John appreciated that Niall listened and offered helpful input. He’d never had someone like him in his life and was deeply appreciative to have him during such a difficult time. “Thanks for the support.”

  “Of course.”

  “It’s not something I take for granted. That’s been a problem for me in the past. Give, give, give. Get nothing back.”

  “Well, that’s not how it’s supposed to be.”

  “No, it isn’t, but I’m preprogrammed to expect nothing, thanks to the way I grew up.”

  “That’s in the past. In the present, you have friends who are there for you no matter what.”

  “You can’t possibly know what that means to me.”

  “You don’t think so? It hasn’t been easy for me either. My parents still don’t know I’m gay. I keep meaning to tell them, but before I can, they ask me when they can expect some grandchildren. I freeze up when they say that.”

  “There’re other ways to have kids besides the usual path.”

  “I know, and hopefully, I’ll get there someday and make all their dreams come true.”

  “I’m sure it’d matter to them that you’re happy.”

  “It does, but I’m under no illusions about how they’ll feel about me being gay.”

  “You’re sure they don’t already know? When I came out to my family, most of them weren’t surprised, which surprised me.”

  “I don’t think they do, but who knows? Maybe I’m not fooling them. I’ve never had a girlfriend. You’d think that’d be the first clue.”

  “Sometimes people don’t want to see what’s right in front of them.”

  “That’s so true, but enough about that. You’ve got enough on your plate without worrying about me and my issues.”

  “I’m interested in you and your issues. I thought maybe you knew that by now.”

  “Oh, I know, and back atcha. You need to stay focused on your brother and Kelsey, your mom and grandparents when they arrive. I’ll be here if you need to talk.”

  “That makes everything so much better.”

  They talked for a few more minutes before John said he needed to check on Jeff. He promised to be in touch with Niall later.

  After spending the night at Frank McCarthy’s, John arrived in Jeff’s room to find the attending physician had come by for rounds.

  “This is my brother Johnny,” Jeff said.

  The doctor shook hands with John. “Good to meet you. I was just telling your brother that we’re going to do some scans and figure out a plan after we have the films.”

  “That sounds good.”

  “He’s stable for now, thanks to your doctor on Gansett, who did a fine job and saved his life. Now we need to get him put back together. The ortho surgeon will be checking in shortly, too.”

  “Is there any word on Kelsey?” Jeff asked. “They said the surgery would be an hour, and it’s already been two.”

  “She’s in recovery. The surgery went well. They’ll have her back here in a few hours.”

  “Oh good,” Jeff said, visibly relieved. “That’s great news.”

  “I’ll see you after the scans,” the doctor said.

  After he left, John pulled up a chair to Jeff’s bedside. “Owen will tell Mom what’s going on when she lands in New York.”

  “Okay.”

  “You can expect an invasion shortly after that.”

  Jeff offered a faint grin that turned to a grimace due to the pain. “I can hardly wait.”

  “Are you sure you won’t let them give you something stronger for the pain?”

  “I’m very sure. I fought too hard to get free of that shit. I’m never going there again.”

  “In case I forget to tell you later, you’re a badass.”

  “Whatever you say.”

  “I mean it. Even in immense pain, you’ve got an eye on your sobriety. I admire that.”

  “Got too much to live for these days to mess up like that again.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  “We all do.” The nightmare of their childhood was in the past, their father was in jail where he belonged, and they were free to pursue their own joy, no matter where they found it.

  “Absolutely.”

  * * *

  Owen was on edge, waiting for his mother’s call. He hated that he had to tell her that Jeff had been badly hurt, but she already sensed something was up, or she wouldn’t have flown back to the States a week early.

  The door opened, and Laura came into the apartment, smiling when she saw him sitting on the sofa.

  Just that quickly, the tight knot of anxiety in his gut loosened somewhat. That’s what she did for him. And she still wondered why he’d stayed with her and her son rather than continuing his life as a traveling musician. Putting down roots with the exquisite Laura McCarthy had been the best thing he’d ever done.

  He held out a hand to her, and she sat next to him on the sofa, curling up to him with her head on his chest and her arm around him.

  “No call yet?”

  “Not yet. They’ve got to clear Customs and all that.”

  “Right. That can take a while.”

  “And they’re not allowed to use their phones until they get through.” He played with her hair and took comfort in her presence. “I’m not sure how you do it.”

  “Do what?”

  “Calm and settle me just by walking in the room and snuggling up to me. I forget every worry when I have you with me.”

  “You do the same for me, you know.”

  “How lucky are we?”

  “The luckiest.”

  Owen lifted her chin for a kiss as his phone rang. “That’s probably her.” Keeping his arm around Laura, he reached for the phone on the coffee table and took the call from his mother. “Hey, Mom.”

  “What’s going on, Owen? And don’t say nothing because I know my children and—”

  “Mom. Listen. Jeff was in a building that collapsed in the storm.”

  She gasped.

