Prologue
�Hello?�
�Hey-�
�Daddy!� I cry out, reverting to my childhood name for him as I interrupt. Even with just one word I know who it is. I�m so happy to finally be hearing from him again, that I begin to cry.
His voice turns sad. �C�mon, it�s okay. Don�t cry.�
It takes a minute for me to calm and collect myself. �I�m sorry. It�s just�I�m glad you called. I�ve missed you.�
Dad was out of the country, visiting old friends in outback Australia. No wonder it took him awhile to get in touch. Two days isn�t really a long time, but when something like this happens, two days is an eternity.
�How are you holding up?� He sounded very serious and concerned.
Tears cloud my vision again, but I push them away, wanting to be strong. �Not good. I feel so�I feel so�It�s hard to describe, Dad. One day she�s there, and the next��
�I know, babydoll. I know.� He sounds like he�s crying.
*
Two days earlier�
�Mr and Mrs Thomas?�
Cade and I stand immediately and expectantly as a young doctor walks into the waiting room, her face looking very somber.
�Yes?� I whisper, but I doubt she heard me. I clear my throat. �That�s�that�s us,� I say more loudly, although there was no need. Cade and I were the only ones in the waiting room.
She looks at me directly, her hazel eyes filled with sadness and sympathy. My knees weaken. If it wasn�t for Cade supporting me, I�d have fallen. I know that look that she�s giving me, and I�m torn. As much as I don�t want to hear what she has to say, I know that I need to.
�I�m so very sorry, but your mother�your mother didn�t make it.�
