Always the One: A Beloved Duet Read online

  Always the One

  A Beloved Duet

  Kelly Collins

  Contents

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  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Thank you for reading.

  A Sneak Peek at One Hundred Reasons

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  Chapter One

  Jace

  Jace Johnson had been hit plenty of times in his life and was no stranger to pain. As a fullback for the Jersey Knights, he’d been vertical and laid out flat more than his share, but he’d never felt as bad as he did when that deer ran in front of his car. One overcorrection caused a situation he wouldn’t wish on anyone.

  Each time he closed his eyes he relived the spin, the flip, the roll, and ultimately the slam as his sports car swerved to miss the animal. The scene played over and over again in a gray blur in his mind. The screech, the silence as they floated through the air, the noise of the crash when they hit the ground again. His daughter’s whimpering. God, that was the worst sound in the world.

  The soul-wrenching image of his fragile five-year-old little girl on the stretcher with paramedics buzzing around would be forever emblazoned in his memory.

  He couldn’t imagine how Maddie was going to handle it. She was small and delicate—though on the inside she was a mighty warrior with a fiery spirit. His baby had literally been tackled by a car, and he’d been the one who caused it—the one behind the wheel. The fear and the guilt and the remorse were eating him alive.

  He raked his fingers through his hair as he sat and waited for any word on his daughter’s condition.

  A doctor headed toward him, his stern expression sending Jace’s heart into an uneven rhythm and a freefall into the pit of his gut. He jumped up and winced at the pain in his leg. The medical team tried to get him help, but there was no way he’d worry about himself when his baby could be fighting for her life on the other side of the doors.

  “Is she okay?”

  “Let’s have a seat.” Doctor Jensen looked down at the tear in Jace’s jeans. “Looks like you could use a look-see too.”

  A gash on his kneecap would need some cleaning up, but he’d seen worse injuries on the field.

  “I’m good. What about Maddie?” He wouldn’t rest until he knew she was out of the woods.

  “She’s going to be okay. She has a bad fracture on her right leg. We’re taking her to surgery now. She’ll be in there for a few hours. She needs a few pins, but she’ll heal.”

  Could the doctor see the relief on his face? “Thank God. That’s the best news yet. Not the pins, but that she’ll recover. What are we facing long-term?”

  “It’s going to be a tough recuperation period. She’s young and active and this is going to slow her down. It would be like feeding her a bowl of candy and telling her to sit still, but with rest and physical therapy, she should make a full recovery.” He stood. “I’ll let you know when you can see her. In the meantime, you should get that cleaned up.”

  Jace stood and shook the doctor’s hand. “Thanks, Doctor Jensen. I will.”

  When the doctor turned the corner, Jace fell back into the chair and let out a shaky breath. His whole body shook from the inside out. There was too much adrenaline pulsing through his veins to contain.

  He pulled out his phone, knowing he’d need to make some calls. Maddie’s nanny needed to know and so did her mother.

  He dialed Rachel’s number and waited for her to answer but she didn’t even pick up. They were estranged, but Jace hoped that some part of her would want to know their child had been in a car accident. Surely that would be information she’d want to hear. His heart broke for Maddie when Rachel texted him back and said she hoped the girl would be okay, but it wasn’t really her problem.

  “The girl?” he said out loud. “She’s your daughter, you miserable woman.” There was so much he wanted to say to her. So many things he wanted to scream, but they wouldn’t matter because she was right. To her, Maddie was just a girl she’d given birth to. The act didn’t make her a mom.

  Jace sat alone feeling twisted and broken. He needed someone to piece him back together. The only person who could do that besides Maddie was his Aunt Sharon.

  Despite the late hour, he dialed her number. She wasn’t old, but she had health issues after the terrible fall she’d taken on an icy sidewalk in front of her Colorado home. Calling this late wasn’t the most considerate thing to do, but Aunt Sharon was no Rachel, and he knew she’d pick up.

  “Jace, are you okay?”

  “Oh gosh,” he apologized as she picked up. “It’s late, and I’m sorry but I needed …” He was literally out of his mind. That was all he managed to say before he sobbed.

  “What in the world?” she asked. “Jace? Are you crying? What’s the matter? Is it the baby?”

  He loved that Sharon called Maddie a baby even though she was five. Maddie would always be his baby girl no matter how old she was.

  His Aunt Sharon had brought a smile to his face and a glimmer of light despite so much darkness. She had no children of her own and without hesitation had stood in to parent him when he was a teen and his parents had died unexpectedly. She was always firm but never raised her voice or lost the smile in it.

  “Maddie—” he cried. “Maddie.” His throat was incredibly tight, which made it painful to speak.

  “Get it together, Jace,” she said firmly. “Tell me what’s going on.”

