Gansett Island Episode 2: Kevin & Chelsea (Gansett Island Series Book 18)
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“It really was, but I feel like I interrupted something between you and Andrew in the kitchen.”
“Just two guys getting to know each other.”
She raised a brow. “That’s all it was?”
Kevin followed her to the kitchen, where they worked together to clean up. “He was a little concerned about our age difference.”
“I almost died when he mistook Riley for you. I felt bad about that.”
“I have to wonder why you never mentioned to him that I’m quite a bit older than you.”
She shrugged. “Because it doesn’t matter to me.”
“That’s nice to hear, but I think your brother would prefer to see you with a young guy like Riley rather than an old goat like me.”
Chelsea slipped her arms around him from behind. “You’re my old goat.”
Kevin laughed and made a goat noise.
“Should I be concerned that you do that so well?”
He turned to her, put his arms around her and kissed her. “Hello.”
“Hi there.”
“I’ve been wanting to kiss you for hours.”
“Me, too, but I’m mad at you for laughing at the cake story.”
“I couldn’t help it. That was hilarious.”
“Not at the time, it wasn’t.”
“Maybe not for you, but for everyone else at the wedding, it was pretty damned funny.”
“Luckily, the bride was drunk by the time she had to cut the cake and didn’t realize her cake was on the floor.”
Kevin smiled at her, enchanted as always when she was nearby. “I was thinking earlier…”
“About?”
“Our living situation.”
“What about it?”
“This place is kinda crowded with three of us, and yours is too small for three of us.” He shrugged. “I was thinking we ought to get a bigger place. Together.”
“Wait,” she said, shaking her head. “Three of us?”
“You, me and the baby we might have together.” Kevin wasn’t sure exactly when he’d come around to the idea of having a baby with her, but now that he had, the thought of their child excited rather than scared him.
“Kevin… What’re you saying?”
“I’m saying I love you, I love us, and if we’re lucky enough to have a child together, I’ll love our baby, too.”
“You mean it?”
“I’d never say it if I didn’t.”
She rested her forehead against his chest and took a deep shuddering breath.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “I thought I’d ruined everything.”
“You haven’t ruined anything. You told me what you wanted, and you should always do that.”
Raising her head, she looked up at him, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. “And you’re sure this is what you want?”
“I want you. And I want you to be happy.”
“I want that for you, too. If you’re only doing this for me—”
He placed a finger over her lips. “I’m doing this for us. Up until I met you, my boys were the best part of my life, and they still are. Don’t get me wrong. But this, with you… I’ve never been as happy as I am with you, Chels. I just want you and this for the rest of my life. I might not have planned to fall madly in love with a woman who wants children, but that’s what happened. So now I roll with it.”
She wiped away a flood of tears. “Sorry to be so dramatic, but I’ve gone from thinking I’d ruined us to hearing you want to move in together and have a baby.”
Smiling, he drew her into his embrace. “I don’t mean to give you whiplash, babe.”
She hugged him as tightly as he hugged her.
He kissed the top of her head. “Come on. Let’s go to bed.”
“We need to finish the dishes.”
“They can wait until the morning.”
Riley’s head wasn’t in the card game, which was why he’d already lost a hundred bucks to Mac, who was on fire. They were at Mac’s house while the girls gathered at Janey’s to celebrate her homecoming with baby Vivienne and Daisy’s upcoming wedding.
“What’s with you tonight?” Finn asked when they were on a beer break. “You’re not usually so easily taken for a ride at the poker table.”
“Tired. Long day at work.”
“Where’d you disappear to all day? I thought you were just doing a patch at the Hoppers’ and then coming back.”
“The Hopper house is more complicated than we thought.”
“Have you seen Jordan?”
Riley shook his head. “Just her sister, Nikki. Did you know Jordan’s a twin?”
“Hadn’t heard that,” Finn said, studying him more intently now. “What’s the sister like?”
“She’s nice. Got a lot on her plate with what’s going on with Jordan and a leaking roof.”
“Huh,” Finn said, taking a drink of his beer.
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing. Just wondering how you know so much about what the sister has on her plate. That’s all.”
Riley had walked right into Finn’s trap. “Because she told me?”
Finn’s eyes glittered with mischief. “I thought you were on the roof. Was she up there with you?”
Riley wanted to punch him, but before he could make a fist, a shout went out across the room that had him turning to see what was going on.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Blaine Taylor roared, his face turning a scary shade of red. “Guys are massaging them?”
“That’s what we heard,” Adam said. “But we can’t go over there.”
“The hell we can’t!” Blaine said. He still wore his uniform and had his weapon holstered at his hip. “No guy is massaging my wife except for me.”
“If we go over there,” Grant said, “they’re going to mock us for the rest of our lives, and frankly, we’d deserve it.”
“If you don’t care about some strange guy having his hands all over your wife, then stay here,” Blaine said, “but I’m going.”
“I’m going with him,” Mac said.
“Has it occurred to you that this is another setup?” Grant asked his brother.
