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

by Marie Force

  As quickly as he’d scooped her up, he put her down and held her arms until she got her balance. The second her head stopped spinning, she punched him in the belly as hard as she could. Her fist bounced off his rock-hard abs, and she howled in pain.

  “Now, love,” he said in the condescending tone that had made her want to punch him in the first place, “that wasn’t very smart.” He took her hand and kissed her stinging knuckles.

  “You make me so damned mad. Who do you think you are—”

  He kissed her hard and fast, giving no quarter until the starch left her spine. “I’m the man who loves you and who refuses to watch you do this to yourself.”

  “You don’t understand.” All at once, she noticed he’d carried her to the woods at the far end of her property. “What are we doing here?”

  With his hands on her shoulders, he turned her to face a campsite, complete with a tent and a stack of wood encircled by stones. “This is what we’re doing here.”

  “We’re camping? Why?”

  “I had to get you out of that house and away from your cleaning products. Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

  “But your mother is coming tomorrow! I have so much left to do!”

  “If it’s not done, it’s not getting done. For the next fourteen nights, we’ll have a guest underfoot. Tonight,” he said, sliding his arms around her, “is all ours.”

  She pushed on his chest, trying in vain to break free of his tight hold. “I don’t have time for this! You don’t get it—”

  Once again, his lips came down hard on hers, possessing her the way only he could with sensual strokes of his tongue that made her forget all about why she was so annoyed with him.

  Then she remembered that he’d spanked her—twice—and she pushed harder on his chest. “You’re not getting off that easily.”

  He nuzzled her neck. “I’ll get you off, too, love. Don’t worry.”

  “Seamus! You’re not funny!”

  “Yes, I am, and you’re all done cleaning and cooking and preparing. Whatever will be will be. She’s just a person like you and me.”

  “She’s your mother.”

  “I’m painfully aware of that, and if you’ll recall, I told you it was a bad idea to invite her here, because I was afraid of this very thing.”

  “What very thing?”

  “That you’d turn into someone I don’t even recognize getting ready for her.”

  “So you don’t love me anymore? Good, then we can call off this whole thing and—”

  He kissed her again, backing her up to the tent and pushing her through the flaps without missing a beat with his lips or tongue. Somehow she ended up on her back, lying on a cushy air mattress that easily absorbed the weight of both of them as he came down on top of her, still kissing her.

  “Don’t ever, ever, ever say I don’t love you anymore,” he said, punctuating the words with more kisses. “Ever, ever.”

  “You spanked me.”

  “And I quite liked it. Let’s see if you liked it, too.” He reached under her skirt, pushed her panties aside and pressed his fingers into her dampness. “Mmm, looks like you weren’t as put out as you pretended to be.”

  “I was too put out, and if you do that again, I’ll never put out again.” As she spoke, she let her legs fall open, encouraging his gentle caress.

  He slid his other hand under her to cup her buttock. “I may have to take my chances, because I rather liked spanking you.”

  “Seamus! You can’t just do this stuff and think you’re going to get away with it.”

  “Seems to me,” he said, pressing his fingers into her and finding the spot deep inside that made her go wild every time, “I’ve already gotten away with it.”

  She pulled his hair—hard—and the bastard only laughed as he drove her to a quick, powerful orgasm.

  “I love you more than life itself, Carolina. That’s what my mum is going to see when she gets here. She’s not going to notice the dust or all the so-called imperfections. She’s only going to see the love.”

  Carolina’s brain was scrambled from the orgasm and the press of his fingers between her legs. “You don’t think she’ll notice that I’m old enough to be your mother?”

  “Nah. She’s going to take one look at you and know exactly why I love you.”

  “Sure, she is.”

  “Am I going to have to spank you again, love?”

  “You might have to, because I’m not at all convinced that everything is going to be just fine and dandy the way you are.”

  He squeezed her cheek with his big, work-calloused hand. “If I see you acting all nutty while she’s here, I’ll bring you out here and spank your bottom until it’s pink and rosy, and then I’ll fu—”

  “Seamus!”

  He shook with silent laughter. “You’ve been warned, love.”

  Janey and Joe took advantage of his full day off to invite her parents to lunch for a conversation they’d been putting off for quite some time. She’d yet to speak directly to either of them about her plans to take a year off from veterinary school to devote to motherhood. It had been weighing on her, so Joe had encouraged her to invite them over to clear the air.

  Her parents had been so excited to see her pursuing her long-delayed dream of attending veterinary school and had even insisted on footing the bill for tuition. Janey felt like a wimp for avoiding the subject with them in the weeks since she’d decided to take a year off to spend at home on Gansett with the baby.

  The idea of trekking back to Ohio for another year of school a week after giving birth had depressed her to the point that others began to notice. When Joe finally urged her to share what was on her mind, she’d confessed to being tormented over the thought of trying to balance school and motherhood. All she wanted, she told her husband, was to spend this time with him and their child, surrounded by their family and friends on the island.

  As always, Joe had been amazing about the entire thing and had suggested they take a year off from Ohio State. He’d gone to extraordinary lengths to make it possible for her to attend vet school, even going so far as to hire Seamus to run the Gansett Island Ferry Company in his absence. Janey hadn’t wanted his efforts to be wasted, but she also didn’t want to spend long days away from her baby and even longer nights studying.

