Chapter 25
Piper floated on air, even as chaos reigned all around her. Her heart ached for Owen, Laura and all the Lawrys as they waited anxiously for word about Jeff’s condition. The island was without power, the damage was extensive, the storm wasn’t over yet, and still… she floated on air.
Her night with Jack had been right out of a dream.
She ought to be sore and tired, but she was elated and a little freaked out to think she could’ve married the wrong man.
As much as she’d loved Ben, and she’d truly loved him, he’d never rocked her world the way Jack had.
Everything with Jack was on a whole other level from what she’d experienced in the past.
Was she getting ahead of herself to feel so altered by one night with a hot man? Probably, but it was hard to contain the abundance of emotions that made her feel like she was made of champagne bubbles or something equally ridiculous.
On the gas stove that was thankfully still working despite the power outage, she cooked omelets for their guests and made coffee by boiling water that she poured over grounds and then transferred to an insulated pitcher that she carried into the dining room, where the two couples in residence were enjoying fruit and juice.
“You’re an angel, Piper,” Slim said. “I was just asking Erin how she was going to manage me without coffee.”
“It wouldn’t have been pretty,” Erin said.
“This is amazing,” Oliver said when he saw the meal she’d prepared. “Thank you so much for feeding us.”
“No problem.” She went into the salon to let Laura know that breakfast was ready. “I made some pancakes for the kiddos.”
“You’re the best, Piper.”
“Least I can do.” She helped to corral the kids into the dining room, where they had two high chairs stashed in the corner for when the family dined downstairs.
When the twins were secured in the high chairs and Holden in a booster seat, Piper went to get the pancakes, which she served with maple syrup and confectionary sugar.
Then she returned to the kitchen to make plates of eggs and toast for herself and Laura.
“What would I do without my Piper?” Laura asked the others as she buttered the toast and supervised the twins eating their pancakes.
“She’s amazing,” Dara said. “We so appreciate your hospitality during the storm.”
“We’re glad to have you,” Laura said. “And all the hospitality is compliments of Piper.”
“And Owen,” Piper said. “He cooked dinner last night.”
“Is there any word on how his brother is doing?” Oliver asked.
Laura shook her head. “Nothing new. Just that he’s stable for now, and we’re hoping to be able to evacuate him as soon as the choppers can fly again.”
“I wish there was something we could do for you all other than pray,” Erin said.
“We appreciate the prayers,” Laura said. “Jeff is the sweetest guy, and he’s already been through so much…”
Dara reached over to squeeze Laura’s arm. “He’s young and strong. That’ll help.”
“I really hope so. We’re keeping the news from my mother-in-law, who’s in Italy with her husband and parents. They were so looking forward to the trip, and they’ve been so worried about us and the storm. They can’t get here, so we figure there’s no point in telling them.”
“It’s the right thing for now,” Slim said. “The minute we can fly again, I’ll do whatever I can to get his mother to him.”
“We appreciate that, Slim,” Laura said. “When Owen called, we decided we’ll tell her tomorrow so she can start to make her way home. Hopefully, by the time she gets here, we’ll have gotten Jeff moved off the island to a hospital in Providence.”
“Let me know what I can do to help,” Slim said. “I can pick her up wherever she lands on the East Coast.”
“That’d be a great help. I’ll pass that on to Owen.”
As Piper listened to the island’s residents step up for one another, she was thankful to live in a place where people took care of their friends the way they did there. Gansett Island was a place where she could get comfortable and build a life for herself, surrounded by people who truly cared.
When she’d come to the island for a getaway earlier in the summer, she’d never expected to find the home of her heart there, but that’s what’d happened, and now she knew for sure that she wanted to stay forever.
And if Jack Downing was part of that forever, well… She wouldn’t object to that.
“Let’s have everyone over later,” Linda McCarthy suggested later that afternoon as the second half of the storm passed overhead. “We’ve got food and power and everything we need for a get-together.”
“Is it appropriate to have a party with Jeff and Kelsey in the clinic?” Big Mac asked.
“Everything that can be done for them is being done,” Linda said.
“I feel sick over one of our buildings falling on them.”
