The Sinful 7 of Delite, Texas 7: Her Double Delite Angels (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (7 page)

Susanna could tell that Ava was touched by his gesture. The man walked away and Ava smiled at Susanna.

“He seems nice. You met him at Dixie Chix right?”

“Yes. He’s had a bit of a rough time. I’ve known him since December. He needed a friend one night and I needed a little help. He tagged along and we became friends. He’s lived in Delite for years, but on a huge amount of land closer to Cellar County side. His wife died of cancer years ago. He had two sons, but they don’t have a relationship with him. It’s really sad. He doesn’t even know if they’re alive, but he volunteers here, to kind of make up for some bad things he’s done in the past. At least that’s what he told me.”

“Wow, he’s really nice. What does he do as a volunteer here?”

“He helps to drive anyone who needs to get chemo or for appointments. He’s good like that.”

“Ava Donaldson,” the nurse stated and Ava nodded her head as she stood up. Susanna waited to see if she wanted her to go into the room with her.

“Come on. I need you.” Ava took Susanna’s hand. Susanna had to swallow back the tears of worry.

* * * *

Ava made the introductions and Dr. Nickles was happy that Ava brought Susanna along with her.

“Okay, so the test results came back and after thoroughly analyzing the tissue, it’s a definite. The cells are cancerous, Ava,” the doctor told her.

Ava covered her mouth with her hand as she gasped. She felt Susanna squeeze her other hand hard.

“It’s going to be okay, Ava. As I had explained during the last visit, you got to me quickly and didn’t wait. The cancer has not spread to any lymphoids as far as I can tell. I don’t think that we can wait on this. I’d like to schedule an operation as soon as possible to remove the cancerous lump.”

“Oh God, an operation? Will it get rid of the cancer? How in-depth of a procedure is it?” Ava asked a bunch of questions.

“First, I’m going to repeat myself, early detection is key in diagnosis and treatment. You did the right thing by conducting the self-exam, finding the small lump, and then making the appointment to see me. We’ve followed the right steps here to confirm diagnosis and treatment. I’m not taking any chances here. So this is what is going to happen. I want to schedule surgery to remove the lump and any tissue surrounding the area. We’ll take more tissue samples during the operation. I’m hopeful that I can get it all in one procedure. Now, you may need some chemo, just as follow-up, or to destroy any other cancer cells lingering in the area.”

“Oh God,” Ava repeated as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Ava, it’s very common, and as I said, I’m confident you’ll be okay. You need to trust me.”

She felt Susanna rub her back.

“I do trust you, Dr. Nickles.”

The doctor gave a soft smile.

“Then, let’s schedule the procedure.”

“What is the recovery for this type of surgery?” Susanna thought to ask and Ava was grateful. Right now her ears were buzzing and her head throbbing with scenarios, questions, fears, and everything else combined in what felt like one small space.

“It will be at least a week of rest and taking it easy. Someone will need to help you to change the bandage and get plenty of fluids and rest. No heavy lifting or exercise, but you should be fine within that week.”

“And the chemo? What type and what effects on her might there be?”

“Well, Susanna, first, I want to get that lump out of her body. Once the pathologist analyzes the other surrounding tissue, we can discuss types of chemo or different ways to destroy the cancer if it’s still there. Ava is lucky. At her young age, and at this stage, she has options. So, let me get my surgery schedule and see when we can take care of this, okay?”

* * * *

Ava turned to Susanna, who now had tears in her eyes, too.

“I’m scared. I can’t believe this is happening to me. After losing my husband and then the baby. My God, why me?”

She cried.

“What, Ava?” Susanna asked then looked at the doctor. He seemed to know exactly what Ava was referring to. “I’ll give you two a few minutes while I just check this schedule with my secretary.” The doctor made an excuse to leave.

“What were you just talking about? You were married?”

Ava wiped her eyes and nodded her head.

“What happened?”

“Jonathan and I were married for two months. He had just returned from being in the Army for six years. We had waited to get married, because he wanted to serve his country and protect it. He was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer just as I found out I was pregnant.”

“Oh God, Ava, that’s terrible. What happened to the baby?”

“I was four months pregnant when I had a miscarriage. I lost the baby, too.”

“Sweet mother of God, that’s terrible, baby. My God, I can’t believe you went through that.”

“And now this. I don’t know what’s going to happen, Susanna. I don’t know if I’ll live.”

“Now you stop that talk right now. You’re twenty-seven years old. You’ve been through hell, lost more than most could bear, baby, but you’re a fighter. You moved on after such tragedy and established yourself in a career and a successful business. You are not alone in this fight. Just as we met on that bus and talked about new beginnings and becoming self-sufficient, we’ll get through this fight, too. It’s just another mountain in the way to a better life. But you’re not climbing it alone. You’ve got me and your other Dixie Chix to see you through this.”

“I don’t want them to know. They’ll worry, and Sally is due any day now.”

“They’re strong women. We all are. They’ll get mad at you for keeping this from them. Plus, they’ll all want to help take care of you after the surgery. You heard the doctor. You’ll need plenty of rest and someone to change the bandage. We’re going to handle this fine.”

“I love you, Susanna.”

“I love you, too.” Susanna pulled Ava into a hug as the doctor returned.

“Everything okay in here?” he asked.

Ava took a deep breath as she looked at Susanna.

“Let’s do this. If cancer wants to come after me, bring it on. I’ll kick its butt big-time.”

Susanna chuckled and so did the doctor.

“That’s the spirit, Ava. Keep fighting and stay strong. I’ve scheduled the surgery for this Thursday.”

“That soon?”

“I want this taken care of right away. I moved some things around and cancelled attending a conference for this. ”

“Okay. Thursday it is.”

