Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 1-16

by Force, Marie

  “You like it when I take care of you. You may as well admit it.”

  “Yeah, I do. Old habits are hard to break. I keep thinking it’s probably time I got out of your hair around here. You could be making money on my room.”

  “You’re not going anywhere, and we’re making plenty of money on the other rooms in this place, so get that thought right out of your head. We love having you here with us.”

  “Still… I probably need to figure things out and get a life of my own rather than piggybacking on yours.”

  “That’s not what you’re doing. You’ve been a huge help to us with the baby and the hotel. You’re part of our family, Shane. We like having you here. I really don’t want you to go.”

  “Owen probably doesn’t like having your brother around all the time.”

  “That’s also not true. He loves you—almost as much as I do. Watching you two become good friends has been such a pleasure for me.”

  “If that ever changes, you’ll tell me, right?”

  “It’s not going to change.”

  “Laura…”

  “Fine, I’ll tell you, but I’m not going to change my mind and neither is Owen. This is your home now. Relax and enjoy it.”

  “I do like being with you guys, and having the rest of the family nearby is cool, too.”

  “It sure does beat sitting alone in your dark apartment.”

  His smile faded at the reminder of how he’d spent a year after his marriage imploded. “It certainly does.”

  “Can I ask your advice on something?”

  “You want my advice? Wow, this is quite a moment for the little brother.”

  “Seriously.”

  His smile faded. “What’s wrong?”

  “The trial.”

  “What about it?”

  “Owen doesn’t want me to go.”

  “He came right out and said that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did he say why?”

  “The first time he brought it up, he made it about the travel and the baby and all that. But we just talked about it again, and he’s ashamed of airing his family’s dirty laundry in front of me. I’ve already heard a lot of it, but there’s got to be so much more I haven’t heard.”

  “You can’t blame him for wanting to protect you from that.”

  “I don’t blame him, but who will protect him? How do I let him go through that alone?”

  “Maybe he needs to do this alone, Laura.”

  “He’s been so there for me, you know? From the very beginning. Before there was even anything romantic between us, he was taking care of me. I want to take care of him, but he won’t let me.”

  “Have you talked to Sarah about it?”

  “Not yet, but I probably should.”

  “It’s so hard to believe—when I see the way he is with Holden and with you—that he was fathered by a man like that.”

  “I know,” Laura said with a sigh. “He doesn’t say so, but he worries his father’s character is lurking inside of him. I’ve never seen any sign of that kind of rage. Well, except for the night his mother arrived here last fall after his father had beaten her up. He wanted blood that night.”

  “That’s a natural reaction any decent man would feel after seeing his mother abused.”

  “What should I do about the trip?”

  “You’ve got a couple of days to figure it out, but I can see why you want to go—and I can see why he doesn’t want you there. He’s trying to protect you.”

  “And I love him for that, but I want to protect him. I want to be there with him through all of this. He’d never let me go through something like this by myself. Remember the night I went to Providence to have it out with Justin when he was refusing to sign the divorce papers?”

  Shane nodded.

  “Owen went with me and sat at a different table so he could be right there if I needed him. He couldn’t bear the thought of me going alone, and that’s how I feel about him going to the trial without me.”

  “Perhaps you should remind him of that incident and how important it was to him to be there for you.”

  “You’re right. I should. Thanks, Shane. I appreciate you listening.”

  “Happy to do something for you for a change.”

  Holden let out a squeak from his crib.

  “I was hoping if I hung out long enough, he’d wake up.” Shane swallowed the last of his soda. “I’ll get him.”

  “He’s probably got a thirty-pound diaper.”

  “I can handle it. Relax for a few more minutes while you can.”

  “Thanks.” Laura lay back on the pillows, smiling as she listened to the delightful chatter between Shane and Holden. The two of them shared a beautiful bond, and Holden lit up at the sight of Shane, which thrilled her brother. Being here with them had been good for him. It had given him time and space to heal but had kept him engaged with the people who loved him while he worked his way through the awful pain that followed Courtney’s descent into addiction. He’d stood by her through rehab only to hear at the end that his marriage was over.

  Laura and their dad, Frank, had wondered more than once if Shane would ever get past the pain of his divorce. Since he’d been on the island, however, she’d seen a noticeable improvement, and being around Holden had definitely helped. Having Frank here for the summer had also been great for her and Shane, and Laura was hoping her dad would stay after the summer ended.

  Everything was falling into place for them. She just had to get Owen through the next few weeks, and then they could look forward to their wedding and the life they’d have together. She appreciated Shane’s suggestion that she talk to Sarah about the trial and how best to help Owen through it. She’d do that in the morning.

  For now, it was time to soldier through the ever-present exhaustion and enjoy this evening with three of her favorite guys.

  * * *

  It had been months since Sarah had felt nervous about going out with Charlie. They’d spent a lot of time together, going to dinner and to the movies. They’d spent many an evening at his place, watching TV, playing board games and cooking meals together. She had no reason at all to be nervous about spending time with the man who had become her closest friend.

