by SJ McCoy
“Me, too, Rox. But I’m glad I found it. If it is something … something that needs attention, then the sooner they get started, the better.”
“Yeah, but another hour in that bed wouldn’t have changed anything.” She smiled, wanting to get away from the subject. She was sure it was nothing, but it had hung over them all the way home yesterday, and last night, too. He kept worrying about it.
“We’ll go back. I’ll check the availability on the calendar when I get into work.”
“Okay. Speaking of getting into work, that’s what I should do. What time do you think you’ll be finished?”
“I can get off at five if you can?”
“I’ll try. I’ll let you know.” She ran her tongue over her bottom lip and gave him what she hoped was a seductive smile. “Maybe tonight we can get back to what we were doing before you found that thing.”
He smiled, but she could tell his heart wasn’t in it. “We will, but only—”
She rolled her eyes. “Only if I’ve made an appointment to see the doctor, right?”
He gave her an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, Rox. I love you. I need to know that you’re okay.”
“Okay. I’m going in now. I’ll make the damned appointment and text you when it’s done.”
He caught her arm as she turned to open the truck door. “Don’t be mad at me. Please?”
She softened. How could she be mad at this gorgeous man who was only being a pain in the ass because he cared about her so much. “I’m not. I’m sorry. I know you mean well.” She brought his hand up to her lips and kissed the back of it. “I’ll see you tonight.”
When she got to her office, she set her purse down on the desk with a sigh.
“Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound too promising.”
She turned, startled by Angel’s voice. She hadn’t seen her standing over by the printer.
“Is everything okay? How was your weekend?”
“The weekend was great. How about you? How was Nashville?”
“We had an amazing time. What’s up with you? I thought you’d be all sunshine and smiles after your weekend in the snow with sexy Logan.”
Roxy smiled. “Sexy Logan was amazing. The cabin was gorgeous. We took a ride up to the ski resort, but it was way too crowded to be any fun. So, we visited Stanton Falls. Have you ever been there?”
“No! But I want to. I heard that they go overboard on Christmas up there. Was it Christmassy, or is it too early for that?”
Roxy grinned. “It was like Christmas gone wild! It was amazing, Angel. You know what I’m like, I love Christmas. And Logan was so sweet. He went into all the stores with me; he even bought a special Christmas decoration. And he took me on a sleigh ride.”
“A sleigh ride? They’re doing those already?”
Roxy laughed. “Not exactly. It’s a horse-drawn carriage with Christmas lights that goes through the town, but still.”
Angel smiled. “It sounds wonderful. Very romantic. But if it was such a good time, why did you seem so down when you came in?”
Roxy shrugged. “It kind of ended a little abruptly.”
“Oh, no! Why? Did you fight?”
“No. Nothing like that.” She smiled. “Quite the opposite, in fact. We were … fooling around, and he felt something in my boob.”
“A lump?”
“Yeah, but I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“Maybe, but you should get it checked right away. You can never be too careful.” She looked thoughtful. “Did it scare Logan off?”
“No. It’s got him worried.” She smiled. “I was more concerned that it killed the mood, and he was all worried about me. He insisted I get it checked. I thought he was being bossy at first, and then I realized—it’s because he cares about me. He really cares about me, Angel.”
“Anyone with eyes in their head can see that. I’m surprised he hasn’t professed his undying love for you yet.”
Roxy dropped her gaze.
“He has! Hasn’t he?”
“He says he loves me. And he talks about the future. When he bought that decoration, he said it was starting a Christmas tradition.”
“Aww.” Angel clasped her hands together. “I’ll bet he’s just a big old softie underneath. He has a big heart.”
“He has. I …” Her phone buzzed, and she fished it out of her purse.
“Is that him?”
“Yeah. Checking to see if I made an appointment yet.”
“Get on the phone and do it now. I’ll get us some coffee.”
Roxy dialed the number and waited while it rang. She’d only been to the doctor’s twice since she moved here. Dr. Morgan—Michael—was cool. She liked him. But she didn’t like the idea of him messing with her boobs. She’d heard that there was a new lady doctor. Hopefully, she’d be able to get in with her.
“Summer Lake Medical Center. This is Abbie speaking. How can I help you?”
“Hi, Abbie. This is Roxy Buchanon. I’d like to make an appointment with the new doctor.”
“Doctor Stevens is out of town this week. Would you like to wait? If you want to see Dr. Morgan, he just had a cancellation for nine tomorrow morning.”
Roxy blew out a sigh. She didn’t know which was worse.
“Is everything okay?”
Roxy pursed her lips. She’d met Abbie a couple of times. She was nice. She wasn’t sure she wanted to explain her dilemma to her, though. “Can you hold that nine a.m. for me for a little while?”
“Okay, but call me back and let me know within the hour, would you? I don’t want to hold it for too long if you don’t need it.”
“I will.”
Roxy hung up just as Angel was coming back in with the coffees.
“Did you get an appointment?”
“No. I …” Her phone rang. And she knew before she looked that it was Logan.
“I just called the doctor’s office.” She answered, without bothering to say hello.
