Love Is More Than Skin Deep (A Hidden Hearts Novel Book 4) (29 page)

“HOW IN THE WORLD DID you talk Dad into letting me do this?” Ketki asks me. “He’s usually pretty adamant about extra holes in my body.”

“Does the word surprise ring any bells?” I answer vaguely.

“Oh, so you’re just not telling him — otherwise known as lying.” Ketki confronts me in her usual blunt way.

“Well, you’re partially right. It is a little bit of a surprise and a little bit of not telling him. I’m two years cancer free and the PET scan looks great. He is out of town doing those trainings for the new branches of Hunters Crossing. So, instead of getting my dream catcher tattoo on my back like I originally planned, Rogue is going to put it on the outside of my thigh. My skin is less irritated there and the dermatologist said it would be okay.”

“Really? I thought that doctors were totally against tattoos,” Ketki replies.

“No, from what I understand it has a lot to do with the quality of ink. Ink’d Deep uses the highest quality medical grade tattoo ink, so the risk of allergic reaction or infection is a lot less,” I explain

“You should see some of the videos out there on YouTube; it’s a scary thing,” Ketki remarks.

“That’s why your mom is taking you to Ink’d Deep. You don’t end up with some weird disease from mall-funk,” Tanyanita, declares with a shudder. “I know they don’t use an autoclave to clean their equipment at the mall.”

“Geez guys, I’m just getting my ears pierced it’s not like I’m getting something major done.” Ketki complains. “Sometimes, having two moms is a drag.”

“Yeah, like when we take you out for your birthday and buy you twice as many video games?” I suggest.

“Or, when Shelby and I pool our resources to get you more expensive kicks or other cool stuff, I bet that’s a real drag then too,” Tanyanita teases.

“Having two of us to help with boy problems — I bet that sucks too,” I add facetiously.

Ketki turns red like every other twelve-year-old when you talk about boys. “It does suck!” she exclaims. “It’s like you guys coordinate your advice or something. Most of the time it’s almost exactly the same. What you guys do, think with one brain?”

I laugh as I respond, “I wish I shared her brain. I’ve got a student in AP Biology and he’s pushing my area of expertise. I could use Tanyanita’s smarts about now.”

“How is that teaching position working out for you? I’d think it would be hard for you to work with kids with cancer after having fought it yourself,” Tanyanita asks with the insight of someone who works in healthcare. “Aren’t you afraid fear will overtake you if you see people sick all the time?”

“Teaching in virtual classrooms has been great for me and the kids. However, I can’t deny that there is some of that, especially when I see the kiddos really sick from chemo. My stomach instinctively lurches out of sympathy. Yet, I think there’s a lot to be said for being able to show them what it’s like to be on the other side of it. I know as a skin cancer survivor, I won’t ever be cured, only managed. Fortunately, the worst is behind me.”

“I’m just sad that you and Dad won’t have any babies. I always wanted to have a little sister,” Ketki remarks.

I glance at her with surprise as I comment, “Really? This is the first time you’ve said anything. I didn’t know you felt that way. I barely knew your dad at the time, so it was weird — but he made sure that I sought out the advice an infertility specialist and harvested some eggs before I started chemotherapy. There is still a chance of a baby for us, although the doctor did say it would be harder after chemotherapy.”

Ketki rolls her eyes as she says, “My dad is so strange. Only
he
would plan that far in advance. Still, I’m kinda glad he did.”

I put my arm around Ketki as I declare, “You know your dad. He likes to say things are left up to fate and then he likes to push fate around.”
 

Rogue comes back to her station with my dream catcher design all scaled down to fit my thigh. Before she begins placing the stencil, I smile at her and announce, “I’ve got some good news.”

Rogue raises an eyebrow and asks, “Does this mean you and Mister-Tall-Dark-and-Handsome have officially set a date to get married?”

I laugh out loud because Rogue asks me this every time I see her. It’s been a huge bone of contention between Mark and I. I have some outstanding bills from when I wasn’t working that I want to pay off before I get married. I’m almost done with that now that I have a job. It won’t be too long before we can get married. Mark thinks I’m being absolutely ludicrous because he has the money several times over. To me, that’s not the point — it’s about dignity. I spent too many years as a child begging for my very existence to feel comfortable doing it now, even though I know Mark doesn’t see it that way.
 

“No, this is better — okay, maybe not better, but different,” I acquiesce. “My latest cancer scan is completely clear.”

Rogue lets out a huge victory cheer as she pulls Ketki up next to her. They both stand on the back of the couch. Ketki manages to look both slightly terrified and majorly impressed. Rogue shouts across the showroom floor to Marcus. “Marcus! I have some phenomenally great news breaking from Station Four.”

Marcus answers, “Really? What kind of news is that, Ro?”
 

This time I’m prepared for the stomping and clapping that starts as a dull roar, but it takes Tanyanita by surprise. She laughs as she promises, “The best possible kind!”
 

