by Marie Force
The surgeons removed Clare’s spleen, mended her liver, and set her badly broken arm and leg. After a week, her doctors were relieved that she was able to breathe on her own when they took her off the respirator. Encouraged, they also weaned her from the sedation. Jack, the girls, his sister, Clare’s mother, brother, and sister kept up a round-the-clock vigil by her bedside. They sang to her, played her favorite music, cried, begged, and pleaded until they were hoarse, but she didn’t regain consciousness.
At the end of the third week, Dr. Blake, the neurologist, asked to speak with Jack. Worried about what he might hear, Jack asked his sister, Frannie, to come, too.
“I’m afraid there’s nothing more we can do for your wife. The blow to her head was tremendous, and we believe her coma is irreversible.”
Jack and Frannie gasped as the doctor snatched away their last shred of hope.
“So what does that mean?” Jack asked. “What’re you saying?”
“You have choices. Difficult choices.”
“Such as?”
“Since she has no advanced directive, you can make decisions for her as her next of kin.”
“Are you suggesting I end her life?”
“It’s an option you may need to consider at some point down the road.”
“I want to hear the others, because that’s not on the table.”
“Mr. Harrington, she’s forty-three years old. She could live in this condition for decades.”
Jack held up his hand to stop the doctor. “Is she brain dead?”
“Not technically—”
“Then I don’t want to hear another word about ending her life. As long as there’s activity in her brain I want her treated as if she’s going to recover.”
“We don’t believe she will.”
“As long as there’s any chance at all—”
“There’s less than a one percent chance.”
“That’s not zero,” Jack said with a look that all but dared the doctor to argue with him.
The doctor seemed to realize the conversation was pointless. “We’ll discharge her in a few days. I suggest you investigate long-term care for her. I can get you the names of some places, if that would help.”
Left alone with his sister, Jack tried to absorb what the doctor had told him.
“I’ll move here, Jack,” Frannie said decisively. She lived in New York, where she worked as an artist, and had recently ended a brief second marriage. “I’ll help with the girls and whatever else you need.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t ask. I want to.” She gripped his hand as her hazel eyes heated with emotion. “What’s more important than making sure the girls are well cared for right now?”
“Nothing,” Jack said, resigned to the fact that he needed what his sister was offering. Besides, he was too drained to argue with her. “Thanks, Fran.”
When Frannie left to pick up Maggie at a friend’s house, Jack went back to Clare’s room, where he’d spent most of the last three weeks. Despite the feeding tube, yellowing bruises, and casts on her arm and leg, she looked so much like herself that he ached with yearning to have her back, to have her turn those brilliant blue eyes his way and flash that special smile she used to save just for him, back when things were right between them.
Taking her hand, he held it against his face, and smoothed the blonde hair off her forehead with his other hand. “I know you can hear me,” he said softly. “The things I said that day…I didn’t mean them. You know I didn’t. Whatever’s bothering you, we can fix it. I need you to come back to me. Please, Clare. Don’t give up.”
How could this have happened to her? To them? If the girls were to be believed, she’d let the car hit her. But why? The questions tortured him through sleepless nights and agonizing days. Since her accident, he’d run through every minute he could remember from the last few months. Something had definitely been off between them. In place of her usually sunny, upbeat disposition, she’d been prone to long silences and bad dreams she thought he didn’t know about. But every time he’d tried to broach the subject with her, he’d been rebuffed.
Their usually passionate and satisfying sex life had all but disappeared. Was it possible she’d met someone else? Had she decided to end a marriage that ranked as one of the proudest accomplishments in his life? Had she been waiting for the right time to tell him?
No. Not Clare. She loved him. They’d loved each other from the start and had a marriage and family others envied. She’d never leave him. But looking down at the battered woman in the hospital bed and remembering how she’d gotten there, suddenly he wasn’t so sure.
Jill stepped into the room, and Jack forced a smile for his oldest daughter.
“Hi, honey.”
“Hey.” She stared at her mother with gray-blue eyes that were just like his. “No change?”
Since he couldn’t bear to tell her what the neurologist had said, he shook his head. “Could I ask you something?”
Jill moved to the other side of the bed and rested a hand on her mother’s arm. At fifteen, she moved with the poise of a woman twice her age. “Sure.”
