Treading Water (42 page)

“
We can file new charges in
your case, and we’d have a better chance of securing a conviction
since we’re dealing with a pattern.”

“
Why do I hear a ‘but’ in
there?” Clare asked.

Curtis paused for a moment before he
continued, appearing to choose his words carefully. “Your family
has already been through a terrible ordeal. A trial would be ugly.
You’d have to recount the assault in open court, and his lawyer
would do a number on the fact that you remembered it in a dream.
He’s in prison for life, and he’ll never be paroled. You have to
weigh whether adding another conviction to his rap sheet is worth
the toll on you and your family.”

“
It isn’t,” she said
without hesitation. “He’s in prison, and he’s not getting out, so
there’s no way he can do this to someone else. If I pressed
charges, I’d have to worry that he’d make good on getting someone
else to hurt my kids. I won’t take that risk.”

“
If you’re sure,” Curtis
said.

“
I’m sure,” Clare said,
tightening her hold on Jack’s hand.

“
For what it’s worth, I
think you’re doing the right thing. A rape victim is often put on
trial herself, and I’d hate to see that happen to you when you’ve
already been through so much.”

“
Thank you, Sergeant, for
believing my story yesterday, for moving so quickly to protect my
family, and to find Turner,” Clare said. “I appreciate
it.”

“
I’m just glad we were able
to find him.”

“
Could you keep this out of
the papers? My family has been through enough without this being
splashed all over the news. We’ll tell the people we want to
know.”

“
Consider it done,” Curtis
said as he got up to leave. “I admire your courage, Clare. Good
luck to both of you.”

Jack stood to shake the detective’s hand.
When Curtis had gone, Jack turned to her. “I’m proud of you. I’m
sure you want your own justice, but you made the right
decision.”

“
He’s taken enough from
me—from all of us. I’m ready to get back to living. I could never
do that with a trial and his threats hanging over my head. I want
to put it behind me.”

“
Then that’s what we’ll
do.” Jack squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek, hoping he could
do it for her.

Andi groaned and rolled
over, dropping her feet down to propel herself out of bed. Now in
her seventh month, she couldn’t imagine being any bigger than she
was already.
It’ll get worse before it’s
over
, she reminded herself. Her back
screamed from the weight of the babies, and Dr. Abbott had
threatened to put her on bed rest if she didn’t slow down on her
own. She hadn’t seen Jack in three months and still found that
continuous activity was the only thing that kept her mind from
wandering back in time.

Eric was in Chicago for a
longer-than-expected stay, since Andi was either working or
exhausted and was almost too big to fit behind the wheel of her car
to take him anywhere. Betty had flown to Rhode Island right after
school ended to pick up her grandson for a month-long visit. Andi
figured it was his best hope for a fun summer and was grateful for
her mother’s help.

Kate had been a big hit from her first day
at the hotel, and the bar manager reported there were now regulars
who showed up on the days she was working just to hear her play.
Andi enjoyed having her around, and Kate usually stopped in to see
her before her shifts.

Andi waddled back downstairs after a brief
rest, knowing Kate would be coming by soon. She’d just made it back
to her office when Kate came in looking all grown up in a white
blouse, black skirt, and high-heeled sandals.

“
Hey, how’s it going?” Kate
studied her with concern.

Andi knew her face was probably devoid of
color and, as usual, she was out of breath. “Just had a nap to get
me through the afternoon. How are you?”

“
Good.” Kate cast a nervous
glance over her shoulder. “Um, listen, my car’s in the shop having
the new stereo put in so my dad brought me to work today. He was
wondering if he could talk to you. Just for a minute…”

Andi’s heart fluttered. “I don’t think
that’s such a good idea.”

“
Please, Andi. He needs to
see for himself that you’re okay.”

Andi didn’t have the strength to argue.
“Fine. Send him in. I’ll see you later?”

“
I’ll come by before I
leave.” Kate went to get her father.

Andi’s heart went from fluttering to
hammering as she sat behind her desk and waited for him. When he
came in, she experienced the familiar surge of love that’d left her
breathless long before twin babies were squeezing all the air from
her lungs.

He leaned against the door frame as if he
was afraid to step inside. “Hi.”

She drank in the sight of him, hungry for as
much as she could get. “Hi.”

“
Thanks for seeing me. How
are you?”

She pushed back from her desk so he could
see her huge belly. “Enormous and getting bigger every day.”

His eyes almost popped out
of his head. “Does it
hurt
?”

She smiled at his reaction. “Just my back,
which is killing me, and I have the lungs of a three-pack-a-day
smoker since these guys are taking up all the room.” She patted her
belly and told him the doctor had said everything was great at her
last appointment. She didn’t add that she’d chosen not to find out
the babies’ sexes, since she couldn’t bear to hear that news
without him with her.

“
You’ve never been more
beautiful. You’re glowing.”

“
Like a nuclear reactor,”
she said with a dry chuckle.

He laughed.

“
Do you want to sit for a
minute?” She gestured to the chair next to her desk, and he came
in, bringing his achingly familiar scent with him. “How are
you
?” Something about him
was different, but she couldn’t say what.

“
I’m hanging in there.” He
told her what Clare had remembered.

“
Oh, Jack. God… I’m so
sorry. Poor Clare. What a terrible burden she carried all
alone.”

“
She was too afraid to tell
anyone, even me. I felt so helpless and enraged when I heard it
that I realized I could kill him if I had the chance.”

The hint of rage she’d seen in his eyes was
the difference. “I don’t doubt it.” She wanted so badly to reach
out to him that it took every ounce of willpower she had not to.
“How is she now?”

“
She’s working really hard
on her therapy—all of it. Knowing what happened seems to have
fueled her desire to get better and to not let him win.”

