He gave her an earnest look. “You know what’s in my heart, Susie. You always have. Somehow, though, Kristen being here made you think you couldn’t trust that. Or maybe it got all twisted up with whether or not you were going to beat the cancer, whether I was with you out of pity, who knows? Anyway, I made up my mind tonight that she’s going. I’ll tell her first thing tomorrow. I didn’t tell her before I walked out on the party, because somebody official needed to stay there and keep everyone happy.”
Finally she lifted her head and met his gaze. “But the paper needs her,” she said, looking guilty.
“Not half as much as I need you. I won’t ever have you questioning that again, Susie. Not for a single second. You’re my motivation, my inspiration and my heart.” He studied her gaze, saw the barely concealed relief in her eyes, the faint hint of hope.
“My test results came back,” she said softly.
Mack felt his pulse slow. “And?”
“I’m not in remission,” she admitted. “I’m going to have to have more treatments, Mack. I don’t know if I can ask you to go through that.”
“You’re the one who’s taking the treatments, Susie. You’ve got the tough job. I’m just the cheerleader. It’s what I signed on to be, and I’m not about to give up now.”
“How can you face all that again?” she asked.
“Look, I’m sorry the news isn’t what we’d hoped for, but if you can deal with more chemo, so can I,” he insisted. “Especially if it means more time with you. You’ll beat this yet, Susie. There’s no other option.”
She searched his face for what felt like an eternity before throwing herself into his arms and burrowing her face into his neck. “I didn’t want to leave you, you know. In some twisted way I was trying to give you a chance at the future I didn’t think I’d be able to give you. The whole time I was saying the words, though, I was praying you wouldn’t go. I guess I’m just not that unselfish, after all. I want every minute we can get.”
Mack closed his eyes, felt a tear slide down his cheek. “The only future I want is with you,” he told her. Her tears mingled with his. “We’re going to make it a great one.”
Susie nodded, looking heartened. “The best.”
Mack reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a thick bundle of papers he’d been saving in case he needed one final bit of ammunition to win her back. As it turned out, maybe they were more about giving her hope, something to look forward to. He handed them to her.
“What are these?” she asked, her eyes alight with curiosity.
“Open the envelope and see for yourself,” he said. “They were meant to be my final bribe to keep you with me.”
When she drew out the airline tickets, a smile spread across her face. “Our honeymoon, the one you promised me,” she exclaimed.
“Ireland for Christmas,” he said. “Take a good look.”
“Oh, my gosh! There are tickets for Gram, Mom, Dad, Matthew, Luke, all of us.”
“And Mick and Thomas have their tickets for everyone else,” he said. “It’s been quite a production keeping this a secret from you. O’Briens are lousy at keeping their mouths shut. It’s a very good thing you’ve been distracted lately. Otherwise it might have taken a miracle to make sure no one let anything slip.”
“You did all this for me,” she marveled.
“And for Nell. She’s been my staunchest supporter lately. I owed her.”
“She must be over the moon,” Susie said. “When we talked earlier, she reminded me that I’d promised her this trip, and told me I was not to let her down.”
“You could never let her down. Or me. You’ve given me everything I ever hoped for, Susie.”
“A sick wife with no prospect for a family?” she asked wryly.
“A beautiful, loving wife, who is my family,” he corrected. “I had a call from Jess on my way over here. I think the rest of the family is gathering up at Mick’s, hanging out to see if we’ve worked things out. Shall we join them?”
Susie rested her hand against his cheek. “Not just yet. I think we’ve got some celebrating of our own to do. I love you, Mack.”
“Not even a tenth as much as I love you,” he responded. “Loving you has made me whole. Despite the fact that we don’t have children, might never have them, you’ve given me a family, Susie.”
For just an instant, a shadow fell across her eyes. He touched her chin, forced her to meet his gaze.
“I mean it. We’re surrounded by this huge wonderful family. And if we decide we want kids of our own, we’ll make that happen. Connor has that adoption attorney on speed dial.” He stroked her cheek. “There’s absolutely nothing we can’t do.”
She smiled slightly. “You still can’t make Gram’s pot roast without burning it,” she said. “I despair of that ever happening.”
“But you can,” he said. “Which only proves my point—together there’s nothing that’s beyond us. We fit, Susie. We always have, always will.”
And thank God for it.
Epilogue
The house on Beach Lane was finished by the end of summer. Mack still wasn’t used to returning each day to a real home, where the woman he loved would be waiting for him. The spacious rooms, the spectacular views, the coziness of the furnishings that had been lovingly chosen by Susie were a far cry from the cramped apartments where he’d grown up.
When he arrived after work on Friday, their decreed “date night,” he found Susie in the kitchen surrounded by boxes of takeout. Her head snapped up and a guilty expression crossed her face when she saw him.
“Uh-oh,” she said. “Now you know my dirty little secret.”
“You mean the fact that Jess has had Gail at the inn preparing these Friday-night dinners for you to pass off as your own?” he teased.
She immediately stood a little taller, radiating indignation. “That is so not true.”
“Really?” he said, eyeing the empty containers. “If I were a lawyer, I’d call those boxes evidence.”
“Well, not everything is what it seems,” she retorted. “The food is from the inn, but I prepared it, albeit under Gail’s watchful eye.”
Mack crossed the kitchen and peered at the food she’d been dishing onto plates. It certainly looked edible. “You cooked?” he asked warily.
She nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. “Stop it. You’ve been eating my cooking for weeks now, and you’ve lived.”
