Treading Water

by Marie Force

  Drained after the emotional conversation, Jack went back to the office while the girls stayed with their mother to help at her afternoon physical therapy session.

  Jamie and Frannie were returning from lunch when he pulled into the HBA parking lot.

  “Do you guys have a few minutes? There’s something I need your help with,” Jack said as he walked in with them.

  “Sure,” Frannie said. “Jamie’s parents are with the twins, so I’ve got the day off.”

  “Great, thanks,” Jack said. “I have to make a phone call, and then I’ll find you in Jamie’s office.”

  After asking Quinn to join them, he went into his office and closed the door. He dialed Cooper Hayes’s number.

  “Jack, how are you?”

  “Holding up, Coop. How are you? The family’s well?”

  “We’re all doing fine. We were so happy to hear Clare’s on the mend.”

  “She’s making amazing progress. I heard she called you yesterday.”

  “She did, and it’s a damned shame. I’m sorry for both of you. What happened to her… I guess I don’t have to tell you.”

  “No, you don’t.” Jack still had trouble even thinking about it, but the white-hot rage he’d felt initially had abated somewhat as he tried to follow Clare’s lead by putting it behind him.

  “I was over to the hospital this morning, and she’s filed the initial paperwork,” Coop said. “Seems pretty straightforward. She’s asked for the house, temporary spousal support, child support, and joint custody for Maggie and Kate, until Kate turns eighteen in November. That’s about it.”

  “Not a problem. I’d also like to provide a cash settlement to ensure she’s financially independent.” Jack named a seven-figure sum that elicited a low whistle from Coop.

  “That’s very generous. I’ll get the papers moving today. I understand there’s a need for expediency.”

  “Yes,” Jack said but didn’t elaborate, knowing Clare had already told him the whole story. “I’d like to get the paperwork by the tenth. Does three weeks give you enough time?”

  “No problem. I’ll get it moving for you.”

  “Thanks, Coop. Before I let you go, can you recommend a good private investigator?”

  Chapter 32

  Andi awoke early on the twenty-fourth of August and moved to take some of the pressure off her aching back. The pain in her lower back had become almost unbearable overnight, but it was nothing compared to the pain in her heart as she waited weeks without a word from Jack.

  Surely by now Clare had told him she was leaving him. Had she changed her mind? Had he changed his? Why hadn’t he come to her? Andi jumped out of her skin every time the phone rang, went giddy with anticipation at every knock on the door, and spent big chunks of time looking out the window, waiting for his car to pull into the lot. It took all her willpower not to pump Kate for information during their regular visits, but she never gave anything away.

  As one long summer day faded into another Andi began to accept he wasn’t coming and felt like she’d lost him all over again. Now here it was, August twenty-fourth, and she was left to mark the second anniversary of the day they met alone, with only his babies moving around inside her to remind her that they’d ever been together at all.

  Eric came out of his room and peeked in to check on her. While he couldn’t wait to be a big brother, she knew he was grossed out by the size of her belly. He’d told her he hoped the babies would come soon so she could stop being so fat.

  She crooked a finger at him.

  He jumped up on the bed with her.

  She lifted the covers and snuggled him in next to her. They must’ve dozed off, because the next thing she knew, the phone was ringing, and she was startled to see it was after nine. She reached for the phone.

  “Good morning,” Jen said. “How are you feeling today?”

  “Like I’m eight months pregnant and overslept,” Andi grumbled.

  “Why don’t you stay there for a while longer? I’ll send up some breakfast for you and Eric. I can cover this morning. Take a break, Andi.”

  “I just might do that. My back is on fire.” Andi reached down to massage it. The pain in her back had gotten worse since yesterday, which had been a chaotic day at the hotel. Among several smaller disasters, Jen had closed the south veranda after cracks were discovered in the still-new patio. Jen arranged to have it repaired, and Andi left it in her capable hands.

