Summer by the Tides

by Denise Hunter

  Please, God. Please. Not Connor. He’s so kind and selfless. He doesn’t deserve this. He’s already lost his wife, so young. And he went looking for Nora in a hurricane. And he went in my place, God.

  Maddy’s steps faltered. She should be the one lying in that bed right now.

  She blinked back tears, reading the room numbers as she got closer. She passed 112. Then 114. There it was.

  She pushed through the door, so eager to see him. Her breath caught when her eyes fell on him.

  There was a white bandage around his head. He looked as if he were merely sleeping, though the harsh lights gave him a ghostly pallor. An IV was stuck in the back of his hand, which lay curled on top of the crisp white sheet. His chest rose and fell reassuringly. His hair was disheveled and still damp from the rain.

  Dear God, how long did he lie out there in the storm?

  Her heart squeezed. “Oh, Connor.”

  She moved forward, letting the door fall shut behind her. A monitor beeped quietly. He was still alive. There was still hope.

  When she reached the bed she took his hand, finding it wonderfully warm. His golden lashes swept downward, hiding his lovely gray eyes.

  “Oh, Connor,” she whispered, running her thumb over the back of his hand. “I’m so sorry. Please wake up. Please be all right.”

  Her gaze drifted over the familiar planes of his face, over the golden scruff on his jaw and the subtle cleft that she loved so much.

  “You have to fight hard, hear me? You have to be all right. There are so many people who love you.” She swallowed against the achy lump in her throat. Tears leaked out. “Including me, Connor.”

  She gave a feeble laugh. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I was just trying to break up with you only hours ago. But I was wrong. I was just afraid, honey. I didn’t mean what I said. You just make me feel so much, and I was afraid you’d break my heart. So I went ahead and broke it myself.”

  She breathed another laugh. “I know, that sounds so stupid. It was stupid. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I was willing to throw it all away out of fear. And now I’m scared silly I’ll never get to tell you how I feel.”

  She looked at his still face, at the features that had become so familiar so quickly. A love for him welled up so strongly it nearly overwhelmed her. Along with the strength she needed to carry her through. Even if, God forbid, he never got better, she’d be here for him. She knew it with everything in her.

  She squeezed his hand, tears now coursing down her face. But her voice carried all the strength she felt inside. “I’m not going anywhere, no matter what, you hear me, Connor Sullivan? You can’t get rid of me, so don’t even try.”

  She thought she must’ve imagined the movement under her hand. She stilled, staring at his hand. She stopped breathing. Had she only imagined it? Wishful thinking?

  There it was again! She not only felt it, she saw it too. Her eyes darted to his face. She found him staring at her from beneath his sleepy lashes.

  “Connor! You’re awake.”

  His lips moved but no sounds escaped.

  “You had an accident, but you’re going to be all right.”

  His tongue darted out to wet his lips. “Must be dreaming.”

  She barely made out the low scrape of his voice. She frowned at his words. Dreaming? He was looking at her almost blankly. What if he didn’t even know who she was? Her heart gave a stutter.

  “What—what do you mean?”

  He gave a long, tired blink. “Thought I heard . . . you say you love me.”

  Oh, thank God! Her breath tumbled out. She squeezed his hand, smiling at him. “I did, honey. I do love you. And as much as I want to sit here and discuss that, we need to get a doctor in here pronto.”

  She pressed the call button, requesting help, then turned her attention back to him.

  His eyes were closed again. A frown puckered his brows. “Headache. What happened?”

  “You were out looking for Nora in the hurricane. You don’t remember?”

  He started to nod, then winced.

  “You got hit in the head with something, and a neighbor found you lying in his yard this morning.”

  His eyes opened. “Nora?”

  “She’s fine. She and Pippy both. They came home late last night. It’s almost seven in the morning now. You must’ve lain out there all night. Tara’s in the waiting room, and the rest of your family will be here as soon as they can.”

  His eyes closed again.

