Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 10-12

by Marie Force

  “Come in,” Mac said. “This is my wife, Linda. Linda, Mallory Vaughn.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Mallory said, extending her hand to Linda.

  “Yes, nice to meet you, too.”

  “It’s okay if you don’t really mean that.”

  The humorous comment, delivered with a warm smile, had Linda thinking of her own kids, who might’ve said something similar. “I do mean it,” Linda said, earning a pat on the back from her husband. “We’re happy to have you. Come in.”

  Mac led the way to the kitchen with Mallory following him and Linda bringing up the rear. Passing the framed photos of their five children on the wall, Mallory stopped.

  “These are your kids.”

  “Yes,” Linda said. “That’s Mac, Grant, Adam, Evan and Janey. And that’s everyone—with one husband, one wife, three fiancées—as of today—and three grandchildren.”

  “You have a beautiful family,” Mallory said wistfully.

  “Thank you. Our family is growing in leaps and bounds. Adam and Abby just told us they’re engaged.”

  “Congratulations.”

  “Would you like to see some other pictures?”

  “I’d love to.”

  While the lasagna she’d taken from the freezer finished baking, Mac opened the bottle of wine Mallory had brought and poured glasses for both women and got a beer for himself. In the family room, Linda pulled out recent albums to show Mallory pictures of Mac, Maddie, Thomas and Hailey as well as Janey, Joe and P.J., Evan and Grace, Adam and Abby and Grant and Stephanie.

  “They’re all coupled up.”

  “They are—finally. For the longest time, I thought none of them would ever settle down and get married, and now all of them are. Grant and Steph told us earlier today that they’re getting married on Labor Day.”

  “That’s very exciting.”

  “Are you married?” Linda asked and then regretted the question as possibly too personal.”

  “Not anymore.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. It was a long time ago.”

  Though she’d love to know what that meant, Linda didn’t want to pry. “Well, you must be hungry.”

  “Linda… I just want to say… Thank you for having me here and for being so nice to me. I know this had to come as a shock to both of you, and I have no desire to mess up anything for you or your family.” She glanced at Mac. “I just wanted to meet you.”

  “I’m very glad you came,” he said. “I’m only sorry your mother didn’t tell me about you sooner. I would’ve liked to have known you.”

  “I hope you aren’t angry about what she did, although I suppose you have every right to be.”

  “I don’t want to be angry with her,” Mac said thoughtfully. “But I’m disappointed she didn’t come to me when she found out she was expecting you. I would’ve liked to be part of your life, and I never would’ve tried to take you away from her. I wish she’d trusted me a little more.”

  “I do, too. I’ve spent most of my life wondering about you.”

  “Did she ever talk to you about him?” Linda asked.

  Mallory shook her head. “She was very vague on the subject of my father even after I was an adult and there was no chance I could be taken from her. That’s why it was such a surprise to find the letter about you among her things after she died.”

  “We can’t make up for the time we’ve lost,” Mac said, “but I sure hope you’ll let me be a part of your life going forward. I’d really like to be.”

  “Oh… You would?”

  He nodded. “I absolutely would.”

  “I expected you to ask me for proof, and I wouldn’t be opposed… If, you know, you wanted…”

  “I don’t need proof.” Mac got up and went to his study off the den, returning a minute later with a framed photograph. Linda knew exactly which one it was. “This was my mother as a young woman.” He handed the frame to Mallory, who gasped and then covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes.

  “Oh my God.”

  “I know,” Mac said, “right? The proof is in the DNA.”

  Mallory ran her finger over the image of her grandmother. “This is unbelievable. I always thought I looked like my mother.”

  “You do. I can definitely see her in you.”

  “This is so amazing,” Mallory said, still staring at the photo. “To fill in these blanks… It’s so priceless to me.”

  “I’m glad we were able to do that for you,” Mac said. “We’ll fill in a few more when you meet the rest of the family.”

