by Marie Force
“I’m fine.”
Evan took hold of his arm. “Owen…”
Owen shook him off. “Let me go. I need to get to her.”
“I’m going with you whether you let me drive you or not, so you may as well let me drive.”
Owen grabbed his board and headed for the stairs that led to the parking lot where he’d left his Volkswagen Vanagon. “On that deathtrap motorcycle of yours? I don’t think so. I’ve got three kids to think about.”
“We’ll take your luxury vehicle. I’ll leave my bike here and get it later.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I’m doing it, so stop being such a pain in the ass. Were you always this much of a pain and I didn’t notice, or is that just a recent development?”
“Recent.”
Evan took the keys from Owen. “I’m looking forward to getting back to normal.”
“Believe me, so am I.” The bickering with Evan helped to take his mind off the unreasonable fear that had assailed him when he heard Laura was at the clinic. What if something was really wrong with her besides the relentless nausea? What if the babies were in jeopardy? What if he had to leave her behind feeling unwell while he went to Virginia? How would he ever do that?
“Stop thinking the worst,” Evan said as he navigated the twisting, turning roads that led back to town. “She’s going to be fine.”
“How do you know that? Do you have psychic powers now?”
“First of all, she’s a McCarthy, and we’re a hardy people. Second of all, she’s in very good hands with David and Victoria. Remember David? You know, the guy who saved my sister’s life when she would’ve bled to death without him?”
“Yeah, I remember.” It did make Owen feel better to be reminded of how highly skilled David Lawrence was, and he knew that Laura had nothing but the utmost faith in Victoria, too. The nurse practitioner-midwife had already seen Laura successfully through one difficult pregnancy. Surely, she’d get her through this one, too.
“I’ve got some news that’ll take your mind off your own troubles,” Evan said.
“What’s that?”
“Apparently, I have an older sister no one knew about until yesterday.”
“You wanna run that by me one more time?”
“My dad has a daughter he didn’t know existed until she showed up at the marina yesterday with a letter from her recently deceased mother naming my dad as her father.”
“Holy. Shit. What did your mom say? What did your dad say?”
“I guess my mom has been pretty cool about it. I mean, what could she say? It’s not like my dad had an affair and fathered a kid while he was married to her. He was with this woman before he ever met my mom.”
“So she’s older than you guys? The sister.”
“Yeah, she’s thirty-nine. Her name is Mallory, and get this—she looks just like my father’s mother did as a young woman. It’s uncanny.”
“Wow, that’s amazing. Are you like…weirded out to find out you have another sister?”
“Just a bit. Wasn’t what I expected to hear, that’s for sure.”
“How did the others take it?”
“Pretty good, overall. Except for Janey. She left before Mallory showed up. She said she couldn’t deal with it.”
“She’s had a lot going on lately. She’s probably on overload.”
“Definitely. But she also loves being the only girl in our family and plays the part to the hilt. If Mallory is going to stick around, it’ll be a big adjustment for her. For all of us, really.”
“Is she going to stick around?”
“I don’t know what her plans are. She’s a nurse in Providence, so I’m sure she has to get back to work at some point.”
“But she’ll be back?”
“I guess. You know my dad. He’s going to want her around. He probably feels guilty that he didn’t know about her before now.”
“That’s not his fault.”
“Still…”
“Imagine having a kid walking around out in the world for almost forty years, and you don’t know about her. It’s got to be pretty crazy to find out about her after all this time.”
“Yeah.”
“You were right,” Owen said.
“About?”
“This took my mind off everything for a few minutes, and I would’ve said that wasn’t possible. Thanks.”
“The sister I didn’t know I had and I are happy to help.” Evan pulled into the parking lot and cut the engine. “I know you’ve got a lot of heavy shit going on right now, but you’re not alone with it, O. I hope you know that.”
“Thanks for the reminder.”
Evan handed him his keys. “I’ll come in to see how my cousin is, and then I’ll leave you alone.”
With Evan following close behind, Owen went into the clinic and asked for Laura.
“I’ll wait out here,” Evan said to Owen as the receptionist led him back to her cubicle.
The first thing Owen noticed was how pale her face was. How could he have failed to notice that before now? Was he so wrapped up in his own issues that he hadn’t noticed such an important thing?
She held out her hand to him. “Did your mother call you?”
He moved to the side of the bed and took her hand. “She might’ve, but I left my phone in the van. She called Evan. He came to find me.”
“I didn’t want to interrupt your surfing time. I know how much you enjoy it.”
“Don’t be silly. I don’t want to be anywhere as much as I want to be wherever you are.”
She blinked furiously but couldn’t contain a flood of tears. “Damn it! Every freaking thing makes me cry, especially you when you’re so sweet.”
Leaning over the bed, he kissed away her tears. “I’ll try to be mean and nasty going forward, then.”
Laura reached up to try to bring some order to his hair. “You don’t have it in you, and you’re all sandy.”
