Ready for Love

by Marie Force

  “Sorry to be of no use whatsoever.”

  She stopped walking and turned to him. “All I care about is you’re alive and you only sprained your ankle.”

  Luke smiled. She was so cute when her dander was up. “Come here and kiss me.”

  Glancing around the busy clinic, she took a tentative step toward him.

  “A little closer.”

  She rested her hands on his shoulders and went up on tiptoes to kiss him.

  “I know for a fact you can do better than that.”

  “Here?”

  “You just said all you care about is I’m alive. Prove it.”

  Her eyes dropped to his lips, and that was all it took to make him hard as stone. By the time she slid her hand around his neck and gave him a much better kiss, Luke was ready to beg.

  “Mmm.” He wished he could put his arms around her and hold her close. These crutches were going to be a serious drag. “Now we’re talking.”

  “Can we go home now?”

  “How’re we getting there?”

  “Oh crap. I left my car at Maddie’s.” She rolled her lip between her teeth. “If you have no objection, I’ll call my parents.”

  Luke wasn’t exactly keen on another encounter with the Donovans so soon after the last one. “Or we could ask Ned.”

  The cab driver was in the waiting room, still holding hands and talking with Francine.

  “Nah,” Syd said. “Leave them be. They’ve got a lot of catching up to do.” She drew her phone from her shorts pocket and dialed a number as Luke continued toward the door. “Mom? Are you busy?”

  Sydney’s parents pulled up to the emergency room entrance fifteen minutes later.

  “We heard about what happened at the marina,” her mother said as she held the back door of the SUV for Luke. “Thank goodness you’re all right.”

  “Thanks,” Luke said.

  Her father took Luke’s crutches and stowed them in the back. “Any word on Mr. McCarthy?” he asked.

  “Nothing new,” Luke said. “Dr. Maitland said he should be okay, though.”

  “Well, that’s a relief,” Mary Alice said.

  Sydney appreciated that her parents seemed to be making an effort to be nice to Luke. She directed them to Luke’s house and held his hand between both of hers in the backseat. “Dad, would you mind taking me to get Buddy after we get Luke home?”

  “’Course not.”

  “I can’t lift him on my own, and I’m afraid of hurting him.”

  “Why don’t we take him home to our house,” Mary Alice suggested. “We can look after him, since you’ll have your hands full taking care of Luke.”

  Luke squeezed her hand and sent her a questioning look.

  Syd had no idea where this new, agreeable version of her mother had come from. “Are you sure that wouldn’t be too much trouble?”

  “We’d be happy to have him, right, Allan?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “That would certainly take a load off my mind,” Syd said. “Thank you.”

  When they arrived at Luke’s house, Sydney got his crutches and helped him out of the car.

  “Where’s your car, honey?” Allan asked.

  “Over at Maddie’s. I’ll get it tomorrow.”

  “I can run you over there on the way home.”

  “May as well,” Luke said. “That way we aren’t stranded without a car, since my truck is at the marina.”

  “Okay,” Syd said. “Thanks, Dad.”

  “Thanks for the lift, Mr. Donovan,” Luke said.

  “No problem.”

  “Hope you feel better,” her mom added.

  Her parents waited outside while Sydney escorted Luke into the house and helped him get settled on the sofa.

  He removed the walking boot and propped his foot on a pillow.

  Sydney gasped at her first look at his horribly swollen and bruised ankle. “Oh, Luke,” she said. “God, it’s awful.”

  “Could’ve been much worse,” he said, but she noticed he was sweating and his lips had gone white with pain.

  She got him an ice pack, wrapped it in a towel and brought him two of the pain pills the clinic had sent him home with. Bending to kiss his forehead, she said, “I’ll be right back, okay?”

  “I’ll be right here.”

  Handing him the remote for the TV, she kissed him one more time and hurried out the door, anxious to get back to him. She climbed into her parents’ car and closed the door.

  “Is he all right?” Mary Alice asked.

  “He’s in pain, and his ankle is horrible.”

