Chapter 10 #2
“She won’t do that. He told me she has a deaf son, and she won’t want to move him away from his school. She’s got a great job and a life in Chicago. Besides, it’s not like he can marry her.”
“It’s not fair. He’s already been through enough.” Jamie kissed her hand and then her lips. “It makes me appreciate how very lucky we are.”
“I still want to pinch myself sometimes to make sure I’m not dreaming.”
“I guarantee you’re not dreaming. As a matter of fact, stay right there and don’t look.” He jumped up, left the room, and came back a minute later holding something behind his back. “I was waiting for the right moment, and it just occurred to me that this is it.”
She gasped when he knelt beside the bed and reached for her hand.
“Frannie, I love you. I’ve always loved you, and I always will. So will you do me the great honor of being my wife?” From behind his back, he produced a diamond ring and slipped it on her finger.
She threw her arms around his neck. “Yes, yes, yes!”
Jamie and Frannie’s engagement was the talk of the town, or so it seemed to Jack.
He was thrilled for them and tried to share in their excitement as they planned a New Year’s Eve wedding.
Jack teased Frannie about “the rock,” but no amount of teasing could detract from her happiness in finally getting what she now admitted she’d always wanted.
Jack struggled to hide his inner turmoil and was determined not to let it affect his girls this time.
He’d respected Andi’s wishes by not calling her since she left, but he missed everything about her.
And while he yearned for her soft skin and alluring scent, he especially missed their late-night phone calls.
Somehow he managed to get through the workweek, not that he accomplished a damned thing. The weekend stretched out before him desolate and empty after the one he’d spent with Andi.
A knock on his office door startled him out of his thoughts. “Come in.”
“Hello, darling.”
Surprised to see his mother, Jack got up to greet her with a hug and kiss. “What’re you doing here?”
Madeline smiled at him. She had white hair and the same gray eyes as her son. “Does a mother need a reason to visit her children and grandchildren?”
“Of course not. The girls will be thrilled to see you.”
“Gorgeous day out there. Got time for a walk on the beach?”
Since the day was a wash anyway, he said, “Sure.” He told Quinn he was leaving and escorted his mother down the path to the shore.
They walked along the water’s edge for a long while in silence.
“So how about your sister and Jamie?” Madeline said. “I’m still trying to decide if I saw this one coming or not.”
Jack laughed. “I’m with them both all the time, and even I didn’t see it coming. But I’m thrilled for them. I hope you are, too.”
“Oh, I am, Jack. You know I’ve always adored Jamie. He’s not exactly tough on the eyes, either.”
“Mother!”
“Well, there may be snow on the roof—”
“All right already,” he said with a grin.
“So what’s new with you?”
Suspicious, Jack glanced at her. “What do you already know?”
“A mother never reveals her secrets.”
“Frannie told you about Andi.”
“She said you seemed happy again for a while, but she’s been worried about you this week.”
A rush of emotion caught him off guard. Afraid of the secrets he might be revealing, he looked down at the wet sand.
His mother squeezed his arm. “Sweetheart? You want to talk about it?”
“There’s not much to say.” His heart ached when he thought of Andi and how hopeless she’d made their situation seem. “It’s not going to work out.”
“Why’s that?”
“We’ve decided it’s too complicated. She lives a thousand miles away where she has a son, a job, a life. With the girls in high school and Clare, there’s no way I can relocate. So what’s the point?”
“I’m sorry you’ve learned nothing from all you’ve been through.”
Startled, he stopped to look at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Jack, my darling boy, life is so short, and when you have a chance to be happy, you have to take hold of it with both hands and never let go. It doesn’t come along every day.”
“She has a great job in Chicago. Her mother is there, her son’s school. How do I ask her to give all that up to come here when I can’t promise her a damned thing? That’s too much to ask of anyone.”
“It’s more than either of you has now. The older girls will be in college soon, and Maggie won’t be far behind them. What’s left for you, then? You’ve got a lot of years still to live, and I hate the idea of you spending them alone.”
He held up his left hand where he still wore Clare’s ring. “What about this?”
“You have to carve out a life for yourself without Clare.” Madeline’s eyes filled as she said the words. “Somehow.”
“I think I’ve finally accepted that she’s really gone. For so long, I didn’t believe it, you know? But now… It’s been such a long time.”
“I so admire that despite everything you still honor the vows you took with her, but nothing can change what’s happened.” She took his hand and looked into his eyes. “Live, Jack. That’s all you can do, my love.”
He remembered Frannie saying almost the same thing. “I know what I need to do. Thanks, Mom.”
“Any time, darling. Want to take your mother sailing this weekend?”
“I’d love to.” He hugged her and walked the rest of the way back to the office with his arm around her shoulders.