Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 1-16

by Force, Marie

  “Here goes,” Maddie said. “Are you ready?”

  Tiffany nodded and Ned got out to open the door for them. Maddie went first and then helped Ashleigh.

  Ned and Francine came around the car and opened Tiffany’s door. Ned extended his hand to help her out of the car.

  Tiffany looked up at him as she grasped his hand and smiled when she saw tears in his eyes. She squeezed his hand and held out her arm to her mother.

  Evan played “Make You Feel My Love” as the three of them followed Maddie and Ashleigh to where the men awaited them.

  Fearing for her composure, Tiffany avoided Blaine’s intense gaze until she was nearly to where he stood with Mac at his side and Thomas in front of Mac, watching the proceedings with big blue eyes. After much debate, Maddie had decided to leave baby Hailey at home with Linda.

  As Evan continued to sing, Tiffany finally allowed herself to look at Blaine. He was tall and gorgeous in a tan summer suit with a white dress shirt open at the throat. Per her request, he’d refrained from shaving, even at the risk of his mother’s wrath. She’d never seen anything she loved more than the way he looked at her as she came toward him on the arms of her parents.

  He reached out to her, asking her without words to take the rest of her journey with him.

  Tiffany kissed her mother and Ned and took Blaine’s hand, smiling as his fingers curled around hers. And then he sealed the deal when he reached for Ashleigh with his other hand. The tears Tiffany had kept at bay all day long filled her eyes as that simple gesture told her everything she’d ever need to know about the man she was marrying.

  Sensing her emotional battle, Blaine brought her hand to his lips and brushed them over her knuckles.

  As Evan played the final notes, Maddie stepped forward to take Tiffany’s bouquet.

  “Blaine and Tiffany,” Judge McCarthy said, “we’re honored to be here today to witness the start of your lives together. Each of you has traveled a long and winding road to reach this destination. Henceforth, you’ll take to the road together, through good times and bad, through richer and poorer, in sickness and in health. Have you both come here willingly to exchange these vows and to merge your two roads into one common path that you’ll travel together?”

  “We have.”

  “Tiffany, do you take Blaine to be your husband, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish all the days of your life?”

  “I do.”

  “And do you, Blaine, take Tiffany to be your wife, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish all the days of your life?”

  “I most definitely do.”

  His reply set off laughter among the guests and diffused the last of Tiffany’s nerves. He most definitely did. How wonderful was that? She smiled up at him, happier in that moment than she’d ever been before, except for maybe the day Ashleigh was born. But this was even better, because now she had Ashleigh and she had Blaine, too. And she knew without a shadow of a doubt that this marriage was forever.

  Mac produced rings from his suit coat pocket and handed them to Blaine.

  Judge McCarthy nodded for Blaine to go ahead.

  “First things first,” Blaine said, sliding a diamond ring on her finger. “Our two-day engagement didn’t leave much time for ring shopping. I hope this meets with your approval.”

  Meet with her approval? It was incredible! The diamond was big and round and glittered in the sun. Before she had time to absorb its full beauty, he was sliding another ring on her finger, this one a band of diamonds.

  “With this ring,” he said, “I thee wed.” He kissed the back of her hand and then turned it to drop something into her palm. A ring for him. He’d truly thought of everything.

  Her hands trembled as she pushed the platinum band onto his finger. “With this ring,” she said, looking up at him, “I thee wed.” She repeated his gesture, kissing the back of his hand.

  “And,” Blaine said, reaching back to Mac for another ring. “This one’s for you, Ashleigh.”

  “I get one, too?” she asked, looking up at him and her mother, her big eyes full of wonder and delight.

  “You sure do,” Blaine said. “I love you, and I promise to be the very best step-dad in the whole wide world.” He slid a tiny gold ring on her finger and bent to hug her as Tiffany dabbed at her eyes.

  Ashleigh kissed his cheek. “I love you, too.”

  Blaine picked her up and held her in one arm, while reaching out to Tiffany with his other hand.

