5

Lorenzo Keane sat in the waiting room of the hospital, waiting for yet another doctor to give him a diagnosis that might change his daughter’s life. His throat tightened as he looked over both his girls, sitting side by side near the window. At least they were keeping one another distracted.

Mackenzie and Madison were identical twins, but they couldn’t be more different. Both had long, sleek, dark brown hair and adorable dimples which got them out of trouble more than he liked to admit. Between fifteen and sixteen they’d both gone through growth spurts that had him uneasy. Not so much that he minded having to replace their entire wardrobes, but he noticed men looking at them more. Not treating them like children. And it put his protective nature on high alert.

Mackenzie was sporty, outgoing, and didn’t seem all that into boys, which helped a little. But his daughter had developed an attitude that had taken time to adjust to. As a Dominant in the BDSM lifestyle, he wasn’t accustomed to being told, in so many words, that he was an idiot. Though, in the mind of a teen coming into her own, he probably was.

Her sister, Madison, younger by almost a day, was more reserved. Her interest in all things supernatural made for some interesting conversations. She insisted on reading the horoscope of every woman he showed the slightest interest in. He’d tried to learn what he could about ‘the occult’ and follow along when she shared what her favorite mystical YouTubers had to say on everything from current events to the fate of the planet.

Even worse, she thought their house was haunted. He was never sure what to do when she woke with night terrors and called him to her room. He sat by her bed, holding her hand and told her he’d never let anything hurt her. Thankfully, Mackenzie was a light sleeper and climbed into bed with her, holding her close and falling asleep by her side.

His girls were there for one another in a way he’d always hoped they’d be. Losing their mother so young had been hard, but he was proud of the young women they’d become.

The last thing they needed was life to knock them down again.

But there was nothing he could do to protect them from Madison’s deteriorating health. He wished he could. He’d do anything to take the pain on himself. Shield them from the worst. But they already knew he didn’t have that power.

And he’d had to accept it as well.

The treatment Madison had gone through for leukemia when she’d been almost twelve had killed the cancer. Given her a chance at a normal life. Her heart had taken a beating in the process. Over the past four years, she’d been closely monitored. Was almost in the clear.

He’d known something was wrong when his little ball of sunshine and energy stopped wanting to do anything. Keeping her inside used to be difficult, pure hell when she’d been going through treatment, but over the last few weeks, she’d become lackluster about going to school. Uninterested in seeing her friends.

She was always tired. Developed a nasty cough she couldn’t shake. Her yearly checkup hadn’t been scheduled for another two months, but he’d called her doctor and made an appointment for the next day.

For hours of test and waiting. A process that was much too familiar.

The door opened. The cardiologist, Doctor Jollet, came in.

Lorenzo stood, holding his arm out as Madison came to his side. He held her close as they faced the doctor, Mackenzie pressing against her sister’s other side, both trembling as they waited to hear the diagnosis.

Doctor Jollet didn’t waste any time. Her eyes were full of regret as she turned to his daughter. “I’m sorry, Madison, but we’re going to have to schedule surgery as soon as possible.” She gave Madison a bracing smile. “Thankfully your heart valve will not need to be replaced, but we need to do a procedure to repair your annulus—which is the ring at the base of your heart valve which we’d suspected might have begun leaking blood in the wrong direction. The procedure will involve placing a band around it which will tighten the valve.”

Inhaling slowly, Lorenzo squeezed Madison’s shoulder, his gaze locked on the doctor. The room had gone ice cold, shards sinking into his skin, ready to tear him apart. But he had to hold it together. “And this will help her resume a normal life? What are the chances of a full recovery?”

“Her chances are very good and many patients find their symptoms improve immediately after the surgery. Others take longer, but she will feel much better as she begins to heal.”

“Thank you, Doctor.” He glanced over at Madison, who was staring at the ground. “Can we have a moment, please?”

“Of course.”

Before the door even clicked shut, Mackenzie grabbed Madison’s shoulders, her voice breaking as Madison met her eyes. “Don’t be scared, Maddy. You’re strong. You’ll get your heart fixed and be back to kickin’ ass and takin’ names in no time.”

Madison leaned back against Lorenzo, pressing her eyes shut. “Doesn’t look like I have a choice. I just…I don’t want to go back to missing school and being in the hospital all the time. And not being able to do stuff myself, or go anywhere, or…” She inhaled roughly. “I was finally normal again. I just want to be normal.”

Lorenzo pressed a kiss to her hair, managing to keep his voice soft and comforting despite the tightness of his throat. “We need to do whatever it takes to get you healthy. We can go back to Toronto if you’d like. Get a second opinion?”