  “Will he be able to work?” Allan asked, glancing at her in the rearview mirror.

  “Not for a while, I suppose.”

  “I wonder what he’ll do,” Mary Alice said fretfully.

  “He’s not destitute, Mom.”

  “He’ll get workman’s comp for an accident at work,” Allan, the lawyer, said.

  “I suppose,” Sydney said.

  “Quite a piece of property he’s got there,” he added.

  “Yes.” Her mother’s worries had Sydney wondering if even with workman’s comp Luke could afford to be out of work for several weeks, especially in the summer. “Thanks for the help, you guys.”

  “We were glad you called,” Mary Alice said, turning in her seat. “We feel bad about what happened the other day.”

  “I certainly don’t want to be at odds with you. Not after all we’ve been through.”

  “We don’t want that either, honey.”

  “I’d like you to do something for me.” She met her mother’s gaze. “I want you to get to know Luke so you can see what I see in him. I’m asking you to give him a chance. Can you do that?”

  “There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for you, Syd,” Allan said. “You know that.”

  “Does that include respecting my choices?”

  “We want you to be happy again,” Mary Alice said. “If Luke makes you happy, then we’re happy, too.”

  “You mean that?”

  She nodded. “The last thing we want is for you to suffer any more heartache. You’ve already had more than your share.”

  “He loves me,” Syd said. “I feel that every minute I’m with him.”

  “Are you sure it’s not too soon to be getting so involved with someone else?” Allan asked. “It hasn’t been that long.”

  Even though she knew it was a reasonable question, it still made her mad. “How long is long enough, Dad? Can you tell me that? Is there a widow rule book I don’t know about?”

  “Now, honey, I don’t mean to upset you. I’m concerned about you getting hurt again.”

  “Luke would never hurt me.”

  “Not intentionally.”

  “Not ever. I’m far more worried about hurting him the way I did before.”

  “You have to stop blaming yourself for what happened years ago, Syd,” Mary Alice said. “You were just a kid.”

  “I was old enough to know he’d be crushed, but I was too much of a coward to end it the way I should have.”

  “If you saw fit to end it with him then—”

  “I didn’t see fit to end it! You told me he wasn’t good enough for me, and I believed you! I let you twist me in knots until I didn’t know which end was up.”

  “But you were happy with Seth. We saw that with our own eyes.”

  “I was happy with him, but I never loved him the way I love Luke.” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, filling her with despair. Until that very moment, she hadn’t admitted it even to herself.

  “Sydney! How can you say such a thing?”

  “It’s the truth. I can’t help how I feel.” She swiped at the tears. “I couldn’t help it then, and I can’t help it now.”

  “But if you hadn’t married Seth—”

  “I don’t regret marrying him. I don’t regret the life we had together or our beautiful children, but I deeply regret decimating someone else on the way to that perfect life yo
u wanted so badly for me.”

  In Maddie’s driveway, her father parked next to Syd’s car and turned off the engine. The three of them sat in uncomfortable silence until Sydney took a deep, fortifying breath. “I miss Seth and my children every minute of every day, but I’ve chosen not to be defined by what I’ve lost. I simply can’t live mired in tragedy and sorrow without joy or hope or a reason to get up in the morning.”

  Despite her intention to get through this without tears they came anyway. “Being with Luke brings me joy, and for the first time in more than fifteen months, I’m hopeful again. I’m hopeful that every day of what’s left of my life isn’t going to totally suck. He’s done that for me, so all I’m asking is that you give him a chance. Just give him a chance. Please.”

  She got out, shut the door and headed for her own car. For a long time, she sat there hoping her hands would stop shaking so she could drive. A tap on the window surprised her. She turned the key so she could open the window.

  “I’m okay, Mom.”

  “If he feels up to it, how about you and Luke come for dinner tomorrow night?”

  Looking up at her mother, Sydney nodded. “We’d like that.”