“Sorry.” He tried to pull back from her, but she stopped him. “I came right from the beach.”
“I don’t care. I’m glad you’re here.”
“What’re they saying?”
She gestured to the IV that was releasing a steady drip to a needle in her hand. “They’re rehydrating me, and she’s going to give me something for the nausea.”
“That’s exactly right,” Victoria said as she joined them. “We’re going to get her all fixed up for the trip.”
“Are you sure it’s safe for her to go?”
“As long as she takes it as easy as possible, she’ll be just fine,” Victoria said. “Once we get the nausea under control, she should start to feel a lot better.”
“I thought you didn’t want to take anything,” Owen said.
“I didn’t,” Laura said, “until it got worse.”
“I’d be recommending it at this juncture even if she wasn’t asking for it,” Victoria said. “The complications from dehydration can be far more dangerous for mom and babies than the meds will ever be. You have two options when it comes to meds. One is pretty reasonable. The other will run you about five hundred bucks.”
“Which is better?” Laura asked.
“The more expensive one, of course.”
“Then we’ll take that one,” Owen said. “Whatever she needs.”
“Owen—”
“It’s fine, honey. Don’t worry about it.” To Victoria, he said, “How soon can we get her on that?”
“The pharmacy would probably have to special order it, so we’ll give her a shot before she leaves today and write her a script to fill when you get to the mainland tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Vic,” Laura said.
“No problem. We’ll get you feeling much better soon. I’ll be back to check on you soon.”
“Shots and pelvic exams and IVs… Not what I expected today.”
Owen winced. “You got the full deal, huh?”
“They’re nothing if not thorough around here.”
; “I’m glad you got checked out before we left and that you’re getting something for the nausea. I don’t know how much more of that I could’ve handled, so I can’t imagine how you must feel.”
“Life with me has been a real thrill ride, nothing but nonstop puking, breeding and breastfeeding.”
“That’s not what I meant,” he said with a chuckle as he kissed her. “I couldn’t bear to see you go through that, and PS, life with you is indeed a thrill ride. Every single day.”
“Sure it is.”
“Are you for real right now? Do you have any idea how thrilling it is for me to be able to look at that gorgeous face every day? To know this incredibly strong and resilient woman loves me enough to go through this to give me not just one baby but three? It’s a thrill ride, all right. The best ride I’ve ever been on in my life.”
Once again, she blinked furiously but couldn’t stop the tears.
He laughed as he brushed them away and then kissed her, consumed as always by the sweet taste of her lips. “Do you want me to call your dad and Shane?”
“No need for them to worry when you’re here with me.”
“I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere without you. Evan’s here, too, along with some extremely interesting family news that you’ll want to hear. Want me to get him?”
“Um, yeah. And hurry up about it.”
Cheered by her saucy reply, Owen left her to go get Evan. As long as she was okay, he was, too.
Chapter 24
All day, as Janey took care of the baby and tended to a few chores around the house, she’d waited for him. During dinner with Joe, she’d expected to hear the doorbell followed by his booming voice calling her name. He would come. If she was certain of anything in her life, she knew he would come.
“You should call him,” Joe said quietly after they’d bathed P.J. and put him down for the night.
“I don’t have to.”
“You’re the one who left, Janey.”
“It doesn’t matter. He’ll come to me. I know he will.”
As she washed a few dishes, Joe put his arm around her. “I can do that. Why don’t you get off your feet?”
“I’m fine. It helps to keep busy.”
“You’re not fine. You don’t have to pretend with me.”
“What difference does it make if I admit I’m upset? Will that change anything? Will it make my dad less disappointed in me than he already is?”
“I’m sure he’s not disappointed. He’s probably worried, but never disappointed.”
“I acted like a twelve-year-old having a snit because her daddy gave someone else attention he should’ve been giving her.”
“You were shocked. He’s going to understand that. Don’t you think he’s shocked, too?”
A light tap on the door was followed by her dad’s loud whisper. “Princess?”
Janey choked up at the sound of the familiar nickname. He’d called her that all her life until she turned nineteen and begged him to come up with something else.
“Go ahead, honey,” Joe said as he kissed her forehead. “Go make things right with him.”
Janey nodded, dried her hands and went to the foyer, where her dad was standing with unusual awkwardness, as if trying to gauge whether or not he was welcome here.
Her menagerie of special-needs dogs and cats surrounded her father, who gave each of them one of the treats he kept in his truck for them. Then Joe whistled and opened the back door, which had them all scurrying toward the fenced-in yard.
Janey walked straight into her father’s outstretched arms, where the familiar scent of the aftershave he’d worn all her life nearly broke her. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I shouldn’t have left, and I should’ve called and… I’m sorry.”
“Shhh. No apologies necessary.”
“I acted like a jerk.”
“No, you didn’t. I sprang something extremely unexpected on you, and you weren’t prepared to deal with it in that moment. Doesn’t mean you never will be.”