The cheers grow louder.

Marcus eggs the customers on by challenging, “What do we do at Ink’d Deep if someone has good news?”

Rising to the challenge seemingly in unison, they all answer, “We celebrate!”

Ketki is watching the display with wide-eyed amazement. I’ve told her the story of how her dad and I met many times before, yet to see it unfold was a whole another thing. As if he can tell I’m thinking about him, my phone rings.

“Hello?” I yell over the din of noise.

“What are you doing?” Mark asks when he hears the commotion.

“Oh, just sharing a little good news,” I admit. “Listen,” I instruct as I place my phone on speaker phone.

“Stones, why don’t you spill the good news —” Marcus tells Ketki.

“My mom had a special cancer scan and it didn’t show any cancer. She doesn’t have to have another test for a whole six months…and I’m twelve—that’s almost like being a teenager!”

The whole shop is cheering and applauding. It’s amazing how much my life has changed since the first time Marcus rang the bell for me.

I take the phone off of speakerphone as I gush to Mark, “Did you hear our daughter? She did so great!”

“I thought you and Tanyanita were going to take Ketki out for her birthday.”

“We are,” I confirm. “We have celebrations planned all around.”

“Well, don’t overdo it,” Mark cautions. “I love you, Shelby. Tell Marcus to ring that bell extra loud. It seemed to work pretty well last time.”

My heart turns to mush over my fairy-tale life. I glance over at the girl who has stolen my heart. The fact that she is growing up at the speed of light is hard on all of us. Ketki holds up a pair of skull earrings with flashing eye sockets and shows them to me with an excited grin. I shake my head as I sigh. I figure what Mark doesn’t know won’t hurt him. He
is
a sucker for presents after all…

T
HE
E
ND

I would like to acknowledge the author of the forward to this book, Judy Noble Cloud. In the current social media climate, it is extremely difficult to put yourself out there in anything except the most positive light. Hence the reason for dozens and dozens of programs for your phone to pre filter your photographs before they ever hit the Internet. I cannot imagine the amount of bravery that it took her to post those raw, unfiltered photographs of her healing process. Yet, I cannot tell you how glad I am that she did. The raw honesty in those pictures are the basis for this story. After reading Judy’s story on Facebook, I knew that I had to do my part to increase awareness. She has been so gracious in answering all of my questions, no matter how undignified and intrusive. Judy, I hope I did your story justice.

A huge thank you to Kathern Watts — who spent a great deal time during the creation of this book underwater — both literally and figuratively. She has been elevated from a beta reader to a full-fledged research assistant and she does a phenomenal job for me. I cannot thank her enough.

Ada Frost, the cover is pure magic. Thank you.

As an author, your words are just your words until they are edited. I was honored to work with Lacie Redding and Jim Dodds on this project. Thank you very much for your contributions toward making me a stronger writer.

Kudos to Theodore Ashford who has been helping me create gorgeous marketing materials. Thank you for your time and artistry.

Thank you to all of my beta readers and my friends on the NaNoWriMo board. You all kept me going through some very difficult health challenges. Without you, I don’t believe this book would’ve been possible. Write on. See you in November.

Rosemary McKenna, your last minute save was epic beyond belief. Thank you.

Antonia Trujillo — thank you for trying so hard to keep me in one piece and breathing throughout this whole process. It is not an easy job.

Brandon, Justin and Leonard — as usual, you rock. Without you, I would be nothing.

I’ve been lucky enough to live my own version of a romance novel. I married the guy who kissed me at summer camp. He told me on the night we met that he was going to marry me and be the father of my children. Eventually, I stopped giggling when he said it, and we just celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary. We have two children. The oldest is in medical school, where he recently found and married the love of his life, and the youngest is now tackling middle school.

I write full time now. I have published over a dozen books and have several more underway. I volunteer my time to a variety of causes. I have worked as a Civil Rights Attorney and diversity advocate. I spent several years working for various social service agencies before becoming an attorney. In my spare time, I love to cook, decorate cakes and of course, I obsessively, compulsively read.

If you have questions or comments, please E-mail me at
[email protected]
or find me on the following social networks:

Facebook:
 www.facebook.com/authormarycrawford

Website:
MaryCrawfordAuthor.com

Twitter:
www.twitter.com/MaryCrawfordAut

If you enjoyed Shelby and Mark’s love story, similar adventures continue in the upcoming releases in
The Hidden Beauty Series
titles:

Until the Stars Fall from the Sky
(A Hidden Beauty Novel #1) — Jeff and Kiera — June 3, 2014

So the Heart Can Dance
(A Hidden Beauty Novel #2) — Aidan and Tara — April 24, 2015

Joy and Tiers
(A Hidden Beauty Novel #3) — Heather and Ty — August 15, 2015

Love Naturally
(A Hidden Beauty Novel #4) — Madison and Trevor— December 24, 2015