by Marie Force
“True,” Linda said.
Janey blew her mother a kiss and went downstairs to Joe.
Luke made good use of the time Sydney was gone to make dinner and clean up the kitchen. While the crutches were a pain, they were necessary since he couldn’t bear to put an ounce of weight on his injured ankle. Being hobbled this way was going to seriously suck, but Luke refused to lie around and feel sorry for himself.
As he worked in the kitchen, the conversation he’d had earlier with Sydney kept running through his mind. He could feel her edging toward a decision to stay on the island, to stay with him. She said she had things to take care of before she could make a plan for the next phase of her life. Of course he was dying to know what she needed to do, but he didn’t want to ask. She had her secrets, and he had his.
He couldn’t say, exactly, why he hadn’t told her that he now owned part of the marina. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her to know. Deep inside he suspected his reluctance had something to do with the differences in their social status. Syd and her family had always been well-off, while he and his mother had struggled. Those differences had driven them apart once before, and Luke was afraid it could happen again.
He could level the playing field a bit by telling her about the partnership, but he didn’t want to wonder later if that played any part in getting her to stay. Except for during his mother’s illness, Luke had never given a shit about money. As long as he had what he needed, what else mattered? He wanted Sydney to stay because she loved him and couldn’t imagine life without him, not because she was impressed that he owned a successful business. He wanted them to have a real chance at something meaningful.
A knock on the door had Luke hobbling into the living room. Opening the door, he was surprised to find Grant McCarthy there. “Come in,” he said, swiveling on the crutches.
“Hope I’m not disturbing you.”
“Not at all. How’s your dad?”
“Much better and full of beans. Kicked me and my mom and Janey out. Adam and Evan will be in on the eight o’clock boat, so they’re taking the next shift with him.”
“Glad to hear he’s feisty. That’s a good sign.”
“How’s the ankle?”
“Pretty good for now. I’m told that keeping up with the pain meds will be important the first few days.”
Grant winced. “I know you’ve heard this a hundred times already, but we’re all so grateful for what you did. When I think about what could’ve happened...”
“Probably better not to think about it. How about a beer?”
Grant shook his head. “No, thanks.”
Luke headed toward the kitchen. “I’ve got stuff on the stove.”
Grant followed him. “I figured your lady would be tending to your every need tonight.”
“No such luck. She had to go check on her dog, who had surgery earlier this week.”
“Ouch. Second to a dog.”
“I know, huh? Such is my luck.”
“Must be nice to be back with her again.”
Resting on the crutches for support, Luke dumped the pot of pasta into a colander in the sink. “It’s amazing—and complicated.”
“What happened to her is such a terrible tragedy. How’s she doing now?”
“She still has some rough moments, but for the most part, she’s doing well.”
“I’m glad you’re getting another chance with her.”
“I just hope it works out this time.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
The question sent a shaft of fear zipping through Luke. “I don’t even like to think about that.”
Grant dropped to one of the stools at the counter. “I hope you make out better than I did.”
“I take it you talked to Abby.”
Grimacing, Grant nodded. “Twice.”
“And?”
“She says it’s over. She’s actually going to marry that guy.” He looked up at Luke, devastation marking his features. “Can you believe that?”
“I can’t imagine either of you with anyone else.”
“Neither can I.”
“So what’s the plan?”
“Haven’t exactly got one.”
“You can’t just give up.”
“She’s engaged, man. Getting married in October.”
“She’s not married yet.”
Grant crossed his arms. “She was pretty damned clear earlier when she said it’s over for us.”
“A lot can happen between now and October. You might have to bide your time. Wait for your chance.”
“Is that what you’re doing with Sydney?”
“I’m trying to give her space to figure things out. Sometimes it’s hard to be patient, because I know what I want.”
“I hope you get it.”
“Back atcha.” Luke raised his water bottle in toast to Grant. “It’s good to have you home.”
“I wish I could say it’s good to be here, but between this thing with Abby and what happened to you and my dad, this visit has sucked the big one.”
“Nowhere to go but up from here.”
“No kidding.” Grant took a long look around the kitchen. “This place is exactly as I remembered it.”
“It’s been brought to my attention that I’m in a time warp. Syd’s going to update me.”
Grant smiled. “You or the house?”
“Both, I suspect. You know me—if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
“I envy you,” Grant said.
Luke snorted with laughter. “You envy me?”
“You know exactly where you belong in the world. You’re doing what you love in a place you love. Must be nice.”
“You don’t love your work?”
Grant’s jaw tightened with tension. “Haven’t for a long, long time.” He uttered a sharp laugh. “First time I’ve said that out loud.” Shaking his head, he said, “I’ve spent the last three years spinning my wheels. I kept thinking if I gave it one more year, I could turn things around, but it went from bad to worse. Now my career has gone to shit, and I’ve managed to lose Abby, too.”
“Wow, sorry, man. I had no idea about the career. I figured you were flying high after the Oscar win.”
“That’s what I wanted everyone to think. It’s a heck of a thing to win the big award and feel like such a loser afterward.”
