Gansett Island Episode 2: Kevin & Chelsea (Gansett Island Series Book 18)

by Marie Force

  “Same,” Evan said. “Need to talk to Grace.”

  “And I need to figure out if we can make it happen from a construction standpoint,” Mac said. “Shane and I will put our heads together to get you some numbers.” To Riley and Finn, he said, “We’ll also need to know if you guys are staying or going.”

  “We’ll let you know,” Riley said, his brother nodding in agreement.

  Kevin wanted the answer to that question himself—and he wanted it soon. Island life wouldn’t seem quite so great without his sons there with him.

  Chapter 2

  “You guys have time for lunch?” Kevin asked his sons after the meeting at the Wayfarer disbanded.

  “Go ahead,” Mac said to his cousins. “We’re caught up for now.”

  “We’ll check in after a while,” Finn said.

  “Sounds good,” Mac said, taking a call on his cell.

  Kevin and his sons walked to the South Harbor Diner, waving to Rebecca, the owner, as they took what had become “their” table. Kevin liked having routines and traditions with his boys. When they were little, he would take them for breakfast every Saturday morning so their mom could sleep in. Their Saturday morning breakfasts had been a tradition until Finn graduated from high school and left for college.

  He’d missed that regular time with his sons after they grew up and flew the coop. It’d been great to have them back in his everyday life again over the last year, but he knew it couldn’t possibly last forever. At twenty-six and twenty-eight, they should be pursuing lives of their own that they’d put on hold when his imploded. It was probably time to let them off the hook, as much as it pained him to think of them leaving.

  After they ordered lunch—a BLT for him and burgers for them—Kevin decided there was no time like the present to address the elephant in the room.

  “Pretty cool idea Uncle Mac has for the Wayfarer, huh?” Riley said before Kevin could bring up the elephant.

  “All of Uncle Mac’s ideas are cool,” Finn said.

  His brother had always been a favorite of his sons, from the time they were little boys and would come to visit Mac and his family on Gansett every summer. So it was no surprise to him that they were taken in by Mac’s latest idea.

  “What do you think, Dad?” Riley asked, sipping an iced tea that he filled with sugar, as per usual.

  “It sounds like a great investment—and a lot of work.”

  “It’d be fun to be part of bringing that place back to life,” Finn said. “Remember going there when we were kids?”

  “I do,” Riley said. “I love that beach. Some of the best body surfing on the island.”

  Kevin sat back to listen to them bounce ideas off each other for how the building renovation might unfold and where they’d start. Like their older cousin Mac, they were both civil engineers and had worked for a big construction company in Connecticut before taking leaves of absence from those jobs to spend some time on Gansett Island last year.

  “Does this mean you guys are planning to stick around out here?” Kevin asked, trying to sound casual even as his heart beat a little faster while he waited to hear what they might say.

  “That’s my plan,” Riley said. He glanced at his brother. “He’s not quite sure yet.”

  “I heard from Missy,” Finn said, his handsome face flushing with embarrassment at the mention of his longtime on-again-off-again girlfriend. “She misses me.”

  Riley rolled his eyes, and Kevin had to suppress the urge to groan—loudly. Finn and Missy—or Melissa, as she wished to be called these days—had been a disaster from the get-go, and they were the only ones who didn’t seem to realize it.

  “When do you have to tell work what you’re doing?” Kevin asked.

  “Next week,” Riley said, “so it’s put-up-or-shut-up time.” That last part was directed at his brother.

  “I know, I know,” Finn said. He guzzled a cola and asked for another when the waitress delivered their food.

  “You’re not really going to make plans because Missy misses you, are you?” Riley asked.

  Kevin wanted to thank his older son for posing the obvious question.

  “Never said I was,” Finn replied. “I merely said she misses me.”

  “It might be time to get off that merry-go-round,” Kevin said, trying to keep it casual. “You’ve hardly ever dated anyone else. There’re a lot of other fish in the sea.”

