by Marie Force
But God, she missed them. Especially Katie, who’d lived with Julia until Katie had come to Gansett for Owen and Laura’s wedding, met Laura’s brother, Shane, and decided to stay for a while that turned into forever.
Julia glanced at Deacon, wishing he wasn’t hotter than the sun. He had messy dirty-blond hair the color of honey, golden-brown eyes, a muscular body and the perfect amount of scruff on his jaw. But whatever. Who cared if he was hot? She’d had more than enough of good-looking guys who were beautiful on the outside and assholes on the inside. “How old are you?” she asked, to make conversation more than anything.
“Thirty-five. You?”
“Thirty-three.”
“I wonder if we ever crossed paths as kids. Although, I’m sure I’d remember you.”
Another line from another pretty mouth. Julia had heard such things so many times, they barely registered anymore. Just once, she wished a man would see her for who she was on the inside, but they never got past her packaging to discover what she was really made of.
She looked out at the gorgeous scenery, wishing Gansett could have the usual effect on her. As a kid, she’d come alive the minute she stepped off the ferry. This time, she was just dead inside. “Did you think you’d have it all figured out by now?”
“Have what figured out?”
“Life.”
He shrugged. “I never had a timeline for figuring things out. Maybe that’s why my brother finds me so annoying. He’s a police chief at thirty-seven. Not that he didn’t have his rocky times, but he’s married with two kids and a dream job. He’s got his shit together.”
“I thought I’d be married with kids in school by now. I had a definite timeline. But nothing has worked out the way I hoped it would, and now…”
“What?”
“Nothing. It doesn’t matter.”
“Sure it does. What were you going to say?”
She crossed her arms against her knees and rested her head on her forearms while continuing to look at him. “Maybe it’s time to give up on the dream.”
“Don’t say that. You never know what’s coming right around the next corner. Anything can still happen.”
She shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”
“You know what I’m thinking?”
“What?”
“You’re stuck here for a while. I’m stuck here for a while. Maybe we can hang out and make it more fun than it would be otherwise.”
Sitting upright, she eyed him with skepticism that was hardwired into her DNA after so many disappointments. “Is ‘hang out’ a metaphor for sex?”
He laughed. “You don’t pull any punches, do you?”
“What’s the point of pulling punches? I’ve had enough of the bullshit. If you’re asking me to have sex with you, the answer is no. I’m on a man diet, which also means a dick diet. If you’re looking for someone to hang out with and have some fun this summer that doesn’t in any way include sex, then sure, why not?”
Deacon sputtered with laughter. “A dick diet?”
“Yes, as in no dick.”
He shook his head as his gorgeous eyes danced with amusement. “How long have you been on this so-called diet?”
“Four months now.”
“Gotcha. Just to be clear—I wasn’t coming on to you. I was legitimately looking for a friend to make my summer in exile more bearable.”
Julia didn’t believe him, but she kept that to herself.
“What’s your number?”
She recited it and watched him tap the numbers into his phone and add her name to the contact.
“I’ll hit you up.”
“Cool.” She couldn’t care less if she ever heard from him. “I should probably go back to the wedding.”
“How come?”
“I’m the maid of honor. I have to give a toast after dinner.”
“You want a plus-one?”
“It’s kind of late for that at this point since you already crashed.”
His wolfish grin revealed a sexy dimple in his left cheek and did wondrous things to his gorgeous face—and she had no doubt he knew that. “I won’t eat.”
Julia had to admit that soldiering through the rest of this night would be more fun with a companion than it would’ve been on her own. Besides, Katie was so in love with her new husband that she wouldn’t even notice if Julia brought a last-minute guest. “Sure. Let’s go.”
Chapter 2
It was refreshing to meet a woman who didn’t immediately want something from him, Deacon thought as he drove them back to the Wayfarer. He remembered the venue from when he was a kid on the island, but in recent years, it had fallen into disrepair until the McCarthy family bought it, renovated it and reopened it in time for Julia’s sister’s wedding to Shane McCarthy.
At a briefing he’d attended at the police station as part of his new job, he’d been told the grand reopening of the Wayfarer would occur during Memorial Day weekend, with several days of events planned, including the wedding. Evan McCarthy, who’d become a big star in the last few years, would be back on the island to headline the entertainment at the actual opening.
Deacon had gone to school with Evan and looked forward to seeing him again.
He followed Julia through the main doors of the Wayfarer and encountered chaos at the reception.
The bride came rushing over. “Oh my God! There she is.” Katie promptly broke down into tears as she embraced her sister. “Where’ve you been? We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
“Oh, I, uh… I took a break.”
Deacon jerked when someone roughly grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the fray.
“What the fuck, Deacon?” Blaine’s low tone was full of condemnation. “What’re you even doing here, and where did you go with her?”
Deacon wrestled his arm free of his brother’s tight hold. “I stopped by earlier to check out the new place, and she asked me to get her out of here for a bit. Not that it’s any of your business what I do.”
“Everything you do on my island is my business.”