“I certainly know nothing about writing screenplays or writing anything, for that matter, but I can’t help but think a break from it all might be just what you need. Put it aside for a while, help out at the marina, chill with us, enjoy your sister’s wedding. Stop putting so much pressure on yourself, and maybe things will begin to click again.”
“That’s not bad advice,” Grant said with the wry grin the high school girls had gone wild over.
“Glad to be of service. You know how it is out here—slow, quiet, peaceful. A few weeks of that and you’ll be a new man.”
“Or I’ll be going out of my freaking mind.”
“Mac thought the same thing, and look at him now.”
Grant laughed. “As domesticated as it gets.”
“Exactly.”
“Thanks for listening to me bitch. It’s good to be back with my real friends again.”
“It’s good to have you.” Luke heard the front door open, and damned if his heart didn’t do a happy dance in his chest.
Sydney came into the kitchen carrying Thomas. Her cheeks were red from the warm summer day, and her eyes were bright and animated. She was so beautiful she took his breath away.
“Oh, hi, Grant,” she said. “I wondered whose truck that was.”
“Hi, Syd.” Grant reached for his nephew, and Sydney handed him over. “Hey, pal. What’ve you been up to?”
Thomas hugged his uncle. “I saw Buddy, and he has a funny hat on.”
“My dog,” Sydney said for Grant’s benefit. “Cone of shame so he won’t pull out his stitches.”
“Ouch,” Luke said, wincing. “He must love that.”
“He’s still kind of out of it, but in a day or two, he’ll be furious about it.”
Thomas squiggled out of Grant’s embrace and scooted over to check out Luke’s crutches.
“I’m going to split so you guys can eat,” Grant said.
“You’re welcome to stay,” Luke said. “I made plenty.”
“Thanks, but I’m supposed to be babysitting my mom tonight, so I’d better get home.” When Luke started toward the door, Grant stopped him. “Stay put. I can find my way out.”
“Thanks for coming by.”
“Thanks for the pep talk.”
“Anytime.”
After they heard the door close, Sydney turned to him. Something about her seemed different, but he couldn’t figure out what. “You’re giving pep talks now?”
Luke shrugged. “He’s going through a rough patch.” He reached down to ruffle Thomas’s hair. “How’d we end up with this little guy?”
“Mac and Maddie needed some time to themselves, so I took him with me to see Buddy. I figured we could feed him dinner and give him a bath. Mac is going to pick him up later.” She paused and bit her bottom lip. “I hope it’s okay I brought him here.”
“Of course it is. Everything okay with Maddie?”
“Except for Mac driving her crazy wanting to take her to specialists.”
Chuckling, Luke said, “I can only imagine how worked up he must be.”
“At times like this, island life is challenging. He wants her near doctors and hospitals.”
“I can understand that.” Luke took a closer look at her, still trying to put his finger on what was different. “What about you? Everything okay?”
Seeming surprised, she flipped her eyes up to meet his gaze. “I’m fine, why?”
“No reason.” Maybe he was looking for trouble where there was none. “I made spaghetti.”
“That’s perfect—just what I promised Thomas, but you shouldn’t be on your foot. I was going to make dinner for you.”
Propped on the crutches, he leaned in to kiss her. “Now you don’t have to.”
Chapter 25
Dreaming of home and her big comfortable bed, Maddie fought off sleep as Tiffany related the latest chapter in the ongoing drama of her troubled marriage. Sometimes Maddie felt guilty for being so happy with Mac when her sister was clearly miserable.
“So now he thinks I have been cheating on him! Doesn’t that beat all? When, exactly, do you suppose I have time to have an affair, between taking care of Ashleigh, running the day care and teaching dance?”
“You two need to have an honest conversation about what’s really going on,” Maddie said.
“There’s nothing going on! Nothing with him, nothing with anyone!”
“You’ve told him that?”
“Only a hundred times. Get this—he’s made up his mind that I’m having a fling with Rudy from the Beachcomber because he saw me talking to him in the grocery store.”
Maddie’s mouth fell open. “Short, fat, bald Rudy?”
“I know, right? As if that’s the best I could do!” All of a sudden her sister’s eyes flooded with tears. “I’m so tired of fighting with him,” she whispered. “It’s all we do.” She pressed her hands to her eyes, probably hoping to stem the flood. “I can’t do it anymore, Maddie. I just can’t.”
Tiffany and her husband, Jim, had been having problems for years now, but she’d never heard such resignation from her sister before. “What will you do?”
“I think we need to separate.”
“Aw, Tiff. What about Ashleigh?”
“I’ve stayed with him this long because of her, but all the fighting isn’t good for her. I can’t stand living like this—always wondering where he is, what he’s doing, who he’s doing it with. And then to have him accuse me! That was it, you know?”
Maddie took her sister’s hand. “I hate to see you so unhappy.”
A knock on the door startled the sisters.
Still in uniform, Blaine Taylor, the Gansett Island police chief, stood in the doorway. “Um, hi, Maddie. Sorry to interrupt. Is Mac still around, by any chance?”
“You just missed him, Blaine. He went to pick up Thomas.”
“Oh, okay. I’ll catch him in the morning.”
