Gansett Island Boxed Set Books 1-16 (Gansett Island Series)

by Marie Force

  “I had nightmares for months over how Toby’s life might’ve ended. It’s a terrible thing to hope the person you loved most in the world had suffocated before other more horrific things could happen to him. I went to therapy and grief groups and all the things my family thought might help. A year went by without my knowledge, and it suddenly became critically important that I attend the anniversary ceremonies. My parents were adamantly opposed, but I needed to see it. I needed to see where he had died.”

  Linda put down the page to wipe the dampness from her face. The young women gathered around the table were white-faced and teary eyed. “If I didn’t think Jenny needed us so very badly, I’d never put you through this,” Linda said softly.

  “Please,” Grace said. “Please finish.”

  The others nodded in agreement.

  Linda cleared her throat and returned to the letter. “Minutes after I arrived at the place they called Ground Zero, a name I always hated, I broke down into the kind of heartbroken tears you see in the movies. Apparently, I made quite a scene. It’s another thing I barely remember. My parents carted me out of there, and I’m told I cried for days. Once the tears stopped I was finally, somehow, a little better. I didn’t feel quite so numb, which was a good and bad thing because that’s when the pain set in. I won’t bore you with the details of that stage. Suffice to say it was ugly.

  “After two years of barely functioning, I wanted my old life back—or as much of it as still remained. For all that time, my company held my job for me. Can you believe that? I still can’t. That was a bright spot in a sea of gray. They welcomed me back with open arms. I found out my parents had paid the rent on our place in Greenwich Village, which was another bright spot. I went back to our home and wallowed for another year in the comfort of being surrounded by Toby’s things. After four years, I asked his parents to come take what they wanted and packed up the rest because it was no longer a comfort to be surrounded by his belongings.

  “In the fifth year, I started dating again. That was a comedy of errors with one disaster following another. I felt sorry for the very nice guys my well-meaning friends fixed me up with. They didn’t stand a chance against the fiancé I’d lost so tragically. Still, I went through the motions, mostly because it made the people around me more comfortable with my unending grief. I did what I could to make it better for them, because nothing could make it better for me.

  “I became involved in the planning for the memorial, which was somehow cathartic when my rational self knew it probably shouldn’t be. New York recovered slowly but surely. The debris was cleared away and new construction began. Against all odds, life went on. I still had nightmares about how Toby died. I dreamed about the wedding we’d so looked forward to that hadn’t happened. I went to work, I came home, I went to bed, I got up and did it all again the next day.

  “As the tenth anniversary approached, I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t stay in that city, in our apartment, in the job I’d had that day, with the well-meaning people who went out of their way to try to fix the unfixable. I started looking around for something to do that would get me out of the city, something that would get me off the treadmill my life had become. Two weeks before the tenth anniversary, I moved out of our apartment and went home to North Carolina. I couldn’t stay for the dedication of the memorial or all the hoopla that would surround the anniversary. Leaving our apartment and our city for the last time was one of the most difficult moments in a decade of difficult moments.

  “I’ve worked for the last year at a small PR firm in Charlotte. I saw your advertisement for the lighthouse keeper’s position in the New York Times last weekend, and everything about it appealed to me. I have absolutely no experience running a lighthouse, although where one would get such experience I couldn’t begin to imagine! I’m thirty-six years old, well educated in both the classroom and the school of hard knocks. I’m a reliable person looking for the opportunity to start over in a new place. I’d be honored to be considered for this position. Thank you for ‘listening’ to my story. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Jenny Wilks.”

  Linda folded the letter, returned it to her purse and used a tissue to dab at the moisture gathered in the corners of her eyes. The story hadn’t been any easier to read the third time.

  The others remained quiet and contemplative as they absorbed the letter. After a long moment of silence, Linda looked around at each of them. “We can’t leave her out there all alone.”

  “Of course we can’t,” Laura said, mopping up tears.

  “We can’t descend upon her, either,” Stephanie said, pragmatic as always.

  “True,” Grace said.

  “I thought if we put our heads together,” Linda said, “we could think of a way—”

  “I’ll do it,” Sydney said, her jaw set with determination. “I’ll go.”

  “Are you sure you’re up to that, honey?” Linda asked.

  Sydney nodded. “Who better to make the first move than someone who’s been there and done that?”

  “No one,” Maddie agreed. “What’ll you say?”

  “I’ll tell her I understand because I’ve been through my own hell. I’ll let her know there’s a wonderful, special community of people here who’d love to get to know her and make her feel at home.”

  “That sounds perfect,” Linda said. “I had a feeling you all would know what to do.”

  “I don’t know about the rest of you,” Grace said, expelling a ragged deep breath, “but I really, really need to see Evan right now.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Maddie said. “About Mac, of course.”

  “Ditto,” Stephanie said. “Grant.”

  “It’s certainly a reminder that life is short and we need to make the most of every day we’re given,” Linda said. She noticed her niece still had tears rolling down her face. “Laura? Honey, are you all right?”

  Laura reached for a napkin and dried her eyes. “I’m sorry. Jenny’s letter brought it all back. That awful day when we didn’t know where Adam was.”

