Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 1-16

by Force, Marie

  “Now I feel like an ass, because that’s exactly why I went that way.”

  Her comment was rewarded with a true, genuine laugh that made every part of her tingle with awareness of him.

  “I knew it,” he said.

  “Don’t get too full of yourself.”

  “Too late for that.”

  Mallory loved that he admitted to looking for her, that he’d hoped to see her again, and that he’d laughed, something she already knew he didn’t do very often.

  “What’re you up to today?” he asked.

  “Nothing much until later. We’re having a welcome-home party for Evan and Grace.”

  “That sounds fun.”

  “After being here for six weeks last summer, I already know there’s always something going on in my family. It keeps things interesting, that’s for sure.”

  “What were you doing here last summer?”

  “I took some vacation time to assist in caring for a terminally ill island resident. Shane’s fiancée, Katie, was involved, and when she told me about the young single mom with lung cancer, I knew I had to help if I could. Plus, it gave me a chance to get to know my new family a little better.”

  “Wow, that’s so nice of you to put your own life on hold for someone you didn’t even know.”

  “I came to know her quite well. I was awed by her courage. We all were.”

  “What happened to her kids?”

  “They’ve been taken in by Seamus and Carolina O’Grady. Carolina is my brother-in-law Joe’s mom, and her husband, Seamus, helps Joe run the ferry company.”

  “And they’re doing okay?”

  “From what I’ve heard, they’re all adjusting. The boys are really young, so there’s a blessing in that, but it’s sad that they won’t remember much about their mom.”

  “That’s so sad.”

  “It is, but kids are resilient, and they’ve got great champions in Seamus and Carolina. They’ll be okay. Eventually.”

  They ran in companionable silence for a while, the steady rhythm of their feet on the pavement the only sound other than seagulls squawking overhead.

  “How do you feel about sailing?” Quinn asked as they got closer to town.

  “In general or as something I might want to do?”

  “Both.”

  “In general, it looks like fun, but I’ve never actually done it.”

  He stopped running so suddenly, they nearly collided. “You’ve never sailed? As in never?”

  “As in never.”

  “Well, that won’t do. We need to fix that. I’m taking you sailing. Today.” He glanced at her. “Unless you have other plans.”

  “I don’t have other plans until later.”

  “So we’ll go sailing, then?”

  “We’ll go sailing.”

  “Excellent,” he said with one of his rare full smiles that were becoming less rare the more time they spent together.

  “What can I bring?”

  “Just a sweatshirt. It can get chilly out there this time of year. Leave everything else to me.”

  “Where’re we getting the boat for this excursion?”

  “I live on my boat.”

  This time, Mallory stopped short. “You live on a boat?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Where is it?”

  “On a mooring in the Salt Pond.”

  “What did you do in the winter?”

  “Stayed in a suite at the Chesterfield that my brother and Lizzie made available to me. That was nice, but I like the boat better.”

  With each new discovery, Mallory’s perception of him evolved. War veteran, trauma surgeon, amputee, middle child, dog owner, boat dweller, sexy devil. The combination of all these qualities made for an interesting man to spend time with.

  They took the final turn before Mallory’s house and jogged up to the gate in the white picket fence that surrounded the small yard. Janey had told her she put in the fence to protect her menagerie of special-needs pets.

  “Do you mind if I bring Brutus?”

  “Doesn’t he live with you?”

  “Yeah, but I can take him to Jared’s for the day if overly enthusiastic puppies who don’t realize they’re too heavy to sit in your lap at fifty pounds aren’t your thing.”

  Mallory laughed at his description of the dog. “He sounds charming.”

  “I think he is, but I kind of have to. I’m under no illusions that everyone will find my baby charming.”

  That he referred to Brutus as his “baby” was swoon-worthy and made him even more attractive than he already was to her. “I’m looking forward to meeting him, and I’m fine with having him on the boat.”

  “Great,” he said. “I’ll pick you up in an hour.” He turned and jogged off toward the Salt Pond he called home.

  Mallory rushed through a shower, shaved her legs and dried her hair before putting it up in a ponytail. She debated shorts or jeans, settling on the jeans and throwing a pair of shorts in her bag in case it was too warm for the jeans later. Wanting to contribute something to their day, she packed up a bunch of grapes along with sliced cheddar and crackers.

  With ten minutes until Quinn was due to arrive, she went back to her room for a sweatshirt, sunscreen and a Red Sox ball cap to protect her face from the sun.

  Then she began to feel insecure about bringing too much stuff.

  “Stop,” she told herself. “You’re only taking things you might need, and he won’t care.” Her gaze landed on the photo of her and Ryan from the wedding. She picked up the frame and took a good look at the man who’d been her husband. The more time that passed, the harder it was to remember the little details that had made up their life together. Like the sound of his voice, for example. About five years ago, she realized she couldn’t remember what he sounded like and had only their wedding video to refresh her memory. That had scared the hell out of her. How could she forget such an important thing?

