“Says who? And how come it’s more important than my command?”
“Your mother, your grandmother and Mick, among others. In this instance, they outrank you.”
“When have you had time to speak to all of them?”
“During those rare occasions when you’ve let me out of bed long enough for you to soak in another of those bubble baths you seem to love.”
“I invited you to soak with me,” she reminded him.
“And come out smelling like roses or lilacs or whatever?” he said with an exaggerated shudder.
“You’re man enough to pull it off,” she countered.
“Thanks, but I’d rather not take any chances.”
Susie walked over to him and put her hands on his shoulders. As tall as she was, she still had to stand on tiptoe to touch her lips to his. “I love you, Mack.”
“I love you, too.”
“We might want to remember that this afternoon,” she said direly. “I think once word gets out that we had a wedding and didn’t invite the family, both of our names are going to be mud.”
Mack shook his head. “Oh, Susie, do you know nothing of your family or this town? The word was out about five seconds after the ceremony. This is just our official family debut.”
She should have known it, of course, but she’d hoped there could be one secret that would be safe for a few days. “Everyone knows?”
“Based on the messages on my cell phone and your answering machine, I’d say yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Why let the outside world intrude? This was our time. It wasn’t much in the way of a honeymoon, but we deserved a little privacy. We’ll take that real honeymoon as soon as you’re finished with surgery and treatments,” he promised. “Anyplace you want to go.”
“Ireland,” she said at once. “I promised Gram I’d take her.”
He shook his head as if he despaired of ever understanding her. “You honestly want to take your grandmother on our honeymoon?”
“The whole family,” she corrected.
“You O’Briens are a strange lot,” he said.
“Sorry you married into the family?”
He touched his lips to hers. “I will never be sorry I married you. Now let’s go deal with the fallout from our elopement.”
Susie tried to imagine the furor that lay ahead, but she couldn’t. Still, after so many years of being predictable, it was going to be fun to be the one who’d shaken things up.
Even though he’d tried to hurry Susie along in order to avoid making a grand entrance, the entire family had assembled at Mick’s by the time they arrived, slightly disheveled from Susie’s final attempt to distract him.
Despite the wintry chill in the air, Will and Jake were on the porch waiting for them.
“Well, if it isn’t Mr. and Mrs. Franklin,” Will said, grinning. He slapped Mack on the back, then scooped Susie up in a bear hug and twirled her around. “You two might be slow out of the gate, but once you decide on something, you don’t mess around, do you?”
Jake winked at Susie. “So, how’d you finally talk him into getting married, Susie? Did you ply him with scotch, have your wicked way with him and then sneak off to a justice of the peace before he sobered up?”
“Not even remotely close to the truth,” Mack said. “The justice of the peace was my idea. And you know perfectly well I’d had the ring for ages. The two of you saw it.”
“In the box,” Will reminded him. “I, for one, wasn’t sure it would ever see the light of day.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Mack grumbled. “Susie, let’s go inside. Maybe the rest of the family will behave more civilly than these two.”
“Hey, we’re civil,” Jake protested. “And we’re your best friends. Those people in there…” He leaned in close. “They’re O’Briens, man. And some of them are fit to be tied that they missed the wedding of the century.”
Susie flinched. “This isn’t going to be pretty, is it?” she said to Mack. “How are we going to explain?”
He knew what she was really asking—if they needed to tell everyone the truth. They’d agreed to keep the cancer diagnosis a secret, at least until she’d had the surgery and they knew more about her prognosis.
He gave her hand a squeeze. “We’re not telling them a thing. Don’t worry about it. Everything’s under control.”
She looked doubtful. “How?”
“You’ll see.” He’d called Jo earlier and made a suggestion she’d seized gratefully. By now, she would have run with it, he hoped.
He smiled as they walked inside and almost no one so much as looked their way. All of the women were huddled together in the living room. Susie might have slipped right on by them, but Mack coughed to catch their attention.
