by Marie Force
She was in bed reading when Jack came home looking exhausted. “How is everyone?”
He unbuttoned his shirt and sat next to her on the bed. “They did very well. They handle seeing her much better than they used to.”
Andi reached out to him. “How about you?”
He laced his fingers through hers. “It never gets any easier to see her like that. I can’t believe it’s already been two years.”
“Can I do anything for you?”
“You already have. I was anxious to get home to you.”
She gave their joined hands a tug to bring him close enough to kiss. What she intended to be a quick kiss turned into a lingering embrace, and before long, her hands were under his shirt, caressing his back.
He shivered from her touch and kissed his way up her neck. “You make me crazy with wanting you, Andrea.”
“You have me, love. I’m right here.”
Chapter 22
As Jillian Frances Harrington’s name was called at graduation, Jack held on tight to Andi’s hand and fought the urge to bawl his head off.
Jill walked across the stage in her red cap and gown to shake hands with the principal. She wore gold cords around her neck, signifying her acceptance into multiple honor societies, and Jack thought he would burst with pride.
When she reached the end of the stage, she moved her tassel to the other side and blew them a kiss.
To his right sat Andi, his parents, Clare’s mother, Frannie and Jamie, Neil and Mary Booth, Kate, Maggie, and Eric. The adults wept as they watched the girl they loved leap into adulthood.
Jack wished Clare could have been there to see it. He’d thought of her often in the weeks leading up to the ceremony and knew she was also on Jill’s mind that day. The time with his first-born daughter had gone by in an instant, and he was sad to think about her leaving them at the end of the summer. When the last of the graduates had been called, he went to find his girl.
Jack took them all out to dinner and invited everyone back to the house to swim and have cake. They were throwing a party for Jill and her friends the next day, but this night was for family.
Jill glowed with excitement as she opened cards and gifts. She was delighted with Andi’s gift—a certificate for professional decorating services for her dorm room at Brown University. Jack thought it was a great gift, and Andi seemed relieved that Jill liked the idea.
When Jill had opened all her gifts, Jack handed her a black key and pointed to the front door.
Shrieking, she flew out the door to find a lime-green Volkswagen Beetle with a large yellow bow on top sitting in the driveway.
Jill let out another shriek and launched herself into his arms when he followed her out the door. The others were right behind him.
Her eyes widened with excitement. “Is it really mine?”
“All yours, with only one string attached—you have to come home to us often.”
“I will, Dad. I promise.” She hugged him again. “Come with me. You get the first ride.”
He slid the bow off and handed it to Andi.
Jill almost jumped out of her skin with delight as she beeped at the family on her way around the circular driveway. She hit the gas, and the gravel went flying.
He groaned. How many times had he talked to her and Kate about blasting in and out of the driveway? He was forever raking the gravel back into place.
Jill drove around the block to the beach. “This was the best day of my whole life.”
“You’ll always remember it.” His right foot shot out looking for brakes that weren’t there. “Slow down, Jill!”
She flashed him a saucy grin that reminded him of her mother. “Thank you for the car. I love it.”
Willing his heart back to a normal rate, Jack said, “I had a feeling you would.”
She pulled into a parking space at the beach, where the surf was up, and people were enjoying the end of one of the year’s longest days.
They sat on the sand to watch the surfers riding the waves.
“I was so proud of you today, and your mother would’ve been, too. She’d be thrilled to know you’re going to Brown.”
“I hope so.”
He slipped an arm around her. “I know so. I love that you’re staying right here in Rhode Island but still going Ivy League. That gives me lots of bragging rights.”
She groaned and laughed.
“You’re a good girl, Jill, and a wonderful daughter. I hope you’ll never forget where your home is or that you can come back any time you want to or need to. I’ll always be right here for you.”
She leaned into him. “Thank you, Dad,” she whispered. “For everything.”
Overcome, he kissed the top of her head and held on tight, wishing he could hold on forever.
“We’d better get back to the party,” he said.
They got up, brushed off the sand, and walked hand in hand back to her new car.
With Jack in New York for a few days of client meetings, Andi sent the kids to the beach and buckled down to write a recruitment ad for an executive chef. After working for several hours, she pushed back from the computer and stretched.
She wandered into the kitchen for a glass of juice and to watch the surf for a few moments before she used the last of the juice to refill her glass. Looking around for a piece of paper to make a grocery list, she noticed the dry erase board that no one seemed to use on the side of the refrigerator. Taking a wet paper towel to wipe off the old writing, she started a new grocery list and then went back to the window to finish her juice. She never grew tired of such ready access to the ocean and had come to depend on the roar of it to lull her to sleep at night.
Andi was back in her office when the garage door opened. Checking her watch, she couldn’t believe it was so late and went out to greet the kids.
“Hi,” Kate said as she came into the kitchen with Jill right behind her.
They made a beeline to the fridge.
Jill stopped short, let out a cry, and looked at Andi. “Did you erase that?”
Taken aback, Andi said, “We needed a new list.”
