Beach Lane (18 page)

“Of course not. I’d never interfere with tradition.”

When they walked into Sally’s, Susie tried to ignore the shocked expressions she glimpsed on the faces of people she hadn’t seen in a while. When she reached the booth in back, Jake and Will both stood and gave her resounding kisses. To their credit, whatever their reactions to her appearance, there was no outward evidence of anything more than delight at seeing her out and about.

“You look good,” Will said. “Jess told me about the new hairdo. She felt honored that you asked her to help.”

“Did she tell you why I thought she was the perfect choice?” Susie asked, grinning.

Will laughed. “She did. Now, tell me how you’re feeling.”

“Better than the times when I feel like I’ve been run over by a bus,” she said candidly. “But I do not want to talk about me. I want to hear about you guys. Jake, how’s the baby?”

His face lit up. “Trying to walk. As cute as she is when she pulls herself up and then falls back on her little padded butt, the thought of trying to keep up with her once she can actually walk scares the dickens out of me.”

“You’re not the one who’ll be trying to keep up with her,” Susie reminded him. “Bree will.”

“That’s what you think. She’s told me she can barely contain her in her playpen at the flower shop now. Once the baby’s walking, Bree says she’s going to work with me on my landscaping jobs so she can roam the wide open spaces. I almost think my wife is totally serious.”

“She probably is,” Will confirmed.

Sally came over to take their order. Her only acknowledgment that anything was wrong with Susie was the reassuring squeeze she gave her shoulder. “Okay, hurry up, you guys. I don’t have all day to stand around while you make up your minds,” she said with her usual brisk manner.

When they’d all placed their orders, she winked at Susie. “You’re a brave woman for taking on these three at the same time. I have no idea how Bree and Jess put up with them.”

“We’re very lovable,” Jake told her.

“Couldn’t prove it by me,” Sally said.

Their meals came within minutes. By the time Susie had finished half of her tuna salad sandwich, she was too tired to lift another bite to her mouth. Mack took one look at her and stood up.

“I need to get this beautiful woman home. She’s been out gallivanting too long.”

“I’ll drive myself,” she protested.

He leveled a stern look into her eyes. “Not a chance.”

“Let the man pamper you,” Will advised. “It doesn’t come naturally to him, so he needs the practice.”

“Bite me,” Mack said. “And you can pay for lunch while you’re at it.”

“My pleasure,” Will called after them as Mack guided Susie out of the restaurant.

“That felt almost normal,” she said as she sank gratefully into the passenger seat of Mack’s car. “Almost?”

“Didn’t you see the way some people were staring when we walked in? I felt as if I were on display, the poster child for cancer or something.”

“You handled it well. You didn’t let on that it bothered you.”

“I guess because I understood. I’ve reacted the same way when I’ve run into someone who’s obviously undergoing treatment. I felt tongue-tied. I mean, what are you supposed to say?”

“‘Hello’ seems like a good place to start,” Mack said.

“But ‘hello’ can start a conversation, and then what? Do you avoid the subject or talk about it? It’s tricky.” She sighed. “I suppose I need to get used to it. Otherwise the launch party is going to be pretty awkward.”

“I’ll be right there with you every second,” Mack assured her. “And it’s going to be packed with family and friends. You don’t have a thing to worry about.”

“Right,” she said. “Besides, it’s your night. It’s not about me.”

“It wouldn’t be happening if it weren’t for you,” he corrected as he pulled up at their apartment.

“Don’t park. I’ll be fine going in,” she told him. She leaned across the console and kissed him. “Thanks for lunch.”

“Thank Will.”

“Yes, but you were my very sexy escort. Maybe all those people at Sally’s were staring at you, rather than me, after all.”

“I’m sure that’s it,” he said drily. “Love you. See you around six.”

Susie stood on the curb, then bent to lean in through the passenger window. “It’s been a good day, Mack. Who knew I could be so grateful for getting to spend a few hours at work and having lunch at Sally’s?”

