“No, I was just enjoying our little man’s tap dance.”
John’s smile broadened as he made his way to the bed and placed his hand next to Emily’s. “I felt him! Man, he’s really moving.”
Emily nodded. “He is.”
“Is Nichol asleep?”
“I think so. I just put her down a few minutes ago. She was pretty tired.” Emily glanced toward the baby monitor on the bedside stand. “I haven’t heard a peep out of her.”
“Are you ready for two babies?”
Emily shrugged with a tired grin. “I’m ready for Michael to make his appearance, and after the last three months, I couldn’t imagine not having Nichol. So I think the answer is yes.”
“I love her too, but you know, she does have parents.”
Emily brushed a tear from her eye. “These stupid hormones have me all emotional.”
“You don’t think maybe it was the day. I mean it’s been pretty stressful. I think you need to get some sleep.”
“With everything going on with Anthony’s hearing, I forgot to tell you about my visit with Claire yesterday.”
John scooted up to the headboard and pulled his wife closer.
With her head on his shoulder and both of their hands on her midsection, Emily continued, “I like her doctor: she’s not only compassionate but incredibly intelligent. They’re trying some different things.”
“Like what?”
“Well, they asked me a lot of questions: like what does she like to do in her spare time? It occurred to me that I didn’t know. I could tell them things she used to like to do, but I discovered the sad truth: I don’t know my sister anymore.” More tears blurred the room. “When we decided to move to California, before we knew about Nichol, I had such high hopes. I thought Claire and Harry seemed happy. I imagined all of us being a family one day.” She took a ragged breath. “It’s all his fault. Everything is his fault. Now, we’re not together as a family—even us. I miss having you around. But I can’t leave her…”
John held her shuddering shoulders as Emily’s tears dampened his shirt.
Smoothing his wife’s hair, John said, “Tim Bronson gave me his card today, just before he left the courtroom. He asked me to call him.”
“Why?”
“I was curious, too.”
Emily looked up. “You were? Does that mean you called him?”
“I did. I just got off the phone. That’s why I came to find you. I wanted to talk to you about his offer.”
“His offer? Does he want to bribe you to stop saying things about Anthony? I’ve been watching Rawlings Industries stock numbers. The company’s taken a hit.”
“Is that really what we want?”
Emily shook her head. “I don’t know. I want him to suffer.”
“You do realize that it’s not just him: there are the thousands and thousands of employees, and more importantly, there’s Claire and Nichol.”
“What are you saying?”
John continued, “Tim offered me a job.”
Emily’s eyes opened wide as she studied her husband. “You’re serious, aren’t you? You said you’d never work for Anthony. You said you wouldn’t even work for one of his subsidiaries, no matter how far down the food chain.”
Shrugging, he continued, “I didn’t say yes, but I didn’t say no. The thing is that he approached it from the standpoint of helping Claire and Nichol. Rawlings Industries is Nichol’s legacy. There’s no doubt that I hate Anthony Rawlings, but you have to admit that when it comes to financial support of Claire, her medical bills, treatment, anything, he’s offered unlimited funds. The same can be said about Nichol’s care. I know the money for her is in a trust, but helping to rebuild Rawlings Industries would assure their financial future. Hell, I can’t even get Claire to make eye contact with me. This is something I could do, and as a bonus, I’d live in Iowa with you, Michael, and Nichol. This traveling back and forth to Palo Alto is getting old.”
“What about SiJo?”
“I feel bad about leaving Amber, but I suspect she’d understand. I started a new position at SiJo and got it up and running. She could definitely get someone else with more experience in gaming. Really, since everything went down here, my heart hasn’t been in it.”
Emily laid her head back and grinned. “Oh, did you feel that kick?”
John chuckled. “I’m thinking soccer or football player.”
“I’m thinking no,” she giggled. “What about Nichol?”
“What about Nichol? Are you kidding? She’s got the world on a string.”
“You know what I want for both of the children?” Emily asked.
“What?”
“I want them to be happy and normal. None of this vendetta crap. None of the hatred that’s consumed too many lives. I just want them to be kids.”
John sighed. “Maybe working for Rawlings is the first step.”
“It sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.”
“I really haven’t. I’m going to meet with Tim and discuss it further.”
“When?”
“We’re going to meet for lunch tomorrow. I fly back to Palo Alto on Sunday,” John added wearily.
“I’m taking Nichol to Everwood tomorrow,” Emily said. “Doctor Brown believes that if we have Claire in a more home-like environment with Nichol, it could help to trigger some memories.”