give some extra attention to that ward. Blaze, what do you want me to focus on?”
“I think the social activities of the Hollisters. We’re already into the law firm, but this could have its origins in some social situation.”
“I’m on it.”
Blaze looked around at everyone. “Okay. Let’s get to work.”
* * * *
Peyton was still tired, having slept fitfully, her dreams constantly disturbed by erotic images of the man she’d met the day before. How was it that Blaze Hamilton was the sudden star of unexpected erotic dreams? Each time she dozed off again, there he was, big as life, filling her dreams, his smile sending flashes of heat through her.
She finally decided to give up any attempt at sleep and got out of bed. For a while she tried working on the edits for her latest book, but her brain just didn’t want to connect with it. With a sigh, she sent texts to both her publisher and agent, explaining the details of her family emergency and telling them her head was just not in it until she could resolve the situation. Within minutes she had a phone call from her agent and a text from her publisher telling her to take care of family first. They’d just move the release date back and to let them know if there was anything they could do. She felt very blessed to have people like that in her life.
Closing her laptop, she headed to the shower. She’d just get to the hospital earlier than usual, bringing coffee and snacks full of sugar and fat. She hadn’t wanted to take the time for a real meal in a week, but she didn’t have time to worry now about what she was doing to her body.
* * * *
As she always did when she arrived, she reached for Brianne’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. She hoped each time there’d be a response, but so far nothing. She brushed Brianne’s hair back from her face and rearranged the worn pink plush elephant lying next to her. Petal had been with her sister since her emergency appendectomy years ago. It had gone everywhere with her—college, work, into her marriage. The only time Peyton had been in the Hollister house was the day after she’d arrived, when she’d gone to retrieve Petal, hoping it would somehow reach her sister. She’d found it sitting on her dresser and had to swallow back a hysterical laugh as she wondered how Dane had liked having a threesome with the stuffed elephant.
Giving Brianne’s hand one more light squeeze, she dropped into the chair beside the bed, opened her coffee, bit off and chewed a mouthful of blueberry muffin and began her usual monologue to a silent Brianne. She liked to think that reminding her sister of their childhood, their parents—taken from them much too early—old boyfriends, Brianne and Dane’s wedding, would help to reawaken her brain. She’d been doing it in bits and pieces, but today she pulled everything she could think of out of her head.
The morning moved along and she never stopped talking. Her voice grew hoarse, but her sister never moved, never responded, never opened her eyes. From time to time, she glanced at the picture she’d found at Brianne’s house, a double frame with pictures of her sister and Dane. She’d hoped maybe somehow it could send silent signals, even as she realized how foolish that was. There was so much love shining from them that she had to work hard not to burst into tears.
Peyton finished her third bottle of water since lunch and threw the empty into the wastebasket. She sat back in the chair, trying to force herself to relax. Anguish was her constant companion. How long could a human being remain in a coma before reaching the point of no return? She’d spent the first two days at the hospital researching everything she could find online. She’d learned comas could last from days to years and there was no way to predict them. Some articles said there was some evidence that people could hear and understand words spoken to them—one of the reasons she talked until her voice was hoarse.
She’d also read somewhere that a person could transfer anxiety to a patient. She had no idea if that was true, but she wasn’t taking any chances.
She wanted to rail against the situation, to curse loudly and beat the wall with her fists. How the hell had this happened? Dane and