Mine After Dark

by Marie Force

  “I’m not surprised. That’s how he is.”

  “I got a text from Ned, too, letting me know that he couldn’t be happier for us.”

  “Our son will be surrounded by more love—and grandparents—than he knows what to do with.”

  “And cousins. Lots and lots of cousins.”

  “They’ll keep him from being a lonely only child.”

  “He’ll never be lonely in this family.”

  “Aye, there’re the happy parents,” Seamus O’Grady said in his lilting Irish brogue. “We’re all so delighted for you both.”

  “Thanks, Seamus.” Adam shook Seamus’s hand. “We’re a little excited, to put it mildly.”

  “I can only imagine. I just want to say…” He paused, seeming to choose his words carefully. “Despite how it transpired, becoming a parent was one of the greatest things to ever happen to me. I have a feeling it will be for you two as well.”

  Adam and Abby both stood to hug Seamus. He and his wife, Carolina, had taken in two young boys after their mother passed away.

  “Thank you,” Abby said, dabbing at tears. “We so appreciate all the support we’ve been getting.”

  “It might be a little tossy out there today, but we’ll get you to your wee one safely. Don’t worry.”

  “We’re in good hands with you at the helm,” Adam said.

  “See you on the other side.”

  After a long blow of the horn, the ferry departed from its South Harbor berth a few minutes later. Once outside the breakwater, the ferry bobbed and weaved, cresting the waves and then sliding into the trough in a stomach-turning drop.

  “You okay?” Adam asked.

  “Yep. I’ve got my eyes on the prize.” Glancing at him, she said, “Remember the last time we shared a rough ferry ride?”

  His grin lit up his sinfully handsome face. “When you were drunk and swearing off men? How could I forget it? That day changed my life forever.”

  “I was tipsy, not drunk.”

  “Whatever you say.”

  “That day changed my life forever, too. Sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if I’d taken an earlier boat or you’d taken a later one.”

  “Thank goodness we ended up on the same boat.”

  Resting her head on his shoulder, she held on tight to his hand as the seas seemed to get rougher the farther away from the island they got. “I found you when I was at the end of my rope when it came to men and romance and all the nonsense that went along with it.”

  “I was right there at the end of the rope with you. Perfect timing.”

  “This feels like perfect timing with Liam, too. Nothing is working on the medical front, so now we have a chance to be parents another way.”

  “It is perfect timing. He needs us. We need him. We’ve got this.”

  “You think so?” she asked, raising her head off his shoulder.

  “I know so. We’re going to be awesome parents.”

  “I sure hope you’re right.”

  “When have you ever known me not to be?” he asked with that cocky McCarthy grin he shared with his father, uncles, brothers and cousins.

  The hour-long ferry ride and the forty-five-minute drive to Providence seemed to take two days. When they finally arrived, Adam carried the car seat inside, where they were met with hugs from Maura, the social worker who’d been to visit their home on Gansett Island and had walked them through the reams of paperwork involved in the application.

  “Congratulations, Mom and Dad,” Maura said, smiling.

  “Thank you so much,” Abby said. “When can we meet him?”

  “I just need a few final signatures, and then I’ll take you to see him.”

  They signed the forms and waited while Maura notarized them and made copies for the file she handed them. She’d explained that it would take six months for the adoption to be finalized, and they would be notified of a court date in the next few weeks.

  “Are we allowed to know about his biological parents?”

  “They’re a teenage couple unequipped to care for him, but they want you to know they love him very much. This was a difficult decision for them, but they believe it’s the right thing.”

  “They aren’t going to change their minds, are they?” Adam asked, giving voice to their greatest fear.

  “I have no way to know that for sure, but I don’t believe that’s a concern in this case. You’re aware of the six-week period during which the biological parents can change their minds. If you’d prefer for us to care for him until then, we can do that. We’ve had other adoptive parents do that so there’d be no chance of them getting attached before the six weeks are up.”

  Filled with despair at the thought of that scenario playing out, Abby glanced at Adam and noticed tension in the set of his jaw. He didn’t like the thought of that any more than she did.

  “What do you want to do?” he asked her.

  The thought of going home without their baby was unimaginable after the excitement of the past few days. “I’m willing to risk it if you are.”

  He nodded. “Whatever you want is what I want.”

  Even knowing they could be setting themselves up for disaster, Abby wanted to meet her son.

  Adam took her hand and held on tight as they followed Maura to a conference room, where another member of the agency staff was waiting with the baby.

  Abby took one look at the tiny bundle, wrapped in a striped receiving blanket and wearing an oatmeal-colored knit cap on his tiny head, and fell in love with his scrunched little face. Later, she wouldn’t have been able to describe the woman who put the baby into her arms. From the second she set eyes on his little red face, she couldn’t see anything but him—and his father, who put his arms around her as tears ran down his face.

  “Hi there,” Adam whispered, running a fingertip gently over the baby’s cheek.

  His tone perfectly matched the way she felt—awestruck.