“Nooooo,” Jill wailed and flew from the room.
Andi turned to Kate, who seemed stricken as she studied the board.
“What’s wrong? I don’t understand.”
Kate shrugged. “My mom wrote that.”
Andi’s stomach dropped. “Oh my God, Kate. I had no idea. I’m so sorry.” The note had been there for more than two years, and she’d wiped it away in a careless instant. She’d hardly even noticed it before.
“You couldn’t have known,” Kate said.
Andi wondered how many more times she would hear that phrase.
“What’s wrong?” Maggie asked when she came in with Eric. She let out a short gasp when Kate pointed to the dry erase board.
“I’m sorry, girls. I didn’t know it meant something to you.” Andi signed to Eric that she would be right back and went upstairs to find Jill stretched out on her bed. Andi sat next to her. “I’m sorry, Jill.”
“I overreacted. It was just this dumb thing I looked at every day.”
“It’s not dumb. I’m sorry, honey. I really am.”
“Sometimes I get through a whole day without thinking about what happened to my mother, and then other times it still hurts so much.”
Andi reached out to Jill and held her for a long time.
Jill pulled back and gave Andi a shy smile. “I’m sorry I freaked.”
“Don’t be. I understand.” As she smoothed the silky dark hair back from Jill’s face, Andi’s heart swelled with love for the young girl who’d lost so much. “No one can ever take the place of your mother, Jill, but I hope you know I’m right here for you, and I care for you very much.”
“I know. I like having you here.”
Touched, Andi said, “Will you be okay now?”
Jill nodded.
“Why don’t we go out tonight so no one has to cook?” Andi had been taking turns making di
nner with Jill and Kate, and it was Jill’s night.
“Sounds good to me,” Jill said with a grin. “I’m going to take a shower.”
When Andi went back downstairs, she found Frannie waiting for her.
“Everything okay up there?” Frannie asked.
“Seems to be. I messed up pretty badly today,” Andi said with a gesture at the innocuous-looking dry erase board that had set off a firestorm in the house.
“You need to give yourself a break. You had no idea. We just left it. It’s kind of silly, when you think about it.”
“It’s more sweet than silly. Are there other landmines around here I should know about? I’m terrified of doing or saying something that’ll upset them.”
“I can’t think of anything, but if I do, you’ll be the first to know,” Frannie assured her.
“Figures it happens when Jack is away.”
“Trial by fire for you,” Frannie said with a wry grin.
“I’m taking the kids out to dinner tonight. Why don’t you guys join us?”
“We’d love to.”
Andi treated them all to lobster at a seaside restaurant, and by the time they returned home, the girls were in better spirits. Frannie and Jamie’s company had helped to improve their mood. After Andi tucked in Maggie and Eric and said good night to Jill, she heard Kate playing her guitar by the pool. The full moon hung over the ocean as Andi walked outside.
She perched on the end of Kate’s lounge. “That sounds lovely, Kate.”
“Thanks.”
“You didn’t say too much about what happened earlier. I’m sorry it upset you all so much.”
“It’s okay. You didn’t mean to hurt us.”
“I’d never do anything to hurt you.”
“I know.”
“May I listen to you play for a while?”
“Sure.”
The kids were at the beach again, and Andi was working the next morning when she heard the front door open. She figured it was Frannie and knew she would wander in to say hello on her way to the studio. Construction on Frannie’s studio at their house was almost done, and Andi would miss having her around every day.
Andi went back to answering an email from the director of the new hotel division in Chicago and was absorbed in her reply when Jack sneaked up behind her and kissed her neck.
Letting out a surprised shriek, she jumped out of the chair into his arms. “What’re you doing home two days early?”
“I missed you. Where’re the kids?”
“Beach,” she said, reaching for him.
“Mmm. Good.” He captured her mouth in a deep, passionate kiss as he lifted her and carried her out of the study. On the way upstairs, she wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed his face, wallowing in his familiar scent. “I missed you so much. You can’t go away anymore.”
“Or you have to come with me.” He put her down next to the bed and pulled off her shorts and T-shirt.
She unbuttoned his shirt, pushed it off his broad shoulders, and yanked at the waistband of his khakis.
“Hurry, Jack,” she sighed against his lips.
He eased her onto the bed and thrust into her.
With her arms tight around him, she hooked her legs over his hips and took him deep.
He rocked against her. “It’s like half of me is missing when I’m away from you.”
She cradled his face in her hands and brought him down for a soulful kiss that sent desire darting through her. Her toes curled as she lifted her hips to give him more.
“I need to move,” he said with a gasp.
She let her legs drop and fall open.
His back was slick with sweat as he pounded into her.
Andi had no choice but to go along for the ride until he sucked her nipple deep into his mouth and sent her into a climax that she felt from her toes to the tips of her fingers.
Suddenly, he went still. “Andi,” he moaned. “Oh, God, I love you.”
She kissed his brow, his closed eyes, his cheek, the end of his nose, and finally his lips. “I love you, too. So, so much. I don’t know what I’d ever do without you, without this.”
