Free Halfway to Forever by Karen Kingsbury

partway. “I’m tired.”
    Tanner kept his stride even with the moving stretcher and glanced at the paramedic pushing her. “Is that normal?”
    “Yes. It’s the medication.” The man angled the stretcher around a corner and into a room. He patted Jade on the hand. “Go ahead and sleep. Dr. Layton will be here in a few minutes; he’ll take good care of you.”
    She was asleep before the man left the room, and Tanner stared at her. A chill had worked its way into the marrow of his bones.
What’s happening to her, God? She’s everything to me
.
    Sweat beaded across his brow, and he reached for her hand. She couldn’t be sick, couldn’t have anything wrong with her.
Please God, not Jade. She and Ty and the baby …they’re all I’ve ever wanted, all I’ve ever prayed for since–
    A technician entered the room, cutting his thoughts short. “She needs to go to X ray.” He positioned himself at the head of Jade’s bed and began wheeling her out of the room. “The doctor wants a CAT scan.”
    Tanner stayed by Jade’s side as much as possible, and at eight o’clock that morning, Jade was admitted for observation pending the results. She was still groggy when Dr. Layton entered the roomand walked over to her bed. Tanner was glad this doctor was handling the situation. The two men had met on several occasions, and Tanner liked his professionalism. From everything he knew of the doctor, if anyone was up-to-date on current medical breakthroughs, it was Robert Layton.
    The man nodded at Tanner, his expression serious. Then he smiled at Jade. “Looks like you’re feeling better.”
    Jade uttered a weak laugh. “Talk about morning sickness, huh?”
    Dr. Layton’s expression fell and his eyes narrowed. “Jade—” he glanced at Tanner, then back at Jade—“I’m afraid it’s more than morning sickness.”
    Tanner held his breath and tightened his grip on Jade’s hand.
No, God … please …
Nothing felt real. The whole scene felt like a poorly scripted TV drama.
    The doctor drew a breath and moved a step closer to the bed. “The CAT scan shows a brain tumor, Jade. It’s about the size of a walnut.” He pursed his lips. “We need to do a needle biopsy.”
    Even as the doctor spoke, as he delivered the worst verdict of Tanner’s life, Jade’s expression went unchanged. She nodded and listened the way she might if the doctor were talking about a simple case of the flu or a patient down the hall.
    Or one of the kids she worked with.
    Tanner wanted to scream at both of them, to shake the doctor and demand to know the odds, the risks. To know if Jade would be okay when the nightmare that had just begun was finally over.
    Instead, he struggled to still his spinning thoughts and focus on what Dr. Layton was saying.
    “The seizure means that the tumor is growing.” He glanced at a clipboard in his hands and then back at Jade. “If it’s aggressive, there’s no time to waste. Even if it isn’t cancerous. You know that, right?”
    No time to waste for what?
Tanner wanted to scoop Jade into his arms and run from the room, find some way to stop the craziness. Instead he stayed stone-still and felt the slightest trembling in Jade’s fingers. He clasped his other hand around hers, and the trembling stilled.
    There was a pause, and Tanner cleared his throat. “I don’t understand.”
    Jade turned to him. “If the tumor’s growing, they’ll want to do brain surgery right away.” She hesitated, and for the first time he saw tears in her eyes. “But that puts the baby at risk.”
    Tanner’s heart pounded in his throat. Surgery? Risks to their baby? None of it was possible. He tore his eyes from Jade’s and stared at Dr. Layton. “What are the options?” His tone rang with frustration.
    The doctor angled his head. “It’s too soon to say.” He set his hand on Jade’s shoulder. “Let’s get through the needle biopsy and then we can talk.”
    The test was set for just after lunch, and neither Jade