“Before this happened, did you notice anything…you know…different about Mom?”
“Well, yeah.” Her sarcastic reply surprised him.
“Like what?”
“That she was totally distracted, disorganized, scattered? And she was always forgetting stuff—like getting Maggie from school. That happened a bunch of times. They’d call the house, and I’d have to go get her because we couldn’t reach Mom.”
Astounded, Jack stared at her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Her shrug was full of teenage insolence. “We didn’t think you’d care.”
“Why in the world would you think that?”
“Because! All you care about is work! And making money! You don’t care about us.”
Jack stared at her, his heart aching. “Everything I do is for you and your sisters.” He glanced down at Clare. “And your mother.”
“When was the last time you came to one of my lacrosse games or watched Maggie play soccer? Do you even know that Maggie plays soccer now?”
Where was this coming from? How long had she wanted to say this to him? “I’m sorry you think I don’t care about you. I love you more than anything. I’ve always tried to show you that.”
The cold, hard look she sent his way let him know he’d failed miserably.
“I tried to talk to her about what was bothering her, but she refused to tell me,” he said.
“I wonder if we’ll ever know.”
Jack couldn’t bring himself to tell her that the doctor had said her mother would probably never recover.
Frannie held back the tears until she reached the parking lot and couldn’t contain them any longer.
“Fran,” Jamie called from the next row. As he jogged over to her, tall, blond, and so handsome, she brushed frantically at the dampness on her face.
He stopped short in front of her. “Hey,” he said, cupping her face and forcing her to meet his gaze. “What’s wrong?”
Telling him what the doctor had said brought new tears to her eyes.
“Shit,” he muttered as he gathered her into his arms.
Frannie relaxed against his muscular chest, wishing she could stay there forever. “Why’d this have to happen to her? To them?”
“I wish I knew.” His ragged sigh told her he was upset, too. As Jack’s best friend and business partner as well as the girls’ godfather, he’d always been close with Clare. Telling herself this embrace was all about comfort, Frannie put her arms around his waist.
“Are you going to be okay?” he asked after they’d held each other for a long time.
“What choice do I have?” Reluctantly, she released him and took a step back. “My brother needs me.”
He reached for her hand. “I’m here if you need me. You know that, don’t you?”
She wished she had the nerve to
tell him all the ways she needed him, but she never had before, and now was certainly not the time. “Thanks. I may take you up on that. I’m moving in with Jack and the girls.”
“Really?” He seemed to brighten at that news.
“I can’t keep running back and forth between here and New York, and the girls need someone they can count on.”
“They’re lucky to have you.” Tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear, he surprised her when he pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. “Whatever you need, whenever you need it. I’m here.”
His softly spoken words nearly reduced her once again to tears. “I’d better go. Maggie’s waiting for me.”
“Take care, Fran.” He opened the car door and held it for her as she got in.
She waved to him as she drove past him. Glancing in the mirror, she saw that he was still watching her. Now what did that mean?
Frannie moved in lock, stock, and easel to care for the girls while Jack made phone calls, searched the Internet, and consulted with doctors around the country. They all said the same thing—the longer the coma lasted, the less likely it became that Clare would recover.
Since he refused to put Clare in a nursing home, Jack brought her home to the large contemporary house he’d designed and built as a surprise for her five years earlier. He had the first-floor dining room converted to accommodate a hospital bed and the equipment needed by the team of round-the-clock nurses. Most nights he slept on a sofa he’d dragged into the room so she’d never be alone.
A week after Clare came home from the hospital, Jack received a call from Sergeant Curtis, the Newport police officer who’d investigated the accident. The driver had suffered a fatal heart attack, which explained why the car had been so out of control in the mall parking lot. Jack had thought the case was closed as far as the police were concerned.
“I was wondering if I could come by for a few minutes,” Curtis said.
“Is there something new with the case?”
“I have something you need to see.”
Fifteen minutes later, Jack opened the door to the tall, blond cop, and they shook hands.
“What’ve you got there?” He nodded at the disk in Curtis’s hand.
“I was finally able to get a copy of the security video from the mall parking lot. I think you need to see it, but I have to warn you, it’s tough to watch.”