  “He’s had his line out plenty in the last year,” Riley said, smiling.

  “Shut up, Riley,” Finn said. “Dad doesn’t want to hear that.”

  “Dad” wanted to hear everything they had to say, but Kevin knew by now what areas were firmly off-limits. If anything, he was glad to hear Finn had been mixing it up a little as the Missy relationship had gone toxic a while ago, at least as far as Kevin was concerned. That was another reason he’d been glad when Finn decided to stay on the island after Laura’s wedding.

  “Speaking from a purely selfish perspective,” Kevin said, dipping a fry in ketchup, “I’d love to have you both make a permanent move to the island.”

  “Is the move permanent for you?” Riley asked.

  “I think it might be.”

  “What about your practice at home?” Finn asked.

  “I referred most of my patients to other therapists when I decided to stay, and I kept Sylvia on in the office, but she’s ready to retire.” He shrugged. “My practice here is growing every month, my brothers are here, you guys are here…”

  “Chelsea is here,” Riley said with a smirk.

  “That, too.”

  “So it’s more than a rebound fling with you guys?” Finn asked.

  The question, though innocent enough, put Kevin’s hackles up. “Much more.”

  “Hmm,” Finn said. “Well, good for you.”

  “Something you want to say?” Kevin asked his younger son.

  “Nope.”

  “That’s not how it seems to me.” Kevin wondered if he was making a mistake forcing the issue, but he wanted to hear whatever Finn had to say, or at least he thought he did.

  “It’s just that you went from being married for thirty-one years straight into another serious relationship,” Finn said tentatively, so much so that Kevin could tell this had been on his son’s mind for a while. “I wondered if maybe you might regret not playing the field a little more before you settle down again.”

  “I’ve never been a ‘play the field’ kinda guy.”

  “Because you’ve never done it,” Riley said with a wink and a dirty grin. “Don’t knock it till you try it.”

  “I’m happy with Chelsea,” Kevin said.

  “Which is great,” Finn said. “She’s really nice. And I don’t mean anything personal against her. I’m just thinking about you going from one big relationship to another with barely a breath between them. What would you advise people in your practice who’re coming out of a long marriage?”

  “Not to do what I did,” Kevin replied honestly, a pinprick of unease settling in his chest. “Look, I didn’t plan on falling for Chelsea. It just happened, and she makes me happy.”

  “That’s what matters,” Finn said. “I didn’t mean to stir the pot.”

  “You didn’t.” But he’d given Kevin something to think about. Had he been too hasty going all in with Chelsea when his divorce wasn’t even final yet? Before right now, he would’ve said no way. Their relationship was the best thing he’d ever experienced with a woman. He was truly happy with her.

  But…

  Ugh, Finn was one hundred percent right about what he advised his patients who were coming off long marriages or the death of a spouse. No big decisions in the first year. No hasty new entanglements until they’d truly healed from the loss they’d suffered. Chelsea had expressed her own reservations about him not being divorced yet, and had insisted on making no further plans until he was. Even she had seen the issue more clearly than he had. Some psychiatrist he was.

  The thing was, he didn’t feel a se
nse of loss over his marriage. It pained him to admit that he actually felt nothing but relief now that he’d had some time and space from what had been a difficult situation for years. But Finn made a good point about the haste with which he’d gotten involved in a new relationship. What’d started as one night with Chelsea had turned into much more, and he’d encouraged it every step of the way.

  He would have to talk this one out with his brothers. They were the ones he turned to when the therapist needed advice. Frank, in particular, would have good insight, having been widowed as a young man with two little kids to raise on his own. He’d only recently settled into his first real relationship since losing his wife, JoAnn, to cancer more than twenty years ago.

  “I hope I wasn’t out of line saying that,” Finn said hesitantly after an unusually long silence.

  “Not at all,” Kevin said. “You make a good point.”

