Starting Over (Treading Water Trilogy)
Page 34
“I love him, Daddy. I love him the same way you love Mom.”
Brandon’s throat closed with emotion. “How am I supposed to give away the most precious thing in the world to me?”
Her eyes swam with tears. “Don’t make me cry. You’ll ruin my makeup.”
The diamond necklace he’d given her so many years ago sparkled around her neck on a new, longer chain.
She reached up to touch it. “My something old.”
“You look so much like your mother did when I first met her.” He shook his head. “It’s unbelievable.”
“I remember it all, you know, everything about our first months together—finding you under the sink, Brandon the Bear, the playground you built for me, all the weddings. Remember when you almost dropped my birthday cake? Was I six or seven?”
“Six,” he said with a grin. “It was your first birthday after I met you.”
“It was the best birthday of my life because you were there. You were the first man I ever loved. You know that, don’t you?”
“Now you’re going to make me cry.”
“I have no idea what my life would’ve been like if I hadn’t found you under my sink.”
Brandon laughed even as tears spilled down his face.
“The way we were living then…” She shook her head. “You saved me from a life on the run. You and all the O’Malleys… You saved me.”
He took her hand and raised it to his lips. “Oh, no, my love, it was quite the other way around. You saved me.”
“What day is today?” It was a question she asked often.
“Seventy-three hundred and six.” He was a longtime leader in AA, and others regularly turned to him for help, which still struck him as ironic at times. “Twenty years and six days.”
“That’s just about how long we’ve been together.”
“It’s no coincidence, you know. You and your mother gave me the will to stay sober. The two of you, your sisters, and the boys kept me sober.”
“Six kids would be enough to keep anyone sober,” she said with a smile.
“Yes, indeed. You all are the reason I keep my side of the street clean.”
The door opened behind them, and Isabel poked her head in. “Whenever you guys are ready.”
Brandon offered an arm to his daughter. “Shall we?”
The wedding party included all of Colleen’s nineteen grandchildren. Mike and Josh went round and round for weeks trying to trim the size of their wedding party until Josh finally said, “The heck with it. Let’s have them all.” Josh’s sisters Nina, Cecelia, and Amanda, and Declan’s four daughters preceded Isabel and Emily up the aisle. Josh’s brother Ben was his best man. Joining him at the altar were Brandon’s sons Jake, Sam, and Dennis, Colin’s sons Nate and Will, and Aidan’s sons, Max and Nick.
When the girls reached the front of the church, the organist launched into the wedding march.
Brandon glanced down at Mike. “Ready?”
She squeezed his hand and nodded.
All eyes were on them as they moved slowly down the aisle, past Colin and Meredith, Declan and Jessica, Aidan, Clare, Maggie, Jill, Kate, and their families. Mike, still one of Kate’s biggest fans, had asked her to sing at the reception.
We’ve been so very blessed, Brandon thought. But we’ve had our share of sorrows, too. He and Daphne had mourned the baby they lost for a long time, even after all the others arrived. And they still missed Dennis, who had succumbed to a heart attack four years earlier, leaving a gaping hole in the lives of his wife, children, and grandchildren.
The business Dennis had built continued to thrive under the care of his children and now several of his grandchildren. Josh was Brandon’s right-hand man in the restoration business, which the year before eclipsed new construction as the most profitable arm of the company. Mike recently earned her master’s degree in architecture, and when she returned from her honeymoon, she would join Declan in the new construction branch, bringing yet another facet to O’Malley & Sons Construction. After Brandon and Daphne’s youngest son Dennis started first grade three years earlier, Daphne became the company’s chief financial officer and whipped them all into shape.
Tall, blond, and handsome, Josh never took his eyes off his bride as she made her way toward him on the arm of her father.
In the second row on the left side of the aisle, Harrison Monroe sat next to Colleen and Daphne’s parents. Mike never held Harrison responsible for his wife’s actions and made an effort over the years to maintain a relationship with him. After pleading guilty by reason of insanity, Eleanor died in a state psychiatric hospital nine years after the kidnapping.
In the front row on the right side, Erin and Tommy watched their son’s bride come down the aisle. Like Daphne across from her, Erin was wiping away tears by the time Brandon and Mike reached the front of the church.
Brandon raised the blusher from over Mike’s face and kissed her cheek. “I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you, too. First and always.”
He held her gaze for a long moment before he joined her hand with Josh’s. Watching them climb the steps to the altar, Brandon remembered a long-ago photo of two blond children with their arms around each other. They never had let go.
“Who gives this woman to be married?” the priest asked.
Brandon cleared the lump from his throat. “Her mother and I do.” He turned then to take his place next to Daphne.
She linked her fingers with his and held on tight as they watched their girl marry the boy she had loved all her life.
Brandon had given her away, but he’d never let her go.
The House That Jack Built
The first character to take up occupancy in my mind as a living, breathing human being, was a handsome, successful architect named Jack Harrington. Jack and I ran around together for a long time before I ever put fingers to keyboard to tell his story. I wanted to write about a man who has it all—a wife he still adores after twenty years of marriage, three beautiful daughters he'd do anything for, and a life most people would envy. That life is turned upside down when his wife is hit by a car and plunged into a coma. I wanted to show Jack's struggles to rebuild his life as he becomes the custodial parent for his daughters—two of them teenagers with all the accompanying issues—and I wanted to show his conflict when he finds a new love. These issues make up the core of the first book I wrote, "Treading Water," which led to two sequels, "Marking Time," and "Starting Over." It's "Treading Water," however, that is the book of my heart.
Since I finished "Treading Water," I've thought of my writing as "The House That Jack Built," tying into his career as an architect and the unexpected building blocks that came from "Treading Water." As I was finishing "Starting Over" in July 2006, I decided to drive out to Chatham, Massachusetts, so I could finish it in the town where it was set. Yes, this was a huge indulgence, but it coincided with the halfway point of summer vacation, and my kids were driving me nuts.
