Free Listed: Volume III by Noelle Adams Page B

aren’t good with him.”
    Paul
swallowed. “Of course not. You should do what you can to clear things up with
him.”
    “Yeah.
I’ll do what I can, but he doesn’t like it when I defend you.”
    “You
don’t have to defend me,” Paul said, very slowly.
    Even
in the dark, Emily’s expression was transparently outraged. “Of course, I have
to defend you! Damn it, Paul, whose side do you think I’m on?”
    He
just stared at her.
    Emily’s
face changed as she gazed at him. “Oh, Paul, did you really think…” She scooted
over and nestled against his side with one arm draped over his belly, which was
evidently her favorite position. “Of course I’m on your side,” she breathed,
pressing a little kiss on his chest.
    He
tightened one arm around her and used his other hand to stroke her hair. He
didn’t say anything. Didn’t feel capable of saying anything.
    His
heart was still beating too fast, but he tried to slow his breathing, tried to
relax his body. The week and a half of the trial had taken too much out of him,
and if he didn’t sleep he was just going to drop.
    He
thought about his father. And, for once, it didn’t hurt so much he couldn’t
breathe. Maybe he could get some sort of closure.  Maybe he could somehow move
on. Maybe his father didn’t have to haunt his steps for the rest of his life.
    At
least there was hope.
    Emily
must have been exhausted too, since she was asleep in less than ten minutes. She
still clung to him in her sleep, and her warm presence and slow, steady
breathing helped him to relax too.
    She
was dying, but she had an extra month that they hadn't known she had. Maybe
there was a cure for her.
    At
least there was hope.
    Paul
didn’t know how he would have gotten through this trial without her.
    Then
he had one more thought before he fell into unbroken sleep.
    He
couldn’t remember the last time someone had been on his side.
    ***
    Paul woke up early the
following morning.
    He
immediately knew something was strange—maybe wrong—although it took him a
minute to figure out what it was.
    He
finally realized that Emily wasn’t draped all over him the way she normally was
when he woke up. Paul's body felt cool, and none of his limbs had lost
circulation. When he turned his head, he saw that she was huddled up on the
opposite side of the bed, facing away from him.
    Her
position and lack of cuddling was so unusual that he thought initially she
might have a fever, so he reached across the bed and gently turned her over
onto her back. She was asleep, and she moaned softly at his disruption of her
slumbers. She didn’t wake up, though. When he felt her forehead, she wasn’t
unusually hot.
    Relieved
she wasn’t sick, Paul left her alone to sleep and went to work out for an hour.
He’d been working out more than usual lately, since he had a lot of physical
frustration to channel, and he worked himself particularly hard this morning.
He was hot, sweaty, and tired when he returned to his bedroom an hour later to
take a shower.
    It
wasn’t even six in the morning, and Emily was still sleeping—huddled up in a
ball again on the edge of the bed.
    Once
he’d showered and dressed, Paul got some coffee and went into his office to
work. He had a mountain of email to get through, since he’d gotten behind
because of the trial.
    While
normally that would be considered a good excuse, he knew he was still in a probationary
period with the board, and he wasn’t going to ask or expect any sort of
leniency because of his personal situation.
    He
was so absorbed in clearing his inbox that he lost track of time. When the
phone rang, he glanced at the clock and was surprised that it was already after
ten in the morning.
    As
he reached over to pick it up, he wondered when Emily had gotten up and why she
hadn’t stopped by to say good-morning to him.
    “Mr.
Marino,” a voice greeted on the other end of the line, “It’s Dr. Franklin
calling. I hope it’s not too early for a