* * * *

Ava sat with Elise, Juliet, Susanna, Alexa, and Paula in the living room. They all seemed to have stunned expressions on their faces.

“Everything will be okay. I just wanted to be sure to explain the situation to each of you. I want to wait until after the surgery to tell Sally. I understand that she went to the doctor and is beginning to dilate. This is a happy time for her and her men, and I don’t want to put a damper on it. Please promise me that you’ll wait?” Ava asked them.

“She’ll probably have the babies by Thursday anyway,” Juliet said and gave a small smile.

“I know she can’t wait to be off bed rest. The doctor said that the babies are doing great and so is she,” Elise added.

“So we wait then. It will be fine, Ava, you’ll see,” Paula said.

“The doctor sounds really nice. Is that the guy that Sheila went to?” Juliet asked, and Ava nodded her head.

“I’m going to go into town tomorrow and get the prescriptions I need, and the nurse told me what bandages to get and stuff like that.”

“I told you that I would do that for you,” Susanna said then smiled.

“Oh God. I completely forgot about Evan.”

“Evan?” Juliet asked.

“Evan Banks?” Paula asked and Ava nodded her head.

“I completely forgot that he asked me to lunch tomorrow. I’ll have to cancel.”

“No, you don’t have to cancel. You should go out with him. It will help keep your mind off of Thursday,” Susanna added.

“He is so good-looking and his brother Colton is, too,” Juliet said.

“Well, it is just Evan and I. Colton doesn’t seem to like me.”

“Are you kidding me? He was like totally checking you out all night on Friday. I saw him. That man wants you and so does his brother,” Juliet said.

“I doubt that and to be honest, I don’t think right now is a good time to start a relationship. My heart won’t be in it. I need to get this operation out of the way and see what the next step is. I might need chemo, you know.” Ava leaned back against the couch.

“Evan doesn’t need to know what’s going on. It will be a nice distraction for you, too. He seems very nice,” Elise said.

“I guess so. I’ll see how I feel about it tomorrow. Anyway, I’m glad that I have your support in this, but I don’t want you to ponder over it. I’ll handle it and I promise if I need an ear or a shoulder, I’ll come get one of you.”

“Sure you will,” Paula teased and they all laughed.

* * * *

Late Tuesday morning, Ava headed into town to get the supplies she needed before meeting Evan at Delite Café and Diner. When she saw him standing there outside of the diner looking handsome and a bit nervous, she couldn’t hide the smile that reached her heart. She’d had the heaviness of concern weighing on her for days now. Maybe Susanna and her friends were right, and she needed a little distraction.

His eyes lit up when he saw her, and immediately he was walking toward her.

“Hi,” he greeted her then pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the cheek.

“You look so beautiful. I was wondering if you were going to show.”

“Thank you. Of course I came. You invited me, and well, I haven’t eaten yet,” she teased.

“Oh, so I guess I’m good for a meal, huh?”

“Maybe. We’ll see,” she stated with a smile and they headed toward the door.

“Colton grabbed a table for us. Is that okay?”

“Colton is here, too?”

He winked at her.

“I talked him into coming. He’s more of a loner, you know. He likes to keep to himself.”

As they entered the diner, she spotted Colton immediately. Some brunette was speaking with him and he had his arms crossed in front of his massive chest. Ava didn’t like the uneasy and jealous feeling that she had. Who was the brunette? Was she joining them, too? But then she spotted Colton looking past the brunette and straight to her. He uncrossed his arms and stood up. He said something to the brunette, and she turned to follow his line of sight. When she looked at Ava, she appeared shocked and angry.

“Your loss,” she blurted out and bumped by Ava, knocking into her side, causing a sharp pain to hit Ava’s breast. She took a deep breath as the tears hit her eyes, and when she looked at Colton, he appeared concerned.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. An unhappy ex?” She ignored the discomfort and took a seat at the table for three.

“Not my ex. I don’t date.” She glanced at him to find him staring at her. She raised her eyebrows at him in challenge and he squinted his back at her before taking a seat.

“Well, now that the trash is gone, we can focus on the finer things.”

Both Ava and Colton looked at Evan.

“What? Let’s look over the menu and order,” Evan suggested, and the waitress approached.

Ava wondered if this was a good idea.

* * * *

Colton was starting to think that allowing Evan to talk him into coming along wasn’t the best idea. Neither was their long conversation about ménage relationships and sharing a woman in order to provide her with everything she might need, including the love of two men. He wasn’t even sure he liked her. He knew damn well that his body instantly reacted to her beauty. Right now he was sporting a mighty hard cock in the confines of what were supposed to be loose-fitting Wranglers.

He adjusted his body in the small seat and looked over the menu. Her perfume was enticing, like the rest of her. If he had to guess, he’d say it was floral with a tint of fruitiness. It reminded him of spring. She wore a pretty white blouse with a white camisole underneath that was trimmed in white lace. She wore a plain, tan skirt that hit the tops of her knees and matching tan heeled sandals. She was classy and sophisticated but not stuck-up. At least she didn’t show her true colors yet, as far as he had noticed.

He listened in as Evan tried to make small talk. His brother was good at flirting. That was certain. Colton lacked in that department, and he knew it. He figured if there was chemistry between him and a woman, then nature would take its course. He wanted her to look at him the way she was smiling and looking at Evan. But he was acting like a fucking mute and his one head was consuming his thoughts. Her breasts looked better than average. He had large hands and he wanted to feel plump, feminine flesh fill them. Ava’s fit the bill and then some. She had a great figure. Trim waist, yet wide hips and a full, round ass. He should know. He’d watched her enough at Dixie Chix the other night.