by Marie Force
“It’s so sweet that they did that,” Francine said, looking a little misty. “My mother’s name was Evelyn.”
“I remember that, and Linda’s mother was Emma.”
“They did good.”
“Sure did, and it’s such a relief ta have it done and over.”
“You said it. Hopefully, we only have to go through this one more time.”
“Hope so, ’cause it’s awful tough on the grandparents.”
“That’s for sure. You’re the best grandpa ever. The kids are so lucky to have you.”
She twisted him up in knots when she said things like that. “I’m the lucky one ta have this amazin’ family at my age.”
“And the best part is we get all the fun and none of the work.”
“That’s right,” he said, chuckling. “We’re still gonna keep tryin’ ta have one of our own, though, right?”
She giggled as her face turned bright red, the way it always did when he said things like that. He loved to make his pretty redhead blush. “Stop it.”
“Never.” He’d waited a lifetime for her and their family, and he planned to enjoy every second with them.
Chapter 39
“I’ve been thinking,” Frank said as he twirled his fiancée, Betsy, around on the dance floor.
“About?”
Frank looked down at her, marveling as he did every day about how lucky he was to have found her after so many years alone since he lost his young wife, Joann, to cancer. “About you and me and making some plans.”
“What kind of plans?”
“The kind where we get to spend forever together.”
“I thought we’d already made those plans.”
“I’m talking about making it official and tying the knot. What do you think?” He’d surprised her over breakfast one morning last spring with a ring and a proposal that’d made her cry. Since then, they’d had a busy summer and hadn’t given much thought to a wedding.
“I think that’s a fine idea. With all the weddings you preside over, it’s probably time you got one of your own.”
“My brother Mac has offered to get internet ordained so he can preside over our wedding when we’re ready.”
“Of course he has,” she said, laughing. “He’ll do a great job.”
“I told him he can only marry me and you. I don’t need him cutting into my gig.”
“No one can replace you, Your Honor. When are you thinking to have this so-called wedding of ours?”
“That depends on what kind of shindig my bride wants.”
“Small and simple works for me.”
“That’d work for me, too, except there’s nothing small or simple about the McCarthy family.”
“True. What do you propose?”
“What do you think about late October at the Wayfarer? The season will be over, the tourists will be gone, and we’ll have the place to ourselves again.”
“You mean this October?”
“Yep. I don’t want to wait another year to marry you, Betsy Jacobson. It won’t take much to pull it off for this October.”
“That’s like two months from now.”
“Right, and all you need to do is buy a sexy dress and show up on time. I’ll talk to Nikki and figure out the rest.”
Before she could respond to that, a collective shout erupted from the other guests.
“What’s going on?” Frank asked his son Shane, who was dancing with his wife, Katie, next to them.
“Power’s back on.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Frank said.
“Thank goodness is right,” Katie said. “I can’t take another night in this heat without air conditioning.”
“She’s not kidding,” Shane said, smiling at his wife. “She’s a bear without her AC.”
“Guilty as charged,” Katie said. “It’s been awful.”
The air in the big room already felt cooler as the air conditioning came back on with full force.
“Shane, will you please talk to your father and tell him we can’t plan a wedding in two months’ time?”
Katie laughed. “Oh, how fun!”
“He’s crazy,” Betsy said, rolling her eyes.
“He’s crazy about you and can’t wait to be married to you,” Frank said.
“Aww,” Katie said. “That’s so sweet, and we can pull off a wedding in two months. Of course we can.”
“You’re all crazy,” Betsy said.
“And you already know that,” Shane said, smiling. “So, you’d better be sure before you marry into the circus known as the McCarthy family.”
“Hey,” Frank said. “Don’t try to talk her out of it. I’m already batting way above my pay grade with her.”
“That’s true,” Shane said, his expression deadpan.
While Frank sputtered with outrage, the others laughed.
Owen and Laura came over to see what was so funny.
“Dad’s trying to talk Betsy into marrying him in two months,” Shane told his sister. “She thinks he’s crazy, and Dad is worried about me trying to talk her out of it. Oh, and she’s way out of his league. Now you’re caught up.”
“A wedding in two months?” Laura asked. “That’s doable. Let’s have it at the Surf. I’ll take care of everything. Late October is beautiful.”
“Every one of you is crazy,” Betsy said, her dark eyes glittering with amusement, “but I know when I’m outnumbered. Laura, I’d love to get married at the Surf. Shane, there’s nothing you can say to talk me out of marrying your dad. Sorry. And, Frank, stop thinking you’re marrying up. I’m the one who’s marrying up. Not only do I get you, but I get your beautiful family, too. So yes to late October, yes to everything, including the McCarthy family craziness.”
Surrounded by friends and family, Frank put his arms around her and kissed her as if they were alone, while the others whooped and hollered. He couldn’t wait to make her his wife.
Chapter 40
“Best day ever,” Quinn said as he danced with Mallory. “I can’t believe you’re finally my wife. I can’t believe I finally have a wife.”