  Chapter 20

  While his mother and Janey went to check on Maddie, Grant stayed with his father, staring down at the bed and willing him to wake up. Cal had said he could be out of it for a while, but Grant kept talking as if his father could hear him.

  He stopped talking only to answer text messages from his brothers, Adam and Evan, who were en route to the island and were looking for updates on their father’s condition.

  “Adam and Evan will be here later tonight,” Grant told his father. “They said to tell you they don’t appreciate you scaring them this way.” He smiled, imagining his father’s response to that.

  “How’s he doing?”

  Grant spun around and found Abby standing in the doorway, looking nervous and adorable. He wanted so badly to feel her arms around him, to hear her say everything would be okay. No one had ever understood him the way she did.

  “About the same,” Grant said.

  “How’re you doing?”

  “I’ll be better when he wakes up.”

  “Is there anything I can do for you?”

  Grant knew she was just being polite, but he couldn’t miss the opportunity. “You could tell me what you’re thinking hitching yourself to that overgrown cowboy.”

  Her expressive eyes flashed with anger. “You have no right to ask me that.”

  Behind Abby’s back, Stephanie appeared, holding a container. Grant shook his head, and she ducked out of sight.

  “I have every right to ask that,” he said to Abby.

  “I waited years for you, Grant. I put my whole life on hold hoping you’d get yours together so we could move forward with our relationship. But that never happened, and I got tired of waiting.”

  “You can’t honestly expect me to believe that you love him more than you love me.”

  “I love him differently than I loved you.”

  Her use of the past tense was another knife to his heart. “What the hell does that mean?”

  “He’s there for me. He supports me rather than expecting me to support him a hundred and ten percent without anything in return.”

  “I never expected that.”

  “Oh come on!” Glancing at his father, she lowered her voice. “That’s all I was to you—your muse, your enabler, your lover, your housekeeper. It was never, ever about me.”

  “It was all about you. You were everything to me, Abby.”

  At that, her cool composure finally began to waver. “You had a funny way of showing it.”

  Grant went around the bed to get closer to her.

  She took a step back, discouraging him from touching her.

  “Give me another chance. I’ve sold my house and car. I’ve left LA, and I’m back to stay for now.”

  “For now? What does that mean?”

  Even though she was sending the “hands off” signal, he reached out to touch her face. “It means I’m making some changes. I’m nothing without you. You can’t just walk away like all our years together meant nothing to you.”

  She took his hand, lowered it from her face and released it. “They meant too much to me. I lost myself in our relationship, and I don’t want that anymore. I’m happy with Cal. He sees me in a way that you never did. And I’m sorry if it hurts you to hear this, but I’m going to marry him in October.”

  Grant shook his head. “You can’t marry him, Abby. It’s all wrong, and you know that.”

  “I’m asking you to respect my decision.”

  “How can I do that when you’re ruining both our lives?”

  She shook her head. “I’m not ruining my life. If yours isn’t what you want it to be, I can’t take responsibility for that. Not anymore.” Glancing at his father, she said, “Please tell your dad I was here and give him my love. I have to go now.” She spun around and left the room.

  Grant followed her. “Abby, wait! Don’t go.”

  She turned and stopped him with a hand to his chest. Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears as she looked up at him. “I loved you so much,” she whispered. “There was nothing I wouldn’t have done for you, but it’s over now. Please let me go.”

  Stunned, Grant stood in the corridor and watched her until she was out of sight. He couldn’t believe what she’d just said. How could it be over when they were supposed to have forever together? His stomach ached, and his head pounded, but his heart felt like it had been ripped out of his chest and run over by a truck.

  Returning to his father’s room, he stopped short when he saw Stephanie waiting for him.

  She lowered her eyes as if she was embarrassed by what she’d just witnessed. “So much for acting like you don’t care.” She thrust a carafe at him. “Drink this. It’ll make you feel better.”

  “As if anything can make me feel better.” He took the container from her and opened it. The smell of whatever she’d concocted had his stomach surging. Recoiling, he thrust it back at her. “The cure is definitely worse than the ailment.”

