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  “Yes, I’m available at this number anytime. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome and I’ll be in touch soon.”

  She ended the call and pulled up the weather app on her phone. Earlier that day there had been talk of a snowstorm heading toward them, so she needed to see how bad it was supposed to get. The mountains she’d have to pass over would make the trip terrible if there was a nasty storm. She’d have to look into renting a four-wheel drive vehicle, because her little car wouldn’t make it this time of year.

  “Anything I can do?”

  She looked up to find Le standing beside the table in a pair of faded blue jeans and a gray T-shirt. Never before had she seen him in anything but dress clothes, and the casual fashion suited him. He looked amazing.

  “Ahh…everything’s almost ready. I just needed a minute.”

  “Everything okay?” He pulled out the chair next to her and sat down.

  “I received a call about toy donations, but I need to go pick them up.”

  “Surely it can wait until after dinner, then I’ll drive.”

  “I appreciate the offer but it’s a little more complicated than that.” She locked her phone and pushed it away from her. “The woman’s daughter was brought to Cedar Grove, I’m not sure when or for what, but it must have been a good experience because they did a collection. The woman was in a car accident and can’t make the trip to deliver the toys. They leave for Germany on Monday so I’ll have to make arrangements to pick up the stuff this weekend.”

  “There’s a snowstorm coming in. Where are they located?”

  “Three Forks.” She frowned, knowing it wasn’t going to be an easy trip.

  “Hmm, that could be a nasty journey and your car won’t handle those mountains with snow very well.”

  “I’ll call about renting something in the morning. They put in a lot of time and effort to do this, I can’t let them down.”

  “Let me make arrangements to have someone cover me at the hospital if anything comes up, and we’ll go Friday morning.”

  “You don’t have to.” She didn’t miss the fact he was taking time off work to help her with this.

  “I want to.” He placed his hand over hers. “I’d like to accompany you on the trip if you’d have me. The weather’s going to be bad and my truck can handle those roads better than your car. It also will allow you the whole truck bed for whatever she’s collected.”

  “What about the hospital? The Cooks?”

  “I can do my rounds early Friday morning, check on everything, and then we can leave. Another doctor can cover for me if anything comes up, and I can be reached on the phone if anything happens.” His fingers teased along her knuckles. “If you don’t want me to go, all you have to do is say so.”

  “No, I want you to go. It would be nice to have company, I just don’t want to put you out.” Suddenly she felt like she was on eggshells, like she had been when they first met. The unease tightened the muscles between her shoulders.

  “Then it’s settled. We’ll leave early Friday morning and everything is going to work out just fine.”

  She smiled with both nervousness and excitement. The idea of being alone with him, driving through a snowstorm, seemed dangerous and appealing. To have him all to herself with no distractions was more than she could hope for.

  Now if she could only find a way to get him naked.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The next day passed with incredible slowness. Le found himself looking at the clock thinking an hour or more had passed when in reality it had only been a few minutes. He was anxious for their trip, even if it would only allow them to spend a few additional hours together. He was supposed to be putting distance between them, keeping her out of reach before he couldn’t keep his feelings to himself any longer. Instead he was offering to go on a road trip with her. How was he supposed to keep any distance between them while they were locked in his truck all day?

  He leaned his head back against the leather chair and closed his eyes. Immediately his mind conjured an image of her in that body-hugging cami shirt she had on the night before, after she slipped out of her sweater when the heat of the fireplace and oven had overwhelmed her. Damn, he practically had to sit on his hands to keep them to himself. He hadn’t had this much trouble controlling his desires since he was a teenager.

  Someone stood in the door clearing their throat, pulling him from his thoughts before they could turn too erotic. He found his sister watching him with amusement.

  “I’d ask you if you had a rough night, but I already know Chelsea was there until nearly one in the morning.” She stepped into the office and closed the door.

  “What’s your point, little sister?”

  “Just not used to you having a life outside of this place. Is there anything I should know?”

  “Yes, there is.” He leaned forward, placing his hands on the desk. “You should know to mind your own business. Do you see me butting into your life?”

  “Actually, yes.” She took the chair across from him. “You’ve always known everything that goes on in my life and you questioned Jason so thoroughly he thought he was on trial for murder.”

  “I’m the older brother; it’s my job. Now was there something you wanted or did you just stop by to harass me?”

  “Now that Jason’s parents are here, we’re having Brian over on Sunday, so I wanted to invite you and Chelsea as well.”

  Normally he’d agree without hesitation. Going over to Liz’s meant a home cooked meal and good company. The fact she invited Chelsea made him question Liz’s motives.

  “I’ve seen that look before. I invited Chelsea because she’s a friend of mine, and at this time of year no one deserves to be alone. She already agreed to come for Christmas dinner. So if there’s unsettled waters between you two, you better deal with it quickly.” She stood but didn’t move away from the desk. “She’s a wonderful woman, and as you know she’s been through a lot of shit. If you’re not interested in something long term with her, don’t lead her on. She deserves better than that. Now I’ll see you Sunday at six. Have a safe trip.”