“Maybe it’s a good reminder to all of us to count our blessings when they’re happening,” he said. “You’re at the top of my list.”

“And you’re at the top of mine,” she said, then watched him drive off.

Her good mood lasted all the way inside and up to the bedroom and then her head began to swim. The dizziness washed over her in nauseating waves.

Struggling, she barely made it to the bed before her knees gave way. She was reaching for the phone to call for help when the walls seemed to close in, the light seemed to fade. And then nothing.

When Mack walked into the darkened apartment at six o’clock and heard not a single sound, his pulse started to race and his heart began to thud.

“Susie!”

He ran to the bedroom, switched on the light and saw her sprawled half in and half out of the bed, still wearing the coat she’d had on earlier.

“Oh, dear God,” he murmured, rushing to her side and feeling for a pulse. It was faint, but it was there. “Susie!” he said again, giving her a gentle shake, even as he dialed 9-1-1 with a hand that shook so badly he could barely clasp the phone.

The next half hour passed in a blur as the paramedics tried to revive Susie, then settled for stabilizing her so she could be transported to the hospital. Mack called Jeff and Jo, then followed the ambulance.

By the time he reached the emergency room, Susie was already in a cubicle surrounded by doctors and nurses.

“You need to wait outside,” a nurse told him. “Let the doctors figure out what’s going on.”

“She’s recovering from ovarian cancer,” he told her. “She’s on chemo. Has anyone called Dr. Kinnear or the oncologist?”

“We will if we need them. We have all of her records,” the nurse informed him gently. “We’ll take good care of her.”

Mack was pacing the waiting room when Jo and Jeff arrived, followed quickly by Nell, Mick and Megan.

“Abby and Bree are on their way,” Megan told him. “So are Will and Jess.”

“Has there been any news?” Nell asked.

Mack shook his head. His gaze kept being drawn to the closed doors behind which they were doing who knows what to his wife. Could their life together end like this, so unexpectedly? Surely fate wouldn’t be that cruel.

“I knew she was overdoing it today,” Jeff lamented. “I should have sent her straight home.”

Mack understood the regret he was feeling. He was carrying a load of it himself for taking Susie to lunch, rather than home. Still, he kept hearing her words echoing in his head.

“She needed to be at work today,” he reassured Jeff. “When I dropped her off at home, she kept telling me what a great day it had been, and that she’d almost felt like her old self.”

Jeff wasn’t consoled. “Still, it was too much for her. I should have insisted that she leave.”

Jo gave him a chiding look. “Do you imagine our daughter would have listened to a word you said? Her mind was made up. Mack’s right. She did exactly what she wanted to do today.”

“But if something happens because of it…” Jeff argued.

They all knew what he was trying so hard not to say—if Susie died—but no one dared to utter those words. Surely death was too high a price for having one day doing what she enjoyed.

“Stop it, all of you!” Nell commanded. “Susie will be just fine. This is a little setback, nothing more.”

Mack hoped that was the case, but his faith wasn’t as strong as hers. As if she understood that, Nell crossed the room and pulled him down beside her.

“She’s going to be okay,” she assured him. “Believe that. Hold on to it.”

He regarded her bleakly. “I’m trying.”

She patted his hand. “Well, fortunately I have enough faith for the both of us. Susie’s a strong woman, and she loves you too much to leave you now when your life together is just getting started.”

Mack heard the words, absorbed the confidence with which they were spoken as a thirsty man soaked up rain. He struggled to match Nell’s belief. He believed in Susie. He believed in them. He hoped that was enough.

18

“S
usie’s white blood count has fallen dangerously low,” Dr. Kinnear explained to the assembled O’Briens a couple of endless hours after Susie had been brought into the hospital. Her oncologist was by his side, nodding. “We need to keep her in here for a few days, try to build her blood back up.”

Though he wasn’t sure he wanted to know, Mack forced himself to ask, “What about the treatments?”

“Everything stops for now,” the oncologist said, his tone firm.