“I do, too, love. Of course I do, but knowing Kelsey, she wouldn’t want us to be beating ourselves up. How often did she tell us how much she loved that place?”
“All the time,” he said. “But still…”
“I know.” Linda hugged him. “It’s awful but having people over who need to eat during a power outage isn’t disrespectful to them. I promise.”
He put his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head. “If you’re sure about that…”
“I am.”
“Then let’s have people over.”
Linda sent a text to the kids as well as their closest friends and told them to bring anyone who needed a meal.
Then she got busy cooking and preparing for an invasion.
Having all the kids local was the best thing ever, and she couldn’t wait until Janey finished school in Ohio and could be back on the island where she belonged.
Linda’s phone rang. “Speak of the devil.” She took the call from her daughter. “Hi, honey. Did you sleep at all?”
“Not much. How are things there?”
“You heard about Kelsey and Jeff?”
“I did. It’s horrible, but I’m glad David is taking care of them.”
It seemed a million years ago now that Janey had been engaged to David Lawrence. “We’re thankful for that, too, but we need to get him to Providence as soon as possible.”
“Is the storm still bad?”
“Bad enough that the choppers can’t fly yet.”
“Ugh. How are my babies?”
“They’re great. Kyle and Jackson have been amazing. They’re playing in the family room and keeping Carolina company.”
“How’s she feeling?”
“She’s doing okay. Anxious like you are for the guys to come back into port.”
“I talked to Joe an hour ago. They’re hoping to be back by tonight.”
“I know you’ll sleep better once he’s back on the island.”
“I’ll sleep even better when he’s back in Ohio with me.”
“Soon enough, love.”
“I really hope so. How’s everyone else?”
“Mac and Maddie are at the clinic with Kelsey, and I’ve heard from everyone else that they’re hanging in. Everyone is coming for dinner.”
“Wish I could be there.”
“We’ll FaceTime you when they’re here.”
“Sounds good.”
“Try to get some rest, Janey. Everyone is okay, and Joe will be back in soon enough.”
“I’ll try.”
“Love you, baby girl.”
“Love you, too, Mama.”
Linda put down the phone and got to work cooking for her family and friends, which was still one of her favorite things to do.
Since they had no idea how long the power would be out, and the generator would last only so long, she emptied the freezer of chicken, burgers and steak.
Hopefully, the power would be back before they ran out of food.
She tried not to get too far ahead of herself. Island life was unpredictable at the best of times, and a Category 3 hurricane was hardly the best of times. It was scary to be “stuck” on a remote island in the middle of the ocean, cut off from mainland support and services.
Normally, she loved the “we’re all in this together” spirit of island life, but situations like Jeff’s were a reminder of the downside.
She went to the sliding door to check the conditions and saw that the calm of the eye had given way to more wild wind and rain.
“How much longer is it supposed to last?” she asked Big Mac.
“Another couple of hours.”
They could only hope that wouldn’t be too late for Jeff Lawry.
“Something is wrong,” Sarah told Charlie as she moved around their suite, tossing clothes into suitcases and gathering phone chargers and other items they’d taken out of their bags. “We need to go home.”
“If something was wrong,” Charlie said, “they would’ve told you.”
“No, they wouldn’t have, because they know I’m too far away to do anything, but I could tell with one sentence from Owen that something isn’t right.”
“What did he say?”
“It was what he didn’t say. I can’t explain how I know. I just do.”
Her mother, Adele, came through the door that adjoined their suites. “What’s going on?”
“We need to go home. Something is wrong.”
“Did you talk to the kids?”
“I spoke with Owen, and I could tell something is up. He said everything is fine, but it’s not. I can feel it.” She placed a hand on her gut. “I feel it here. I need to go. You all can stay and enjoy the rest of the trip, but I need to get to my kids.”
“If you’re leaving, I’m leaving,” Charlie said.
“Us, too,” Adele said. “If something is wrong, I want to be with the family.”
“I’ll call the airline and see what we can do,” Charlie said.
“Thank you,” Sarah said tearfully. “Thank you.”
Charlie went to her and hugged her. “I’ll get you home as fast as I can.”
