Chapter 13 #2
“Funny how your career ended up being decided by the apartment you rented in New York. Mine has revolved around the friend I met the first day at Berkeley.”
“It’s worked out well.”
He had seen her office and apartment and knew it had worked out better than well for her. Holding her close to him, he pulled the blanket up around them. “I missed you so much,” he whispered in her ear. “A month apart is far too long.”
She leaned her head back on his shoulder. “I hate to say it, but it looks like it might be six weeks before I have another free weekend. Things are nuts at work. I have to go to Juneau for at least a week early next month, so it could be Thanksgiving before I have enough time to get away again.”
“I should be able to come out for a weekend before then. Do you think you can come here for Thanksgiving?”
“I’d hate to leave my mother, but she’s been spending more time at her sister’s anyway. I suppose we could probably come.”
“I’m sorry it’s so complicated, honey.”
She tipped her head back to kiss him. “Me, too.”
“Could I ask you something?”
She shifted to study his face in the dark. The dim cabin light cast a faint glow on them. “Sure.”
“Would you ever consider moving here to live with me? With us?”
Her eyes widened. “Seriously?”
“Very seriously.”
“I don’t know, Jack,” she said, her voice infected with a stammer. “I can’t imagine how I could… There’s Eric and his school, my job, my mother…”
“It’s messy. I know it is. And it’s terribly unfair that you’d have to be the one to move. I’d be out there in a minute if I could, but I just can’t. Not now anyway.”
“I know.”
“We haven’t known each other that long, but everything about us feels right to me. I want so much more than occasional weekends together.”
“I want more than that, too. You know I do. But I can’t imagine leaving my whole life in Chicago.”
“I promised myself I wouldn’t even mention this to you until after Frannie and Jamie’s wedding. I wanted to give us more time to get to know each other, but this last month has shown me I don’t need it. I know I’m asking so much, and all I have to offer in return is my love for you and Eric.”
“And that’s no small thing,” she said, caressing his face. “As much as I want what you’re offering, it’s an enormous step for me. I don’t know if I have it in me after what happened with Alec.”
A flash of anger took him by surprise. “You can’t possibly be comparing me to him.”
“No, love, never.” With her hands on his face she touched her lips to his.
“I don’t know if I trust myself anymore.
You’ve made me a lovely offer, and I don’t take it lightly.
I know what you’ve been through, what your family’s been through, so I get that it’s a big deal for you, too.
Can I have some time to think about it?”
“I guess that’s not too much to ask,” he said.
“And can we put it on the back burner, so we don’t spoil this wonderful weekend together?”
“That’s not too much to ask either.” He leaned in to kiss her. “Let’s talk about it again after Frannie and Jamie’s wedding. That gives us more than two months, okay?”
“Okay.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “I love you, Andi. I love you so much.”
“I know you do.”
“My whole world had tipped upside down until you came along and made everything right again.”
“Jack,” she said with a sigh. “I love you, too. If I had only myself to consider, I’d move today. Right now.”
He tilted her chin up to kiss her again. “I’ll do my best not to pressure you.”
Andi laughed. “And you’re known for your patience?”
“I’m working on that.”
Frannie and Jamie boarded the boat wearing grim expressions.
“What’s wrong?” Jack asked.
“That tropical storm has taken a turn away from the Carolinas and is headed due north,” Jamie said.
“The new track puts Block Island right in the path,” Frannie added.
“Shit,” Jack said, thinking of Quinn and the wedding. “When will it be here?”
“Monday night.”
The Sunday wedding went off smoothly despite the frantic work going on around the island to prepare for the direct hit of a significant tropical storm. Jack and his group did what they could to help get Haven Hill buttoned down before they sailed back to Newport early on Monday, ahead of the storm.
At home, Maggie, who’d tended to Eric’s every need all weekend, insisted he stay in her room and pulled out the trundle from under her bed for him.
Jack wondered how she would ever let Eric go back to Chicago.
After putting the younger two kids to bed, he called to check on Clare and her nurses, who reported being tucked in to ride out the storm.
While the wind howled outside, Jack spent most of the night making love with Andi in the guest room.
Suffering through an attack of guilt over being with another woman in Clare’s house, he left Andi’s room before dawn.
If she agreed to come live with them, there’d be adjustments for everyone—including him.
He hoped the extra days they’d get thanks to the storm would convince her they could make it work.
The slow-moving hurricane continued well into Tuesday, and after the storm finally ended, Jack was relieved to hear that Clare was fine and there was hardly any damage to his property.
With the power out on Aquidneck Island, Jamie and Frannie came over to spend the evening with them. Frannie was all but living with Jamie these days, but she still helped Jack with the girls.
