by Marie Force
“Janey—”
“I’m a grown woman, Mac. I can sleep with anyone I want to, and believe it or not, it’s none of your business.”
“You’re right.”
Shocked, she stared at him. She hadn’t expected such easy capitulation. “I am?”
“I hate the idea of anyone hurting you. When I first heard about what David had done, I honestly thought I could kill him.”
Hearing that, Janey softened. “You’re the best big brother any girl could ever have. You know I love you as much as I love anyone. But you’ve got to let me live my own life, even if it means I get hurt once in a while.”
“I’m trying.”
Janey scowled playfully at him. “Try harder.”
“So you and Joe. . .”
“Me and Joe.” Thinking of him brought a smile to her face.
“He’s had a big bad thing for you for years.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“You really didn’t know?”
“Maybe deep down. But when I was with David, I never let myself go there.”
“And it was really your idea to, you know. . .”
“Sleep together?”
He swallowed hard. “Yes.”
“It was all me. He tried to tell me it was a bad idea, that I’d regret it.”
“And did you? Regret it?”
“Not for one second. He’s amazing and sweet and he loves me so much, Mac. I’ve never had anything even close to what I have with him.”
“I guess that’s saying something in light of how long you were with David.”
“What I had with David wasn’t anything like this.”
“So you’re in love with Joe?”
“I don’t know. I’d like to be, but I’m not sure yet.”
Mac glanced at the flowers. “He’s not exactly being subtle, is he?”
Making a face at him, she said, “It would hurt me if this caused a rift between you and him.”
“It won’t,” he said almost reluctantly.
“He loves you so much, and he’s thrilled to have you living back here again. I couldn’t bear to come between the two of you. That would hurt me more than anything.”
“I needed to hear you say he didn’t take advantage of you when you were down.”
She got up and went around the desk. “He didn’t. And you already knew that because you know him.”
Mac stood and reached for her. He hugged her for a long time and then kissed her forehead. “Love you, brat. I just want you to be happy.”
“I’m working on that.”
“Let me know what I can do to help.”
“Stop being such a buttinsky and forgive Joe.”
“I will.”
“And Maddie.”
“Already did.”
“Good. I adore her. She’s absolutely perfect for you.”
He smiled. “I agree. Do something for me?”
“Sure.”
“If I promise to not overreact and overwhelm, will you not keep me in the dark? I like knowing what’s going on with you.”
She went up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I’m making some plans and decisions. As soon as I know more, I’ll tell you all about it.”
“I’ll look forward to that.” He checked his watch. “I’d better go. The boys are coming in on the one o’clock boat.”
“I can’t wait to see them,” she said of their three other brothers. “This will be a fun week, and at the end of it, you’ll be married. Hard to believe, huh?”
“Not anymore. I can’t imagine my life without Maddie and Thomas.”
“I hope someday I’ll be that certain.”
“Take your time, brat. Getting it right is well worth the wait.”
“So I’ve discovered.”
He hugged her tight against him. “I’m here if you need me.”
Janey’s eyes burned with tears as she clung to him. “I know.” She pulled back and looked up at him. “Have fun tonight.”
“Oh, I plan to,” he said with a wicked grin. “My last hurrah.”
“Hearts are breaking up and down the East Coast.”
Mac laughed. “Sure they are.” He left her with a wave.
Janey watched him go, knowing that even after he was married, he’d still be there for her. In the midst of chaos and upheaval, there were some things she could count on to stay the same. Her big brother was definitely one of them.
Chapter 20
Janey left the vet clinic and decided to take care of something that had been on her mind all day. Steeling herself for a fight, she walked over to Maddie’s former apartment, above her sister Tiffany’s dance studio. Janey knocked on the door and waited. And then waited some more. After several minutes, the door cracked open, and Francine scowled when she saw Janey.
“What do you want?”
“I’d like to talk to you, if you can spare a minute.”
“I have nothing to say to you.”
“You’ve never even met me. How can you dislike me so intensely?”
“You’re one of them.”
“If you’re referring to my parents, I believe you’ll recall that my mother gave you ample opportunity to make restitution before she ever reported you. And she wasn’t the first to report you.”
“She took the most pleasure in it,” Francine grumbled.
“You don’t know that. You don’t know anything about her. Or me. Or my brother. You haven’t given any of us a chance, yet you’ve decided we’re no good.”
“I know what I see—and what I hear.”
“And what’s that?”
“Your mother hasn’t exactly been good to my girl over there at that fancy hotel of hers.”
“And she has apologized for that. After she learned the truth about Maddie—”
“What truth? What’re you talking about?”
“When Maddie told Mac about what my brother Evan and his friends said about Maddie in high school, Mac made them all write letters of apology to the Gansett Gazette.”
Agog, Francine stared at her.
“Maddie was furious at first because he hadn’t yet told her about the letters. But they totally changed her life on the island. No one thinks poorly of her anymore, Mrs. Chester. My brother did that for her.”
“Well, your other brother caused the whole thing.”