  “What do you think they’ll say when they hear they have a half sister?”

  Mac looked to Linda to answer for him. “If I had to guess,” Linda said, “they’ll be surprised, of course, but Mac will be rattled to hear he’s not the oldest, and Janey will be a little disturbed to learn she’s not the only girl. If I know my kids, though, they’ll be welcoming and friendly, if a little hesitant at first.”

  “Which is certainly understandable.”

  “I’d like for you to meet them while you’re here,” Mac said. “We don’t keep secrets from them, so I’d rather do it sooner than later. Mac is already aware that something’s up. He knows me very well and could tell I was rattled after we spoke this morning. Would you be willing to meet them before you head home tomorrow?”

  “Sure. I’d like that.”

  “Okay, then,” Mac said. “We’ll tell them to come by at ten. Perhaps you could come a little later so we have a chance to speak to them first?”

  “Of course.”

  “Great,” Mac said with a big smile for both women. “Now that we’ve got all the business out of the way, I’m ready for lasagna. Wait until you taste Linda’s lasagna.”

  “I’m looking forward to it,” Mallory said.

  As she realized that Mallory was a nice person who wasn’t out to destroy her family, Linda felt herself relax. Tomorrow they would tell their children about Mallory and then figure out their next steps as a family. Though slightly apprehensive about how the kids might take the news, she decided not to get too far ahead of herself. They’d find out soon enough.

  * * *

  David finished stitching up the gash in Dan’s palm and applied a bandage that covered most of his hand. “Keep it clean and dry for the next couple of days,” he said. “I’ll write you a script for pain meds.”

  “No need,” Dan said. “I’ve got stuff left over from the earlier disaster.”

  “Come back on Friday to get the stitches out.”

  “Got it. Can I go?”

  “What’s the status of your tetanus shot?”

  “I’ve had one.”

  “How long ago?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Since we have no idea what was on that knife or how clean it was, I recommend a tetanus shot and a dose of antibiotic, too.”

  “Fine, whatever you say, Doc. Let’s just get it over with.”

  “You’re in an awful rush, Counselor. You’re giving me a complex.”

  “Nothing personal, but I’ve got plans with my lady. And besides, I’m sure you’ve got better things to be doing on a Sunday afternoon than stitching me up.”

  “Not to worry,” David said. “Part of the job. Be right back.”

  Kara came into the cubicle with a can of Coke that she handed over to him. He’d sent her to get it so she wouldn’t be in the room while David stitched him up. She was upset enough without having to see that.

  “Come hold my hand while David sticks more needles in me.” The shots to numb his palm had been so painful he’d nearly passed out. The thought of more shots made him queasy and sweaty.

  Kara came to sit next to him on the hospital bed, reaching for his uninjured hand.

  David returned with two syringes and administered two more shots that burned like a bastard on the way in. “There you go,” he said, adding for Kara’s sake, “Keep it clean and dry.”

  “We hate it clean and dry,”
Dan said, earning an embarrassed scowl from his fiancée.

  “Yeah, he’s fine,” David said with a laugh. “Get out of here so I can go home.”

  “Thanks again, David.”

  “No problem. Let me know if you have any problems or if it gets especially red or swollen.”

  “Will do.”

  As they left the clinic, Dan dropped his arm over Kara’s shoulders. “Do you have my keys?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can I have them?”

  “You’re not driving.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “Baby, I’m fine. I swear.”

  “You just had thirty stitches in the palm of your right hand. How do you propose to drive a stick shift?”

  “My fingers are still working fine,” he said, waggling his brows as he demonstrated his manual dexterity.

  “Everything is a joke to you, isn’t it?”

  Seeing that she was on the verge of tears, he stopped walking and turned to her. “Not everything. I got us a room at the Summer House. I was going to surprise you after the party.”

  She leaned her head against his chest.

  He ran the fingers on his uninjured hand through her silky hair.

  “I hate that you got hurt again.”