“Better late than never, I guess.”
“I was waiting for you. I’d never met anyone I could imagine being married to until you bowled me over.” He punctuated his sweet words with an even sweeter kiss that had their guests cheering for the bride and groom.
“If I can have everyone’s attention,” Jared said when the song came to an end.
Quinn put his arm around Mallory to escort her back to their seats at the head table. “I’m sorry for whatever’s about to happen here.”
Mallory laughed. “I can’t wait to hear what he has to say.”
“Lizzie and I want to thank you all for being here today and extend our thanks to our hosts, Mr. and Mrs. McCarthy, for this beautiful day in honor of my brother Quinn and his lovely bride, Mallory. I’ve rarely met two people who were more destined for each other, right down to sharing the same exact birthday, not to mention the same profession. From the day he met you, Mallory, Quinn was a different man. He was brighter, lighter, funnier, happier. He smiled more than I’ve ever seen him smile, and he’s never stopped smiling in all the time you two have been together. I’ve begun to believe he never will.”
The sound of a screaming baby had everyone shifting their gazes to the doorway, where a young woman stood with a baby, a frantic look on her face. “I’m… I’m sorry. Lizzie. I need Lizzie.”
“Excuse me,” Lizzie said as she got up from her seat and rushed over to the other woman.
“Who’s that?” Quinn asked Jared.
His brother’s jaw clenched with tension. “Someone that Lizzie is helping out.” Jared appeared to make an effort to shake off the interruption. “Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes, I was about to say here’s to Quinn and Mallory.” He raised a glass of champagne in a toast to them.
“May you have many happy years together.”
Other guests toasted the bride and groom, while Jared’s gaze w
as fixed on the doorway as tension rolled off him in waves.
Quinn wondered what was really going on.
Lizzie guided Jessie into one of the salons and closed the door. She noticed right away that Jessie’s face was puffy, and her eyes were red from crying. The baby was in equally rough shape, her little body trembling from crying so hard.
“I’m so sorry to interrupt your brother-in-law’s wedding,” Jessie said, her voice catching on a sob. “But I can’t do this. I can’t take care of this baby. I have no idea what I’m doing, and nothing I do satisfies her. I need you to take her.”
Lizzie couldn’t bring herself to move. Here was the line in the sand that she’d promised Jared she wouldn’t cross. “I can’t take her, Jessie. She’s your daughter.”
“I don’t want her. I know that makes me sound like a monster, but I never wanted her. I made one mistake… One mistake.” She broke down again into sobs that shook her petite frame. “Please, Lizzie. You could find a good home for her. I know you could.”
“I… I can’t do that. I just… I just can’t.”
“I’m sorry to do this to you. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, but I’m afraid I might harm her.” She placed the baby on the sofa, kissed her forehead, dropped the diaper bag on the floor and pushed by Lizzie on her way out of the room.
“Wait! Jessie, wait!” In the time it took Lizzie to pick up the baby and follow Jessie, she was already out the door to a cab waiting in the driveway. In a state of complete shock, Lizzie watched the cab leave as she tried to calm the hysterical baby.
It was almost as if the little one understood what was happening.
She was still standing in the doorway to the main entrance ten minutes later when Jared found her.
“What’s going on?” he asked from behind her.
“Jessie… She said she can’t take care of the baby, that she’s afraid she might harm her.” Lizzie turned to face him.
His expression conveyed shock when he saw her holding the baby. “No way, Lizzie. There’s no way…”
“I know, that’s what I told her. But she put the baby down and rushed out of here so quickly that I couldn’t stop her from leaving. That was about ten minutes ago.”
“We need to go after her.”
“We can’t leave the wedding.” Although it was his brother’s wedding, Lizzie had seen to many of the details personally and needed to be there.
Jared thought about it for a minute. “I’ll ask Cooper to go.” He turned and walked away, striding purposefully back into the ballroom to find his younger brother.
Lizzie snuggled the baby closer, bouncing her carefully, instinct kicking in as her heart raced with implications and dismay. “Don’t you worry about anything, sweetheart. We’ll make sure you’re well taken care of.”
Jared returned with Cooper in tow and handed him the keys to the Porsche. “She left in a cab about fifteen minutes ago. Find her. If she’s not at our place, check employee housing at the Beachcomber.”
“What if she’s not at either place?” Cooper asked.
“Check the ferry landing. We can’t let her leave the island. God knows how we’ll ever find her if she does.”
“I’m on it,” Cooper said.
“Bring her back to the house if you find her. Text me, and we’ll meet you there.”
“What if she doesn’t want to come?”
“Call me,” Jared said. “We’ll come to you.”
Blaine Taylor joined them in the foyer. “Everything all right?”
“Not really,” Jared said, filling the police chief in on what had happened.
“Did you catch the number on the cab?” Blaine asked Lizzie.
“I didn’t, but it was yellow.”
“Sedan or station wagon?”
