Part 62 (1/2)

”Thank you,” he said.

He felt Penny take his hand. He laced his fingers with hers and squeezed. At least he'd been smart enough to bring her along. He had a feeling he was going to need a friend through all this.

Speaking of which...”Tracy, this is Penny Jackson.”

Penny leaned forward and shook hands. ”It's lovely to meet you. I'm so pleased your daughter is doing well. You've been through such a difficult time and deserve to hear good news.”

”Thank you.” Tracy stared at Penny's stomach. ”Your first?”

Penny hesitated only a second, then nodded. ”I'm due in September and getting bigger by the second.”

Tracy's smile faded. ”We wanted children, but I wasn't able to carry a baby past the twelfth week. There's a complex medical term for it. So we decided to adopt. Cal gave us Lindsey and she's been a blessing to us every day.”

”I'm glad,” he told her.

Penny's hold on his hand tightened.

”All right, let's go,” Tracy said. ”Lindsey's doing great. At first she was really sick, but that faded quickly. Now she's just waiting until she's able to go home. Oh, you know she lost her hair in chemo, right?”

Cal hadn't. It made sense, but he hated the thought of her beautiful blond hair falling out.

”She's hoping she'll get some curl when it grows back in,” Tracy continued. ”Did her biological mother have curly hair?”

”What? No. Alison's hair was straight.” And pale blond. Lindsey's had been golden-blond and long. How much time would it take her to grow it back?

”Welcome to the germ-free zone,” Tracy said as they walked through the doorway. ”Nothing can go into Lindsey's room without being disinfected.”

”I didn't bring her anything,” Cal said. He'd wanted to but his reading had warned him that she wouldn't be able to accept anything like flowers or plants. He hadn't known what else to bring.

”Good.” She showed him where the gowns and masks were, along with booties and caps for his hair. Penny settled into a chair with a magazine.

”Good luck,” she told him.

Five minutes later he was in Lindsey's room. Tracy introduced him. Lindsey smiled and kept her gaze firmly fixed on him.

He looked back. His daughter was tall and slender, with large blue eyes and a smile that could light up Seattle. She wore a scarf on her head that reminded him of Penny's head coverings in the kitchen.

He could see bits of Alison in her-the shape of her eyes, the way she tilted her head.

”I don't know what to say,” Lindsey told him with a shy smile. ”Thank you.”

”You're welcome. I was glad to help.”

”Did it hurt when they took your bone marrow?”

”I was asleep. I had a couple of bruises afterwards, but they're no big deal. You're the one going through the worst of it.”

Lindsey wrinkled her nose. ”I was really sick for a while. Chemo is totally gross. But it's over and now I'm feeling better.”

She sat up in her bed, on top of the covers. Brightly colored sweats covered her legs and she had on a blue long-sleeved fuzzy s.h.i.+rt that b.u.t.toned in front. There were IV lines coming from her chest and her arm.