Emily's Choice (13 page)

“I know you
want to think it was brain activity in response to your singing, but I have to
tell you to be cautious. We will, of course, run tests, but you need to prepare
yourself.”

“I
understand,” Emily muttered. Could this doctor be any more doom and gloom?
Grace’s hand had moved. Shouldn’t they be celebrating?

They entered
the waiting area and Clint jumped to his feet.

“It’s not
bad, Dad,” Emily hurriedly assured him. “I was humming our lullaby and Mama G’s
hand twitched in mine. I asked to speak with the doctor.”

“That’s the
first sign of voluntary movement since we got here,” Clint exclaimed. “What
does it mean?”

“I don’t
know,” the doctor replied. “It could be nothing. The human body, especially in
a coma, is a mystery. It could have been a reaction to the singing, or it could
have been completely random with no meaning.”

“Are you
going to run some tests?” Clint asked.

“Yes, of
course. She’s due for another brain activity scan, and we’ll check on the brain
swelling as well.”

“When?”

“As soon as
I can get the orders written up, we’ll take her down. Probably right after
lunch.”

Clint
nodded.

“How long do
the tests last?”

“It should
take an hour or two,” he replied.

Emily
glanced at the doctor’s face and silently shook her head. He, Dr.
Mosler
, looked to be in his early twenties. He may be
brilliant, but he certainly didn’t instill trust when you first spoke to him.
He had a hard time keeping eye contact, and his quiet manner made you think he
wasn’t confident in his work. Emily knew he was the best in the area and one of
the five top neurosurgeons in the country. She knew they were lucky to have him
on Grace’s side, overseeing her care, but when you had to speak with him, it
certainly left you wondering.

“Her, our
daughter, Hope, will be arriving around lunchtime. She’ll be anxious to see her
mother. I know the tests are important, but would it be possible to delay them
until after Hope has had a chance to see Grace?”

“Do you have
a time of arrival for her?”

“Her plane
lands at eleven. I doubt she checked any luggage, so we should be back here no
later than noon,” Emily explained.

“I’ll
schedule the tests for one, if that’s all right?” he suggested. Clint and Emily
nodded. “I’ll see you then. And if any more movement happens, please don’t
hesitate to let the nurses know.”

Clint
watched Dr.
Mosler
walk away. “What do you think?”

“I don’t
know, Dad. I want to be optimistic, but I am out of my depth here.”

The rest of
the morning went by fast with Emily and Clint alternating visits with Grace.
Try as she might, though, Emily couldn’t concentrate well on her work. She took
a break outside to speak to Phil, explaining the situation.

“Emily, this
is a delicate time. Do what you can, isn’t that what you always tell us?”

“I know. I
just feel like I need to be able to do it all. Kendra is counting on me.”

“That’s
ridiculous and you know it. We’re all a team, and besides, Kendra would be the
first to tell you to take it easy and focus on your family.”

“How’s Jenny
today?” Emily asked, changing the subject.

“Still sick.
She called me this morning and I told her to stay home and work.”

“Did she
argue?”

“Of course
she did, but I told her you’d fire her if she came in.”

Emily
laughed. “Good call.”

“It worked,
so I consider it a win for everyone.”

“Has Kendra
called in?”

“She left a
message on the answering service last night. Said she was just checking in and
she’d be in touch at the end of the week. I sent her a quick email and told her
you’d send one of your own once you got settled and knew what the lay of the
land was.”

“Thanks,
Phil. I’ll work on that email to her tonight.”

“We got an
inquiry this morning. A business this time. They want us to completely redesign
their lobby waiting area. And if they like what we come up with, they want us
to redo the conference rooms, too. I think we could have the opportunity to
redo the entire office space.”

“Wow, that’s
fabulous. Kendra was saying she’d like to branch out into the commercial arena.
She’ll be so excited.”

“We need to
answer them. Should I send them an acceptance letter and tell them we’ll work
on a proposal?”

“Yes, that
would be fantastic. When do they want proposals?”

“End of the
month. We have a little time. Kendra will be back by then, right?”

“Doubtful,
they plan to spend the whole summer away.”

