Michael Berg was one of the leading experts in the area.
Ashley held Landon’s hand in the back of the SUV while their driver maneuvered through heavy traffic. “Big lunch crowd.” Landon tried to make small talk with the man.
The driver shrugged. “It’s always like this.”
Ashley looked out the window as they traveled south along the Hudson River. Every block or two she could just barely make out the new World Trade Center. She looked over the water at the Statue of Liberty.
For the most part, New York looked like the city she remembered, the one it had been before 9/11. The one it was once again. As if the terrorist attacks never happened. Only Ground Zero would be totally different.
Landon coughed twice and then again. Ashley pulled a water bottle from her purse and handed it to him. Never mind what had been rebuilt. The terrorist attacks had happened. She lived with the proof every day. Especially lately.
Dr. Berg’s office was on the forty-third floor in a towering medical building. They checked in and waited a few minutes before Landon’s name was called. Up until now, Ashley had been stoic. But as they took their places in two chairs near an examination table she felt her heart skip a beat.
Don’t panic, she told herself. Landon had struggled with lung issues before. He’d been short of breath and diagnosed with signs of early damage. But this time his cough seemed more pronounced. Ashley reached for his hand and felt tears spring to her eyes. Not Landon, God. Please… not him.
“Hey…” Landon put his hand on her knee. “Baby, what?”
“I… I can’t.” Ashley wiped the tears from her cheeks and stared at him. “I survived everything leading up to this. My own health scare and my mother’s death. The loss of our little Sarah hours after she was born. Erin’s family and the accident.” Her throat felt tight, like she couldn’t draw a full breath. “I survived because God gave me you, Landon. That’s the only reason.”
“Love, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” He put his arm around her shoulders and eased her close. “Everything is still fine. I believe that.”
Ashley nodded. I can’t live without him, God…. Don’t take him from me. Please.
“Say something.” He put his finger beneath her chin and lifted her face to his. “Come on, baby.”
“I love you.” She blinked back another rush of tears. “That’s all. I love you, Landon Blake.”
Her head was still pressed to his shoulder when Dr. Berg joined them a few minutes later. The man was in his fifties, maybe. Pleasant and fit. He asked Landon to sit on the table. “This was supposed to be just a consultation. But I had a cancellation.” He checked his folder. “If you have an hour, I’d like to go over a few things and do a few tests.”
“Absolutely.” Landon released his hold on Ashley. “We’d like answers.”
“And yes”—the doctor glanced at Ashley—“illnesses related to 9/11 are very real and very dangerous.” He sighed. “We know now that toxins filling the air around Ground Zero in the days and weeks after the attacks were deadly.”
Ashley pressed her fists into her middle. She didn’t want to hear this. She wanted to grab Landon’s hand and run back to the airport. Board the first flight to Indianapolis and get home to Bloomington as fast as they could.
But Dr. Berg was still talking. He explained that he would draw blood and do an X-ray. Then he would do a PET scan.
“If you haven’t eaten yet today.” The doctor put his stethoscope to his ears.
“Actually, I haven’t. Just in case.” Landon smiled. “I’m ready for you.”
He looked calm and relaxed and it hit Ashley. Landon had always been like this. Able to stare danger in the face. She and Landon had met in fifth grade, but long after that—when Ashley was in her early twenties, she had come back from a wild time in Paris, pregnant and alone. And when her longtime friend Landon Blake pursued her, she thought him too safe. Because he was a good man. Too good for her.
She smiled. How wrong she had been back then. No one took danger on more quickly than Landon Blake. Whether he was putting out a fire or marrying her.
Or here, facing tests that could define their future.
Dr. Berg listened to Landon’s lungs for a long while. A few times Landon coughed and the doctor had to step back. Was that concern on his face? Again he listened and