Halfway to forever by Karen Kingsbury

H A L F W A Y T O F 0 R E V E R
of the doctor's words. The tumor had tentacles? Seizure medication-though replete with side effects--
could prevent further attacks. But if the tumor continued to grow, it could cause a stroke or sudden death.
The baby was still eleven weeks away from the set delivery date.
"If things get bad enough, we'll have to take the baby and hope for the best." Dr. Layton bit his lip. Jade's
eyes were closed, and Tanner doubted that she either heard or understood any of the information the
doctor had just shared.
Tanner nodded. "What's the soonest the baby could live?" "We've saved them as early as twenty-five,
twenty-six weeks. Jade's just about twenty-one weeks along now." The man hesitated. "Jade's wishes are
clear about keeping the baby. We'll only deliver that early if we have no other choice."
There was no way Tanner could think that far in the future. He smoothed the hair off jade's forehead and
thanked the doctor. "I think we need to be alone, if that's all right with you."
Dr. Layton's shoulders slumped and he nodded. "I'm sorry." He raised the file he had in his hand. "The
nurses will explain the increase in medication. I'm afraid..." Tanner understood the pause. The doctor
knew all too well that there was only so much bad news a person could handle. Finally he went on. "I'm
afraid the extra medication is bound to cause the more serious side effects we discussed earlier."
Tanner clenched his teeth and waited for the doctor to leave. He wanted to scream at him that none of the
news they'd received that day was right or fair or even remotely possible. Jade's tumor was growing
tentacles? Sudden death was a possibility? None of it seemed real, and suddenly Tanner couldn't sit by his
sick wife another moment.
He stood in a burst of motion and strode to the window, staring outside as a rush of tears blurred his
vision. Memories from
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days gone by danced on the screen of his mind. He and jade finding each other again that summer in
Kelso, walking along the Cowlitz River and holding hands in the park while they caught up on the first
decade lost.
jade ...I need you. Don't leave me again.
He squeezed his eyes shut and another image appeared.
It was jade two years ago, the afternoon they found each other again. She was crying and telling him that
yes, Ty was his son. Her words echoed in his heart. "I love you, Tanner. . .1 never stopped loving you..."
He could hear her voice, feel the touch of her fingers against
his face as they realized the devastation caused by his mother's
web of lies.
Dozens of memories flashed before Tanner's eyes, a tapestry of
happy moments they'd shared in the two years since they'd been
back together. He gripped the windowsill as despair worked its
way through his veins. He didn't have one single happy memory
without jade. He stared out the window at the sunset over
Thousand Oaks, silent tears sliding down the sides of his face.
God, what am I going to do if she dies? Please... don't take her Please, God...
"Tanner?" Her weak voice made him spin around. He wiped his hands across his cheeks, determined she
wouldn't see him cry "I'm here, baby" He was at her side again in three quick steps. "How're you
feeling?"
The corners of her mouth struggled into a smile. "Did... did
the doctor tell you the news?"