“No, he didn’t. Darren Tuttle did, but Mac took care of him, too. Evan just went along with it because he was too stupid not to. His apology letter was the most heartfelt of the group. He said he’d always regretted what they’d done to her, and he welcomed the chance to apologize.”
“I don’t know what you want from me—”
“I want you to come to Maddie’s shower tomorrow at my mother’s house.”
“I most certainly will not!”
“You’d do that to your own daughter?”
“Don’t speak to me about my daughter! What do you know about it? What do you know about anything?”
“I know she’s the best new friend I’ve had in a long time. I know my brother loves her with everything he has and my family has fully embraced her and Thomas. Why would you want to force her to choose between you and us? Why does it have to be a choice?”
“She’s already made her choices,” Francine huffed. “What I think of it apparently has no bearing.”
“How can you say that? When the whole island thought she was no better than a tramp, she didn’t leave because you insisted on staying here after your husband left. Instead of going somewhere for a fresh start where no one knew her, she stayed here and put up with all the rumors and innuendo about her, because you wanted to be where he could find you.”
“She told you that?”
“I totally understand why you’d want to stay. I’d want the man I love to be able to find me, too.”
Francine sagged against the door frame. “He’s been gone twenty-five years. I don’t think he’s coming back.”
“Maybe not, but you have your daugh
ters and your grandchildren, and next week you’ll have a new son-in-law who’d do anything for you, if only you’d give him a chance.”
“You’re asking an awful lot of me.”
“Actually, I’m really not. I’m just asking you to give him a chance. He’s going to be your grandson’s father. If you can’t do it for Maddie, maybe you can do it for Thomas.”
Francine crossed her arms. “I’m not going to your mother’s house.”
“You don’t have to decide that now. I wanted you to know you’re invited. That my mother and I, as well as Maddie and Tiffany, would love to have you there.”
“You’d love that, would you?”
“Maddie would, so that’s good enough for us.”
“You McCarthys like to think you’re better than everyone else on this island.”
“No, we don’t. My mother was big enough to admit she was wrong about Maddie. Maybe you can do the same for us?” Before Francine could answer, Janey turned to start down the stairs. “Two o’clock tomorrow,” she said over her shoulder. “I really hope you’ll join us.”
Based on the warm welcome Joe received from Grant, Adam and Evan McCarthy, he figured they hadn’t heard yet about his relationship with their sister. With dark hair and blue eyes, all four McCarthy brothers resembled their father as a young man. Only Janey took after their petite, blonde mother.
Evan, a singer-songwriter, had recently landed his first recording contract in Nashville. He was the first to notice Joe’s arrival. “Hey!” he said. “It’s the fifth McCarthy brother!” Embracing Joe, Evan lifted him right off his feet.
“Dude!” Joe said. “Put me down, for Christ’s sake!” Back on terra firma, Joe noticed that Luke had arranged tables and set out the food from Mario’s. The cards, poker chips and Cuban cigars Joe had dropped off earlier were sitting in the middle of one table, along with the beer he’d provided, which had been loaded into a huge garbage can and iced. Perfect.
Grant, an Academy-Award winning screenwriter who lived in Los Angeles, greeted Joe with a handshake and one-armed hug. “How’s it going?”
“Great,” Joe said, going with the truth. What the hell? They’d hear about it soon enough. “Good to see you, man.”
“You, too.”
Joe admired that Grant hadn’t let success turn him into an arrogant jerk. He had a cool, urbane way about him that dated back to high school and probably served him well in Hollywood.
“Can you even believe why we’re here?” Adam asked as he hugged Joe. A successful computer programmer who lived in New York City, Adam was six inches shorter than his brothers. They called him “Little Brother,” even though Evan was the youngest.
“Never thought I’d see the day, that’s for sure,” Joe said, his stomach twisting with nerves as he wondered if Mac was still pissed with him. “Where’s the man of the hour?”
“My dad is bringing him so he doesn’t have to drive,” Evan said.
“Oh, good call. Did you guys get to meet Maddie?”
“Briefly,” Grant said. “Mac’s truly gone over her, huh?”
“Truly,” Joe agreed.
“I knew her years ago,” Evan said with a hint of chagrin.
Joe winced, recalling Evan’s role in sullying Maddie’s reputation in high school. “How was it to see her again?”
“She was far more gracious than I deserved.”
“That sounds like her,” Joe said. “She’s amazing.”
Luke came in carrying two huge bags of ice. “Oh, hey, man. Everything look okay?”
“It looks great,” Joe said. “Thanks for the help.”
“No prob.”
“Let the games begin!” Big Mac bellowed as he walked in with Mac and Ned trailing behind him. Big Mac spread his arms. “All my boys! How fabulous is this?” When he was excited, his enormous personality got even bigger.
Hit with a sudden burst of nerves, Joe got busy opening catering trays and setting out paper plates.
“Hey,” Mac said from behind him.
Steeling himself, Joe turned. “How’s it going?”
