The First Love Cookie Club by Lori Wilde Read Free Book Online

he’d lived his entire life in Twilight. Hell, his father and his father’s father and his father’s father’s father had all been born and raised in the town, and he loved the place with all his heart and soul, but he loved his daughter more. He’d leave it in a nanosecond if doing so could heal Jazzy.
    “It’s not that simple.”
    Nothing ever was. “You dangle this hope in front of me and then you snatch it away, Doc. What the hell is that all about?”
    Dr. Adams met his stare. “I’m willing to go out on a limb and prescribe this drug to Jazzy for her asthma.”
    A tidal wave of hope hit him this time. “Thank you,” he said, “thank you.”
    Dr. Adams held up his palm. “Before we jump into this there is a lot to consider. This medication might not even work.”
    “It’s worth a shot.”
    “There are side effects.”
    “There’s side effects with the medication she’s already on.”
    “Yes, but this drug is still new and it has been approved for a different condition. I did some research, called some experts, and I have a tentativeprotocol for using the medication off-label, but essentially, we’d be flying blind. We could be playing Russian roulette with Jazzy’s life.”
    Silence fell between them.
    The reality of what the doctor was saying slowly sank in. “But this could also be the drug that controls everything, right?”
    “It could. The preliminary findings are very hopeful. You need to think about this long and hard, Travis.”
    “I just want her well.”
    “I know,” Dr. Adams said, “but do the risks outweigh the possible benefits?”
    Travis let out a long breath and it was only then that he realized he’d been holding it down deep in his lungs. “Okay,” he said. “Thanks for giving it to me straight.”
    “You’re welcome.”
    Dr. Adams went back into the exam room with Jazzy, while Travis went out to his pickup truck. He drove the three miles to their cottage by the lake, found Isabella and
The Magic Christmas Cookie
book, and hurried back to the hospital.
    When he went back into the exam room, Jazzy’s eyes were closed and her breathing was easier. Travis took Isabella and tucked her gently in the crook of Jazzy’s arm and then he sat in the flimsy blue plastic chair beside the gurney and opened the well-worn cover of
The Magic Christmas Cookie
and began to read, the ritual now so ingrained, he didn’t have to think.
    “Butterfly Books,” he read, “a division of Jackdaw Publishing. First edition. All rights reserved.” He always read the information on the copyrightpage to tease her, just as his mother used to do with him.
    Usually, she would say, “Dad
-dy,”
in a tone of exasperation, but this time, she said nothing.
    Travis recited the story he knew by heart, sitting there, watching his little girl sleep. The mask was still on her face; little puffs of mist escaped from the vent slits on the side and disappeared into the air. He watched his daughter and read of magic cookies and Santa Claus and Christmas miracles a week before Halloween.
    This was a scary place, where they were right now. Hung on the precipice of promise and disaster. New drug. New hope. How many times had he gotten his hopes up? How many times had they been dashed?
    Jazzy turned on the gurney, opened her eyes, tugged the mask from her face. “Daddy?”
    “What is it, sweet pea?”
    “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have tried to run on the playground. I knew better.”
    “It’s okay, it’s all right. Don’t worry. You didn’t do anything wrong. You just wanted to have fun.”
    “Daddy?”
    “Uh-huh?”
    “Am I gonna die like your mommy did?”
    Travis bit down on the inside of his cheek. He’d never wanted to tell Jazzy about how her grandmother had died, but Crystal had told her when she’d asked. Travis still held that against her. “No,” he said, “absolutely not. I’m your daddy and I won’t let anything happen to you, no matter what. Got it?”
    “Will I ever be