Truly, Madly, Deeply (The Baxters #31) - Karen Kingsbury Page 0,13

hit the goals and demands of their jobs. All with the prettiest views of the city. Just like life had been that Tuesday in New York City. Not for a minute did anyone up there that morning think they had so little time to live.

Her father wouldn’t have thought that, either.

She headed to the interstate. Malin and Johnny would be back from school by now, doing their homework. Reagan’s mother would arrive later that night from Florida to stay with them. And Luke’s father, John Baxter, was going to spend the weekend with Ashley’s kids.

All so that for just a few days they could go back again, back to the events of a time the nation would remember forever. For everyone else it was history. But for Reagan and Luke, Ashley and Landon it was something more.

It was personal.

* * *

ASHLEY TOOK HER time on the hour-long drive back to Bloomington. Her dad and stepmom were already at the house, getting Devin and Amy and Janessa ready for a four-day weekend together. Tonight, dinner was pizza—so Ashley and Landon could focus on packing.

Like she had told Reagan, her time at the art gallery had gone exceedingly well. God continued to give her inspiration for her paintings and people kept buying them. But there was something she hadn’t told Reagan.

Landon’s cough was worse.

He wasn’t fighting a cold and he didn’t have bronchitis. No fever or chills or congestion. Just a cough. Worse than last year at this time. Maybe—if she was honest—Landon was a little short of breath. And possibly more tired than he should be.

So last night after Landon and the kids were asleep, Ashley had moved into the art space next to their bedroom, opened her laptop and started searching. It wasn’t the first time she’d been concerned about Landon’s health and certainly it wasn’t the only situation where she’d turned to the Internet for answers. Years ago Landon had struggled with lung issues, but then, miraculously, he had gotten better.

Maybe this was only a low-lying virus. Possibly he was struggling with seasonal allergies. Either way, last night Ashley suddenly had to know more about the current risks for people who had spent months sorting through the pile at Ground Zero.

She had long known there was a causal relationship between the toxins at Ground Zero and the undeniable spike in premature deaths among those exposed to them. But she hadn’t googled the situation in a while.

From the room down the hall, Landon’s cough had broken the silence.

And before it stopped, Ashley began the search.

Ground Zero and cancer

Ground Zero and lung disease

Deaths associated with Ground Zero

She found a police memorial site where a number of fallen officers from New York City looked to be in their forties and fifties. Strange, she thought. She hadn’t been looking for a police memorial. So Ashley began to click on the names of the deceased and her blood ran cold. Almost all of them had died the same way.

9/11-related illness.

And so Ashley looked back through the years and what she found horrified her. Twenty-three New York police officers died on 9/11. But since then nearly 250 police officers had died of illnesses connected with 9/11.

Landon, of course, was a firefighter. So that led Ashley to her next search. What about firefighters who worked at Ground Zero? Again the numbers were staggering. Since 9/11, more than two hundred firefighters had died of cancer or other diseases connected to those events.

Then there was the big picture. Ashley had learned last night that more than ten thousand people exposed to toxins around Lower Manhattan after the terrorist attacks had now died of illnesses as a direct result. Recently, the city of New York had opened the Memorial Glade at Ground Zero. A new $5 million walkway to honor first responders who had died since the terrorist attack.

All of which meant one terrifying thing.

Landon’s cough needed to be checked out.

Ashley had also researched specialists who handled cases related to 9/11 and she’d found a doctor in Lower Manhattan. Then before fear changed her mind, she booked a consultation for early afternoon tomorrow. As soon as they arrived in the city.

Convincing Landon hadn’t been easy. “It’s nothing,” he had told her earlier this morning. “Allergies, my love. Every fall, remember?”

“Sneezing, sure. Itchy eyes.” She had put her hands on his shoulders and looked straight at him. “Your cough is worse, Landon. You need to see someone. Just in case.”

He had finally agreed and now Ashley was consumed with the