Dawn's Light

  “I can see why you’re interested in Mark,” he said. “He’s a strong guy. You’re right. He can do anything. But Deni, he’s not right for you.”

  She smiled and sat back down. “Funny, he said the same thing about you a few months ago.”

  Craig stooped down in front of her. “He was right. The timing was wrong for us. But it’s the right time now, Deni.”

  What was he doing? On his knees in front of her. She tried to pull him up. “Craig . . .”

  “No, don’t.” He set his fingertips over her lips, silencing her. “Please, just let me talk. My life these last few months has been miserable without you. I’ve had this gnawing in my gut like I’d had an organ removed or something. I can’t stand the thought of living without you, and I know I can make you happy. I can give you everything you want.”

  “What are you doing?”

  He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the ring she’d worn for almost a year.

  She sat up, rigid. “My ring . . .”

  His eyes filled with tears, and her heart softened. She remembered all the hopes she’d had for them, all the plans they’d made together. How excited she’d been, how honored, for him to want her for his wife.

  “Listen to me, Deni. I want you to put this ring back on your finger, and I want us to set another date. I want to spend my life with you. Please don’t say no.”

  Deni touched the ring, remembering all the pleasure it had brought her, all those months ago.

  Suddenly, Beth’s monitor began to beep. Deni sprang out of her chair, knocking the ring out of his hand.

  Beth’s face was pink, warm. Deni caught her breath as her eyes moved under the lids. “Beth!”

  Beth opened her eyes and looked right at her. “Don’t do it, Deni.”

  Beth had spoken! Deni’s heart almost stopped, and she bent over her sister, tears rushing to her eyes, her nose. “Oh, sweetie!”

  Her sister’s eyes closed again as two nurses ran in. “What happened?”

  “She woke up!” Deni cried. “She woke up and spoke to me!”

  The nurse went to her bed and patted her cheek. “Beth? Beth, can you hear me?”

  The other nurse was listening to her heart. “Heart rate has gone back up. Blood pressure is normal.”

  Deni swung around. “Craig, go get my parents. Hurry!”

  “I’m on my way,” he said, and ran for the door.

  EIGHTY-EIGHT

  THE POUNDING ON HER BEDROOM DOOR FRIGHTENED Kay from a deep sleep, and she bolted up. “Who is it?” She reached for the lamp and flicked it on as the door flew open.

  Craig burst in. “Come to the hospital,” he said, breathless. “Beth woke up.”

  Kay couldn’t speak. He was supposed to be in Washington. Had she heard him right?

  “Are you serious?” Doug launched out of bed and grabbed his pants.

  “Yes. She opened her eyes and spoke. Deni sent me to get you.”

  Finally, reality penetrated her fog. Kay grabbed her robe. “She was aware? She spoke?”

  The dim lamp light only deepened the shadows on Craig’s face. “I only heard four words before I left, but yeah, she spoke.”

  Kay turned on the overhead light so she could look into his tired face. “Four words. What were they?”

  Craig hesitated a moment. “She said, ‘Don’t do it, Deni.’ ”

  Kay just stared at him. “Don’t do what?”

  He shrugged, looked at the floor. “It doesn’t matter. The important thing is that she recognized her sister.”

  “Oh, Craig!” She threw her arms around him, almost knocking him back. “The drugs — you got them back already?”

  “Yes. They gave them to her an hour or so ago.”

  Kay’s arms came up in a show of victory. “That’s why she woke up! Craig, how can we ever thank you?”

  He gave her a lopsided grin. “You’ll think of something.”

  She knew he referred to Deni. There wasn’t time to think about that now. She looked around for something to wear. She hadn’t done laundry in days. Grabbing up the clothes she’d taken off last night, she turned back to Craig. “We’ll be ready in two minutes.”

  The door closed, and she ran toward her closet. Doug ran into her, and they both laughed. “She’s awake!” Kay cried.

  Doug picked her up and kissed her neck. “Hurry now!”