  “So, um, Mom has been making noise about coming out to visit,” Riley said. “She says she misses us.”

  “I’m sure she does. When is she thinking about coming?”

  “Next week.”

  Kevin hadn’t seen her at all and had spoken to her only via text as they sold their house and their lawyers hammered out the divorce agreement that would be final in the next couple of weeks. He’d heard from the boys that the guy she’d left him for was history, which left him wondering if maybe she was looking for more than a visit with her sons by coming to Gansett.

  God, he hoped not. He wasn’t interested in revisiting history, and if she had regrets, well, that wasn’t his problem. He would always be civil to her and respectful of her as the mother of his sons, but he had no desire for any kind of relationship with her other than a cordial one whenever their sons were involved.

  Someday, they’d perhaps be parents of the groom at two weddings and would share grandchildren. For the sake of their boys, he wanted to be able to do that peacefully, without the acrimony that so often occurred after a divorce. He didn’t have the stomach for that kind of drama and had gone out of his way to avoid it all his life. Now would be no different.

  “Dad?” Finn said. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  “Is it weird for you to think about seeing Mom again?”

  “No, of course not. It’ll be good to see her, and you guys need to see her more often.”

  “I’m still a little pissed off with her about the way things went down,” Riley said. That was ten times more than either of them had said about the divorce in the year since it happened.

  “You shouldn’t be. I’m not.”

  “Really?” Finn asked, brows raised in amazement. “How is that possible?”

  “Truth be told, things between us had been rocky for a long time.”

  “Even so,” Riley said, “she should’ve told you she wanted a divorce. Not had an affair that humiliated you. You deserved better than that after thirty-one years.”

  “Maybe,” Kevin conceded.

  “Definitely,” Finn said.

  “Listen, you guys have every right to your opinions, and you’re right that what she did wasn’t the best way out of the marriage. But I’m over it, and you should move past it, too. She’s still your mom, and she loves you both very much. You should never doubt that.” This conversation was long overdue, and he was relieved to hear them finally expressing their thoughts on the matter. “You don’t need to fight my battles for me. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no battle to fight. She and I are done, but we’ll always be your parents.”

  “Still,” Riley said, “what she did was shitty, and she needs to own that.”

  “I’m sure she’s gotten the message on how you feel over the last year,” Kevin said. “I appreciate you guys being here with me for all this time. But if it’s time to get back to your own lives, I’ll certainly understand, as much as I’d miss having you around.”

  “I’m kinda digging it here,” Riley said. “The work is challenging, and the cousins are always interesting.”

  “And entertaining,” Finn added, making them laugh in agreement. “It’s been fun to hang with them as adults rather than the bothersome little cousins we used to be.”

  “I’m leaning toward making it permanent, for now anyway,” Riley said. “Mac and Shane are great to work for, and island life agrees with me. Way more than I thought it would.”

  “It does have a calming effect,” Kevin said.

  “And yet there’re enough people coming here all the time that it doesn’t feel like the small town that it is,” Riley said. “Even the winter wasn’t that bad.”

  “Did you hear that Jordan Stokes might be coming here to stay at her grandmother’s place?” Finn asked.

  “How do I know that name?” Kevin asked.

  Riley rolled his eyes. “Really, Dad? She’s only the biggest reality TV star in the world. Her ex-husband released a sex tape they made when they were together, and she’s gone into hiding. Rumor has it, she’s totally devastated and might be coming here to get out of the limelight.”

  “Okay, A, people, especially famous people, who allow themselves to be taped having sex shouldn’t be surprised when something like this happens, and B, don’t ever allow yourselves to be taped having sex.”

  “Easy, Doc,” Riley said with a teasing grin. “You’ve already given us that lecture along with the safe-sex lecture. We’re good.”

  “Don’t forget the drugs, binge drinking, HPV and anything fun that’s the slightest bit dangerous lecture series number nine hundred and twenty-six,” Finn added.

