by Marie Force
“You don’t think we’re doing the wrong thing by not telling them the truth from the beginning, do you?” he asked.
“No, I think it’s the right thing to wait. They’ve been through so much and have settled into their new life with us. Now isn’t the time to do anything that would disrupt that.”
“Helps to have the advice of a professional mother to rely upon.”
“I don’t know if I’d call myself a professional mother, but I do recall what it was like to move here with Joe after we lost his dad and how important it was to keep things on an even keel for him.”
The sound of a car arriving outside had them moving quickly to go out to greet their visitor. Jace emerged from the back of Ned Saunders’s cab, and the first thing Seamus noticed were forearms covered in ink. The boys were fascinated by tattoos and would certainly want an up-close look at Jace’s.
Seamus could hear the boys and the dog playing on one of the paths that led into the woods that were their playground. They’d been given strict guidelines about how far from the house they were allowed to go and were good about doing what they were told.
Jace paid Ned for the ride and thanked him.
Ned gave a little toot and a wave before backing out of the driveway.
As Jace walked toward them, Seamus noticed that he moved like Jackson did, his stride almost impatient. He shook hands with Seamus and Carolina. “Thank you for having me.”
Seamus appreciated the man’s manners, even if he was predisposed to dislike him on sight. “I’d say it was no problem, but…”
“Oh, you’re Irish.”
“Aye, that’s right.”
The two men sized each other up, almost like prizefighters about to face off.
“The boys…” Jace said. “They’re doing well?”
“They’re doing wonderfully,” Carolina said, “after a rough couple of months following their mother’s death.”
“I… I didn’t know she was sick. I felt awful when I heard about what’d happened.”
“It was a very difficult time,” Carolina said. “But the Gansett Island community stepped up for her and the boys, and we got them through it.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here to help. I’ve had some… problems, but I’m better now. I understand it was a lot to ask to see them, but I only learned that Lisa had died when I tried to reach out to her about seeing the kids. I wanted to wait until I’d gotten my life together before I got in touch with her, and then I found out it was too late.”
Jace seemed genuinely sad about Lisa’s death. “This is a nice place you’ve got here,” he said.
“We added on after we took in the boys,” Carolina said, gesturing to the new part of the house. “We wanted them to have room to spread out.”
“Are they here?”
“If you listen carefully,” Seamus said, “you can hear them off playing in the trees. They love to be outside.”
“I remember that from when they were little. Always wanted to be outside.”
Seamus put his fingers in his mouth and whistled for the boys, who came running, as they always did when he called for them. He wondered how old they’d be when that stopped.
They burst through the brush, two towheads with sunburned noses and missing front teeth. Burpy was hot on their trail, barking as usual. Seamus often thought it was a good thing they didn’t have close neighbors with all the racket the kids and dog made. The house where Lisa and the boys had lived was the closest one to them, and it was several hundred yards up the road. A new couple lived there now.
“Kyle, Jackson and Burpy, I want you to meet a friend of mine. This is Mr. Jace. Can you say hello?”
He held his breath, waiting to see if either of them would recognize the man, but they didn’t seem to.
Both boys said hi and shook Jace’s hand the way Seamus had taught them. They were working on making eye contact when they were introduced to new people. So far, the handshaking was going better than the eye contact.
Seamus could see that Jace was impressed by the handshakes and perhaps a bit emotional about seeing his sons for the first time in years.
“Can we please have a snack?” Kyle asked Carolina.
She’d been working on their please-and-thank-you game. “Sure,” she said. “Let’s go inside and wash our hands.”
“Come on in,” Seamus said to Jace. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“Just some water would be great. Thank you.”
While Carolina supervised the boys washing up in the bathroom, Seamus poured three glasses of ice water, got out juice for the boys and cut cheese to serve with crackers and grapes.
The boys came out of the bathroom and dove into the snack like two savages who hadn’t seen food in a year. “Easy, mates,” he said. “We have a guest, and the polite thing is to let the guest go first.”
“Sorry,” Kyle said around a mouthful of cheese and cracker.
“No worries,” Jace said, seeming amused by the boys.
Carolina joined them at the table, and over the next hour, Jace asked the boys about their life on Gansett Island, about their school, their friends, the TV shows they liked and their favorite food.
Seamus had to give Jace credit. He made a genuine effort to get to know the boys and truly listened to everything they had to say. And when he asked if they would show him their favorite toys, the boys were happy to lead the way to their new playroom that Seamus had told them to clean up earlier in anticipation of their guest’s arrival.
“He seems like a nice guy,” Carolina said when she and Seamus were alone in the kitchen.
“Aye, he is. I like how he gave them his full attention.” Still wary, however, he went to check on them in the playroom and found Jace sitting on the floor while the boys showed him all their toys.
Though he was glad the visit was going so well, Seamus still felt out of sorts over the situation. Carolina had wisely said that allowing Jace into their lives meant giving the boys one more person to love them. He was no threat, or so Seamus told himself.
An hour later, Seamus drove Jace back to town to catch the last ferry off the island. They were both quiet on the short ride.