  Before he could argue that he couldn’t get involved with Chelsea because she deserved so much more, Liz was gone. Just like Liz, leaving before he could defend himself. She had never been fond of confrontation.

  Nevertheless, she was right; he couldn’t lead Chelsea on. Either he had to be straight with her about his feelings, or he had to put distance between them. Neither one was going to be easy for him.

  With nothing else to do but get back to the paperwork that littered his desk, he vowed to talk to Chelsea after their trip. She deserved him to be upfront with her. In the meantime, he had to decide if he was willing to give up what he could have with her before they even had a chance to explore it.

  As he opened the next file on his desk that needed his attention, his cell went off with an emergency message.

  Code blue: radiation room three. Glancing at the clock again, he jumped out of his chair and charged for the door. At that time of day, his only patient in radiation was Jessica. Damn!

  Skipping the elevator, he raced down three flights of steps to the radiation ward. He wasn’t a religious man, but with each step he said a silent prayer. Jessica’s frail body couldn’t take much more and if her heart stopped they might not be able to get it restarted. He made a mental note to talk to Mrs. Cook to see if she had changed her mind on a living willing for Jessica. Kelly needed to consider if she wanted them to perform extreme measures to try to save Jessica…or if she preferred them to let nature take its course.

  He realized his thoughts sounded too similar to what the nurse had said, and he scolded himself. Coming through the stairwell doors, he didn’t have time to consider it. Doctor Cole Roberts, the pediatric radiation oncologist handling Jessica’s treatment, and one of his nurses stood waiting outside room three.

  “What happened?”

  Cole tipped his head to the side, dismissing the nurse before tu
rning to Le. “We just finished Jessica’s treatment when suddenly she said something was wrong. She didn’t have time to explain before she went into cardiac arrest. After a flat line, we were able to get her heart beating again. Doctor West is with her now.”

  “Damn it.” Le grabbed hold of the door handle. He was glad it was Brian in there with her. He was a good pediatric cardiologist and held the same beliefs as he when it came to saving children.

  “Her heart and body are giving out, and you know the probability of her surviving this latest round of cancer. Is it wise to continue the treatments?”

  “It’s our duty to do everything we can to help our patients,” Le reminded him, his tone heated with anger.

  “We also made a vow not to do harm. Have you considered the treatment might be doing more harm than good?”

  He had considered it but wasn’t willing to admit it yet because that would mean defeat. The minute they stopped doing the treatments it would be an automatic death sentence for her.

  “All I’m asking is for you to run a new batch of tests, see if we’re making any progress with this treatment. If there are no changes, sit down with her mother and consider the options. Will you at least do that?”

  Le nodded. “I won’t put her heart under anymore strain until Brian clears her.”

  “Very well. With today’s reaction, we’ll postpone her treatment for tomorrow in order to give you time to perform the tests.”

  He opened to door, stepped inside, and found Kelly hovering by Jessica’s bed. Tears streaked her face.

  “I hear you had a negative reaction to the treatment. How are you feeling now?” Le asked.

  “Tired.” Jessica’s voice was faint, and her eyes fluttered.

  “Why don’t you rest here for a few minutes while I speak with Doctor Mathews and your Mom?” Brian patted her hand. “Would that be okay? We’ll just be right outside in the hall.”

  Jessica nodded, not opening her eyes, and Kelly kissed her forehead. “I’ll be right back, sweetie.”

  Le opened the door for Kelly and Brian and when they stepped outside, he left it slightly opened so they could watch Jessica.

  “How is she?” Kelly asked.

  “Her heartbeat is faint and she’s extremely tired. This episode took a lot out of her,” Brian explained. “I need to do a chest x-ray, EKG, and a few other tests before I can rule out any lasting damage.”

  “Is it from the treatment?”

  “I can’t say for sure. All I can say is she’s a very sick little girl.” Even as Brain spoke, there was something in his eyes that made Le wonder if he suspected the underlying cause but didn’t want to worry her. “I’ll get a nurse to take her for the tests and then she can go back to her room and rest. I’ll check on her after I have the results.”

  “When she’s brought back upstairs, I also want to do a full blood work up again,” Le added. “It can wait until after your tests, or even tomorrow. We don’t want to put her through any more than we have to today.”

  “I want her to take it easy for the rest of the day,” Brian ordered. “Make sure she stays in bed, and no strenuous activities or we’ll have to sedate her. I don’t want any more damage until we know what caused this episode.”

  “She’ll take it easy,” Kelly promised and went back to Jessica’s bedside.

  Now that they were alone, Le nodded for Brian to follow him farther down the hall, giving them a little more privacy. “Do you believe the treatments caused this?”

  “I believe this is one of the cases where there are no easy choices.”

  “Brian, we’ve known each another a long time. Just give it to me straight.”

