by Marie Force
“Laura, Owen, Holden, the twins, your Uncle Frank, Shane.”
“I have to invite my Uncle Kevin and his family, too.”
“Aunt Joann?”
“Nah, she never leaves Gansett.”
“Friends?”
“Tiffany, Blaine and Ashleigh. Oh my God, Ned! You have to invite him!”
“Jeez, he should’ve been at the top of the list—along with Francine. Getting to be a lot of people, though.”
“We know a lot of people. Jenny, Syd, Luke.”
Evan laughed as the numbers grew. “What’s the count?”
“I lost count. Fifty adults, six kids?”
Evan typed the numbers into the computer and hit enter. Then he clicked on the “Beach wedding at sunset” option from a pull-down screen, along with the month of January as his preferred month and hit Enter again. “Let’s see what they’ve got.”
They stared at the screen until the date of January eighteenth popped up as available.
“January eighteenth,” Grace said.
“Are we going for it?”
She blew out a deep breath and looked at him. “You’re sure about this?”
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just ask me that.”
“Go for it.”
Evan clicked on the link to Book This Date. “I need a credit card. Hand me my wallet, will you?”
Grace reached for it on the bedside table and gave it to him. “How much do we have to put down?”
“Twenty-five hundred to hold the date.”
“That’ll make it official.”
“Certainly will. They’re going to email us tomorrow to talk details.”
“I can’t believe we just did that,” she said as he returned the laptop to the desk and got back in bed.
“What will your parents say?” he asked, accustomed now to how unsupportive they could be of their only daughter when she didn’t fall in line with their idea of how her life should unfold.
“They won’t approve, but who cares? It’s not their wedding.”
“Will they come?”
“I hope so.”
“And if they don’t?”
“Then they’ll miss the best day of my life. Their loss.”
“I wouldn’t want anything to spoil it for you, Gracie.”
“I’ll be marrying you, right?”
“Damn straight.”
“Then nothing, and I do mean nothing, could spoil it for me.”
“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. I can’t wait to put another ring on your finger and make it official.”
“I can’t wait either. January eighteenth.”
“Be there or be square.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
Evan stifled a yawn. He didn’t want to sleep yet. Running two thriving businesses, they got so little time to spend together, especially this time of year when the island was so busy. He hated to waste a minute of their time sleeping, especially now that they’d taken this huge step toward the next stage in their life together.
“You can’t get out of it now that we’ve got it booked,” she said in a teasing tone.
“Getting out of it isn’t the goal.”
“I really can’t wait.” Her arms tightened around him, keeping him close as she drifted off to sleep.
“Me either, baby.” Evan lay awake for a long time, thinking about the news Jack had relayed earlier. What the hell was he going to do about that?
***
Before six o’clock the next morning, Alex was back at work, driving one of the company trucks to the new home of Island Breeze Studios. The idea of a recording studio on Gansett Island had struck Alex as odd at first, until he heard his old friend Evan McCarthy was behind it. From the time they were in middle school, Evan had been obsessed with music, and Alex firmly believed the studio would be a huge success in Evan’s hands.
Evan had called the office weeks ago asking for someone to come deal with the overgrown vegetation on both sides of the driveway that led to the studio. As he pulled up to the address Evan had given them, Alex groaned at the sight of the jungle that needed to be tamed.
“That’ll take all damned day,” he muttered, sending a text to Paul to let him know that the job was bigger than they’d thought.
Sorry, Paul replied. I’m already fucking roasting.
The heat was as killer as it had been the day before, beating down on him with vicious intensity. Today Alex had actually worn sunscreen, which he normally didn’t bother with as his complexion was so dark he rarely had to worry about burning. But this heat wave was something else altogether, thus the sunscreen. Before he started on the bushes, he also applied a healthy dose of bug spray.
“Here goes nothing,” he said as he got busy with a chain saw. He was working out months of frustration on Evan’s brush when the man himself appeared on an old Honda motorcycle that looked like it had seen better days.
“Am I hallucinating?” Evan said after Alex cut the motor to greet his friend.
“I know I deserve that, but it’s probably not wise to harass a man with a chain saw, especially in this heat.”
Evan held up his hands and laughed. “Stand down. I come in peace.”
“Sorry it took so long to get here. Things have been…complicated.”
“How’s your mom?”
Alex was prepared for the question, as he answered it often enough in the course of each day. “She’s declined rapidly, but we’re coping, thanks to the generosity of a lot of people.”
“If there’s anything we can do, please don’t hesitate to ask. I mean it, Al. Anything.”
“Thanks. Your mom and the other ladies from church have been incredible. They’re propping us up.”
“If you can bust loose tonight, Owen and I are playing at the Tiki. Everyone’s coming, so it should be a good time.”
“I’ll have to see what the situation is at home, but if I can get there, I will.”
“Call me if I can help.”
“I will. Appreciate it.” Alex eyed the brush. “Better get back to it. This is going to take a while.”