  “With the power vested in me by the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,” Frank said, “it is my honor to declare you husband and wife. Blaine, you may kiss your bride.”

  He transferred Ashleigh to Maddie before he placed both hands on Tiffany’s face and placed a lingering kiss on her lips. “Love you so much, baby.”

  “Love you more.”

  Smiling, he shook his head. “No way.”

  “Ladies and gentleman,” Judge McCarthy said, “I give you Chief and Mrs. Blaine Taylor.”

  The small gathering clapped and cheered as they turned to face them. They received hugs and kisses and congratulations from everyone, including Blaine’s mom, who wore a wide smile when she greeted her new daughter-in-law.

  After they’d had a chance to say hello to everyone, Blaine extended his arm to her.

  Tiffany curled her fingers around the crook of his elbow. She glanced at Maddie to make sure she had Ashleigh. Maddie held hands with Ashleigh and Mac had Thomas.

  “Go,” Maddie said, waving her hand. “I’ve got her.”

  “Thank you.”

  As Blaine led her back toward the car, Ned hurried on ahead of them to get the door.

  “Oh my God,” Tiffany said. “Guess what we forgot?”

  “What?” Blaine asked.

  “A photographer! We won’t have any pictures.”

  He pointed. “Look, honey.”

  How had she missed Grace, Stephanie and Jenny, armed with cameras? “Where did you guys come from?”

  “We’ve been here the whole time,” Stephanie said. “You only had eyes for him.”

  “Can you blame me?” Tiffany asked. “Look at him.”

  Her friends laughed and took more pictures as they got into Ned’s fancy car. Once he had them settled in the backseat, Ned went around to hold the passenger door for Francine.

  Through the open window, they heard Mac say, “Let’s party!”

  As Ned pulled away from the group, he turned the radio up, and the sound of Big Band music filled the car and gave the newlyweds some privacy.

  Blaine put his arm around her and leaned in for another kiss. “Hey there, Mrs. T, you’re looking exceptionally gorgeous today. That dress… Wow. A-maz-ing.”

  “Same to you.” She flattened her hand on his chest. “It was amazing and wonderful and very us. Thank you for all you did to make it happen so quickly. And the rings! How did you pull that off?”

  “I put my sisters on the job. How’d they do?”

  “Incredible.”

  “I told them exactly what I wanted, and they came back with something even better than I’d pictured. And they had a blast spending my money.”

  “It’s too much.”

  “It’s nowhere near enough.”

  “I feel so lucky and so blessed to have your rings on my finger.”

  “I feel so lucky and so blessed to have the rest of my life to love you and Ashleigh.”

  “Thank you for what you did for her and for making sure we weren’t interrupted by any unwelcome guests.”

  “After his performance this morning, I was leaving nothing to chance on that front.” With his finger on her chin, he said, “Nothing but happy thoughts today.”

  “And every day.”

  Blaine smiled, nodded in agreement and kissed her all the way to Maddie’s house.

  Ned took the long way around the island.

  * * *

  David and Daisy arrived to chaos at Maddie’s house. People were running around with food
and chairs, and out on the lawn a band was setting up under the direction of Evan McCarthy. Apparently, the bride and groom were on their way.

  “What can we do to help?” Daisy asked Grant McCarthy as he went by carrying two huge bags of ice.

  “Ask Maddie,” he said with a good-natured grin. “She’s the drill sergeant out on the deck, barking orders at everyone.”

  They followed him to the deck, where Maddie was, in fact, shouting orders to everyone within earshot.

  “Give me something to do,” Daisy said when Maddie took a break to breathe.

  She thrust Hailey into Daisy’s arms, said, “Baby duty, please,” and took off down the stairs to where tables and chairs had been arranged on the lawn.

  “Well, all righty, then,” Daisy said to Hailey, who offered a gummy, spitty, two-tooth smile in response.

  “Day, Day,” Hailey said.

  “Did she just say Daisy?” David asked, letting the baby grasp his finger in her tight grip.

  “It’s probably just gas.”