  She threw on her clothes and grabbed her shoes. Doug was already out the door as she hurried through the house. She ran halfway up the stairs and called Logan and Jeff. “Beth woke up! Hurry, guys! Put on some clothes. Let’s go.”

  The sleepy boys almost tumbled down the stairs, and they all piled into Craig’s car. Kay wept all the way to the hospital, thanking God for this answer to prayer.

  EIGHTY-NINE

  BECAUSE HER SITUATION HAD BEEN SO DIRE AND THE NEWS was so good, the staff of the ICU allowed the whole family to come into Beth’s room. Kay wrestled on her scrubs, thrusting her leg into the wrong hole. Frustrated, she pulled them off and tried again.

  As the guys finished getting suited up, she flew into Beth’s cubicle. Deni was bent low over Beth, talking softly to her.

  “Is she still awake?” Kay asked.

  Deni looked up, her eyes tired, but bright with hope. “No, Mom. She’s out again.”

  “But she woke up? She recognized you?”

  “Only for a second. But her blood pressure is stable now, and you can see the color in her face.”

  Kay touched Beth’s face. “Oh, why wasn’t I here?” Gently, she shook her. “Honey, can you hear me? Can you wake up? Please. Mom really wants to see that you’re all right.”

  There was nothing.

  “Sorry, Mom. I tried to keep her awake.”

  Kay fought her disappointment. “That’s okay. If she woke up once, she’ll do it again. The steroids obviously helped. We just have to be patient.”

  Doug swept past her to Beth’s side. “Oh no. She’s out again.” He straightened and looked at Deni. “Tell me what happened. Don’t leave anything out.”

  Logan and Jeff came in, and Deni looked past them to the door. “Where’s Craig?”

  “In the waiting room. He thought it would be too crowded.”

  Deni swallowed. “It was weird. Craig and I were talking . . . about us. And then he pulled out the ring and proposed again. And all of a sudden Beth said, ‘Don’t do it, Deni.’ ”

  Logan laughed. “Way to go, sis!”

  Kay threw her hands over her mouth and laughed. Doug kissed Beth’s pink cheek. “That’s my girl.”

  “That’s it?” Jeff asked. “That’s all she said?”

  “That’s it,” Deni told them. “And then her eyes just fluttered shut again. But, Mom, Dad, she can hear us. I know she can. I’ve been talking to her ever since.”

  Logan came to the bed and shook his sister’s arm. “Come on, Beth. We know you’re faking now.”

  Kay set her hand on his shoulder. “She’s not faking, honey.”

  Logan winked at her. He was trying to provoke an argument. If only that would work.

  When there was no response, he tried again. “Jimmy has been up here to see you. He’s about to give up on you if you don’t hurry. He’s sick of hospitals because of his dad and all.”

  Beth lay still and silent.

  Hours went by, and they couldn’t rouse her again. Finally, the nurses sent all but two of them out of the room. Kay and Doug kept talking to her, caressing her, but she didn’t come to again.

  Disappointed, Kay finally went to the waiting room and rounded up her family. “I’ll stay with her. You guys go on home.”

  Deni refused. “No, Mom. I wanted you to rest. I’ll stay with her.”

  “You couldn’t force me to leave right now, Deni. I want to be here the next time she wakes up. Besides, I got several hours of sleep.” She pointed to the window. “It’s morning.”

  Deni looked surprised that daylight had broken. “What about Dad?”

  “H
e’s staying too. We’ve waited too long for this. We can feel a breakthrough coming.”

  NINETY

  MORNING SUN BLASTED DOWN ON TUNGSTEN ROAD AS Craig drove them home, stinging his tired eyes. He wished he could take time to sleep, but he had to go back to the office. There wasn’t time for a day off.

  Fatigue intensified his depression, magnifying the import of what Beth had said. He’d wanted her to wake up. That had been his goal in driving through the night to get the drugs. But he hadn’t expected her to shoot him down. Not when he’d been on his knees proposing.

  He was quiet as he drove, oblivious to the conversation between Deni’s brothers in the backseat. Deni sat next to him, her head back against the seat, eyes closed. She was as exhausted as he. He wondered if she turned those words over in her head too, or if she’d dismissed them as disoriented muttering. He had to know.

