Treading Water

by Marie Force

  “Do you have white wine?”

  “Sure do. Everything all right in Juneau?” he asked from the galley as he uncorked the bottle.

  “It is now. We’ve had one disaster after another out there, and we’re getting down to the wire with the opening.” She sighed. “Why is it some jobs are so smooth and others are a total mess from the get-go?”

  “I wish I knew. We’ve had our share of disaster jobs, but most of the time we can find a way to blame it on someone else.”

  She laughed. “I like that strategy. Fortunately, Bill, my deputy, was able to straighten things out. He’s on his way back to Chicago with a new artist commissioned to fill in for the one we all loved until she got pregnant with triplets and had to quit.”

  Smiling at her dismay, he handed her a glass of wine.

  “He told me the funniest story about an old man and a dog-sled team. One of those ‘you had to be there’ things, but it was comical.”

  Jack gestured at the picturesque marina. “I’d say you got the better end of the deal.” The sun was a ball of fire in the late afternoon sky with hours yet to go until sunset.

  “No kidding! I didn’t dare tell him where I was when he called.”

  “Here they come.” Jack gestured to the rowdy group pouring out of Frannie’s Range Rover. Jack had bought the car for her to run the kids around in. He never let anyone use Clare’s Volvo wagon, which still sat in the garage. “You remember Jamie, right? Well, he’s got my sister, Frannie, and my daughters, Kate and Maggie, with him.”

  Jack made hasty introductions as the group boarded.

  “Hey, Andi, nice to see you again.” Jamie shook her hand. “I hope Jack is showing you a good time so far.”

  “Nice to see you, too. We’ve had a great day. I can’t wait to get out on the water.”

  Jamie rubbed his hands together. “Then let’s do it.”

  Jack handed out beers and sodas to the crew and told Andi to relax and leave the work to them.

  Jack joined Andi on the bow to watch the sunset. Sitting next to her, he said, “Can I get you anything?”

  “No way! I haven’t eaten this much in one day, well, ever. Dinner was great. Thank you.”

  “My pleasure.” He nodded to the colorful sunset. “Pretty, isn’t it?”

  “I feel kind of guilty calling this work.” She wrapped her arms around her knees and turned to him. “Your girls are lovely. You must be so proud of them.”

  “I am. They amaze me in some new way just about every day.”

  “It’s fun to watch you all together. You’re obviously very close to Jamie and Frannie.”

  “Jamie is the brother I never had, and Frannie is much more than a sister. She’s always been one of my best friends, too.”

  “You’re lucky to have them,” she said wistfully. “I’m an only child.”

  “Sometimes when Frannie was trying to dress me up or get me to play tea party, I used to dream about being an only child,” he said, and they laughed at the visual.

  Frannie stood next to Jamie at the helm.

  “Is my brother laughing up there?” she whispered.

  “Nice to see him so relaxed.”

  “She’s a knock-out.”

  Jamie leaned down to kiss her forehead. “So are you.”

  Startled, Frannie looked up at him. “Are you flirting with me, Jamie Booth?”

  “Maybe.”

  Flustered, she turned the conversation back to Jack and Andi, who sat close to each other on the bow, engrossed in conversation.

  “He’s attracted to her,” Frannie said.

  Jamie took a long swig from his beer. “You’re seeing things.”

  “What’s her deal anyway?”

  “I’m not sure. I didn’t spend much time with her outside the office in Chicago.”

  “She was so nice to the girls and genuinely interested in them.”

  “I know what you’re thinking, Fran.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “He might look, but he won’t touch. You know how devoted he is to Clare.”

  “So he’s supposed to spend the rest of his life alone?”

  “That’s the bitch of this whole situation. Who knows what the rules are?” He glanced down at her. “What about you? How do you plan to spend the rest of your life?”

  Stunned, she could only stare at him—tall, blond, and devastatingly handsome. She’d loved him her entire adult life but had never acted on it because of his friendship with Jack, not to mention the groupies who followed him around like useless fools. She had no desire to join the parade. “What are you up to?”