  Joe came out to the sun porch, looking hot in a light blue polo shirt and plaid shorts that she’d had to talk him into wearing after she bought them for him. He looked so sexy that Janey licked her lips as she took a good long look at him.

  “What? Do I have something on my face or something?”

  She shook her head. “I like to look at you. Since when is that a crime?”

  “Since you can’t deliver on those heated looks as often as you used to.”

  Janey feigned offense. “I’ve been delivering just fine despite the ungainliness.” She’d never been so hot for sex as she had since she’d been pregnant. Fortunately, her adorable husband was always happy to comply.

  “Don’t get me going when your parents are due any minute.”

  “All I did was look at you.”

  “Hello, that’s all it takes.” He sat next to her on the chaise and reached for her hand. “You okay about this?”

  “I’ll feel better once we talk to them about it. I’ve felt like such a baby for avoiding them on this subject, even though I’m sure they’ve heard the news from one of my big-mouthed brothers or their significant others.”

  “Maybe not,” Joe said. “The boys know that vet school is a sensitive subject between you and your parents. They might’ve kept their mouths shut for once.”

  “Wouldn’t that be a miracle?”

  “Truly.” With his free hand, he caressed her face and then kissed her. “This is our life, honey. We’re in charge. I know you love your parents. Hell, I love them, too. But don’t feel bad about your decision, no matter what they might have to say about it.”

  “I’ll try not to. Thank you again f
or understanding.”

  “I love you. I want you to be happy. No matter what it takes. And your folks will be thrilled that you and the baby will be here this year.”

  At times like this, Janey was secretly grateful to David for cheating on her. If she’d married him, their marriage wouldn’t be anything like the one she had with Joe. She had no doubt whatsoever that Joe was the man she was meant to be with. “And you, too.”

  He rested a hand on her swollen belly. “I’m a distant third to you two.”

  “You’re first with me,” she said, curling her hand around his neck and bringing him in for another kiss.

  “For two more months anyway.”

  “Forever.”

  “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, honey. I fully expect you to fall madly in love with this little person when he or she arrives.”

  “I will, but I’ll still be madly in love with my baby’s daddy, too.”

  He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers. “I never get tired of hearing you say that. I’m so glad you called me the night everything happened with David. I’m grateful every day of my life for that phone call.”

  The doorbell rang, and he let out a deep, ragged sigh before he released her to get up.

  “Joe?”

  “What, hon?”

  “I’m grateful every single day that you answered the phone that night.”

  Giving her a warm smile, he went to answer the door with the dogs hot on his heels.

  “Where’s my baby girl?”

  Her dad’s booming voice made Janey smile. “Back here, Dad.”

  Big Mac came strolling onto the sun porch, wearing a faded McCarthy’s Gansett Island Marina T-shirt with shorts, deck shoes and his trademark Ray Bans nestled in his gray hair. He already had a dark tan from the hours he spent on the docks every day. “There she is,” he said, bending to kiss Janey. “How’s my grandbaby today?”

  “Busy. Want to feel?”

  “Um, no, I don’t think so.”

  “Oh, come on.” Janey placed his hand over her rolling belly. “Don’t be silly.”

  “I’m still trying to get my head around the fact that you’re pregnant in the first place,” he said with a scowl for Joe.

  “Don’t look at me,” Joe said, hands up in defense.

  “Who should I look at?”

  “Daddy, knock it off.” The baby gave a good swift kick that made her dad smile.

  “Well, would ya look at that? He’s a kicker.”

  “He might be a she.”

  “Either is fine with me, as long as everyone is healthy.”

  “Here I am,” Linda said as she came in. “Hope it’s okay that I let myself in.”

  “Of course it is, Mom.”

  “Lin, come get a feel of this,” Big Mac said, drawing his wife into their little circle to feel the baby doing its daily gymnastics.

  “Wow,” Linda said. “I can’t wait to meet him or her.”

  “Neither can we,” Janey said.

  “How about some lunch?” Joe said.

  “I won’t say no to that,” Big Mac said. “I’m starving.”

  “Did Stephanie only let you have three donuts this morning?” Linda asked her husband.

  “She cut me off at four,” he said with a pout that made his wife and daughter laugh.

  “Good thing Grant is marrying her,” Janey said. “We need to keep her in the family to manage his cholesterol.”

  “Absolutely,” Linda agreed.

  Joe delivered a tray of sandwiches he’d made earlier and took drink orders as Janey sent him a grateful smile.

  “You’re really feeling all right?” Linda asked as they enjoyed the sandwiches.

  “For the most part. My blood pressure was up a tiny bit, so Victoria wants me to take it as easy as possible.”

  “You’re not on bed rest, are you?”

  “Not officially. We’re keeping an eye on it, so don’t worry. Catch me up on everything that’s going on. I feel so out of the loop.”

  “Let’s see,” Linda said. “Grant is almost done with the screenplay, Evan is recording at the studio for the first time this week, and Adam is officially moving into your old house with Abby.”

