by Amy Ruttan
* * *
“You could’ve saved her! You killed her!”
Andrew rolled his shoulders out of habit from years of pain, now it was to loosen them up. He wasn’t quite a month post-op from his surgery, but his hand had stayed stable in the skills lab until Dr. Rodman paged him. There was still work to be done, but they would work together. Dr. Rodman would address the injuries to the organs in the abdomen and thoracic area and Andrew would work on the pelvis, hip and femur.
Jack’s left arm had been severely fractured too, but that could wait.
There would be several surgeries over the next little while.
It would be a long road to hoe, but what was most devastating was that Jack probably would never surf again. Maybe now Jack would get his head out of his butt and go to school to become a kinesiologist, like he said he wanted to do after he retired from surfing.
And Andrew was going to support his friend, who was now his family. As long as he didn’t screw up this surgery. As long as Jack survived, because he just couldn’t believe that Lana would ever be able to look at him again without thinking that he couldn’t save her little brother.
And it made him think about his children that Lana was carrying, his twin babies.
There was no other option. He would succeed.
Please let him live.
Andrew took a deep breath and headed into the OR. No words were needed; he knew what had to happen. He knew where he was going to start first. He was going to repair the pelvis, where most of the internal bleeding had been coming from. Once the pelvis was stable, then he would move onto the hip and femur, as long as Jack was able to stand it.
The arm could be fixed later if needed. And the ribs would knit themselves back together. A nurse held out a surgical gown, which Andrew slipped into. And then into the gloves. His pulse began to race and he rolled his shoulder again.
He glanced up into the gallery. Lana was there, watching, and this time, instead of him giving her a nod of encouragement, she did.
Andrew took his spot and took a calming breath. “Hold that retractor tight, I will need a lot of room to maneuver the pelvis. Is the hardware ready?”
“Yes, Dr. Tremblay,” Dr. Page said. “I brought an assortment for all the fractures. I also have an external fixture ready.”
“Good man.” Andrew picked up a surgical drill. “Let’s go. We have to get Jack back up on his feet.”
And as he went to work he felt as if his sister was right there. One of the injuries she’d sustained was a pelvic fracture when the moose crashed through the windshield and landed on her. Her pelvis had been shattered and she’d lost a lot of blood, but ultimately it was the head injury that did her in.
Jack’s head hadn’t sustained an injury. There were no bleeds in his brain.
Which was a miracle, but blood loss, a clot or being under too long could be detrimental to him.
I got this, Jack. You’re not going anywhere.
He tuned the world out and instead he heard his sister whispering that he was going to succeed, that she loved him and that he was a good surgeon.
It wasn’t Andrew’s fault that she’d died. Just like it wasn’t Lana’s fault that Jack was injured. Meghan had been an adult and had chosen not to buckle up that night. No one was at fault and Andrew deserved to have happiness.
He deserved to have Lana.
“You do,” Meghan’s voice said in his head. Like a blessing from beyond. His own guardian angel watching out for him. It calmed him.
Even if he’d messed it up royally, he was going to earn Lana’s love back. He couldn’t lose her. He needed her. He needed their kids. And he would do anything to be with her, even if it meant giving up the job with the International Surfing Commonwealth in San Diego because Lana wanted to stay in Hawaii with her family.
He didn’t care. He just wanted to be with her. Whatever it took.
He was tired of living alone. Tired of thinking that he didn’t deserve happiness.
He wanted a family.
He wanted Lana.
* * *
Lana went to check on her brother. He was still in a medicated coma, but he’d survived and the bleeding had stopped. Tomorrow Andrew was going to go in and fix the fractures in Jack’s left arm and shoulder, which had dislocated.
The pelvis and hip had been repaired and was being held together with an external fixator. The femur had been repaired with some heavy-duty hardware.
But the point was, he was going to live.
Jack was very lucky to be alive.
Andrew was standing at the foot of the bed, filling out Jack’s chart while Dr. Page waited diligently for instructions. Dr. Page was the resident on call for Jack tonight and she couldn’t have picked a better resident herself.
Andrew handed over the chart and then left the room. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw her.
“Lana, I thought you went home! It’s the middle of the night.”
“I had a nap in my office and some food. Don’t worry. I’m taking care of myself.”
Andrew nodded. He was going to say something, but then her parents came down the hall. Her father didn’t say anything; he just patted Andrew on the back and nodded. Her father, Sophie and Lana’s mother all filtered into the room.
Lana stood at the doorway, watching, as her father broke down in tears and took Jack’s hand. Sophie and Lana’s mother held hands and Lana sighed happily. Then she turned to Andrew.
“Thank you,” she said.
“For what?” he asked.
“For saving Jack’s life. I know that was hard for you.”