  “I’m really fine. I promise.” He caressed the nape of her neck, one of his favorite places to kiss. “Will you come with me to the Summer House and spend the night with me so we can celebrate our engagement properly?”

  “Haven’t we already done that at least a hundred times since we got engaged?”

  He laughed at her reply. He loved her saucy mouth. “Baby, I’ve only begun to celebrate our engagement. I plan to celebrate it as much and as often as I can for the rest of our lives.” With his fingers under her chin, he urged her to look at him. “Are we good?”

  “We’re great.”

  “Then will you please take me to the Summer House and have your wicked way with me?”

  “Since you asked so nicely, yes, I will.”

  “Excellent.”

  Chapter 21

  Adam had forgotten the hideous pain of getting a tattoo. The first time, he’d had an image of Gansett inked onto his bicep and had nearly cried like a baby from the pain. Like then, Abby sat in the next chair looking blissed out as her favorite tattoo guy, Jeff, inked their engagement date onto her inner wrist while Duke did the same to him.

  “You’re looking a little pasty, dude,” Duke said. “You’re not gonna puke or anything, are you?”

  “No,” Adam said through gritted teeth, “I’m not going to puke.”

  “Are you okay?” Abby asked him.

  “I’m fine.” He’d be even better when Duke finished torturing him and he could get the fuck out of there. And then it occurred to him that he’d already agreed to undergo this torture again when they added their wedding date to the other arm. Ugh.

  Forty-five minutes later, they emerged into twilight as the horn of a departing ferry pierced the peaceful evening.

  “I love Sunday nights when all the weekend people are gone,” Abby said, “and things calm down for a brief moment before it all starts up again tomorrow.”

  He took hold of her hand as they walked along the sidewalk, and he tried to ignore the throbbing pain coming from his left wrist. “My dad has always loved Sundays at the marina for that same reason. People leave on Sunday, the place clears out, and he gets it back for a short time before another influx arrives.”

  “Thanks for doing that just now,” she said with a sweet smile that made all the pain worthwhile. “I know you don’t enjoy it as much as I do, so I appreciate it.”

  “I enjoy watching you get all blissed out. Reminds me of when you—”

  Her face turned beet red, which he loved. “Don’t say it. Not out here where anyone can hear.”

  He dropped her hand and put his arm around her. Leaning in close to her, he pressed his lips to her ear and said, “It’s just like when you come.”

  “Adam… Stop it.”

  “Why? We’re engaged now. I should be able to speak freely about these things.”

  “What does being engaged have to do with it? You’ve always spoken freely about ‘these things.’”

  “Don’t pretend you don’t love it when I talk dirty to you.”

  “I don’t love it when we’re in public.”

  “So you do love it in private. Good to know.”

  Abby elbowed him in the ribs, making him grunt and then laugh. His girl was such a lady most of the time, but he particularly loved when she let loose with a four-letter word or got bossy with him in bed. He knew he was provoking her, but that usually led to good things with Abby.

  His phone buzzed with a text from his mother. Please come by tomorrow around ten. Your father and I would like to speak to you all about something—nothing bad, so don’t worry. Please come by yourselves, if you don’t mind. See you then!

  Adam shared the text with Abby. “What do you suppose that’s about?”

  “I have no idea, but I’m glad she said it was nothing bad.”

  “Me, too.”

  “I guess you’ll find out in the morning.”

  They arrived home a short time later at the house they rented from his sister. Predictably, Abby tugged a house key from her bra, also known as her storage bin. How she managed to fit anything else in there around her perfectly awesome breasts was beyond him, but he’d learned not to ask questions where the bra was concerned.

  She turned to say something to him, and he pounced. He’d been dying to touch her and kiss her since the second she said yes to his proposal. He’d sat through the torture of the tattoo, all the while biding his time until he could get her alone. With his hands on her hips and his mouth devouring hers, he walked her backward to their bedroom. When the backs of her legs connected with the mattress, he gave her a nudge, propelling her onto the bed. He came down on top of her without missing a beat in the kiss.