The fireplace cast an amber glow over the family room as Eric and Maggie played a card game.
Jill used the firelight to read by, and Kate played her guitar. She tended to be the more introverted of the three girls, so Jack had been surprised and amazed when she led them in a sing-along earlier. He was again taken aback by how very good she had gotten.
As the fire burned down, Frannie and Jamie sat together on one sofa, Jack and Andi on another as they worked on a second bottle of wine. He had a generator for the refrigerator but had told the girls they could do without power for one night. After some grumbling they’d been good sports overall.
Andi stretched and yawned. “This was the most relaxing day I’ve had in years.”
Jack grinned at her, thrilled to have their time together extended. “Did you ever get through to the airline?”
“I tried, but they left me on hold forever. I didn’t want to waste the power on my phone waiting, so I hung up.”
“Oh, too bad,” Jack said.
Frannie laughed. “You’re all broken up, Jack.”
He put his arm around Andi. “It’s not funny, Fran. Andi’s missing work, and Eric is out of school. It’s terrible how they’re stuck here with us.”
Jamie made a barfing noise that made the others laugh.
Frannie and Jamie left a short time later.
Jack and Andi hustled the kids off to bed, walking them through the dark house with flashlights and candles.
After he tucked Maggie in, Jack went back downstairs to make sure all the candles were out and found Andi watching the last of the fire. “Hey, I thought you were upstairs.” He sat next to her on the sofa and reached out to stroke her hair. “What’re you thinking about?”
She smiled. “Nothing. Everything.”
“Hmm, which is it?”
“I loved the storm. Isn’t that crazy? I should’ve been scared, but it was exhilarating. And I loved being here with you and our kids.”
He smiled. “You said our kids.”
She rested her head on his chest. “Are you sure you didn’t manufacture the storm to keep us here longer?”
Laughing, he ran his fingers through her silky curls. “It was kind of tricky getting it to move in the right direction, but I was able to pull it off.”
“I’m beginning to sense that you usually get what you want.”
“Oh, I sure hope so.” He took her hand to lead her up to bed. “I really hope so.”
The hurricane disrupted travel along the entire east coast, and they learned on Wednesday that it would be several days before the airlines got back on schedule.
“Any luck?” Jack asked when Andi hung up the phone in the study. He’d been pretending to stay busy in the kitchen while he waited to hear how she made out.
“The best they could do was stand-by on Saturday afternoon,” she said as she joined him in the kitchen.
He tried to hide a smile.
“Oh, stop it! I can see you grinning.”
He swept her into his arms and nibbled on her neck. “Who’s grinning?”
When she squealed and tried to get away from him, he lifted her off her feet.
“I didn’t take that Saturday flight.”
“No?”
“I went for the sure thing on Sunday evening.”
He let out a whoop, swung her around, and kissed her. “Is this going to screw you up at work?” he asked as he set her down.
She raised an eyebrow. “Do you really care?”
He pretended to think about it. “Not really.”
“I didn’t think so.”
Once the girls were off to school on Thursday, Jack went to the office. He’d wanted to stay home with Andi and Eric, but he needed to get some work done. With Quinn on her honeymoon, he knew things would be hectic.
Jamie poked his head in at noon to see how Jack was doing.
“Why did I agree to give her three weeks off?”
“Because you’re a sucker,” Jamie said with a smile. “Anything I can do to help?”
“No, I’ve got it.”
“Were you out at the hotel site this morning?”
“Yeah. The storm didn’t really hurt us, so we’re right on schedule. The foundation will be finished within the month.”
“That’s good news. How are things at home?”
“Great. The airlines are a mess, so they’re staying until Sunday.”
“Bonus.”
“I wasn’t exactly heartbroken over it.” Jack sat back in his chair and motioned for Jamie to come in and shut the door. “I asked her to move here to live with us.”
Jamie seemed stunned. “What’d she say?”
“She wants some time to think about it, so we’ve agreed to talk about it again after your wedding.”
“I can see why she’s hesitant. Can you?”
“Sure, I can. But I don’t want to be doing this every month or two long-distance thing forever.
I want her with me, but I don’t want to push her into doing something either of us will regret.
I’m also worried about how the girls will take it.
I haven’t mentioned it to them because she hasn’t said yes yet. ”
“You’ve got to look at it from her perspective. She’s got an established life out there, a career, and a son to think about.”
“I worry it’ll be too much for her to give up, that what we have won’t be enough to replace it all.” Verbalizing his greatest fear made Jack ache with worry.
“I’ve seen the two of you together—this comes down to logistics, not feelings.”
“I guess we’ll see what happens.”
“You’ve got four more days to show her what domestic tranquility Harrington-style would be like,” Jamie said with a grin.
“Believe me, I know.”