Finding Hope (Love's Compass Book 2) (4 page)

Lance had gone to the cafeteria like Lexi had asked him to. Not knowing how long the appointment would take, and wanting to be there when she came out, he grabbed a quick cup of coffee and headed back upstairs.

As he sat in the waiting room, he prayed for her. He prayed that God would guide the mind of the doctor and give him or her wisdom. He prayed that Lexi would feel a tremendous amount of comfort and peace.

He checked his e-mail and texts on his phone and read several magazines. Every time that door opened, he would scan the room, hoping to see Lexi.

When she finally emerged, he tossed a magazine aside and stood.

She spotted him. Her right hand clutched the opposite arm as she approached, her face expressionless.

Lance would have felt better if she were showing some kind of emotion. Any kind. He had an urgent need to get her out of the building. It was nearing three in the afternoon, and whether they felt like it or not, they needed to eat.

The need to protect Lexi overwhelmed him. He put an arm around her and steered her towards the exit.

“Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

Twenty minutes later, Lance led her into the restaurant Raising Cane’s. He set a tray down on the table and slid a basket of fries, chicken strips, and a piece of bread in front of Lexi. Not knowing which she would prefer, he gave her ketchup and some of the special dipping sauce Cane’s was famous for.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

After taking care of the tray, he sat down and dipped a fry into the sauce, making it disappear in one bite. He watched her sample the chicken, satisfied that she was getting food in her system.

She’d said very little since exiting the doctor’s office. It was the silence and the slump of her shoulders that had him worried.

“Cane’s is one of my favorite places to eat. Tuck and I always ate lunch here when the boss sent us to track a suspect down.”

“I can see why. The fries and chicken are fantastic.” She tried the special sauce and wrinkled her nose. “Although I think I’ll stick with the ketchup.”

He chuckled and she returned his smile.

A few minutes later, Lexi sat up straight and rolled her shoulders back. The confident woman he knew well had returned.

“I appreciate you bringing me. I’m not sure I could have driven after that appointment.”

“You’re welcome.” He wanted to ask her questions. It took all his strength to wait for her to take the lead.

After what seemed like an eternity, she took a deep breath.

“Doctor Ravenhill is almost certain I have ovarian cancer.”

Her words sent Lance’s heart plummeting to his shoes.
God, no.
He dug his fingers into his upper leg.

“Lex. I don’t know what to say.” He pushed his basket aside, not the least bit interested in finishing his meal. “Are they going to do a biopsy?”

Lexi shook her head, dark hair softly swishing to touch each of her cheeks. “No. The mass has been causing pain for a while now and needs to be removed. She said she’ll go in and excise it, check for cancer, and go from there. A biopsy would be an extra step that might increase the chance of spreading cancer cells.”

He imagined her years as a nurse gave her the ability to talk about everything in such a clinical fashion.

“If it’s benign, then she’ll close you up, and you’ll be pain-free once the incision heals.”

“Yep.”

Lance wanted to know about the alternative, but hesitated. How was he supposed to ask a question like that?

She swirled a fry around in ketchup but left it sitting there. She lifted her eyes to meet his. “If it’s malignant, they’ll take measures while I’m still on the table. They’ll perform a complete hysterectomy and I’ll have several rounds of chemotherapy to make sure it takes care of anything that may have been missed.”

She said it matter-of-factly, but he didn’t miss that catch in her voice or the tremble in her chin.

“Wow. When are you having the surgery?”

“Two weeks from today.”

Lance leaned back against his chair and let out a slow lungful of air. What was he supposed to say to her? That it would all be okay? That she wouldn’t have to deal with the chemo because it was benign?

He couldn’t. Not honestly. But there was one thing he could tell her.

“You’re resilient, Lex. No matter what happens, you’re going to power through. You have a lot of people who will be there to support you. I’ll be praying that God will give you the strength you need.”

“How am I going to tell my family about this? My dad’s battle with pancreatic cancer was nasty. It nearly destroyed my mom. I can’t put her through this again.”

For the first time since she had come out of the office, Lexi’s eyes held a hint of the panic she felt. She massaged her temple with a finger and shut her eyes.

“Patty will be okay. This is different. You aren’t your dad. You guys made it through before as a family, and you’ll make it through this.” He reached across the table and covered her hand with his own. Her skin was softer than he could have imagined. The discovery threatened to derail his thoughts. “If you need anything, please let me know.”

She nodded, her eyes fixed on the fry still propped up in the ketchup. “I appreciate that. You did a lot driving me here. You were right to insist I not come alone.”

Lance moved his hand from hers and instantly missed the warmth. “I wish I’d recorded that. Alexis Chandler admitted I was right. That doesn’t happen often.”              

Lexi pointed a finger at him. “Don’t expect to hear it again from me anytime soon.”

He realized that when she teased, there was a little crinkle at the outside corners of both of her eyes. He found it alluring.

She popped the nearly-forgotten fry in her mouth. “This food is awesome.”

“I’ll get you a meal and sneak it into you at the hospital after your surgery.”

She lifted her head in time to catch his wink and answered it with a smile. “You would, too, wouldn’t you?”

“You can count on it.”

~

Lance turned as the door to his workshop opened and admitted a tall, lanky man who cast a look around the room.

“Can I help you?”

“Hi. My name is Donald Karr.” He reached out to shake Lance’s hand. “I’m here to pick up some custom barstools my wife ordered.”

“Sure. Let me grab those for you.”

