Free Finding Forever (Living Again #4) by L. L. Collins Page B

pool. “Can you get us some towels? There’s none out here.”
    Lacey watched as Sam got up, gave her a small smile then walked out of her sight. She knew she was right. But could she do it? Did she want to do it?
    When Sam returned, Lacey watched her as she opened the doors. She squealed as Ellis grabbed her and pulled her to him.
    “You’re wet!” she giggled. He cupped her face and kissed her, effectively silencing her. Mason rolled his eyes, grabbing a towel from his mom and walking away, but Lacey couldn’t stop looking. She’d seen them kiss a lot of times. They had a fiery hot connection. But something about watching them this time made her heart squeeze with longing.
     

     
    “Lacey Russell,” the nurse called, looking at the chart. Lacey stood up, and Aubrey reached out and squeezed her hand.
    “Good luck,” she whispered. Lacey wondered if anyone else in this room was terrified right now. She saw women with pregnant bellies reading parenting magazines; young and old women filling out paperwork, chatting, or reading.
    The nurse smiled at her as she led her down the hallway to get her weight, blood pressure, and urine sample like she had done every year since she was sixteen.
    Being let into the room, Lacey took a deep breath as she picked up the paper gown. “Open to the front and nothing on underneath,” the nurse gently reminded her. “Dr. Blaise will be in soon.”
    Her mind went back to the last few days. She hadn’t contacted Brant, even though she did want to. As the days went on it became harder to hit those buttons, which she knew was silly. He had come to pick up Max when she wasn’t there, and she wondered if that was intentional. She figured at this point she would talk to him after the doctor, see how he was doing. First, she had to get through this.
    After what seemed like eons, Dr. Blaise knocked on the door, then poked her head into the room. “Lacey? You all ready?”
    “Ready,” Lacey answered. She was as ready as she could ever be.
    Dr. Blaise sat down her chart, then settled herself on the stool. Flipping through her information, she furrowed her brow. “I don’t see the results of your mammogram that I ordered.”
    Lacey looked away, at the picture painted on the ceiling that was somehow supposed to take your mind off what you were there for. “I didn’t go.”
    Dr. Blaise sighed. “It’s been a whole year and you didn’t go? Lacey, you have to do this. It’s for your own peace of mind. We’re going to have to do this, and this time, right away. I’m going to send you over there right after we finish here, and you have to go this time.”
    Lacey felt like a scolded child, and she knew that she deserved it. She should’ve done what she was supposed to do. She had meant well, she just could never make herself follow through with the appointment. As Dr. Blaise did her normal yearly checks, Lacey let her mind wander.
    “You do self-breast exams, right?” Dr. Blaise interrupted her.
    “Yes,” Lacey said quietly.
    “And no change in anything?”
    “No.”
    “Lacey, I’m not trying to upset you. But there are reasons why we do early mammograms on women who have a family history of breast cancer. It could be that you have no bigger risk than any other woman, but we just don’t know that. So we have to be smart.” Dr. Blaise moved the gown aside and pressed on each of her breasts. “Everything feels normal, but you’re still going over right now to get the mammogram.”
    Lacey knew better than to argue at this point. After Dr. Blaise left, she dressed quickly. She felt like she could be sick at any moment. This was it. She wasn’t getting out of it. She wished that Aubrey had to do it with her, also. It might make her feel a little less… terrified.
    After getting her instructions for going across the street to get the mammogram, she texted Aubrey and told her where she would be. Dr. Blaise said everything was fine and this was just a precaution, so why was she