  “He’s so beautiful.” Abby raised the cap to reveal a thatch of dark hair. “He even has dark hair like we do.” She had no idea how long they were in that conference room, staring and touching and drinking in the sight of the baby they had longed for. When she thought back to that day, it would be a blur. The only thing she would clearly remember was his face. Liam’s face, and his big gray eyes looking up at her with questions and curiosity and wisdom.

  Adam took a selfie of the three of them and sent a quick text to his family and Abby’s, introducing them to Liam Callahan McCarthy. His phone began chiming with responses, but he tucked it into his pocket. They had better things to do than respond to texts.

  “Do we really get to take him?” Abby asked Maura without taking her gaze off the baby. A feeling of disbelief continued to envelop her. Was this really happening? Would she wake up to find it had all been a lovely dream?

  “You get to take him and keep him,” Maura said, amused by the questions. “Congratulations to the new family.”

  “Thank you so much for everything you did for us, Maura,” Adam said.

  “It’s been a pleasure to help make your family complete. We’ll be checking in with you, and we’re required to do two more home inspections before the adoption is final. I’ll call you next week to schedule them. According to the chart, he’s been fed and changed, so he should be in good shape for the journey home to the island.”

  “Well, here goes nothing,” Adam said with a nervous laugh.

  Abby’s usually calm, cool and competent husband was anything but as he took the baby from her and placed him in the carrier.

  Working together, they made several attempts before they had him properly strapped in. The baby didn’t seem to mind that they had no idea what they were doing.

  Abby sat in the backseat with the baby while Adam drove them back to the ferry. She kept waiting for the baby to get fussy, but he seemed content to watch the world go by. He was a trouper all the way to the island. Whereas the high seas made her feel queasy, the motion lulled Liam to sleep. He
snoozed on his mother’s shoulder for most of the ride home.

  “This wasn’t how I pictured it happening,” she said to Adam, “but I can’t imagine anything more exciting than this day has been.”

  “I couldn’t agree more. Best day of our lives.”

  “Tied for first with that other day on the ferry.”

  He leaned over the baby to kiss her. “I’ll give you that.”

  Chapter 24

  For two weeks after Riley got back from North Carolina, he did nothing but work—all day at the Wayfarer and every evening at Eastward Look. On the second day after Adam and Abby brought home their new son, Riley stopped by after work to visit his new baby cousin, who was settling into his new home. His parents were tired but elated, and their joy had only made Riley’s discontent more profound. He kept the kitchen project moving forward in Nikki’s absence, hoping it would make her happy to return to an almost-renovated kitchen. He was leaving some of everything for her to do, since she’d wanted to learn how to do it. Some nights, Finn helped him, but most of the time, he worked by himself.

  Having something to do every waking minute kept him from going crazy wondering when he might see her again.

  They texted frequently and talked every day, but she never said anything about returning to the island, and he didn’t want to make things more difficult for her by asking questions.

  So while she took care of Jordan in Los Angeles, Riley went slowly insane on Gansett Island. He worked until he couldn’t stay awake another minute and then stumbled to the sofa most nights and crashed until the morning, when he would start the cycle over again. He’d tried to sleep in Nikki’s bed one night, but the scent of her shampoo on the pillowcase and the memories of the nights they’d spent there together had been too much for him to handle.

  What if she never came back? What if the time they’d already had was all they’d ever get? How would he survive having had her and then losing her? He wouldn’t. It was that simple. If she didn’t come home soon, he’d go to her.

  Of course, those who knew him best were tuned in to the fact that he was a hot mess. They gave him as much space as they could, but Mac called him aside at the end of the second week.

  “Your friend Nikki who you recommended for the manager’s job. What’s her story?”

  “I… I’m not sure.”

  “I’m ready to hire someone, and you recommended her, so I wanted to give her a shot. Is she coming back?”

  “I don’t know that either.”

  Mac gave him a knowing look. “Is this why you’ve been such a gluebag at work lately?”

  Riley shrugged. What did his cousin want him to say? He wasn’t about to admit to being a heartbroken fool.

  “It’s clear to everyone that your head’s not in the game. I can’t have that, Riley. That’s when people get hurt. Take the weekend and get it together. Come back Monday ready to focus.”

  “I will,” Riley muttered. “Sorry.”

  “You don’t have to be sorry.” Mac squeezed his shoulder. “I’ve been where you are when I was first with Maddie, and it totally blows.”

  “Yeah, it does. I feel like I’m losing my mind.”

  “Go after her, then. Do what you’ve got to do, Riley. No offense, but you’re not much good to me in your current condition.”

  “I know. I really am sorry. I’ll get it together. After the wedding this weekend, I’ll figure out what I’m going to do.”

  “Let me know what you decide, and ask her to get in touch with me if she’s still interested in the job.”

  “I will. Thanks, Mac.”

  “We’ll have some fun tonight. Blow off some steam. It’ll be good for everyone. The winters are way too long around here.”

  “Definitely. I’ll see you later.”

  “We’ll be there.”

  The guys were taking over Mario’s to celebrate Kevin’s wedding, which was the next day.

  “What was that about?” Finn asked when Riley rejoined him.

