by Marie Force
“Is that what you did?”
“It is, and I found every single thing I want and need right here. I found things I didn’t even know I needed.”
“Just because you found Riley here doesn’t mean that’s going to happen for me.”
“Maybe not, but you just spent the night with a man who isn’t him, days after you met him. Think about that. You’ve never been with anyone else, and a couple of days after you met Mason, you’re sore after spending the night with him.”
“I found out other important things were lacking in my marriage besides the stuff I already knew about.”
Nikki smiled widely. “Did you now?”
“Oh, yeah. It was… I had no idea.”
“I know what you mean. I felt that way after the first night I spent with Riley.”
“Well, you’d only had something awful to compare it to. I was in love with Brendan, and it was nothing like with Mason.”
“I feel like I should throw a party or a parade or a fireworks display or something to celebrate this fantastic development.”
“No celebrations needed,” Jordan said, amused by her sister’s euphoria.
“You should celebrate this. It’s a big deal to connect with someone the way you have with him.”
“I don’t want to get ahead of myself, Nik. It’s important to me that no one gets hurt here, especially him.”
“What does he say about it?”
“That he gets it. My life isn’t here. His is. We’re just having fun. Everyone else is making more of it than we are.”
“Gran and I are excited to see you excited about someone who isn’t what’s-his-name.”
“And I get that. I really do, and I’ve given you both good reason to be happy to see me with anyone other than him. But please don’t jump through gold rings and white picket fences, Nik. That’s not what this is about.”
“I hear you. I’m only asking that you keep your mind open to all the many things this could be, in addition to fun.”
“Okay. I will. Now, can I drive you to work so I can borrow your car? I have a few errands to do today.”
“Sure, no problem.”
“Let me just grab a quick shower, and then we can go.” As she showered and packed a bag to take with her, Jordan tried to erase the array of images that had suddenly appeared before her earlier, each of them featuring Mason at the center of her life.
She was getting caught up in the romantic silliness her grandmother and sister were tossing at her. After everything she’d been through, Jordan didn’t have a lot of faith in the power of romance. No, she was a realist and still believed that it was best to keep it real with Mason.
This was about fun and maybe a little bit of a rebound to reset herself after the disaster with Brendan. To make it into anything more than that would be courting all-new disaster, and she’d already had more than enough disaster for one lifetime.
Chapter 18
His day had been a mess from the first minute Mason stepped foot into the barn to discover two of his young firefighters had gotten into a fistfight on the overnight shift. Though both were off duty, he called them back and sat them down in his office.
“What happened?” With his hands on his hips, he stood while they sat. When neither of them said a word, he turned up the volume. “Someone had better start talking unless you both want to be suspended indefinitely.” He wouldn’t and couldn’t suspend anyone this time of year, but they didn’t know that.
Domenic, one of the first firefighters Mason had hired after he became chief, glanced at Xavier, the newest member of their department. “Someone needs to learn the rules around here.”
“That doesn’t tell me what happened,” Mason said, becoming more annoyed by the second. “Domenic, you’ve got the floor. Let’s hear it.”
“We were all out the other night, and he… He came on to the woman I’ve been dating. When I told him to back off, he got in my face and started something in the bar. I took my girl and got out of there. That would’ve been the end of it if he hadn’t gotten mouthy with me about it last night.”
“All I said is she’s not into you if she’s giving me the look.”
Before Domenic could erupt, Mason held up his hand. “Xavier, it’s a dick move to come on to another man’s woman.”
“She’s not his woman.”
At that, Domenic erupted. “She is, too! We’ve been seeing each other for months, you asshole.”
“Huh,” Xavier said. “You’d never know it by the way she’s looking at other guys.”
Mason grabbed Domenic before he could punch the other man in the face. “Stop it right now before you both find yourself out of a job. I’m not putting up with this crap. Xavier, don’t go near Domenic or his girlfriend, do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir,” Xavier said with a smirk for Domenic.
“If I hear one more word about this on the job, I’ll start suspending people without pay. Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir,” Xavier said again.
“Yes, sir,” Domenic muttered.
“Xavier, do yourself a favor and keep your mouth shut around here. We’re a team, and we don’t need new people coming in here and upsetting our team. If you can’t do that, you won’t last long in this department.”
“Apologies, Chief.”
“I’m not the one you need to apologize to.”
For a second, Xavier appeared to balk at the idea of apologizing to Domenic. Then he seemed to think better of it. “Sorry.”
“If I hear another word about any of this, there’s going to be trouble, you got me?”
“Yes, sir,” both men said.
“Keep your personal shit out of my barn. I mean it. Now get out of here.”
They got up and walked out, giving each other a wide berth.
They were no sooner gone than Blaine Taylor came in. “Trouble in the ranks?”
“God save me from twentysomethings. They’re insane. One of them hitting on the other’s girlfriend, leading to a fistfight at work.”
“Good times,” Blaine said, chuckling as he took a seat.
“Just what I need this time of year. What’s up?”
“This is kind of awkward, but someone mentioned you might be hanging with Jordan Stokes?”
