by Marie Force
Katie laughed as she dealt with a sudden onslaught of tears. “You’ve made me all sloppy over here.”
Adele smiled widely. “Then I’ve done my job.”
“You know… Last night was his first date since the divorce.”
“That sort of puts you on somewhat equal footing, then.”
“Um, not really, since he’s done everything, and I’ve done nothing.”
“Oh, but imagine the fun you’re going to have doing everything with that gorgeous hunk of man.”
Scandalized, Katie stared across the table at her irascible grandmother. “Did you really just say that?”
“You know I did.”
“I love you so much, Gram. I hope you and Pop know you have to live forever, because we’ll never be able to survive without you.”
“Duh, of course we know that. Living forever is the plan.”
“Good,” Katie said with tremendous relief that went far beyond her grandmother’s plan for eternal life. She felt like Adele had just given her permission to fully enjoy her burgeoning relationship with Shane, and she was ready to find out what happened next with him.
Chapter 14
As he prepared a kitchen for the arrival of appliances, Shane thought about the evening he spent with Katie. For the first time in recent memory, his first thoughts of the day hadn’t been about Courtney. Rather, they’d been about Katie, about the deeply personal things they’d shared about their lives, the laughs they’d had and the way she’d rolled with her injury like a trouper.
He thought about how sweet she’d looked sleeping next to him when he left her room before dawn, her hair fanned out on the pillow, one arm tossed over her head and her lips pursed as if she were dreaming of kissing him. Hey, a guy could hope, right?
A racket outside caught his attention, and he stopped what he was doing to go investigate. Lisa Chandler and her sons, Kyle and Jackson, had pulled into the driveway. Like always, the boys were out of the car before Lisa had even turned off the engine and were bounding up the stairs to the front porch Shane had completed last week. At five and six years old, the boys were full of energy.
The single mom and her two boys would be the recipients of the latest house that he and his cousin Mac were building on land left to the town by the late Mrs. Chesterfield.
“Hey, guys.” Shane held the door for the rambunctious boys and the mixed-breed puppy that followed them. They stopped by at least once a week to check on the progress. Shane had a feeling they’d come by every day if their mother would allow it.
She brought up the rear, looking tired and worn, the way she always did. Today she was also coughing. Tall and extremely thin, Lisa had long dark hair, a pale face and big brown eyes with deep, dark circles under them. She worked in three different restaurants in town to support her children, and Shane always felt sorry for the obvious strain she was under.
“Hi, Shane,” she said when the coughing let up. “Sorry. I can’t seem to shake this darned cough.”
“Have you seen Dr. Lawrence about it?”
“Not yet, but it’s on my to-do list one of these days.” Another fit of coughing interrupted them.
Shane got a bottle of water out of the cooler he’d brought to work and gave it to her.
“Thank you. Sorry to interrupt your work. The boys were dying to come by.”
“It’s no problem. You know I’m always happy to see you guys.”
“Wow.” She studied the kitchen that was all but finished except for the appliances that would arrive on the ferry tomorrow. “It’s almost done.”
“We’re getting closer. Another week, maybe two, and we should be ready for your carpet and paint choices. Do you still have the samples Mac gave you?”
“That’s also on the to-do list.” She was besieged by another coughing spell.
“You should run over to the clinic and get that checked, Lisa. The boys can stay here with me until you get back. I’ll put them to work.”
“It’s nice of you to offer, but I can’t afford it, unfortunately.”
“Lisa…”
“I’ll pick up some cough medicine at the pharmacy. Do you mind if I check out the master bedroom again? I’m worried about my bed fitting in there.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
She made it halfway up the stairs before she was coughing again.
Mac came in right as the boys came pounding down the stairs. “Hey, it’s the monkeys who’re going to live here!”
“We’re not monkeys!” Kyle said.
“You look like monkeys to me. What do you think, Shane?”
“Definitely monkeys.”
The boys loved Mac, and he always took a few minutes to wrestle with them. Shane and Mac weren’t exactly sure what the deal was with the boys’ father. Lisa had said only that he wasn’t in the picture. He must’ve been blond, however, because both boys had white-blond hair and their mother’s brown eyes.
“Go outside and play in traffic,” Mac said after a heated wrestling match.
“We’re not allowed to play in traffic,” Jackson, the older of the two, said disdainfully.
“Oh, really?” Mac said. “We used to love playing in traffic, didn’t we, Shane?”
“Our favorite thing to do when we were kids. Our parents were always sending us to play in traffic.”
“You’re lying,” Kyle said.
“Yeah,” Mac said, “we are. If you don’t go near the street, you can run around in the backyard, but stay where we can see you.”
They pushed and shoved their way through the door, screaming like banshees as they went, the dog hot on their heels.
“I’d give anything to have even half their energy,” Mac said.
“You and me both.”
Upstairs, Lisa was hacking again.
“Whoa,” Mac said. “That doesn’t sound good.”