“It was, I won’t lie, but...I couldn’t let him die.”
“You didn’t let your sister die, Andrew.”
He took her hand then and pulled her into an empty on call room and locked the door. He crossed his arms and she could tell he was struggling.
“I couldn’t let him die, because I didn’t want to lose you.” He stared at her intently. “I couldn’t lose you. I know I screwed up when I walked out...”
She cupped his face. “You wouldn’t have lost me. I know it was out of your hands. You weren’t at fault for your sister’s death and I wouldn’t have blamed you if Jack had died.”
“I love you, Iolana,” he said quickly. “It’s been hard for me to say, but I love you more than anything and the thought of losing you forever, the thought of you walking away from me like my parents did, of not seeing your face every day—it was more than I could bear.”
Tears streamed down her face. “I love you too, Andrew. I’m sorry for calling your mother. I just wanted to make amends. I thought if you could make peace with your estranged family then you could move forward.”
Andrew took her in his arms and kissed her, making her weak in the knees. “Lana, they may not want me, but it doesn’t matter. All I want is you. You showed me what I was missing, what I didn’t think that I deserved. I’m a better man because of you and I won’t lose you again.”
“I love you, Andrew. I never believed in love. I didn’t think I wanted this, but I do and when you’re offered a job with the ISC I’ll go to San Diego with you.” She chuckled softly. “I mean we’ll come with you.”
“No, I was going to turn down the ISC job. You belong here in Hawaii.”
“No, I don’t. I was afraid to leave because I was afraid to step out of my father’s shadow. There’s so much beyond Hawaii. There’s so much more life to live and if I can be with you I would follow you to the ends of the earth.”
“Ditto,” he teased and then kissed her again. “So you want to move to California after my green card gets in and I can move legally?”
She nodded. “Let’s go. Let’s live our life. One that we decide.”
He grinned. “It’s a deal. What does your
father think?”
“It doesn’t matter what he thinks. All that matters is that we’re together. The four of us.”
“You’re right. That’s all that matters. I love you, Iolana.” And then he reached down and touched her stomach. “I love all three of you. And I will make it up to you.”
“Make up what to me?” she questioned.
“As soon as possible we’re going to renew our wedding vows, because this time I really mean it. The last time we got married, we did it to keep me in the country, but this time I want it to mean something. When I marry you again, it’ll be because I can’t imagine my life without you.”
“Andrew, we don’t need to get married again. Once was enough, but just knowing how you feel now is enough for me. There’s no way I’m stuffing myself back into that dress.”
A smile crept across his face. “Okay, no wedding renewal, but how about a repeat of the wedding night?”
She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Now that I can handle, Dr. Tremblay. Gladly.”
After he kissed her again to give her a preview of what she could expect, they went hand in hand to visit Jack and be with their family.
And to break the news that they would be leaving after the babies were born, so they could start their life together.
For real this time.
EPILOGUE
One year later, San Diego
ANDREW RAN ACROSS the road, under the bridge. The palm trees were swaying and he hoped that the wind whipping down from the mountains wouldn’t delay the flight that was coming in.
Lana was on her cell phone and waiting outside.
Even though it was windy, it was a nice day and in the double stroller were two babies who were almost six months old and just starting to be aware of their surroundings. Two little girls who were almost identical except Meghan had brown eyes and Jackie had blue. Right now they were staring up at the sky, at the palm fronds and the roar of the planes as they came in for landing over the city.
Lana ended the call. “Did you get the car parked okay?”
“Yeah. Why did we have to come so early again?”
“To get a good spot,” she said.
“But I can just drive in the loop and do a pick-up.”
Lana narrowed her eyes. “I am not greeting your mother by myself, so since you can’t park in the loop you can get a good parking spot out there.”
Andrew knelt down to his smiling happy babies. “Your mother is crazy!”
“Ha-ha,” she said.
“Who was on the phone?” he asked as he took the helm of the large double stroller.
“Jack.”
“Oh? And did he get into the school of his choice?”
“He did, so there’s some good news and bad news.”
Andrew’s stomach clenched. “What?”
“He got into his first choice of school to become a kinesiologist.”
“Right?” Andrew asked cautiously.
“It’s here in San Diego and he’s going to move in with us.”
Andrew started laughing. “Are you serious? Where are we going to put him at the beach house?”
“There’s the little bunkie out back by the hot tub and the pool. It has a bathroom. He can live there.”
“He just wants to use our hot tub again. Just like he did when we lived in Waikiki. I say we move back now that he’s coming here.”
Lana laughed. “Dad would love that, but where would we work? Dad retired and is travelling the world with Sophie. Mom is busy with the art council and Dr. Rodman is Chief.”
“Dr. Rodman would hire us both back in a minute.”