“I thought
they were coming back at the end of June?”

“They were,
but the kids are having fun and everyone is getting along. And the grandparents
have begged for more time.”

“The
proposal is due on the thirtieth.”

“We’ll get
it done, no worries. I’m sure I’ll be back by then, and if not, we’ll still
blow them away.”

“All right.
I’ll send out the acceptance letter today and let them know to expect our proposal
on the thirtieth.”

“Great,
anything else?”

“Not that I
can think of. Want to speak at lunch tomorrow and go over the Thompson and
Trudeau projects?”

“Sure,
sounds good. I’ll let you know if anything happens and I can’t make that
meeting.”

“Okay. Talk
to you tomorrow. Keep your chin up,” Phil advised.

“I’m doing
my best to keep positive thoughts in my head.”

“Good, they
go a long way.”

Emily hung
up and breathed in a few deep breaths of fresh air. She missed the clean,
desert smell and knew it would be even stronger at her father’s ranch. She
liked the briny ocean scent in Boston, but nothing beat the smell of the
desert.

“Emily?”

Emily’s
heart stopped and her mouth dried up. She closed her eyes and waited a beat or
two before turning. She wasn’t ready. So often, over the past twenty-four
hours, things were happening before she was ready for them.

She turned
and there he was. Time had been good to him; she couldn’t deny it. His eyes
were still deep chocolate, his dark blond hair still full and unruly and a
little longer than was decent. Sure, she’d peeked at his face during Sadie’s
video chats, but seeing him in person was so much better. He was taller and
leaner than she remembered, but then again, she’d tried to block him from her
heart for so long.

God! All she
wanted was to walk into his arms and listen to his heartbeat. She cleared her
throat and stiffened her spine. She was hopeless. She was not going to fall
back into his trap.

“Hi, Jason,”
she breathed, annoyed her voice didn’t come out strong and brisk.

“How’s
Grace?”

“About the
same. They’re running tests on her this afternoon because her hand twitched in
mine earlier. I’m choosing to look at it as a positive sign, but the doctor is
being cautious.”

“How are
you?”

“Hanging in,”
Emily said as she looked off into the distance. It hurt her heart to see him,
be near him, even just talking to him. “I was going to call you later today to
set up a visit with Sadie. She’ll be excited to see you.”

“I’m happy
you’re both here, even under the circumstances.” Jason brushed his fingers
across her forearm. “I’m happy to see you,
Em
.”

She moved
away from his touch, noted his pained expression as she did so. “I’m here for
Grace, nothing more,” she said firmly. “And when it’s time, you should know we’ll
be returning to Boston.”

“If I didn’t
know any better, I’d say you were warning me off.”

Emily nodded
and turned to walk inside. Jason fell into step beside her and reached out to
open the door before she had a chance. Deep inside, she was pleased. Outside,
she fumed. The last thing she needed was Jason getting ideas of wooing her back
and thinking she’d stay. She meant what she said two years ago when he had showed
up at her apartment door before Sadie was born. Nothing had changed. Not then,
not when he’d visited after her birth, or the third time last summer. In her
eyes, he was still a cheating jerk and that was something she didn’t think she’d
ever be able to get over.

They reached
the elevator and Emily pressed the button, tapping her foot as the elevator
seemed to be taking longer than usual to arrive. When the doors whooshed open,
Emily all but ran into the elevator and pressed the button for Grace’s floor.

“In a hurry?”
Jason asked.

Emily made a
noise in her throat, half hum, half growl.

“Is this
toe-tapping thing new? I don’t remember it,” Jason said, a smirk gracing his
beautiful mouth. “Must be the city living.”

“I’m just
anxious to get back upstairs. I’ve been away too long.”

“I’ll say,”
he agreed.

“And we know
at whose feet we can lay that blame, don’t we?” Emily snapped, striding off
down the hall as soon as the doors opened.

“Yep, but it’s
not who you think. Or who you blame,” he muttered, following closely behind
Emily’s stiff back.

“Daddy!”
Sadie shrieked, leaping into his arms.

