Free Halfway to Forever by Karen Kingsbury Page B

seriously ill was more than he could imagine. And so he focused his gaze on Jade’s beautiful face, and sometime around midnight, after the night nurse had made her final rounds, Tanner fell asleep.
    At ten o’clock the next morning, Dr. Layton appeared again. He was holding a file, and this time the gravity of the situation was etched in the lines on his forehead.
    “It’s cancer, Jade. I’m sorry.”
    Tanner stared at the doctor, his eyes unblinking. What had the man said?
    Cancer?
    The word screamed at him from every wall in the room. Jade couldn’t
possibly
have cancer. It was all a nightmare. He was going to wake up at home in their own bed, Jade beside him, smiling at him, assuring him everything was all right, and promising him that she and their baby were perfectly fine.
    No, God, not cancer. Not Jade …
    Tanner hung his head for a moment, his hands clenching into fists. Then just as quickly, he realized he hadn’t said a word to Jade. Ignoring his pounding heart and uneven breathing, he lifted his chin and reached for her hand. She had been watching him, her eyes filled with too many emotions to sort. Sadness, regret, disbelief. And fear, of course. But … Tanner frowned. He saw guilt, too. As though somehow she felt responsible for the doctor’s awful news.
    Her eyes welled up. “I’m sorry, Tanner.”
    “No.” He forced a partial smile and uttered a single desperate laugh. “It’s not true, Jade. Tests can be wrong.” His gaze shifted to Dr. Layton. “Isn’t that right? Can’t the tests be wrong?”
    The doctor’s mouth formed a straight line, and he looked from Tanner to Jade and back again. “Not this time.”
    Tanner stared at the man. He wanted to scream or punch a wall, shout at anyone who would listen, insist the diagnosis wasn’t true. His gaze shifted back to Jade and he saw quiet tears streaking down her cheeks. He tightened his grip on her hand. “We’ll fight it, Jade. People beat cancer all the time.”
    She nodded, smiling as her eyes filled again. “We’ll beat it.” She swallowed a single sob. “God’s … not finished with me yet.”
    Tanner nodded, his mouth dry with the blasting winds of hot,merciless fear. “We’ll fight it together.” He wove his fingers between Jade’s and leaned against her arm as the doctor explained their opponent in detail.
    “Jade has a glioblastoma, a fairly common type of brain cancer.”
    Tanner forced himself to concentrate. He still had hold of Jade’s hand. “It’s curable, right?”
    The doctor leveled his gaze and his voice fell a notch. “Yes. In about half the cases.” He hesitated. “It depends on how fast the tumor’s growing. Of course, there’s no way to tell how long it’s been there.” Dr. Layton let the file fall to his side. “Jade’s pregnancy seems to have compromised her immune system and sparked what looks like aggressive growth.”
    The words were like something from a nightmare.
Tumor … cancer … aggressive growth
. Tanner massaged his left temple with his free hand. The doctor might as well have been speaking Russian for as much sense as it all made.
    “I’m recommending two weeks of intense radiation therapy followed by removal of the tumor. At that point we can implant radioactive pellets and begin chemotherapy until—”
    “Stop.” Tanner held up his hand, and Jade and the doctor looked at him. “Radiation? Removal of the tumor? That’s surgery, right? Brain surgery?” He alternated his gaze from Jade to the doctor.
    Dr. Layton sighed. “Yes.”
    Jade opened her mouth to speak, but Tanner wasn’t finished. He let go of Jade’s hand, stood, and paced three quick steps toward the door and back. “What’s that mean for the baby?”
    “I know what it means.” Jade’s tears spilled onto her cheeks and she turned her attention to Dr. Layton. “I won’t terminate.”
    Terminate?
What was she talking about? The baby?
Their
baby? Tanner tried to breathe but he couldn’t. The air