  He shrugged. “I think about you. A lot.”

  A lump formed in her throat, and her heart pounded when she looked up to find his blue eyes trained on her. “I think about you, too. Far too much.” The craziness of this sudden shift in their relationship filled her with nervous laughter.

  He hooked an arm around her to pull her close to him and kissed her cheek. “We’ll have to talk about this at a more appropriate time.” Calling to Jack and Andi, Jamie said, “Hey, you guys, we need to come about, and you’ll get wet on this tack.”

  Jack held Andi’s elbow to steady her as they made their way to the boat’s spacious cockpit.

  Frannie tossed a look to Jamie to draw his attention to the gentle way Jack handled Andi. As Jamie rolled his eyes at her, Frannie held a hand out to help Andi down to the sitting area.

  “Thanks, Frannie. How about that sunset?”

  “We ordered it just for you,” Jamie said.

  Jack refilled everyone’s drinks before he joined them on deck. He caught Andi stifling a yawn. “Did I run you ragged today?” he asked with a grin.

  “No, not at all, but my flight was early, and I’m turning into a pumpkin. Will your wife mind the long day alone with the baby?”

  The three of them stared at her in stunned silence.

  Andi’s face radiated with embarrassment. “What?”

  “Maggie is my baby.”

  “Oh God, Jack, I’m sorry. I thought when they said you were on family leave…I thought you’d had a new baby. I have no idea how I leapt to that conclusion.”

  “It’s an obvious conclusion,” Jamie said. “You shouldn’t feel bad.”

  “I’ve really put my foot in it. I apologize.”

  “That’s not necessary,” Jack said.

  “Hey, girls, we’re about to dock,” Jamie called to Kate and Maggie in the cabin. “Can you come give us a hand?”

  “Sure.” Kate avoided eye contact with the adults when she came up the stairs to help her father lower the sails.

  Awkward silence hung over the group as they docked, cleaned up, and prepared to head home.

  “I can do the rest,” Jack said.

  Jamie gave Andi’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze. Then he put a hand on Jack’s arm, and their eyes met.

  Jack nodded, and Jamie left with the others.

  “I’ve obviously upset everyone,” Andi said. “I’m so sorry.”

  She was so distressed that Jack couldn’t help but reach out to her. He took her hand. “It’s my fault. I assumed everyone knew what happened. You did nothing wrong, so please don’t be upset.” He guided her to sit next to him. To ward off the sudden chill, he tossed his jacket over her shoulders and took her hand again. “Look at me.”

  The impact of her soft brown eyes meeting his was like a punch to the gut.

  “You didn’t know, okay?”

  She nodded.

  “Just over a year ago, my wife was hit by a car. She’s in a coma and, well, she’s lost to us.”

  Andi gasped and clutched his hand. “Oh! What I said! The girls, they heard me… I made such a big assumption!”

  “They’re much better than they were. We all are.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “In a home of her own with twenty-four-hour nursing care.” He braced himself for the blast of pain that never materialized. At some point, he’d apparently go
tten used to the new arrangement.

  “I’m so sorry. You’re all heartbroken.”

  “We’re resigned now. There were months and months of heartbreak. I didn’t work for more than a year and just went back almost two months ago. I had to get things back to some sense of normal for my girls. My oldest daughter, Jill, will turn seventeen soon.”

  “You adore them,” she said, squeezing his hand.

  “Yes,” he said, “and I had no choice but to get on with it for their sake. Frannie’s also been a godsend. She moved in with us right after it happened, and she helps me with everything.”

  “That’s amazing. I liked her right away.”

  “We’ve always been close, but now we’re on a whole other level. It was so incredible of her to put her life on hold when we needed her.”

  Andi rested her hand on his arm. “You’ve had quite a time of it, haven’t you? All of you.”

  “It’s been rough.” As he watched her hand gently caress his arm, the urge to kiss her overtook him. Alarmed, he sat up straighter and broke the spell. “I’d better get you back to your hotel. It’s been quite a day, and we’ve got a big week ahead of us.”

