Dr. Manapple lowers his head for a moment before looking up at our four sets of wide eyes. "The margins are clear. Your numbers look great, and the blood work is clean. Mr. Quinn, the chemotherapy worked. There is no evidence of the disease left in your body."
I didn’t mean to fall to my knees, but I should have been sitting in a chair when receiving this news, knowing how my body reacts to stress. Journey is quick to lift me back up and hug me as we both cry into each other’s shoulders. "He’s okay," she whimpers, pulling me over to Dad and Mom, who are holding each other so tightly, it looks as if they have a fear of gravity separating them.
"Thank you, Doctor," Dad utters. "Thank you."
"I’ll want to see you in six months for a checkup, Mr. Quinn. I’ll let you have this moment with your family. Congratulations, sir."
"We’re going to Europe, Hawaii, and Australia. Anywhere you girls want to go, we will go see the world and live as if there is a tomorrow … because there is a tomorrow. The doctor said so. I have a second chance, and I will not take it for granted," Dad cries.
"We had five years, sweetie," Dad reminds me.
"I shouldn’t have moved to South Carolina," is all I can think to say.
"Yes, you should have moved there. You are living the life you desire with Ace. This is your chance to have the perfect life you always talked about."
I can’t help but look at Ace while Dad is saying these sweet remarks. He’s flipping through the mail, no longer concerned with the letter. "I’m not happy,” I confess.
I should not have told Dad I’m not happy. My happiness doesn’t hold a flame to finding out his cancer is back.
"What?" Dad questions.
"How bad is the cancer?"
There’s a pause. A long pause. "It’s bad, Melody, it came back with a vengeance and spread everywhere. My CT scan was lit up like a Christmas tree." Christmas. Will he make it another Christmas? I didn’t come home last Christmas, and it could have been our last. "He told me to make my end-of-life plans. It could be a week or two months. There’s no telling how long I have left."
I clap my hand over my mouth, trying to stop the wretched sounds threatening to escape my throat. "I’ll be home tomorrow.”
"Melody—"
"Dad," I cry into the phone. "There has to be something we can do." I spin around, feeling frenzied and lost.
"Melody, you don’t need to stop living—" How can he tell me this when he’s about to stop living?
"I will be home tomorrow, Dad." To read more, tap here.
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Also By Shari J. Ryan
Women’s Fiction / Contemporary Romance
* * *
The Barrel House Series
Bourbon Love Notes - Book 1
Bourbon on the Rocks - Book 2
Bourbon Nights - Book 3
Bourbon Fireball - Book 4 (coming soon)
* * *
Shattered Stars
Last Words
The Other Blue Sky
Unspoken Words
The Heart Series (3 Books)
Ravel
Red Nights
* * *
Romantic Comedy
* * *
The Man Cave Series (5 books)
Queen of the Throne
Spiked Lemonade
* * *
Romantic Suspense
* * *
Darkest Perception
Raine’s Haven
No Way Out (3 books)
TAG
Acknowledgments
A BIG THANK YOU TO:
Linda Russell- Foreword PR
Tracey V. - Alpha Reader
Heather A. - Alpha Reader
Emily G. - Alpha Reader
Reggie Deanching - RPlusMphoto (Cover Photographer)
Aidan Stuart - Cover Model
Cindy Dimpfl - Editing
Heidi M. - Being my soundboard for all ideas for this series.
My ARC team: THANK YOU for sticking with me and always embracing my new stories.
To all of you who have invested time into reading this series, I am so grateful for you all. Thank you for loving my characters as much as I do!
Josh, thank you for supporting my odd behavior of hiding in the bathroom to write. In these times, quiet isn’t easy to find, but you have done and continue to do everything possible to give me the time I need. I love you!!
Boys, I managed to write a book while assisting you in this homeschooling thing, and through a quarantine full of wrestling, screams, blood, tears, and requests for everything under the sun. I know you think Batman and Ironman are cool, but seriously … come on :). I love you both more than anything, and I’d homeschool you for another ten years if I had to (It’s the right thing to say ;) ).
Bourbon Nights (The Barrel House Series Book 3) Page 24