Charles Price might not have Dr. Kinnear’s comforting demeanor or his charm, but his professional skills were excellent. Mack had researched his credentials thoroughly. He had to trust the oncologist now.

“But isn’t that risky?” Jo inquired hesitantly, her eyes filled with worry.

“It would be riskier to continue before we know she’s able to tolerate another round,” Dr. Price insisted. Dr. Kinnear concurred.

“It’s a setback, but there’s no reason for panic,” Dr. Kinnear assured them. “This happens.”

“Is she awake now?” Mack asked. “Does she know about this?”

Both doctors nodded. “We’ve talked to her and explained things,” her gynecologist said. “As you can imagine, she’s not happy about delaying treatment. Try to convince her this isn’t a death sentence. She’s scared it could be.”

“So am I,” Jo admitted, looking increasingly shaken. Nell and Jeff moved to put their arms around her.

“Nobody’s allowed to think like that, or at least to say anything remotely like that around Susie,” Mack said fiercely. “She needs us to believe she’s going to beat this. It’s up to us to keep her spirits strong.”

“That’s absolutely right,” Dr. Kinnear said. “Mack, why don’t you spend a little time with your wife. Jo, if you and Jeff want to pop in after that for a minute, go ahead, but the rest of you should wait for tomorrow. And keep the visits brief. Susie needs rest. I imagine I don’t need to remind you not to visit at all if you have a cold or anything else contagious. She’s highly susceptible to infection right now. The nurse will explain all the necessary precautions to you.”

Mack took off down the hall, but when he reached the door to Susie’s room, he halted in his tracks. He was leaning against the wall, trying to gather his composure, when Will arrived.

“You want to talk a minute before you go in there?” Will asked.

Mack shook his head, tears stinging his eyes. “What is there to say?”

“Exactly what you said not five minutes ago, that everyone needs to believe Susie’s going to beat this. She needs
you
to believe it most of all.”

“I’m scared, Will.” It was not an admission he’d made often, not even when he’d been a kid and his mother had vanished for days at a time. Instead, back then he’d focused on keeping the authorities from finding out, because he’d known intuitively they’d have taken him away from her if they’d known. Only Will and Jake had guessed about those terrifying incidents and somehow had found a way to get him invited to their homes for extended visits. He’d always wondered how they’d known, or why their parents had gone along with those visits without questions.

Now Will put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and just stood there, solid in his understanding and support. Thankfully he didn’t utter a lot of platitudes that Mack wouldn’t have bought anyway.

Finally Mack drew in a deep breath, gave his friend a grateful look, then opened the door.

Susie was so pale, her color seemed no deeper than the white sheets on the hospital bed. An IV was pumping blood and who knew what else into her system. Her eyes were closed. She looked so lifeless, so unlike the animated woman with whom he’d fallen in love, Mack was once again taken aback. If it had been even remotely acceptable, he might have turned tail and run, but of course he couldn’t. Susie needed him now more than ever.

He pulled a chair up closer to the bed, sat down and took her ice-cold hand in his. Then he shut his eyes and prayed as he never had before in his life.

“Please, God, let her be okay. She doesn’t deserve this, and, to be honest, I have no idea what I’d do without her. The same goes for her family. We all need her, God. Please, please, make this turn out okay.”

“Mack?” Her voice was raspy with sleep, but it was enough to have his eyes snapping open.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said, leaning closer. “How’re you doing?”

“Not so good,” she confessed. “I feel weaker than a newborn kitten. What happened?”

“Dr. Kinnear and the oncologist said they explained to you about the low white blood count.”

She looked confused, but then her eyes cleared. “Oh, yeah, that’s right. When can I go home?”

“I’m not sure. They want to get your blood count up a bit.”

“But I’ll be out before the launch party, right? I can’t miss that.”

Mack had made a decision earlier, though he hadn’t mentioned it to anyone. “I’m postponing that.”

Alarm filled her eyes. “Mack, no. The paper has to come out.”