Lance retrieved the barstools along with the invoice. The woman who’d come in had found a single barstool she liked at a yard sale. She brought it in to see if he could recreate two more just like it. The barstool itself wasn’t particularly ornate, though it had been a challenge for Lance. He’d been happy with the end result. As always, however, it came down to what the customer thought.

He set the barstools in front of Donald and indicated the first one. “This is the original. I repainted it so that all three matched, as per the agreement.” Lance waited while Donald inspected them.

“These are fantastic. You did great work here. My wife will love these.” He checked the invoice, pulled his wallet out, and handed Lance his debit card.

Lance gave a crisp nod. “I’ll go run this and be right back with your receipt.” When he returned, he helped Donald load the furniture into the back of his pickup. They used an old blanket to protect them from any damage during transport.

Donald held a hand out and shook Lance’s. “Thanks again.”

“You’re welcome. I appreciate your business.”

Lance watched him leave and grinned. He whistled as he got back to work. Seeing a customer pleased with something he’d crafted with his own two hands was like a natural high. To know that the family would use that furniture for years to come made it even better.

No wonder his dad enjoyed his work so much. 

~

Lexi had dreaded this for days.

It’d been hard enough to act like herself at church that morning. Praise and worship had gone a long way in giving her the peace she craved, but knowing what she would tell her family that evening had her stomach in knots.

Lance had gone to the same church as her family for years. This Sunday, he asked if he could take the seat next to her and she’d nodded her agreement. Having someone else there that shared her secret helped give her the strength she needed to make it through the service. When it was over and everyone was leaving, he leaned closer to her ear and whispered, “I’m praying for you tonight.”

Now she was trying to relax at the Chandler house, but her family knew her too well. They hadn’t even gotten through the meal before her mom had thrown looks of concern across the table. Tuck questioned whether she was feeling okay.

Apparently, she wasn’t as good at pretending all was well as she would’ve liked to think.

Lexi could feel all eyes on her as she took a deep breath. She couldn’t put it off any longer. Reaching deep, she cleared her throat and told them all about her appointments.

Patty covered her mouth with her hand, blinking quickly as tears filled her eyes. Grams clutched the compass locket that Gramps had given her many years ago. Her lips were moving and Lexi knew she was praying.

Tuck looked like he was ready to tackle something while Laurie moved to put an arm around Lexi’s shoulder and gave her a squeeze.

Her eyes fell on Serenity, who sat at the kitchen table and seemed to study everything else in the room.

Lexi felt like she was suffocating under the emotional weight of the moment. “Come on, guys. I’m having surgery. We don’t even know for sure it’s cancer. You’re making me feel like I’m on my deathbed.”

Grams joined Laurie and went to stand on the other side of Lexi. She put an arm around her granddaughter. “She’s right. Together, we pray. We pray that the doctor has wisdom and that the tumor is benign. And we’ll continue to pray every step of the way.”

Lexi let herself lean into the older woman and soak up all the strength she could. “Thanks, Grams.”

Patty went forward and hugged Lexi tightly while Tuck gave her a reassuring nod.

Movement at the doorway captured Lexi’s attention. Gideon stood there, his eyes flitting from one person to the other. After a moment, he walked forward to put his little arms around as many people as he could.

That had all of them laughing as they moved to include him in what had ended up being a group hug. Lexi knew he didn’t understand what they’d discussed before the giant show of affection, which made the boy’s hug all the sweeter.

~

When Lexi spotted Lance in the cafeteria the following week, her mood improved tenfold. Once he’d seen her, he got up and chose something for lunch.

They met again at the table, slid into their chairs, and began to eat.

“Do you keep a schedule of the cafeteria meals on your fridge at home?”

Lance chuckled. “No, on the bulletin board at the shop.” He raised an eyebrow at her and she wasn’t sure whether or not he was kidding.

“And do you like Mexican food, too?”

“I like almost any kind of food.” He jabbed his enchilada. “Though today, they are pushing my envelope a bit.”

It was her turn to laugh now. “It does look a little like rubber.” She took a bite out of one of her tacos and pointed to it. “Stick with the basics. It’s safer.” She studied him over her plate. “What brought you all the way over here today?”

“I wanted to see how you were doing. Tuck said Sunday night went well. I imagine it was still a huge shock to your family.”

“It was. But they all handled it pretty well. I’m just glad that’s over. I was dreading it and I think the apprehension was worse than the night itself.” She paused, giving him a small smile. “And I’m doing okay. Thank you for asking.”

Lance took another bite of rice and pushed it to the side of his plate. “I’m glad.” He laid his fork down. “I was thinking about your surgery. I’d like to be there. I wanted to make sure you were okay with that and it didn’t make you feel uncomfortable.”

His words wrapped around Lexi like a soft blanket. She liked the idea of Lance being there while she was in surgery. “I appreciate that. Thank you.”

A slow smile spread across his face and his blue eyes fastened on her. “Good.”

“You could have called and asked me. You didn’t have to make a special trip for the mediocre Mexican food.”

“I don’t think you’ve officially given me your phone number. I didn’t want to stalk.”

Lexi snorted in an un-lady-like fashion and covered her mouth with her napkin. “We’ve known each other forever, Lance. I remember when you and Tuck destroyed my POG collection. I wouldn’t consider a phone call from you to be stalking.”

Lance had the good sense to appear embarrassed. “I always felt bad about that. We didn’t set out to ruin your entire collection. They were perfect for setting fire to with magnifying glasses. In retrospect, we should have moved the rest of the collection away from the burn zone.” He stroked his goatee, a sheepish smile on his face. “If it helps, my dad grounded me for a week because I was careless with fire.”