  “Nothing.”

  “Hopefully he was telling you to get your head out of your ass.”

  “He didn’t use those exact words.”

  Finn laughed. “But the message was the same. Check out this text I just got from Clint.” He held up his phone. “He sent it to you, too.”

  You two are killing me. Would love to have you back, but since I haven’t heard from you, I’ve got to move on. Pulling the trigger on some new hires. Let me know if you ever get back this way.

  “To translate—we’re now officially stuck here for the time being,” Finn said, his voice echoing in the cavernous building.

  Being “stuck” on the island didn’t look as good to Riley as it would have a few short weeks ago. “We need to finish what we started here anyway. Then we can move on.”

  Finn released a deep sigh. “Missy’s going to lose her shit when I tell her I’m here until May, possibly June.”

  “Missy needs to move on the same way Clint did.”

  “Try telling her that.”

  “Maybe you should tell her exactly that.”

  “Eh,” Finn said. “You know how I hate to burn a bridge.”

  Rolling his eyes, Riley said, “That’s a bridge you should’ve blown up a long time ago.” They parted company a short time later to go home and clean up for the party. Since he’d been more or less living at Eastward Look while he worked on the renovations, he went there instead of the house he shared with Finn. He felt closer to Nikki when he was at the house she loved so much.

  On the way, he stopped to buy a six-pack of beer and a bag of ice for the cooler he’d brought to the house. At the front door, he punched in the four-digit code Nikki had told him was her birthday—and Jordan’s. In the foyer, he took off his dirty work boots and hung up his coat, yearning to see her coming down the stairs, dark hair piled on top of her head, wearing the yoga pants and T-shirt she called her “work clothes” and brimming with excitement to see him. But the house was silent and empty, devoid of life without her there to make it a home.

  He ached for her. Taking one of the beers to the sofa, he put his feet up on the coffee table and leaned his head back, exhausted in more ways than one. His phone vibrated with a new text from his uncle Frank, confirming the time of the party.

  Riley replied to Frank and then opened a new text to Nikki, whom he hadn’t heard from since yesterday. For a long time, he thought about what he could say that didn’t include I miss you, I love you, I need you, When are you coming back and Please tell me what’s going to become of us. Since he couldn’t say any of that, he decided to go with something totally random.

  What’s your position on dogs?

  His heart gave a happy jolt when he saw that she was responding.

  In general, or as pets?

  As pets.

  She sent thumbs-up, heart and dog emojis.

  With or without cats?

  Without.

  Good answer. Cats freak me out. They know too much.

  True. How was work?

  Fine. Glad it’s Friday.

  Is everyone excited about the wedding?

  Yeah. Everyone except me, he wanted to say but didn’t. The last thing he wanted to do was make her feel bad about how she’d left things with him.

  What’s your position on the color yellow?

  In general, or in particular?

  As in a paint color for the kitchen…

  That’ll look good.

  Glad you agree.

  His phone chimed with another text, this one stopping his heart.

  What’s your position on kids?

  He told himself to stay cool and not read too much into an innocuous text, but that was a huge challenge when he wanted to read everything into that innocuous text. In an attempt to keep from overreacting, he went with witty over serious. In general, or as pets?

  As pets. Definitely. She added a laughing emoji.

  No objections but would prefer they not outnumber the adults in the house.
>
  Good call.

  The ache, which had been a dull roar in the area of his breastbone, intensified with every text they exchanged, making him wonder if missing someone could bring on a heart attack.

  His phone lit up with a new text. Have I told you twins run in my family? My dad is a twin and so are my mom’s cousins. Although identical twins don’t run in families. That’s a biological anomaly.

  Are you warning me?

  LOL, just providing full disclosure.

  Because he couldn’t go another second without hearing her voice or seeing her sweet face, he switched over to FaceTime. The room was dark enough that she wouldn’t know he was at her place. He wanted to surprise her with the work he’d done to the kitchen in her absence. He hoped she’d come back at some point and he’d get the chance to show her.

  She popped up on his screen looking pretty and fresh and sexier than any woman had a right to be. Everything about her did it for him and had from the first time he’d ever seen her.

  “Hey,” she said, smiling.

  “Hey yourself. You look gorgeous.”

  “No, I don’t. I’m all sweaty from yoga.”

  He held back a groan as images of her bending into interesting positions assailed him, making him instantly hard for her. It was all he could do not to beg her to come home to him.

  “You look tired. Are you okay?”

  “I’ve been better. You’re way too far away.”

  “I know,” she said, sighing. “Believe me, I feel the same way about you. Three thousand miles is way too far.”

  “How’s it going?” he asked, because he couldn’t not ask. He had to know.

  “She’s doing better every day. The broken arm is the biggest issue. Makes it hard for her to do the simplest things.”

  “Glad she’s doing better.”

  “She talked to a lawyer today about filing for divorce, which is the first time she’s actually used that word. Maybe now he really will be her ex-husband. Finally.”

  “That’s a step in the right direction.”

  “I’m cautiously optimistic.”

  “How’re you holding up?”