“Sedan.”
Blaine removed his cell phone from the inside pocket of his sport coat and put through a call. “This is Chief Taylor. I need to know who just made a pickup at the Chesterfield and where they went.” He listened for a second, nodded and said, “Thanks. Appreciate the info.” To Jared and Lizzie, he said, “They went right to the ferry landing.”
Jared checked his watch. “Son of a bitch. She probably made the six o’clock boat. What the hell do we do now?”
“I can call Child Protective Services on the mainland,” Blaine said. “But they probably won’t get here until tomorrow.”
“No,” Lizzie said. “Don’t call them. She’ll end up in the system. I’ve seen that happen too many times to let it happen to her.” She’d ran a homeless shelter in New York City before they were married and was well versed on such things. “Jessie asked me to take care of her, and I’m going to do it. She’ll come back when she’s had a minute to calm down. She’ll come back.”
“Lizzie, we’re not keeping her.”
“I never said anything about keeping her. I said I’m going to take care of her until her mother comes back.”
“And what if she never comes back? What then?”
“I don’t know, but we can’t let her go into the system, Jared.”
“Why can’t we? That’s what the system is for.”
“Because we can take care of her.”
“She’s not our child, Lizzie, and you know as well as I do why this is a very bad idea.”
Lizzie couldn’t stand to see him so upset, but she also couldn’t bear the thought of this poor helpless baby sent to strangers. Not when she had the wherewithal to care for her. “We’ll just take care of her until we find out more about Jessie.”
“Could you guys give us a second, please?” Jared asked Blaine and Cooper.
“Of course,” Blaine said.
The two men walked away, seeming relieved to let Jared and Lizzie have their argument in private.
“We can’t do this, Lizzie, and you know why.”
“We can help Jessie until she gets herself together.”
“We’ve already helped Jessie, and this is the thanks we get? She dumps her baby with us and expects us to take care of her? I don’t agree with this at all. What’s going to happen when she comes back and wants her baby, and you’ve already fallen in love with her? What happens then?”
“I don’t know! I just know that she asked me to help her, and I’m going to.”
“Regardless of what I want?”
“Of course I care about what you want. You know I do.”
“I’m asking you to turn this baby over to Blaine and let him figure out what to do. That’s his job.”
The baby had fallen asleep in her arms, her little body warm against Lizzie’s chest. “I don’t want to do that. I want to give Jessie time to realize she made a mistake, without involving the authorities.”
“You know I’ll support you in anything you want. Always. But this is too much. I’m scared to death you’re going to get your heart broken in this situation, and it hurts me to see you hurt.”
“I love you so much for that, Jared. I really do. But I can’t turn this helpless child over to the authorities and live with myself. I need to do this for the baby and for Jessie.”
She understood why he felt the way he did. Of course she understood. It was a huge risk for her to get involved in a situation like this. But she was already involved and would stay that way until she was sure the baby was safe.
He put his arm around her and went through the motions of being supportive, but she could tell by the tension radiating from him that he was deeply conflicted. And with good reason.
Chapter 41
Dara was sitting on the back deck at the McCarthys when Oliver returned from a trip into town.
“Good news,” he said. “The power’s back on.”
“That’s great news. Should we go to the lighthouse?”
“I suppose we could.”
“I feel bad leaving without saying goodbye to Mac and Linda.” They had been at his daughter’s wedding all afternoon.
“We could leave them a note and invite them to dinner at the ligh
thouse to thank them for having us.”
“That’s a good idea. Let’s do it.”
She followed him upstairs to pack their things and strip the bed. They put the sheets and towels in the washing machine and started it.
Back downstairs, Oliver found a pad of paper and a pen.
Mac and Linda,
* * *
The power came back on, so we decided to get out of your hair. We can’t thank you enough for having us and for your friendship since we arrived. If you’re available, please come to dinner at the lighthouse tomorrow night, any time after six. If tomorrow’s not a good day, just give us a call or text to reschedule. The sheets and towels are in the washer. Thank you again for your hospitality.
“How should I sign it?”
“Sincerely, Oliver and Dara.”
He signed the note and left it on the counter by the coffeemaker. Then they ushered Maisy out of the house and drove “home” to the lighthouse. Oliver had been there earlier in the day to open the gate, which remained open as they drove through.
“I may as well lock up,” he said, putting the car in Park to get out and lock the gate.
As Dara gazed at the lighthouse, she realized she already felt different about coming there than she had on the day they arrived. The time with Mac and Linda had been priceless, a thought she shared with Oliver when he got back in the car.
“I agree. Being with them was very special.”
“Will you keep going to the morning meeting?”
“If you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind. You seemed to enjoy it.”
“I did, and you seem to like spending time with Linda and her grandchildren.”
“I wouldn’t have thought that was something I’d want to do, but I was enjoying her company so much that when she asked me to go with her, I did. And I really loved it.”
“Look at us, making friends and having fun, and that’s in just the first couple of days.”