“The paper will come out, right on schedule, but we can have the party later. I’ll speak to Jess. I’m sure it won’t be a problem. And the family can make the calls to everyone. They’ll understand. I’m not doing this party without you, and it’ll be too much for you right now.”

To his surprise she didn’t argue, which told him just how beat she must be.

“If it’s what you want to do,” she said wearily. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t you dare be sorry. You didn’t wind up in the hospital on purpose. This is just a little bump in the road. Nothing more.”

She searched his gaze as if she feared he wasn’t telling her everything. “Are you sure about that?”

“Swear to God,” he assured her. “The doctors aren’t worried. They said things like this happen, so we’re not worrying. Understand?”

She gave him a look filled with sorrow. “You certainly didn’t bargain for this when you asked me to marry you.”

“I bargained for having you in my life in sickness and in health,” he corrected. “We’re going to tough it out through this sickness, and then we’re going to have the rest of our lives to do all the things we ever dreamed of.”

She managed a faint smile. “There you go, cheerleading again.”

“That’s my job. You fight this disease. I hold pep rallies.”

“Mack,” she whispered, her gaze locking on his.

“What?”

“I want to build our house now.”

It was the last thing he’d expected her to say. “But—”

“No buts,” she said adamantly. “I know all about the cost, but we can work that out. My dad and Uncle Mick will work with us.”

“Come on, Susie,” he pleaded. “I don’t want to be indebted to your family.”

She continued to hold his gaze. “I swore to myself I wasn’t going to persuade you like this, but I have to do it.”

“Do what?”

“Use whatever means necessary.” She held his gaze. “You love me, don’t you?”

He saw where this was heading. He also knew there was no way he could refuse her anything she wanted. And he knew she knew that, as well. If she was playing her trump card, it had to matter to her.

“Of course I love you,” he said.

“Then do this for me. If…” She sucked in a breath, then spoke determinedly. “If I don’t beat this cancer, I want to have spent at least a few nights in our dream house with you. I want you to have memories of us living there together, no matter how briefly. I understand all the reasons why you don’t want to ask my family for help, but please, just this once, Mack, put your pride aside and do this for me.”

He saw how much this meant to her. He even understood her desperation. He studied her hopeful expression and knew he couldn’t deny her this one wish, even if asking for financial help went against every principle he had.

“It’s that important to you?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Okay, then, I’ll do it on one condition.”

Her eyes lit up. “Anything. What is it?”

“No more talk about dying, Susie. It tears me up inside.”

Her expression sobered. “We might have to face it, Mack. We need to be prepared.”

“Not now,” he insisted.

“Please be realistic.”

“If the time comes, I will be. I promise you I will listen if you need to talk. I won’t deny the reality, but we’re not there yet,” he said fiercely. “Not yet!”

He felt tears dampening his cheeks, but he made no attempt to brush them away. It was Susie who reached up and touched his face tenderly.

“No matter what happens, Mack, please know this. You’ve given me a lifetime. You’ve made me happier than I ever imagined I could be. Whether I live a few more months or we’re together for many, many years, I’ll have been blessed.”

Mack tried to keep it together. He really did, but he knew if he didn’t get out of that room right now, he was going to lose it, and he didn’t want to upset Susie.

“I’ll be back,” he said, standing up suddenly. “I’m going to get your parents. I know they want to say good-night.”

He found Jo and Jeff nearby. He was so choked up, he could only gesture for them to go in. Jo regarded him with concern, but when he waved her off, she went into her daughter’s room with Jeff.

Mack headed for the chapel, hoping he could find the peace and composure there that had eluded him in Susie’s room. To his surprise, he found Nell already there. She smiled a welcome, then patted the pew beside her. When he was seated, she silently took his hand in hers, allowing him to draw on her strength, and together they prayed.

Susie’s fighting spirit came back as her blood count and energy rose. She wanted to go home, and had been telling everyone who’d listen that she’d do it against medical advice if the doctors didn’t get a move on and release her.

