Treading Water

by Marie Force

  The hurricane disrupted travel along the entire east coast, and they learned on Wednesday that it would be several days before the airlines got back on schedule.

  “Any luck?” Jack asked when Andi hung up the phone in the study. He’d been pretending to stay busy in the kitchen while he waited to hear how she made out.

  “The best they could do was stand-by on Saturday afternoon,” she said as she joined him in the kitchen.

  He tried to hide a smile.

  “Oh, stop it! I can see you grinning.”

  He swept her into his arms and nibbled on her neck. “Who’s grinning?”

  When she squealed and tried to get away from him, he lifted her off her feet.

  “I didn’t take that Saturday flight.”

  “No?”

  “I went for the sure thing on Sunday evening.”

  He let out a whoop, swung her around, and kissed her. “Is this going to screw you up at work?” he asked as he set her down.

  She raised an eyebrow. “Do you really care?”

  He pretended to think about it. “Not really.”

  “I didn’t think so.”

  Once the girls were off to school on Thursday, Jack went to the office. He’d wanted to stay home with Andi and Eric, but he needed to get some work done. With Quinn on her honeymoon, he knew things would be hectic.

  Jamie poked his head in at noon to see how Jack was doing.

  “Why did I agree to give her three weeks off?”

  “Because you’re a sucker,” Jamie said with a smile. “Anything I can do to help?”

  “No, I’ve got it.”

  “Were you out at the hotel site this morning?”

  “Yeah. The storm didn’t really hurt us, so we’re right on schedule. The foundation will be finished within the month.”

  “That’s good news. How are things at home?”

  “Great. The airlines are a mess, so they’re staying until Sunday.”

  “Bonus.”

  “I wasn’t exactly heartbroken over it.” Jack sat back in his chair and motioned for Jamie to come in and shut the door. “I asked her to move here to live with us.”

  Jamie seemed stunned. “What’d she say?”

  “She wants some time to think about it, so we’ve agreed to talk about it again after your wedding.”

  “I can see why she’s hesitant. Can you?”

  “Sure, I can. But I don’t want to be doing this every month or two long-distance thing forever. I want her with me, but I don’t want to push her into doing something either of us will regret. I’m also worried about how the girls will take it. I haven’t mentioned it to them because she hasn’t said yes yet.”

  “You’ve got to look at it from her perspective. She’s got an established life out there, a career, and a son to think about.”

  “I worry it’ll be too much for her to give up, that what we have won’t be enough to replace it all.” Verbalizing his greatest fear made Jack ache with worry.

  “I’ve seen the two of you together—this comes down to logistics, not feelings.”

  “I guess we’ll see what happens.”

  “You’ve got four more days to show her what domestic tranquility Harrington-style would be like,” Jamie said with a grin.

  “Believe me, I know.”

  Chapter 14

  Watching Andi’s plane lift off, Jack already yearned to have her back. They’d had such a wonderful week together. He’d noticed the girls beginning to appreciate Andi’s gentle sweetness as much as he did. One night he came home from work to find her at the table, helping Maggie with long division. When Andi looked up to find him watching them, her smile had stopped his heart.

  This time, saying good-bye to Andi had also meant saying good-bye to the boy who’d become so dear to him.

  Jack replayed their long visit as he drove home from the airport and remembered all the moments that added up to one simple truth for him—he loved her and needed her more all the time. He could only hope she would reach the same conclusion.

  She’d promised to come to Rhode Island for Thanksgiving, but that was five long weeks away. In the meantime, they were back to phone calls and the online video chats the girls had suggested they try.

  He got home from the airport and came in through the kitchen, where Jill was getting a glass of water.

  “Did they get off okay?” she asked.

  “Right on time. Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

  “I’m going now. I had some homework to finish.”

  He kissed her cheek. “See you in the morning.”

  She walked toward the stairs but turned back. “Dad?”

  “Yeah, hon?”

  “I like her. I didn’t want to, but I do.”

  “I’m glad. Thanks for telling me.”

  “Good night.”

  “Night.”

  Andi called at twelve thirty to let him know they’d arrived in Chicago.

  “Next time I might not let you go,” he said.

  “Is that so?”

  “You know it is.”

  After a long pause, she said, “I’m thinking about it, Jack.”

  He’d thought of hardly anything else in days. “Good.”

  “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  At the end of her first day back to work, Andi wandered over to David’s office. His secretary was away from her desk, so Andi looked in to see if he was busy. “Knock, knock…”

  “Hey, come on in. You look like you could use a drink.” At the minibar he kept stocked in his office, he fixed them glasses of wine and invited her to join him in the sitting area facing Lake Michigan. “Of course, you know that means I could use one, too.”

  Laughing, she flopped down, kicked off her heels, and put her feet up on the glass table just like she used to when he lived across the hall from her in New York.

  “Hard day?” he asked, handing her a glass.

  “My unscheduled week off caught up to me the minute I walked in this morning. Of course all hell breaks loose when I’m stranded without a phone for a few days. Bill did a great job covering for me, but it’s been a crazy day.”