  “I was driving my Spider,” he explained. “We had our seatbelts on. Maddie had on the mini version of my football helmet, thank God. This deer leaped out of nowhere and we flipped when I overcorrected. I hurt my baby.”

  There were a few seconds of silence. “How bad is it?”

  “It’s her leg, a bad break.”

  Sharon moved right to the positive. That was her way. “Let’s start counting our blessings,” she said calmly.

  It was a thing they’d done since he was a teen. He knew the drill. When everything seemed to be falling apart, he was supposed to drown out the negative with the positive.

  “It’s off-season,” he said.

  Realizing he didn’t have to leave his little girl to practice or to play gave him great relief.

  Sharon was brilliant. She had the knack to re-route his thoughts and make him see the bright side.

  “That’s right,” she agreed. “That’s one. You can spend time with your daughter when she needs you the most. Two, she’s alive and she’s going to be okay. Are you okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine.” He was anything but fine, though his pain had nothing to do with his leg and all to do with his heart. “The doctor said her surgery will take a couple of hours. After she recovers, we have to think of things like physical therapy. She’s just a little girl. What if—”

  Sharon cut him off.

  “We are not there yet, Jace. Oh wait—did you say physical therapy?” she asked, and s
he laughed.

  He thought that was odd and wondered what made her do such a thing. Maybe her mind had temporarily snapped.

  “What?”

  “I know just the person. You know her too,” she said enthusiastically. “Jace, she’s your third blessing.”

  “Who are you talking about?” He was officially too tired to think straight.

  “I get physical therapy twice a week, sometimes more. Bring Maddie here, but no one else. My house is not a harem den.”

  “What? No,” he said, shaking his head. “There’s no harem.”

  He knew she was referring to that period of his life when he had been something of a player.

  “It’s all about Maddie now,” he said. “No one even on the side or in the shadows. I’m a dad and a nephew. That’s enough for me.”

  “Don’t get too extreme, but I think this is a time for family and pulling ourselves together,” she said.

  “Agreed.” The sniffles muted his voice. “A hundred percent.”

  “We’ll take care of her here, and she can have physical therapy in my home or wherever her doctor thinks it’s best.”

  “I don’t want to be rude,” he said, trying hard not to be blunt. “But I think I need someone a little more specialized than a Beloved physical therapist. No offense.”

  “Jace Johnson, you’re to pack that little girl up and bring her down to stay with me. Both of you need looking after. Her because of her leg, and you because I can tell you’re stretched thin and stressed out. If you don’t want Aidy Smith, we’ll get someone else. Either way, come home.”

  “Aidy?” he queried. “The same Aidy who tutored me in chemistry? She’s still around?”

  “How many Aidys do you think there are? Besides, she tutored you in all your subjects as I recall, and yes, she’s still around.”

  “Mousy, glasses, awkward but super smart.” More than her appearance, he recalled how for him, she was a year younger, but a whole lot smarter.

  She hadn’t fawned all over him like the other girls did or competed with him like the guys. She was easy to be around and brilliant. It might actually be nice to see her again, if for nothing else then to thank her for all the help she’d given him in high school.

  Then he remembered that one awkward moment during prom season when she’d hinted about not having a date, and he’d told her he wasn’t going. He’d known then that Aidy wasn’t the kind of girl you loved and left, and he was leaving.

  “She’s a little different now, but yes, that’s her,” said Sharon.

  He couldn’t commit to anything without thought, but Sharon had given him an option, and it made him feel better.

  “I’ll see what the doctor says. I have lots to consider.” He looked at his watch and saw it was well after midnight in Colorado. “Get some rest. Sorry to wake you.” The few minutes he’d spoken to Sharon made it feel as though the weight of the world had been lifted, if only momentarily.

  “You better wake me again,” she said. “I wanna know how my baby is doing.”

  “I’ll call you first thing,” he said. “I have a place at the hotel next to the hospital. I’ll keep you posted.” While he did have a room, he knew he’d never leave his daughter alone.

  “I’ll get the house ready for you.” She didn’t sound tired at all. No doubt she’d be up planning from this moment on.

  “Okay, but I don’t know if it’s a sure thing. I have to see what the doctor says. I might have to stay in Jersey at our place. Prince and I will be here for her if that’s the case.”

  “Did you guys get a dog and not tell me?”

  Jace belly-laughed. It felt amazing to be filled with happiness after such an awful night. He almost couldn’t stop chuckling.

  “No, that’s her nanny,” he said.

  “You have a nanny named Prince? What happened to the other nanny?” she asked in almost a growl.

  “Gladys retired. As for Prince, why not?” he asked. “He’s a good manny.”

  “Manny. Haha. Have you ever considered maybe she needs a woman’s touch? A woman that’s younger than seventy? We can talk about this later. We don’t need a manny in Beloved. Come home. She’ll be fine.”

