by Harry Kraus
“Do?” She leaned forward. “You’re such a doctor. You want to fix everything.”
Claire held up her hands. Surrender.
“This isn’t something you fix.”
“I sleep with a loaded gun by my bed.” She decided not to mention the three locks on her bedroom door and the pepper spray. She looked into Ginny’s face. “My mom says I’m trying to protect myself against the future.”
Ginny leaned back and crossed her legs. “Is she right?”
Just like a counselor. Answer a question with a question. “I have nightmares about the rape attempt,” she said, shrugging.
Ginny nodded and didn’t speak.
“Okay, maybe she’s right. I know no one’s after me, so maybe my fears represent something else.”
“You’re good at looking strong, Claire. In fact, I think you’re a very strong woman.”
“But.”
“But you’re human. Women who’ve been victims of sexual assault often benefit from talking things out.”
“Two against one. No fair.”
Ginny looked puzzled.
Claire explained, “My mother said the same thing. I don’t suppose you do that kind of counseling too?”
“Outside my league, kiddo. I can make a referral if you’d like.”
She sighed. “I’ll think about it.”
Ginny pulled the yellow pencil from its resting place. From Claire’s angle, it looked like she pulled it straight out of her brain. The effect was chilling.
The counselor tapped the pencil against her lap. “Wally is dying.” She paused, perhaps to be sure the words had a chance to penetrate. “Now begins the final chapter in your relationship to your father. Avoiding him now is losing something you’ll never regain.”
“Maybe you don’t get it. Wally can’t walk anymore. He can barely swallow. His arms and legs swim over the sheets like a drowning man. He can’t get to the bathroom, so he pees in his diaper. The constant movements keep him in a stinky sweat. I get nauseated just going in the room.” She hesitated, locking her eyes on Ginny’s. “And all I can see is me in his place.”
“I know, Claire. It must be horrible.”
“It’s worse than that. I hope somebody puts me out of my misery long before I look like my father.”
Ginny nodded with understanding and spent a moment with her hands folded in her lap before speaking. “May I make a suggestion?”
Claire tilted her head. “Find a silver lining.”
“Am I that predictable?” Ginny laughed.
She grinned. “Maybe.”
“Tap some of that Claire McCall optimism. Make every visit with your father a reminder to live today to the fullest, not an excuse to dread the future.”
The thought resonated with her. She wanted to do that, longed to do it, in fact. She and her father had been too far down a healing road to let her own fear spoil her final months with Wally.
She looked up at Ginny. “It’s a plan.”
Claire hugged her counselor and walked down the hall wondering how all the talk was supposed to equip her for the future.
I’m engaged to marry John Cerelli. I should be delirious with joy. So why do I doubt I’ll ever walk the aisle for him?
All I’ll Ever Need
Harry Kraus, MD,
Bestselling Author of
Could I Have This Dance?
The grueling past months finally seem about to blossom into a happy future together for Dr. Claire McCall and her fiancé, John Cerelli. But their wedding plans are interrupted by circumstances so devastating they threaten everything Claire holds dear: her medical career, her relationship with John, and quite possibly her freedom.
Working through the turmoil caused by a near rape, Claire has sought a counselor to help her untangle her emotions. What the counselor uncovers is shattering, but things are about to get worse. The man who assaulted her escapes from jail —and then, to top it off, Claire is accused of euthanizing a terminally ill patient.
But the next death is the one that could shake Claire’s world to its foundation.
How can so much be happening so fast—unless someone is choreographing this lethal nightmare? In this exciting sequel to Could I Have This Dance? and For the Rest of My Life, nothing may be as it seems. Not the present. And not the past.
Softcover: 0-310-27283-1
Pick up a copy today at your favorite bookstore!
You can’t dance this dance unless it’s in your blood.
Claire McCall is praying it’s not in hers.
Could I Have This Dance?
Harry Kraus, MD
Claire McCall is used to fighting back against the odds. Hard work, aptitude, and sheer determination have helped her rise from adverse circumstances to an internship in one of the nation’s most competitive surgical residencies. But talent and tenacity mean nothing in the face of the discovery that is about to rock her world.
It’s called the “Stoney Creek Curse” by folks in the small mountain town where Claire grew up. Behind the superstition where Claire grew up. Behind the superstition lies a reality that could destroy her career. But getting to the truth is far from easy in a community with secrets to hide. As a web of relationships becomes increasingly tangled, two things become apparent. One is that more than one person doesn’t want Claire to probe too deeply into the “Stoney Creek Curse.” The other is that someone has reasons other than the curse for wanting Claire out of the picture permanently.
Somewhere in the course of pursuing her career as a surgeon, Claire lost touch with the God who called her to it. Now she realizes how desperately she needs him. But can she reclaim a faith strong enough to see her through this deadly dance of circumstances?
Softcover: 0-310-24089-1
Pick up a copy today at your favorite bookstore!
Christian
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Medically reliable . . . biblically sound. That’s the rock-solid promise of this dynamic new series offered by Zondervan and the Christian Medical Association. Because when your health is at stake, you can’t settle for anything less than the whole truth.
Finally, people of faith can draw from both the knowledge of science and the wisdom of God’s Word in addressing health care and medical ethics issues. This series allows you to benefit from cutting-edge knowledge of experienced, trusted, and respected medical scientists and practitioners. Now you can gain their insights into the vital interconnection of health and spirituality—a critical unity largely overlooked by secular science.
While integrating your faith and health can actually improve your physical well-being and even extend your life, it can also help you make health care decisions consistent with your beliefs. A sound biblical analysis of emerging treatments and technologies is essential to protecting yourself from seemingly harmless—yet spiritually, ethically, or medically unsound—options.
Founded in 1931, the Christian Medical Association helps thousands of doctors minister to their patients by imitating the Great Physician, Jesus Christ. Christian Medical Association members provide a Christian voice on medical ethics to policy makers and the media . . . minister to needy patients on medical missions around the world . . . evangelize and disciple students on more than 90 percent of the nation’s medical school campuses . . . and provide educational and inspirational resources to the church.
To learn more about Christian Medical Association ministries and resources on health care and ethical issues, browse the Web site at www.christianmedicalassociation.org or call Christian Medical Association Life & Health Resources toll free at 888-231-2637.
“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well”(3 John 2 NIV).
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