“
Good for her. Kate told me
Clare was able to attend her graduation.”

“
It was her first time out
of the hospital. Kate’s class asked her to sing, and Clare couldn’t
believe how good she was.”

“
Kate showed me her car,
too,” Andi said with a smile. Kate had received a yellow
Beetle.

He chuckled. “Maggie put in an order for a
red one when her time comes.”

“
Kate has become a big star
around here. The guests love her.”

“
She’s enjoying it so much.
Thanks for giving her the opportunity.”

“
I should be thanking her.
My bar receipts are way up since she started.” Andi leaned her
elbows on the desk to take some pressure off her back. “She told me
what you agreed to let her do. It’s a wise move, Jack.”

“
I hope so. The whole thing
still freaks me out, but I guess I have to let her try it. I also
have to work up the nerve to break the news to Clare that Kate’s
not going to college.”

“
If she’s heard Kate sing,
I’m sure she’ll understand.”

After a moment of awkward silence, he looked
up at her with those potent gray eyes. “What’ll we do about the
babies, Andi? It’s all I think about. I promised you I’d never
leave you alone, and now…”

His tortured expression almost undid her
cool composure. “Can we talk about it later? I just can’t think
about that right now.” It overwhelmed her to imagine being alone
with three young children. Even though she knew he would help as
much as he could, it wouldn’t be like they’d planned.

“
I miss you so
much.”

His words and the emotion behind them
pierced her heart. “Don’t,” she said softly. “You’d better go.”

He stood to leave. “Will you promise to call
me if you need anything? You have all my numbers.”

“
I will.” She told him what
he needed to hear but knew she never would.

Chapter 31

Andi was reviewing final plans for an
upcoming wedding at the hotel when the phone rang. “Andrea Walsh,”
she answered as she looked over the menu the bride had chosen.

“
Yes, hello, this is Clare
Harrington.”

The contract fluttered from Andi’s fingers
and landed on the desktop. “Hello,” she said when she’d recovered
her senses.

“
I’m sorry to call you out
of the blue this way, but I was wondering, could you maybe come by
here to see me? I’d come there, but they’re not letting me venture
out on my own yet.”

As her heart raced, Andi hesitated. “Of
course. When would you like me to come?”

“
The sadists they call
therapists are done with me by three. Would four work?”

“
Sure, that’s fine. I’ll be
there.”

“
Thank you,” Clare said and
ended the call.

Andi sat back in her chair and wondered why
Jack’s wife would want to see her, of all people.

“
I guess I’ll find out soon
enough,” she said and went back to the contract but gave up a few
minutes later when she’d read the same sentence for the fourth
time.

Andi enlisted one of the hotel’s drivers to
take her into town. She’d given up driving when she couldn’t push
the seat back any farther and still reach the pedals.

The driver pulled up to the front door of
the rehabilitation center and promised to wait for her in the
parking lot.

“
Thank you,
Tom.”

He held the door and gave her a hand out of
the car. “My pleasure, Ms. Walsh. You take your time now.”

“
Don’t have much choice
there.”

Inside she asked for Clare at the reception
desk.

The nurse pointed the way down a long
hallway. “Last room on the right.”

“
Figures,” Andi muttered as
she waddled to the room and knocked on the door.

Clare called for her to come in.

On first glance, Andi decided Clare looked
just as she had in the pictures around the house but seemed more
fragile after everything she’d been through. Her hair was longer
than in the photographs and was still a rich blonde. But it was her
eyes that caught Andi’s attention. They were the same dazzling blue
as Maggie’s and Kate’s. And just as Andi had been taken aback by
Jill’s striking resemblance to Jack, she could see Kate just as
plainly in her mother.

“
Thank you for coming,”
Clare said.

As Andi sat across from Clare, she hoped
she’d be able to get herself out of the low chair. “It was no
trouble.”

“
Somehow I doubt
that.”

Andi laughed in spite of the tension in the
room. “I’m like a hot-air balloon these days.”

“
When are you
due?”

“
September twentieth. Two
months to go.”

“
I’m sorry to drag you away
from your work, but I wanted to meet you. I needed to meet you.”
Clare looked down at her hands as if she were nervous after
summoning the other woman in her husband’s life.

“
I understand.”

“
My daughters speak highly
of you.”

“
They’re wonderful girls.
You should be very proud of them.”

“
Maggie showed me some of
her sign language. It’s impressive.”

Andi nodded in agreement. “She’s as good at
it as I am. She’s been so great with my son, Eric. They all
have.”

“
My recovery has left you
in a terrible spot, and for that I’m sorry.”

Astounded by Clare’s generosity, Andi said,
“You have nothing to apologize for, Clare. I heard about what
happened to you. I can’t imagine someone threatening my son like
that. I’m glad to see you’re doing so well now.”

“
I was up on crutches
earlier today and even took a few steps.”

“
That’s wonderful.” Andi
paused, choosing her words carefully. “I know it must’ve been
awfully difficult for you to hear about me and the babies. I want
you to know you don’t need to worry about me. I won’t interfere
with your family.”

“
Jack will want to see the
babies and your son.”

“
I’d never stand in the way
of that, but I won’t be lurking on the sidelines.”

Clare crooked an eyebrow. “Won’t you?”

“
I’m afraid I don’t
understand.”

“
You’re in his heart, Andi.
I can see that in his stricken expression whenever your name is
mentioned. You won’t be on the sidelines. You’ll be right in the
middle of our lives.” Clare spoke frankly and apparently without
malice.

“
I’ve seen him once in
three months, and it was for ten minutes. He wanted to know how I
was feeling. I haven’t spoken to him other than to coordinate his
visits with Eric. I’m hardly in the middle of his life.”