by Debbie Mason
“Thanks, Jack. I’d go myself, but I’m due back at the hospital.”
“No problem. I’ll give you a shout once I talk to her.”
“Appreciate it.”
“Okay, buddy, change of plans. Got an errand to run and then we’ll go see Auntie Jill,” Jack said as he pulled onto Main Street. Once he made sure Maria was all right, he’d have Jill do some checking for him. The best thing he could do for Maria was to find her friends and family. She needed ongoing support, and he knew it couldn’t be him who gave it to her.
As he pulled into the parking lot of the lodge, Jack spotted the candy-apple-red Mustang in front of her unit. He tried her cell again. When she didn’t respond, he got little Jack out of his car seat and walked to the door, turning the knob. Locked. “Maria, open up.”
“ ’Ria open,” little Jack echoed, banging his small fist on the door.
“You’re pretty damn cute, you know that?” he said to his son.
Little Jack nodded, pulling on his orange T-shirt. “Me cute.”
When another round of loud knocking didn’t draw a response, Jack set his son down beside a planter. “Okay, buddy, you pick some flowers for Mommy while Daddy opens the door.”
The short hairs on the back of his neck had been standing on end since his conversation with Matt, and Jack knew he didn’t have time to hunt down the manager for a key. He put his shoulder to the door and, when it didn’t budge, kicked it in. Scooping up little Jack, he entered the dark room, once again overwhelmed by the smell of stale wine and vomit. Maria was in bed, wine bottles cluttering the nightstand, one lying empty on the floor.
“Maria,” he called out.
Closing the door behind him, he set little Jack on the floor and approached the bed. Images from the day he discovered his mother assaulted him. He froze. Fighting back the memories, he forced himself to put a hand on Maria’s chest and his cheek to her mouth. A faint, shallow breath whispered across his face. He shook her, shouting her name. Like a rag doll’s, her head fell back. He got on the bed, moving in behind her to prop her against his chest. Her head lolled onto his shoulder. With an arm around her, he continued calling to her as he dialed 9-1-1. Her eyes opened to slits.
“What did you take, Maria? Open your eyes. Come on, that’s a girl. The ambulance is on the way. Hang in there.” He wouldn’t let her die like his mother. If she did, it was on him.
At the thought, he scanned the nightstand for a pill bottle. When he didn’t find one, he swept his hand over the comforter, his fingers closing around a plastic container. He shoved the prescription bottle in his pocket to give to the paramedics. At least they’d have a better idea what they were dealing with. In the distance, he heard the scream of the siren, and his body sagged in relief.
And that’s when he remembered his son.
“Jack.” His gaze shot to where he left him. He wasn’t there. Lowering Maria to the bed, he did a quick, panicked scan of the room. “Jack,” he called out again, about to race to the front door when he saw the drapes by the patio door flutter. His heart pounded so hard it felt like it was going to explode from his chest. He whipped open the drapes, the curtain rod falling off the wall. Through the misty rain, he made out something orange in the pool.
* * *
Grace cast a critical eye on the wildflower garden she’d just finished up on the sugar plum cake. The sunflowers weren’t as perfect as she’d wanted.
Skye, who’d been watching her as part of her training, grabbed her hand. “No, not again. There is not a single thing wrong with the sunflowers.”
“But…”
“No buts.” Skye put her hands on Grace’s shoulders and brought her face close to hers. “We’re friends, right?”
“Yes, of course we are.”
“Okay, so I’m saying this to you as a friend, as someone who cares about you… sweetie, you’ve got a problem, and you’ve gotta deal with it before you drive yourself and everyone around you crazy.”
Grace closed her eyes and bowed her head. After how Grace had acted with Jack, Skye wasn’t telling her anything she didn’t know. She was overwhelmed and out of control. Nothing she did seemed to help. “I know,” she said on a choked whisper.
“Maybe if you talk to me, it’ll help. I know how busy you’ve been, but it’s more than that, isn’t it?”
She sniffed and nodded. “My mother’s coming. No matter how hard I try, I can’t please her.”