  “Don’t forget, you have the meeting with that distributor at noon, but otherwise, I can handle everything else,” Jen said. “Bring Eric down with you when you come. He can hang out with me while you’re in your meeting.”

  The rep from the liquor distributor had left so many messages that Andi finally agreed to let Jen set up a meeting to discuss stocking his brands at Infinity Newport.

  “Sounds good, thanks,” Andi said and hung up. “Well, buddy, looks like we have some time to hang out and relax,” she signed to Eric.

  He grinned. “Good.”

  Just before noon, Andi and Eric walked hand in hand through the lobby to her office, where Jen waited for them.

  She looked up from Andi’s desk. “Hey, guys.” Jen signed to include Eric. She’d insisted her boss slow down over the last few weeks and had taken on many of Andi’s duties.

  “Thanks again for the morning in bed. It did wonders for my disposition,” Andi said with a grin. “Is the liquor guy here yet?”

  “He came in a few minutes ago. For some reason, he wants to meet with you upstairs, so I’ll walk you up and then I’ll take this guy outside for a while,” Jen said, reaching out to ruffle Eric’s hair.

  He dodged her hand with a giggle.

  “Why upstairs?” Andi asked, annoyed by the pesky salesman. “We have a perfectly good conference room down here.”

  “I don’t know,” Jen said with a shrug. “He said he’d be up there when you were ready, so let’s go.”

  Since Andi avoided the stairs these days, they took the elevator to the second floor. Jen and Eric walked out ahead of her, and when Andi stepped off the elevator, Jack was waiting for her.

  She gasped and drank in the sight of him. He wore a navy polo shirt with khaki shorts, and even though he looked tired, he had never been more handsome. “What’re you doing here?”

  He held out one hand to her and the other to Eric as Jen stepped into the elevator and left them alone.

  Andi looked back as the elevator doors closed. “What’s going on?”

  “Come with me.” Jack led them to the top of the stairway, to the spot she’d once told him was her favorite place in the hotel, and gestured for her to have a seat in the chair he’d put there for her.

  Standing next to her, Eric put an arm around her shoulders.

  Jack knelt in front of her to rest his face against her pregnant belly and was rewarded with a solid kick to the cheek from one of the babies. He laughed as his eyes met hers.

  The look on his face stopped her heart.

  “Andrea, two years ago today you walked into my life and changed it forever.” Jack signed as he spoke to include Eric.

  Andi looked down at Jack, still shocked to see him and not sure yet why he was there.

  “I asked you to take an enormous leap of faith by coming into my life, and you did it so willingly. A lot’s happened since then, but one thing has never changed. I’ve loved you from the first instant I saw you, and I always will. I’m here today because, for the first time since we met two years ago, I’m completely free to love you, free to make a life with you and our children, and free to marry you if you’ll have me.” He held up a large diamond ring.

  Andi’s hand flew to her mouth. Tears rolled down her face as his words registered, and she finally got exactly what he was doing.

  He slid the ring onto her left hand. “Andi, will you please, please marry me?”

  Unable to get a word past the huge lump in her throat, she nodded and glanced at Eric, who didn’t seem as surprised by this as she w
as. She held out her arms to Jack, and he wrapped her and Eric in a tight embrace. Andi breathed in the scent she’d recognize anywhere as his.

  He held them both for a long time before he leaned back to kiss her and wipe the tears from her cheeks.

  “I thought you weren’t coming,” she whispered when she could speak again.

  “I wasn’t coming until I could offer you everything.” The weariness she saw in him told her what it had cost him to stay away.

  Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved two folded pieces of paper. The first one he handed her was a marriage license.

  She sucked in a sharp deep breath when she saw the date. “Today?”

  He smiled and signed. “It had to be today. And do you really think there’re cracks on my veranda?”

  Eric giggled at the face she made when she realized she’d been had.

  “Were you in on this?” she signed to her son.

  Eric nodded with glee.

  “He gave me his permission to marry you a week ago and was a very big boy to keep it a secret. I have something for you, too, Eric.” Jack handed the second piece of paper to the boy.

