Lost in His Arms by Carla Cassidy Page B

father was making more money than any of them had ever imagined from his small computer business, and the family had built a dream mansion in Morning View, Kansas, and moved in.
    The family had lived there only a year before Keith and Maggie McCarthy were tragically killed on the way home from a business trip, leaving behind a thriving business and two sons to pick up the pieces.
    It wasn’t until much later, after the dinner disheshad been washed and put away and Andrew was in bed, that Elizabeth and Richard sat at the table with cups of coffee to talk.
    â€œYou’ve been unusually quiet,” Elizabeth observed. “Is something on your mind?”
    Richard twirled his spoon in his coffee to dissolve the sugar he’d added, a small frown creasing his broad forehead. “Actually, I do have something to talk to you about.” He set his spoon down, leaned back and sighed.
    A wave of apprehension swept through Elizabeth. She’d never seen Richard this way, so somber, so serious. “What is it, Richard? What’s going on?”
    He seemed to consider his words carefully before speaking. “For the last couple of months, I’ve been having problems with headaches and dizziness and blurred vision. I thought maybe I needed glasses, so I went to an eye doctor, but he didn’t find anything wrong.”
    Elizabeth’s apprehension increased as he broke his gaze from hers and picked up his spoon to stir his coffee yet again. She noticed his fingers trembled slightly, and the spoon clattered once again to the table.
    â€œRichard, you’re scaring me,” she said, and reached out to take his hand in hers. “Just tell me straight out. What’s going on?”
    â€œI have a tumor.”
    The words hung in the air, and for a moment Elizabeth prayed desperately that she’d misunderstood them. “A tumor?” she echoed faintly as his fingers squeezed hers tightly.
    â€œA brain tumor.”
    Elizabeth now didn’t know if it was his fingers trembling or her own. Emotion welled up inside her, filling her throat and stinging her eyes. She willed it away, knowing that Richard would draw his strength from hers.
    It had always been like that between them. Elizabeth held Richard together, and when he did fall apart, she had always been the one to put the pieces back together.
    She swallowed hard, seeking and finding control. “Have you told Talbot?”
    He shook his head. “Not yet. I’ll talk to him when I get back home tonight.”
    â€œOkay.” She pulled her hand from his, swallowed again to clear away her emotion and straightened her shoulders. “Okay, you have a brain tumor. So, what’s the prognosis?”
    â€œIf I don’t do anything…eventually it will probably kill me.” Richard got up from his chair, as if he was unable to sit still another moment. He paced the floor in front of her for a minute, then stopped and looked at her.
    In the depths of his eyes, she saw his fear, and a fear of her own swept through her. Despite the divorce, in spite of the fact that Richard could neverbe the right man for Elizabeth and he had caused her a wealth of tears throughout their marriage, she cared about him.
    He shared a big piece of her past, was the father of her son and, for these reasons alone, would always own a tiny section of her heart.
    â€œThe doctor wants to do surgery,” Richard said. “According to him, the tumor is in a place where he is fairly confident he can get it all.”
    â€œThen you’ll have the surgery,” Elizabeth said with a matter-of-factness she didn’t feel.
    â€œEasy for you to say. They aren’t talking about cutting into your head.”
    â€œIt doesn’t sound to me like you have any other option,” she replied. She stood and walked over to him. Again she reached for his hand. “Richard, you have to do what the doctor says is for the best. If you don’t do it