  “Yes, you’re right.” She stood to gather her things. “Thank you for today. I’ve had a lovely time.”

  “Me, too.”

  Chapter 5

  A shaft of light slicing through the hotel curtains woke Andi the next morning. When she remembered the night before, a fresh wave of embarrassment hit her. She groaned and buried her head under the pillow.

  How could I have made such a huge assumption?

  Recalling the stricken expressions on the faces of Jack and his family had her burrowing deeper under the pillow, where she planned to stay forever.

  Until the phone rang.

  “Ugh!” She pushed the mass of curls off her face and reached for the receiver. “Hello?”

  “Good morning, Andi. Hope you slept well.”

  Her face flushing with heat at the sound of Jack’s voice, she sat up and tugged at the blanket. “Yes, I did. Thanks.”

  “Okay if I come by to pick you up in about an hour? We can grab a bite to eat and head out to see some sights. Your group won’t be back in town until late this afternoon, so we have all day.”

  “That sounds good. I’ll meet you downstairs.” She paused, wincing once again at the awkward memory. “Jack, I feel awful about last night.”

  “I told you, it’s fine. Don’t give it another thought, okay?”

  “Ah, yeah, sure,” she said with a laugh. “No chance of that.”

  He laughed softly, and she was startled when her skin tingled with anticipation. She couldn’t wait to see him again. Stop it right now, Andrea. He’s a colleague—a married colleague. She thought of Tony, the very nice man she’d recently begun seeing in Chicago. And you’re…well…involved…

  “It’s already eighty degrees, so plan for a hot day.”

  “See you soon.”

  After she hung up the phone, she lay there for a time thinking about Jack and Tony and her son. Eric’s father had hurt her deeply, and she’d kept her distance from men ever since—until recently. Tony, the father of one of Eric’s friends, had asked her out repeatedly before Andi finally gave in and said yes. They’d been to dinner a few times over the last couple of weeks and were taking it slowly. She enjoyed his company, but as she thought of Jack’s phone call, she realized her skin had never tingled in anticipation of seeing Tony.

  “You’re being ridiculous,” she said out loud. Nothing good could come from allowing herself to become infatuated with Jack. He lived more than a thousand miles from her and was married with children of his own. One broken heart per lifetime, she thought as she dragged herself out of bed. That’s more than enough.

  Wearing a long sundress and a wide-brimmed straw hat, she met Jack in front of the hotel.

  He came around to open her door. “You look lovely.”

  “Thank you.” Her heart tripped into overdrive at the sight of him. “You weren’t kidding when you said it was hot.”

  “I can put the top up and crank on the AC if you’d like.”

  “No, it’s fine. I love having the top down. That’s why I brought the hat. So where’re we headed today?” She stole a glance at him and noticed how handsome he was in a pale blue silk shirt and khakis. Stop it.

  “I’ve arranged for us to have private tours at the Breakers and Marble House.”

  “I can’t wait to see them. I read the material your office sent about the ‘summer cottages.’ That’s a laugh.”

  “When you see how enormous they are, you’ll find that even harder to believe. I have a couple of books in the office that show where the Astors and Vanderbilts and their ilk lived the rest of the year. Those houses put the summer cottages to shame.”

  The gilded rooms and period furnishings captivated Andi’s imagination and started her thinking about how she could bring the early twentieth century to the hotel.

  Jack seemed to enjoy watching her delight at every new discovery as they wound their way through hallways and stairwells within the mansions. She pointed out one feature after another that only a decorator would notice. In turn, he focused her attention on the architectural aspects that made each house unique.

  Next, he took her to Hammersmith Farm, the Kennedy family’s summer White House. Even though the house was no longer open to the public, Jack told her the new owner was a friend who’d permitted the tour. The estate, which had been owned by Jackie Kennedy’s stepfather, Hugh Auchincloss, was located on the Ten Mile Ocean Drive.