  “Sounded like Daisy to me.”

  Daisy snuggled the baby into the crook of her neck and patted her back, hoping she might doze off for her afternoon nap despite the flurry of activity around her.

  “You’re a natural,” David said.

  “You think so?”

  He nodded. “Is it difficult to hold someone else’s baby after what happened to you?”

  “It used to be, but Thomas and Hailey have gotten me over it. I’ve known them all their lives and being around them as often as I am helped to get me past my own loss. But it’s always there. I wonder what he’d be like now, what his interests would be. He’d be almost ten, which is hard to believe.”

  “So you knew he was a boy?”

  “Yes.”

  He didn’t ask her anything else, and for that she was grateful. Even all these years later, it was difficult to think about the baby she’d lost, even if he’d been conceived under less than ideal circumstances. He’d still been hers, the only other person who’d ever been entirely hers.

  People continued to arrive. Luke and Sydney Harris, Patrolman Wyatt and his girlfriend Patty, Sarah and Charlie Grandchamp, along with Owen and Laura, who looked much better than she had the last time Daisy saw her leaving the Surf on a stretcher, and Laura’s brother Shane. Laura seemed pale and drawn but happy to see her friends.

  Adam McCarthy came in with his girlfriend, Abby Callahan, followed by Mason Johns, Dan Torrington and Kara Ballard.

  As everyone came onto the deck, they greeted Daisy and David warmly, and she could feel him relax next to her as it became clear that no one was unhappy to see him there.

  Victoria came out to the deck, hand in hand with a sinfully handsome man who Daisy didn’t recognize. He had shaggy, dark reddish-brown hair, green eyes that were full of the devil and a smile that could stop female traffic. Victoria let out a squeal of pleasure when she saw David, and gave him a hug.

  “This is Shannon O’Grady,” Victoria said. “Shannon, this is my sort-of boss, David Lawrence. Doctor David Lawrence.”

  “Sorta boss,” David said, scoffing, as he shook hands with Shannon. “Good to meet you.”

  “’Tis a pleasure to meet you, too, Doc. Vic speaks highly of you.”

  “Does she now?” David said with an inquisitive glance at Victoria. “Vic?”

  Her sheepish grin was infectious. “I say nice things about you when you’re not listening.”

  “Now that I believe,” David said, laughing.

  As Daisy continued to rock Hailey, she enjoyed the banter between David and Victoria, who clearly adored him. It was nice to know he had real, genuine friends who cared for him—not as much as she did, but enough to give him additional ties to the island she loved.

  “Come on,” Victoria said, tugging on Shannon’s hand. “Let’s get a drink. I’m in the mood to party.”

  “Excellent,” Shannon said, following Victoria down the stairs to where Grant and Adam were minding the bar on the lawn.

  “He’s awfully cute,” Daisy said. “Is it serious between them?”

  “Apparently, she’s just using him for sex.”

  “Seriously?”

  “That’s what she said.”

  “I can’t believe she told you that.”

  “She tells me everything, much to my dismay.”

  “She loves you.”

  “She drives me crazy, but I couldn’t function without her.”

  Daisy turned so David could see Hailey’s face. “Still awake?”

  “Just barely. Keep doing what you’re doing. You’ve almost got her.”

  Joe came up the stairs and seemed momentarily surprised to see them, but then he recovered. “Hey, guys. How’s it going?”

  “Good,” David said, shaking the hand Joe offered him. “How’s Janey feeling?”

  “Not bad. She’s taking a nap upstairs right now so she’ll be ready when the newlyweds get here. I figured I should wake her up so I can get her downstairs in time.”

  “Is she managing to stay off her feet?”

  “Yes, but with much bitching and complaining,” Joe said, grinning.

  “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

  “Off I go to get her up.”

  David watched him go with a wistful expression on his face.

  “Are you okay?” Daisy asked.

  “Sure. I’m great.”

  “It’s not a crime to admit that it can be difficult to know she belongs to someone else now.”

