie’s future.
Mitch also knew the exact moment Max fully understood the implications of Jamie’s disease. There’d been a glint of compassion in the sharp glance Max had flicked him. A big question hovered behind the reality of what he’d just worked out. If Jamie needed a transplant, who was going to be the donor?
To dodge that bullet, Mitch told him, ‘Jamie’s to be seen in your department next week.’
Jodi murmured, ‘We haven’t got an appointment yet.’
Max stood absolutely still, concentrating on Jamie. Finally he shook his head and focused on Jodi. ‘Bring him to see me tomorrow. Three o’clock. All right?’
And then he was gone, charging out of the canteen, a man on a mission.
‘How can he know he’s got a space in his schedule at that time?’ Jodi stared after him.
‘He’ll make time. Guaranteed. But, Jodi, just because he’s seeing Jamie tomorrow, it doesn’t mean you can’t have Carleen Murphy do the operation if that’s what you want.’
She looked at him with those big imploring eyes. ‘I haven’t a clue what or who I want. Except…’ She stopped, and shook her shoulders as though pushing aside something very difficult.
He fully understood. Especially when it came to having his brother on the case. But they had to put all grievances aside in the interest of getting the absolute best care and help for Jamie. And as much as it galled him to admit it, Max was the best transplant surgeon in the country.
Jodi leaned in against him for a brief moment. He had to bend his head to hear her say, ‘No, I do know. Max has to do the transplant. If it’s not asking too much of him, considering the family ties.’
That was something they’d have to wait to find out.
CHAPTER SIX
‘YOU’RE NOT SAYING MUCH.’ Jodi’s understatement jolted him as he concentrated on the motorway traffic. ‘You must be feeling annoyed that Max has found out about Jamie before you’ve had time to get used to the idea.’
‘You could say that.’ He pulled out to pass a truck and trailer unit.
‘Working in the same hospital, the odds were always tipped that way.’
‘We hardly ever bump into each other. Mostly keep to our own areas.’ To avoid each other and the arguments that the hospital staff had come to expect as much as they did.
‘What is behind all that antagonism between you two?’
He breathed deep. ‘Did you know our parents died when we were six?’
‘Yes, I think it was you who told me. What happened?’
He should’ve told her everything years ago. That’s what couples did, shared their pasts as well as their futures. But they hadn’t been planning on a long-term future together. At least, he hadn’t. The closer Jodi had got to him the more he’d pushed her away until she’d left him and he could feel justified for his actions. Self-preservation? Or self-destruction?
‘Mitch, talk to me. I need to know more about your past. Jamie will start asking questions as he gets older.’ She hiccupped and twisted her head to stare out the side window, sniffing back tears.
Mitch’s heart lurched as he glanced across and saw her swallowin
g hard. He had to fight the urge to pull over to the side of the motorway and hug her in a vain attempt to take away her fears. She lived with Jamie’s situation every minute of every day. It must hover on the periphery of her mind, suddenly blinking into full focus whenever she talked about anything but Jamie’s immediate future.
But until he worked through what his role was then he had to keep his distance from her. At the moment all he could give her was some background stuff. ‘Dad and Mum loved sailing, especially offshore. It was their passion.’ More than their kids had been if they could go away and leave us for months at a time. ‘They were on a trip to Fiji when a storm blew up. There were mayday calls for a few hours, then nothing. An air and sea search went on for days until eventually a few broken planks and a life jacket with the yacht’s name stencilled on it were found a long way from their last known position. The court ruled death by drowning.’
Jodi turned to look at him through watery eyes. The hand she rested on his arm trembled. ‘That’s dreadful. What happened to you and Max?’
‘We were separated and sent to live with different uncles, both brothers of our father. They got to choose one twin each.’ A chill permeated his warm muscles, set bumps on his forearms. Like how did anyone pick between two kids?
‘Twins shouldn’t be separated.’
‘Want to tell me something I don’t know?’ he snapped. ‘I get that we were a handful, but we’d just lost our parents. Who wouldn’t be?’
Jodi laid her hand on his arm again. ‘Hey, that’s shocking. Why did neither of them take both of you?’
‘The uncles never got on, always competing against each other in everything.’ He sighed. ‘Yeah, like Max and I.’ He concentrated on the car in front, keeping a perfect distance behind it. ‘From what I learned over the years, Harry and Fred carried that competitive streak too far and couldn’t agree about who took us so their wonderful solution was to take one each. And to hell with the consequences for us.’
It had been like losing an arm to lose his twin, only worse. And there had begun the slow build-up to the animosity that now lay between he and Max. The families had been completely different; the situations and attitudes of their adoptive parents poles apart.