“My family and friends will be grateful for your efforts. Lots of bitching about scratched cars and trucks when they come to visit.”
“I’ll get you fixed up.”
“Thanks, man. Come up to the studio if you need to cool off.”
“I might take you up on that.”
“See you later.” Evan started the bike and took off down the lane toward the studio.
Alex fired up the chain saw and got back to work. The mindless task gave him plenty of time to think about what had happened the night before with Jenny. He’d spent a lot of hours staring up at the ceiling when he got home, reliving every exquisite minute he’d spent wrapped up in her.
She’d claimed she didn’t do things like what they’d done together, but he’d known that before she told him. She might as well have the words “Good Girl” tattooed on her forehead. Despite her reservations, she’d responded to him like a bad girl—a very bad girl—and he’d loved it.
He’d responded to her, too. In fact, he hadn’t responded to anyone the way he had with her in a long time. Even Aimee, the woman he’d dated for two years in DC, hadn’t stirred him the way Jenny had. She was an intriguing paradox—part innocent, part vixen—and he couldn’t wait to see her again. Even though she’d told him theirs was a one-time interlude, he didn’t believe for a minute that she’d honestly meant it. She’d been embarrassed by how far she’d let him go and had been reacting to that.
How could she not be curious when they’d ignited like a powder keg together? He was pretty damned curious about what it would be like to actually have sex with her, but he couldn’t think about that right now, because a raging boner would only add to his extreme discomfort in the heat.
Frustrated, roasting and exhausted after the sleepless night, Alex turned off the chain saw and went to the truck to grab one of the bottles of water he’d f
rozen in anticipation of another scorcher. He’d left them to melt in the truck while he worked. As he chugged the cold water and dumped another bottle over his head, Alex knew with absolute certainty that he’d be visiting the lighthouse again—as soon as he possibly could.
Chapter 6
Arriving home after another twelve-hour day, Alex wanted a shower, a cold beer and some food—in that order. What he found, however, was a gathering of employees outside the greenhouses, where his brother was arguing with their mother, who was naked as a jaybird.
Standing before her, Paul held her bathrobe in his hands and had obviously been trying to get her to put it on.
“Oh my God,” Alex whispered as he exited the truck and took off at a run to help Paul, who brightened when he saw Alex heading toward them.
Marion’s back was turned, so she didn’t see Alex approach, but he could hear her sobs.
“I want you to get your father right now and bring him to me, do you understand?”
“I can’t do that,” Paul said, looking imploringly at Alex.
“I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. You’ll do what you’re told.”
Ignoring the crowd of employees that watched their sad drama unfold, Alex approached his mother and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “I’m here, Marion,” Alex said gently in a voice not all that different from his father’s. “I’m right here, and I’ve got you.”
She reached up to grasp his hands. “Oh, George. I’ve been waiting for you to get home. The boys have been unmanageable this afternoon.”
Paul approached them tentatively.
“I’m here now.” Alex took the robe from Paul and put it around their mother’s shoulders.
“Why are we outside?” she asked Paul, anger replaced now with confusion.
Paul’s face was lined with exhaustion and despair unlike anything Alex had ever seen, except for when their father was dying. “You wanted to come find Dad after your shower.”
“But Daddy died, didn’t he?” she asked in a small voice that made Alex want to sob with the utter injustice of this horrific illness.
“Yeah, he did,” Alex said, saving Paul from having to say the words. “Let’s go home and have some ice cream, Mom.”
“Not before dinner,” she said in a scolding tone that reminded Alex of the mother he used to know.
Paul turned to the employees who’d come out of the store and greenhouses to see what was going on. “Show’s over,” he said somewhat harshly. “Get back to work.”
“I think I’d like to take a nap,” Marion said when they got back to the house.
“The ladies are coming to take you to bridge night at church,” Paul said. “You want to go, right?”
“Of course I do. I’ve been looking forward to that. Wake me up in time to get ready, will you?”
The moments of lucidity were almost harder to bear than the departures from reality.
“Sure, Mom,” Paul said.
Alex walked her into the master bedroom and helped her into bed. He lowered the blinds and returned to the bed to adjust the covers over her. Bending, he kissed her cheek. “Sleep well, Mom.”
“Was I naked in front of all those people, Alex?”
“Just for a second. They understood you forgot your robe. Don’t give it another thought.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. You couldn’t help it. They know that.”
“You and Paul shouldn’t have to deal with this. You should be off having families of your own and instead—”
“We’re right where we want to be, Mom. We love you, and we’re happy to take care of you. Now don’t fret. Get some rest so you can enjoy the night out with the ladies.”
“I love you, too, Alex. And your brother. Tell him, will you?”
“I will.” Alex left her to sleep, wishing he were alone so he could indulge the need to howl with rage at the entire situation. In the family room, he found Paul sitting in one of the easy chairs, elbows on his knees, head in his hands. “She told me to tell you she loves you and she’s sorry for putting us through this.”
