When Snowflakes Never Cease (Crossroads Collection)

by Amanda Tru

  Geneva opened her eyes and caught Allie as she came into her arms and buried her head into Geneva’s white-clad shoulder. “It’s okay, Allie. We’ll make it through this.”

  “I know,” Allie said softly. “You prayed. It will be okay.”

  Allie’s head shifted a little, and she said calmly, “Hi, mom.”

  “Hey, Allie, are you done with your ice cream?” Kara’s soft, strained voice came from behind Geneva. She looked back to find both Kara and Carter, but she had no idea how long they’d been there.

  Allie’s half-eaten cone lay in a puddle on the table, and Allie nodded, “It was good!”

  “I think we need to get home. Why don’t you say goodbye to Dr. Gen. We’ll see her again soon.”

  Allie gave Geneva one last fierce hug. “Thanks for the ice cream!”

  “You’re very welcome. I’ll call you later, Kara. Is there anything I can do for you now?”

  Kara smiled bravely. “You already did. Thank you for praying.”

  Despite her enthusiastic goodbye, Allie looked completely exhausted. Every second, the dark circles around her eyes seemed to become more pronounced, and Kara didn’t waste any more time. With a wave, they left, and Geneva made a mental note to give her friend a call later this evening when she knew Allie would be asleep and Kara could talk freely.

  Carter stood next to the table, even after Kara left. Ignoring him, Geneva cleared the melted brown puddle of ice cream from the table. Finishing, she finally turned to face him.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to call you for a consult earlier today,” she said professionally. “I ran out of time. Did you explain the next steps to Kara?”

  “Yes, we have a plan.”

  After a few minutes of discussion, Geneva agreed that Carter’s plan was a good one. It offered no guarantees, but she believed it gave Allie the best chance of survival.

  “We’ll make more decisions as we go along and see how she responds to this initial phase of treatment,” Carter said. “You realize the full situation we are dealing with, right?”

  Geneva nodded. “I do. I reviewed all of the test results this morning. I believe you are accurate in your diagnosis and prognosis, but I don’t like it. Fortunately, you are Allie’s doctor, which means she has the best possible chance I can give her.”

  Carter looked at her with a hard stare, and then wordlessly shook his head.

  “What?” Geneva asked, mystified at his reaction to her actually agreeing with him.

  Carter obviously didn’t want to reply, but in his frustration, the words came out anyway. “On Saturday, you insulted me both personally and professionally. Pretty much called me inept. Wouldn’t so much as discuss the case. Now you suddenly agree with me, support my plan, and flatter my medical skills. I just saw you explain a prognosis to a little girl who is likely terminal. You did it very lovingly, without lying to her., and you gave her strength and courage to fight. Then you bought her ice cream and prayed the most beautiful prayer I’ve heard in my life.”

  Geneva held his intense gaze but shrugged helplessly, not sure how to respond. None of what he related should have surprised him, either the good or the bad. Maybe she really hadn’t changed in the past four years.

  One side of Carter’s mouth lifted in a sad smile. “I wish I knew which Geneva is real and which is fiction because I sincerely believe Dr. Geneva Hutchins is the most exquisite person I’ve ever met.”

  “Is she asleep?” Geneva whispered, seeing that Allie lay curled in Kara’s lap where Kara sat on the grass.

  “Yes,” Kara answered. “She fell asleep in the car on the way here. I managed to carry her over here, but I wouldn’t have made it another foot! Allie isn’t very big, but an eight-year-old of any size is an awkward package to carry.”

  “Let me get you a chair, and I’ll put a blanket out for you to lay Allie on.”

  Laughter reached Geneva’s ears, and she turned quickly to where her family was gathering all of the supplies from their vehicles, readying to descend on the baseball fields for the annual Crossroads Fourth of July fireworks show.

  “Oh no! Let me run and tell my wild family to keep it down!” Geneva whispered with concern.

  “Don’t worry,” Kara urged in a perfectly normal voice. “Nothing will wake her at this point. She’s out. I’ll let her sleep for a while, but I’m hoping I can rouse her before the fireworks show starts. I know she wants to see it, but it’s very possible that she’ll sleep through the whole thing, even with the big booms of sitting this close to the action.”

