Chapter 17

After getting caught in the rain, Clarence came down with a fever that night. Nick hurried from store to store, trying to find something to bring his temperature down. Half-delirious, Clarence kept calling Laura's name. He remembered how she used to drop all her work and stay up with him through the night when he'd gotten sick in the past. She would spend hours making chicken broth for him. Never too rich, it had always been delicately scented, like a bit of calm in a bowl. But Michelle's chicken broth was thick with grease, and the smell alone made him restless and irritable. When Clarence finally came to, he found himself alone in the vast presidential suite. Dazed, he raised a hand to block the harsh glare of the ceiling lights. For the first time in his life, he regretted not cherishing what he'd had four years ago. The cold hit him hard. Burning with a low-grade fever, he ignored Nick's protests and hailed a cab to the research facility where Laura worked. This time, he didn