  He’d never put any pressure on her. He’d never even tried to kiss her. When she shied away from a simple hug, he didn’t ask questions. In short, he’d been a perfect gentleman, even though she knew he wanted more from her than what she’d been capable of giving.

  Tonight she would tell him about Mark. She’d tell him about her violent marriage and the upcoming trial. She’d tell him why she couldn’t bear his touch even though she knew with bone-deep certainty that he’d never harm her the way her husband had. She would tell him everything because he deserved to know and because she was tired of running from the past.

  For the first time in her adult life, Sarah looked forward to each new day. She got up with a sense of purpose and enjoyed her work at the hotel her parents had run for decades before they retired and moved to Florida. She loved being with Owen, Laura and baby Holden, whom she doted on the way any first-time grandmother would.

  And then there was Charlie, who’d worked his way under her skin one evening at a time over months of evenings together. If you’d asked her last October, when she’d fled from her husband after another vicious beating, if she’d ever again have feelings for a man, she would’ve said no. Emphatically. Now she found herself deeply into something with Charlie she couldn’t easily explain. Although they’d never even kissed, she felt a stronger bond with him than she ever had with the monster she’d married.

  That was why she planned to tell him everything tonight. If it was too much for him to handle, she’d understand. He’d been through his own struggles, spending fourteen years in jail for a crime he didn’t commit, earning his freedom after a protracted battle waged by his stepdaughter, Stephanie.

  The thought of him turning away from her after all they’d shared made her sad,
but she wouldn’t blame him. Bringing someone who’d been through his own nightmare into hers wasn’t something she did lightly. But she’d been aware for some time now that they were marching in place, unable to move forward with a real relationship because of the demons that haunted her.

  He deserved to know the truth, and she would give him that. What he did with it would be entirely up to him.

  As always, he insisted on picking her up at her door, and as always, he was right on time. A light tap on the door indicated his arrival.

  Sarah took a deep breath and let it out slowly, determined to do the right thing tonight and to accept the outcome, whatever it may be. She opened the door to his handsome, smiling face and couldn’t contain her own smile. Being with him always made her happy.

  He had an intense, thorough way of looking at her that made her skin tingle with awareness of the fact that he wanted her, even if he never said so. “You look fantastic.”

  “So do you.” He wore a button-down dress shirt rolled up to reveal the tattoos on his forearms. His tall, muscular frame filled the doorway. At first, his size had intimidated her, but she’d quickly learned she had nothing to fear from him. He wore his gray hair in a buzz cut and had piercing blue eyes that didn’t miss a thing that went on around him. He’d told her once that his shrewd observation skills had kept him safe in prison.

  “Ready to go?”

  Sarah reached for the sweater she’d put on the bed and picked up her purse. “Ready.”

  He closed her door and followed her down the stairs.

  She said good night to the college girl working at the reception desk and went out to the porch.

  Charlie was right behind her. “Everything okay?”

  Sarah wasn’t surprised that he’d tuned into her unusual nervousness. He paid attention. It was a quality she’d grown to appreciate after being treated as an insignificant detail for her entire married life. “I know you made reservations at Domenic’s, but I wondered if we might get a pizza and go to your place. I’d like to talk to you in private.”

  His brows furrowed with concern. “Whatever you’d like to do.” With efficiency she’d grown to appreciate, he called in their pizza order to Mario’s and was driving them to his place within half an hour. When they arrived, he carried the pizza and came around to her side of his truck to help her out. All this was done silently, which wasn’t out of character for him. But still, she sensed his concern over what she might have to tell him.

  “Charlie?”

  “Yeah?”

  “It has nothing to do with you. What I want to tell you.”

  “Oh. Okay.” He glanced at her as he held the screen door for her to proceed ahead of him into the house. “I thought you might want to break up with me.”

  “No. Nothing like that.”

  “Good.”

  “Although you might want to break up with me when you hear what I’ve been keeping from you for all this time.”

  “No chance of that.”

  “You should wait to hear what I have to say before you decide anything.”

  “Sarah.”

  She turned to face him. “Yes?”

  “No. Chance. Of. That.”

  Smiling, she released a deep breath and relaxed. It was going to be okay. He cared about her. He would still care after he heard her story.

  Chapter 3

  Sarah followed him into the kitchen, where he dished up the pizza and placed the plates on the table. Without having to ask, he poured a glass of the chardonnay he kept on hand for her, grabbed a beer for himself and joined her at the table.

  Most men would’ve prodded her to start talking, but Charlie wasn’t most men. He waited on her, giving her the space she needed to collect her thoughts. As usual, the mushroom-and-sausage pizza they both loved was delicious and gave her something else to focus on for a few minutes.

  She wiped her mouth and took a sip of her wine. “You’ve been very patient with me. I hope you know how much I appreciate that.”

  “It’s certainly been no hardship to spend time with you.”

  “That’s sweet of you to say, but still… I know you must have questions that you’ve never asked.”

  “I figured you’d get around to telling me—or you wouldn’t. Either way was fine with me.”