  “We’re just glad you survived the storm. The pictures on the news were unreal.”

  “It looked worse than it was. We were never in any danger.”

  “So you had a good time?”

  “The best. I highly recommend being marooned for a few days with great company, no phones, no power. It was good for the soul.”

  “When will you see him again?”

  “Thanksgiving and again over the holidays. Get this—his sister is marrying Jamie Booth on New Year’s Eve.”

  “Huh. I’d pegged him as bit of a player.”

  “I guess he was, but he and Frannie have been friends for years—decades, in fact—and suddenly everything clicked for them. It’s a great story.”

  “Sounds like it. What about you? You’ve gotten yourself into a complicated situation.”

  She put her drink down and looked at him. “Jack asked me to move there to live with him.”

  “What’re you going to do?”

  “I don’t know. Like you said, it’s complicated. I’d have to leave Infinity, Eric’s school, my mother…” She shrugged.

  “There’s a lot to consider, no doubt. What does your heart say?”

  “Go,” she said so softly it was almost a whisper.

  “How about your gut?”

  “The other day, Jack took Eric to the park. I saw them through the window when they were coming home. He had Eric on his shoulders. Their cheeks were flushed from playing in the cold. Jack was bouncing him all around, and Eric was laughing so hard. Right in that moment, I started to think seriously about moving.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  “Just like that?”

  “Why not?”

  She eyed him suspiciously. “Why are you making this so easy for me? I figured you’d have a fit and tell me I can’t
go.”

  “Is that what you want me to do?”

  “I want you to tell me I’d be doing the right thing.”

  “No one can tell you that, but I can make one part of it easier for you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You wouldn’t have to leave Infinity.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “I believe you’re aware we’re building a hotel in the very town you wish to move to. I don’t see why you couldn’t manage it for us.”

  Andi gasped. “But I’m not a hotel manager!”

  “Come on, Andi.” David got up to refill his glass. “You’ve been an executive with us for fifteen years. You’re tuned in to every aspect of our operation. On top of that, you’re one of my closest advisers and know almost everything I do about running a hotel. There’s no reason you couldn’t move to a different job within the company. That said, don’t think I want you to go.” He looked over at her. “I’d miss you and Eric terribly. We all would. But if this is what you want, and I think it is, let me make it easier for you.”

  She sat back, stunned by what he’d said. Running the Newport property would be a huge responsibility, and she knew he’d been looking for someone within the company to take the job.

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Don’t say anything now.” He returned to the sofa. “Think about it for a few weeks and see how the idea feels. We’re only just now beginning construction, so I’m not in any rush to fill the job. I’ll need someone in place within six months to manage the final setup and to handle the local hiring. You know what has to be done for an opening.”

  She nodded, trying to process it all. “You’re so good to me,” she said. “Everything I have, I owe to you.”

  “No, Andi, everything you have you owe to yourself. If I didn’t think this was a good business decision, I wouldn’t have mentioned it. Newport is the biggest property we’ve built on my watch. I’ve got a lot invested. I want someone I can trust there, and if it helps you on a personal level, all the better.”

  She slid her shoes back on and stood up. “Thank you,” she said, humbled by the faith he had in her.

  He got up and folded her into a hug.

  “I’ll let you know what I decide.”

  “Take your time.”

  Andi didn’t immediately tell Jack about David’s offer because she wanted to decide on her own what was best for her and Eric. Jack would see it as a sign that her move was meant to be, a point she would have a hard time debating. So she sat on it for a few weeks and tried to consider the many ways her life—and Eric’s—would change if they moved. The one thing she knew for certain was that in the three weeks since she’d last seen Jack, her longing for him had only grown more intense.

  One Friday afternoon, she left work early after her mother called to say Eric had come home from school with a stomachache.

  When Andi walked into Eric’s room, he was sleeping fitfully. She ran her hand over his forehead and discovered he was hot with fever.

  Her mother looked on with concern.

  “We should call the doctor,” Andi said.

  “I’ll stay with him while you call,” Betty said.

  After consulting with the doctor, Andi returned to Eric’s room. “He wants us to bring him in. He’s meeting us at the ER.” She tried to hide the sudden tremble in her hands from her mother.

  They bundled the sleeping boy into a cab and rushed him to the hospital. Eric woke up on the way, crying out in pain as he clutched his stomach.

  Andi exchanged worried glances with her mother.

  Dr. Porter, Eric’s pediatrician, walked in just after they arrived. He led them to an exam room where he performed a few quick tests. “I think it’s appendicitis,” the doctor said. “I’ll order blood work and a scan to confirm it, but I’m fairly certain he’ll need an appendectomy.”

  Andi’s hands began to tremble again at the thought of her baby undergoing surgery.

  “Try not to worry. You got him here very quickly, and it should be routine,” Dr. Porter said. He went to find a nurse to draw the blood.

  Eric was so miserable that the blood test hardly registered, but Andi was relieved when it was done. Her cell phone rang, and when she saw it was Jack, she walked out to the hallway to take the call.

  “Hi, honey, how are you?” he asked.

  “Not so good. I’m at Mercy Hospital with Eric. They think he has appendicitis.”

