Sixteen and Dying by Lurlene McDaniel Read Free Book Online

doctor’s gaze softened.
    “I know you want me to begin treatment, and I’m being stubborn,” Anne told him. “I’m not in denial. I know I have HIV. I’ve had to accept other things I couldn’t control—like my mother dying. It’s made me tough.”
    Dr. Rinaldi steepled his fingers. “Women with AIDS are dying six times faster than men with AIDS. Once a woman is diagnosed with AIDS, her life expectancyis less than thirty weeks. I simply want to delay that time for you as long as possible, Anne.”
    “Listen to the doctor,” her dad pleaded. “Let’s go back to New York or start on the AZT, Anne.”
    “People can beat odds,” Anne said, lifting her trembling chin. “Dad, let me have a few more weeks to remember.”
    “All I can help you with is postponement of fullblown AIDS,” the doctor replied. “AZT has the power to delay the onset.”
    “But not the inevitable,” Anne remarked.
    “No, not the inevitable.”
    She looked from Dr. Rinaldi to her father. She felt their anguish on her behalf, yet she couldn’t forget why she’d come to Colorado. JWC had given her the Wish money without strings, to spend on anything she wanted. Anne knew what she wanted. “Then, if the outcome is exactly the same either way, I’d rather have a few weeks of freedom. I can’t forget what’s hanging over my head, and I know you’re both only trying to help me.… Thank you for that. I have very few choices for my life. Please, let me make this one.”

    Morgan paused while walking the bay stallion around the training ring when he saw the station wagon coming up the long drive toward the main lodge. Anne and her father had been in Denver the whole day.
Probably shopping
, he thought. His mother used to shop continually. Even when there was no money.
    He watched the car pull into its parking space and Anne and her father get out. Even from his distance,Morgan could see how exhausted and defeated they appeared. Anne’s father tucked her under his arm as they headed toward their cabin. To Morgan, the gesture appeared protective.
    Morgan thought of Anne as beautiful and wealthy. What in the world could she have to be unhappy about? He pulled the tether and clicked to the horse. The horse obeyed, following Morgan docilely as he resumed walking in the ring.
    “I need to stop thinking about that girl,” he told the bay. Yet, even as he said it, Morgan knew it was becoming impossible to do so. Somehow, Anne and her sad eyes had gotten under his skin. Which was stupid—especially in his case, when he knew what his own future might hold. Exceedingly stupid.

Eight

    M ORGAN BEGAN TO watch Anne. He observed that although she joined in many of the group activities, every afternoon she saddled up Golden Star and rode off alone. One afternoon, curiosity got the better of him, and he followed her.
    He allowed Anne plenty of distance. Since he was an expert tracker, he easily picked up her trail if she got too far ahead. He figured out that she was heading toward Platte City, a small town about ten miles north of the Broken Arrow. Many of the married ranch hands lived there with their families, and sometimes Morgan went to the town to relieve the monotony of ranch life. The main street offered residents only a few stores, a movie theater, an icecream parlor, and a pizzeria. He couldn’t figure out what Anne found to do there every day.
    He rode up on the outskirts and reined in hishorse. He saw Golden Star tied to a tree in the yard of the local church. The whitewashed wooden building was very old, but in good repair. Its tall steeple stabbed into the sky, and from the looks of the parking lot, the church appeared deserted. Morgan dismounted, tied his horse to the tree, and slowly climbed the front steps. As he reached for the door handle, he lost his nerve. What would she think if she saw him come inside?
    “Just don’t let her see you,” he told himself, pulling open the door. Inside, sunlight slanted through a single