and then when the time came to use them, she went blank. Stay calm. Keep your eye on the goal.
“As much as I’d like to go back and change the past, I can’t do that. All I can do is attempt to move forward. I’d like to move forward with you. I know I’ve hurt you, and I’m sorry about that. In the past year or so I’ve spent some time evaluating and reevaluating what is important to me. I figured out that a lot of the things I thought were important actually aren’t. I also learned that things I told myself weren’t important are the most important things on earth. Family is important, Sage. You are important to me. I’d like us to find our way back to each other.”
Sage sank down in the water up to her neck. Above the bubbling of the springs, Rose heard her sigh. After a long silence, she asked, “Why now? Have you and Brandon finally set a date? You want family at the wedding and I’m all there is?”
“Brandon and I aren’t together anymore. He married someone else. In fact …” She sucked in a breath against the pain, then forced out the words. “They’re expecting a baby.”
“You’re kidding me.” Sage’s mouth gaped. “Didn’t he always say he didn’t want kids?”
“Yes.” Rose was proud it didn’t come out like a sob. “He changed his mind.”
Sage muttered something Rose couldn’t hear, then asked, “How long were you two together?”
Rose cleared her throat. “Seven years.”
“Seven years.” She blew out a breath. “Whose idea was it to split?”
“That would be Brandon.”
“I’m sorry, Rose.” She hesitated a beat, then said, “I never liked him.”
Rose managed to keep most of the bitterness out of her voice. “Well, Brandon doesn’t matter. That’s behind me; it’s over. I’m looking forward now.”
Sage climbed to her feet. “Okay. Well, then. You just look forward. Personally, I’m up to my eyebrows with right now. The summer season is upon us, and I have a graduation party for a dear friend next week. Then I have a prominent guest coming to town to do a huge favor for me. I really don’t have time to fret about forward.”
She stepped out of the pool and reached for her towel. Rose said, “Sage. Wait, please. You’re my family. We are the only family each other has. We should—”
“Stop it.” Sage whirled on her, her voice fierce, her eyes glimmering with pain. “I’m sorry your boyfriend dumped you. I really am. Men so often suck. But you know what? I’m not all warm and fuzzy about being your backup date to the prom. It’s insulting. You didn’t sweep into Eternity Springs with an olive branch until Brandon left and you were alone. Maybe I would have been more receptive to the idea if I wasn’t so obviously your last resort. Good-bye, Rose.”
Ah, Rose, you really screwed this up. Sage had already taken three steps down the path away from her when Rose screwed up her courage and said, “Sage, I have cancer.”
SIXTEEN
Cancer.
The word knocked the breath from Sage’s lungs and stopped her in her tracks. Cancer.
“My prognosis is excellent,” Rose continued. “It’s endometrial cancer and we caught it early. Actually, I should say I had cancer, not have, because I’ve finished treatment and everything looks good.
“I didn’t come to Eternity Springs because Brandon dumped me or because I’m dying. However, facing that possibility made me confront the whole notion of death and decide what is and is not important in life. You are important, Sage. That’s why I’m here.”
A band of emotion squeezed Sage’s chest, and she truly couldn’t breathe. Death. Rose. Africa. Wedding veils. Bloodstained baby rattles. Rose. Death. The urge to flee grew so strong that she simply couldn’t resist it. Turning a blind eye to the painful emotions etched on her sister’s face, she blurted out, “I can’t. I’ve gotta go.”
She rushed up the path, away from her sister, away from the pain. Away from her own self-respect. The lack of compassion she showed her sister shamed her, but survival instinct was in control at the moment. She actually broke into a run as she exited the hot springs pool park and headed for home. If only she’d driven to Angel’s Rest tonight. She’d hop in her car and start driving and maybe not stop until she reached … where? Where else could she go? Eternity Springs was her sanctuary. This was where she felt safe. Where else could she go?
Then she saw