by Marie Force
Katie stared at him as her grandmother beamed with pleasure. “What a lovely offer,” Adele said. “What do you think, Katie?”
“I, um, I don’t know what to think.”
“I’m sorry to drop it on you this way, but we’ve been overwhelmed for quite some time now, and our uptick in patient load has made it possible to consider hiring another full-time nurse practitioner. We already have Victoria Stevens, our nurse practitioner-midwife, but the two of us are utterly swamped. When you said you were a nurse practitioner in a family practice, my wheels began to spin.”
Katie’s wheels were spinning right along with his.
“What’s your situation at home?” he asked.
“Funny you should ask. I recently quit my job in that family practice.”
David placed his hand over his heart. “Don’t play with me.”
Katie laughed at his boyish grin. “I really did quit right before I came here and was going to look for a job when I got back to Texas after some time here with my family.”
“Would you consider relocating to our lovely island?”
Katie thought about the momentous few days she’d already had on Gansett and how much she’d enjoyed spending time with her mother, grandparents, Owen, Laura, Holden—and Shane, not to mention the rest of the McCarthy family. What would it be like to be here all the time, surrounded by her family and new friends like Shane and his family?
“Katie?” Adele said. “What do you think?”
“I’d love to hear more about the job.”
“Fair enough.” David withdrew a business card from his wallet and handed it to her. “My cell number is on there. Feel free to give me a call when you’re getting around better, and we’ll set up a time for you to come in. Or just stop by, and I’ll fit you in between patients.”
“Thank you so much for thinking of me for the job.”
“No problem. I hope you’ll give it some thought and remember the word ‘desperate’ as you do your thinking.”
Katie laughed at the pleading face he made to go with the word desperate. “I’ll definitely be in touch.”
“I’ll look forward to hearing from you. Adele, it was a pleasure seeing you again.”
“Likewise.”
“Back to the salt mines,” he said, leaving them with a wave.
“Well, how about that?” Adele said when they were alone again.
“Rather unexpected.”
“A very interesting offer, to say the least, and allow me to sweeten the pot by telling you that Pop and I are talking about moving back to the island in the spring.”
“You are? Really?”
“Uh-huh. We’ve had enough of the Florida sun. We’ll be looking for a little place on the island before we go home later this month.”
“No one moves from south to north, you know. It’s just not done.”
Adele laughed. “Especially at our age, when we’re considered ‘snow birds.’ We’ll probably keep our place down there to run away to when the Gansett winter gets too cold, but we want to be here. It was our home for a long time, and we miss it.”
Katie reached across the table for her grandmother’s hand. “None of us will ever forget what you guys did for Jeff when he needed you.”
“That was the very least we could do. After we found out the truth of what’d been going on for all those years… I think I could’ve actually committed murder if I’d gotten your father alone in a room.”
“You’d have to get in a very long line.”
“I don’t want to spend one more second of my life—or yours—thinking or talking about him. I’d much rather talk about your evening with the oh-so-handsome Shane McCarthy.”
Katie was well aware of the fact that her face was turning bright red, because she could feel the heat stealing into her cheeks.
Adele never missed a thing, especially a good blush. “Oh. My. So I take it you had a good time?”
“A very nice time, except for the trip to the clinic and the stitches portion of the evening. But even then, he was terrific.” She leaned in closer to her grandmother. “And he stayed with me during the storm.”
“Did he now?”
“Uh-huh. He was very nice about everything.”
“I’m so glad you agreed to go out with him, honey. You can’t do better than that handsome young man. He’s all dark and broody until his little nephew is around, and then he lights up. It’s good to know he has that kind of joy in him.”
Katie absorbed her grandmother’s astute assessment like a hungry sponge. “The reason he’s dark and broody is because he had a miserable experience with his ex-wife, who hid a serious addiction to pain meds from him the whole time they were married. He paid for her to go to rehab, and she thanked him with a divorce.”
“Oh dear,” Adele said. “No wonder why he seems so quiet and withdrawn much of the time.”
“He’s really sweet and easy to talk to and everything, but I wonder…” She looked up to find her grandmother watching her intently. “We both bring such heavy crap to the table. Do you think it’s too much? Not that I’m planning to marry him or anything. But if we’re going to spend time together, I just… I wonder. That’s all.”
Adele propped her chin on her upturned fist. “You’ve waited a long time to take a chance with any man, so it’s understandable that you have concerns. Let me tell you what I know to be true—everyone has crap. You don’t get to be thirty years old without accumulating crap—some of it good, some of it not so good. If you’re looking for someone with no crap, you’ll be hard-pressed to find him.”
“That’s true. And it’s not like I don’t have my own bag of crap dragging along behind me.”
“Listen to me, Katie. That bag of crap isn’t yours. It’s your father’s. The worst thing you can do is let one man’s insanity influence and color the whole rest of your life. Look at our wonderful Owen and how happy he is with Laura. Those kids fought long and hard for their happily ever after, and there’s no reason you can’t have yours, too. It’s a choice, my darling, to not allow the past to ruin the future. It’s a conscious choice you have to make to be happy.”
“I want to be happy. I really do.”
“Then go for it. Maybe you’ll make something lasting of this connection with Shane, or perhaps it’ll just be a fun late-summer romance. No way to tell how it’ll all work out. But I promise if you don’t try, honestly try, you’ll regret it.”
“I know. I’ve already had that thought myself.”
“There’re no guarantees in this life, and when we risk our hearts, there’s always a chance of getting hurt. Speaking only for myself now, I’d much prefer taking a chance on being hurt over never knowing real, true love. I look at your grandpa after fifty-five years of marriage and I still think, ‘There he is. There’s my guy.’ I want you to have that, too, my sweet girl.”
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 wit
h 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.