“Why would she do the same thing she’s already done to us?” Mac asked. “We’d see right through that.”
“You’re about to go running over there on the outside chance that guys are massaging them,” Adam said.
Mac thought about that for a second. “Maddie told me she’d booked massages with the guys from the spa. I told her she’d better not have, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t do it anyway.”
“If you girls are done sharing your feelings,” Blaine said, teeth gritted, “I’m going to get my wife.” He stormed out the door that led to Mac’s deck and clomped down the stairs.
Mac chased after him. “Blaine! Wait for me.”
Sighing, Adam said, “We’d better go with them to make sure they don’t do anything stupid.”
“It’s probably already too late for that,” Grant said as the two of them gave chase.
“I don’t know about you,” Riley said to Finn, “but I want to see this.”
“Me, too,” Luke said as Shane and Evan nodded in agreement.
“They never learn,” Shane said.
“That’s what makes them so entertaining,” Luke said, shaking his head as he laughed.
They piled into Luke’s truck for the short drive to Joe and Janey’s and arrived right behind Blaine and Mac, who were in Blaine’s truck. Blaine was in such a rush that he left the driver’s side door open in his haste to get to Tiffany.
What might it be like, Riley wondered, to be so crazy about a woman that you did stupid things in the name of love, such as barging into a girls-only gathering like a battering ram on steroids? Riley wouldn’t know because he’d never had those feelings for a woman. Sure, he knew they existed, saw regular examples of it every day among his cousins and their friends, but he hadn’t experienced it.
Following his cousins into Janey’s house, he stood back to watch the show unfold, and what a show it turned out to be.
“What the hell is going on here?” Blaine bellowed, startling the women and waking the baby sleeping in Janey’s arms.
Vivienne let out a lusty cry that had all the women scowling at Blaine.
Tiffany got up from her spot on the floor and went to her husband, placing a hand on his chest and pushing him backward out of the room where the women were gathered in a circle that also included Maddie, Stephanie, Daisy, Mallory, Victoria, Grace, Sydney Harris, Jenny Martinez, Hope Martinez, Erin Barton and Lizzie James.
From what Riley could see, there was no sign of men, except for Joe, who came downstairs and took the baby from Janey.
“What’s the deal, boys?” Joe asked as he patted the baby’s back and succeeded in soothing her.
Grant began to laugh, and he couldn’t seem to stop. He bent at the waist and howled while Mac and Blaine scowled at him.
“What I think the deal is, Joe,” Adam said, “is that our friends Mac and Blaine were led to believe there would be male massage therapists here tending to their wives, and apparently, that was a problem for our intrepid friends.”
Joe laughed as he patted Vivienne’s back, calming her instantly. “You guys never learn, do you?”
“Maddie told me there would be men giving massages,” Mac said, scowling at his wife.
“I don’t recall saying that,” she said, giving her husband a sly smile. “I said I’d asked them to give us massages. I never said they’d accepted. Turns out they were booked tonight. Such a bummer.”
Blaine scowled at Mac. “Seriously?”
“She said it! I swear to God!”
“She was pranking us,” Blaine said, fuming. “And you fell for it. Again!”
“So did you!”
Maddie began to laugh, taking the other women with her. “You are so easy,” she said, gasping for air and wiping tears from her eyes. “So, so easy.”
Mac glared at her. “Make no mistake about it, this is a declaration of war, my love.”
Maddie dismissed his comment with a wave of her hand. “You don’t scare me.” The words were no sooner out of her mouth when she grimaced. Placing her hand over her pregnant belly, she took a deep breath.
“What?” Mac asked her.
“That felt like a contraction.”
“Very funny,” he said. “You’ve already had your way with me and won this round. Enjoy your success while it lasts.”
She looked up at him, and the fear he saw in her eyes stopped his heart. “I’m not joking, Mac.”
“No! Not yet. You promised me no baby until after Thomas starts school and we can go to the mainland!”
The words came out like one long chant that put Riley on edge as he watched the scene play out before him.
Maddie was about to reply when her face twisted once again in a grimace. “Ugh,” she said, moaning. “That was definitely a contraction.”
Victoria jumped into action. “Let’s get you to the clinic so we can see what’s going on. Daisy, will you please call David and have him meet us there?”
“Why do you need him?” Mac asked. “What do you think is wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong,” Victoria assured him. “But if she’s going to deliver this baby, I want him there.”
“She is not going to deliver this baby,” Mac said, “because it’s not due for two more weeks, and she’s having this baby on the goddamned mainland!”
Adam stepped forward, took Mac by the arm and pulled him back. “You need to take a breath, man. If you have a heart attack, you won’t be any good to Maddie when she needs you—and she needs you right now.”
“This isn’t supposed to happen here,” Mac muttered, his eyes fixed on Maddie, who was being helped up by Victoria and Stephanie.
“I know, but it is happening, and you need to get it together,” Adam said, giving Mac a shake to snap him out of his stupor.
He crossed the room to Maddie, lifted her into his arms and carried her from the house with a new look of determination in his eyes.
