Ready for Love (21 page)

“I can see that, but I think you should relax about the details and just go with it. See where it takes you. If anything good has come out of all you’ve been through, you have the freedom to do whatever you want. If being here with Luke for now feels good, then stay.”

“I need to talk to him about this at some point. It would help to know that he would understand if I can’t live here full time.” She blew out a deep breath. “I can’t decide anything until after the sentencing hearing. That’s hanging over me like a ton of bricks. Once that’s done, maybe I’ll feel more ready to make some plans.”

“You need closure before you can move forward. I totally get that.” Maddie squeezed Syd’s hand. “In the meantime, you have to help me decide on this nursery furniture. When I had Thomas, I had to make do with used stuff and hand-me-downs. Mac wants all new stuff for this little one.” She rested a hand on her round belly, and her eyes widened when the baby responded with a swift kick.

“Already talking back,” Sydney said, laughing. “Has to be a girl.”

Maddie chuckled. “Can you even
begin
to imagine Mac with a little girl? The poor thing won’t be allowed to date until she’s fifty.”

“He’ll be great with a girl.”

“He’s so excited about this baby. It’s all he talks about.”

“That’s so sweet.”

“It’s much different than when I was expecting Thomas and all anyone cared about was who the father was.”

“Enjoy every minute. You’ve got a wonderful son and husband, and now another on the way.”

“You know, as we were talking, I was thinking there’s no one here who has your decorating skills. You might find a very satisfying new career right here on the island.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Mrs. McCarthy.”

Maddie flashed a triumphant grin. “I’m totally biased because I’d so love to have you here year-round.”

The house phone rang, and Maddie made a comical attempt to get up from the floor.

“Stop,” Sydney said, laughing at the faces her friend was making. “I’ll get it.”

“It’s on the kitchen counter.”

Sydney ran for the kitchen and picked up the extension.

“Maddie?”

“No, it’s Sydney. Let me get her.”

“Syd, it’s Janey.”

Syd’s stomach plummeted at the grave tone of Janey’s voice. “Is everything okay? Is Buddy okay? I’ll be by shortly to pick him up.”

“Buddy’s fine, but there’s been an accident at the marina.”

All the air seemed to leave Sydney’s lungs in one big whoosh.

“My dad, Mac and Luke were all taken to the clinic.” Sydney could hear tears in Janey’s voice. “I only know one of them is hurt bad. Stephanie was so hysterical when she called my mother that we don’t know anything else. Can you bring Maddie and meet us there?”

“Yes,” Sydney said, her hands shaking and her heart beating hard. “We’ll be right there.” She put down the phone, took a deep breath to calm her rattled nerves and returned to the living room to find Thomas snuggled up to his mother, his eyes heavy.

“Syd? You’re totally pale. What is it?”

“There’s been an accident.”

“Oh God.
No
. Not Mac.” In a whisper she said, “Please tell me it’s not Mac.” Her caramel-colored eyes filled with tears. Somehow she managed to get up and settle Thomas on the sofa.

“Mac, his dad and Luke were all hurt. Janey didn’t have any of the details, except that one of them was hurt bad. She said we should meet them at the clinic.”

Maddie stood frozen in place, one hand resting on her pregnant belly.

Sydney went to her. “Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together, okay?” Sydney had no idea where this calm control was coming from. The idea that Luke could be injured—or worse—made her want to howl. He had promised her nothing bad would happen to her again. He’d
promised
.

Maddie clung to her for a long moment.

“Let’s call Tiffany so we can drop Thomas off with her on the way to the clinic,” Syd said. “I’ll drive.” She lifted the sleeping toddler from the sofa and closed her eyes tight against the rush of emotion as he molded himself to her without waking, the way Max used to at that age.

Maddie grabbed her purse and keys and led the way out of the house to the SUV.

Sydney fumbled her way through settling Thomas into his car seat. Her hands shook all the way into town, where they dropped the boy with his aunt.

Tiffany’s concern for Mac sent Maddie even further into herself.

As they headed for the clinic, Syd reached for her hand. “He’s okay. He has to be okay. They all are.” The alternative was simply unimaginable.

Maddie tightened her grip on Syd’s hand but didn’t say anything.

As Sydney and Maddie rushed into the emergency entrance, the first thing they heard was Mac bellowing for someone to tell him
something
about his father. At the sound of his voice, Maddie staggered, and for a moment Sydney wondered if her friend was going to faint.

“Oh,” Maddie whispered, “thank God.” She rushed past the registration desk, following the sound of her husband’s voice.

Since Sydney didn’t know what else to do, she went with Maddie.

“I’m Mrs. McCarthy,” Maddie said to the nurse in the hallway. “I need to see my husband.”

“Right in here.” The nurse opened the curtain to Mac, who was red-faced and furious. “He’s all yours.”

Maddie burst into tears at the sight of him.

“Come here, baby,” he said, holding out his arms to her. “Sorry I couldn’t call you. My phone is toast.”

She crawled right onto the bed with him. “What happened?” she managed to ask through her tears.

Even though Sydney felt like she was intruding on an intensely private moment, she needed to hear what Mac had to say, so she waited.

He told them about the boat and the accident, adding in a much louder voice, “And
no one
will tell me how my father is!”

“We’re checking on him for you, Mr. McCarthy,” the nurse said in a long-suffering tone that indicated she’d already told him that a few times.

“Are you hurt?” Maddie asked, her hands traveling from his face to his chest.

“I’m fine, but apparently I have to stay here until Dr. Maitland says I can go.”

“Should just be a few more minutes,” the nurse said.