  Eric unfolded it and passed it to his mother when he didn’t understand what it said.

  “It’s a petition for adoption,” Andi signed for Eric. Alec Walsh’s signature relinquished all claims to his son. Stunned, she looked up at Jack. “How did you do this?”

  “I hired an investigator to find him, and he signed it two days ago,” Jack said, but he didn’t sign that part to spare Eric.

  “He wouldn’t have done that unless there was something in it for him,” Andi said softly.

  “Don’t worry about that.”

  “He’ll be back for more.”

  “No, he won’t.”

  Eric looked confused, so Jack turned to him.

  “I love you, Eric, and I want you to be my son,” he signed. “I want more than just to have you living in my house. I want you to have my name, too. I’d like to adopt you, and that’s what the paper says. Will you have me as your father, Eric Harrington?”

  Eric nodded eagerly. “Can I call you Dad now?”

  “Yes, buddy,” Jack signed, his voice hoarse with emotion.

  He hugged them both as a loud cheer erupted from downstairs.

  Their family and friends started up the stairs, dressed for a Tuesday afternoon wedding. Jill, Kate, and Maggie were first in line. Andi’s mother and Aunt Lou followed the girls. David, Lauren, and their girls were there, as were Frannie, Jamie, and the twins, Jack’s parents, and Jamie’s parents. Standing behind them were Andi’s former coworkers from Chicago, Jack’s colleagues from HBA, and most of the Infinity Newport staff.

  Jen gave Quinn a high five and a delighted smile that they’d managed to pull off Jack’s best surprise yet.

  Jack took Andi’s hand to help her up to greet their guests. “We have a wedding to get to,” he said.

  “I can’t go looking like this.” She gestured to her casual summer dress as she received hugs from the girls. Seeing Jill and Maggie for the first time in months brought new tears to her eyes.

  “Not to worry, Andi, I’ve got you covered there.” Frannie handed Olivia to Jamie. “Let’s go. He’s giving us thirty minutes, and that’s it.”

  “Don’t be late,” Jack said, watching her be swept up by Frannie and the girls.

  Almost afraid to walk away, Andi glanced back at him. What if she’d imagined the whole thing? “How in the world did he do all this?” she whispered to Frannie.

  “He enlisted the help of all of us to throw together a wedding on short notice. I hope you don’t mind that I designated myself your matron of honor,” Frannie said as she hustled Andi into the suite that had been set aside to get her ready.

  “Of course not. You’d be my first choice. But Frannie, how did he get divorced so fast? I don’t get it.” She kept her voice low so the girls wouldn’t hear her.

  “He went to the Dominican Republic.”

  Andi had heard of the expedited Dominican divorce, but had never known of anyone who’d done it.

  “He’s been divorced for more than a week, but he was waiting for the adoption matter to be resolved and then, of course, the date today was significant.”

  “I still can’t believe it.” Andi looked down at her gorgeous engagement ring. On her other hand, she still wore the sapphire he’d given her on their first Christmas together.

  “He didn’t want the babies coming into the world without their father married to their mother. When it became possible for him to prevent that, he did. He’s been like a cat on a hot tin roof hoping you wouldn’t deliver early.”

  Andi smiled at the image, knowing patience wasn’t Jack’s strong suit.

  “We’ll run out of time if we keep gabbing. Let’s get you dressed and ready.”

  Andi put her hand on her soon-to-be sister-in-law’s arm. “I have no doubt you moved heaven and earth to help him like you always do. Thank you for everything.”

  “It was my pleasure. Come see the dress I found for you—they won’t even be able to tell you’re pregnant.”

  Andi howled with laughter.

  She floated through a dream as she married Jack on the south veranda, which had been converted to a magical setting for the wedding. Jamie once again served as Jack’s best man, and Frannie stood with Andi. Before they took their vows, they asked the girls to come up next to Andi, and Jack extended a hand to Eric, who’d put on a tie for the occasion. The only thing that detracted from an otherwise spectacular day was the grinding pain in Andi’s back, which was becoming harder to ignore.