“You’ll never have to find out.” He held her close to him as he tried to catch his breath. “I don’t ever want to be away from you again.”
“Good, because I’m not letting you go anymore. All hell breaks loose when you’re not here.”
“Jamie told me what happened with the girls.” He kissed her and shifted to his side, bringing her with him. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that by yourself.”
She smoothed a hand over his chest, stopping to linger when his nipple pebbled under her finger. “I felt bad about upsetting them. I had no idea Clare wrote the note on that board.”
“They know that.” He reached for her dallying hand and brought it to his lips. “I’m sorry I never mentioned it. I heard Jill took it hard.”
“She did, but we had a good talk, and she even let me comfort her.”
“She’s matured a lot this year.”
“She told me she’s happy I’m here,” Andi offered with a smile.
His grin lit up his face. “Did she? I’m so glad to hear that.”
“I was, too.”
“See? It’s all working out. We’re becoming a family, one small step at a time.”
The phone rang, and he reached for the bedside extension. He told the caller that Kate was at the beach. “Yes, I’ll tell her.” Jack hung up and rolled his eyes. “That was Ryan.”
“So I gathered.”
“Kate’s not answering her cell, and he wants to make sure she knows he’s picking her up at seven thirty rather than seven. Oh, the joy.”
She laughed at him. “You’re lucky it took this long for one of them to have a boyfriend.”
“That doesn’t mean I have to like it,” he grumbled.
Andi settled herself on top of him. “I can see for Kate’s sake, I need to get your mind off her love life and back on your own.”
He raised a crooked eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? What do you have in mind?”
“You’ll see,” she whispered in his ear.
They spent two blissful weeks on Block Island at the beginning of August, relaxing on the beach, sailing in Block Island sound, and taking long walks into town for ice cream.
Late on their last night on the island, Jack sat with Andi on Haven Hill’s back porch long after the kids had gone to bed.
“I can’t believe this is our last week with Jill at home.”
“The summer went by so fast.”
“I never really went home again after I left for college. In fact, I didn’t spend a night in my parents’ house for ten years.”
“That was different, Jack. Your father was so hard on you. You know Jill will be home for weekends all the time.”
“It won’t be the same.”
“No, it won’t. We’re all going to miss her, but she’ll be fine. She’s smart and clever, just like you. And I know it’ll be such a difficult transition for you, but she’s so excited. Don’t take anything away from her joy by letting her see how sad you are, okay? It’ll be much harder for her to leave you if she thinks you’re sad.”
“You know me so well.” He lifted their joined hands to kiss hers. “And you’re right. I need to keep that in mind over the next week. I can be sad later, and you’ll take good care of me, right?”
“Of course I will.”
He released her hand to run his fingers through her long hair. “Are you happy here with us? Do you miss the city—”
She put her fingers on his lips to silence him. “I’m thrilled to be here with you. I’ve never known anything like what we have.”
He hugged her, grateful for the second chance at love she had given him.
The family celebrated Jill’s eighteenth birthday a week early, since she’d be in the midst of freshman orientation on her actual birthday. Jack’s parents came for the party and to see Jill off to school. There were tearful good-byes at
the house when Jack, Andi, and Jill left for Providence in two cars packed full of Jill’s belongings.
“Thanks again for this, Andi,” Jill said later that afternoon.
Andi had created an away-from-home sanctuary for Jill by using a combination of the girl’s favorite colors: lime green, purple, and blue.
“My pleasure, honey. We’ll sure miss you at home.” Andi hugged Jill one last time. To Jack, she said, “I’ll wait for you downstairs, okay?”
“I’ll be right there.” He appreciated that she understood his need for a last moment alone with his daughter. “You’re sure you have enough money and everything?” he asked Jill for the third time.
“I’m sure, Dad. I have everything I need. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“No chance of that,” he said with a grin. “You’ve got your cell phone and charger, right?”
“Yes, and I’ll use it to call you—often.”
“I’ll be waiting.” He hugged her. “I want you to enjoy every minute of this, but use your good judgment and stay away from things you know you shouldn’t be doing. There’ll be lots of temptation—”
“You don’t have to worry. I’d never do anything to disappoint you.”
He hugged her again. “I love you.” His throat tightened with emotion, but he maintained a smile for her. In one instant, he saw her dancing at five in a pink tutu, walking over the bridge to Girl Scouts, flying down the lacrosse field with her long hair in a ponytail, jumping off the boat into cool blue water, and skipping across the stage in her cap and gown. How fast it all had happened.
“I love you, too. You can go. I promise I’ll be okay.”
With a deceptively jaunty wave, he finally left her.
Andi waited for him in the driver’s seat of his car.
He got in next to her and sank into her loving embrace as he struggled to compose himself. “You know what I can’t stop thinking about?” he asked after several quiet minutes.
“What’s that?”
“I have to do this again next year.”
Andi laughed. “Yes, you do. Why don’t we go have a nice dinner, and I’ll buy you a bottle of good wine so you can drown your sorrows?”