Mason was immediately on guard against whatever Blaine was about to say. “What about it?”
“Her sister called me, put me on notice that the not-yet-ex-husband is out of rehab and asking questions about where he might find her.”
That news hit Mason like a ton of bricks to the face. Jordan’s abusive ex was looking for her. He stood, feeling an urgent need to find her, to protect her, to… Shit. He took a deep breath. She’d told him last night that they were nothing more than fun and games. It wasn’t up to him to get between her and her ex. However, he’d do it in a second to keep her safe. He’d do just about anything for her, a realization that sent him reeling.
Blaine flashed a smug grin. “So it’s like that already, huh?”
“No, it’s not.”
“You sure about that?”
“No, I’m not.”
Blaine lost it laughing. “You poor bastard. I remember what it was like to be driven insane by the woman I wanted when she was still married to a complete schmuck who didn’t deserve her. I waited months for her to be free of him. Thought I’d go mad waiting. But once she was free, that’s when things got really interesting.” Blaine smiled, his entire demeanor softening at the thought of his wife. “Sometimes you just have to be patient to get to the best things.”
“That’s not what this is. She doesn’t even live here.”
“Maybe not, but she’s here right now, and that’s all we’ve got, my friend. If you show her what life with you on Gansett might be like, perhaps she might be compelled to stick around.”
The idea of Jordan sticking around, of staying to be with him, made him weak in the knees even considering such a thing. He no sooner let himself go there than he hauled himself back from th
e brink of calamity. Her stay on Gansett was temporary. Their relationship, such as it was, was temporary.
Mason felt sadder than he had in a very long time. “We’re not like you and Tiffany. That’s not what this is.”
“Nothing says you can’t make it happen, Mase. If you want it badly enough.”
After last night, he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted any woman, even the one he’d nearly married. In all the years since his wedding had been called off, he’d never once been thankful to Kayla. Until now. If she hadn’t dumped him, he never would’ve gotten to spend last night with Jordan Stokes, and that would’ve been the true tragedy.
Both Mason’s and Blaine’s portable radios came to life in the same second, with an urgent appeal for help at McCarthy’s Marina. A car had driven off the pier into the water. They ran for their vehicles as firefighters and EMTs bolted for the trucks.
Mason arrived first, less than three minutes after the call had come in, to find a frantic scene in the parking area.
Big Mac McCarthy and Luke Harris were both in the water, chest-deep as they frantically tried to open the door to a sedan.
“Windows won’t open,” Big Mac called to him, sounding grim as they noted the water flooding into the car.
Mason grabbed a window-breaking tool from his truck and jumped in after them. “Watch out. Let me in.”
The cab of the car was filling fast with water. Inside, he saw Luke’s wife, Sydney, her eyes wide with terror as a cut on her forehead had blood running down her face.
“The baby’s in the back,” Luke said, sounding as terrified as his wife looked.
Blaine jumped into the water and came up next to Mason. “After we break the window, it’s going to fill up fast, so we need to be ready.” He banged on the window. “Syd, can you get to the backseat and get Lily unstrapped from her seat?”
She repositioned herself so she could reach the baby, who was crying as the water crept ever closer to the bottom of her seat.
“Mason, please.” Luke was on the verge of hysteria.
“You got her, Syd?” Mason yelled, speaking as loud as he could so she could hear him through the closed windows.
Syd nodded and raised the baby higher as the water continued to pour into the car.
“Okay, listen up. We’re going to break the window and get you out. Stay back against the other side. Ready?”
She gave a thumbs-up.
Mason smashed the tool against the window until it shattered, then used his hands to push on the glass.
“Mason!” Blaine cried. “Your hands.”
Mason heard him, but he was like a man possessed as he created an opening big enough for Syd and the baby. “Give me the baby. Hurry.”
For a second, Sydney seemed frozen as the water came closer to her chin.
“Syd! The baby!” Mason’s body was half in the car and half out as he struggled to keep his head above the rising water.
She handed over the child, and he backed out, handing the child to her father.
“Give her to Blaine, Luke.” The water stayed cold on Gansett well into July, and hypothermia was a concern. Mason went back for Sydney, who had moved to the window to follow her daughter out of the car. Mason helped her, but Luke was right there to grab his wife.
She cried hysterically as her husband held her. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened.”
“It’s okay, baby,” Luke said as tears ran unchecked down his face. “It’s okay.”
“Let’s get her out of the water, Luke.” In addition to the wound on her forehead, Mason noticed Sydney’s lips had taken on a bluish tone, and her teeth chattered violently.
Working with Mason’s team, Luke half carried Sydney to the ladder and handed her over to Dermot.
“Too close,” Big Mac said when he, Blaine and Mason were the only ones left in the water. “Far too close.”
“Did you see what happened?” Blaine asked.
“She’d just pulled into the lot to meet Luke for coffee when the car lurched forward and went right off the bulkhead. It’s the one spot on the whole pier where a car can fit through. We’ll get that taken care of immediately.” That the older man was seriously rattled was obvious to Mason. “She musta hit the gas by accident.”