  The fireworks show was a big deal in Crossroads, and Geneva had invited Kara and Allie to join her family for the day. They’d had a big barbecue at Geneva’s parents’ house, and now the whole crew migrated down to the ball fields to snag a spot on the grass before darkness descended and the show began.

  Despite Kara’s reassurance, Geneva still warned her family away from Kara and Allie. Geneva hailed from a large family of three brothers and three sisters, and most of them would attend the fireworks show with their significant others in tow. Geneva had drawn the card smack in the middle of the Hutchins birth order and carried a bit of a reputation for being the life of the party.

  However, not so tonight. It wouldn’t do for her brothers to toss the football in a long shot while the receiver ran over a sleeping Allie. Geneva retrieved the blanket and a couple chairs and spread everything out. As Kara lay her daughter on the jean quilt Geneva’s mom always used for picnics, Geneva couldn’t help but notice the toll Allie’s treatment had already taken on the thin pale, girl. Unfortunately, she’d only begun a couple weeks ago, and she still had a long road to go.

  Geneva settled her own chair next to the one she’d set up for Kara. Though she heard her family laughing and carrying on with antics involving an abundant supply of glow sticks, they gave Kara and Allie space.

  They sat in silence for a few minutes, but it was the comfortable, relaxing silence between friends. Geneva didn’t really need an update on Allie’s progress. She called Kara frequently and also checked the little girl’s chart daily for any updates.

  The sky took on a rosy glow as the sun began to set, bathing the clouds in the western sky with warm shades of pink. Thoughts mulled through Geneva’s head, and without distraction, they proved much more challenging to avoid. The minutes dragged on, and she chided herself. She didn’t want to bring up a painful subject, but she also had never been one to shy away from asking questions, sharing her opinions, or missing the opportunity of a sleeping child to take the conversation on to a deeper level in search of personal intel.

  “Kara, have you told Allie’s father that her cancer has returned?” Geneva finally asked quietly.

  The soft light in Kara’s eyes immediately dulled, and Geneva felt guilty for bringing it up. This was the first time Kara had seemed remotely relaxed since Allie’s diagnosis. The combination of barbecue earlier, Geneva’s kind family, and the warm, fresh air of a dwindling day provided Kara with a much-needed respite, and now Geneva snatched away that reprieve with one small question.

  “I’ve tried to,” Kara answered sadly. “But I haven’t heard from him in a year. The contact information I had for him is no longer valid. I have no idea where he is or how to even look for him.”

  Geneva felt the immense pain in Kara’s words, and her immediate reaction was to try to ease that in any way possible. “Is there any way I can help?”

  The corners of Kara’s mouth lifted up slightly, but she shook her head. “Thank you for offering. I wish there were something you could do. Something anyone can do. But unless Jimmy decides to contact me, which I seriously doubt he’ll do, then I have no way of locating him.”

  “I don’t understand,” Geneva said, feeling the necessity to push Kara into further conversation. The time to tiptoe around difficult subjects had passed. “Why wouldn’t he contact you? Doesn’t he check-in for updates on Allie? After all, he knew she had cancer!”

  Geneva didn’t know Kara�
�s husband. Immediately after high school, Kara had left to pursue her dreams in Los Angeles. Somewhere along the way, she’d met and married her husband, Jimmy Drew. For many years, Geneva didn’t have much contact with Kara, except through social media, but when Kara moved back to Crossroads about eighteen months ago, the two friends had picked up where they’d left off in high school as if there hadn’t been the blank space of years between them. Kara never talked much about her ex. Knowing it was a painful subject, Geneva hadn’t asked. Until now.