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to share you with another daughter. That might be too much to ask of me.”
“Janey, sweetheart… There’ll never be another daughter for me like the daughter I’ve had for the last thirty years. Through no fault of Mallory’s or mine, I was never able to hold her as a baby or feed her or change her diapers or brush her hair into pigtails or take her to dance class or watch her grow up and graduate from high school and college and walk her down the aisle or see her become an incredible wife and mother. I’ll never get to do all of that with any other daughter but you.”
“You’re going to make me cry if you don’t stop it.”
“I’ll never stop it. You know how I am.”
Janey laughed even though a huge lump settled in her throat. “I acted badly today. I should’ve been more supportive of you.”
“Today’s a memory. You’ll have other opportunities to meet Mallory, and I know she’d love to meet you. Your brothers seemed to like her well enough. Truly, there’s nothing not to like about her. She’s a nice person.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything else. She is your daughter, after all. Nice is in your DNA, but not mine, apparently.”
“That’s not true, Princess. You’re one of the nicest people I know. Who was bringing home injured squirrels to nurse them back to health from the time she was the tiniest little thing? Who rescued a motley brood of pets that no one else wanted because they weren’t perfect? Who’s been taking care of her older brothers all their lives without them even knowing she was doing it?”
Despite her best efforts to control her emotions, a tear rolled down her cheek. She swiped it away.
“Who was the first to welcome Maddie into our family when people who should’ve been much wiser than you were still wondering if she was worthy of Mac? Who gave up her dreams to allow the man she loved to follow his?”
Laughing, Janey held up her hands. “Waving the white flag. I’m no match for you.”
“I hope you see what I see when you look at yourself.”
“I’ve made this all about me, and I’m sorry for that, too.” She took him by the hand and led him to a sofa in the living room. “How about you? You must be reeling.”
“A little bit. It’s a shock for sure, but that’s life. Shit happens, and we have to play the hand we’re dealt. That’s all we can do. I’m already blessed beyond all measure by the family I have, and now, to think… There could be more. That’s how I’m choosing to look at it, and I hope maybe you can, too.”
“I’ll reach out to her. I’ll do that for you. I’d do anything for you.”
“I know, sweetheart, and I appreciate that.”
“So you forgive me?”
“Nothing to forgive.”
“What did you tell her about me?”
“That you have a new baby at home and couldn’t make it this morning.”
“Which was more than I deserved.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself. You’ve had a lot going on. I don’t blame you for being overwhelmed by one more thing. So don’t blame yourself.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
“We’re good?”
“We’re always good. Now, where’s my grandson?”
“Sleeping like the angel he is.”
“Can I see him?”
“Sure you can. Come on.”
Taking his hand, she took him upstairs to the baby’s room. They tiptoed inside to look down upon the sleeping baby. His bum was in the air under the blanket.
Big Mac raised a hand, silently asking if he could touch him.
Janey nodded.
Big Mac ran his hand over the baby’s head and then smiled at her before they left the room. “That,” he said in a whisper that was too loud to count as a whisper, “right there, made my day.”
“He has that effect on people.”
“Thank you for him, Princess.” Her dad kissed her forehead
. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Absolutely.”
He went downstairs, and she heard him talking to Joe on the way out. Then Joe whistled for the dogs, who came in from the backyard and headed straight upstairs to their beds. Janey took the time to give each of them some attention as they went into the room they all shared.
Joe brought up the rear. “Everything all right?”
“It’s better now.”
“What’d your dad have to say?”
“All the right things. As always.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve got a sister, Joe.”
“So I’ve heard. What do you think of that?”
“I haven’t the first clue what to think of that. He said my brothers liked her. That counts for something.”
“Sure does. Maybe you will, too. Have you considered that possibility?”
“It’s beginning to occur to me.”
“How about you sleep on it and see how you feel tomorrow?”
She closed the small distance between them and put her arms around him. “Do I get to sleep just like this? With your arms around me?”
He hugged her tightly. “Every night for the rest of your life.”
The baby monitor crackled to life as P.J. let out a wail. “Duty calls.”
He kissed her. “I’ll get him and change him.”
“I’ll be waiting for you.” She took advantage of the opportunity to change into a nightgown and prepare the bassinette for the baby. They were slowly introducing the crib for naps, but he still slept close to them at night. For the first month, he’d had wicked day-night confusion that had him up all night and wanting to sleep all day.
Thank goodness that stage was over, and they were sleeping at least part of the night, even with at least one middle-of-the-night feeding. Joe was always willing to help with anything he could do. By the time he delivered the baby to her a few minutes later, P.J. had worked himself into a full-on rage that immediately subsided when she guided him to her breast.
“Mommy has magic boobies, buddy. I’ve been telling her that for years now.”
Janey laughed, which dislodged the baby from her nipple. “Don’t make me laugh. It makes him mad.”
Joe ran a finger over the baby’s cheek. “Imagine having a child out there in the world that you didn’t even know existed.”