“Fuck off with your police chief act.”
“It’s not an act. It’s a fact.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Your wife is looking for you.”
“You have no business here.”
“Actually, I do.” He winked at his brother. “Julia asked me to be her plus-one, so maybe we can turn this wedding into a double date, brother dear.” Deacon relished the fury that flashed across Blaine’s face before he schooled his features and stormed off.
Good riddance.
When had his brother become an even bigger drag than he used to be? Was it when he became the chief? Or had marriage done that to him? Deacon brushed off the unpleasantness with Blaine to focus on his “date.”
Julia was surrounded by people, including the bride and groom, so Deacon made his way to the bar, where he ordered a beer.
“Way to make off with the maid of honor, dude.” The young male bartender flashed a silly grin. “People were freaking out looking for her.”
Deacon took a sip of his beer, keeping his gaze fixed on Julia. “She didn’t think anyone would notice.”
“Oh, they noticed. Even had the DJ make an announcement.”
Deacon cringed. “Yikes.”
“Those are her brothers and sisters.” He wiped down the bar as he shared intel with Deacon. “From what I hear, they’re all close. The dad, who was a general, was a total bastard. Beat them up, beat up the mom. He’s doing time now.”
Shock reverberated through Deacon. She’d been abused as a kid? Oh God… Deacon hoped there was a special place in hell reserved for people who abused kids and animals. And men who abused the women they supposedly “loved.” He would never understand that kind of love. In fact, that very issue was what had put him in jail. He’d come to the defense of a woman he’d casually hooked up with when her ex-husband showed up at the bar where she worked, despite the restraining order that was supposed to keep him far away from
her.
Deacon had gotten in the middle of their dispute, fought with the ex, landed in jail and gotten himself exiled to Gansett for his trouble. As much as he didn't want to be on the island with Blaine breathing down his neck, he’d do it again to protect Sherri, who’d lived in fear of her ex long enough. Before the cops had shown up, Deacon had put a serious hurt on him. Word was that he’d broken his nose and ruptured a testicle.
Excellent.
Only thanks to Blaine intervening with the local police had Deacon avoided felony assault charges, so for that, he probably ought to be thankful to his brother. However, gratitude toward Blaine made him feel a little nauseated. He took another swig of beer, filled with bitterness that Blaine hadn’t wanted to hear the details behind the fight. He’d just heard the words Deacon, fight, potential assault charges and jumped to his own conclusions.
If Deacon had to guess, Blaine probably would’ve done the same thing under similar circumstances. His brother had no patience for bullies. That was one thing they had in common. He’d never forget the time that Blaine had jacked up Darren Tuttle after he found out Darren had been hassling Deacon in school. Blaine had dispatched Darren, who’d never again looked in Deacon’s direction.
At times, having Blaine around had been fortuitous. Now was not one of those times, Deacon thought as he caught his brother glaring in his direction.
Deacon ignored him and returned his focus to Julia and her family. From what he could tell, there were three sisters and four brothers. Some were blonde like Katie, and others were dark-haired like Julia. An older woman he assumed was their mother stood with them, a fierce-looking, tattooed dude by her side. Deacon would bet they had a good story to tell.
People fascinated him. Why did they do the things they did? Why did they hurt the people they supposedly loved? Why did one person appeal to him when another didn’t? What motivated them? In his career in law enforcement, he’d seen the worst of humankind—and the best.
He liked to think there was more good than bad in this world, but ten years as a Boston cop had given him reason to wonder. A knee injury had led to a medical retirement from the BPD, which was when he’d started over as harbor master in Harwich. That job and that town had suited him, until the night he’d stepped up for a friend and had his life upended once again.
Whatever. He’d survived upheaval before, and he’d survive it this time, too. Hopefully, he could get through this summer without doing something really stupid, like punching his brother or falling for Julia.
Julia hated that everyone was upset with her, even after she’d apologized for worrying them.
“What’s going on with you?” Owen asked when the others had dispersed from the impromptu family meeting in the middle of the dance floor.
“Nothing is going on. I just needed a break.”
“In the middle of Katie’s wedding?”
How could Owen possibly understand what it felt like for her to see him and Katie happily settled with their true loves while she recovered from being screwed over by yet another in a long string of losers? The three of them had been a team for so long that Julia wasn’t sure how to go on without them available to her at a moment’s notice.
Intellectually, she knew they’d still be available to her, but emotionally… They didn’t come first with each other anymore, and that was the part she was having trouble accepting.
How many times had they had to rally around their mother or one of their younger siblings or each other during the decades of hell they’d endured at the hands of their father? Too many to count.
Long after they’d become legal adults, the three of them had moved when their family relocated with the military so they could continue to be available to their younger siblings. It’d been madness, and even now that the monster was in prison, it was still hard to believe the nightmare was really over.
“Jule?”
She glanced at Owen, whose brow was furrowed with concern for her. “Sorry. What did you say?”
“I asked why you needed a break in the middle of Katie’s wedding.”