“Hey,
Buttercup!” Jason twirled her around and gave her a big hug. Kissing her cheek,
he looked her in the eye. “How are you?”

“Sadie good.
Happy see you!”

“Have you
had lunch yet?”

“No.”

“Good, I’m
hungry,” he said, nibbling on her neck. She squealed with joy and wiggled in
his arms. Holding her close, he whispered, “I’ve missed you so much.” He
glanced at Emily. “Mind if I take her to lunch?”

“I have to
leave soon to pick up Hope from the airport.”

“I’ll keep
her until you get back,” he said.

“Jason,”
Clint interrupted, turning off the visiting alarm on his phone. “You want to go
in and see Grace? It’s time for a new visitor.”

“Sure, give
me one second?”

Clint nodded
and picked up his book as he sat back down in the chair.

“I’m
gonna
go in and visit with Grace, and then I’ll take her
out. Can you wait a few minutes to leave?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want
her back at any specific time?”

“No. They’re
taking Grace down for tests after Hope has her visit. They should take an hour
or two, but there’s no reason Sadie has to stay in here, cooped up. Just let me
know what you’re going to do and we’ll go from there.”

“K.” He
waved to Sadie and left the room.

Emily
watched him go and sighed.

“You still
love him,” Clint observed.

“Don’t be
ridiculous, Dad.”

“Didn’t
think I was.” He chuckled. “Pretty sure that’s what most folks call being
observant.”

“Well, your
skills need honing,” she said, concentrating on her laptop.

“They do
not. It’s as plain as the nose on your face.”

“Dad, I
really don’t want to discuss this. It’s over and has been for a long time.”

“It won’t
ever
be over. You’ve loved him since you were twelve years old. You have a child
together. You’re tied to him for the rest of your life. That kind of love never
goes away.”

“He messed
up. It’s plain and simple.”

“Did he? Or
was he tricked? Have you even given him a chance to explain?”

“I saw it
with my own eyes, Dad. I don’t know what he can say that will absolve him of
that.”

“Are you
serious, child? Was he not drunk as a skunk? Was it not pitch dark inside that
room? Was he not expecting
you
to be there?”

Emily
scrunched up her face. “How do you know all these details?”

Clint sat
back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head and resting it on the wall
behind him. A self-satisfied smirk gracing his face, he winked at his daughter.
“Because I have a wife who has made it a priority to have coffee with him every
week.”

“She never
told me!” Emily exclaimed, annoyed at having her personal life be fodder for
gossip between her parents.

“Why should
she? You weren’t listening to either of them. You’ve got your mind made up and
no one, but no one, is changing your mind. You saw all, you know all.”

“Well, that’s
just fabulous. It’s no wonder he won’t leave me alone. He’s got you and Mama G
in his pocket, cheering him on. I’m surprised he hasn’t made more trips out to
Boston.”

“He’s wanted
to, but we suggested he wait. Course, the waiting has been driving him a little
crazy, and I’m pretty sure he was out
there
last fall
but kept his distance. He’s a man of action, and he’s been feeling like his
small actions aren’t doing the job. Certainly haven’t thawed your frozen heart,
have they?”

“That’s
rude, Dad.”

“How’s it
rude when it’s the truth? He’s been giving and giving for years. What have you
done in return?”

“I’ve given
him visitation rights to his daughter. I let her video chat with him whenever
they want. I allow her to call and video chat with him whenever she wants. I
don’t restrict their time in anyway.”

“Don’t you?
You live in Boston, and he lives in
Mosquero
. She deserves
to have a full-time daddy. And he deserves to
be
a full-time daddy.”

“What do you
know, Dad? Seriously! You weren’t engaged to the man. You didn’t walk in on him
and Lila. The night before we were to be married. You weren’t there, you didn’t
see, and you sure as hell didn’t feel my heart shatter. It’s still in pieces
and I’m not sure it’ll ever get put back together.”

“
Em
?” Jason asked from the doorway, eyes wide.

“Mama mad!”
Sadie announced, hopping off the chair and walking to Jason.

Emily watched
as Sadie reached up, wanting to be held by her father.