  Deni’s eyes came back open as he pulled into her driveway. Wearily, she got out of the car and followed her brothers to the door. When they got inside, Logan and Jeff went upstairs.

  Deni turned back to him. “Thanks for everything you did last night, Craig. Looks like it made a huge difference.”

  Not with you and me, he thought. It made no difference at all. If she’d wanted to marry him, she would have picked up the conversation. Her silence said more than he wanted to hear.

  But he wouldn’t be dismissed that way. He slid his hands into his pockets. “Deni, can we talk about what happened?”

  She turned back to him, and it was clear she knew what he meant. “Craig, I’m really tired. Let’s talk later.”

  That chafed him. “I’m tired too, Deni. I don’t think I’ve slept in days. I got the power turned back on, for Pete’s sake. I drove to Washington and back.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean — ”

  “I had just proposed to you and offered you your ring back. I don’t deserve to have that left hanging.”

  Deni lowered to the couch. “I’m sorry about the timing, Craig. I don’t know what to say.”

  He breathed out a laugh. “Well, I guess that says it all.”

  Her eyes at least looked sad. “I don’t want to hurt you. I really don’t. I care a lot about you.”

  He let out a long, rugged sigh, and dropped into Doug’s favorite chair. Rejection had a taste, he thought. Its bitterness brought a sting to his eyes.

  “Has Mark even asked you to marry him?”

  She looked at the floor. “Not in so many words. Things have been crazy lately.”

  He wanted to follow that trail, to make her think Mark had no intentions of asking. But he knew better than that, and so did she. He thought back over their time in the hospital, when she’d been so happy about the medication he’d gotten. When he’d offered her the ring, he’d seen the pleasure in her eyes. He’d had her in the palm of his hand. She might have said yes. But then Beth woke up.

  He breathed a laugh. “Well, I’ve got to say this for your sister. She has perfect timing. She never has liked me.”

  Deni met his eyes. “That’s not true. When we first got engaged, she adored you.”

  “She likes Mark better. She’s rooting for him, even from a coma.”

  Irritation hardened her eyes. “Craig, be happy for Beth. This isn’t about you.”

  Now he felt like a heel. “I know it’s not. I didn’t mean it was. You know I’ve prayed for her and I’ve done what I could.”

  “I do know that. We owe you a lot. We’re going to get her back.”

  Maybe Mark had it right. It was no good proposing now, when Deni’s every thought centered around Beth, and every conversation drifted back to her.

  He stood and looked down at her, waiting for something she couldn’t give him. He put his hand in his pocket, felt the ring, and slipped it onto his pinkie finger, wishing he’d been the kind of man to keep a woman like her happy. Then she would never have taken it off to begin with.

  He rubbed his neck. “Guess I’d better head back to work.”

  “You can’t sleep for even an hour?”

  He shrugged. “I might find a place in the office to nap later on today. It’ll be okay. Someone will have made coffee.”

  She got up and came toward him, then hugged him. He held her a moment too long, hating himself for seeming desperate. Then she kissed him on the cheek.

  The platonic nature of it sliced like a knife through his heart. He let her go, and she went upstairs, leaving him to wonder why he was still here.

  NINETY-ONE

  DENI WENT TO HER ROOM AND CLOSED THE DOOR. WEARILY, she lay on the bed fully clothed, staring up at the ceiling. The events of the night had been so confusing. Her heart had begun to soften toward Craig as he reminded her of their beginning.

  But had God used Beth to speak to her?

  With one foot in heaven and another on earth, did she have some special insight?

  Deni tried to see things through Beth’s eyes. Of course Beth wanted her to marry Mark. He was the one Beth loved, who’d given her a special nickname, who brought her unique gifts that he’d made with his own hands. He was the one who helped her with props for her plays and made her feel like a star. He was the one who treated her like a friend, not the little sister of his girlfriend.

  Deni had no doubt that Beth’s “Don’t do it, Deni,” had everything to do with Craig’s proposal. She smiled.