“Heard your phone call, remember? You’re thirty, Grace. It’s time to cut the apron strings. If she makes you feel this bad, she doesn’t deserve to be a part of your life.” Skye’s eyes narrowed at her. “You’re holding something back. What is it?”
Grace’s fingers unconsciously latched on to the gum paste and cutter. She couldn’t tell Skye what had happened to Faith. How, even after all these years, being around her mother brought everything back.
Skye covered her hand with hers. “Okay, your problems with your mother aside, is there anything else?”
“Jack and I are trying to have another baby.”
“I know, but that’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
“It would be if I knew Jack’s plans. Every time I ask him, he tells me we’ve got lots of time to figure it out. I’m afraid if I push him for an answer, he’ll feel pressured and shut me out like last time. But I need to know if he’s going back to active duty, if he’ll be deployed again, if he’s willing to live here or he wants to move back to Fort Carson. It was hard enough raising one child on my own. How would I raise two?”
“What do you want, Grace?”
“I don’t want him to return to active duty.” As the daughter of a general, she felt guilty and selfish for even thinking that, let alone voicing it out loud. But she knew Skye wouldn’t judge her, and she felt a little better being able to confide her fears to someone. “I don’t know if I can do it again, Skye. The last seventeen months…” She twisted her wedding band, her heart racing as all the emotions she’d battled while Jack was missing came back to haunt her. “I don’t know how I’d cope if he was deployed again.” She gave a brittle laugh and held out her trembling hand. “Just thinking about it makes me feel faint. How do I pretend everything’s okay, that I’m okay, if he leaves again? But I want him to be happy, I wouldn’t be if he wasn’t, and I’m afraid the only thing that will make him feel truly fulfilled is remaining in the military and flying a Black Hawk.”
“I’m not sure it’s my place, since it’s obvious Jack hasn’t told you, but given how you’re feeling, I think you need to know. He bid on the house for you, Grace.”
“My… I mean, the house on Sugar Plum Lane?”
“Yeah. Everyone in town knew he was going to. That’s why they planted the wildflower garden. It’s why Sawyer thought the house should be purple instead of pink.”
Grace covered her mouth, holding back a sob. She couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe Jack would do that for her. She’d already been feeling guilty for how she’d been acting, and this just made her feel worse. She didn’t deserve him. “Thank you,” she said around the thick lump in her throat. “Thank you so much for telling me. I wish Jack had.”
“He was probably afraid of getting your hopes up. And then when he lost the bid, he knew you’d be disappointed.”
“No.” She shook her head emphatically. “It doesn’t matter. Just knowing he did that for me…” She shrugged helplessly, unable to continue, afraid she’d start crying and wouldn’t be able to stop.
Skye smiled and rubbed her shoulder. “Take it from me, everything’s going to work out for you and Jack. But honestly, Grace, whatever issues you have with your mother, deal with them when she’s here. And if you can’t work it out with her, let both your mother and whatever hurt you in the past go.”
Skye was right. Her mother had punished her long enough. It was time for Grace to let go of her past before it ruined her future. “Do you think you guys would be okay without me for an hour? Jack asked me to join them for a
walk earlier.”
“Definitely. And while you’re gone, I’ll try my hand at making a sugar plum cake.”
“Oh, I-I don’t think…”
“Just checking.” Skye grinned. “Progress, but you still have some work to do on your control issues.”
“Thanks for pointing that out. I…” Smiling, Grace turned as Madison and Gage came through the doors. Her smile faltered at the grim expression on Gage’s face and Madison’s red-rimmed eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Grace.” Gage came and took her hand. “There’s been an accident. Little Jack’s in the hospital. He fell in the pool at…”
Gage’s face went out of focus, his words garbled as the room spun around her. From a distance, she heard someone say, “… in shock.” Something warm enveloped her body at the same time everything went black.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Jack ran toward the hospital elevator. Gage had called to let him know Grace had gone into shock when he’d broken the news about little Jack. They’d started an IV in the ambulance. As the elevator doors opened, Jack pushed past the nurse. “Grace.” Her beautiful eyes haunted in her pale face, she looked at him, and he reached for her hand. She turned her head.
