Surrender 01 - Surrender

make me smile when I think I have nothing to smile about. They are a little crazy and I think you will adore them. Shelly, Amber and Miley are completely your type of women and like to try to find me brainless men, but they also make me laugh. I didn’t think that was something I’d ever do again after your accident.”
    “Oh, Ari, I’m so happy to hear about your friends. You have always been too serious. You studied all through high school when you should have taken a bit of time for a social life, and then you did the same during college. I’m proud of you, as I always have been and always will be, but I want you to stop and smell the roses once in a while. I want you to have fun. Getting good grades is important, but I think you can do that with one eye closed and half your brain shut down. Having fun once in a while is just as important — to good mental health.”
    Ari smiled fondly at her mother’s familiar speech. She’d heard it often in her late teens when she’d chosen to stay home each weekend studying instead of going out. It wasn’t that she hadn’t wanted to make friends. It was just that she hadn’t connected with anyone who became more important than her schoolwork.
    If she’d found something to do that was more interesting than getting lost in a favorite book, then she’d gladly have put away her reading glasses for the night and gone out on the town. But the recent past didn’t support the value of socializing — just thinking about that fateful party and what had happened to her mother was a lot worse for her mental health than not having fun… And then there was…
    Rafe.
    Yes, Rafe made her want to put away her books. He made her want to star in her favorite romance movie with him as the male lead. He made her want to rip off her clothes and cry out for him to take her. He frightened her because he made her want to change everything about herself.
    The word dangerous didn’t begin to describe him.
    She needed to remember that and just stay away.
    “Did I lose you, darling?”
    “I’m sorry, Mom. I haven’t gotten enough sleep this week, so I’m a little on the spacey side. Tell me honestly how you’re feeling today.”
    “I’m feeling wonderful. I was going to call you this evening. Dr. Shepp’s last scans showed that most of the cancer was removed. He thinks he’ll be able to get the rest through chemo. I just can’t begin that treatment until this infection goes away. I may have to go in for another surgery, but you can wipe off that frown because it won’t be as bad as the last one.”
    “I thought the money we got only covered the first surgery. Did we get more money?”
    “I don’t know. He said not to worry about any of the red tape, that it was all taken care of. I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I know I filled out a heck of a lot of forms. There are several organizations that step in to help in cases like mine. My best guess is that one of them said yes .”
    “That’s wonderful, Mom. I’ll call my boss and take Monday off work. I’m staying here with you all weekend to make sure everything goes right.”
    “You most certainly will not, child. You will go insane sitting in this room all day and night. I’m going a bit insane myself.”
    “You’re too weak to stop me, so it looks like it’s just you and me and a full box of Yahtzee cards . I’m going to run home and grab a few things, and I’ll be back in an hour. It will be just like old times, when we had all-nighters. I would get so mad at you for making me leave my books in my bedroom, but now, those are my favorite memories.”
    “How can I fight you when you’re making me all sentimental? Fine. You can stay with this old lady if you like, but be warned, I’m not against a little cheating to win each game.”
    “Even if you’re cheating, I’ll kick your booty. I love you so much, Mom. I’m so glad you’re feeling better. I also think you’re right — I have a feeling that everything is going to work out.”
    Ari leaned down and hugged her mother. Although terror was clutching at her heart — could this be the last weekend she ever spent with the most important person in the world to her? — with a hard swallow she pushed the fright down.
    She hated that she’d been sick so long with that miserable cold. What if something did go wrong and these days were the last she had with her mom? It would haunt her forever.
    No! Ari stopped her guilt-ridden thoughts in