  She pushed it back to him. “Trust me. It works.”

  “If I barf all over the place, I’m blaming you.”

  The frightened look she gave him made Grant feel like he’d kicked a puppy. “I’m just kidding.”

  “I know that,” she said but didn’t look convinced.

  Mac came down the hallway looking rattled and zeroed in on Grant. “Oh good. There you are. I need a favor.”

  “Sure. Anything.”

  “Turns out Maddie was in preterm labor.”

  “Oh my God,” Grant said. “Is she all right? The baby?”

  He nodded. “They managed to stop it, and they’re both fine, but Cal put her on full bed rest until she delivers.”

  Grant choked back a retort about the good doctor. Everyone’s hero.

  “Wow,” Stephanie said. “What a drag.”

  “Seriously,” Mac agreed. “But she’ll do whatever’s necessary to protect the baby. It’s just that she won’t be able to handle a toddler on her own, so I’ll need to be home a lot of the time. And with Dad and Luke out of commission—”

  “I’ll take care of the marina. I already told Luke that.”

  “We’ll pay you like we would any other employee.”

  “Whatever,” Grant said with a shrug. “It’s the best job offer I’ve had in years.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” Stephanie said.

  Grant sent her a twisted grin. “Believe it.” To his brother, he said, “Is there anything special I need to know?”

  “I can show you,” Stephanie said, adding, “I pay attention.”

  “That’d be great,” Mac said. “Thank you both.”

  “We’ll take care of McCarthy’s,” Grant said. “You take care of your wife and son.”

  “I appreciate that, bro. I really do.” Mac peered into his father’s room. “Any change?”r />
  “Not yet.”

  “Helluva day around here,” Mac said.

  “How’s Mom holding up?” Grant asked.

  “Remarkably well. It’s Janey I’m worried about. Ten days until the wedding and the matron of honor is put on bed rest and the father of the bride is out cold.”

  “It’ll all be fine,” Grant said. “You can’t keep the McCarthys down for long.”

  Mac cast another wary glance at their father. “Let’s hope you’re right about that. I sure wish he’d wake up.”

  “Yeah, me too. Go on back to your wife. I’ll stay with him.”

  “Let me know the second anything changes.”

  “Will do. The boys will be in on the eight o’clock boat.”

  Mac nodded. “I’ll recruit them to help out at the marina, too.”

  “But I’m in charge, right?” Grant asked with a teasing grin, hoping to lighten his brother’s mood.

  Mac rolled his eyes and went to rejoin his wife.

  “You guys are so lucky,” Stephanie said with a wistful expression on her face.

  Grant had almost forgotten she was there. “How’s that?”

  “You have a great big wonderful family to lean on when times get tough.”

  “You don’t have that?”

  She shook her head and crossed her arms. “Are you going to drink that or carry it around all day?”

  Intrigued by how the mention of family had shut her down, Grant lifted the container to his nose and gagged anew. “I really have to drink this?”

  “You’ll be praising my name in thirty minutes.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Stop being a big baby and just drink it.”

  “Well, jeez, when you put it like that, here goes nothing.” Grant tipped his head back to guzzle it down, and sure enough, it tried to come right back up. Somehow he kept from hurling all over the corridor, but his head spun and his eyes watered. “Holy shit,” he sputtered. “What the hell was in that? Kerosene?”

  “Just a little lighter fluid to keep things interesting.”

  His mouth fell open, and judging from the way her concoction was burning its way through his gut, he wasn’t entirely sure she was kidding.

  “Shut your mouth before you start to drool—or worse.”

  Unused to a woman talking to him that way, Grant did as he was told but took a more measuring look at the saucy waif with the spiked hair. Her eyes weren’t quite green or blue but rather an interesting combination of the two colors. They were framed by extravagant lashes but marred by overly dark makeup. Multiple studs lined both her ears, and he’d caught a glimpse of a stud in her tongue. Grant swallowed hard at the thought of it. As much as the idea of a tongue stud horrified him, it intrigued him, too.