He chuckled. “Sorry. When’s your appointment?”
She made a face at Angel. She didn’t need this. She’d rather not bother at all. “I don’t have one yet. The new woman, Dr. Stevens, is out till next week. So, now I have to decide between enduring a week of you pestering about it, or letting Michael handle my boobs.”
“When can you get in with Michael?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Then I’d say do it. The sooner, the better.”
If Angel hadn’t been in the office with her, she might have asked how he felt about some other guy messing with her boobs. But the fact that he didn’t even mention it told her just how concerned he was.
“Do you feel comfortable with him?”
“Yeah. It’s fine. I’ll call them back now.”
“Okay. Good. Sorry, babe. I just can’t help worrying. You’ve only just come into my life. I can’t stand to think about something bad happening to you.”
“It won’t.”
“Not if you get it taken care of straight away.”
“No. I’ll see you later.”
“Love you.”
“I love you, too.”
When she hung up, Angel was beaming at her.
“What?”
“Nothing. I’m keeping my mouth shut. I will tell you that Logan has gone up in my estimation. That’s all. Now you call back and make your appointment, and then I’ll get off your case. We won’t know if there’s any point in worrying until you’ve been in.”
“Exactly. I wish you’d tell Logan that!”
~ ~ ~
Logan paced his office. He couldn’t make himself sit at his desk and focus on anything. He glanced at the clock. Nine-ten. Roxy should be in with Michael now. He wished she’d let him go with her, but she’d insisted that she wanted to go by herself. He’d had an eight o’clock meeting scheduled with one of the suppliers this morning, and she’d told him he should keep it. He’d canceled it anyway. There was no way he would have been any use. He was too worried about her. He didn’t k
now much about breast cancer—though he knew a hell of a lot more now than he had on Sunday morning. He’d spent most of his time researching it online. Hopefully, Roxy was right, and he was blowing things out of proportion. From what he’d read, breast tissue was naturally lumpy tissue. But he’d swear that lump hadn’t been there before. He should know. He’d gotten to know her breasts very well over the last few weeks.
“Hey!”
He started when Nate appeared in the doorway. “What’s going on? I thought you were meeting with Saunders this morning.”
“I had to cancel it. We’re going to reschedule later in the week.”
Nate frowned and came into the office. “Why? Is there anything I need to know about?”
“No. It’s all good. You know I like to stay ahead of the game. There’s nothing urgent about the meeting.”
“Okay. And why the need to cancel? What else is going on? Did you need the time to put out fires somewhere else?”
Logan shook his head. “Nope. Everything’s great.”
Nate gave him an enquiring look. “So, why not just tell me why you canceled?”
Logan pursed his lips.
“Does that explain why you look like crap?”
“I suppose.”
“Something up with you and Roxy?”
He blew out a sigh. “Not with us, just with her. You have to pretend I haven’t told you this. I doubt she’d want you, or anyone else, to know.”
“I won’t say a word, and you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want. I can respect that it’s none of my business.”
“It’s not, but now that you’re here, I need to talk about it. I’m driving myself freaking nuts.”
“So, tell me.”
“She’s at the doctor’s this morning getting a lump in her breast checked out.”
“Oh! Damn. You shouldn’t have come in. You should have gone with her.”
“She didn’t want me. She thinks I’m making a fuss about nothing.”
“You might well be. A lot of lumps turn out to be nothing.”
“I hope I am. But I can’t stop all the thoughts going around in my head. What if it’s bad? What if she has to go through treatment, surgery?”
“Then she’ll go through it, and she’ll come out the other side fine. My mom did. Lots of people do these days.”
“Your mom had breast cancer?”
“Yeah. That was some scary shit. But she’s a fighter. She was determined that she was going to beat it, and she did.” Nate smiled. “I reckon Roxy would be the same. She strikes me as someone who’s pretty determined. I know not everyone wins the battle, but I’ll tell you my mom and her group of warriors as she calls them are some kickass women.”
Logan nodded. He was glad to hear that Nate’s mom had won her battle. It made him feel a little bit better, though he was hoping that Roxy wouldn’t have a battle to fight.
Nate grasped his shoulder. “Why don’t you get out of here? Go meet up with her. What time’s her appointment?”
“She should be in there right now. She won’t thank me if I show up. She said she’ll call me when she’s done, and then she’s coming over here to work anyway.”
“I think you should go meet her when she comes out. Is she seeing Michael?”
Logan’s heart raced. “Shit. Now you’ve got me scared. Why do you say that?”
“Only because I remember so vividly every detail of what happened with my mom. I went with her because I was home visiting, and it’d been such a long time since I’d been back that she wanted me to spend every minute I could with her.” He smiled. “We were going to see an afternoon movie, and she told me she had a quick checkup appointment that she needed to stop at on the way to the movie theater. I didn’t know what it was for. But I’ll never forget the look on her face when she came out. The doctor sent her straight to the hospital for a biopsy.”
He gave Logan an apologetic smile. “Hopefully, Roxy will be mad at you for being there when she comes out of her appointment. But if Michael sends her straight to the hospital, she might just be happy to see you.”