  The door opened, and a man entered. He looked to be thirtyish and wore a lab coat. “Well, good morning. Good to see you’re awake, Mr. Sullivan. I’m Dr. Kadambi. How are you feeling?”

  Maddy moved to the side as the doctor stepped up to the rails.

  “Head hurts.”

  “I’d be surprised if it didn’t. That was quite a hit you took.”

  He asked Connor to recite some basic information about himself, which he did successfully, much to Maddy’s relief. He seemed just fine cognitively.

  “Do you remember what happened last night?” Dr. Kadambi asked as he continued his exam.

  “I was out looking for a friend.”

  “Must be a good friend to go searching during the middle of a hurricane. What’s her name?”

  “Nora.”

  The doctor checked his pupils, nodding toward Maddy. “And who’s this young lady?”

  “Maddy.” Connor’s gaze flickered over to her, his lips twitching ever so slightly. “My girlfriend.”

  Her heart expanded in her chest. Did that ever sound nice. Her lips curled upward.

  “Are you having any symptoms other than a raging headache? Any nausea or vomiting? Ringing in the ears?”

  “No.”

  “How’s your vision?”

  Connor stared toward the muted TV for a long moment. “A little blurry.”

  “One eye or both?”

  Connor closed one eye at a time. “Just the left one, I think.”

  “That’s not unusual after a concussion. It usually clears up with plenty of rest. If it doesn’t, you’ll need to see an optometrist.”

  The doctor straightened, dropping his hands into his lab coat pockets. “Well, your vitals look good—and your tests came back normal. We did an x-ray and an MRI while you were out. We’d like to keep you for observation, though, since you were unconscious so long. They’ll probably do more assessments upstairs. I’m optimistic, though. Everything looks really good. You’re a lucky man.”

  “Blessed,” Connor corrected, his eyelids drooping. “Thanks.”

  Dr. Kadambi looked at Maddy as he went to the door. “He’s going to be pretty tired and need a lot of rest over the next several days. We’ll move him to a room as soon as we can.”

  “Thank you so much.”

  The doctor nodded with a smile and left the room.

  Maddy needed to go tell Tara the good news. His whole family must be so anxious for him. She grabbed the door.

  Hating to leave him, she paused on the threshold, giving him a lingering look. Long enough to memorize his precious features. Long enough to feel overwhelmed again by the power of her love. Long enough to breathe a prayer of gratitude. He was going to be all right. They all were.

  Chapter 39

  Tara extended a hand to Connor through the passenger-side door. “Easy does it now.”

  He scowled at Tara but took her hand anyway. “I’m not an invalid, for pity’s sake.”

  Lexie was already clearing a pathway to the front door—there was a lot of debris from the storm. After helping him from the vehicle Tara began unloading what seemed to be a month’s worth of casseroles from the back of her crossover.

  When had Tara even had time to cook anything? What, did she have ready-made meals just waiting in her freezer for such an opportunity? Probably. Good grief, they were going to drive him crazy. They’d already been hovering around his hospital bed for the past two days.

  He’d somehow managed to convince his parent
s to stay put in Florida. They hadn’t been able to get a flight anyway on account of the storm, and he sure hadn’t wanted them driving with all the flooding. He FaceTimed them yesterday from his hospital bed just to assure them he was all right.

  “Straight to the couch,” Tara said as they entered the house.

  He gritted his teeth, both against his raging headache and his bossy sister. Too bad it was too soon to take something for the pain. His left eye was still blurry, which made it hard to see. But all in all he felt like a blessed man. It could’ve been so much worse. He understood that now—his sisters had made sure of it.

  Once inside Tara disappeared into the kitchen, picking up a pair of stray socks as she went. She started making a racket with pots and pans. Lexie had run upstairs, probably getting a pile of quilts and a bedpan or something equally ridiculous.

  He picked up the remote and turned it to ESPN. At least a Braves game was on. Sunlight streamed in, making his head throb. It seemed someone had already taken the boards off his windows.

