“You’re right, Tony, about fighting, but you’re not right about a baby. It’s my body. If I want to have another baby, I’ll have one. I was ready to do it without you the first time. I can do it without you now.”
He seized her shoulders. “Stop it. You’re not doing anything without me. Don’t you get it? Do you have any idea how close to death you were when Nichol was born? I lived through two days of hell on earth thinking you wouldn’t survive her birth. There would’ve been no escape from the pain if you had died. Do you know who would’ve been responsible for that? Me!” His back stiffened. “I’ve been in that position more than once. I won’t do it again.”
Claire saw the man she loved with all of her heart and soul. She saw the pain and anguish and heard the same emotions in his words. Her voice calmed. “Tony, we’re not on a deserted island. We’re here, in Iowa, in the United States. I’ll have the best medical care that money can buy. I’ll be all right.”
His lips pressed together in a rigid line.
She lifted herself on her tiptoes and gently kissed his scowl. “It can’t happen right away, but I want to begin the process. Please…” She kissed him again. “…don’t say no and end this discussion. Say you’ll think about it. Say you’ll talk with the doctors. Say you’ll support the idea.”
“I so want to end this discussion.”
“Think about all we missed. Think about Nichol learning to crawl and walk. Think about her first word. Don’t close your mind to having another baby. Please don’t say no, say you’ll—”
Tony stopped her words with a kiss. “I’ll think about it, but know your safety is number one. Will you at least agree with that?”
Claire smiled. “I agree. I also think that since we know it can’t happen yet, we should practice. We got lucky with Nichol, but who knows… this baby may take a lot of trying.”
Closing his eyes, Tony shook his head. “Yes, Mrs. Rawlings, always the master negotiator.”
“Well, you know what they say about practice?”
Tony backed Claire toward the bed. Once her knees buckled, she gazed up at him. “My dear, I’ll practice as much as you desire, but I’ve told you before that I will not survive without you.” He ran his fingers through her long, dark hair, fanning it around her face. “You are my everything. All of these plans must meet the doctor’s approval. If they don’t, the answer is unequivocally no.”
Claire tilted her head and reached for his hand. “So you’d cut me off?”
His devilish grin returned as the fire from across the room reflected in his sultry gaze. “I’ve made our fortune with negotiations. I hope you don’t think I’m that easy to manipulate.”
Leaning back, Claire untied her robe and allowed it to fall from her shoulders. Scooting back on the bed, she looked up at him through her lashes and pushed out her lower lip. “That’s all right. If you don’t want to practice…”
Within seconds, Tony was crawling toward her, covering her body with his. “I didn’t say that. By all means, Mrs. Rawlings, let’s work on our technique.”
Part of the healing process is sharing with other people who care.
—Jerry Cantrell