Logan had already picked his keys and wallet up off the desk. “Thanks,” he said as he hurried out the door.
~ ~ ~
Roxy felt as if she was walking through a dream world when she left Michael’s office. It was just routine, that’s what he’d said. She needed to go out to the hospital on Route Twenty. He’d called over there while she was in his office and arranged for her to go in for a biopsy—just like that! No waiting for an appointment, nothing. That probably worried her more than anything. Whenever she’d had to go for medical procedures in the city, it’d taken at least a week before she even heard anything.
“Are you okay?”
She turned to see Abbie sitting behind the reception desk, looking concerned.
“I think so.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
Roxy looked around the waiting room. It was empty. She looked back at Abbie. “Is it normal for him to send someone straight from here to the hospital for tests?”
Abbie smiled. “It is. It surprised me, too, when I started working here. I didn’t think things would go so quickly. But since it’s a rural hospital, they’re not overwhelmed and understaffed like most are. We’re lucky, I guess.”
Roxy forced herself to smile. “That’s good.”
“Are you sure? You look a bit pale.”
Roxy sucked in a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. “I’m fine. I just need to go and get these tests out of the way so I can get back to work.” She didn’t know Abbie that well, but it struck her that she hardly ever saw her out. “Are you doing anything on Thursday night? You should come out for dinner. A bunch of us girls meet up most weeks. You should join us.”
Abbie smiled. “That’s sweet of you. Thank you. I might just do that.”
Roxy nodded. “You’ve got my number. Send me yours so I can call and remind you.”
“Thanks.
They both turned as an elderly couple came in. Roxy rushed to hold the door open for them and then let herself out once they were safely inside.
She walked back around the side of the building to the little parking lot in the back. She frowned when she saw a very familiar truck parked next to her car.
She couldn’t help smiling when Logan climbed out of the cab and gave her a shamefaced look.
“Don’t be mad at me?”
She laughed and hurried to him. He wrapped his arms around her, and to her surprise, once she felt his solid, comforting presence, she burst into tears.
He held her tighter and kissed the top of her head. “What did he say?”
“Jeez! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bawl at you. He didn’t say there’s anything wrong with me at all. He just said he wants me to get it tested to see what it is.”
“A biopsy?”
“Yeah. See, even you know that’s the next step. It’s standard procedure, just to get it checked out.”
He nodded, but she could tell by the look in his eyes that he was more worried even than she was.
She wiped her eyes and made herself smile. “I should be mad at you. I told you I didn’t want you to come.”
He shrugged and gave her a half smile. “You only said that you didn’t want me to go with you. You didn’t tell me not to come.”
She laughed. “Hmm. I did. And to be fair, I’m really glad you’re here.”
“You are?”
She nodded and nestled closer against his chest. “I thought I was fine. I didn’t think I was worried at all. But when Michael said I have to go straight to the hospital, I was kind of in shock. And me turning on the waterworks like I just did says that I might be a teeny bit worried.”
He dropped a kiss on top of her head. “That’s totally understandable. That’s why I’m here. Do you want me to drive?”
She had to swallow the lump in her throat. She didn’t even want to argue about him coming with her. Instead, she nodded gratefully.
“Yes, please.”
Chapter Nineteen
Roxy tried to stay as busy as she possibly could for the rest of the week. When her mind wasn’t occupied, it kept sneaking back to the scary possibilities—the what-ifs. She couldn’t afford to go there. She was a practical kind of girl—she prided herself on that. She didn’t spend time worrying about anything normally. Her philosophy was that if things went wrong, she’d deal with them when they did. Until they did, there was no point in putting time and effort into things that might not even happen. That was easier said than done right now. This could be a very big something to go wrong for her. She didn’t know what kind of treatment she’d need if it turned out to be … the worst news.
By Thursday afternoon, she was feeling frazzled as she drove home from work. She was supposed to be going out with the girls tonight. She really shouldn’t cry off, since she’d invited Abbie to join them.
Her phone rang, and she pressed the button on the steering wheel to answer, expecting it to be Logan. He’d had to drive down to the city today. She knew he usually stayed overnight when he went, but he’d insisted that he’d come home.
“Hi, Roxy. It’s Mom!”
“Oh! Hi!” Her heart raced. Her first thought was that she didn’t want to worry her mom until—unless—it was necessary. “How are you?”
“Everything’s fine here. I’m good. Ged sends his love. So does your brother. You should give him a call sometime. It’d be nice if the two of you talked more instead of sending messages through me.”
Roxy smiled. “You’re right. We haven’t had a chat in a while. I might give him a call at the weekend.”
“You’ll be too busy this weekend.”
“I will? Why?” Her heart sank. She had a feeling she knew the answer.
She was right. “We’re coming to see you. And don’t worry. You don’t need to dash home and clean and tidy your house for us. We’ve already booked a room at the resort. That way we won’t invade your space since it’s such short notice. We wanted to surprise you.”
“You did surprise me.” Roxy wanted to cry. She loved her mom and Ged. They came and visited a couple of times a year, and sometimes they surprised her like this. They couldn’t have picked a worse weekend, though.