“You’ll leave here early over my dead body,” Mack said grimly when she made the announcement to him when he finally managed to drop by late one evening.

He tossed something to her—a rolled-up newspaper, from the look of it. Suddenly all thoughts of fleeing the hospital vanished. Sitting in the chair beside the bed, she reached up and flipped on the nearby light.

“This is it?” she asked excitedly. “The first edition of the
Bayside Chronicle?
”

“That’s it. Hot off the press. It’ll be on newsstands and in mailboxes around town first thing in the morning. I came straight here after we finished the press run.”

She tore off the plastic wrap and spread it open on her lap. “Oh, Mack, it looks amazing,” she said. “Honestly. I think it has the very best front page I’ve ever seen. It looks so inviting and readable. The pictures are great. Who took them?”

“A couple of the freelance people,” he said, then added more hesitantly, “And Kristen.”

Susie stilled. “She does a little bit of everything, doesn’t she?”

“She was just pitching in,” he said, a defensive note in his voice. “We’re all doing things that eventually will be assigned to other people.”

“I know. I didn’t mean to make an issue of it,” she said. She patted the chair beside her. “Sit here while I read every word,” she told him excitedly.

“You don’t have to read it now.”

“But I want to. This is amazing, Mack. To think that you started this from scratch.”

“Let’s hope everyone in town will be as thrilled as you are.”

“You sound doubtful. Why is that?”

“The editorial,” he admitted, his expression chagrined. “I took the mayor to task over not keeping up with the parks. Some of them are looking pretty ragged, and spring’s just around the corner. Kids should be able to play in them on nice days, and couples should be able to go for a stroll. Right now I wouldn’t want to see a stray animal out in those weeds.”

“Hey, it’s your job to call the mayor on stuff like that.”

“No one ever has before. He might be a little sensitive to finding the criticism in the paper’s first edition, especially when he can probably argue that budget cuts have forced his hand.”

She waved off his concern. “Uncle Mick rakes him over the coals on a regular basis. Believe me, if Mick hasn’t been all over this already, he will be now. He’ll back you a hundred percent.”

“That reminds me,” Mack said. “I spoke to Mick and your father about the house. As soon as you’re feeling up to it, we’re all going to get together and finalize the plans.”

Susie regarded him with astonishment. “Really? You’re going to let them get started?”

He nodded. “We’ve worked out a payment plan I can live with. It’s almost spring, the perfect time for breaking ground. At least, that’s what the two of them tell me. They say we’ll be in the house by the end of summer, maybe sooner if Mick doubles up on the crews.”

Susie’s excitement dimmed a bit. There it was, the hint that her time might be fleeting, the sense of urgency to get this done. None of them would say the words, but they all knew what could happen.

“That’s great,” she said, but without much enthusiasm.

Of course Mack noticed. “Don’t look like that,” he said gently. “Nobody thinks you’re dying.”

“They’d be crazy if they didn’t,” she said candidly.

Mack stood up and began to pace, just as he always did when he was agitated. His eyes flashed angrily. When he faced her, he was clearly furious. “Susie O’Brien Franklin, I don’t ever want to hear you say something like that again.” He frowned down at her. “Do you understand me?”

She recognized that there was unspoken fear behind the anger. “I’m not giving up,” she assured him. “I won’t, Mack.”

He released a sigh and sat back down. “Sorry I yelled at you.”

She nodded. “I know. Let’s make a pact here and now. We both have permission to yell when one of us sounds like we’re giving up, okay?”

“Works for me,” he said. “Now, you need to get some sleep, and I need to make sure these papers get distributed.”

“Are you planning to hand out each one personally?” she inquired, trying to hide a grin.

Mack looked sheepish. “I probably won’t go that far.”

“Good, because if you start doing that, I’ll never see you, and just so you know, that’s not acceptable.”

He leaned down and lingered over a kiss. “It’s definitely not acceptable,” he agreed. “See you in the morning.”

“Only after you’ve been to Sally’s to bask in all the accolades,” she said. “I want to hear every single word.”