  She’d realized then that she was going to live without him far longer than she’d lived with him, and there was no possible way she could hang on to every little thing that had made them who they were as a couple. That had been like losing him all over again and had gotten her started on a regular habit of writing down important things that she never wanted to forget. She now had notebooks full of remembrances of Ryan and her mother, who’d been the two most important people in her life until a year ago when she met her father and the rest of her family.

  Now her circle was so much larger, and there were so many more memories created on a regular basis that warranted remembering. Such as when her nephew Thomas and his cousin Ashleigh had run bare-ass naked through the Christmas gathering at Big Mac and Linda’s, playing “naked boy-naked girl.” Not that she feared ever forgetting that gem, but she wrote it down just the same, along with Mac’s prank gone wrong in Anguilla when the guys stole the women’s clothes while they were skinny-dipping.

  The McCarthy family was always up to something, and Mallory never wanted to forget anything from her time with them.

  Quinn’s knock on the door had her returning the photo to its place of honor on her bedside table. She picked up her bag off the bed and headed toward the door, where he waited for her wearing jeans and a white polo shirt. His hair was still damp from the shower, and he smelled good enough to eat. Dear God, where did that thought come from?

  She hoped her face wasn’t bright red as she accompanied him to the driveway where he held the passenger door to his truck for her.

  “You clean up well,” he said when they were on their way toward her father’s marina.

  “Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you.”

  He glanced over at her, and they shared a smile.

  Her heart beat fast and her hands were sweaty. She couldn’t remember reacting this way to a man—or a boy—since she was in high school and dating her first boyfriend. Then she’d been nervous about what he might expect from her, with good reason as it turned out. Now, she was undone
by the first real connection she’d felt with a man since she lost Ryan.

  Her relationship with him, at least at the beginning, had been more about surviving medical school than fast-beating hearts or sweaty palms. Sure, the attraction had been off the charts, but they were so consumed by school that the attraction often took a backseat to the rest of the demands on them.

  It was funny, at her age, to feel giddy about a guy. She wouldn’t have thought that was still possible, but Quinn had proven otherwise.

  Near the marina, they parked along the seawall, and he led her toward the dock where he’d left his dinghy.

  Of course it was too much to hope for that they would escape without running into her dad on the dock.

  When he saw her, he stopped what he was doing and came right over, giving her a kiss on the cheek that made her heart sing. She would never get used to the easy way he doled out his boundless affection. “This is a nice surprise. What brings you by?”

  “This is my friend Quinn. Quinn, my dad, Mac McCarthy. Everyone calls him Big Mac, though.”

  “Nice to meet you, sir,” Quinn said, shaking Big Mac’s hand.

  “You, too.” Big Mac sized up Quinn with obvious paternal interest that had Mallory hoping he wasn’t about to embarrass her too badly.

  “I had the pleasure of meeting most of your other kids last night,” Quinn said. “An entertaining group.”

  Big Mac’s face lit up with pleasure, and Mallory gave Quinn points for saying the perfect thing to her dad, who took such pride in his family. “That they are. Where’re you two off to on this fine day?”

  “Quinn is taking me sailing.”

  Her dad’s smile faded noticeably, making her want to ask if it was okay if she went, which was silly. She didn’t need his permission, but damn if she didn’t want his approval. So she went ahead and asked the question. “Is that okay?”

  “You know what you’re doing out there?” he asked Quinn.

  “Yes, sir. I’ve been sailing all my life.”

  “What will you do if you see even the slightest sign of fog rolling in?”

  “We’ll head back in. I’m no fan of fog, believe me.”

  Big Mac seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “Okay, then. Sorry for the inquisition, but I nearly lost three of my boys in a crash in the fog last Race Week. Fog and I aren’t friends anymore.”

  “I understand completely, and you have my word that Mallory will be very safe with me.”

  Mallory got the feeling that Quinn was talking about much more than sailing at this point.

  After a long pause in which he never blinked, Big Mac said, “Good enough.” Shifting his gaze to Mallory, he said, “Let me know when you’re back on dry land.”

  “I will.” And for the first time since she found out that he was her father, she spontaneously went up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Don’t worry.”

  “Might as well tell me not to breathe.”

  She patted his chest. “I’ll check in when we get back.”

  “You do that. Have a good time.”

  “We will.”

  Quinn gestured for her to go ahead of him down the ramp that led to the floating dock where his dinghy was tied. “Did I just pass a major test there?”

  “I think so.”

  “Are you… Are those…”

  Mallory dabbed at her eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s so silly, but that was the first time I’ve ever introduced a man to my dad and watched him go into protector mode. You’ll have to excuse me for acting like a ninny over it.”

  “You’re not acting like a ninny. You’re acting like someone who finally has the daddy she always wished for.”

  His kind assessment had the tears flowing fast and furious, much to her dismay. She wiped them away with the sleeve of her shirt.

  Then he was there with his arms around her, holding her while she took a moment. She breathed in the incredibly appealing scent of soap and citrus that, when combined, made for a rather potent formula. “I’m okay now.” She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to put a damper on the day.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “I’m still getting used to it all, you know?”

  “I totally get it, and no apology needed.”

