In Your Dreams
Page 26
She laughed. “No. There’ll be no Chasm for you. Your willingness to sacrifice for others, including Isabelle and your daughter, showed us that you were worth fighting for. Something I’ve known for a long time. To reward you, the Board has decided to allow you and Isabelle to walk this life path together—as a family. What you requested from the Board will come to pass: Isabelle’s tumor will no longer threaten her life, her friends will acquire a child of their own, and you, Sean Martino, shall know the blessings in life that all good men deserve.” She wagged a finger, and her expression grew cross. “Don’t fuck it up this time, Sean.”
One arm wrapped around Isabelle, the other holding their daughter, Sean understood all too well the magnificence of the gifts he’d received. “I won’t. Thank you.”
“Farewell, my darlings.” Verity’s last words as she spun away carried them off into their future with a promise. “May you know only joy for the rest of eternity.”
Turn the page for a sneak peek at Book III of the Afterlife Series: Waiting in the Wings...
Coming Soon from Gina Ardito:
Waiting in the Wings
Book III of the Afterlife Series
Chapter 1
“I’m scared, Puff.”
Through the stuffed bunny’s plastic black eyes, Morgan Cavanaugh watched the little girl cower in the doctor’s waiting room. Her skinny legs, freckled with mosquito bites around the ankles, swung to and fro as she stared at the door and back to her favorite toy.
A longtime employee of the Afterlife’s Children’s Services Department, Morgan had watched over his charges as customary pets like dogs, cats, hamsters, and even once, as a python. Stuffed animals were a little trickier, but if a dying or scared child didn’t have a pet—as often happened—Morgan would become a favorite toy or security blanket. The real idea was to give a child someone—or something—to confide in. That explained why animals were a better choice. A dog or cat could ease a child’s worries with a quick lick or an affectionate rub, though the hamster and the python severely handicapped his ability to show compassion. As did blankets and toys.
He’d just been assigned Nichola Kendall after his final service for his last child, a ten-year-old boy with the rare diagnosis of Alexander disease, a fatal nervous system disorder. This was his first meeting with Nichola—in the pediatrician’s waiting room where the pretty little girl clutched him, in his role of Puff the pink bunny, with the strength of a vise.
“What if I’m really sick?” she whispered into his fuzzy, satin-lined ear. “I can’t leave Daddy all alone...”
~~~~
Travis Kendall paced the pediatrician’s office with leaden feet. Each step pounded a message from his heart to his head: It’s not true, it’s not true, it’s not true…
Someone screwed up. That was the only logical explanation. An overworked technician mixed Nichola’s medical records with another patient’s.
“I’m afraid the tumor is malignant and very aggressive,” the pediatrician’s verbal diagnosis penetrated the hazy fog of pain.
Guts churning, Travis stared at the man in the white lab coat. Why did Dr. Shaw insist on calling Nichola’s simple bump a tumor?
He’s made a mistake. Doctors make mistakes, don’t they? She just has a swelling on her upper cheek, an allergic reaction to a bug bite or bee sting. That’s all. His baby couldn’t have cancer. She was only eight years old.
In confusion, he watched Dr. Shaw pull a life-sized model of a human face, cross-sectioned on the right side, from a bookshelf behind his head. The doctor placed it on the mahogany desktop and picked up a gold Waterman pen.
“In Nichola’s case, the mass is localized below her right eye. That’s why she has the swelling there.” He indicated the red and blue veined plastic orb with his pen’s nub. “Based on the size and location, her prognosis is very encouraging. In patients with similar symptoms, seventy percent are in remission within five years. Those are excellent odds.”
Yeah, right. Tell that to the parents of the other thirty percent.
Travis bit his tongue to keep the retort at bay, but reality slapped him like an icy Atlantic tide. His little girl had some life-threatening illness with a name he couldn’t pronounce, much less spell.
Knees weakening, he sank into a burgundy leather chair across from the doctor and avoided staring at the gruesome plastic face with exposed muscles and bone segments. His breath escaped in a defeated sigh. “What do we do now?”
“Sloan-Kettering in New York City has an excellent rhabdomyosarcoma program. I want Nichola there as soon as possible. Those doctors perform miracles we can’t hope to achieve here.” He clasped his hands on the desktop, gaze holding steady on Travis’s face. “I won’t lie to you, Mr. Kendall. You and your daughter have an uphill battle ahead of you. Treatment could take anywhere from six months to a year. The expenses, including travel costs to New York City ten to twelve times, will be exorbitant, and due to the experimental nature of the therapy, are not covered by your health insurance.”
If not for the overwhelming desolation sweeping his chest, Travis might have lunged across the desk and choked this man with the bland expression. A man who could tell someone his daughter had a fatal disease as if predicting rain in the weather forecast. A cold front moving in from the west…
“Still, I know you want what’s best for Nichola,” Dr. Shaw said in his weatherman dialect.
Of course he wanted what was best for his daughter. Hell, he’d toss himself in front of a speeding train to keep her safe. But that kind of sacrifice wouldn’t do diddly for this rhabdo-whatever. No, what he needed now was cold hard cash, something a little scarce in his line of work. Handling legal matters in rural Virginia didn’t exactly enrich his bank accounts, even if it did soothe his tortured conscience somewhat.
How in hell would he scrape up enough money to pay for all this? Only one solution came to mind and the mere thought made him queasy. He’d have to call Lisette.
Well, he told himself, he’d have to call her anyway. Even if she hadn’t remembered a birthday or Christmas since she’d married what’s-his-face, she paid the court-ordered child support religiously. He could set his calendar by the receipt of that lilac-scented blue envelope. Of course, every one of those checks went into Nichola’s college savings account. From the moment he’d gained custody, he’d vowed to raise his daughter with little or no financial support from his ex-wife. He wouldn’t go back on that vow now. Nor would he dip his fingers into the money set aside for Nichola’s future.
Would Nichola have a future? The question exploded in his mind before he could tamp it down.
Yes. She damn well would have a future. If he had to sell a vital organ to guarantee it.
Other Books by Gina Ardito
The Bonds of Matri-money
A Little Slice of Heaven
A Run for the Money
Nobody’s Darling (Book I of the Nobody Series)
Nobody’s Business (Book II of the Nobody Series)
Nobody’s Perfect (Book III of the Nobody Series)
Eternally Yours (Book I of the Afterlife Series)
Chasing Adonis
The Gift of the Magic (Short Story in Mistletoe and Magic, a holiday anthology)
Duping Cupid (a Valentine’s Day Short Story)
Duet in September (Book I of the Calendar Girls Series)
Charming for Mother’s Day (A Calendar Girls Novella)
Books by Gina Ardito writing as Katherine Brandon
Kismet’s Angel (Book I of the Kismet Series)
Kismet’s Revenge (Book II of the Kismet Series)
Kismet’s Salvation (Book III of the Kismet Series)
Echoes of Love
About the Author: Gina Ardito is multi-published in contemporary and paranormal romance and has published several historical romances under the pen name, Katherine Brandon. A native of Long Island, she has become a popular workshop hostess for writers around the country. In honor of her dedication to career, com
munity, and family, she was named a Woman of Outstanding Leadership in the field of Publishing by the International Women’s Leadership Association (IWLA) in 2012. That same year, she launched her freelance editing business, Excellence in Editing. In 2013, the IWLA honored her as one of the organization’s delegates.
Gina lives with her husband of more than a quarter century, their two children, and the characters who are still waiting for their stories to be told. For additional information, be sure to visit her website: www.ginaardito.com
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24