  “Yes,” Linda said. “It gave me some rough moments. I’m sure it did for Big Mac, too, which is why he didn’t tell me about it until after he began to worry about her being out there all alone.”

  “Adam was there?” Maddie asked. “How have I never heard this?”

  Linda nodded, her heart squeezing the way it always did when she thought of that nightmarish day when she’d thought for a few hours that her darling boy could be gone. “He’d just graduated from college and was working at his first job for a computer company in lower Manhattan. He’d only started the week before, so we didn’t have any way to contact him there yet. His cell phone went right to voicemail for hours. Hours and hours.”

  “We found out much later that afternoon he wasn’t even in the city,” Laura said. “He was at a client’s office in New Jersey. Cell service was nonexistent for days, but he finally managed to call around five o’clock. By then, we were so sure. . .”

  “Best phone call of my entire life,” Linda said, her voice catching as she relived a day she’d spent more than a decade trying to forget. That was another reason she’d been so determined to reach out to Jenny after she read the letter.

  Laura wiped new tears from her face. “Listening to what happened to Jenny. . . I’ve been so caught up in my litany of troubles, but really, when it comes right down to it, I don’t have any troubles. My life is blessed.”

  “I’m sure we all feel that way after hearing Jenny’s story,” Linda said as she drew Laura into a hug.

  “She won’t want our sympathy,” Sydney said. “She’s here for a fresh start, not to relive her nightmare with all new people.”

  “That’s understandable,” Linda said. “You’ll let us know when you’ve seen her?”

  “Of course.”

  “Thank you, honey,” Linda said. “I appreciate your willingness to reach out to her.”

  “I’m not making any promises,” Sydney said.
“She might prefer to be alone. We can’t force her out of her shell if that’s where she wants to be.”

  “We forced you out of your shell,” Maddie said with an affectionate smile for her old friend.

  “That you did,” Syd said, laughing. Looking around at the others, she said, “I have no doubt this peaceful place saved my life.”

  “Maybe it can save dear Jenny, too,” Linda said.

  “While I have you all here,” Maddie said tentatively. “I wondered if you might be willing to help with another project?”

  “What kind of project?” Steph asked.

  “I’d like to plan a benefit to assist the summer help who live here year round. With most of the hotels, restaurants, bars and marinas going dormant for the winter, there’re a lot of people on the island who really struggle until the tourists come back in the spring. I used to be one of them.”

  Linda still experienced an occasional pang of shame whenever she thought about the unflattering rumors she’d once believed about her now-adored daughter-in-law. Maddie had made Mac so very, very happy. There wasn’t much Linda wouldn’t do for her. “What do you have in mind, honey?”

  “How about a big island Thanksgiving dinner where we supply the turkeys, everyone brings a side dish and we collect donations to go toward a fund for people in need?”

  “How would the funds be distributed?” Grace asked.

  “I haven’t gotten that far, but I suppose we’d set up a system where they could request assistance and then we provide whatever we can to help out.”

  “I like it,” Stephanie said. “I’ve worked tourist jobs for years myself, so I know how the off-season can be tough, especially in a high-rent place like this.”

  “Speaking of high rent,” Maddie said with a shy smile, “I should also mention that I’ve petitioned the town council to use the property Mrs. Chesterfield left to the town as a site for affordable housing. I’ve contacted Habitat for Humanity about possibly building the homes.”

  “How do you have time to take care of a new baby and be an activist, too?” Sydney asked playfully. “You’re amazing!”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” Linda said. “What a marvelous bunch of ideas. I’ll give Big Mac a head’s up about your petition so he’s prepared to vote for it at the next council meeting.”

  “Only if he thinks it’s a good idea,” Maddie said.

  “He’ll love the idea. He’s all about giving back to the community. I’ve had to rein him in a few times so he wouldn’t give away every cent we had.”

  “I can so see that,” Laura said, smiling. “Let us know what we can do to help. I love all your ideas. I swing a pretty mean hammer, too.”

  “That’s good to know,” Maddie said. “I’ll be recruiting everyone to help out if it actually happens. Mac has agreed to oversee the construction of the houses if we get approval.”

  “It’s brilliant, honey,” Linda said. “All of it.”

  “Thank you,” Maddie said, clearly pleased by the approval. “I’ll keep you posted.”

  Chapter 3

  After breakfast, everyone scattered until only Laura and Maddie stood on the sidewalk in front of the diner.

  Maddie checked her watched and frowned. “I have my six-week post-partum check-up with Dr. David in half an hour.”

  “Back in the saddle!” Laura said with a smirk.

  “Believe me, we’re both ready to resume normal programming. However, the idea of being poked and prodded by a doctor down there after all the poking and prodding of the last ten months doesn’t hold much appeal.”

  Laura grimaced. “I feel your pain on that one. I’ve had more hands and eyes on my unmentionables since I’ve been pregnant than I ever could’ve imagined. You know you’re getting immune to it when you hop up on the table and spread your legs like it’s no big deal.”

  Laughing, Maddie said, “Exactly. By the time it’s over, you won’t have a shred of modesty—or dignity—left.”

  “Fabulous.”

