by Marie Force
Since Maddie married Mac, they saw each other a few times a week, which wasn’t nearly enough for her daughter. Ashleigh would spend every minute of every day with Thomas if she had her way.
Lately, it took all the energy Tiffany could muster to get up, get dressed, feed her daughter and get through the day, so she was looking forward to a few relaxing hours with her sister, nephew and new baby niece.
Maddie met them at the door and slid it open. “Hey, guys, come in.”
When Tiffany put Ashleigh down, the dark-haired toddler waddled over to her cousin and threw her arms around him. Thomas returned the embrace with equal enthusiasm. Watching them, Tiffany’s eyes swam with tears.
“Could they be any cuter?” Maddie asked, slipping an arm around her sister.
For some reason, Maddie’s usual show of affection undid Tiffany today.
“Hey,” Maddie said, “what’s this?”
Tiffany turned into her sister’s embrace as weeks of horrible stress and upheaval and uncertainty finally became too much for her. And then there was the matter of their wayward father showing up thirty years after he took off without a single thought for the wife and daughters he’d left behind.
“Sweetie, what is it?”
“It’s all just too much.”
Maddie ran a soothing hand up and down Tiffany’s back. “What happened?”
“Jim moved out of the house and took everything that wasn’t nailed down. Luckily, he left us each a bed and Ashleigh’s toys. Good of him, huh?”
Maddie’s mouth fell open. “Are you serious?”
“He reminded me, on his way out with everything we own, that the house belongs to his family, and I’m lucky he’s not kicking me out on my ass.”
“He said that?”
“Those were his exact words.” Tiffany dropped onto the sofa. “While I was here the other day, helping you with the kids, he took it all. I got home just as the truck was pulling away with my plates and towels and silverware. I never imagined he could be so rotten.”
“Wow. Neither did I.”
“I just wish I knew what happened to us. It used to be great, and then all of a sudden it wasn’t. Something happened, but damned if I know what.” Tiffany stared off into space, remembering all the good times. There’d been a lot of them before it went very bad.
“Do you think there’s someone else?”
“I can’t imagine who.” Tiffany turned to her sister. “Who does he know that I don’t know, too? Who?”
“I can’t think of anyone.”
“The best part is he’s convinced—absolutely convinced—that I’m having an affair. You ought to hear him ranting and raving about how it’s okay for me but not for him. I don’t even know what he’s talking about, and every time I try to talk to him, he takes off and won’t listen. He won’t listen to me, Maddie.”
Maddie reached for her hand. “Maybe it’s time to let him go, honey.”
“I don’t know how,” Tiffany said, blinking back new tears. “He’s my husband and Ashleigh’s father. I’ve loved him for so long. Hell, I put him through law school working two jobs and this is the thanks I get? As soon as he starts making some real money, he manufactures a reason to toss me aside?”
“It’s not fair.”
“No, it isn’t. I hate the idea of Ashleigh growing up the way we did with her father more or less out of the picture.”
“He won’t be totally out of the picture the way ours was. He loves Ashleigh.”
“Yes, he does.”
“You have to think of yourself, too, Tiff. If you’re not happy, she won’t be, either.”
Tiffany glanced at her sister through watery eyes. “I don’t have what you have with Mac. Even on our best day, it was never what you have. I want that.”
“Aww, baby.” Maddie drew Tiffany into a hug. “I want you to have that, too. There’s nothing like being madly in love with the guy you get to live with and sleep with and do everything else with.”
Tiffany laughed through her tears. “I’m sure.” She drew back from her sister. “How do I go through with a divorce when I feel like I didn’t do everything I could to save the marriage?”
“What else could you do that you haven’t done?”
“I don’t know. I’m thinking about that.” She glanced at Maddie. “What about Dad?”
“What about him?”
“You never told me what happened when you saw him.” Since Maddie had just had the baby, Tiffany hadn’t wanted to ask her sister about the upsetting encounter with their father.
“Before he knew who I was, he took a good long look at my boobs.”
“He did not! Ugh, Maddie. That’s so gross.”
Maddie shrugged. “Par for the course. What happened when you saw him?”
“It was only for two minutes at Mom’s place. The day he got here. He looked…”
“What?”
“Different from what I expected.”
“Different how?”
“For one thing, he’s old. I had this image in my head of him—young, blond, handsome. I wasn’t expecting wrinkled, bloated, gray haired. Not so handsome anymore.”
“Not so much.”
“But…”
Maddie raised a questioning eyebrow.
“I don’t want to be, but I’m curious. About him.”
“Oh God, Tiff,” Maddie said with a moan. “You can’t be seriously saying what I think you’re saying.”
“You remember him! I don’t have a single memory of him. All I have is pictures.”
“But you know what he did to Mom and to us. What else do you need to know?”
“Nothing, I guess.” The last thing Tiffany wanted was to upset her sister. “You’re right.”
The happy toddlers picked that moment to start pulling each other’s hair. By the time their mothers broke up the melee, made lunch and got them down for naps, Hailey was awake and hungry. Maddie settled into the sofa to breastfeed the baby, and Tiffany flopped down next to her.
