The Healing Place by Leigh Bale Page B

her.
    Angie’s eyes widened. “Really?”
    “Absolutely. Remember what I told you about the drugs killing good things as well as bad?”
    Angie nodded, her eyes still filled with tears.
    “Well, one of those good things is hair. As soon as we finish your chemo, your hair will grow right back, maybe even thicker than before, and I doubt you’ll be able to see any of the scars. Until then, are you interested in wearing a wig?”
    “A wig?” Angie crinkled her nose with repugnance.
    “Yeah, I can get you a referral for a nice wig that will look quite natural.”
    Angie shook her head, her upper lip curled.
    “Okay, then you can just pretend you’re a sumo wrestler. Of course, we’ll have to fatten you up some more.”
    Angie wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “A sumo wrestler?”
    Emma envisioned this frail child stomping around in a muscleman crouch with a fierce look on her face, wearing what looked like a baggy diaper. “Sure! Why not?”
    Angie hopped off Mark’s lap and posed in the exact posture Emma had just imagined, minus the diaper. The sight of the skinny little girl stooped and flexing her scrawny muscles and puffing out her cheeks was hilarious. Emma threw back her head and laughed.
    Mark chuckled and shook his head. “Now, that’s a scary scene.”
    Angie giggled and came over to hold out her pinky finger to Emma. “Pinky promise my hair will grow back?”
    Locking her pinky with Angie’s, Emma gave a gentle jerk. “Pinky promise.”
    Angie threw her arms around Emma’s neck and hugged tight. Unprepared for the contact, Emma flinched. Then, she squeezed the child back. A rush of emotion washed over Emma.
    “Oh, thank you, Emma,” Angie said. “I love you.”
    Emma almost dropped her clipboard. Like a pointed dart, Angie’s arms and words sent a shot of heat straight to Emma’s heart. She caught the warm, sweet smell of Angie’s skin and had to close her eyes as wave after wave of sentiment pounded against her.
    Warning chimes sounded in Emma’s head.
    She pulled Angie’s arms away and smiled at the girl. “Now, you go out and see what surprise Sonja has in her special stash while I talk to your father, okay?”
    “Okay!” Angie opened the door and went out into the hallway.
    “Thanks for that,” Mark said, his eyes shining. “I can’t tell you how much she yearns for a woman’s approval.”
    “Maybe Denise will visit her soon.”
    Emotion covered his face and his voice caught as he looked away. This was the strong, in-control Mark Williams from high school? Somehow, Emma felt very close to him, and she didn’t like it.
    The room was suddenly very hot. She needed out—now!
    Emma stood and moved toward the door. It was best to end this conversation. Her other patients never confided so much to her. Yet, Mark and Angie were somehow special and she found herself thinking about them at all times of the day. When they were gone, she missed them, for crying out loud!
    “I’ll see you Thursday night at the Make-A-Wish meeting,” she said as she stepped away.
    “Yeah, I’ll be there.”
    She hurried down the hall to another examination room where her next patient waited. Sounds of people talking in the treatment room filtered over the low hum of machinery.
    Mark walked past, heading toward the front receptionist desk. Emma knew he would schedule Angie’s next appointment before he left.
    Taking the file from the holder affixed to the door, Emma read it to bring herself up to date on the next patient’s case. As she stood there, Christy’s voice reached her from the front counter.
    “Did you ask for Friday off?”
    Emma glanced up and saw Christy and Tom, two of her nurses, standing by the reception desk, their backs toward her. Mark stopped beside the counter and waited for Darcy to get off the phone so she could schedule Angie’s next appointment. Angie stood close by, twirling a green top she had gotten from Sonja’s stash of toys.
    “Nah, I don’t dare ask The