  “You don’t want to hear me say that, because it might make you think I’m not thrilled to belong to you now. When I am. Thrilled, that is. To belong to you.”

  “Oh, well, that’s nice to hear.”

  He leaned against the rail that framed the deck. “At times, it’s difficult when the past comes back to smack me in the face, but I haven’t had the urge to go back in time in quite a few weeks now. Rather,” he said, dragging a finger lightly along her forearm, “I find myself looking forward to the future for the first time in a very long time.”

  She was still smiling at him when Maddie returned to claim Hailey, who was now asleep.

  “I don’t know how you do it,” Maddie said as she took the baby from Daisy. “Every time, she gets the unsleepable baby to go to sleep.”

  “She doesn’t look unsleepable to me,” David said with a wink for Daisy.

  “What can I say?” Daisy said, shaking her numb arms back to life. “It’s my special gift.”

  A shout from inside caught their attention.

  “David! David, come quick!” The frantic tone of Joe’s cries had David running inside. “Janey won’t wake up. She won’t wake up!”

  “Call 911,” David said to Owen as he charged past him up the stairs.

  Wild-eyed, Joe grabbed David’s arm and pulled him into the guestroom. “She won’t wake up.”

  Janey’s blonde hair was spread on the pillow. Her face was pale and her lips nearly white.

  As his own heart beat wildly, David checked for a pulse and was relieved to feel the rapid cadence of her heart under his fingers. Her pulse was faster than it should be, he thought, leaning in close to feel the whisper of her breath against his face. Then he pulled the covers off her and gasped at the pool of blood between her legs.

  Instinct told him to deal with Joe, and he spun around just as Joe would’ve passed out from the sight of so much blood. He directed Joe to a chair and pressed his head between his knees. “Breathe.”

  Joe drew in deep breaths mixed with sobs. “Don’t let her die, David. Please don’t let her die.”

  “She’s not going to die,” David said with more confidence than he felt. “But we’ve got to get the baby out right away.”

  Joe looked up at him. “It’s too soon!”

  “I’ll do everything I can for both of them.”

  “What can I do? I’ll do anything.”

  Mason and Victoria came running into the room.

  “Oh shit,” Vic
toria said when she saw Janey and the blood.

  “We need to get her to the clinic—now,” David said.

  “We can use my SUV,” Mason said. “Let’s go.”

  Joe rallied and stood, heading for the bed. “I’ve got her.” He lifted his unresponsive wife off the bed and headed for the doorway.

  David grabbed the comforter off the bed and stopped Mason before he could follow Joe down the stairs. “Drive as fast as you can. Every minute matters.”

  “Got it.”

  “I’m going with her,” David said to Victoria as they rushed down the stairs. “Be right behind us.”

  “Oh God, David,” Linda McCarthy cried as he ran through the living room. “Please take care of them.”

  “I will.”

  “Ride in front,” David said to Joe as he crawled into the back of Mason’s SUV with Janey and made use of the comforter to raise her hips to control the blood flow. Adrenaline pounded through his system as he went through the possible scenarios of what might’ve happened.

  It seemed most likely this was a case of placental abruption, which often occurred suddenly when the placenta separated from the wall of the uterus. That would explain the heavy bleeding and unresponsiveness. If it was a full abruption, the chances of the baby surviving were almost nil, and Janey’s life would be in grave danger, too.

  They were ill prepared at the clinic for an emergency of this magnitude, but they’d work with what they had. David had never performed a cesarean section on his own but had assisted in plenty of them as a resident, so he knew what to do. Whether or not he could handle any complications he encountered during the procedure remained to be seen. The thought of Janey dying on his watch was unfathomable, so he couldn’t let it happen. No matter what, he had to save her life. And the baby… Joe was right. It was too soon.

  He knocked on the window to the front of the SUV.

  Mason slid it open. “How is she?”

  “Hanging in there. Can you call for a life-flight with neonatal support? And blood. We’re going to need blood. She’s O positive.” That was one of many random things he knew about her after thirteen years with her.