  “So how are things with you? Mac and I have been worried about you since everything happened with Justin. I still can’t believe it.”

  “Neither can I, but I’m hardly dwelling on it.” She let her eyes drift to the Sand & Surf, two blocks away. “I’ve got much better things to be focused on these days.”

  “And much better people, too, if I’m not mistaken.”

  “Maybe,” Laura said with a smile.

  “If it makes any difference, your cousins adore Owen. Mac speaks so highly of him.”

  Laura stared out at the endless sea of blue that was glistening like diamonds in the autumn sunshine. “It does make a difference, it’s just. . . I worry about getting too involved with him and then. . .” She met Maddie’s steady gaze. “I’m afraid he’ll get tired of being tied to one place—and one person—and want to leave.”

  “I can see why you’d be concerned about that with the way he’s lived for so many years, but if you ask me, it’s no small thing that he chose to spend the winter here.”

  “No, it isn’t. Do you ever worry about Mac getting cagey on the island? He used to hate it so much when he was a kid. He talked all the time about escaping to the ‘real’ world.”

  “He seems perfectly content with our life here, but he knows if the day ever comes when he isn’t happy, we’ll talk about our options.”

  “What’s the secret to keeping him content?”

  Maddie raised a brow and let out a hardy laugh. “Do I really have to spell that out for you?”

  Laura smiled and shook her head. “It’s really that simple?”

  “He’s a man. You do the math. Speaking of that. . . He’s counting the minutes until we get the green light from David, so I’d better get going.” She squeezed Laura’s arm. “There’re never any guarantees in life, but if you ask me, Owen Lawry is a pretty good bet.”

  “I tend to agree.”

  Maddie gave her a quick hug.

  “Good luck at the doctor.”

  “I’ll probably need the luck more when I get home to my husband. He’s a little. . . pent up. . . at the moment.”

  Laura put her hands over her ears. “Lalala, too much information about my cousin.”

  Maddie left with a laugh and a wave.

  Laura took her time wandering back to the hotel. She sat for a long time on a bench overlooking South Harbor and the breakwater, thinking about the conversation with Maddie and Jenny’s story. The nine thirty boat from the mainland pulled into port with just a few passengers and four cars disembarking, much different than the frenzied arrivals in the summer months when the people, cars, bikes and pets flowed on and off the boats in a steady stream from sunup to sundown.

  Tipping her face into the warm sunshine, she thought about what Maddie had said about Owen. Knowing he was at the hotel waiting for her filled her with an overwhelming sense of gratitude to have such a good man in her life. It was still too soon to gauge what might become of the bond they’d formed over the past few months, but he’d slowly but surely become one of the most important people in her life.

  “Hmm,” she said out loud. “How’d he manage that so quickly? Sneaky devil.”

  A flutter of movement inside made her gasp. Resting a hand on the baby bump, she waited breathlessly. “Do it again, baby,” she whispered. “Do it again for your mama.” She waited a full minute and was rewarded with a ripple that went from one side of the bump to the other. As she released a joyful laugh, her eyes filled with tears.

  All at once she wanted to see Owen, to tell him and show him what he’d come to mean to her. She wanted him to feel the baby move, too. Fueled by Jenny’s reminder that life was short and time wasn’t to be wasted, Laura got up from the bench and walked the short distance to the hotel at a brisk pace, anxious to be with him.

  Carrying a rolled up tarp, he came out the main door as she ran up the front steps.

  “Whoa, Princess,” he said, amused as he dropped the tarp and reached for her. “What’s your hurry?”r />
  Laura threw her whole self into the hug she gave him. “I wanted to see you.”

  Caught off-balance, he steadied them and returned the hug. “To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”

  She took his hand and held it to her belly. “Feel this.” As his palm heated her skin through the thin cotton top, she barely took a breath, hoping the baby was still awake.

  “Oh, wow,” he said when a little hand or foot thumped his hand. “Oh my God. That’s amazing! Is that the first time you’ve felt him move?”

  She nodded. “How do you know it’s a him?” she asked with a teasing smile.

  He flashed a sheepish grin. “Just a guess.”

  “I didn’t say thank you,” she said, breathless from the quick walk as much as the thrill of sharing her baby’s first movements with him. Her heart was doing that pitter-patter thing it did whenever he was near.

  His brows knitted with confusion. “For what?”

  She looked up at him, meeting his steady gaze. “For staying. You stayed, Owen. Because of me. And I didn’t say thank you. Thank you for staying.”

  He looked down at her for a long, charged moment before he dipped his head and kissed her.

  Laura couldn’t seem to care that they were probably starting a five-alarm Gansett scandal, as her Uncle Mac liked to say, by kissing on the front porch of the Surf in broad daylight. She linked her arms around his neck and combed her fingers through his shaggy blond hair. The kiss was soft and sweet and hot and tempting all at the same time. Weeks of restrained desire poured forth from both of them into a kiss that nearly blew the top of her head off.

  “Wow,” she whispered when they finally came up for air. “Where have you been hiding that?”

  “It’s been there all along, waiting until you were ready for it.”

  “I’m ready for it. I’m ready for you and for us.”