It had been two weeks since he’d first let her drag him to the local doctor’s office in Ash Springs, and as far as he was concerned, he felt worse after having gone. On that first visit, they poked, prodded, took blood and urine, and x-rayed him from head to toe. On a second visit a few days later, they even biopsied his shoulder and knee.

And that had only made matters worse. If his joints were aching before, they were in near constant agony after that. He’d been almost entirely confined to his recliner, relying on Buck to keep everything running.

He looked over at his wife. “Megan, you know I don’t trust these country doctors. You should have just let me go to the VA. They’d have patched me right up.”

“Not a chance in hell,” Megan muttered under her breath. “Those fools wouldn’t have seen you for a good three weeks.”

“I could have waited—”

“No.” Megan groused. “I’m not having you wait around when I know you’re in pain.”

Frank leaned toward the only love he’d ever known, kissed the top of her head, and whispered, “That’s why I didn’t want to tell you.” It was also why, even now, he hadn’t told her everything. Like that he was losing circulation in his fingers, and they’d been feeling number with cold even when he was in the house.

A nurse poked her head in. “Mr. and Mrs. O’Reilly? The doctor will see you now.”

Frank grimaced as he levered himself up out of the chair, ignoring the helping hand Megan offered. She frowned, but he wouldn’t let her treat him like a cripple.

Dr. Montgomery was an older gentleman wearing a white lab coat with a stethoscope hanging out of one of the pockets. He shook hands with them both as they entered his office, then pulled his chair out from behind his desk and rolled it over beside the visitors’ chairs. His expression was serious, and Frank prepared himself for the worst.

The doctor grabbed a thick file from his desk and settled down with it on his lap.

Frank felt Megan grip his upper arm as she asked, “Dr. Montgomery, what did the results come back with? What’s wrong with Frank?”

Dr. Montgomery pressed his lips together, forming a thin line, and turned to Frank. “Mr. O’Reilly,” he said, “do you remember what we discussed about your x-rays when you were last here?”

“Of course. You said that the x-rays showed something abnormal on some of my bones. That’s why you had me do those biopsies.”

“That’s right. The x-rays showed what’s known as Codman’s Triangle. There was a swelling under your periosteum, a sheath that normally envelops your bones. And you’ll recall—”