  “Oh no. Is he okay? Are you?”

  Her voice broke. “He’s really sick.”

  “I’m sure he’ll be just fine,” Jack assured her. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

  “I don’t think so. I’ve got to go. The doctor is coming back. I’ll call you when I can.”

  “Okay, honey, hang in there.”

  Andi was pacing the hallway outside the surgical suite when Jack came off the elevator a couple of hours later.

  At first she thought she’d wanted him so badly that her imagination had produced him. “Oh my God! I can’t believe you’re here!”

  “How could I not be here?” He hugged her tight against him. “How is he?” he asked, wiping tears from her cheeks.

  “Still in surgery.” Her voice hitched, and her heart ached from the hours of worry. “I can’t believe how fast it happened.”

  Jack took her hand and led her to a row of chairs. Holding her close, he offered what comfort he could while they waited.

  Andi’s mother returned with coffee and stopped short when she saw him there. “Hello, Jack. What a surprise.”

  “Hi, Betty.”

  “It was good of you to come.”

  David and his wife Lauren rushed into the waiting room.

  “We got here as soon as we could get a sitter for the girls,” Lauren said as she hugged Andi. “How is he?”

  “Still in surgery,” Andi reported and introduced her to Jack.

  “Nice to see you again, Jack,” David said as he squatted in front of Andi. “Sorry about the circumstances, though. You doing okay, kid?”

  “I’ll be better when I hear Eric’s all right,” Andi said, grateful to all of them for coming to be with her.

  Jack squeezed one of her hands in reassurance while David took her other.

  After an interminable wait, Dr. Porter returned, still in the surgical scrubs he had worn to assist in the surgery.

  Andi jumped up when she saw him coming.

  “He did just fine, Andi. No perforation.”

  She sagged against Jack as her legs threatened to give out.

  Jack kept both arms around her. “When can we see him?”

  “He’s in recovery. I don’t expect him to be awake for a few hours, so you might want to go home for a while. The nurses will call you when he starts to come around.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Porter,” Andi said.

  David and Lauren had to get home to their four daughters. They promised to check in later. Andi and Betty wanted to stay, but Jack talked them into going home to rest. After he left Andi’s phone number with the charge nurse, he took them home and whipped up some eggs and toast for them.

  When they’d finished eating, Andi called the nurse’s station. Eric was still asleep, so she let Jack talk her into trying to take a nap on the sofa before they went back to the hospital.

  “I’m going to bed,” Betty said. “You’ll wake me if you hear anything?”

  “Of course. Good night, Mom,” Andi said.

  “Thanks for your help, Jack,” Betty said. “I’ll see you both in the morning.”

  After she left the room, Jack stretched out on the sofa next to Andi and put his arms around her.

  “Your approval rating seems to have gone up a bit with Mom,” Andi whispered, thrilled to feel his arms around her even if the circumstances were less than ideal.

  He chuckled. “Remind me to thank Eric for that.”

  As she studied his handsome face, she could honestly say she’d never loved him more. “I still can’t
believe you’re here. You were such a rock. Thank you.”

  “It felt like my own child was in that operating room.”

  “Nothing you could say would mean more to me.”

  “I love you, sweetheart, and I love Eric, too.” He kissed her forehead. “Why don’t you get some rest?”

  “I’ll try.”

  He covered her with a blanket and went into the kitchen to call home to check on the girls. She dozed off to the comforting sound of his voice, relieved to know he was there to share some of the burden with her.

  Jack was alone with Eric when he woke up late on Saturday afternoon. He’d closed his tired eyes for a few minutes, and now he rubbed his hand over the stubble on his face as he tried to force himself to wake up. Being in a hospital had brought back memories he’d rather not revisit, but he’d pushed them aside so he could focus on Andi and Eric.

  The boy smiled and signed, “Hi, Jack.”

  “Hi, buddy.” Jack’s sign language had improved during the week they spent together earlier in the month.

  Eric asked for his mother, and Jack held up five fingers to let him know she would be back soon. Eric squeezed Jack’s hand and drifted back to sleep.

  Andi came in a few minutes later to find them holding hands. “Did he wake up?”

  “Just for a minute.”

  “I’m sorry I missed it.”

  Jack tucked Eric’s hand under the blanket. “I told him you’d be right back.”

  “I know it has to be hard for you to be hanging out in a hospital,” she said, surprising him as she often did with her insight.

  “I’m okay, honey.” He reached out to run his fingers through Eric’s soft blond hair. “He’s so little in that big bed. I hate seeing him in there.”

  “I know. Thank God it was only appendicitis, and he’ll be able to come home in a day or two.”

  “Yes.”

  She leaned over Jack’s chair to hug him from behind. “What’re you thinking about?”

  He hesitated for a moment, not sure this was the time to be dredging up the past, but he wanted to be honest with her. “Being here and seeing him so sick has brought back all kinds of memories. I remember thinking, after Clare’s accident, that as bad as it was to lose her like that, it would’ve been so much worse if the car had hit one of the girls. I have to think Clare would agree.”