“This is nice,” Mac said, gesturing to the food. “Thanks.”
“Luke did most of the heavy lifting.”
“I’m sure you did your share.”
Joe shrugged off the praise. “I assume you’d do the same for me if my time ever comes.”
As Mac studied him with intense blue eyes, Joe couldn’t get a reading on what his friend was thinking. “You’re damned right I would.”
Relieved, Joe couldn’t help but ask, “Even if the bride is your sister?”
“Especially then.”
“Does this mean I’m forgiven?”
“I’m told you were upstanding throughout the whole. . . um, encounter.”
Joe snorted with laughter. “You’re extremely ridiculous when it comes to her. You know that, don’t you?”
“I’ve been told that as well.”
Cracking open beers for both of them, Joe laughed harder.
Mac glowered at him and snatched the beer Joe offered. “I’m sorry I accused you of taking advantage of her. She said something today I can’t get out of my head.”
“Which was?”
“That I know you, and that should’ve been good enough. She’s absolutely right about that.”
Joe clinked his bottle against Mac’s. “You certainly know better than anyone how much I love her. I’d never do anything to hurt her.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing. I don’t want to see you hurt, either.”
“Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
“Joseph,” a booming voice intoned.
Uh-oh. Joe looked up at Big Mac and flashed a grin. “Beer?”
Big Mac made no move to accept the beer Joe offered. “May I have a word with you outside?”
Joe glanced at Mac, who snorted behind his hand. “Um, sure. Now?”
“Right now.”
Driving an elbow into Mac’s ribs on the way by, Joe followed Big Mac outside. As they walked to the end of the long pier, Joe wondered if the older man intended to push him into the murky water and leave him for dead. When they couldn’t go any further, Big Mac turned to him, hands on hips. “What’s this I hear about you and my daughter?”
“Well, um. . .”
Thanks to the lights on the pilings, Joe could see that one of Big Mac’s eyebrows was raised. That was never a good thing.
“I’m waiting.”
“I love her. I’ve always loved her.”
Big Mac stared him down, but Joe didn’t blink. “Is that so?”
“Yes, sir.”
“So the minute her fiancé was out of the picture, you moved right in, huh?”
“It didn’t happen that way. Exactly.”
“How did it happen?”
“First of all, she called me when her car broke down.”
“And the rest?”
Joe rubbed at the stubble on his chin as a bead of sweat rolled down his back. Being tossed in jail had been far more pleasant than this interrogation. “I’d rather not talk about that. It’s personal. Between Janey and me.” He cleared his throat. “Sir.”
“I can respect that. I suppose. Where do you see this heading?”
“If I had my way, we’d be the ones getting married next weekend. At this point, it all depends on her. She knows what I want.”
“She’s interested in veterinary school. Are you aware of that?”
“She told you that?” Joe asked, a burst of adrenaline kicking his heart into higher gear. Why hadn’t she told him?
“We had a conversation about it. Would you stand in the way of that?”
“Hell no. Who do you think has been pushing her in that direction?”
“And if she moves to Columbus, Ohio for the next four years?”
“We’ll figure that out when she gets in. No matter what, she’s going.”
“That’s what I want to hear.”
“You have to know
I’d take good care of her if I’m lucky enough to have that opportunity.”
“It might be a while before she figures out what she wants.”
“I’m not going anywhere, and I’d wait forever for her if that’s what it takes.”
Big Mac studied him for a long, long moment before he finally extended his hand. “Be good to her,” he said quietly. The tone was in sharp contrast to his usual booming voice.
Overwhelmed by the blessing Big Mac had given him, Joe shook his hand. “Always.”
Much later, Joe stood off to the side watching Mac engage in a fight to the death with Grant, who was trying—and failing—to win back some of the money Mac had won at the poker table. The groom-to-be had been unstoppable all night long. Over the course of the evening, most of the old men who hung around on the docks had wandered into the party, and at some point Evan had unearthed his guitar.
Under the influence of his brothers and a considerable amount of alcohol, Mac seemed to be having a fantastic time, which was all that mattered to Joe. However, he couldn’t help but wonder what Janey was up to. Since all his guests were happily engaged, he stepped outside to give her a quick call.
“Are you bored at the bachelor party?” she asked. “I told you to get strippers.”
Joe smiled, delighted to hear her voice. “You told me no such thing.”
“Well, I would have if you’d asked me.”
“Where does one get strippers on this island?”
“If anyone would know, I would.”
“Do not tell me how you know that.”
Janey’s sexy laugh sent an arrow of desire rocketing straight through him.
“I miss you,” he said, looking out at the moon reflecting on the placid Salt Pond.
“You just saw me.”
“This morning seems like a really long time ago.”
“For me, too,” she said softly, as if she didn’t want someone to hear her.
“Where are you?”
“Over at Maddie’s providing the bride with moral support while the groom is out drinking and carousing.”
“There’s no carousing going on. Just some rather heated hands of poker. Tell Maddie that Mac has relieved Grant of five hundred bucks so far.”