  “Oh, good,” Janey said. “I’m so glad they’re making a go of it. I love them together.”

  “I do, too, now that Grant knows about it and doesn’t seem to mind.”

  “Why would he care when he’s crazy in love with Stephanie?” Big Mac asked.

  “People are funny about their exes,” Linda said. “Even when they’re happy with someone else. I’m thankful there was no trouble between them when Adam fell for Abby, and I’m thrilled to have everyone back at home again.”

  “I owe Abby and just about everyone else in my life a phone call,” Janey said. “Did Seamus’s mother get here yet?”

  “She’s due in later today,” Linda said.

  “I’d love to be a fly on the wall over there tonight,” Janey said.

  “Not me,” Joe said to laughter from the others.

  “Can’t say I blame you there, son,” Big Mac said.

  Joe glanced at Janey and nodded for her to get on with what she wanted to talk to her parents about.

  “So there was a reason I wanted to see you guys today,” Janey said tentatively.

  “I knew it!” Linda said. “There is something wrong with the baby, and you didn’t want to tell us.”

  “Honestly, Mother, there’s nothing wrong! You’re worse than my husband!”

  “I’m in the room,” Joe said.

  Janey gave him a sweet smile. “I want to talk to you about school.”

  “What about it?” Big Mac asked, his brows narrowing. He was always touchy on the subject of veterinary school, because no one wanted to see her become a vet more than he did. His question indicated that her brothers had, in fact, kept her news to themselves.

  “I’ve decided to take this next year off from school,” Janey said, her stomach twisting with nerves as she said the words.

  “Oh, thank goodness!” Linda said.

  “Excuse me?” Janey asked, shocked by her mother’s reaction.

  “We’ve been just beside ourselves at the thought of the two of you and the baby so far from home, especially during the first year of the baby’s life,” Linda said.

  Janey looked at Joe, who seemed as surprised as she was. “You have? Why didn’t you say something?”

  “What could we say, honey?” Big Mac asked. “You’re off pursuing a dream we’ve wanted for you for so long. We’d never stand in the way of that, the way David did all those years ago.”

  Her parents had never gotten over David discouraging her from going to veterinary school while he attended medical school so they wouldn’t be overly burdened with debt afterward. Her dad had been particularly incensed about it, so to hear him say now that he was thrilled she was staying home was surprising.

  “I’ve thought a lot about that,” Janey said, choosing her words carefully. “David wasn’t entirely to blame. If I’d wanted it badly enough, I would’ve moved mountains to make it happen. It’s true he discouraged me, but I was easily discouraged.”

  “Still,” Big Mac said. “It wasn’t his finest hour.”

  “Let’s not talk about him,” Linda said. “I have another question.”

  “Which is?”

  “Do you think you’ll go back to school in a year?”

  With the eyes of the three most important people in her life on her, Janey found that she couldn’t lie—not to herself and certainly not to them. “I don’t think so.”

  “What?” Joe said. “You said one year, and then you’d finish.”

  Dismayed by his reaction, Janey said, “I know. I did say that, and I felt that way at the time, but the more I think about it, the more I want this.” She gestured to the airy sun porch and the house. “I want to be here, with my family. I want my baby to grow up with his or her cousins and grandparents and all the people who love him
or her nearby, not a thousand miles away.” Janey’s throat tightened with emotion. “You all have sacrificed so much to help me make my dream come true, but my dream has changed. Dad, I’ll never forget the way you insisted on paying my tuition, even though you certainly didn’t have to.”

  “Aww, shucks, honey, I was happy to do that.”

  “And Joe, you moved heaven and earth to make it possible for me to go and to come with me. I know you probably don’t understand—”

  He got up and moved to sit with her on the chaise, putting his arm around her. “I do understand. How could I not? No matter where we go in the world, this is our home. It’s where we belong.”

  Janey rested her head on his chest. “All I keep thinking about is that we’ve got two years invested there, not to mention the tuition money.”

  “Don’t give that another thought,” Big Mac said. “Things change. I get it.”

  Janey released a deep sigh as an overpowering sense of relief swept through her, making her teary eyed. “Damned hormones,” she said, brushing away the tears. “I want to be with my baby. I can’t do everything. I’m only just now realizing that.”

  “Welcome to motherhood,” Linda said. “The sacrifices never end, but they’re the best sacrifices you’ll ever make. Nothing matters more than your children.”

  “It’s your fault, you know,” Janey said with a watery smile. “You set such a high standard that I’ll never be able to live up to it.”

  “Oh shush. You’re going to be a wonderful mother.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Do you feel better?” Joe asked.

  “Much.”

  “You know you still have the right to change your mind when you’re not pregnant and hormonal.”

  “Good to know, but I don’t think I’ll change my mind. Now I have to find a way to tell Doc that he’s going to have to turn his practice over to someone else.”

  “He’ll understand, honey.” Big Mac cleared his throat loudly and dramatically. “So, I happen to have a bit of gossip you all might be interested in.”

  “Is that right?” Linda said acerbically. “Do you need an engraved invitation to share?”

  “No, I do not.”

  “Guys have no clue how to gossip properly,” Linda said to her daughter.