“Did you hear the news in town about Abby closing her store and moving to Texas to be with Cal?” Tiffany asked.
“No! Are you kidding? Wow. I wonder what Grant thinks about that.”
“Why would he care?”
“He went out with Abby for years, and they lived together in LA until she moved back here to open the store. From what I’ve heard, she said she’d never leave the island again. But then Cal’s mother had the stroke, and I guess he can’t come back.”
“Must be true love.”
“Sounds like it. Oh well, I’m sure Grant wants the best for her. He’s certainly happy with Stephanie. Mac heard that he talked to Janey about renting her place for the winter. Rumor has it that Stephanie is going to stick around on the island after the season ends, and they’re going to write a screenplay together.”
“Good for them,” Tiffany said glumly. Everyone around her was so damned happy. “So I’ve been thinking.”
“About?”
“Abby’s store. I need a new challenge. With Ashleigh starting preschool, my day-care days are numbered, and I’ve got some money put away.”
“What kind of store would you want?”
“Something totally different from anything we have now. I’m toying with ideas at the moment. What do you think about me as a store owner?”
Maddie thought about that for a minute. “Would you keep the dance studio, too?”
“That’s the plan. I’d teach dance during the school year and have the store during the summer.”
“Then I’m all for it. You’re certainly well versed on how to run a business after having the day care and studio the last few years. I want you to find something that makes you really happy.”
“That’d be nice.”
“I was wondering,” Maddie said with a calculating gleam in her eyes. “The night Hailey was born, I noticed you talking to Blaine Taylor. Call me crazy, but it seemed like there might’ve been some sparks flying between you and our
sexy new police chief.”
Tiffany’s heart rate kicked into gear at the reminder of the man who was her brother-in-law Mac’s good friend. “How do you know? You were writhing in labor pain.”
“My eyes were working just fine. So tell me—sparks or no sparks?”
“Maybe. Some.” Tiffany brushed a hand over the arm of the sofa. More like an inferno, not that she’d give her sister that piece of info. “He’s kinda hot, isn’t he?”
“Uh-huh,” Maddie said with a giggle. “Kinda smoking hot.”
Tiffany exhaled a long, deep breath. “Is it awful to admit that when I look at him all I can think about is how badly I want to do him so when Jim accuses me of having an affair, I can tell him he’s one hundred percent correct?”
Maddie snorted with laughter, which jarred the baby. “Sorry, honey.” Maddie smoothed a hand over her daughter’s head to calm her. “So let me get this straight—the only reason you want to do our sexy police chief is to get back at Jim?”
“Of course it is.”
“You’re such a liar.”
“I wish I could whack you with a pillow right now.”
“Don’t you dare,” Maddie said. “So would you dare?”
“To do what?”
“To do Blaine.”
“Come on. Be serious. I’m married. I can’t even think about it.”
“Tiff, honey, he moved out of your house and took all your stuff. I don’t think you’re married anymore.”
Tiffany knew that, of course, but hearing her sister say it made it real. “I’m not ready to give up on Jim yet. It wasn’t what you have, but it wasn’t always like this.”
“Maybe a hot night with the hot police chief is what you need right now. It’d be good for your ego and it would get Jim’s attention.”
The thought of spending time with Blaine Taylor made Tiffany tingle in places she hadn’t tingled in for far too long. “What’s his story anyway?” She was careful not to show too much interest.
“I don’t know that much about him except he grew up with Mac here on the island, which is why we didn’t really know him—they were older than us. He was gone for a long time but came back recently when the police chief’s job opened up. Mac was thrilled when Blaine got the job, because they were good friends growing up.”
“He’s got that whole bottled-up, angry-bad-boy thing going on.”
No one raised an eyebrow quite like her big sister. “Is that so?”
“It’s kinda hot.”
“Just kinda?”
“Have you always been this annoying, or am I only noticing it for the first time?”
“I’ve always wanted what’s best for you.”
“I know.”
“You’re probably going to need a lawyer at some point, sweetie.”
“Who do you suggest I hire when my husband is the island’s only attorney?”
“Don’t say you heard this from me, but Grant’s friend Dan Torrington is coming over soon to help out with Stephanie’s stepfather’s case.”
“Dan Torrington? Like the Dan Torrington?”
“The one and only. Grant knows him from his Hollywood days. Apparently, Stephanie’s stepdad is in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Grant asked Dan to look into it. They offered to meet him in Providence, but he was curious about the island.”
“I’m sure one of the top criminal defense attorneys in the country would be all for taking on a piddling divorce case—if it even comes to that.”
“All you’d need is to let Jim think Dan Torrington is taking your case.”
“That’s very devious, Madeline. I’m shocked and appalled to discover this evil side of you.”
“It’s been there all along.” Maddie shifted the baby to her shoulder for burping. “I only save it for the most critical moments.”
“Does Mac know about this unsavory side of you?”
Maddie hooted with laughter. “He’s my favorite victim.”
Grace took the noon ferry to Gansett Island on the Saturday after Labor Day weekend. The boat was all but empty except for an animated threesome at the table next to her. She’d hoped for a quiet passage to calm her churning mind. When she’d told her parents about her weekend plans, they’d been disdainful of her desire to return to the island. Not that she was surprised. They were rarely ever supportive of her.