“Thank you so much for this,” Jace said when they arrived at the ferry landing. “You’ll never know what it means to me to be able to see them.”
“I’m glad we could figure something out.”
“It’s obvious that they’re very happy with you and your wife, and I’m not looking to upset them any more than they’ve already been. I’d like to give you my number just so you have it, and if you’re inclined to send some pictures once in a while, I’ll always be happy to get them.”
“I can do that.”
They exchanged contact info and then shook hands.
“You know,” Seamus said, “I was prepared to hate you simply because you're their real father. But after having met you, I don’t hate you.”
Jace gave a gruff laugh. “Well, thanks for that. And by the way, it’s very clear who they consider their real father, and from what I can see, they’re lucky to have you.”
“That’s nice of you to say.”
“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, big mistakes that hurt a lot of people. I’ll always be most sorry for the mistakes that hurt Lisa and my boys. I’ve learned in recovery that we can’t undo the past. We can only try to do better in the future. That’s my only goal.”
“I can see that.”
“And I can see my sons are happily settled with two people who love them very much.”
“We do love them. They’ve changed our lives entirely.”
“Thank you for stepping up for them and for Lisa when she needed you.”
“Stepping up for them was the second-best thing I’ve ever done, after marrying my Carolina.”
“Thanks again for having me.”
“I’ll be in touch.”
Jace shook his hand and got out of the truck.
Seamus watched him join the line
to get on the ferry, waiting until Jace presented his ticket and got on the boat before he pulled out of the parking lot and drove home, filled with a powerful sense of relief. After having met Jace and learned he was a decent sort of bloke, Seamus felt better about welcoming the man into their lives.
When he got home, Carolina was supervising the boys as they ate spaghetti and meatballs, their adorable little faces covered in sauce, as usual.
Carolina gave him a welcoming smile, and Seamus felt himself finally relax for the first time since they got the letter from Jace’s attorney.
He took a seat at the table, and Carolina brought plates for both of them.
“Thanks, love.” To the boys, he said, “Thank you for being so nice to my friend. He really liked you guys.”
“He was nice,” Jackson said around a mouthful of meatball. “Can he come back to play again sometime?”
“Aye,” Seamus said. “He’ll be back.”
Chapter 45
Late on Friday afternoon, Grant McCarthy was home alone when he received a delivery of flowers. “Thank you,” he said to the young man who’d brought them from the island florist.
“Have a nice day.”
“You, too.” Grant took the vase of multicolored roses into the kitchen, placed them on the counter and then found the card.
Since we didn’t know what to send a fancy award-winning screenwriter on his big night with the hometown crowd, we hope roses will do. We’re so proud of you, Stephanie and Charlie and so sorry to miss the premiere. We can’t wait to see the movie! Love you, Mac & Maddie + 5
Touched by the gesture and the sweet words, Grant put through a call to his older brother.
“Hey, bud,” Mac said. “How’s it going?”
“I should be asking you that. Thanks for the flowers. You guys didn’t have to do that.”
“Yes, we did. We feel bad about missing it.”
“You’ve got the best possible excuse. I’ll make sure you get your own private screening when you get back.”
“We’ll look forward to that.”
“How are Maddie and the babies today?”
“Everyone’s doing well. The girls are still in the NICU for the time being, but we’re told that’s a good thing because they can keep a really close eye on them there. They want to keep them another week or so, and then we’ll move to Frank’s house for another week so we can be close to the hospital if need be. That’s the plan at the moment, anyway. Of course, we’re dying to get back to the other kids, too.”
“They miss you, but they’re doing okay.”
“Thank God for Mom, Francine, Tiffany, Kelsey and everyone else who has helped. It takes a village to have twins on the mainland when you have three little ones on an island.”
“I can only imagine.”
“Are you ready for tonight?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“How about Steph?”
“I don’t know, she hasn’t said much about it. I’m trying to play it cool with her. I don’t want her to feel pressured to see it if it’ll hurt her.”
“Sounds like the best way to play it.”
“I have to be honest. I’ve been kind of caught up in the details and so excited about the way it came together that I hadn’t given enough thought to how it would affect her to see her story played out this way.”
“She was foremost in your mind the whole way through, Grant. I have no doubt about that. It’s an amazing story, and she and Charlie deserve all the praise and publicity they’re getting—and so do you. I’m hearing there’s lots of Oscar talk attached to this film.”
“Ack, don’t even say it. You’ll jinx us.”
Mac laughed. “I won’t say it. I’ll just wish you all the best.”
“Thanks again for the flowers.”
“Break a leg, bro.”
“Give Maddie and the babies a kiss from us.”
“Will do. Talk soon.”
Grant took a shower, shaved and got changed into a dress shirt and khakis, which were much more in keeping with the Gansett Island vibe than the tuxedo he’d worn to the Hollywood premiere. He thought about stopping at the Bistro on his way to the theater, but decided not to because he honestly didn’t want Stephanie to feel pressured.
Friday nights in August were busy at the restaurant, so she might not make it, and he was fine with that. After spending the better part of the last two years fully immersed in her story and Charlie’s, Grant understood better than just about anyone how painful it might be for them to see the film.