  Tara returned a few minutes later, handing him an ice pack. “On your head for twenty minutes.” She covered him with an afghan he’d never even seen, then snatched the remote from his hand and pointed it at the television. “No TV, doctor’s orders. You heard what I promised Mama. And bear in mind, if not for me, she’d be here hovering over you too.”

  He scowled. He felt like an old lady. “I see how this is going to go.”

  Tara turned a dark look on him. “You bet your sweet bippy you do. The doctor said plenty of rest, and we’re here to make sure that happens. I know you, Connor Sullivan. We leave you alone, and you’ll be out in that yard picking up debris the second we walk out the door. You need time to recover—you don’t want blurry eyes the rest of your life, do you, or some other awful affliction? Do you even know how blessed you are that it isn’t so much worse?”

  Tears. Oh, good grief, not again.

  “You could be permanently impaired or even dead right now. Your brain has had an awful trauma and needs time and rest to recover properly, and if that means we have to stand here over your stubborn self and keep watch, that’s just what’s going to happen. You hear me?”

  “All right, all right. I’ll stay put.” Women. Sheesh.

  He’d heard the doctor clearly enough. Someone was supposed to be here at all times, monitoring him for new symptoms, for at least forty-eight interminable hours. No challenging activities, physical or mental, including watching TV, reading, or messing around on the computer.

  They’d already confiscated his phone—but not before he’d called the marina. The place had fared pretty well through the storm, and he felt comfortable leaving Brandon in charge—at least there was that. And though the restaurant was closed today for cleanup, Lexie had volunteered to step into Cheryl’s place temporarily.

  Meanwhile, here he was. Connor looked around the quiet room. “What am I supposed to do if I can’t watch TV or even think too hard, for crying out loud?”

  “Sleep,” Tara said firmly. “You’re supposed to sleep. You can just lie on the cold pack.”

  “I’m not even tired.” He’d slept in the hospital, as much as he could with everyone coming and going. “I can’t just order myself to sleep, you know.”

  Tara turned out the living room light and drew the shades until the room was awash in gray shadows.

  “Nighty-night.” She disappeared into the kitchen.

  Connor sighed. The next two days were going to be very long ones. His sisters had made a schedule that assured him of a babysitter every single hour. And while they were here they’d no doubt give his house a top-to-bottom cleaning that would assure he’d never find anything again.

  The only person he really wished were here was currently at the drugstore, picking up more ibuprofen and a softer ice pack and anything else she might decide he needed. Maddy had been hovering too—but he didn’t mind that so much. In fact, he found himself craving her company.

  He was a man in love, there was no denying it.

  Waking to the concern in her voice the previous morning had been such a relief. The last he’d spoken with her, she’d been breaking it off. Concern seemed like a very good sign.

  And though his memory was a little fuzzy now, he remembered enough of her sweet words to feel like ten kinds of fool for his response. The girl of his dreams had proclaimed her undying love for him, and he’d just lain there like a lump.

  Sure, sure, he’d had a brain injury. But come on! It wasn’t like him to miss an opportunity like that. Ever since, he’d been looking for a chance to redeem himself. But between his sisters and her sisters and the hospital staff, there’d always been someone around. Was he ever going to get her alone?

  He shifted the cold pack under his head. Then he spent a while thinking about what he might say to Maddy when he finally got the chance. But soon his thoughts grew distant and fuzzy. His breathing slowed and evened out.

  And then he wasn’t thinking of anything at all.

  Chapter 40

  Maddy picked up an asphalt shingle and threw it into the trash barrel. She and her sisters were making pretty quick work of the cleanup. The tide was pushing back out to sea. The storm surge had left more than the usual treasures: driftwood, a cracked sand pail, a lawn chair armrest.

  The sun rode low in the sky, the storm clouds long gone. The ocean was calm today, not a whitecap to be found. One would never have believed there’d been a storm less than forty-eight hours ago.

  Sweat beaded on the back of her neck, but there was a gentle breeze coming in off the water.

