First to Die

Chapter 99

I KNEW IT the minute Medved walked in the office. I saw it in his face. He didn't have to say a word "I'm afraid I can't be very positive, Lindsay," he said, meeting my eyes. "Your red count continues to decline. The dizzy spells, the fatigue, blood in your chest. The disease is progressing." "Progressing?" Medved nodded soberly. "Stage three." The words thundered in my head, bringing with them the fear of the increased treatments I dreaded. "What's the next step?" I asked weakly. "We can give it one more month," Medved said. "Your count's twenty-four hundred. If it continues to decline, your strength will start to go. You'll have to be hospitalized." I could hardly comprehend what he was saying; it was all crashing in my brain so fast. A month. That's too close. Too fast. Things were just starting to work out now that Jenks had been arrested. Everything else, everything I wanted to hold on to, was resolving, too. A month-four lousy weeks. When I got back to the office, a few of the guys were standing around grinning at me. There was a beautiful bouquet of flowers on my desk. Wildflowers. I smelled them, taking in the sweet, natural scent. I read the card. There's a hill of these where I have a cabin up at Heavenly. Tomorrow's Friday. Take the day off. Let's go there. It was signed Chris. It sounded like what I needed. The mountains. Chris. I would have to tell him, now that the truth would come clear soon. My phone rang. It was Chris. "So?" No doubt someone in the office, playing cupid, had alerted him that I was back. "Haven't opened your card yet." I bit my lip. "Too many others to sort through." I heard a disappointed sigh, let it linger just a moment. "But on the chance you were asking me away, the answer is, I'd love to. It sounds great. Let's be on the road by eight." "Late riser," he said. "I was hoping we'd beat the morning rush." "I was talking tonight." I had a month. I was thinking, Mountain air, running streams, and wildflowers is a good way to begin.