Lowering his voice, Shane said, “She said she can’t afford to go to the doctor.”
“Ah, damn. I’m heading to the clinic from here for Maddie’s appointment. I’ll mention it to David. Maybe he can swing by and see her.”
“That’d be great.”
“So let’s go over everything we’ve got coming in on the boat tomorrow. Are you still good to make the pickup?”
Shane nodded. “No problem.”
The most difficult part of building houses on the island was getting materials sent over from the mainland. Fortunately, Mac had figured out the ins and outs of that and had it down to a science. It didn’t hurt that his brother-in-law, Joe Cantrell, owned the ferry company and saw to it that they got everything they needed.
While keeping an eye on the boys, who were running around the big backyard that would soon be theirs, Mac went down the list of materials and appliances Shane would be picking up the next day at the ferry landing.
“If you have any questions or if anything doesn’t show up, check with Seamus.”
“Got it, will do. Seamus has been great to work with.”
“He does an excellent job managing the ferries. Joe always says he doesn’t know how he ever survived without him.”
“And now Seamus is married to Joe’s mom, too.”
“Life is funny, that’s for sure.”
“While I have you, I was wondering if I could ask you about the plans for fall and beyond.”
“Why? You aren’t thinking about checking out on me, are you?”
“I’ve been hoping I’m not wearing out my welcome.”
“So you think I’ve been manufacturing work to keep you busy, when in fact you’ve been saving my ass for months now?”
“When you say it like that, I feel sort of stupid for asking,” Shane said with a laugh.
“We’ve got two more of these houses to build, and I get calls every day for everything from new construction to renovation to repairs. And we’ve got to deal with the marina all summer, too. Make no mistake—I need you—desperately, but if you’ve got somewhere else to be, I’d understand. You didn’t sign on
for a full-time gig.”
“No, but I think I’d like to if you’re offering.”
“Done.”
Shane laughed. “That was easy.”
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you about it for a while now, but I was so worried you’d tell me you were going back to Providence after the season that I chickened out. Luke’s been after me to talk to you about your plans.”
“There’s nothing for me in Providence anymore. Everything—and everyone—I care about is here.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear. The rest of the family will be equally thrilled to hear you’re staying. I’ve talked to Riley and Finn about sticking around for the off-season, too, and they’re thinking about it.”
“That’s great.” Their younger cousins worked in construction and would be excellent additions to their team on the island.
Mac checked the time on his phone. “I gotta go. Maddie and I have an appointment with Victoria at the clinic. I can’t be late for that.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks. You know what one of my buddies in Miami said when I told him I was having a third kid?”
“What’s that?”
“‘When you go from two to three,’ he said, ‘you go from a man-to-man defense to a zone.’”
Shane laughed at the basketball analogy. “I can’t imagine three kids under age five, so better you than me.”
“The thought of it gives me hives, but don’t tell Maddie,” Mac said with his trademark grin. “She’ll tell you it’s all my fault for knocking her up in the first place.”
“Which I’m sure was such a sacrifice for you.” His cousin was wild about his wife and made no effort to hide it.
“You know it. The things I do for that woman.”
“Get out of here before you make me barf,” Shane said, laughing.
The sound of more serious coughing from upstairs sobered them.
“Don’t forget to talk to David,” Shane said.
“I won’t. I’ll let you know what he says.”
“Thanks again, Mac. For everything.”
“Same to you. Later.”
Mac drove away from the job site, thinking about Lisa and her boys and the other families they’d helped through the affordable-housing project. He gave Maddie full credit for the idea that had kept his construction company busy for the last year. Lisa’s family would be the third to move into one of the houses, and he took tremendous satisfaction in knowing he’d had a hand in making those families’ dreams of home ownership come true.
Life on Gansett Island could be difficult for people who worked in the service industry, as Maddie had before they met. The tourist season was short, and the winter long and cold and quiet. Maddie had helped him to see how challenging it was for people whose livelihoods dried up in the off-season. She’d even suggested they offer a community Thanksgiving dinner at the marina to help out those in need. It had been a huge hit last year, and they were looking forward to doing it again this year.
On the way to the clinic, he thought about how lucky he’d been to step off a curb more than two years ago and collide with the love of his life. If he could rewrite their story, the only thing he would change was the fact that she’d been badly injured in the fall from her bike. Other than that, every minute they’d spent together had been pure bliss.
Well, except for the night she delivered their adorable daughter, Hailey, at home during a tropical storm with the island’s only doctor off-island at the time. Mac could’ve done without that drama. He shuddered now, even after all this time, thinking about what could’ve happened if David Lawrence hadn’t been home visiting his family.
The baby they were expecting now had been an “accident,” if you could call the miracle of a new life an accident. It was the happiest kind of accident. Thinking back to the night that Maddie had gotten drunk on champagne and ordered him to “do her” could still make Mac laugh out loud more than two months later. He’d been powerless to resist her, so powerless that he’d forgotten all about the protection they’d been using while she continued to nurse Hailey. That had also been the night their son, Thomas, had caught them in the act. A memorable evening all the way around.