“You!” Shanna said, leaping to her feet and running over to gather Susie into an embrace. “You sneaky thing!” She punched Mack in the arm. “Congratulations!”
Within moments, Susie was surrounded by the O’Brien women, laughing as they bubbled over with plans for a reception to be held in a few weeks at The Inn at Eagle Point, Jess’s hotel just up the road.
Mack watched from the sidelines until Jo slipped over to stand beside him.
“Look how happy she is, Mack,” she said softly. “Thank you for that. No matter what happens from here on out, you’re responsible for putting that glow on her face. I’ll be forever grateful to you for that.”
“No need to be. It’s what she deserves. I just hope I can make it last.”
She gave him a sad look. “It’s not entirely up to you, is it? It’s in God’s hands now.” Then she patted his arm. “Run along. This planning is going to take a while.”
He wandered down the hall toward Mick’s study, where the men were watching football. Before he could enter, though, Will met him in the hallway, his expression somber.
“Okay, pal, spill it. What’s really going on? A couple of weeks ago you’d decided against asking Susie to marry you right now. And here you are not just engaged, but married. I doubt it’s because she’s pregnant, since I know for a fact the two of you were too stupid to sleep together, even though it’s what you both wanted.”
“What a lovely characterization,” Mack retorted. “Why does something have to be going on? When a situation is right, it’s right.”
“It’s been right for years,” Will reminded him.
Mack shrugged. “We finally acknowledged it, then decided it was time to get on with what we wanted.”
Will shook his head. “Still not buying it. Look, you’re going to need to talk to someone. I can see something’s off just watching the way you look at her.”
“Don’t men in love stare at their new wives?” Mack asked irritably.
“Not as if they might vanish in a puff of smoke,” Will said, then shook his head. “Okay, you want me to back off, I’ll back off. Just know I’m around if you need me. Some people pay me big bucks because I’m a great listener. For you, the service is free.”
“Thanks,” Mack said. “I mean that. And I know the day will come when I’ll take you up on it. I just can’t right now.”
Will nodded. “Can we expect you back at Sally’s tomorrow?”
Mack shook his head, thinking of the pre-op meeting with Dr. Kinnear. “Probably not this week, but I will be back,” he promised. “There are some things I have to take care of first.”
“Is it the book deal?”
Mack shook his head. Even though Susie had protested vehemently, he’d canceled that. He’d set them up with another reporter who’d do an outstanding job, a man whose life wasn’t as complicated as Mack’s was right now.
“I dropped out of that. I want to meet with Laila, get things started on this whole newspaper idea. My future’s right here. It’s time to get that moving.”
Will seemed surprised, but as he’d promised, he didn’t press with more mostly unanswerable questions.
Just then Nell and Megan O’Brien
came out of the kitchen and called everyone to the table.
“You’re right here, sweetheart,” Nell said to Susie, gesturing to the chair next to hers. “And Mack, you’re next to her. Try to keep your hands to yourselves during the meal.”
Susie laughed. “Way to spoil it for us, Gram.”
“You can behave for an hour in company,” Nell scolded, though her eyes were twinkling. “If you can’t, then head on home.”
Susie turned eagerly to Mack. “Now, that’s an idea I can totally get behind,” she said. “What do you think?”
“I think if we try to leave, there are people here who’d block the exits.” He took her hand and saw that she was seated, then pulled out the chair next to her and sat.
As soon as everyone was in their places, Mick stood up. He looked around with satisfaction at his family. “I see we have a full house today, but something tells me Ma’s pot roast isn’t the main attraction.” He turned to his brother. “Jeff, do you have something you’d like to say?”
Susie leaned over and whispered into Mack’s ear. “That has to be a first, Mick ceding the spotlight to my dad.”
Jeff picked up his glass. “I imagine there are quite a few of us here today who thought this day would never come.” He grinned. “You know, Mick letting me get a word in edgewise.”