He loved them both too much to ask more of them than they’d already given to make this project possible. Besides, Stephanie had offered to host the after-party at the Bistro, so she was probably overseeing last-minute details.
When he arrived at the theater, he was greeted by a crowd of family members and friends that included his parents, siblings, uncles, cousins, Dan and Kara Torrington, and just about everyone else he knew on the island. He couldn’t think of anyone who wasn’t there.
They applauded when he walked in, embarrassing him with their effusiveness.
Grant spent a few minutes greeting his guests before making his way to the stage in the front of the room. He’d thought a lot about what he wanted to say to this hometown group about Stephanie and Charlie and the film. When he had their attention, he stepped up to the microphone his brother Adam had helped him set up earlier.
The theater was rather basic, and as such, he’d enlisted Adam to make sure everything was good to go. He couldn’t help but wonder what his friends in Hollywood would think of the Gansett Island theater. They would look down their noses at it, but it was right here in this musty room with the folding chairs and the headlights shining through the windows that he’d fallen in love with movies and visual storytelling.
“Good evening, everyone, and thank you so much for being here for the Gansett Island premiere of Indefatigable. As most of you know, Indefatigable tells the story of my wife Stephanie’s fourteen-year effort to free her stepfather, Charlie Grandchamp, from unjust incarceration. After meeting Stephanie, hearing her story and falling in love with her, I thought I understood what she’d been through. But it was only when I delved into the writing of the screenplay that I found out I only knew a fraction of it. The more I learned about Stephanie and Charlie, the more I loved and respected them both for not only surviving an ordeal that would’ve ruined lesser people, but for who they are now in the aftermath of this story. We named the film Indefatigable in honor of Stephanie’s unyielding determination to right a terrible wrong, against the greatest of odds. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Indefatigable.”
While the audience applauded, Grant left the stage and went to sit in the front row next to his parents. His dad patted him on the back and beamed a proud smile as the opening credits played.
Two hours and twenty-one minutes later, the closing credits began scrolling as the audience burst into wild applause.
Grant noticed both his parents mopping up tears.
“It was magnificent,” Linda said. “Even after all this time that we’ve known Stephanie… I still had no idea.”
“Congratulations, son,” Big Mac said. “It’s a triumph for everyone involved.”
“Thanks, guys. So glad you enjoyed it.” Grant returned to the stage to accept a standing ovation. “Thank you so much, everyone. I have so many people to thank. First and foremost, to my parents, Mac and Linda, who told me I could be anything I wanted, even a screenwriter. The team at Quantum Productions, especially Hayden Roth, Kristian Bowen, Jasper Autry and the incomparable Flynn Godfrey, who brought this story to life, along with the incredible cast and crew and all the many people involved. I want to send a special shout-out to my friend and attorney extraordinaire Dan Torrington, without whom this story might’ve ended very differently.”
Grant paused to lead another rousing round of applause for Dan, who stood and took a bow.
Then Grant saw them, Steph and Charlie… in t
he back, standing against the wall, side by side as they’d been from the beginning of their incredible story.
His heart skipped a beat when he saw Stephanie wiping tears from her face as she smiled and clapped for Dan, who’d saved them both by intervening in Charlie’s case.
“Finally,” Grant said, contending with a huge wave of emotion that he battled through, “I’d like to acknowledge my beautiful, courageous wife, Stephanie Logan McCarthy, and her beloved stepfather, Charlie Grandchamp.” He held out his arm to indicate their location in the back, and everyone turned to face them as they applauded.
Grant came down off the stage and headed down the center aisle.
Stephanie met him halfway, nearly leaping into his outstretched arms. She held on tight to him as she whispered in his ear, “It was incredible. Absolutely incredible.”
It was the best review he’d ever gotten—and the only one that mattered.
The after-party at the Bistro was packed with friends and family, celebrating Stephanie and Charlie, both of whom seemed to be enjoying the limelight.
Julia Lawry was doing a set onstage with her brother Owen and Evan. The three of them were magic together.
“What a night,” Big Mac said to Linda as he sat with her, Adam, Abby, Grant, Stephanie, Grace, Joe and Janey.
Charlie and Sarah were holding court at another table, with her parents, Russ and Adele, along with Jeff, John, Cindy, Katie, Shane, Laura, Frank and Betsy.
“What a week,” Linda said. “Did you ever hear any more about what caused the power failure?”
“Apparently, it was due to lightning striking a substation on the mainland. Took them a few days to figure out where the problem was and then another couple of days to get it fixed.”
“Everyone who doesn’t have a generator is talking about getting one.”
“I’m so glad we got ours after the last big blizzard.”
Oliver and Dara were sitting with Ned, Francine, Kevin, Chelsea, Riley, Nikki, Finn, Chloe, Mason and Jordan. Over dinner at the lighthouse the other night, they’d convinced their new friends to come to the premiere and the after-party so they could introduce them to more island residents. So far, they’d met the Martinez brothers and their wives as well as Slim and Erin and many of their other island friends.