He pulled up to the clinic a few minutes later to find Maddie sitting in the black SUV he’d bought when they first started dating so he could drive her and her son, Thomas, around on the island. Now Thomas was his son, too, and they’d added a second car seat when Hailey was born. Soon enough, a third seat would join the other two in the back, and he was excited to meet their new son or daughter. Either was fine with him as long as the baby and his beautiful Maddie were healthy.
This time he was leaving nothing to chance. They were moving to the mainland six weeks before her due date. He’d already secured the use of his brother-in-law Joe’s house and had a doctor lined up to see to Maddie’s needs in the final trimester. He hadn’t mentioned his plans to her quite yet, but he had a feeling she wouldn’t protest too vociferously. Hailey’s delivery had scared the hell out of both of them, and only because of David’s quick action had their daughter even survived the birth.
No way was anything like that happening again. Not on Mac’s watch.
Maddie was ending a phone call and waved, smiling brightly at him.
He got out of his truck and went to her, as powerfully drawn to her today as he’d been the day he met her. More so, he decided, after everything they’d already been through together. She made him feel things that no other woman ever had or ever could, and she was the center of his entire world.
She got out of the car and started to say something, stopping short when she took a closer look at him. “What?”
He put his arms around her and backed her up against the warm black paint on her SUV.
“Mac?”
“I just need this for one minute. We’ve got one minute, don’t we?”
“Yes,” she said, relaxing into his embrace. “We’ve got one minute, but not much more.”
“Okay.”
He loved the way her body felt pressed against his. The overly abundant breasts she hated so much, the still-flat belly where their baby resided, the heat between her legs and the sweet smell of summer flowers in her hair… He was filled with gratitude to be able to hold her and touch her any time he wanted or needed to, which was pretty much all the time.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. I just wanted to hold my wife for a minute.”
“I’m glad you did, but we need to get going. Victoria is always on a tight schedule.”
He brought his hands up to cup her face. “One kiss and then we can go in.” He stared at her precious face for a long moment before he brought his lips down on hers, keeping his eyes open and focused on her.
“What’s gotten into you today?”
“Nothing that’s not in me every other day.” He slung his arm around her as they headed for the main doors to the clinic.
“Mac?”
“Hmm?”
“Love you.”
“And now my day is made.”
She laughed and nudged his ribs with her elbow. “You already knew I love you.”
“Hearing it is the best part of my day.”
“You’re so easy.”
“So you tell me.”
They checked in at the main desk and were told to take a seat and that Victoria would be out for them in a few minutes.
“So tell me what kind of traumas I can expect to experience at this appointment.”
“What kind of traumas you will experience? Are you the one half-naked with your feet in stirrups getting probed in front of your husband, whom you hope will still want to have sex with you after what he’s about to see?”
He swallowed hard. “Um, no, I’m not the one in the stirrups, and newsflash, babe, your husband will always want to have sex with you.”
“Good to know. Vic said she’s going to do an ultrasound at this appointment, even though I’m only at eight weeks. The
usual routine is to wait awhile, but because we’re on an island, they like to do it earlier in case there’s anything to be concerned about.”
A pang of fear stabbed his belly at the thought of anything wrong with her or the baby. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“It’s perfectly routine, and if there’s anything going on, wouldn’t you like to find out now so you can whisk me to the mainland and boss people around at the hospital?”
“I can’t even think about anything going on.”
“Don’t worry, Mac. When you worry, you stress me out.”
“Sorry. I’m trying, but Hailey’s birth is still fresh on my mind and then P.J. ...” He shuddered over how close his sister had come to bleeding to death when her son was born. Once again, David Lawrence to the rescue. Thanks to his heroics in both cases, Mac had all but forgiven the guy for cheating on Janey.
“Stop. You’re spinning. Breathe.”
He panted in an imitation of Lamaze breathing, which made her laugh as she patted his leg.
“Very good.”
Chapter 15
Victoria called them back a few minutes later. The dark-haired nurse practitioner-midwife greeted Maddie with a hug. “You look great!”
“I’m being more careful about what I eat this time around,” Maddie said with a frown. “I was way too indulgent with Hailey and paid for it after.”
“You were gorgeous when you were pregnant with Hailey,” Mac said.
“Gorgeous and fat.”
“Not that I ever saw.”
“You have to say that. You did this to me.”
“Oh no. Not this time. This one is all on you.”
Victoria laughed at their banter. “I’m not even going to ask…”
“Suffice to say there was champagne involved,” Maddie said with a laugh.
After Maddie was weighed and provided a urine sample, Victoria handed her a gown. “You know the drill. Everything off from the waist down.”
“Oh joy,” Maddie said.
“Victoria,” Mac said, “before I forget. Do you know Lisa Chandler?”
“Sure, she comes in with her kids to see David. Haven’t seen her in a while, come to think of it. The boys must be healthy.”