When the laughter quieted, his expression sobered. “I doubt there’s anyone in this room who didn’t know that one of these days my daughter and Mack would wind up together. We just had no idea that a former quarterback who could run like the wind could possibly take so long to catch her. I mean, Susie ran track, but let’s face it, she practically slowed down to a crawl to give him a fair chance.”
“Thanks, Dad,” she said, her cheeks flaming.
“Okay, I’m going to be serious now,” Jeff said. “There’s no one around who could possibly make Susie as happy as Mack does. And if that changes, I’ll be first in line to see he pays.”
“Count me in for that,” Mick chimed in.
Susie again leaned close. “Scared yet?”
“Not of them,” Mack said. “You’re the one who terrifies me.”
She grinned happily. “Good.”
Jeff raised his glass. “To Susie and Mack, who took a long time getting here, but are ready for a whole…” His voice broke. He turned to his wife, his expression shaken. Jo stood up and linked her arm through his.
“To my daughter and her new husband and a lifetime of happiness,” she said when Jeff couldn’t continue.
“To Susie and Mack!” The salutation echoed around the table.
If anyone noticed that Jeff continued to look shaken or that there were tears in Jo’s eyes, they didn’t comment. Everyone was a little sentimental at wedding toasts, after all, so what was there to say? Mack didn’t dare meet Susie’s gaze for fear his own emotions might be revealed. Instead, he took her hand and gave it a squeeze.
“I love you,” she whispered. “And this will be over soon.”
Not soon enough for Mack. He’d thought she would be the one who’d have trouble facing all of the family scrutiny, but it seemed he was the one most in jeopardy of losing it. If Jeff had fallen completely apart during that toast, Mack would have been right on his heels.
And then there would have been a huge amount of explaining to do.
Susie had almost made it out of Mick’s and back to the car when Shanna caught up with her. One look at her friend’s shaken expression and Susie knew Shanna had figured out everything.
“It’s cancer, isn’t it?” Shanna asked quietly. “That’s why you and Mack rushed to get married.”
“I’d like to think we got married because we suddenly came to our senses,” Susie said, then sighed. “But yes, he proposed before the diagnosis and convinced me to elope.”
“So you didn’t really know before the wedding?” Shanna said, looking surprised. “Wow! That should tell you something.”
“Mack’s pretty amazing,” Susie said, trying to spot him amid the men hanging out on the porch. It was easy, since he was taller than most, except for Will and her cousin Connor.
Shanna chuckled. “I doubt there’s anyone in the universe who didn’t know how highly you’ve always thought of Mack.”
“I’m serious. He’s an amazing man,” Susie reiterated. “Who else would willingly jump into a marriage with someone who might have no future? When we found out it was cancer, I offered him an out, but he turned me down flat.”
Shanna’s eyes widened. “You did what?”
“We got the diagnosis just after the wedding. I was willing to get an annulment. It would have been the fair thing to do. Assuming I even survive, we’ll never have children. Or at least I won’t.”
Shanna looked stunned. “Surrogacy?” she asked.
“A possibility, but not a very good one, from what I gather. Dr. Kinnear doesn’t want to postpone surgery until I have viable eggs. And he refused to consider the more cautious approach of removing only one ovary for now. I could get a second opinion, but I trust him and the oncologist who’s on the case. They know the research better than I do.”
Shanna hugged her tightly. “Oh, sweetie, you must have been devastated, but it’s not the end of the world. I’m sure Mack reassured you about that.”
Susie nodded. “But I’d wanted to carry his baby inside me. That has to be the most intimate, amazing thing, and now neither of us will ever know what it’s like.”
Shanna paled just a little, enough to tell Susie that she had news of her own she hadn’t shared.
“You’re pregnant,” Susie said dully, wishing she could muster genuine enthusiasm. At the moment she simply couldn’t. “I know how much you and Kevin want to have a child together.”
“We do,” Shanna admitted, trying to contain her joy. “I just wish you hadn’t figured it out right now. The timing sucks for you to get this kind of news.”
