Tony approached the door to her suite with a combination of anticipation and dread. If only he’d find her talking and flitting around the suite as she used to; instead, he feared he’d find what he’d found the day before, and the one before that. Slowly, Tony opened the door and spotted Claire on the sofa. She was reading, or pretending to read. Silently, he watched as her eyes drifted toward the fireplace and stared. The reflection of the flames was the only spark of life he’d witnessed since she woke.
Securing a smile, he opened the door further and announced his presence. “Good evening, Claire,” he said, as lightheartedly as he could manage.
When she turned, her dead gaze met his and her lips obediently move upward. “Good evening, Tony. Is it that late already?”
Kissing her cheek, he assessed the woman before him. She was dressed impeccably with her hair and makeup flawless. “You look lovely tonight. Obviously, you knew it was time for dinner.”
Lifting the blanket that covered her legs, Claire gazed at her attire. With no emotion, she replied, “Oh, yes, that’s right. Now, I remember.”
Offering his hand, he asked, “Won’t you join me? You’re too beautiful to keep in this suite. Besides, you must be tired of these four walls. Let’s go to the dining room.”
The stillness of the flat green gave way to an instant of panic before settling again into nothingness. “Tony, I’d rather stay here, if that’s all right with you. The dining room is so far away.”
He didn’t argue that night or even the next few. It wasn’t until almost November before he convinced her to leave the suite. Then, slowly, he made more progress. First, it was the dining room, then the sunporch, eventually they made it outside. Even the fresh air didn’t bring back the sparkling emerald he craved. Tony tried gifts. It didn’t seem to matter if it was an inexpensive scarf, a newly released book that she’d been anticipating, or jewels valued in the thousands of dollars—though her lips smiled, her eyes remained dead.
That was why he’d talked to Courtney about a visit with her and Brent. Tony had hoped that taking her anywhere would help. He never expected that it would be the practice drive that would bring her back to life.
What if when Claire woke and if their baby was gone—what if her eyes were once again dead? With each hour, Tony promised he’d move heaven and earth to assure the spark of life in her eyes. If it meant he had to walk the gauntlet of her family and friends, he’d do it. Whatever she wanted, he would do.
His phone rang. “Anthony Rawlings,” he answered.
“Sir, she’s awake.” Tony’s heart leapt. “The doctor is with her now.” The line went dead. Seconds later a text came through from Clay:
“THE DOCTOR LEFT MS. NICHOLS’ ROOM. SHE IS AWAKE. HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS ARE HERE.”
Tony didn’t know if they would all be in her room or not—it didn’t matter, he was going in. As he approached he saw his ex-in-laws by her door. John was the first to see him. The combination of hatred and shock in John’s gaze fueled Tony’s determined steps. Tony wasn’t stopping until he was in Claire’s room. He couldn’t. He had to see her—see her eyes—and know that she was all right. He needed to be near her, to take her hand and promise more children.
“You are not welcome here,” John proclaimed, as he stepped in front of the door. “I can’t believe you would have the nerve to show your face after all you’ve done.”
Tony saw Clay sitting inconspicuously in a nearby waiting area and shook his head in his direction. He would handle this on his own. Ignoring the daggered stares of his ex-sister-in-law, Tony stopped within a few feet of John. “I want to see her.”
“I don’t care what you want. I don’t even know how you learned that she’s awake, but you’re not going near her.”
Emily backed her husband. “She doesn’t want to see you.”
Making no aggressive movements, Tony ignored Emily and continued with John. “I suggest we ask Claire.”
“I’ll call the police,” Emily said, as a crowd began to gather. Tony recognized Amber from Simon’s funeral, but he didn’t know or care about the identity of the man by her side. Baldwin was missing from their group.
John interrupted with a tone of superiority, “I’m sure Mr. Rawlings doesn’t want it to come to that. After all, we’d hate for him to go to jail—unnecessarily. Leave now, before—”
Claire’s door opened, silencing the growing crowd as Baldwin emerged from within. Tony’s chin lifted indignantly, knowing that Baldwin had been where he wanted to be.
Harrison Baldwin spoke, “John, stop! Claire wants to see Mr. Rawlings.”
Emily gasped before she said, “I haven’t even seen her yet. She’s my sister.”
“Claire wants to see him, now,” Baldwin repeated.
Tony shifted his gaze from John Vandersol to Harrison Baldwin, and replied, “Thank you, Mr. Baldwin.” He then offered Harrison his hand, and the two men shook as John and Emily turned away. Tony hoped that he and Claire would be granted privacy, but Baldwin followed him into her room. Clenching his jaw, Tony summoned his courage as he assessed his ex-wife. He’d prepared himself for the worse. She was bruised and battered, one eye in particular was darkened; however, that wasn’t what he saw—he saw the emerald glow as a tear trickled down her cheek. When Tony’s gaze met Claire’s, the rest of the world disappeared. Before him he saw the spark he’d feared was gone.