“Let’s get you out of the water, Mac.” When Mason raised his hands to offer assistance to him, he noticed they were shredded and bleeding profusely. “Shit.”
Jordan heard about the accident at the marina when she was coming out of the grocery store.
“A car went right off the pier into the water at McCarthy’s. A mother and baby were in the car, but the police and fire chiefs got them out.”
Mason.
Was he all right? His arm was already injured. He shouldn’t be rescuing people! As soon as she was in the car, she put through a call to him that went straight to voicemail. “Hi, it’s me. Jordan. I heard you rescued the lady and baby in the car. I’m just hoping you’re all right. Call me when you can.”
She felt an overwhelming need to see him, to know he was all right, even if it didn’t make sense to her. She barely knew him, and yet the need to be with him took precedence over common sense as she drove to the building he called “the barn” to see if his SUV was parked outside. It wasn’t. Was he still at McCarthy’s? Possibly. She headed toward North Harbor, telling herself she wouldn’t bother him at work. She wanted only to see him, even from a distance, to make sure he was okay. After that, she’d leave him alone.
With McCarthy’s in view from a distance, she was relieved to see his SUV parked in the lot. Until she realized she didn’t see him among the firefighters and police officers still working the scene. As he was taller than most men, he would stand out in a crowd. He wasn’t there. As a twinge of anxiety settled in her belly, she parked the car and walked toward the marina, steering clear of the scene where the first responders were still engaged.
At a picnic table outside the restaurant, she approached an older man with steel-gray hair and a towel wrapped around his shoulders. His clothes were wet. “Excuse me.”
“Hey, Nikki.”
“Um, I’m Jordan, her sister.”
He blinked, took a closer look and smiled even though he still looked troubled. “So you are. Apologies. I’m Mac McCarthy Senior, but everyone calls me Big Mac.”
Jordan shook his cold hand. “Nice to meet you. My grandmother loves you.”
“I love her right back. She’s a great lady.”
“Yes, she is. Are you all right?” She couldn’t help but notice his hands were shaking.
“We had a terrifying accident. My friend Luke’s family was in that car.”
“I can’t imagine how frightening that must’ve been.”
“One of the worst things I’ve ever seen. The car went right off the bulkhead over there and into the water. Happened so fast. And we couldn’t get the door or windows open.” He shuddered. “Too close.”
“They’re all right, though? The people in the car?”
“They will be once they’re warmed up. Mason and Blaine were amazing. They saved their lives.”
She was filled with an unreasonable feeling of pride. “Are they still here?”
“Blaine took Mason to the clinic. Cut his hands up pretty bad breaking the window.”
Oh no. He was hurt. Again. “I, um, do you think it would be okay if I went to check on him? He saved my life the other night.” She didn’t know what else to say to justify her desire to see him.
“I heard about that, and I think it’d be fine if you checked on him. In fact, would you mind giving me a lift over there so I can check on Syd and baby Lily? I’m a little too shook up to drive.”
“Of course. I’d be happy to.” Jordan led him to the car, casting a glance at the car in the water as she walked by. What a terrifying thing to be trapped in a car that was filling with water while your baby was strapped in a car seat.
“Nikki must be happy to have you here,” he said as she drove them into t
own to the clinic.
“She is, and I’m thrilled to be with her, too.”
“She’s a treasure. She’s done such a beautiful job running the Wayfarer for us.”
“She loves the job.”
“That’s nice to hear. She’s made my nephew so happy.”
“And vice versa. She’s crazy about him.”
“Sometimes things work out for good people.”
“It gives the rest of us hope.”
“You’ll have your turn, honey. You’re good people, too.”
“How do you know that?” she asked, amused by his certainty.
“You’re Evelyn’s granddaughter and Nikki’s sister. That’s all I need to know. And you’re far too good for that Zale guy, or whatever his name is.”
Jordan laughed at how Big Mac bungled the name of one of the world’s most famous musicians.
“He didn’t deserve you. Someday you’ll find a man who deserves you, who treats you like a queen, who loves and respects you the way you deserve to be loved. It’ll happen. I promise you that.”
His emphatically spoken words touched her deeply. What would it be like to have someone like him for a dad rather than the jerk she’d gotten? “Thank you, Mr. McCarthy. I appreciate that.”
“It’s the truth, and you should call me Big Mac, like everyone else does.”
“I will. Thanks.”
Ten minutes later, they walked into the clinic together, and Jordan immediately spotted Mason, standing next to a dark-haired man also in uniform. “I see Mason. It was really nice to meet you, Big Mac.”
“You, too, honey. Thanks for the ride, and remember what I told you.”
Jordan smiled and, in a moment of impulse, went up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I’ll remember.” She walked over to Mason, who had blood-soaked towels wrapped around his hands. “Hey.” As she noticed his clothes were wet, she squeezed his forearm and tried not to focus on the blood.
“Hey. What’re you doing here?”
“I heard you got hurt, so I came to check on you.”
As he stared down at her, seeming stunned to see her there, Jordan wondered if she’d played this all wrong. She shouldn’t have come.
