Page 1 of Worth the Fall

WELCOME HOME

THOMAS

My wife died giving birth to our daughter.She fucking died.In the same moment that I was meeting the most important girl in my life, I lost the other one I loved. I stood there, helpless, watching her eyes roll into the back of her head as I held our daughter in my arms. The hospital staff rushed in, shoving me aside as they wheeled my wife out of the room, leaving me standing there with a newborn who was now making sounds far louder than any small human should be able to make.

Thank God a nurse appeared shortly after to take the baby because if I had been left alone for any longer, I might have dropped her. Not because I fucking wanted to, mind you, but because I couldn’t feel my arms anymore. I couldn’t feel a damn thing.

When the doctor reappeared, I didn’t think I’d moved an inch. How long had I been standing there, frozen in time, my mind replaying the scene? It could have been ten minutes or an hour. I honestly had no idea.

“Thomas,” he said gently, like the words he was about to deliver wouldn’t blow me down with such force that I’d sworn he’d hit me. “Thomas,” he said again, clearly waiting for me to focus my eyes on his. “She’s gone,” he said in that same gentle tone, his paper hat clenched tightly in his fist.

I tried to swallow, but couldn’t. My body no longer worked like it should. “How?” was the only word I forced past my tongue. It came out in a whisper even though I’d tried to speak it normally.

“Brain aneurysm.” He shook his head slowly. “There was nothing we could do. No way either of you could have known. It just”—he paused, his fist unfurling—“happens sometimes.”

It.

Just.

Happens.

Sometimes.

“Okay.”

What else was I supposed to say? It wasn’t as if fighting with the doctor would bring Jenna back to life.

“Is there anyone you’d like me to tell? Your family? Jenna’s parents?” he offered.

I simply shook my head so he’d leave me the fuck alone. It still took him longer to go away than I would have liked.

“Let me know if you need anything. We’re all here to help,” he said before heading out the door, and I realized that I had no idea who this guy was, but he definitely knew me.

It wasn’t surprising really. Not that it mattered right now.

Speaking of, my family was in the other room, cigars in hand, waiting for me to come out and give them the good news. Jenna’s parents were out there too. This would be the last thing on any of their minds. How was I supposed to walk out there and tell them that Clarabel was alive, but Jenna was dead? It seemed impossible to even think the words, let alone say them out loud.

Doubling over, I put my hands on my knees and tried to focus on my breathing. The oxygen wasn’t coming.

“Thomas? Are you okay?” A female voice sounded concerned as she started shuffling in my direction. Her feet scraping against the tiled floor was the only thing louder than the sound of my pounding heart. She placed a hand on my back and started rubbing in small circles. “It’s okay. You’re just having a little panic attack.” She tried to soothe me, but that only made me freak out more.

I did not have panic attacks.

I was an O’Grady. We been in Sugar Mountain since it had been put on the map. Generations of my family had helped found this town. And everyone within a hundred-mile radius seemed to at least know of us. I was sure owning and running the Sugar Mountain Resort with my two younger brothers and dad helped with all that.

“Just breathe in and out. Try to take a long, deep breath and hold it for two seconds,” she instructed before her feet made the shuffling sound once more.

I tried to do as she’d said, but my lungs refused to listen.

“I have someone who wants to see you,” the nurse cooed, and I turned my head ever so slightly to peek. My daughter was wrapped like a burrito in her arms. “I thought she might help you deliver the news.”

Just. Fucking. Breathe.

I was the oldest son. The first one to get married. The first one to make my dad a grandpa, even though he wanted to be called Pops. But I wouldn’t be the first O’Grady to bury a wife. That honor went to my dad. And my granddad before him. Maybe we truly were cursed? I’d heard someone say that once back in high school, and I’d thought they were a fucking idiot. Maybe they were right though.

Why else would my mom have died in a car accident, leaving behind three boys who needed her? And Jenna? She would have never chosen to leave when she could have stayed. Maybe O’Grady men were meant to be alone. Neither my grandpa nor my dad had ever remarried. Hell, I didn’t even think they’d dated.

With my breathing slowly returning to normal, I grabbed my baby girl and headed out the door to deliver the worst news possible while holding the best. Life could be really fucking cruel sometimes.

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