“He’s going to call me when he gets home. Can I give him a message?”
“I wanted to let him know the captain of the boat has been arraigned on operating under the influence, and we discovered an outstanding warrant for failing to pay child support. Officers from the mainland are coming over tomorrow to pick him up.”
“Mac and his family will be glad to hear that. Thanks for coming over to let us know.”
“I wanted to check on Mr. McCarthy, too. He was my Boy Scout leader when I was a kid. Such a great guy.”
“Yes, he is.”
“Well, I won’t keep you. Hope you’re feeling better soon.”
Tiffany sent Maddie a meaningful look.
“Blaine, do you know my sister, Tiffany?”
“I don’t think we’ve met,” Tiffany said with a smile for the handsome officer.
“Good to meet you, Tiffany. You ladies have a nice evening.”
After he walked away, Tiffany made a big show of fanning herself. “If I were going to have an affair, that’d be more like it. Is he single?”
Frowning at her sister, Maddie said, “You need to talk to your husband.”
Tiffany sighed. “I know.”
“Knock, knock,” Francine said from the doorway.
“There you are,” Maddie said. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d heard I was in here.”
“I heard,” Francine said. “Is everything all right with the baby?”
“Just fine.”
“That’s a relief.”
“When were you going to tell us you’ve gotten yourself a boyfriend, Ma?” Tiffany asked.
Maddie winced. She’d planned to ease into the subject, but leave it to Tiffany to put it right out there.
“I haven’t got a boyfriend,” Francine huffed.
“Sure looked like it to me—and everyone else—when you were holding hands with him.”
Francine glowered at her younger daughter. “People on this island need to mind their own damned business.”
“When have you ever known that to happen?” Tiffany asked.
“How are you feeling, Maddie?” Francine asked, turning her back on Tiffany.
“I’m fine but on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy.”
“Don’t worry,” Francine said. “I’ll help with Thomas. We both will, right, Tiffany?”
“Of course we will. Now, tell us about your boyfriend.”
Francine threw up her hands and said, “Ugh!”
“Mac thinks the world of him,” Maddie said. “He’s like a beloved uncle to all the McCarthy kids. In fact, Mac bought our house from him.”
Francine’s eyes went wide. “He did not own that big house!”
“Mom, he owns half this island.”
Francine laughed. “You’re mistaking him for someone else. He drives a cab.”
“That’s only his hobby. Real estate is his business.”
Francine had apparently been shocked speechless.
“Way to go, Mom,” Tiffany said.
“I, um, I have to go,” Francine said. “I’ll check on you tomorrow.” She rushed out of the room.
“Was it something we said?” Tiffany asked in a teasing tone.
“Go after her,” Maddie said. “Make sure she’s okay.”
“All right, I’m going.”
“Thanks for coming, and keep me posted on the situation with Jim.”
Tiffany’s smile faded at the reminder of her marital problems. “I will.”
Francine found Ned waiting for her in the clinic parking lot, leaning against the dilapidated woody station wagon he used for a cab. Everything about him was dilapidated, so how was she supposed to believe that he actually owned half the island?
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As she walked toward him, he didn’t seem to blink, but he did smile as if delighted to see her. How silly was that? She’d seen him just half an hour ago. But since then, everything had changed, and she was still processing what Maddie had told her.
“Is it true?” she asked, wincing inside because she hadn’t intended to blurt it right out like that. But damn it, she wanted to know.
“Is what true?”
“That you own half this island?” In the darkness, she couldn’t be entirely sure, but she swore he blushed. “More than half?”
He shrugged sheepishly. “I dunno. Hardly keep track.”
Francine blew out a long, deep breath. “So then what’s all this?” she asked, gesturing to the cab.
“Gets me outta the house. Meet a lotta nice people. Get ta know who’s a-comin’ and who’s a-goin’.”
“Did you really sell that big house to Mac?”
“Yep.”
“How did you... where did you...”
“Bought the first one ’bout thirty-five or so years ago. Fixed it up a bit, sold it for a profit. Bought another one. Even rich people who can afford houses out here fall on hard times every now and again. Took a few off their hands like the one I sold ta Mac.” He shrugged again. “Didn’t plan it. Just kinda happened, ’tis all.”
“Who’s the real Ned? The cab driver or the real estate tycoon?”
He winced at the word tycoon. “Both, I suspect. Ya got a problem with it?”
She was still trying to process it all. “No, no problem.”
“Francine,” he said, reaching for her hands and bringing her closer to him. “Money is nice to have—”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had any.”
“It’s nice to have,” he continued, “but it can’t buy happiness. Being with you again these last coupla days has made me happier than all the money I’ve made with my houses ever could.”
“It has?” she asked, her voice suddenly squeaky.
He nodded. “Come ’ere and gimme a kiss.”
Her face went hot, and her mind went stupid. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Tiffany scurrying away.
Ned stood to his full height and gave her hands a little tug that had her almost tumbling into his chest. He caught her, wrapped his arms around her, and before she could anticipate his next move, his lips were on hers, sweet, gentle and persuasive. His beard was soft against her face, and somehow her arms found their way around his neck to encourage him to keep kissing her.