Thinking of them made her sad. They were both extremely overweight and unhealthy, which made them unhappy. Not that they would ever admit it. They’d been adamantly opposed to her having the surgery and unsupportive in the aftermath. She’d realized over time that they’d been threatened by her efforts to better herself. It had become increasingly clear that she needed to get away from their negativity if she had any prayer of a life of her own.
That made what she was about to do so wildly out of character. But when she thought about the proposal she planned to submit to Mr. and Mrs. Gold, a waterfall of tingles attacked her spine, filling her with excitement and anticipation. Other than the surgery, this was the most audacious thing she’d ever done, and she couldn’t wait to get things moving.
“So who’s running McCarthy’s?” the blonde woman sitting next to her asked.
“Grant is still helping out even though Mac is back to work this week,” the man said. “Evan has been helping, too. He’s also been playing at the Tiki Bar with Owen.”
Before she could take a minute to contemplate whether it was totally rude to butt into their conversation, she was spinning around to face them. “Sorry to interrupt, but are you guys talking about Evan McCarthy?”
A pretty woman with long red hair smiled at her. “Yes, we are. Do you know him?”
“I met him last weekend when he helped me out of a major jam.”
“Come join us,” the blonde woman said, waving her over.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Of course not,” the man said. He had dark hair and eyes. His foot was resting on a pillow, and crutches were propped next to him.
Grace slid into the booth next to the blonde, careful to avoid the injured man’s foot between them. “I’m Grace Ryan.”
“Sydney Donovan.” The redhead extended her hand to Grace. “This is Luke Harris and Laura McCarthy, Evan’s cousin.”
“It’s great to meet you all.”
“So tell us everything.” Laura, the blonde, propped her chin on her hand. “How did you meet Evan?”
Grace relayed the story about Trey abandoning her on the island—leaving out the about-to-have-sex and the nasty-wager-with-his-friend parts, both of which became a “big fight” in the retelling—and how Evan had come to her rescue.
“Wow,” Luke said. “The guy just left you there?”
“Yep.” Grace had gone from being infuriated to enjoying the reaction people had at hearing what a jerk Trey had been. Rather than being devastated over what he’d done, she’d decided she was damned glad she’d seen his true colors before their relationship progressed any further.
“Did you get your stuff back?” Sydney asked.
“Under threat of police action, which was Evan’s idea. Trey delivered it all to a mutual friend’s house the next day. Good riddance.”
“What’s with men these days?” Laura asked indignantly. “Are they all dogs or what?”
Sydney linked her arm with Luke’s. “Not all of them.”
Luke flashed her a sexy grin that made Sydney blush.
“I agree with Sydney,” Grace said. “Evan restored my faith by coming to my rescue.”
“What brings you back to the island?” Luke asked.
“I owe Evan some money, and I wanted to pay him back.”
“Hmm,” Laura said with a knowing grin. “And that’s all it is?”
“Of course,” Grace said, even though she suspected the rush of heat to her cheeks gave her away. Evan McCarthy had played a prominent role in her daydreams over the last week, and she was anxious to see him again, even if she knew nothing could come of the slight
crush she’d developed. What girl wouldn’t be crushing on a guy who’d been so nice to her? Anxious to get the focus off her, she gestured to Luke and Sydney. “So how did you guys meet?”
“That is a very long story,” Sydney said.
“We’ve got time,” Laura said. To Grace, she said, “I’ve never heard it, either.”
“Well,” Syd said, “we dated for a few summers back in high school.” With a hesitant look at Luke, she continued. “We went our separate ways in college. I was married to someone else, and after I was widowed, I came back to the island and reconnected with Luke earlier this summer.”
“I’m sorry about your husband,” Grace said.
“Thank you. He and our children were killed by a drunk driver a year and a half ago.”
“My uncle told me about your terrible loss,” Laura said, reaching across the table for Sydney’s hand. “I’m so sorry.”
Grace felt bad that her question had reopened an old wound. “Me, too.”
“I’m doing much better these days, especially since the guy who hit them was sentenced to twenty-five years on each count last week. Since he’s in his fifties, I expect he’ll spend the rest of his life in prison.”
Luke squeezed her other hand, and she sent him a grateful smile.
“Now that Luke has had surgery on his ankle, we’re hoping he’ll be back on his feet soon,” Sydney said, clearly anxious to change the subject. “He’s a co-owner of McCarthy’s Marina, and he’s itching to get back to work.”
“Fingers crossed,” Luke added.
“How did you hurt your ankle?” Grace asked.
“There was an accident at the marina earlier this summer,” Luke said.
“The one where Evan’s dad was hurt?” Grace asked.
“That’s the one,” Sydney said. “Luke jumped onto the boat to get the guy’s attention before he ran over Big Mac and Mac in the water. He saved their lives but did a number on his ankle. My hero.”
“Stop it,” Luke said, seeming embarrassed by the praise.
“At first we thought it was just a bad sprain,” Sydney continued, “but when it didn’t heal, we went to the mainland for an MRI. That showed a torn ligament, and he had surgery last week to fix it.”
