All I'll Ever Need
Page 34
“So what am I doing behind bars? When can you get me out?”
“I’m working on that. The judge has agreed to hear evidence in his chambers tomorrow. Hopefully he’ll agree to have you released.”
Relief flooded across her soul. Claire stood up and leaned her hands against the glass. “Thank you.”
Her attorney stood and touched his hand on the glass across from hers. “Thank God,” he said. “Thank God.”
At ten the next morning, Bonnie found Claire sitting in the common room on the bolted-down couch. “Let’s go.”
She looked up, studying the smile that Bonnie couldn’t hide. “What?”
“There’s a new prisoner in a holding cell. I want you out of here before she’s introduced to the pod.”
“Nancy. They arrested her, didn’t they?”
Bonnie nodded. “Let’s go.”
“Out?”
The guard smiled. “Your attorney and Mr. Strickler met in the judge’s chambers this morning. He signed a court order to release you. Bill Fauls brought it over himself.”
Relief flooded her soul. She stopped to take a deep breath.
Suddenly Maria was in front of them, with Tamika and Trisha behind her. Maria hugged Claire. “God brought you to me. I know it, I know it,” she whispered into Claire’s hair.
Claire clasped hands with Tamika and Trish. “No offense, but I’m lookin’ forward to seeing my new roommate,” Claire said.
Tamika and Trisha laughed.
Bonnie pointed to the door with her head. “Let’s go.”
The guard led her into the chamber room and for the first time, she wasn’t handcuffed before being taken through the next door.
She was led through the hallway back to the booking area. “You’ll need to be processed out,” Bonnie said. She followed the guard into a room where a deputy sat behind a counter. It had the feel of an old dry cleaner, with a long oval of bags hanging from an overhead railing. Bonnie looked at the number on Claire’s ID. “I need eleven seventy two.”
The man nodded and entered a number on the keypad in front of him. The bags began to circulate, a slow carnival ride that lurched and brought Claire’s bag to the front. The man double-checked the number on the bag with Claire’s jail ID. He lifted the bag from the rack. It appeared larger than any other. “It’s all yours.” He pointed to a door. “Changing room’s right there.” He paused. “Whatcha got in there, a winter coat?”
Claire took the bag and pulled it open to see her wedding dress. She began pulling the wrinkled dress out of the bag and folded it into her arms. “My dress!” She frowned. “Do I have to wear this?”
Bonnie grinned. “Yep. Our uniforms aren’t for sale.”
Claire slipped into the changing room and shed the orange jumpsuit. She found her shoes in the bottom of the bag. As she dressed, she felt silly but overjoyed at the thought of freedom. She walked out and pirouetted in front of the deputies. “How do I look?”
“Come on,” Bonnie said, “I heard your husband is waiting.”
She handed the man her orange jumpsuit and foam slippers. “I won’t be needing these.”
Bonnie led her through the set of double doors leading to the lobby, where Claire scanned the crowd for John. She looked back at Bonnie, who motioned her forward. “Go on outside. You’re free.”
Claire stepped away, timidly at first, and aware of the stares of the others in the lobby. In a moment, she walked down a set of three stairs and hit the door to the street. It was there she first saw the limousine parked at the curb. John stood next to it, wearing his wedding tuxedo. “John!” She fell forward into his embrace.
After a moment, she looked around. Della, John’s parents, Margo, Kyle, and their three girls surrounded her. She hugged them all, one by one, until her own tears of joy threatened her vision. “What’s this about?”
“We have a honeymoon to attend to,” John said.
“We can’t,” she protested. “I can’t leave my family now, not after Dad — ”
“You can and you will,” Della said, ushering her toward the open door of the waiting limo. “There will be time to grieve with us later. Right now, you have other business to attend to.”
John opened the door to the limousine. “We have a plane to catch, dear.”
Margo hugged her a second time and whispered, “See you in two weeks.”
Claire couldn’t find her voice. She nodded at Margo and wiped her tears with the sleeve of her wedding gown.
A moment later, inside the limousine, she turned to see the small crowd gathered on the sidewalk as they pulled away. She watched until they rounded a corner and then leaned her head against her husband’s shoulder.
She couldn’t believe it. She was free. She was with John.
And for now, that was enough.
Could I Have This Dance?
Harry Kraus, MD
You can’t dance this dance unless
it’s in your blood.
Claire McCall is praying it’s not in hers.
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 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!
For the Rest of My Life
Harry Kraus, M D
The riveting, emotional sequel to the bestselling Could I Have This Dance?
Claire McCall, MD, is haunted by the question: Does she have the gene for Huntington’s Disease, the disease that disabled her father? This exciting sequel picks up with Claire moving This exciting sequel picks up with Claire moving back to Stoney Creek to work as a family physician and help her mother care for her disabled father. She rekindles her relationship with John Cerelli and—just before she’s going to find out if she carries the HD gene—discovers an engagement ring hidden in his car. When John fails to “pop the question” before learning the results of the test, Claire believes he is only interested in marrying her if she does not have the HD gene. She runs away from him without learning the results of the test, or the strength of his love.
Claire copes with her romantic disappointment by plunging into her work. But a brutal rapist attacks three of Claire’s patients, just as each young woman is recovering from a recent accident or surgery. When Claire has surgery for appendicitis, she herself is attacked. Only her trust in God can keep Claire safe.
Softcover: 0-310-24978-3
Pick up a copy today at your favorite bookstore!
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