The first thing I did when I got to Chatham was drive around to check out the four streets I had chosen from hundreds on a map to place my characters' homes. I figured if there was, say, a cement factory on both sides of the street, the good people of Chatham would know I hadn't bothered to come out there and check. I am pleased to report there were houses on all four streets, but on the corner of the fourth street, there was something else—a red house with a sign on the side that said, "The House That Jack Built." No, I am not kidding, and yes, I sat there and cried. If ever there was a "sign" that I was on the path I was meant to be on, there it was. It was without a doubt, one of the most amazing moments of my life, and I will never, ever forget it. (View a photo of the house at www. mariesullivanforce.com/writing.php.)
That same week, after I got home and told my sister-in-law this story, she approached me at a family party to say, "You won't believe this! I was having trouble sleeping at my friend's house the other night and got up to see if she had a magazine or something I could look at."
She found an old copy of Architectural Digest, and there was a spread with the headline "The House That Jack Built." She had torn it out for me and that page is framed over my desk to remind me that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and it's about the journey, not the destination.
Thanks for taking the journey with me. I hope you enjoyed the trilogy that began with “Treading Water,” continued in “Marking Time,” and concluded with “Starting Over.” And I hope now you know why these three books are my favorites! I’m thankful every day for my wonderful readers, and I love to hear from you. Write to me any time at marie@marieforce.com.
About the Author
Marie Force is the author of the bestselling McCarthys of Gansett Island Series: MAID FOR LOVE, FOOL FOR LOVE and READY FOR LOVE with more books coming soon in the series. STARTING OVER concludes the trilogy that began with TREADING WATER and continued with MARKING TIME. She is the author of the following contemporary romances: GEORGIA ON MY MIND, EVERYONE LOVES A HERO, LINE OF SCRIMMAGE, LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT, TRUE NORTH, THE FALL and THE WRECK.
She is also the bestselling, award-winning author of the Fatal Series from Harlequin’s Carina Press. The series includes FATAL AFFAIR, FATAL JUSTICE, FATAL CONSEQUENCES and FATAL DESTINY. “This novel is ‘The O.C. does D.C.,’ and you just can’t get enough.” (RT Book Reviews, 4.5 stars for FATAL AFFAIR). In its July 2010 issue, RT Book Reviews named Marie a “Future Star of Romantic Suspense.” FATAL FLAW is coming in February 6, 2012.
She is a member of RWA’s New England and Published Author Special Interest Chapters.
While her husband was in the Navy, Marie lived in Spain, Maryland and Florida, and she is now settled in her home state of Rhode Island. She is the mother of two teenagers and a feisty dog named Brandy.
Find her at www.mariesullivanforce.com, on her blog at http://mariesullivanforce.blogspot.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MarieForceAuthor, and on Twitter @marieforce. Marie loves to hear from readers. Contact her at marie@marieforce.com.
What others are saying about Marie Force’s books:
"Treading Water is a definite must read! Treading Water creates an emotional firestorm within the reader. It shines the light on the good and the bad in life and proves that one moment can change everything and it’s never too late to find love. Marie Force grabbed my heart and squeezed every ounce of emotion out of it but most importantly her monumental story left me blissful. Treading Water may be fiction but it gives me hope; hope in everyday people and happily ever after. I cannot wait for the next book in this trilogy, Marking Time." —Joyfully Reviewed, a “Recommended Read” for November 2011!
"It's a rare treat that you get three gorgeous romances in one story but Marie Force has achieved that with Georgia On My Mind. Ms. Force has seamlessly woven these stories into one magical novel. Each couple is drastically different with their own issues and smoking hot chemistry. This story has a bit of suspense, plenty of humor and lots of romance. Georgia On My Mind is a keeper!" —Joyfully Reviewed.
“Georgia On My Mind” meets real life issues head-on. It will easily touch your heart with a variety of emotions. If you love a book, in spite of any flaws it may suffer, it’s a keeper. This one meets that test. You’ll laugh and you’ll cry. Most importantly, I’m betting you’ll have a satisfied smile on your face when you reach the end." —Romance at Random gives Georgia on My Mind an "A."
“With its humor and endearing characters, Force’s charming novel will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers, reaching far beyond sports fans.” —Booklist on Line of Scrimmage.
“LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT by Marie Force is most definitely a keeper. It is an astounding book. I loved every single word!” —Wild on Books
“This novel is The O.C. does D.C., and you just can’t get enough.” —RT Book Reviews, 4.5 Stars for Fatal Affair
“This book starts out strong and keeps getting better. Marie Force is one of those authors that will be on my must read list in the future.” —The Romance Studio on Fatal Affair
“As Cole encourages Olivia’s incredible talent for drawing and her love of adventure through a series of carefully planned dates, the two embark on the emotional roller-coaster ride of their lives in Force’s steamy contemporary romance, a heartwarming Cinderella story set mostly in and around Washington, D.C.” —Booklist on Everyone Loves a Hero
“Marie Force’s second novel in the Fatal series is an outstanding romantic suspense in its own right; that it follows the fantastic first installment only sweetens the read.”
—RT Book Reviews, 4.5 Stars for Fatal Justice
Contemporary Romances Available from Marie Force:
Treading Water
Marking Time
Starting Over
Maid for Love
Fool for Love
Ready for Love
Georgia on My Mind
True North
The Fall
Everyone Loves a Hero
Love at First Flight
Line of Scrimmage
Romantic Suspense Novels Available from Marie Force:
The Wreck
Fatal Affair
Fatal Justice
Fatal Consequences
Fatal Destiny
Fatal Flaw (February 2012)