  After the ceremony, the band Jack had hired called Kate up to sing with them. Jack sat with an arm around Andi to watch Kate perform with a live band. She sang “Bless the Broken Road,” and by the time she reached the chorus, the bride and groom were mopping up tears.

  The wedding guests cheered as the band played the final notes of the song. Kate was so polished and professional when she turned to applaud the band that Andi clutched Jack’s hand when she saw him watching in amazement.

  He told Andi he would ask for only one dance that day and sang along to “The Way You Look Tonight,” changing “tonight” to “today.”

  When she reached up to kiss him a gush of wetness between her legs made her gasp.

  “Honey, what is it?”

  “I think my water broke.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She looked down at the puddle around her feet and then back up at him, nodding.

  “Okay, come on, I’ll tell Jamie to keep things going here. No need to break up the party,” Jack said as he spirited her off the dance floor.

  But before they could make their getaway, Andi bent in half with a contraction that left her unable to move or breathe. She’d no sooner gotten through that one when another hit her.

  “Jack,” she panted, already resisting the urge to push. “I don’t think we have time to get to the hospital.”

  Frannie helped Jack get Andi upstairs while Jamie asked everyone to continue enjoying the party.

  “Looks like we might be offering two events for the price of one today,” Jamie said to nervous laughter from the wedding guests.

  “Oh my God, I need to push,” Andi said, overwhelmed by the sensation.

  Jack gave Frannie a panicked look.

  “Maybe there’s a doctor in the hotel,” Frannie said.

  The minute they got Andi into bed, Jack called down to the front desk and asked them to see if they could find a doctor. He also called Dr. Abbott, who assured him she was on her way but would be thirty minutes or more.

  “Hurry,” Jack said and turned back to Andi, who cried out as another contraction ripped through her. Between contractions, Jack and Frannie helped her out of her wedding dress and into a nightgown.

  “I’m so sorry, Jack,” Andi said, blinking back tears. “I ruined our wedding.”

  “Don’t be sorry, honey. I’m just glad we got the first part taken care of
in time.” He kissed her as another contraction hit.

  She bit back the urge to push. “I can’t wait any longer.”

  A knock on the door sent Frannie flying across the room. She returned with a young couple. “We’re in luck.” Frannie introduced Mark and Julie Patterson.

  “I’m a cardiology resident, and my wife is a labor and delivery nurse,” Mark said, shaking hands with Jack, who was weak with relief to be getting some qualified assistance. “We’re here on our honeymoon and heard you could use some help.”

  Andi nodded when Julie asked if she could examine her.

  “You’re crowning, Andi. Are you ready to push?”

  “I’ve been trying not to for half an hour. I should tell you I had a C-section seven years ago.”

  “Looks like we don’t have time for anything other than the good old-fashioned way, so on the next contraction, let’s give it a push.” Julie gave Frannie and Jack instructions on how they could help.

  John Joseph Harrington IV came into the world ten minutes later, followed eight minutes later by his identical twin brother, Robert Franklin Harrington. They named the boys for their father and grandfathers but would call them Johnny and Robby.

  Both babies let out lusty cries, and Julie estimated them to be a very healthy six pounds each, even though they’d arrived a month early.

  Dr. Abbott rushed into the room five minutes after Robby was born, shocked to see the babies had already arrived and everyone seemed to be doing fine. “I missed it?”

  “We work fast around here,” Jack said as he held Andi and brushed at tears.

  Mark and Julie left promising to check on the new family later. Jack and Andi thanked them profusely for their help, and Andi promised to comp their stay at the hotel.

  When Dr. Abbott cleared everyone from the room so she could examine Andi, Jack took the babies to the hallway, where an anxious group of grandparents and siblings waited to meet their new family members.

  A few minutes later, Dr. Abbott came out to tell Jack he could take the babies to their mother.