Chapter One
There were days, and then, Amy Chandler rued, there were days. This particular Wednesday was definitely one of the latter. The morning had not gone well, and she'd had such high hopes.
But then, she always had high hopes. Ducking her dark blue compact in and out of traffic, she reminded herself that that was what she loved most about morning. It was proof positive of the new and the fresh. Anything was possible, including making it from one end of Jefferson Avenue to the other in under ten minutes.
With a flick of a glance into her rearview mirror, she executed one of those maneuvers that would have had her mother gasping. She could just hear the intake of breath followed by the strained admonition: Amy Elizabeth Chandler, you scare the daylights out of me when you do things like that.
Amy Elizabeth Chandler had to smile. Her driving had been a source of fright and irritation to her mother--and her father, for that matter--ever since she had been old enough to raise their car insurance rates. Now, at twenty-nine, she paid her own insurance, thank you very much, but her mother still worried. Her father had up until the day he died. He'd be shaking his head at her this morning.
"Bear with me, Dad," she muttered, zipping through the intersection on the tale end of a yellow light. Another blue-eyed glance to the rearview mirror showed no signs of a police car anywhere, and she relaxed her grip on the wheel. The last thing she needed was one more ticket for speeding. She had collected an embarrassing number of them over the years, the most recent just a few months ago. That particular incident had resulted in her being held in contempt of court because, in the rush that was her life, she'd forgotten to mail in her fine. What should have been a thirty-eight-dollar penalty had jumped to a painful seventy-five in the blink of a judge's eye.
Sighing in resignation, she resolutely eased off the accelerator. When was she going to learn to slow down--both literally and figuratively? It seemed that all her life she'd been hurrying from one place to the next, one project to the next, one idea to the next. As a child, she had been deemed a whirlwind bundle of energy. As an adult, the trait was less cute. It was something with which she had struggled for some time.
Reminding herself of all this should have alleviated her anxiety, but she truly hated being late for work, and she normally wasn't. More times than not, she was the first person into work at Chandler Graphics. Today she was the last, as the office manager, Cicily Taylor, subtly pointed out.
"I know, I know," Amy announced, holding up a slender hand as she rushed through the showroom and down the hall. "Mr. Kazlowsky is waiting for his proof on that program cover."
"He's already called in," Cicily informed her.
"I'll bet he has."
"Everything all right with you?" This directed to Amy's back.
"Clocks, Exxon, and ducks."
That said it all. She'd forgotten to set her alarm last night, the car had needed gas first thing, and the flock of mallards that had adopted her and lived in her backyard had insisted on being fed. Twice.
She had Mr. Kazlowsky's program cover off the printer and through the fax within ten minutes. Then she played catch-up, or tried to, at least. Sitting in front of her computer, mouse in one hand, cup of hot tea in the other, she managed to typeset three lines of copy on a promotions layout before she was interrupted.
"Ducks?" came the voice of Barbara Chan from the doorway.
Amy threw her a droll look.
"Couldn't you think of a better one than that?"
"No, because there wasn't one, because it was the truth."
"Must be nice being the boss's sister," Barbara teased.
And it was teasing. Barbara was one of three other graphic designers at Chandler Graphics, and Amy's best friend. Since their college days together, they'd been very tight.
"Don't you have anything better to do than harass me?" Amy asked, turning her attention back to her screen.
"As a matter of fact, I do. Tom and I have plans for dinner tonight, but his cousin's in town and I was sort of wondering--actually Tom was wondering--"
"Oh, no." Amy cut her off in mid-ramble. "I'm not going out on a blind date."
"Why not? It would be fun."
"We've been through this before, Barb."
"Not with Tom's cousin."
"That doesn't make any difference."
"Sure it does. The guy is great."
)
Though outwardly different, the Chandler siblings share an uncommon closeness-and an unshakable devotion to their remarkable mother, Ellen. While Mark, a successful business and family man, faces middle age with growing dread, Claire struggles to cope with single motherhood after her husband's tragic death-and Amy, the baby of the family, refuses to compromise in anything--particularly love. But when Ellen Chandler is felled by a stroke, Amy finds herself tapping into reserves of strength she'd hoped never to need-and learning a secret no child wants to hear. As she questions her place in the family she thought she knew, Amy is drawn to Seth Donovan, a divorced surgeon who tries to help her make sense of things beyond her control--even as he falls in love with her. For Amy and her loved ones, the coming weeks will be a test of trust, courage, and loyalty. But their greatest challenge is yet to come, and it will change them--for better or worse--in ways they never could have imagined....