“Holy shit,” Finn whispered.
Riley couldn’t have said it better himself. There was a lot to be said for being single—and staying that way.
Chapter 13
Mac told himself to calm the fuck down and focus on Maddie and keeping her safe. Although, calming down when your heart was about to explode was easier said than done. This was exactly what he’d been trying to avoid by getting her to the mainland well ahead of her due date.
“Mac,” she said, gasping between contractions that seemed to be coming fast and furious—and how the fuck was that even possible? “Don’t be mad at me. I was just teasing about the guys massaging us, and I honestly didn’t know that the tightness I’ve been feeling was labor. I swear.”
That she could think he was honestly mad at her made him feel like an asshole. “I’m not mad. I’m worried.”
“Oh,” she said, panting. “’Cause you look kinda mad.”
“I’m not mad.”
He kept his eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel, determined to get her to the clinic as quickly and as safely as possible.
A sniffling sound had him taking his eyes off the road to look at her. “Why’re you crying? Does it hurt that bad?”
“It hurts, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
“Then what?”
“I don’t want you to be mad. I promised you this would happen on the mainland, and now it’s happening here and—”
“Madeline.”
She took a deep breath and hiccupped on a sob.
“I swear to God I’m not mad. I’m totally freaking out about another baby being born on this damned island when that wasn’t what we planned. That’s all it is. I promise.”
“At least… it’s not… ugh… being born… on the ferry,” she said, releasing a long deep breath at the end of another contraction.
Mac grunted out a laugh. “There is that.”
“See, so it could be worse.”
He risked taking a hand off the wheel to grasp her hand and hold on tight. “It’s going to be okay,” he said, praying it was true.
“Kids… need… to call… parents,” she said, panting her way through another contraction.
Had it even been two minutes since the last one? Was it possible to have a stroke from being afraid? “I’ll call them. Don’t worry about anything. I’ll call your mom and ask her to keep the kids for us. My mom will help, too. Everything is fine. Don’t worry about anything.”
“Scared,” she said, looking at him with big, frightened, caramel-colored eyes.
“Don’t be. Victoria is the best, and David will be there, too. You’ve got this, babe.”
With every word he said, Mac became more determined to put his own panic aside to focus on keeping her calm. When they arrived at the clinic, he pulled up to the main door, shut off the engine and bounded around to the passenger side to retrieve Maddie.
Victoria’s car was already in the lot, and the lights were on inside. She directed Mac to one of the exam rooms down the hall from the waiting area, leaving a gown on the end of the bed. “Do you need my help to get changed?” Victoria asked.
“I’ll help her,” Mac said.
“I’ll be back in a minute to get Maddie on a monitor and check where we are.”
“Thanks, Vic,” Maddie said. Her hands shook as she reached for the hem of the dress she’d worn to Daisy’s party.
“I’ve got it, hon. You don’t have to do anything.”
“I ruined Daisy’s bachelorette party,” she said, tears sliding down her cheeks.
&n
bsp; He raised the dress up and over her head and helped her out of her panties, leaving her bra on because he knew she preferred it. “You didn’t ruin anything. Daisy will understand.”
She slid her arms through the holes in the gown he held for her, and then gasped when another sharp pain gripped her. “God, I already feel the need to push,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Not yet, babe,” Mac said, helping her into bed. “Wait for Vic to give the okay.”
“Here I am.” Victoria breezed into the room wearing a big smile. Her dark hair had been contained in a ponytail, and she’d changed into scrubs. “Let’s see what we’ve got.” She positioned Maddie’s feet in stirrups and raised the gown so she could examine her. “Oh, hello there!” Looking up at Maddie, she said, “You’re about to deliver.”
Tightening her grip on Mac’s hand, Maddie said, “Please tell me I can push.”
“On the next contraction,” Vic said, “let’s do it.” She moved around the room, gathering the supplies she needed.
David came into the room. “Hey, guys. I hear your little one is upending your plans.”
Mac looked at the man who would’ve been his brother-in-law and saw nothing but confidence and competence. Having Vic and David in the room went a long way toward soothing his nerves.
“She’s set to deliver,” Vic told him.
“Whoa, that was fast. What can I do?”
“Get her on a monitor for me.”
Things got real after that, with Maddie pushing, Mac supporting her back, David keeping an eye on the fetal monitor and Victoria positioned between Maddie’s legs. Fifteen minutes later, their son arrived, his little face red with rage as he let out a lusty howl.
“You did it, babe,” Mac said, kissing her and wiping away her tears while she did the same for him. “He’s beautiful.”
“Just what this world needs,” Maddie said with a tired smile. “Another McCarthy man.”
Mac returned her smile and kissed her again. “Is he okay, David?”
“He’s perfect. What’s his name?”
Mac looked to Maddie, giving her the floor. After all, she’d done the hard work. She sighed. “Don’t blame me for this, but meet Malcom John McCarthy the third. We’ve got another Mac McCarthy on our hands.”