“I… I’m not sure. I just felt a little overwhelmed and needed some air. Deacon offered to take me for a ride, and I thought Katie was set with Shane for the next little while. I didn’t mean to upset everyone.”
“I think you hurt her feelings by leaving.”
Julia certainly hadn’t intended for that to happen. “I’ll smooth things over with her. Don’t worry.”
“I am worried. You’re not yourself this weekend. Whatever’s going on, I wish you’d just talk to me about it.”
There was no way she could tell her older brother about being taken for a ride by a man who’d used her to set up his life with another woman. She’d withstood enough humiliation since she’d put those pieces together. She didn’t need more. “It’s nothing you need to worry about, O. You’ve got your hands full with Laura and the kids.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t have room in my hands for you, too, if you need me.”
His sweetness brought tears to her eyes, which, of course, he noticed. Owen had been primed since early childhood to be on the lookout for trouble in his family and knew it when he saw it. He put his arm around her. “Julia… Please talk to me.”
“I will. When I’m ready to.”
“Promise?”
She nodded and leaned into his embrace, drawing strength from him the way she had her entire life. “You know what I do need?”
“What’s that?”
“A job. You know of anyone on Gansett who’s hiring?”
“Why do you need a job?”
“Things went south with mine when the new boss came in and ruined everything. I figured I’d stick around for the summer on Gansett.”
He didn’t need to know she was flat broke and couldn’t afford the flight back to Texas. Before she lost her job, she’d bought a one-way ticket to Gansett, hoping she might get some vacation time to spend on the island after the wedding. She’d also booked the cowboy strippers for Katie’s bachelorette party. Both had been nonrefundable.
“I’m sorry about the job, but thrilled you’ll be spending the summer. I’ll ask around. We’ll find you something.”
“Thanks, O. I’m also looking forward to getting to know my niece and nephews, my brother- and sister-in-law and the man our mom has fallen so hard for.”
“Charlie is awesome. You’ll love him.”
“That’s what everyone says. Plus, I’m excited to spend time with Gram and Gramps.”
“We’re so glad that they’ve moved back to the island. They said they want to be with their great-grandchildren, and we’re all for that.” Their grandparents, Russ and Adele, had turned over ownership of the hotel they’d owned for more than fifty years to Owen and Laura as a wedding gift. “Did you hear that Cindy is thinking about sticking around, too?”
“What? No, she hasn't told me.” Julia hadn’t had five minutes alone with her younger sister since they arrived on the island for the wedding festivities.
“I guess it all came about last night when she met Chloe Dennis, who owns the Curl Up and Dye salon. The woman who usually helps Chloe at the salon in the summer is pregnant and not coming this year. Cindy jumped at the chance to spend the summer on Gansett. And with Finn McCarthy moving in with Chloe, Cindy snapped up the place where Finn had been living. I think it’s got two bedrooms. You should check it out if you’re going to stick around.”
“I will. Sounds like Cindy has it all figured out.” Julia was glad someone did.
“She’s excited to spend the summer.”
“None of us has forgotten our Gansett summers with Gram and Gramps,” Julia said wistfully, longing for those simpler summer days even if she wouldn’t go back to that time in her life for anything.
“Best days of our lives.”
“The only peace we ever got.”
“Don’t forget Gram is hosting a brunch at the hotel for Katie and Shane tomorrow.”
“I have
n’t forgotten.”
Owen nudged Julia. “You ought to ask your friend Deacon to come. He’s been watching you the whole time we’ve been over here talking.”
“What? He has not.”
“Yes, he has. If he’s anything like his brother, he’s good people.”
In the past, she would’ve liked hearing that he’d been looking at her while she talked to her brother. Not anymore. In a moment of recent self-awareness, she’d come to the conclusion that she’d put far too much value on the attention of men. Now? He could be the best guy in the world, and Julia wouldn’t care. She’d lost faith in all men.
Deacon was fine to hang out with, to have some fun with. Beyond that? No, thanks.
Kevin McCarthy was counting the hours until his nephew’s wedding was done so he could get Chelsea to the mainland to deliver their baby. Her due date was still two weeks off, but he wasn’t leaving anything to chance. Tomorrow, they were moving to his brother Frank’s house in Providence, which was right near Women & Infants Hospital.
Chelsea wasn’t old by any stretch of the imagination, especially in comparison to him. He was actually old. But her pregnancy counted as high risk because she was nearly thirty-seven. The phrase high risk was enough to send his blood pressure into the danger zone every time he heard it applied to Chelsea’s pregnancy. After what’d happened when his nephew Mac’s wife delivered their daughter during a tropical storm on the island and his niece Janey had nearly died having her son, Kevin was leaving nothing to chance.
They were getting the hell out of there. In fact, they’d be long gone by now if it hadn’t been for Shane’s wedding. Neither of them had wanted to miss that.
Kevin’s medical school training was a long time ago, and his rotation in labor and delivery had taught him that anything could happen. The only thing that was going to happen to Chelsea was the delivery of the beautiful baby she longed for.