He thought of the meals, mostly simple and basic, but definitely with more taste than anything Susie had been capable of a few months ago. He’d been certain he had Jess and Gail to thank for those. Or, in some instances, Nell. He wrapped his arms around Susie.
“You’ve been taking cooking lessons,” he said, oddly pleased that she would go to such lengths to please him. “Amazing.”
She turned in his embrace until she was facing him, her eyes almost level with his. “I wanted our Friday nights to be special. My repertoire is still pretty limited, but I’m getting there. Gail and Gram have both been helping.”
“I thought I detected your grandmother’s hand in there somewhere.”
“The pot roast and the chicken and dumplings,” she confirmed.
With Susie nestled in his arms, Mack took the time to study her. Her hair had started to grow back, still red and, if anything, even curlier, much to her dismay. Tonight it seemed to him there was an especially bright sparkle in her eyes.
“Is something going on?” he inquired.
“You mean besides this fabulous dinner, which we’re about to eat on the porch?”
“Yes, aside from that.”
She grinned. “You’ll have to wait and see. It’s a surprise for after dinner.”
He dropped a kiss on her forehead, another on her cheek, a third on her neck. “Bet I can get it out of you sooner,” he murmured against her heating skin.
“Stop,” she commanded, laughing and pushing him away.
“You are definitely in an odd mood tonight.” He paused, the
n glanced at the calendar that hung on the wall. Understanding dawned. “The doctor! You saw the doctor today.”
Though she looked a little disappointed that he’d guessed, she nodded.
“And?” he asked, hardly daring to hope that her long ordeal with the chemo might finally be over for good, that she might be cancer-free. He’d wanted to be there with her, but she’d been adamant that she wanted to hear the news on her own, wanted time to digest it, good or bad. He’d argued to no avail.
A slow smile spread across her face and actually reached her eyes. “I’m clear,” she revealed, a hitch in her voice. “There’s no cancer, Mack.”
Mack drew in a deep breath for what felt like the first time in months. Tears welled up in his eyes, spilled down his cheeks.
“They’re sure?” he said, still not daring to believe.
Susie nodded. “As sure as they can be. I’ll be monitored closely, but we have a chance, Mack, a real chance at the future we want.”
Mack pulled her back into his arms, letting the tears fall freely as he rested his chin on her shoulder. “I already have the future I want,” he murmured. “It’s right here in my arms, Susie. You’re all I’ll ever need.”
She was his past, his present and, now, thank God, his future. Forever no longer seemed as if it had an expiration date.
“Do you have any idea at all how much I love you?” Susie whispered.
“It can’t be any more than I love you,” he said, kissing her. All thoughts of dinner and being on the porch for the sunset fled. Everything that mattered was right here.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
For years Susie O’Brien declared that she would never date a player like Mack Franklin. Instead, she settled for being his friend. In the book, though, Susie is ready to change the rules, but finds that it’s next to impossible. Have you ever established boundaries in a relationship, then regretted it? Were you able to change the dynamics from friendship to something more? How?
What are the risks if you do take a chance on getting involved with someone who’s been a friend? Have you ever taken that next step, then lost the friendship when things didn’t work out? Was it worth it? Or were you able to recapture the friendship? If so, how?
Susie’s diagnosis of ovarian cancer is devastating. Aside from medical treatment, what do you think is most important in her ability to fight the disease? Her relationship with Mack? Her inner strength? What role do you believe a positive attitude plays in healing? Have you had experience with this?
When Susie is first diagnosed with ovarian cancer, her doctors recommend not waiting for surgery in order to harvest any viable eggs. They also encourage her not to take the more cautious approach of removing only the affected ovary. This guarantees that she and Mack will never have children of their own. Have you ever faced such a difficult decision? What did you do? If not, how do you think you would have proceeded? Would you have followed doctor’s orders or insisted on a more cautious surgery in the hopes of having children?
Susie and Mack go forward with the surgery the doctors feel will give her the best chance for survival. Do you think Mack’s concerns about being a father play any role is his encouraging her to do this? Or is he totally focused on Susie’s survival?
Along the same lines, Mack comes from a very troubled background. How do you think that affected the relationships he had before Susie? And what role do you think it plays in keeping them apart for so long? Or is that not-dating stance totally Susie’s thing?
When Mack hires Kristen Lewis to work for his newspaper, there are red flags everywhere. How did you feel about that decision? Should he have anticipated the problems, especially with everyone speaking out about them? Or should Susie have been more candid about her own doubts? Have you ever gone against the advice of family or friends and lived to regret it?
Susie and her cousin Jess have had a very competitive relationship throughout their lives, mostly because things came so easily to Susie, while Jess always had to struggle. Have you ever had a competitive relationship with a sibling or other family member or even a friend? How have you dealt with it?
Initially Susie and Jess’s tense relationship poses potential problems for their spouses, Mack and Will. Have the feelings of a spouse ever caused problems in an important relationship in your life? How have you worked it out?
When Susie’s first round of chemo doesn’t put her into remission, she’s completely thrown by the news. With her optimism and hope shaken, she offers to give Mack his freedom. He absolutely refuses. But not all men are like Mack. Have you known people whose marriages have been broken by an illness—one affecting either of the partners or a child? Are there steps that can be taken to keep a marriage strong through such difficult times? What role does faith play?
ISBN: 978-1-4592-0523-9
BEACH LANE
Copyright © 2011 by Sherryl Woods
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*The Sweet Magnolias
**Trinity Harbor
***Chesapeake Shores
†The Rose Cottage Sisters
Beach Lane Page 31