“Sir,” the orderly said, “we have to get her to her room.”
Jack let his hand drop to his side. She’d never forgive him. He stepped back as they wheeled her past him and down the hall. He didn’t think he’d be able to forgive himself.
Jack followed behind and leaned against the wall outside the room where they’d taken Grace. “Come with me. We’ll check out your knee,” Dr. McBride said, appearing at his side.
“No, I…” He scrubbed his face. “I’ve gotta talk to Grace. Just for a minute. All I need is a minute.” To tell her how fucking sorry he was and to try to explain what had happened.
“Son, look at me.” Dr. McBride put a hand on his shoulder and waited until Jack dragged his gaze from the floor. “Let them examine Grace and let me look after you. They’ll have completed the tests on little Jack by then, and you’ll have some news for her.”
“Be straight with me, what are…” He swallowed painfully before continuing, “What are his chances?”
“Good. You gave him CPR, and the EMTs were able to start treatment almost immediately.” The EMTs had told him the same thing.
Jack tipped his head back against the wall, struggling to contain his emotions. He’d shut them down seconds after realizing little Jack was in the pool. The gate had been locked. Jack had to climb an eight-foot wrought-iron fence to reach him. No one but his son would’ve spotted the opening at the bottom. He started CPR on little Jack before he had him out of the pool, yelling for the EMTs when he heard them enter Maria’s room.
Dr. McBride nodded at whoever approached and said, “I’ll be right back.” As he moved away, Jack found himself pulled into a hard hug. “I’m so fucking sorry, buddy,” Sawyer said, drawing in a ragged breath, as if he, too, was having a hard time keeping it together. “What can I do for you?” he asked once he released Jack.
“Pray.”
“Got it covered. Nell activated the town’s prayer line. How’s Grace doing?”
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to her yet.” He didn’t tell his best friend that he didn’t think she’d ever speak to him again.
Sawyer must’ve read the fear on his face and put a hand on his shoulder. “It was an accident. It could’ve happened to anyone. You saved both little Jack and Maria. Don’t beat yourself up over this.”
Jill, her complexion stark white, her eyes tormented but dry, strode down the hall toward them with the change of clothes he’d asked for. She was holding it together for him.
She gave Sawyer a brisk nod and handed Jack his clothes. “Any word yet on little Jack?”
“They’re running tests. They took him for a CT scan a few minutes ago.”
“That’s good. He’s stable, then,” Sawyer said, keeping an eye on Jill as he did.
“Yeah, that’s what they said.”
“Jack.” Dr. McBride motioned for him from the other end of the hall. “Let’s get an x-ray of that knee.”
Sawyer frowned, taking in Jack’s torn jeans and his bruised and swollen knee. “Doc’s right, you better get that looked at. We’ll stay here in case Grace needs us.”
Jack was about to protest until Jill said, “Please, I don’t want to worry about you, too.”
He knew neither of them would let up and started to walk toward Dr. McBride. As he did, Sawyer tucked Jill’s hair behind her ear. “How you holding up?”
“Good. I’m good.”
“Yeah, I know you’re tough, shortstop,” Sawyer said, tugging her into his arms.
Halfway down the hall, Jack heard her sobbing.
* * *
Sitting in the pew in the small hospital chapel, Jack buried his face in his hands as he relived the moment he saw his son facedown in the pool. The moment Grace, lying pale on the stretcher, looked right through him. The door behind him creaked open, and he straightened, knuckling his eyes with his fists.
Patrick Murray sat down heavily beside him. “Done beatin’ yourself up, boy-o?”
“Nope. Go ahead, get your licks in.”
The old man leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. “That girl and the wee devil mean a lot to me. I’d be first in line to give you those licks if I thought you deserved them, but you don’t.” He looked around the chapel. “Libby spent a lot of time in here praying for you, you know.”
“Yeah, I can imagine.”