  “Yes, Dr. Sharon.” Suddenly he was struck with emotion. “Aunt Sharon—”

  “I know, Jace,” she said. “I know. Me too.”

  “No, I’m going to say it,” he said. “I owe you so much. Thanks for always being there for me and now for my daughter. I love you.”

  Her voice took on an uncharacteristic scold.

  “Jace,” she began, “I’m your family. I’m Maddie’s family. You have given me more than I can say. Don’t you ever thank me again for doing what’s right.” She cleared her throat. “I love you too,” she said in a soft motherly tone.

  She was a blessing he could always count on.

  * * *

  It had been three weeks since that dreadful night. Maddie came out of her surgery wanting ice cream and a puppy.

  Jace made sure she had all the strawberry and chocolate she could eat, but the puppy would have to wait. He didn’t have the heart to ask Prince to help raise his daughter and his dog.

  Today they were at Maddie’s check-up. The orthopedic offices would be a lot more tranquil than the ER had been. Because they were annexed to the hospital, Jace pulled into the parking lot next to the emergency entrance where they’d arrived on the horrific night of the accident. Maddie paled as if she were afraid they were going back to the hospital.

  “Relax, sweets,” he assured her. “This is going to be a happy visit.”

  She was still in a wheelchair. In addition to a check-up, Maddie was going to be fitted for her crutches and shown how to walk in them.

  The nurse took Maddie right away. He didn’t go in with them because the staff said his anxiety level got in the way of a calm medical experience for his child. The relief he felt when he sank into the plush waiting room furniture was a far cry from his mental anguish of a few weeks prior.

  He was also impatient for the doctor to give him the green light to take Maddie to Colorado so she could recover surrounded by the love of her family.

  When he saw the door to the inner part of the office open, he was in awe. There was his daughter, taking her first steps on crutches like a pro.

  “She’s progressing right on time,” her doctor said as he walked toward Jace.

  To fulfill his promise to Aunt Sharon, he needed to ask about a physical therapist for Maddie.

  “We were thinking that Maddie and I would go to Colorado to be with family. Would you rather us stay here or is travel okay?”

  “I always encourage family support. Maddie’s physical therapy is straightforward. Any questions or concerns can be communicated through the patient portal.” He pulled a business card from his pocket and gave it to Jace. “You know where to find me. We can video chat and include any follow-on healthcare providers. It really doesn’t matter where you’re located.”

  “What about the trip?”

  They walked to where Maddie stood leaning on her crutches.

  “She should be fine to travel.” He ruffled her hair. “You let us know where you’re going, and we can set up referrals for a physician where you are if you’re concerned.”

  “What do you say, Maddie? You ready to go visit Aunt Sharon?”

  Maddie flashed a big smile.

  “I guess that’s a yes,” said Jace.

  Chapter Two

  Aidy

  Intuition tugged at Aidy as she prepared to drive to her favorite patient, Sharon’s, home—no coffee or muffins this time because she wouldn’t reward broken appointments and lack of progress. It had been a couple of weeks since Aidy’s last session with her. She was overseeing some kind of renovation and thought it best to hold their appointments until she was finished with all the touches she was making for her arriving guests.

  As she arrived at her client’s home, all appeared to be back to normal. The usual tranquility was restored, and the f
renzy of contractors was gone.

  She knocked as usual and Sharon called for her to come in.

  “I’m in the family room.”

  “Are you hiding from me?” Normally Sharon answered the door in person. The fact that she wasn’t getting up was telling in itself.

  She rounded the corner to find Sharon tucked into the corner of the couch. One look and Aidy knew this appointment was sorely needed. Sharon was visibly worn out. She made an effort to stand. She moved slowly and appeared stiff. Pain showed in her eyes even though she tried to hide it with a smile.

  “You’ve been overdoing it.” She eyed Sharon up and down. Her posture was stooped, like she was favoring the side of her injured hip.

  “Yeah.” She released a guilty sigh. “But it’s been worth it. Come let me show you.”

  “Nope, you don’t get to redirect this appointment. Last time we didn’t get much done because of muffins and coffee. We need to get to work.” She was kind but firm with her. She never hesitated to direct her patients to do as they needed, when they needed. It was her job to get them healed. Their job to follow directions.

  Aidy had two passions in life. One was singing karaoke and the other was helping her clients.

  “It’ll only take a minute.” Sharon’s light tone threatened to turn this into another social occasion. “We can spend as much time as you like afterward.”

  Aidy knew she’d lost the fight as soon as Sharon smiled. “Okay, but we need to get busy.” She stood behind Sharon, waiting for her to lead the way. “If you don’t mind my saying, you don’t look so hot.”