“Yeah, something like that,” she said with a grin. He was a dreamboat with close-cropped blond hair and mischievous blue eyes. Too bad he was also ten years younger than her. “You’re easy enough on the eyes, I guess.”

He hooted. “Such flattery! It’s going straight to my head. I’ll take Miss Congeniality back to her room,” he told Jeffrey.

“See you tomorrow, Clare,” Jeffrey said.

“Can’t wait.”

“You’ve been doing so well,” Dr. Langston said as they rolled along the corridor. “The nurses tell me you’re showering and dressing on your own and relying on them less every day.” He stopped next to a bench in the hallway and sat to bring himself to her eye level. “I thought you were busting to get out of here. What gives?”

She shrugged.

“Is it what’s waiting for you at home?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you mean what’s not waiting for me?”

“Have you talked to Dr. Baker about it?” he asked, referring to Clare’s psychiatrist.

“Here and there, but we’ve been more focused on the attack and all that. I haven’t wanted to talk about the untimely demise of my marriage. I’m just a bundle of unresolved issues,” she said with the good-natured grin that had made her a favorite among the medical team that had cared for her over the last four months.

“I think we should set a date.” Dr. Langston folded his arms over his white coat. “Two weeks from today?”

“Are you sure? That’s awfully soon.”

“Your daughters are waiting for you. Don’t you want to get home to them?”

“They’re happy living with their father right now.”

“They’ll be thrilled to have you home again. They’ve waited a long time.”

“I’m sure they’re more than used to being without me. How do I get back three years with them?” She bit back the urge to weep.

“You can’t. All you can do is go forward from here. I’m going to be honest with you, Clare. None of us imagined you’d get this far. You’ve defied the odds. Don’t let yourself down by giving up now.”

She smiled. “You’re tossing me out, huh?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“You’ve all been so great. I’ll miss you.”

He got up from the bench. “Nah, you’ll be too busy enjoying your fabulous new life to give us a thought.”

“Somehow I doubt that.” She twisted her hands in her lap. The idea of going home filled her with apprehension.

He squatted down so she could see him. “Talk to Dr. Baker. Tell him how you feel about going home. Let him help you.”

“I will. Thanks, Paul.”

An item in the Newport Daily News caught Clare’s eye the next day:

Prominent City Architect Welcomes Double Delivery