“What about Luke?” Sydney asked, holding her breath in anticipation of whatever she might hear.

“He sprained his ankle, pretty badly, I guess.”

“And that’s it?”

“That’s all I heard.”

“He was waiting to have an X-ray, last I knew,” the nurse said. “I could take you to him, if you’d like.”

“Yes,” Sydney said, sick with relief. “Please.” To Maddie, she said, “Will you be okay?”

Snuggled into her husband’s embrace, Maddie closed her eyes. “I’ll be just fine.”

As Sydney followed the nurse, Mrs. McCarthy, Janey and Stephanie came into the ER, looking undone and teary-eyed. Sydney pointed the way to where they could find Mac.

Janey hugged her on the way by.

“I’m praying for your dad,” Sydney said.

“Thank you,” Janey said as new tears spilled down her cheeks.

“I’ll check on you after I’ve seen Luke.”

Janey nodded and followed her mother into Mac’s room.

The nurse led Sydney down a long hallway to the X-ray room. “Right in there,” she said, pointing.

Sydney’s heart raced as she walked into the darkened room to find Luke on a gurney, his foot propped up on pillows and an ice pack covering his ankle.

“Hey,” he said, extending a hand to her.

Sydney had promised herself she wouldn’t cry, but the instant she saw him alive and well and talking, she lost the battle.

“I’m okay, honey. Come see for yourself.”

Just like Maddie, she crawled onto the bed and into his arms.

His lips brushed her forehead. “I’m okay.”

“Scared me.”

“I’m sorry. I hated knowing how worried you’d be. My phone is in my truck so I couldn’t call you.”

“I heard you were quite the hero.”

He shook his head. “Mac was the hero. He jumped in after his father and got him breathing again while they were still in the water.”

“Mac said his father’s hurt bad.”

“He hit his head. We think on the boat’s swim platform. It looked pretty grim.” A shudder rippled through him. Knowing how close he was to Mr. McCarthy, Syd could imagine how concerned he was. “That drunken son of a bitch had no business running a boat, that’s for sure.”

“God,” Sydney said, shuddering. “You all could’ve been killed.”

With his index finger, he tilted her chin so he could see her face. He wiped away her tears and kissed her. “I’m not going to die, Syd. I promise.”

“You can’t promise that.”

“Yes, I can.”

She smiled at him, appreciating what he was trying to do. “How’s your ankle?”

“It hurt like a mother until they gave me some good drugs.”

“I’ll take care of you,” she said, nuzzling his neck. “For as long as you need me, I’ll be there.”

He tightened his hold on her. “They said it could take forty to fifty years to heal.”

Sydney laughed through her tears and stayed with him until the X-ray technician arrived.

Janey had to get out of there. She couldn’t bear to sit in that room watching her father’s ashen face, hoping for some sign of life from one who was always so much larger than life. The waiting was simply unbearable.

She left her mother with Mac, Maddie and Stephanie and went outside to get some air. Joe had been on the mainland for the day, checking on his house over there, which they had closed up when they moved to Ohio for the school year. When she called to tell him about the accident, he said he’d be there as soon as he could. At times like this, living on an island truly sucked.

He’d made so many sacrifices to support her dream of attending veterinary school, and now with their wedding just over two weeks away, she might have to ask him to make another one.

No way could she get married without her dad there to give her away. They’d have to postpone it until he was able to be there with them. That was all there was to it. The thought of putting off a wedding they’d looked forward to for a year had new tears filling her eyes. One again her entire life had been upended in an instant, and she was reeling.

She thought she was seeing things when a Gansett Island Ferry Company truck came roaring into the parking lot, skidding into the final turn.

“Oh, Joe,” she said, running to him.

He met her halfway and lifted her right off her feet.

“How did you get here so soon? I only called an hour ago.”

“Slim flew me over,” he said, referring to one of the island’s pilots and a friend of the McCarthy family. “Faster than the ferry. How is he?”

“I don’t know. They won’t tell us anything, just that head injuries are hard to predict. He looks awful. You need to prepare yourself.”

“Aw, baby, who prepared you?”

A sob erupted from her chest, and she clung to him. “Seeing him in that bed. . .” She shuddered. “I’ve never been more afraid in my life.” The scent of the ocean and Joe’s favorite clove cigarettes comforted her as much as his strong embrace. “We’ll have to put off the wedding.” Saying it out loud seemed to make it real.

“We don’t have to worry about that today. Let’s see what the next few days bring.”

Janey drew back so she could see his face. “I can’t get married without him. I just can’t.”

“Neither can I. He’s been a father to me, too.”

Relieved that he agreed, Janey kissed his cheek and then his lips. “I should’ve known you’d get it. Don’t you always?”

“We’ll still get married, honey, but if we have to wait a bit longer so he can be there with us, then we’ll wait.”

“Thanks for understanding.”

“I love you love you, Janey,” he said as he always did. “No matter what happens, I’ll be right there with you, okay?”

Nodding, she said, “Put me down so I can take you to see Dad.”

“I will.” He pressed his lips to her neck. “In a minute.”

Grant’s pounding head woke him from a sound sleep. Rolling over, he moaned at the shaft of pain that sliced through his skull. He’d awoken in this condition far too often lately. In fact, nearly every day since his mother called to tell him about Abby’s engagement.

Since no one had bothered to tell him she’d been dating, the news had caught him completely off guard and totally unprepared. How could she even think about marrying someone else? There was no way she could possibly
love
that guy. Not as much as she loved him.

He sat up and fought back a swell of nausea. The drinking had to stop. It wasn’t making anything better. His career and life had gone to shit, and no amount of booze was ever going to change that.