Page 11 of Keeping Caroline

Taking a deep breath as he instructed, her smile went wide again. “I’m gonna be an auntie soon and her name is Adelaide and she’s going to be my best friend.”

The words tumbled out like a dam bursting, nearly too fast for me to keep up. After the last syllable hit the air, she lifted her hand to her mouth, covering it and giggling. She really was the cutest kid.

Once he had finished listening to her lungs, Dr. Warner pressed his fingers along her neck, checking her lymph nodes to make sure they weren’t enlarged. The prodding didn’t seem to bother her, however. After two years of cancer treatments, she’d grown used to it. “Well, that is very exciting indeed, Miss Evelyn. Are you going to let her play with your dolls?”

Evie went quiet for a moment, her face turning pensive, as she thought on the subject. “Maybe when she’s bigger, mister doctor. Did you know that babies put everything into their mouths?” Her lips pursed as though she was disgusted by the thought. “I don’t want her eating my babies. “

Dr. Warner chuckled, his eyes crinkling beneath bushy gray eyebrows. “I think that’s a good decision. Maybe you can buy her a doll just for babies.”

Clapping her hands together, Evie nodded and turned to look at me. “Can we, mommy? Please. Please. Please.”

Joy warmed my insides from her excitement. Nodding, I adjusted the pink cap on her head, covering where thick chestnut locks used to be. Her hair would grow back, though, slowly but surely. “We sure can. I think she would love that.”

Memories of Evie being a baby in Daniel’s arms flooded into my mind, the back of my eyes burning. I only let them linger for a moment before pushing the tears back, not wanting her to see my sadness and think it was because of her.

Picking up her file, the doctor made a few notes on the top page. “Well, Miss Evie, everything looks great today. As of now, your treatments seem to be working.”

Relief flooded through my body, drowning out the grief that had dimmed my light all morning. “That’s great news, Dr. Warner. Thank you.”

We left the doctor’s office not long afterward, with instructions to return in one month.

Getting back to the car, I strapped Evie into the backseat and then hopped into the driver’s side. “All right, nugget. Ice cream is coming right up.”

Pulling up at Tangled in the Pages Two, I was happy to see Ethan’s car parked in the parking lot beside Scarlett’s.

“Ready to go inside, nugget?”

In the rearview mirror, I could see Evelyn wiggling in her seat, her smile wide as she fumbled with her seatbelt. “Yes. Yes. Yes. I want to play with the train set!”

The early summer heat was stifling as I stepped out of the car, even though we were much farther north than where we’d always lived. It wasn’t as hot as Louisiana, but I still couldn’t imagine how hot it would be in August.

The bell over the door jingled when we walked inside, the scent of fresh brewed coffee hitting my nostrils. Scarlett and Ethan stood near the cafe, Scarlett’s hand on her pregnant belly as they spoke in hushed voices. A few customers were scattered around the store, some browsing the shelves and others sitting down as they drank coffee or flipped through a magazine.

Running right past me, Evie wrapped her arms around Ethan’s waist, bringing their conversation to a grinding halt. “Uncle Ethan! Mommy and I got ice cream!”

A bright grin spread across Ethan’s face as he leaned over and scooped her up, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “And you didn’t bring us any?”

Evie giggled and squirmed out of his arms. “You’re silly, Uncle Ethan! It would have melted!”

Not waiting for a response, she darted toward the kids’ section of the store, undoubtedly heading for the toy train.

“How was the appointment?” Scarlett asked, sliding a cup of coffee across the counter to one of our elderly regulars.

With a smile toward Harold when he walked past me, I pulled my apron off the hook and tied it around my waist before joining her behind the café counter. “It went well. He said she is still in remission, and that the meds seem to still be working.”

A bright smile spread across my brother's face as he leaned over the counter to hug me. It was still strange to see him in such a domesticated role, owning and working in a bookstore, but I admittedly loved it. “We should go out tonight and celebrate.”

For the next few hours, I dove into work, taking over café duty while Scarlett worked at the register. With the number of toys in the kids’ section of the store, I never needed a babysitter. Evie could play for hours while I worked.

Once we left the store, the four of us piled into Scarlett's SUV and headed to our favorite local pizza place, by request of Evie, ordering dessert first as she insisted. With everything she’d been through, we all found telling her ‘no’ to be impossible, a fact she had come to take advantage of. I didn’t blame her. Children shouldn’t have to spend their lives in hospital beds with tubes connected to their little bodies, pumping them full of poison. She learned at an early age that life wasn’t fair.

“I spoke to Phantom earlier today,” Ethan said, taking a sip of his draft beer. The name caught my attention, although I knew him by another name: Tristan.

“Oh?” was my only response, but I was admittedly curious as to when Tristan would return to our small piece of the world.

Swallowing a mouthful of pizza, I waited for Ethan to continue, but he glanced around us instead, undoubtedly making sure we weren’t in earshot of anyone who could potentially hear our conversation. Thankfully, the restaurant was nearly empty. I glanced beside Ethan at Scarlett, her expression telling me that she already knew the details of the phone call, and that the information made her uncomfortable.

Ethan’s eyes scanned the room again before they landed back on me. “The feds are preparing their case against the remaining members of Victor Delacroix’s gang, and with Scarlett’s father in protective custody, I can’t guarantee that his family members won’t end up in the same boat.”

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