  The house itself had weathered the storm pretty well. There were a few missing roof shingles, and her landscaping had taken a hit. The mulch had washed away, and the flowers had taken a beating. Not too bad.

  Maddy meandered toward the dunes where her sisters were picking up bits of limbs and branches. Her gaze drifted toward Connor’s place. Earlier when she’d dropped by with his pain meds he’d been sleeping soundly. He was covered with an afghan, and his sisters were just sitting down to eat.

  They invited her to stay, but she’d grabbed a bite at the hospital. She’d longed to stay with Conner, but Tara and Lexie had things well in hand, and there was a lot of cleanup to do around their properties.

  It had been an exciting and exhausting few days. Maddy was ready for things to settle down a bit. She had a lot to digest. They all did.

  “Hey, look.” Emma was holding up a sodden sandal. “It’s a nice one too. Birkenstock. Oh well.”

  She tossed it into the trash barrel, then finger-waved at Gram, who stood by the back door cradling Pippy in her arms. Emma put a hand on her lower back, stretching.

  “Take it easy, little mama,” Nora said. “We don’t need you straining your back and ending up on bed rest or something.”

  “I’m fine. It feels good to be out in the sunshine.”

  “I didn’t hear you tossing your cookies this morning,” Nora said. “Maybe the morning sickness is passing?”

  “I hope so. My appetite has kicked in, that’s for sure. I want to eat everything in sight.”

  Maddy smiled. “The baby’s hungry. You have to feed him.”

  “Or her. Girls do seem to run in the family.” Nora tossed a chunk of driftwood into the woodpile and cast a sideways look at Emma. “When do you think you’ll tell Ethan?”

  Emma bit her lip as she bent for another small branch. “I, uh, I already did.”

  Maddy straightened. “What? When? How’d it go?”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “There’s really nothing to say,” Emma said. “I—I didn’t exactly tell him outright. I just couldn’t. I tried to, but . . .” She covered her forehead. “I left it on his voicemail.”

  “You what?” Nora said.

  “I know, it was such a chicken thing to do. I wish I hadn’t. I was calling to tell him, but his voicemail kicked in, and it suddenly seemed like such an easy way to do it— Ugh! Terrible idea. That
was this morning, and he hasn’t called me back. He probably hates me. He’s probably filing for divorce as we speak.” Her eyes filled with tears.

  “He doesn’t hate you,” Nora said.

  “I just . . . After worrying about Nora and almost losing Connor . . . I got to thinking about Ethan, and I had to tell him right away. None of us really knows how long we have, you know?”

  Maddy winced. “But a voicemail . . .”

  “I know, I know.” Emma knuckled the corner of her eye.

  Next door, Tara carried a rug out onto the deck. She gave them a little wave, then started shaking out the rug. Dust mushroomed around her.

  “Poor Connor.” Nora laughed. “Those sisters of his are a force.”

  Maddy smiled. “He’s met his match, that’s for sure. I’m glad he has them, though. They’re taking good care of him.”

  They’d been at the hospital nearly every moment. Maddy had also met Connor’s best friend, Lamont, who’d stopped by twice.

  “He’s looking some better today,” Emma said. “And the two of you seem to be faring well.”

  Maddy’s smile rose naturally. Even though she’d had no time alone with him in the hospital, the furtive glances they exchanged were encouraging. For the first time in a long time, she felt optimistic about her future. Hopeful. Which was funny, since she didn’t even have a job.

  Though everything she’d learned about her dad and grandpa had been unsettling, it also made sense of things, like the last piece of a puzzle clicking into place.

  “What do you think you’ll do next?” Emma asked her. “I mean, the house is finished, and apart from a little cleanup, our work here is done. Are you going to follow up on that job Nick told you about?”

  Maddy shook her head. “He called last night on my way home from the hospital. I told him he could cross my name off the list.”

  Nora snorted. “I hope you told him he could do more than that.”

  Maddy hitched her shoulder. “I kind of feel sorry for him. He’s putting all his eggs in the wrong basket.”