Drawing on some inner strength, Susie found the words she needed. “I’m so happy for you,” she said, almost sounding totally sincere. She touched Shanna’s cheek. “I really am, you know. And one day soon I’ll be able to say it and it’ll sound like I mean it.”
“I know,” Shanna said, holding her tight. “I wish it were you, instead.”
“No,” Susie said emphatically. “Don’t say that.”
“But we already have Henry and Davy. We’ve been doubly blessed, even if neither boy is ours together.”
“It doesn’t work that way,” Susie scolded. “Things turn out the way they’re meant to. If Mack and I are meant to have children, we’ll find a way, even if they’re not biologically ours. Right now, I’m living one day at a time. I have to focus entirely on beating this cancer so that Mack and I will have a future.”
“You’re going to do it,” Shanna said with confidence. “Have you ever known an O’Brien who didn’t get exactly what they wanted out of life? You guys are indomitable. This is just a little bump in the road, Susie. And it’s already brought you and Mack together the way you were meant to be. I’m not saying cancer’s ever a good thing, but maybe it was just the wake-up call you and Mack needed to realize how deeply you loved each other.”
Susie gave her friend a wry look. “If you think I’m going to jump up and down and say, ‘Yay, cancer!’, you’re certifiable.”
Shanna laughed. “Well, maybe not that, but you’re married to Mack! As perks go, it’s not a bad one.”
Susie glanced again toward the group of men on the porch, watched as Mack broke free and strode toward her. Just knowing he was her husband made her breath catch.
“No,” she said softly. “It’s definitely not a bad perk at all.”
12
It had probably been too much to hope that the news of Susie’s surgery could be kept from the rest of the family. When Mack had given her a last kiss before she was wheeled off to the operating room, he walked with Jo, Jeff and Nell O’Brien toward the waiting room. There they found the rest of the family already assembled. Even Thomas and Con
nie had come down from Annapolis. Given how widespread the O’Brien reach was in the fabric of the community, Mack had to wonder if any business at all was being conducted in Chesapeake Shores this morning.
“She’s going to be fine,” Mick said gruffly, giving his brother a rare hug. “She’s an O’Brien, isn’t she?”
“Of course she’s going to be fine,” Nell said. “Which makes me wonder what all of you are doing sitting around in here when you should be out living your lives. That’s what Susie would want.”
“We’re here for moral support,” Abby declared. “You’d all be here if it were one of us.” She gave her grandmother a defiant look. “And we’re staying until Susie’s back in her room.”
Mack looked around. The only person missing was Jess. Her absence was telling. She and Susie had this oddly competitive relationship, which somehow needed to be mended. Now that Jess was married to Will, one of his two best friends, it was going to be awkward if Jess and Susie were constantly sparring like the rivals they’d been back in high school.
As if he’d read Mack’s mind, Will came over to sit beside him. “Jess wanted to be here,” he said.
“Really?” Mack was skeptical.
“Honestly, she did,” Will insisted. “She had a group of tourists arriving this morning and couldn’t get away. She’ll be by later.”
Mack continued to look at him doubtfully.
“Come on, man. Give her a break,” Will pleaded. “She knows this whole thing she’s had going with Susie all these years is ridiculous. We talked about it last night.”
Happy to have a distraction that would keep his mind off whatever was happening in the operating room, Mack studied his friend. “What’s that about, anyway? Do you have any idea?”
“Susie aced high school. She was a track superstar. She graduated summa cum laude from college.”
Will recited the familiar facts as if Mack ought to be able to add them together and come up with an answer. He couldn’t. “So?”
“Jess was the screwup. Bad grades. Close to suspension so many times, only Mick’s influence saved her. Of course, the attention deficit disorder was to blame, but no one recognized that for years. Even though she more or less got her act together and finished college, it was a struggle. And unthinking people, even in the family, kept throwing Susie’s successes in her face. No one did it intentionally, of course, but to someone with Jess’s insecurities, it was like rubbing salt in a wound.”
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