  “Even if it meant that our…friendship…never progressed any further?”

  Charlie pushed his plate away and took a sip from his beer. “Let me tell you something about fourteen years in prison. It makes you appreciate every damned second you’re not in prison. If all you were ever able to give me is what we’ve already had, I’d be happier than I’ve been in longer than I can remember.”

  Sarah’s eyes filled with tears. “You deserve so much more than what I’ve been able to give you.”

  He covered her hand with his much larger one, and Sarah made a conscious effort not to flinch. It had taken months of casual affection for her to accept it without the dreaded flinch. She was proud of her progress in that regard.

  “You have no idea how much I enjoy the time we spend together,” he said. “I look forward to it. For so long, I had nothing at all to look forward to, and now I have this. I have you. I’m not going anywhere, Sarah. No matter what you tell me tonight, I’m not going anywhere.”

  When she heard that, the tears she’d tried to contain came spilling down her cheeks. “Could I…”

  “What, honey?”

  “Could I maybe hug you?” In all the time they’d known each other, she’d never let him touch her like that.

  “I wish you would.” Keeping his hand wrapped around hers, he got up. “Let’s do this right, though.” He led her to the sofa in his cozy living room and sat, patting the seat next to his.

  Sarah sat next to him, but out-of-control nerves kept her from reaching for what she wanted so badly.

  He held out his arms to her. “Come here.”

  She was so tired of being afraid, of living in the past, of trying to outrun the demons. Putting her fear aside, she moved closer to him and into his embrace.

  He looped his arms around her loosely, which made her feel safe rather than confined. “Often when you hug someone, you put your arms around him, too,” he said in a teasing tone.

  Her hands were trembling, but she put her arms around him anyway, resting her head against his chest and closing her eyes.

  “There,” he said softly when she was settled. “Doesn’t that feel good?”

  She nodded because she didn’t trust herself to speak.

  “It feels great for me, too,” he said. “You always smell so incredible. It’s been hard for me to resist the temptation to get close enough to breathe you in.”

  “Charlie…”

  “What, honey?”

  “He beat me and my children. He beat me so badly last October that I knew if I stayed, he was going to kill me, so I finally left. It took me way too long to leave. My children grew up in a nightmare, and there was nothing I could do to protect them.” The words, once she let them out, spilled forth in a great rush, almost as though she feared if she didn’t say it right now, she never would. “He was a general in the air force, and everyone was afraid of him—no one more so than his wife and children. He goes on trial next week in Virginia. That’s where I’m going. Owen is going, too. We both have to testify.”

  “What day are we leaving?”

  She raised her head off his chest to find his deep blue eyes staring at her fiercely. “No… You can’t…”

  “Try and stop me.” He paused and looked away from her for a second, seeming to rein in his anger. “That might not be the right way to put it in light of what you’ve been through. I want to be with you and support you through the trial. I hope you’ll let me do that for you.”

  “It’s nice of you to want to do that, but my son will be there. I’ll be okay.”

  “I won’t.”

  “You won’t what?”

  “I won’t be okay sitting here worrying about you. I�
�ll be going out of my mind with worry for you and Owen, who I’ve come to care for, too. It would be so much easier, for me, if I were there with you rather than here going crazy by myself.”

  Sarah smiled at the way he’d turned the whole thing around on her.

  “You wouldn’t want that for me, would you?”

  “No, I wouldn’t. But I also wouldn’t want you to see—or hear—what’s going to come out during that trial. I’d be…” She swallowed hard. “Ashamed…for you to know what I tolerated for so many years. He hurt my babies, Charlie. I let that happen because I felt I had no choice, but I had choices. I could’ve left.”

  “Shhh. If I know you, and I know you pretty damned well, you must’ve thought you had no options at all. I knew guys like your husband in prison. They’re psychological terrorists. They prey on people who are less able to defend themselves because it makes them feel powerful.”

  “Yes,” she whispered, astounded by his astute assessment. “That was Mark. He ran our home like a squadron. If anyone stepped one inch out of line, they felt his wrath—no one more so than me, although Owen was a close second. He was our oldest and went out of his way to protect his siblings at his own expense. The things he endured… His father once broke his arm in a fit of rage. Another time he turned things around so Owen was charged with assaulting him when he’d been protecting himself and his siblings.”

  Charlie didn’t say anything. Rather, he let her talk as he stroked her hair and made her feel safe in a way she’d never felt before with a man.

  “I look at Owen now, and I’m so proud of who he became all on his own with no thanks to his father or me. He’s a wonderful partner to Laura and an incredible father to Holden. He hasn’t seen his own father in more than ten years. And now he has to testify against him just before the wedding.” She shook her head with dismay. “I hate that he has to go through this.”

  “I hate that all of you had to go through it and are still going through it, but I don’t agree with one thing you said.”

  “What don’t you agree with?”

  “The part about Owen being the man he is no thanks to you. I doubt he’d agree with that. I’m sure he credits you with more than you give yourself credit for.”