“Kathy, it’s Juan Gutierrez.”

“Oh, thank God you returned my call!” She sounded like she was on the verge of tears. “I’m so sorry I didn’t call you before, I just—”

“It’s fine. I’m really sorry to hear about your father and what your family is going through. I know how tough it can be.”

“Thank you. And I know it’s really presumptuous of me to ask, but can you recommend anyone we could go to for a second opinion? My dad is really ornery about the doctors he’s seeing, and if nothing else, I don’t want to leave any stone unturned. You know what I mean?”

“I do. Kathy, what kind of cancer does your father have?”

“Osteosarcoma.”

Juan mouthed the word osteosarcoma at Steve.

Steve smiled and nodded.

“And Kathy, I’m assuming that if the doctors you’re seeing are talking about hospice care, the cancer is metastatic? In other words, the cancer has spread?”

“Yes. Metastatic osteosarcoma. Stage four if that helps.”

Juan held up four fingers to Steve. “It does. Well, I suppose the good news, if there is any, is that I do have a bit more than just a name for you. I know about a clinical trial being administered at the VA in Las Vegas. Your father doesn’t have to be a veteran to take part. Do you think he’d be interested in looking into that?”

“Are you kidding me?” Kathy’s voice quavered. “Yes! Yes, he’ll be very interested. Do you think he could get in? He is a vet. The only reason they didn’t go to the VA already is because they had some long waiting list.”

“Hang on.” Juan cupped his hand over the phone and whispered to Steve. “She’s interested. What are the odds he gets into the trial?”

“If he has stage-four osteosarcoma, he qualifies. And I’ll get him in.” Steve shot him a thumbs-up. “I’ll pull whatever strings I have to. After all you’ve done for me, it’s the least I can do.” Steve began scribbling some information on a scrap of paper.

“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.” Juan took his hand off the phone’s mic. “I do think your dad can get in, but don’t get me wrong regarding this trial. I don’t know the full details of the clinical trial, since I was only recently made aware of it.” Juan winked at Steve. “I’ll be honest with you, Kathy: clinical trials can be a godsend or they can be next to useless.”

“No, trust me, I understand.”

“I just wanted to make sure you understood. And Kathy, if he were my father, I’d pull out all the stops, and that includes participating in a trial if it was available. Do you have a paper and pencil?”

Kathy sniffed, cleared her throat, and said, “One sec.”