She rolled her eyes but laughed. “You just got promoted at the ISC and I just started teaching medical students at the University of California. We’re happy here—do you really want to move back to Hawaii?”
He grinned and then kissed her on the lips. “Sometimes, because I think of those few nights we spent on the Big Island for our second honeymoon.”
Lana wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer. “You know, maybe it’s time for the girls to have a brother?”
“I’m willing to try for that, but I think we have more than we can handle with these two. But I’m really game for trying.”
And he forgot that he was at the airport as he pressed Lana up against the wall, trapping her there as he thought about their second honeymoon and their private hideaway. A howl from one of the girls brought him back to reality.
“The flight’s probably landed. Let’s go,” he said reluctantly. He pushed the stroller into the arrivals lounge at San Diego Airport and waited near the luggage carousel, his eyes trained on the escalator for the arriving passengers to make their way down.
He was nervous and as if she sensed that Lana took his hand and gave it a squeeze.
“You got this.”
“I know, it took a lot of guts for her to come here.” Then he glanced at the board and saw that the flight from Toronto had landed. “I still can’t believe that she left him. I can’t believe that she called me.”
“She was powerless, you know that, and she wants to bridge the gap. She’s obviously realized that by staying with your father she lost out on so much.”
Andrew nodded, but he was nervous all the same.
When his mother had called it had shocked him. She had left his father soon after his father had called him and ranted at him. She’d gone to a women’s shelter to try and piece back together her life. Three months ago his father had been killed in an accident; it had been his fault and thankfully no one else had been hurt.
Andrew had hated leaving Lana to go to Canada, but he’d needed to go and bury his father, to bury his past. His green card had come in and he was able to go back to Canada.
That was where he and his mother had reconnected, but there was still a lot of healing to do. Finally, his mother was able to come to San Diego for a long visit and to see her grandchildren, which was why she’d left his father.
She wanted to be a grandmother more than anything. She was tired of living in the past—one full of bitterness, abuse and sorrow.
Andrew’s mother wanted her family back.
And he wanted his mother back.
A bunch of people started to come down the escalators and he let go of Lana’s hand to take a step forward, scanning the crowd.
Maybe she didn’t come.
And then he saw her. Saw the long silver hair, the weary face, but she smiled and waved when she spotted him and his heart soared.
She got off the escalator, pulling a carry-on behind her.
“Mom, I’m glad you made it.”
His mother reached up and pulled him into a hug. When he’d been up for his father’s funeral, his mother had been stand-offish and in shock. He understood that. She’d never been an affectionate woman so he was taken aback by the hug now, but he loved it all the same.
“Andrew, I’ve missed you,” she whispered.
“I’m so glad you’ve come, Mom. I’ve missed you too.” He broke off the embrace and looked down at his mother. The blue eyes—the same that his late sister had, that he had and his daughter Jackie had. He turned. “This is Lana, my wife.”
His mother didn’t say much but embraced Lana, kissing her, and then knelt down, crying, as she looked at the babies.
“They’re so beautiful,” she whispered as she took a chubby fist into her hand. “Just as I imagined them. Which one is which?”
“The best way to tell them apart is Meghan has brown eyes,” Lana said. “And Jackie has blue.”
“So they do. Oh, now I see the difference in them.” She stood. “Thank you for having me come here. I’ve...I’ve wanted to come for some time, but it’s been hard.”
“I k
now, Mom, and we’re glad to have you here too. Do you have any more luggage?”
“No, just a carry-on. I wasn’t left with much in the way of personal belongings.” She blushed, embarrassed.
“That doesn’t matter, Mom. You’re welcome to stay as long as you want.”
“Well, Customs in Canada said to buy a return ticket home, an open-ended one, as long as I return in six months.”
“We would love to have you for as long as you want to stay, Annie,” Lana said.
“Thank you, dear. Six months is a start. I don’t fancy getting a green card the way you did, Andrew,” she teased. “I’m glad you did it that way, though. You have a beautiful family.”
Lana smiled up at Andrew and he put his arms around his mother and his wife, as he looked down at his girls. One who was cooing and one who was drifting off to sleep in the stroller. The hole that had been aching in his heart for years, another pain that he’d gotten used to over time, was finally healed.
Now his heart was bursting with joy.
“I do have a beautiful family. I have all I ever wanted.”
And he walked out of that airport complete.
* * * * *
If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Amy Ruttan
HIS PREGNANT ROYAL BRIDE
ALEJANDRO’S SEXY SECRET
UNWRAPPED BY THE DUKE
TEMPTING NASHVILLE’S CELEBRITY DOC
All available now!
Keep reading for an excerpt from THE DOCTOR’S SECRET SON by Janice Lynn.
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