Paul’s head whipped up, his tearful eyes widening with surprise.
“Totally lucid,” Alex said.
“Son of a bitch,” Paul said through clenched teeth.
“What happened?”
“Mrs. Connor called to tell me she had to leave because her grandson got sick at summer camp, and she had to go pick him up. She locked up before she left, and Mom was here alone for maybe twenty minutes. When I got here and found her standing naked in the yard, I ran into the house to get her robe. In the time I was inside, she went down the driveway toward the greenhouse, calling for Dad.
“I chased after her, and when she saw me coming, she started shrieking at me to leave her alone and go get Dad. People came out of the store and the greenhouse to see what all the noise was about. You know the rest.”
Alex got them each a cold beer, opened them both and handed one to Paul before he sat in one of the other chairs.
“How long had you been there when I got home?”
“About fifteen minutes.”
“Shit…”
“Yeah. Exactly.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”
Paul waved off the apology. “You had no idea what was going on.”
“Where do we stand with the nurse candidates?”
“We set up a Skype interview in an hour with one of them, Hope Russell. She’s the one who has the young son. The other candidate bailed out because she doesn’t think island life would suit her. So it’s down to Hope”
“Her name is ironic, huh?”
“No kidding. I said that to David. He’ll be by around six to sit in on the conversation.”
“Will Mom be here?”
“Mrs. Feeny is due to pick her up a little before six for bridge night.” Though Marion could no longer play the game, her friends were faithful about making sure she got to attend anyway. “We planned the interview for a time when she wouldn’t be here. Can you make it then?”
“Yeah, sure. I’d like to hear what she has to say, too.” He thought of Jenny and how badly he could use another hour or two wrapped up in her softness, but the despair on his brother’s face took priority at the moment. “After that—you and me? We’re going to eat a couple of gigantic, artery-clogging steaks and then go see Evan and Owen play at the Tiki.”
“Oh, we are?”
“We are. Mom will be out until at least eleven, so we’re going out, too. Maybe we’ll even get totally fucking hammered.” As much as he couldn’t wait to see Jenny again, Paul needed him more.
“You’re on,” Paul said grimly, raising his beer bottle in Alex’s direction.
***
Grace ran up the stairs from the pharmacy, determined to shower before Evan got home. The air-conditioning in the store had been no match for the oppressive temperature, and she felt disgusting after the long day in the swampy heat. On the way upstairs, she noticed the motorcycle parked under the stairs and groaned.
“Hope he doesn’t get too close,” she muttered as she opened the door and stepped into their place, where she found him sitting on the bed, head in his hands. Forgetting all about how she might smell, Grace dropped her bag and keys on the floor and went directly to him. “Evan.”
He looked up, seeming startled to see her there. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“What’s wrong?”
Shaking his head, he held out a hand to her. “Nothing, honey.”
She sat next to him. “Please don’t lie to me. Whatever is wrong, we’ll figure it out, but if you lie to me, we have a much bigger problem.”
He leaned his chin on their joined hands. “Apparently, Buddy Longstreet has managed to wrestle my album from the Starlight bankruptcy proceedings.”
“Wait. So what does that mean?”
“It means it’s going to be released under the Long Road Records label.”
“Oh.” An
astounding array of implications cycled through her mind in about thirty seconds of stunned silence. “When did you hear about this?”
“First heard it might happen last night, and Jack called today to confirm it’s a done deal. The judge ruled today that Buddy can take ownership of the album by paying the court for the rights.”
“You’ll have to promote it.”
“Probably.”
“Which means you’ll be gone for weeks at a time.”
“Possibly.”
“What about the studio?”
“I don’t know. That’s one of many things I’m sitting here trying to figure out, when I should be heading for the marina to meet Owen.”
Grace noticed his guitar cases lined up like soldiers next to the wall by the door. He’d brought them home from the studio for the gig tonight. What would her home be like without him and his guitars and his oversized shoes all over the place? Her stomach ached and her chest felt tight as she tried to get air to her lungs. “This is really good news, Ev. You worked so hard on it, and for no one to ever get to hear it would be horrible.”
With his head still propped on his hand, he glanced at her, smiling. “You always see the bright side, don’t you?”
“What’s the point of seeing any other side? It’s happening, so we have to deal with it.”
Evan caressed her face. “You’re amazing. My amazing Grace.”
She knew he’d written a song with that title, but he hadn’t played it for her yet. He’d said he was saving it for a special occasion.
“I don’t want to be away from you for one day,” he said, “let alone weeks on end.”
“You’ll do one tour to promote the record and then come home and pick up your life here. That’s what you’ll do.”
“I might be gone for months, Grace. And then what if it takes off?” He shook his head. “I don’t know if I can do it. Buddy will want me to tour with him, which means huge arenas.”
“You’re worried about the stage fright.”
“Yeah. Despite how insanely hot it is, I break into a cold sweat every time I think about performing in front of that many people.”