Read Saving Abby for Free Online Page B

be a little something in there for you as well,” she said with a smile.
    “You’re like my very own fairy godmother.” Josh winked at Kat before heading out with his sleepy wife.
    Abigail held the door for him and then opened their car door as well. “I’ll see you when I get back from my course, okay, Claire? Josh is going to bring you in to the clinic, and we’ll see why you’re so tired.”
    “No need to fuss over me. I just need a few hundred hours of uninterrupted sleep,” Claire murmured.
    Josh closed the door and turned to Abby.
    “She’ll be fine,” Abigail said. She put her hand on his arm. “But keep an eye on her, okay?”
    Josh’s lips tightened. “I want to believe you, Abby, I really do. But I don’t like this.”
    Abigail nodded. “Then take her in tomorrow to see Dr. Will. She’s probably just anemic again.” Abigail shook her head. “She has a habit of not taking her iron pills, in case you haven’t noticed.”
    Josh frowned. It had to be more than anemia. He’d seen that in her before. “I hope that’s all it is.”
    Through the duration of the car ride and Josh carrying her into the house and up the stairs, Claire slept. It wasn’t until he laid her on the bed and started to undress her that she woke up and almost kicked him in the face.
    “Whoa.” Josh backed away, his hands held up. “I’m just helping you get into bed.”
    Claire pushed herself up on the bed and swerved as if drunk. “When did we get home?” she asked.
    “Just now.”
    She winced and then rubbed the back of her head. “My head really hurts,” she said.
    Josh took a sudden interest in the carpet. “Yeah, I, uh, might have knocked your head against the wall coming up the stairs. Sorry.”
    Claire lay back down. “No, my head really hurts. It feels like it’s going to explode.” And then she groaned.
    Josh reached for the bottle of pills Claire had been keeping by the bed and poured two into his palm. “Here, take these.” He helped her sit up again and handed her a bottle of water.
    “Don’t make me move again, Josh. Please,” Claire said, her voice gravelly with agony.
    “Honey, you can’t sleep like that on top of the bed. Let me get your pants off at least and get you under the covers, okay? And then you can go back to sleep. The headache will be gone soon.” Please, God, let it be gone soon.
    As she slept, Josh watched over her, his laptop open, unable to sleep. He watched Claire’s face, the way her eyes would squeeze tighter, how her jaw would clench periodically. He waited, counting the minutes until the drugs finally kicked in. It took almost an hour.
    Once Claire breathed a sigh of relief in her sleep, Josh relaxed, put away the laptop, and snuggled up to her, resting his forearm on her stomach, needing to be close, to feel her warmth beneath his hand.

    The week dragged on. Claire continued to have daily headaches, but she refused to go in for a checkup until Abby was back from her course. Josh’s frustration grew. He didn’t understand her reluctance to be seen by a doctor.
    He wanted to believe she was pregnant, that this fatigue was a result of early-stage pregnancy hormones. But nothing he’d read online confirmed that for him. If she were pregnant, she’d be nauseated, experiencing morning sickness, her skin would be sensitive, and she’d be craving salt. At least he thought it was salt. But she wasn’t showing any of those signs.
    And it wasn’t just lethargy. She had lost her appetite and suffered a near-constant headache that seemed to get worse each day.
    Claire thought her body was just taking its time readjusting to being in their home time zone. But this wasn’t normal. Never, after any of their previous trips, had jet lag hit her as hard as this. Besides, her body would have adjusted by now.
    The first few weeks back had been okay. She’d had a few extra naps and had been sleeping in past the alarm, but Claire had had no trouble running out for errands or a