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Now Steve was out of her life and she’d lost her baby, too

Moisture ran down the side of her face, but when she tried to lift her hand, she found she hadn’t the strength

A sob came, wrenched from her soul There would be no more children for her She was destined to live alone for the rest of her life

"Nurse, do soreat distance, and she tossed her head to and fro in an effort to discover the source She saw no one in the fog No one

Oncesense of loneliness overtook her and she was alone Whoever had been there had left her to find her oay through the darkness

More sobs ca sound all around her

Then she felt soentle, press over her abdoht of it was a comfort she couldn’t describe

"Your baby’s alive," the voice told her "Can you feel hi to live and so are you I"

It was a voice of authority, a voice of a man who spoke with confidence; a voice feould question

A faain and Carol wanted to shout for it to stop She stuht, but it was shut off from her, and she found herself trapped in a black void, defenseless and lost She didn’t know if she would ever have the strength to escape it

A persistent squeak interrupted Carol’s sleep A wheel far off in the distance was badly in need of oil The irritating ruckus grew louder until Carol decided it would be useless to try to ignore it any longer

She opened her eyes to discover Steve’s sister standing over her

"Lindy?"

"Carol, oh, Carol, you’re awake"

"Shouldn’t I be?" she asked Her former sister-in-law looked as if she were about to burst into tears

"I can’t believe it We’ve been so worried… No one thought you were going to make it" Lindy cupped her hands over her mouth and nose "We nearly lost you, Carol Kyle!"

"You did?" This was news to her She had little memory The dreadful pain had returned – she remembered that And then she’d been trapped in that marsh, lost and confused, but it hadn’t felt so bad She had been hot – so terribly hot – she recalled, but there were pleasant memories there, too Someone had called out to her from there, assured her She couldn’t place what the voice had said, but she reled to walk toward the sound of it The voice hadn’t always been co Carol recalled how one ti She hadn’t wanted to obey it then and had tried to escape, but the voice had followed her relentlessly, refusing to leave her alone

"How do you feel?"

"Like I’ve been asleep for a week"

"Make that two"

"Two?" Carol echoed, shocked "That long?"

"All right, alency surgery and then everything that could go wrong did Oh, Carol, you nearly died"

"My baby’s okay, isn’t she?" From somewhere deep inside her heart came the reassurance that whatever else had happened, the child had survived Carol vividly re her so

"Your baby is one hell of a little fighter"

Carol smiled "Good"

Lindy moved a chair closer to the bed and sat down "The doctor said he felt you’d come out of it today You ht"

"What time is it now?"

Lindy checked her watch "About 9:00 am"

Already her eyes felt incredibly heavy "I think I could sleep some more"

"As well you should"

Carol tried to sar Ray Kyle"

"Go ahead and get some rest I’ll be here when you wake up"

Already Carol felt herself drifting off, but it was a pleasant sensation The war embrace

When she stirred a second ti

"Is this a vigil or so "Every time I wake up, you’re here"

"I wanted to be sure you were really co out of it," Lindy told her

"I feel much better"

"You look much better"