Treading Water: The Complete Paperback Series, Books 1-5

Treading Water

“Your wife is in extremely critical condition with a significant head injury,” Dr. Rooney said. “She also has multiple fractures and a lacerated liver. When we get her stabilized, we’ll be taking her up to surgery to remove her spleen and repair her liver.”

Shocked, Jack said, “But she’ll be all right, won’t she?”

“The head injury is a big concern. We’re inducing a coma to allow the swelling in her brain to subside. The next twenty-four to forty-eight hours will be critical.”

Jack’s hands were trembling, so he jammed them into his pockets. “How long will you keep her in the coma?”

“Hopefully, only a few days,” Dr. Rooney said. “We’ll have to wait and see what happens when we take her off the sedation.”

“What could happen?” Jack had never experienced such raw fear. “She’ll wake up then, right?”

“I can’t say for certain. The head injury is severe. I wish I could tell you more, but it’s a wait-and-see thing at this point. I’m sorry.”

“I want to be with her.”

“I’ll come and find you when we get her settled after surgery,” the doctor said as he walked away.

“A coma,” Jack said, incredulous.

Jamie squeezed Jack’s shoulder. “Why don’t you call your mother and ask her to come help with the girls?”

“I just can’t believe this. She’s never been sick a day in her life. Remember how she was after having the girls?”

“I remember. She’s superwoman, so there’s nothing to worry about. I’m sure she’ll be asking for you in no time.”

“Yeah,” Jack said. “Definitely.”

• Family saga
• Long-distance romance
• Office romance
• Love triangle
• Single father romance
• Single mother romance