“I can see you don’t believe me. She wasn’t easy on you kids, I know that better than most. But she did the best she knew how. It wasn’t easy on her, either. Your lad’s a handful, and you were the same. Only you were an angry ten-year-old. Your mother taking her life like she did hit Libby hard. She blamed herself and was going to make damn sure nothing happened to either of you kids. She’d be proud of the man you turned into, Jackson Flaherty.”
Until that moment, Jack had never thought of what it must’ve been like for his grandmother raising him and his sister on her own. He had a tough time keeping up with his son, and he was only thirty-five. Libby’d been close to sixty when she’d taken them in. And old man Murray was right: Jack had been an angry and scared kid and acted out because of it. “Appreciate you saying so, sir.”
“Now let’s go check on that wife of yours.” Murray heaved himself from the pew.
“She doesn’t want to see me.” After Dr. McBride had x-rayed him and taped his knee, Jackson had gone to her room, only to be turned away by the nurse. Sawyer and Jill had seen her, though.
“We’ll check on the wee devil, then. He’ll be waking up in no time and wantin’ to see his da.” As Murray limped beside Jack to the door, the old man cast him a sidelong glance. “Don’t you worry about Gracie. Give her time. I’ll put a good word in for you. Give her a talkin’ to, if need be.”
It surprised him that the bane of his teenage existence had turned into his champion. And oddly enough, Jack was able to let go of the anger and resentment he’d nursed against his grandmother for all these years, thanks to the old man. As for him helping to change Grace’s mind, that was debatable, but Jack would take all the help he could get.
When they reached little Jack’s floor, they learned he was still undergoing tests.
“There’s been no change. The doctor should be finished in about fifteen minutes. Why don’t you get yourself something to eat, Mr. Flaherty, and come back then? And, sir,” the nurse on duty said to Patrick, “only family allowed.”
The old man’s face fell, and Jack heard himself say, “He is family.”
Murray nodded with a smile. “Yeah, I am family.”
“Thank you,” the old man said as they once again got on the elevator.
Jack shrugged. “You mean a lot to my wife and son. I appreciate you being there for them when I couldn’t be.”
When the doors opened on Grace’s floor, Murray stayed be
hind. “I’m going to get some flowers for Gracie. Help you win her over. I’ll be back in a bit.”
It would take a lot more than flowers to win his wife over, but he thanked the old man. As Jack rounded the corner, he heard General Garrison’s booming voice. Sawyer and Jill were with him and so was Grace’s mother.
“Sir, Mrs. Garrison,” Jack said as he reached them, bracing for the general’s harsh rebuke.
“Jack.” Garrison surprised him by ignoring Jack’s proffered hand and pulling him into a hug. “Sad business, son. Damn shame what happened. How’s my baby girl?”
They must’ve just arrived. “The doctors—”
“Oh, stop it, Frank. She’s fine. And if you hadn’t coddled her growing up, she wouldn’t have reacted as badly as she did,” Mrs. Garrison said in an icy tone of voice, offering her cheek for Jack to kiss. “I’m sorry, Jackson. You must be as ashamed as I am by her behavior, especially after how badly she treated you.”
Was she for real? Jack looked from Sawyer, to Jill, to his father-in-law, to see if he’d heard her right. From his sister and Sawyer’s shocked expressions and the general’s angry, flushed face, he had. “Mrs. Garrison, my wife suffered one of the worst shocks a parent can have. She didn’t react badly. She reacted like any parent would who is worried they might lose their child. I don’t know if you’re aware of this or not, but my son is upstairs fighting for his life.” Jack’s voice broke, and he struggled to regain his composure. Sawyer squeezed his shoulder.
Grace’s mother sniffed, lifting her nose in the air. “You’re as bad as her father. I know very well what she’s going through, Jackson. I lost my child because of your wife.”
“What? What did you just say?”
“Helena”—the general took his wife’s arm, looking like he wanted to shake the woman—“that’s enough. Jack, we’ll…” His voice trailed off. “Grace, baby,” he said on a pained whisper.