Turning slightly to look up at him, Madison frowned. “I thought you trusted Doctor Jollet?”

“I do, baby. It’s only—”

“You’re not seriously using this as another excuse to move back out west, are you?” Mackenzie glared at him. “Our whole lives are here. Our school. All our friends. And Maddy’s been seeing these doctors for almost two years. You’re seriously gonna talk about moving now?”

Deep, deep breath. He kept his tone measured as he regarded his daughter; all long, dark brown hair, ball cap, and attitude. “This has nothing to do with moving, Mackenzie. Your sister has a difficult decision to make. I am simply making sure she considers all her options.”

“If I stay, the surgery will be within the next two weeks.” Madison didn’t react to Mackenzie’s outburst. She never did. Her slender shoulders squared as she looked up at him with a brave little smile. “I’m comfortable here. Well, as comfortable as I can be in a stupid hospital. And then I’ll get to go home. Recover in my own bed while you both wait on me hand and foot.”

“Damn right we will.” Mackenzie gave her sister a careful hug, whispering loudly as Madison wrapped her arms around her sister’s waist. “We’ll sneak into the forum and watch a game before you have your surgery. Daddy will never say no with all you’re dealing with.”

Madison snickered.

Lord save me from devious teenagers. He frowned at Mackenzie. “No.”

His little darling rolled her eyes. “She hasn’t asked yet. Of course you’ll say no to me.”

“This isn’t up for discussion.”

After giving him the stink eye, Mackenzie went back to talking about all the fun things she and Madison would do before and after her surgery. Which seemed to help Madison relax. When the doctor returned, they made the pre-op appointment and were finally able to leave.

Outside, both his daughters were in better spirits, almost as though the news hadn’t been that bad. He smiled as they walked ahead of him to his car, resisting the urge to lecture them about looking at their phones while walking. His girls were growing up and he couldn’t monitor their every step anymore.

But he could protect them from the uglier parts of his business. He’d made the decision to keep them away from the forum, hoping the media wouldn’t decide his twin daughters would look great on the front page of some tabloid. Thankfully, as the owner, few were interested in digging into his life unless the team played badly and there could be some kind of spin to blame him.

Or rumors got out that he was considering selling the team.

The sad fact was, the team was not profitable anymore. He’d been optimistic during his first season here, since the changes he’d made resulted in a spike in attendance and sponsors, but during the second season, interest had waned. Reducing ticket prices still didn’t fill the seats. Fewer networks were showing games.

Without some heavy investment and a major revamp, the team would fold in the next two years. He’d seen what the Delgado family had gone through, trying to keep the franchise alive. Anthony Delgado had gone so far as to pit his children against one another, ambition becoming an obsession. The way the man had run the team, had run his family, left damage that it couldn’t be erased, reminding Lorenzo too much of how his own father had lived. Lorenzo had tried to be different by investing in a sport he was passionate about, without risking too much, but the team needed someone willing to take chances.

As much as Lorenzo loved the game, he wasn’t willing to go down with it.

Unfortunately, his tentative inquiries into selling had leaked. The most reputable reporters simply speculated about the possibility, but the tabloids were trying to make a quick cut and run seem inevitable. Having his daughters at the forum near those bottom feeding journalists risked bringing on the very attention he’d protected them from for so long.

He also didn’t want them around the athletes. Not that he didn’t trust the guys, but…all right, he didn’t trust them. Individually, most seemed decent, but ‘decent’ wasn’t good enough for his baby girls.

Once they’d arrived home and the girls had disappeared into the basement den, he gave the team’s General Manager, Dean Richter, a call.

“Hey, Keane. Good news I hope?” Dean got straight to the point, which was one of the many things Lorenzo liked about the man.

Lorenzo would consider him a friend if their working relationship didn’t make that impossible. Dean was too close to the players, too reluctant to make big trades which might be beneficial. He’d undoubtedly do it for the good of the team when push came to shove, but Lorenzo didn’t want to end up with similar attachments.

But it was nice to have someone he trusted to talk to about the situation with his daughter. No one else connected to the franchise knew what she’d gone through, but on one of the rare occasions he and Dean had met for a drink to discuss the coming season, the conversation of their children had come up.

When Dean had grumbled about his daughter’s pregnancy and how worried he was, Lorenzo had related to him as a father. And expressed his own fears. He’d called him the other night to tell Dean about the doctor’s appointment since he’d had to push off a board meeting.