  Mallory took advantage of the ride to the boat to get herself together. As they passed the far end of the McCarthy Marina pier, her dad waved to her.

  Mallory returned his wave, noting that his usual big smile was missing from his face. After what happened last year, he was more worried than he would’ve been about one of his kids going out on the water.

  One of his kids… I’m one of his kids. A wave of regret and sadness for everything she’d missed with him and her siblings had her weeping again the way she had after she first met them and came to understand exactly what her mother had kept her from by refusing to reveal her father’s identity. She hated herself for having a meltdown in front of Quinn, but she couldn’t seem to help it.

  He tied up to a bigger than expected sailboat and helped her onboard, passing her bag to her, all of it done without acknowledgment of her blubbering-mess status.

  She noted that he moved more carefully than usual as he transferred from the dinghy to the boat.

  Brutus barked a greeting from the cabin.

  “Before I let him out, you want to talk about it?”

  “You can let him out. He wants to see you, and it’s probably hot in there.”

  “The hatches and windows are open for him. I’ll try not to let him jump on you, but he’s enthusiastic when meeting new people.”

  “I’m ready.”

  Chapter 12

  Quinn unlocked the cabin and ordered Brutus to be nice as he introduced the adorable dog to Mallory. In the scope of two seconds, Brutus managed to lick most of her face and make her laugh so hard, she nearly forgot she’d been crying two minutes earlier.

  “Brutus! Stop it. Sit down and be a good boy.”

  Brutus’s rump dropped to the deck, and his tail thump, thump, thumped with excitement. A mixed breed of multiple colors, he had floppy ears and big paws. Mallory immediately thought he was adorable.

  “What a good boy you are,” Mallory said, framing his face with her hands and scratching his ears.

  “He loves that.”

  “I can tell,” she said, laughing when Brutus’s eyes seemed to roll back in his head from pleasure.

  “You’ve made a friend for life.”

  The comment touched her and made her wonder if he was talking about the dog or him.

  “Keep an eye on him while I get the boat ready?”

  “Yep.”

  Quinn went up to the front of the boat to do something with the sails, and by the time he returned to the cockpit, Brutus was practically in Mallory’s lap.

  “Push him away if he gets to be too much.”

  “He’s a love.”

  “He does good snuggle.”

  “He certainly does.”

  Quinn pulled the navy cover off the sails, cranked on something and tugged on some ropes, the combined effect raising a huge sail that flapped in the wind.

  Brutus barked at the sail.

  “Hush,” Quinn said. “You know what that is.” He went back up to the front of the boat to cast off the mooring, setting them free.

  Mallory noticed that he was careful in the way he moved about the boat, as if he didn’t entirely trust the prosthetic. She wanted to ask him about that but wasn’t sure if the question would be welcome. Instead, she contented herself with petting Brutus and watching Quinn assess the wind and the sails as he took the big silver wheel to steer the boat. Ropes were adjusted until he was satisfied.

  Then he sat on the other side of the cockpit, propping one leg on her bench and keeping one hand on the wheel. “Now you can say you’ve been sailing.”

  “I love it.” She found the entire experience exhilarating, from the salty sea air to the glide of the boat through the blue water to the heat of the sun on her face and her hand
some companion. “Thanks for taking me.”

  “Happy to have you.” He glanced up at the sails, made an adjustment on the wheel and then turned his formidable gaze on her. “You doing okay?”

  She nodded. “Sorry about that before. Sometimes… It’s just hard to be reminded of what I was denied my entire life by my mother. My feelings toward her are very complicated these days, and of course, that makes me feel bad after everything she did and sacrificed for me. And it’s compounded by the fact that she’s not here anymore and can’t defend herself.”

  “You can still appreciate the things she did for you while being angry about what she kept from you.”

  She smiled at him. “I can? Really?”

  “Yes, I give you permission to do both at the same time.”

  “She was afraid he’d try to take me away from her.”

  “Did she have reason to fear that?”

  “Not because of him. I think it was more because her parents disowned her when she got pregnant out of wedlock. That was a big deal back then. She probably panicked at the thought of ending up all alone.”

  “I’ve known him all of five minutes, and I can already say he doesn’t seem the type to take a baby from its mother.”

  “I knew that right away, too, but she was young and alone and afraid. That’s all I’ve got when it comes to defending what she did.” She looked down at Brutus, who was now sleeping with his head on her chest and his body between her legs. “I keep thinking I’ve gotten over the anger, and then something will happen, like just now, to remind me of what I missed.”

  “And then you’re mad all over again.”

  “With a dead woman who can’t defend herself and who did everything for me.”

  “You should cut yourself a break, Mallory. What she did, for whatever reason she did it, was unfair to you and your father. Admitting that doesn’t take anything away from what a good mother she was to you. If you can, try to separate them in your mind.”

  “You’re absolutely right, and that’s what I’m trying to do, but every so often, it gets muddied. I have a whole lot of emotions where she’s concerned. Mostly I miss her and wish we’d had more time together. I don’t know what I would’ve done without her when Ryan died so suddenly. She came out to San Francisco the day he died and stayed for a month.”