  Andi especially liked the tour guide’s story about President Kennedy’s helicopter landing on the expansive front lawn that abutted the shores of Narragansett Bay. The president, bad back and all, would bound up the lawn and hop through the bay window to sit down for lunch. Andi decided to feature the Kennedy connection to Newport in one of the hotel’s suites.

  “This was wonderful, Jack, simply amazing,” she said, thrilled to have experienced a small slice of Camelot.

  “I have one more thing to show you before lunch.”

  They stopped at St. Mary’s Church where President and Mrs. Kennedy exchanged wedding vows in September of 1953. “The reception was held on the lawn of Hammersmith Farm.”

  “We have to make sure the rest of the team gets the Kennedy tour,” she said as they were seated for lunch.

  “We’ll get Hammersmith on their itinerary. While you were in the ladies’ room, Frannie called to invite you all for a cookout at the house tonight.”

  “That’s too much of an imposition. They’re a crazy bunch.”

  “We have teenagers. We’re used to crazy. Frannie and the girls are excited to have you.”

  After they ordered a late lunch, he sat back in his chair and studied her with gray-blue eyes that drew her right in. Once again her skin tingled, and once again she reminded herself to proceed with caution.

  “You said you have a son. What’s his name?”

  “Eric. I know all mothers think their kids are adorable, but in his case, it’s true.”

  He laughed. “So your house is probably loud and raucous like mine. Are you married?”

  “Not anymore,” she said with a sigh. “And I wish my house was loud, but Eric was born profoundly deaf and can’t speak. He’s a world-class sign language champ and is getting better at lip reading, but it’s far too quiet.”

  “That must be hard for you on your own.”

  “My mother lives with us, and she’s been such a help to me. Eric doesn’t let his handicap hold him back. He’s a typical five-year-old. His school has done wonders for him, so we’re doing much better these days.”

  “Does his dad help out?”

  Shaking her head, she struggled to find the words, even all these years later. “He…couldn’t handle the idea of a ‘damaged’ child. He left us ten days after Eric was diagnosed, and we haven’t seen him since. That was more than four years ago.”

  Jack stared
at her, clearly shocked. “Who does that?”

  Touched by his outrage, she smiled. “I made my peace with it a long time ago. Eric hasn’t asked me where his father is, so I’ve been able to put it behind me for now, anyway. I’m sure the questions are coming.”

  “I’m so sorry. It must’ve been a terrible time for you.”

  “It was, but we survived. Everything was much harder when he was younger, and I was panicked all the time about him being hurt by what he couldn’t hear. I’ve gotten better about that.”

  “There was nothing they could do for him?”

  “He wasn’t a candidate for a cochlear implant. I hope maybe someday there’ll be other options.” She reached into her bag for a photo of a gorgeous blond towhead with huge blue eyes.

  “He looks just like you,” Jack teased as he handed the photo back to her. “Beautiful.”

  “Thanks for that, but he’s all Alec.”

  “That must be tough in light of how things ended with him.”

  “It doesn’t bother me. Eric is a constant reminder that even though life sometimes doesn’t work out like you’d hoped, good things can come from disappointment. My life would be so much less without him at the center of it.”

  “That’s a great way of looking at it. You’re amazing. A lot of people would’ve been destroyed by that kind of betrayal.”

  “Just like you, I didn’t have the luxury of allowing it to destroy me. I had a child to think about, and believe me, it’s Alec’s loss. He’s missed out on a wonderful kid.”

  “We’ve both been through the wars, haven’t we?” he asked as their lunch was served.

  She smiled at his choice of words. “You could say that, but we’re lucky, too. We have great kids and fun, interesting jobs. Things could be worse, right?”

  “I’ve spent an awful lot of time the last sixteen months feeling sorry for myself.”

  “You seem to have done an admirable job of handling an unimaginable situation.”

  “That’s nice of you to say, but I did a pretty crappy job of taking care of my kids for a long time. I was so focused on Clare that I neglected them. Thank God Frannie and Jamie and a lot of other people were there for them when I wasn’t.”