  Kara sighed. “That’s the reason he left us in the first place. Jimmy was never an emotionally strong person, and on some level, I knew that. He was full of fun and adventure. He never liked to stay in one place long, and we moved around very frequently. It was fun, and I enjoyed it until we had Allie. Jimmy took Allie’s diagnosis very hard. He couldn’t stand seeing her in pain and her hair falling out as the life drained from her. He wouldn’t go to her appointments at all. After she didn’t respond to her initial treatment, he couldn’t take it. We came home one day, and he was gone. He called me that night and told me he’d gotten another job across the country, but I knew the real reason he’d left. A few weeks later, he said he’d lost his job and decided we should get a divorce. His excuse was that he thought Allie and I would qualify for more assistance if he weren’t in the picture.”

  “So, he just left?” Geneva asked incredulously. “Left you to carry the burden of a sick child and the financial burden all on your shoulders? Left Allie to go through cancer without her dad?”

  Kara shrugged. “To him, it made sense. I think he deceived himself into believing that we were better off without him. In his mind, it wasn’t nearly as horrible as it sounds. Jimmy was never good at keeping a steady job. Allie was always on my insurance.”

  Somewhere along the way, Kara had gotten training as a paralegal. Getting a position with a local Crossroads attorney had enabled her to come home. From what Geneva knew, Kara was very good at her job, and though the attorney in the office had changed, Kara had stayed constant. Fortunately, Kara’s new boss seemed very supportive, even allowing her to work off-hours or complete some work from home if needed.

  “Didn’t he check-in or send money to help?” Geneva asked, still appalled that a dad could actually leave his sick child.

  “Sometimes. At least at first.” Kara looked out in the distance, studying the continually changing shades on the western horizon. “After Allie went into remission, the calls and support grew more infrequent. Whatever money he sent previously stopped entirely. Knowing Jimmy, I suspect that he felt guilty about leaving us. If he couldn’t handle being with us when Allie was sick, I’m sure he felt he didn’t deserve to be with us when she was well. At this point, he is so far behind in child support, I doubt he’ll ever crawl out of the hole. I haven’t heard from him at all in over a year.”

  “There has to be a way to contact him. If only for Allie’s sake.” The tale seemed horribly tragic on all sides, and Geneva couldn’t stand the feeling of helplessness.

  “Seriously, Geneva don’t worry about it,” Kara assured, casually picking blades of grass and twirling them in her fingers. “I try not to. Even if Jimmy knew about Allie’s cancer, the end result wouldn’t be any different. He left her before because he couldn’t’ take it. He certainly won’t come back now that the cancer has returned even worse than before. I know it doesn’t feel right to not have Allie’s dad here, but I really believe it’s for the best.”

  Geneva wanted to argue. In her mind, not seeing her dad was definitely not what was best for Allie, but Kara just closed the subject. An awkward tension tightened between them, and Geneva didn’t know what to say. She wanted to know more. She wanted to fix this.

  But Kara didn’t want Geneva to search for a happy ending. To her, the case of her relationship with Jimmy had been granted a tragedy verdict, and Kara must now carry out the sentence it prescribed.

  “How about a cookie?”

  Geneva looked up to see her mom extending a basket of chocolate chip cookies in between her and Kara. Ever the hostess, Lydia Hutchins buzzed around the ballfield with her cookies and pitcher of lemonade, making sure her family and friends were all happy and well-supplied with sugar.

  Both Kara and Geneva plucked up a cookie. “Thanks, Mom!” Geneva said.

  The first bite of soft, chewy, chocolate goodness chased away the tension, and Geneva sighed with sheer enjoyment. Lydia soon flittered away to spread more sugar happiness, leaving the two women wrapped in comfortable silence.

  “Now it’s your turn,” Kara announced, popping the last morsel of cookie into her mouth. “I told you about Jimmy. Now you need to tell me about Dr. Solomon.”

  “What do you mean?” Geneva asked warily. If Kara wanted the story of Geneva’s personal life, she really should have coughed up a few more juicy details about her own.

  Kara teasingly rolled her eyes. “Gen, it’s obvious that you two have more of a history than just medical school. You won’t hardly look at each other, and yet there’s a lot more than professional tension between you. Besides, he’s really hot. I don’t know any hot guy in the area you haven’t dated.”

  Geneva’s mouth quirked up in a good-natured grin. “There are a few. My sister, Brooke, has a guy I’ve never dated.”