Jack swallowed hard and gestured for Curtis to follow him into the family room. He fed the disk into the DVD player, turned on the television, and watched in stunned silence as his daughters jumped out of the way of the speeding car and then turned to scream at their mother to do the same. They’d had time to turn and scream. Clare had time to move, but she didn’t. She stood there and let the car hit her as her horrified daughters looked on.
“I just don’t understand,” Jack whispered as he watched it a second time. “Why in the world would she do that?”
“Can you, um, think of any reason why she’d want to end her life?”
“Of course not,” he said, but after his conversation with Jill he wasn’t so sure anymore. “She’d never do that, especially in front of her children. They were her whole world.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to imply—”
“That my wife was suicidal?”
“It’s just, well… Why didn’t she move?”
Crushed by yet another wave of helpless despair, Jack shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Get Treading Water!
Other Contemporary Romances Available from Marie Force:
The Treading Water Series
Book 1: Treading Water
Book 2: Marking Time
Book 3: Starting Over
Book 4: Coming Home
The McCarthys of Gansett Island Series
Book 1: Maid for Love
Book 2: Fool for Love
Book 3: Ready for Love
Book 4: Falling for Love
Book 5: Hoping for Love
Book 6: Season for Love
Book 7: Longing for Love
Book 8: Waiting for Love
Single Titles
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 Fatal Series
Book 1: Fatal Affair
Book 2: Fatal Justice
Book 3: Fatal Consequences
Book 3.5: Fatal Destiny, the Wedding Novella
Book 4: Fatal Flaw
Book 5: Fatal Deception
Single Title
The Wreck
About the Author
Marie Force is the USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of 25 contemporary romances, including The McCarthys of Gansett Island Series, the Fatal Series, the Treading Water Series and numerous stand-alone books. Her new series, The Green Mountain Country Store, is coming in 2014. 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 two feisty dogs, Brandy and Louie. Subscribe to updates from Marie about new books and other news. Follow her on Twitter @marieforce and on Facebook. Join one of her many reader groups! Contact Marie at [email protected].
What others are saying about Marie Force’s books:
“With the McCarthy’s of Gansett Island, Marie Force makes you believe in the power of true love and happily ever after. Over and over again.” —Carly Phillips, NY Times Bestselling Author of the Serendipity series
“Maid for Love was a charming beach read that had you believing in the HEA." —Joyfully Reviewed
“This is the first Gansett Island book I've read, but it's clear that Force makes a habit of creating irresistible characters and dramatic situations. Hang out with Evan and Grace and you'll want to stay on Gansett Island, too!" —USA Today's Happy Ever After on Hoping for Love
“Fool for Love was a treat to read with engaging characters and their deep love for one another. Marie Force writes wonderfully, romantic heroes that you just want to curl up next to!” —Joyfully Reviewed
“Ready for Love is a beautiful and inspiring love story. I was riveted to the pages of Ready for Love not only for this magical romance but for the outstanding secondary plot lines as well. This may be my first McCarthys of Gansett Island book but it will not be my last! I am in love with these people and the tiny island they live on.” —Joyfully Reviewed
“Ms. Force has the ability to make you fall in love with her Island and all of the quirky and sweet characters that reside there. I can’t wait to read the next story in this fantastic series! Falling For Love is another keeper in the McCarthy’s of Gansett Island series!” —Joyfully Reviewed.
“Bravo, Ms. Force for your brave and emotional storytelling. Marie Force's Season for Love is another McCarthys of Gansett Island keeper!!” —Joyfully Reviewed
“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
“Marie Force has worked her magic once again with Marking Time.” —Joyfully Reviewed, a “Recommended Read”
“As with any Marie Force book, you are immediately immersed in this storyline and connect with the characters. Once you start, you are hard pressed to put this down and you're smiling or holding your breath through all their ups and down. Another excellent read!” —Marking Time, A Reviewer Top Pick at Night Owl Reviews.
&n
bsp; “Marie does a wonderful job writing a believable May/December romance. I loved Kate and Reid together this time around. As their story unfolds you can really feel that they belonged together, and that age is just a number. The heart loves who it loves.” —Guilty Pleasures on Coming Home
“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.”
“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.
“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.
“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