  Her arms wrapped around his neck, and her legs parted to make room for him. Both these things happened so organically, so naturally that he knew a moment of pure contentment at having found the woman he was meant to be with. He only broke the kiss when he needed to breathe. “Are you really going to marry me?”

  “I really am. Are you really going to marry me?”

  “You bet your life I am. Who else would have me?”

  “That is true…” Her smile lit up her eyes, and a surge of love left him breathless. She reached up with both hands to touch his face, and he turned his lips to kiss her left palm, just above her new tattoo. “What’re you thinking?”

  “That I can’t believe how lucky I was to end up on the ferry with you when you were ranting about how sick of men you were.”

  “Don’t mention that. It still embarrasses me to think about how out of control I was that day.”

  “How can I not mention it when you being out of control brought us together? Besides,” he said, kissing her again, “I love you best when you’re out of control.”

  “You’re a very bad influence on me.”

  “Now that is just not true.” With dexterity that she often teased him about, he divested her of the dress she’d worn to the party, quickly followed by her bra.

  “You must’ve had a lot of practice to be so good at that,” she said as she always did.

  “Shut up and kiss me.”

  She did as he requested, her sweetness and enthusiasm sending his need into the red zone after about thirty seconds of slick lips sliding over his while her tongue teased and tempted. “Adam?” she asked after long moments of silence.

  “Hmm?” He was now focused on her neck.

  “I want to get married soon. I don’t want a long engagement.”

  He raised his head to look into her eyes. “That’s fine. Whatever you want.” He was on his way back to her neck when her fingers on his chin stopped him.

  “I want something else, too.”

  “Wh
at do you want, honey? I’d give you anything. You know that.”

  “A baby,” she said softly. “I want so badly to be a mother.”

  “Then we’ll have a baby,” he said as if it wasn’t the biggest thing he’d ever committed to in his life. Committing to having a child with her didn’t feel like the overwhelming notion it might’ve been with anyone else.

  “Really? You mean it?”

  “Yes, I mean it. I want kids, too. You know I do.”

  “But do you want them now?”

  “I want what you want. Now, later… Doesn’t matter to me, as long as you’re happy.” When her eyes filled with tears, he leaned in to kiss her tears away. “Why the tears?”

  “I’m so happy. This is what I’ve wanted all along, and as hard as I tried, I just couldn’t seem to find this.”

  “That’s because you weren’t looking for it with me.”

  “Please tell me you’re not going to suddenly go crazy and lose your mind and tell me this isn’t what you want after all. Because I don’t think I’d ever get over it if that happened with you.”

  “I’m not going to do that, Abs. How could I when I can’t possibly live without you?” As he spoke, he began to press against her, letting her know what he wanted so badly he burned with it. Thankfully, she got the message and began tugging on his button and zipper.

  Sliding her hands into the back of his pants, she pushed them down and over his hips, her obvious haste fueling his desire. He loved how much she always wanted him and how she responded to him the way she never had to anyone else.

  Adam left her only long enough to shed his clothes and remove the tiny scrap of fabric she called panties. He absolutely adored her sexy-underwear fetish and encouraged it with frequent gift certificates to Tiffany’s shop that she put to good use. But he liked her best in nothing at all, like now when she was spread out before him like an erotic buffet.

  With her, he’d found a partner who understood him better than anyone ever had. In turn, he’d helped to unlock the secrets to her sensuality, and he reaped the benefits of that effort every day.

  “Adam… I want you. Right now.”

  They’d come a long way from the days when she’d required a lot of foreplay to get to the finish line. As much as he loved every second of that foreplay, he was in just as much of a rush tonight. Since he was dying to be inside her, he took what she offered so freely, sliding into her in one deep thrust that nearly finished him right off. He was still for a moment, trying to regain control as she tightened around him and her breasts brushed against his chest.