  She tried to imagine marriage to Craig. They’d live in the fast lane, no doubt about it. His work on the recovery team was a huge step in his career. If she stuck with him, she would rise to the top of her own career in no time. By the time she was thirty, the two of them would be known and respected for the power couple they would be.

  Life with Mark would be so different. If she stayed with him, she would live here in Crockett and work for the paper. He’d start his solar business, and she’d help him with that. She would raise children and stay close to her family.

  Why did that sound better than what Craig could give her?

  She heard a chime and sat up, wondering where it had come from. It rang again. Smiling, she realized it was the front doorbell. She hadn’t heard it since the electricity had come back on.

  Hoping it was more news of Beth, she went downstairs. Through the etched glass, she saw Mark on the front porch.

  She flung the door open. “Mark, did you hear?”

  “Yeah, I just went by the hospital,” he said, throwing his arms around her. “Your mom told me. It’s gonna be all right now, Deni. This is the beginning of her healing.”

  Something about his arms cut through her fatigue. She buried her face against his neck and breathed in his scent. “Are you as tired as I am?”

  “Probably not. Come sit with me.” He pulled her to the couch, dropped down at one end. She sat down and snuggled up in his arms, resting her head on his shoulder.

  “Your mother also told me what happened with you and Craig.”

  She straightened and looked at him. “It’s no big deal, Mark. Please don’t worry about that.” But the fragile look on his stubbled face broke her heart.

  “So Craig offered you the ring back. I figured that was inevitable.”

  “I didn’t take it.”

  “My understanding was that you got interrupted.”

  She smiled. “Yeah, interrupted by my sister who was in a coma. If that wasn’t a message from God, I don’t know what was.”

  He stroked her hair back from her face. “Did you need a message?”

  The vulnerability on his face overrode her irritation. “You know I didn’t.”

  “Well, he didn’t just let the conversation drop after that, did he? You two came home together. He had to have brought it back up.”

  “He did,” she whispered.

  His gaze bored into hers. “And what did you say?”

  “I kind of evaded the whole conversation.”

  His countenance fell. “So you didn’t tell him no?”

  “I was too tired to have a long, drawn-out talk.”


  He tried to smile. “Like the one you’re having with me?”

  “I like having long, drawn-out conversations with you. Anytime, anywhere.” She kissed him, sliding her hand down the stubble on his face, to the dip of his neck. Her heart melted as she felt his racing pulse. “He got the message, Mark.”

  The concern left his face as he pulled her head back to his shoulder. She got comfortable in his arms and dozed into a gentle sleep.

  MARK HELD DENI AS SHE SLEPT, THANKING GOD FOR THE PRIVILEGE of knowing her. He tried to focus on Beth’s victory, rather than his own pain. Deni had been through a lot lately, and she probably hadn’t slept well in weeks. Craig’s pressure on her had come after he’d driven to Washington for Beth’s medication. That act, Mark had to admit, was sacrificial and heroic. If he’d been Craig, he would have taken the same opportunity.

  As she slept, her head under his, he prayed. I promise I’ll make her happy, Lord. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying.

  He’d been in love with her since high school, though she never knew it. Back then she’d seemed out of his league, so he’d masqueraded as her friend. When she went off to college, he forced himself to move on. But a year ago, when he saw her again, it had all come rushing back.

  Of course he’d dated in the last few years, but there was no one else who played a starring role in his dreams. No one else.

  Please, God.

  After a while, he realized she was sound asleep. He loved the sound of her breathing. He could listen to it every night for the rest of his life and count himself privileged.

  “I love you, Deni,” he whispered, knowing she didn’t hear. “You know Beth was right.” He laid his head back, and drifted into his own shallow sleep.

  NINETY-TWO

  DOUG’S HOPES PLUNGED WHEN, BY AFTERNOON, BETH hadn’t awakened again. The steroids weren’t helping. And when her blood pressure dropped to 60/40 and her breathing became uneven, Dr. Overton made the decision to put her back on the ventilator.