  “It’s a possibility. I’ll know more when the tests are finished.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his white lab coat and nodded. “Okay. It’s more likely that it’s from the treatment than not.”

  It was what he’d expected, but it wasn’t the news he wanted to hear. She would either die from her cancer if they stopped the treatments, or her heart would give out if they continued. Nothing was easy.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Silence cloaked the interior of the truck until it was uncomfortable. Le couldn’t think of anything to say to make the trip easier, all he could think about was Jessica’s pending test results. The early results from her EKG didn’t hold much good news, but it was right after the incident, so they were rerunning it that afternoon. The other test results had left him scratching his head.

  “Is everything all right?”

  He nodded, not bothering to take his eyes off the road. The roads were quickly deteriorating and darkness was falling. They had been in Three Forks longer than he expected, putting them on the road late.

  Silence threatened to overwhelm them again until he cleared his throat. “It’s work. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to cause this unease.”

  “Anything I can do?”

  “Unless you have a magical ability to make my cell phone ring, I don’t think so.” He tried to make light of it.

  “I thought we didn’t want your phone to ring. Wouldn’t that mean there’s an emergency at the hospital?” She turned slightly in the seat to look at him.

  “We’re running some tests on Jessica and I’m waiting on the results.” He tugged the wheel to the right as it started to slide on some ice.

  “Roads are getting bad.”

  “Yes, they are.” He said between clenched teeth as he tried to keep the truck on the pavement. “With the way it’s coming down and the drop in temperature I’m not sure we’ll make it back tonight.”

  “What will we do?”

  “There’s a little hotel we passed on our way, it should only be a few miles up the road. I think we should stay there for the night and set out in the morning. It’s only going to get worse.” After regaining full control of the truck, he glanced over at her. “I’m sorry, but it would be for the best.”

  “That’s fine, it’s not worth risking our lives and maybe then you can call the hospital for an update.”

  He smiled, knowing that he wanted more than to just call the hospital. Eager to get off the road and alone with her, he continued to manhandle the truck forward.

  Kingsley wasn’t sure if he should be praising or cursing his luck. The small family-run hotel only had one room available with a single queen size bed. That was going to make things intimate and possibly awkward between them.

  “Let me make a call and then we can go up to the dining room for a bite to eat. The owner’s only serving for another hour and then we’re out of luck, so I hope you’re hungry.” He slipped his cell phone out of the pocket of his jeans and was thankful when he saw he still had full service.

  “I could go get the food and bring it back here. It will give you privacy for your call and we can have a quiet meal afterward.” She grabbed her coat off the back of the chair and slipped it on.

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I’d rather have a quiet dinner here with you, if you don’t mind.” She pulled a crocheted blue and white hat over her blonde hair. “Make your call, I’ll be back shortly.”

  He watched her slip out the door, the knowledge of what he wanted settling over him. Pushing his personal life to the side, he slid his thumb over the screen of his phone and called Brian.

  “Kingsley, I was just about to call you. Are you coming back in this evening?” Brian asked.

  “No, I’m not going to back in back into town until tomorrow. The weather got nasty and we’ve taken shelter. Is something wrong?”

  “Not wrong.” There was a shuffle of papers before Brian continued. “Different. I didn’t call early because I wanted to double check the results.”

  “What are they showing?” He paced the small room unable to stay still.

  “I’m not an oncologist but I believe your patient is in remission. All signs point to it.”

  “That can’t be.” He leaned against the wall, not sure he heard correctly.

  “Do you h
ave access to a computer and internet? I’ll forward you the results, then you can see for yourself.”

  “Send them, I have my tablet.” Leaving the hospital with his tablet in hand had been an accident and now it turned out to be a blessing. “I ordered another test when I was there this morning, but the results won’t be back until tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime don’t mention this to Mrs. Cook. I don’t want to get her hopes up unless we are completely sure.”

  “She was praying for a miracle, and she might have gotten one.”

  “I hope so.” He knew test results could be wrong but it was unlikely. “How about her heart?”

  “She’s weak, her body is tired, and it has taken its toll. With a little time, she’ll be fine.”

  “Time…yesterday we didn’t think she had any left.” It all sounded too good to be true and until he saw the test results, he couldn’t quite convince himself it was real.

  “I’m sending them now. Give me a call if you have any questions, otherwise I’ll see you when you get back.”

  After hanging up with Brian, Le slid down the wall to sit on the floor. Part of him wanted to rush out and get the tablet to check the results, while the other part of him screamed it might be a mistake. Jessica’s chances at remission were less than one percent. The likelihood that she would live past the end of the year was barely ten percent. He couldn’t help but think someone had messed up.

  The door opened and Chelsea entered with a tray full of food. “Le?” She rushed to set the tray aside, then came to him. “What’s wrong? Bad news?”

  “Test results came back and I’m having a hard time believing them. I need to check them for myself. You go ahead and eat.”

  She shook her head. “I’ll wait for you. How are you going to check them?”