At times like these, Sarah wondered, as Charlie went into the bedroom to make the call, how she’d managed to live most of her life without him by her side.
Her ex-husband would’ve told her to shut up about going home, they’d spent the money to come to Italy, and by God, they were going to enjoy the trip.
That would’ve been the end of it. But Charlie…
All he cared about was her and making her happy.
If she was worried or distressed, so was he.
Adele poured coffee for them and brought a cup to Sarah. “What can I do?”
“I’m glad you’re here,” she told her mother. “I feel better whenever you’re close.”
“Then I’ll stay close until we know what’s going on.”
Sarah tipped her head and rested it on her mother’s shoulder while hoping and praying that whatever the kids were keeping from her wasn’t anything serious.
“His blood pressure is dangerously low,” Victoria said to David when he returned from a quick break to eat.
David’s heart sank at that news. “Shit. We’ve got to get him out of here.”
“Or…”
“What?”
“We could operate here.”
“No.”
“David…”
He shook his head. “We can’t take the chance.”
“If we don’t, we’ll lose him. He’s bleeding inside. If we don’t stop that—soon—it’s game over. We’ve got to at least try.”
David took a deep breath and blew it out as he scanned the monitors that painted a dire picture. Vic was right. If they didn’t do something—right now—Jeff’s chances of survival would be nil. “Let me talk to Owen and the others.”
He walked to the waiting area, where the Lawry siblings were sprawled out in chairs, some of them dozing.
Owen jumped up when he saw David coming. “How is he?”
“Not great.” David raised a hand to massage the tension from the back of his neck. “There’s internal bleeding that needs to be addressed immediately.” He forced himself to make eye contact with Owen. “The thing is… We’re completely unequipped for something like this.”
“Have you done anything like this before?” Owen asked.
“I’ve assisted during residency, but I’ve never done it by myself. I want to be honest with you. It’s a huge gamble to do something like this here, but I’m afraid if we don’t, he won’t make it to the mainland.”
Owen glanced at Katie, who’d been going back and forth between tending to Jeff and Kelsey and being with her family. “What do you think?”
“We need to ask Kelsey,” Katie said. “Jeff proposed to her, and she accepted. She’s his fiancée. It should be up to her.”
“Could we see her, David?” Owen asked.
“Just a couple of you.”
“Owen and Katie,” Julia said. “You guys go. We’ll support whatever you decide.”
John and Cindy nodded in agreement.
“Before we decide to proceed, do any of you know your blood type or Jeff’s?”
“I’m a universal donor,” Cindy said. “Type O, Rh negative. I’ve been donating blood for years.”
“That’s great news,” David said. “We’re going to need to stock up ahead of the surgery.”
“Whatever is needed,” Cindy said.
“Let’s go talk to Kelsey,” Owen said.
Katie led the way for her brother, and David followed them.
When they appeared at the foot of her bed, Kelsey perked up. “What’s going on?”
“Jeff needs surgery,” Katie said.
“Are the helicopters flying again?”
“Not yet,” Katie said.
Kelsey’s eyes darted among the three of them before landing on David. “So, what’s the plan?”
“I’d have to do it here,” David said, “and soon. We believe he’s bleeding internally, and that must be stopped.
The thing is, Kelsey, we’re not equipped for something like this, and having me operate on him isn’t ideal.
I’ve assisted on surgeries like this during my residency, but I’ve never done it myself before. ”
Kelsey whimpered.
“I’ll do everything I can for him,” David said. “You have my word on that. But we need to decide now.”
Kelsey looked to Katie and Owen. “We have to, right?”
“We do,” Owen said grimly.
“We’ll get him prepped and keep you apprised,” David said. “Katie, I hate to ask this of you, but can you assist?” She had more surgical experience than Victoria did.
“Of course.”
“Please,” Kelsey said softly as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Please save him. I love him so much.”
“I’ll do everything I can,” David said before he left the room with Katie. They walked into Jeff’s room, where Victoria was standing watch. “Let’s get him prepped for surgery.”
This reminded David far too much of the day that Janey had come in with a ruptured uterus. He’d had to perform emergency surgery to save her and her son. He’d pulled it off once before.
David prayed he could do it again.