  “Good for Brooke! You owed her one! Didn’t you steal at least one of her boyfriends back in high school?”

  Geneva toggled her head back and forth as if thinking. “Yes, at least one. That she knows about.”

  Kara scoffed. “Geneva, you’re terrible! But I’m serious! No fair teasing your way out of my question. What’s the deal with you and Dr. Solomon?”

  Geneva sighed, coming to terms with the idea that she really did owe her friend some explanation. But how could she put into words something that she didn’t understand?

  “Carter Solomon and I dated for a while over four years ago. We’d known each other in medical school and got together when we were residents at the same hospital. Then he decided he didn’t like me, and he broke up with me. The day I went with you to Allie’s appointment was the first time I’d seen him since then.” Facts. There you go. Simple, stark facts. And she was done.

  Apparently, those facts were enough to loosen Kara’s jaw and cause it to flop open at a very unflattering angle.

  “He broke up with you? Are you serious?” she asked, finally finding her voice.

  “Yes, very.”

  “Why?”

  “I told you. Because he decided he didn’t like me. Something about not liking the woman outside the walls of the hospital.” Geneva tried not to get irritated, but she really didn’t want to talk about this. She tried never to even think about it.

  “How long did you date?”

  Geneva shrugged. “Six months or so.”

  “Six months! Geneva, have you ever dated another man for that long?”

  Geneva’s brow furrowed as she thought back, mentally sorting through the long list of guys in her past, at least the names and faces she could remember. “There was one guy. Mr. Pocket Protector. He was a computer geek. We went out once, and he got a job as a consultant in DC. Six months later, he came back, and we went out again. Does that count? Of course, there were a few other guys in between.”

  Kara busted up laughing, the unfamiliar sound thrilling Geneva down to her toes. Kara’s laughter was worth humor at her own expense.

  Kara gradually sobered, and her gaze turned to sympathy. “I’m sorry, Gen. If you dated him that long, you obviously cared a great deal for him. He probably also holds the prestige of being the only man you never had to break up with.”

  Geneva shrugged. “There’s not much you can do when someone dislikes you.”

  Kara looked at her shrewdly. “You are a lot different professionally than you are outside of work. You’ve always been that way, even in high school. You were so serious about schoolwork, but then you were the most fun person to be around after school hours. I can see how someone who didn’
t know you might find that disconcerting.”

  “But he should have known me,” Geneva said softly—the only truly serious remark she’d made in the entire conversation.

  Kara was quiet, and they both studied a cascade of colorful clouds as they unfolded the carpet for an approaching night.

  “Thank you,” Kara finally said quietly.

  “For what?” Geneva asked.

  “For contacting the guy who broke your heart and who you haven’t seen or spoken to in four years. I know that had to be really tough, and you did it just for Allie.

  Geneva smiled easily. “Don’t make a hero out of me, Kara. I can put on my big girl pants ever’ so often. It’s been four years. I’m fine. Seeing the guy every once in a while at the hospital isn’t a big deal at all.”

  A strange look came over Kara’s face as her gaze focused beyond Geneva’s right shoulder. “Umm… ok. What about seeing him not during business hours? Like nights and weekends? Maybe holidays?”

  With a shiver of foreboding, Geneva slowly followed Kara’s gaze, turning around to see a tall, handsome man standing twenty feet behind her.

  “That’s Carter!” she gasped, wanting to duck and hide. “What’s he doing here? Has he seen us?”

  If he hadn’t seen them, Geneva could slip away with him none the wiser as to how immature she actually was.

  “I don’t know,” Kara said, her eyes dancing once again. “I thought you said seeing him was ‘no big deal.’”

  “It is! But he’s not at the hospital. He’s here. Right over there. On the Fourth of July. And he’s…” Geneva peered more closely at the woman Carter was talking to.

  Suddenly, she leaped to her feet. “Dear stars and stripes, he’s talking to my sister!”

  Geneva sprinted to where Carter stood in conversation with a tall, beautiful woman with red hair. “Well, hello, Dr. Solomon, I see you’ve met my sister, Sydney.”