  “No, that was nine hundred twenty-seven,” Riley said.

  While the two of them cracked up and high-fived each other, Kevin sat back to enjoy the show. They were nothing if not as entertaining as their older cousins. “Have your fun, gentlemen, but you know I’m right.”

  “I feel kinda bad for her,” Riley said. “From all accounts, she was madly in love with the husband, and he really screwed her over in more ways than one. Who knows if she even knew he was taping her?”

  “That’s a good point,” Finn said. “How do we know if anything written or said about them is the truth?”

  “Yeah, it could be manufactured drama,” Riley said.

  “I wonder if we’ll see her around town,” Finn said.

  “If she’s keeping a low profile, I doubt it,” Kevin said.

  “Tell us the truth,” Finn said, zeroing in on his brother. “Have you watched the sex tape?”

  “No! Shut up!”

  Finn busted up laughing. “I think he sounds a little too emphatic in his denial.”

  Riley shoved his brother so hard, he nearly launched out of the booth.

  “Children,” Kevin said in his best stern-dad voice. “Behave in public.”

  “Doc’s lecture series number eleven hundred and twenty-two,” Riley said. “Behave in public even if you’re hooligans at home.”

  Kevin shook his head at their antics. Some things never changed, no matter how old his “children” got. “On that note…” He signaled for the check and paid for lunch. The time with his sons had done him good—and it had given him a lot to think about.

  Chapter 3

  With plenty of time before his first appointment of the day, Kevin walked from the diner to Chelsea’s place on the other side of town. They spent most of their time there, where they had privacy and space, two things they didn’t have at the house he’d rented for himself and his sons when they decided to stay awhile last year.

  Sooner or later, there would be decisions to be made about his living situation and his relationship, which was firmly in limbo until he was officially divorced. That should happen any day now. He was just waiting to get the official word from Dan Torrington, who was handling the divorce for him.

  Chelsea had made it clear that she wasn’t willing to talk about any kind of future together while he was still married. So they didn’t talk about anything beyond what was for dinner or what movie they wanted to watch late at night when
snuggled into her bed, usually after they’d had sex.

  He’d had more sex with her in the last year than he’d had with his wife in the last ten years of his marriage. Chelsea made him feel young and vibrant and excited for the future in a way he hadn’t been in a very long time. Perhaps he was nothing more than a fool to be so taken with a woman sixteen years his junior. But fool or not, he was taken by her. He thought about the night she’d first expressed an interest in him. They’d been at the bar of the Beachcomber, and a conversation about the demise of his marriage had turned flirtatious. She’d confessed to sleeping with his niece’s husband years before Joe and Janey had gotten together.

  Kevin had shrugged that off. “Sex happens.”

  “Does it?”

  “That’s been my experience.”

  “What do you think about it maybe happening tonight?”

  For a moment, Kevin was rendered speechless. But then he recovered. “I’m fifty-two.”

  “Are you incapable?”

  “No,” he said with a laugh. “All the equipment works just fine, thank you, with no medication required. But I suspect I’m a hell of a lot older than you are.”

  “I’m thirty-six.”

  “That’s sixteen years.”

  “A doctor who can also add.” She fanned her face dramatically. “You don’t find that every day.”

  She’d invited him to her place that night, and they’d been together ever since, settling into an easy, familiar groove that had worked for them for almost a year now. But was it a rebound fling or something more? A rebound didn’t last a year, did it?

  Kevin hated having those questions in his head, especially since he had no doubt that he was in love with her. Or was he in love with the sex?

  “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. That wasn’t it. No way. It was her. And suddenly, he was desperate to see her and confirm what he already knew. As enthralling as sex was with her, he was in love with her.

  He picked up the pace, eager for some time alone with her before they both had to be at work. Rounding the last bend before her house, he found her in the garden she lovingly tended to in the front yard of the small cozy cottage she rented. She’d told him she liked being able to walk to work and anywhere else she needed to go.