  “He and Kelsey were hurt. Jeff was hurt badly. His pelvis is broken, and it was touch and go at first. We were finally able to get them off the island last night, and they’re at Rhode Island Hospital. Kelsey broke her arm and had surgery earlier. They’re still figuring out what Jeff needs, but he’s in the best possible place now—all thanks to David Lawrence, who saved his life by operating on him here. And before you get angry, we all decided it was best not to tell you since there was nothing you could do in Italy.”

  “Oh my goodness,” Sarah said, sounding tearful. “He’ll be all right, though?”

  “We hope so, Mom, but it was bad. If David hadn’t operated to stop the internal bleeding, he wouldn’t have lived long enough to get him to Providence.”

  “Thank the Lord for David.”

  “We’ve been saying that for years now.”

  “What about the medication?”

  “The doctors are aware of his addiction and are doing what they can to keep him comfortable without narcotics.”

  “That’s a relief. You poor kids, having to go through such an awful thing.”

  “We’re all right. Johnny is with him in Providence.”

  “We’ll go right there from here. Charlie is saying we’ll rent a car.”

  “Let me know when you’re there. Johnny is staying at Frank’s, and there’s plenty of room for you guys, too.”

  “That’s very helpful, honey. Tell him thanks for us.”

  “I will. You’re not mad we kept it from you, are you?”

  “No, you did the right thing. There was nothing I could’ve done but worry myself sick. The rest of you are all right?”

  “We are. The island is a mess, but cleanup is under way. Power is out for who knows how long, and one man is missing. Billy from the gym. I don’t think you know him.”

  “I don’t, but Charlie certainly would know him.”

  “Yes, he would.” Owen’s stepfather went to the gym every day. “I’ll let you know if we hear anything. He tried to ride out the storm on his boat. The boat was found sunk, but there’s no sign of Billy.”

  “That’s terrible. I’m sorry to hear it. Charlie has already got a car rented for us, so we’ll hit the road to Providence. Keep me posted on anything you hear.”

  “I will.”

  “Thank you for taking care of everything while I was gone.”

  “We all pulled together. You should know that Deacon was also missing at sea for a brief time, but he was found by Joe Cantrell and Seamus O’Grady when they took the ferries out to sea to escape the storm.”

  “Thank God he was found. Poor Julia. I’ll call her when I can.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “Love you, son.”

  “Love you, too, Mom.”

  Owen put down the phone. “Well, now she knows everything.”

  “You’re such a good son, brother, husband, father. You take such good care of everyone.”

  He gave her shoulder a squeeze. “And you take such good care of me, which is what makes everything else possible.”

  Chapter 34

  Seamus spent the night at Big Mac and Linda’s with Carolina and the boys. The next morning, after breakfast, they thanked their hosts for having them during the storm and set out for home, uncertain of what they would find there.

  When they rolled into the driveway, they saw that Shannon and Victoria were already there, surveying the damage, which was substantial. They had parked next to a downed tree that was blocking the driveway. Many trees were down, one of them having just barely missed smashing the house. The covered porch had been demolished, and the yard was a general disaster area.

  “Damn,” Seamus said on a long exhale when he emerged from the truck.

  “Looks like a fine place for a wedding,” Victoria said, her chin wobbling. “In less than a week.”

  “We’ll get it cleaned up and right as rain,” Seamus assured her. “Don’t you worry.”

  “What? Me worry?”

  “I told you that’s what he’d say, love.” Shannon put his arm around her. “We’ll be ready.”

  “Will we have power?”

  “Even if we don’t, we’ll figure something out,” Carolina said from the front seat of Seamus’s truck.

  “Your job is to not worry,” Seamus told Vic. “Leave the worrying to us.” He went to the truck to lift Carolina out to carry her to the house, stepping over a tree trunk as they went. “Boys, get the bags and then go change into your work clothes. We’ve got a wedding to prepare for.”

  The boys and Burpee the dog charged inside, dragging bags and suitcases behind them while Seamus, holding Carolina, followed slowly behind them.

  “You really think we can pull this together in time?” she asked.

  “I’m sure of it.”

  “I’m glad you are…”

  “We’ll call for help and get everyone here to pitch in. We’ll get it done.”

  By noon, he and Shannon had summoned a posse that included Jace Carson, Paul and Alex Martinez, Mac, Grant, Shane and Evan McCarthy, Dan Torrington, Luke Harris, Oliver Watson and Slim Jackson. The Martinez brothers had brought chainsaws and other equipment that was soon buzzing as trees were cut for firewood and debris hauled away.

  Kyle, Jackson and Burpee were underfoot all day, helping where directed and generally adding to the chaos.

  Carolina made sandwiches for everyone and then sat outside for a while to “supervise.”

  Seamus came over to check on her, wiping sweat from his face with his T-shirt. “How’re you doing, love?”

  “Much better now that you all have made such a big dent. I was worried when I first saw the mess.”

  “Me, too, but we’ll be ready.”

  “I feel better about that than I did earlier.”

  He bent to kiss her nose. “Don’t get too much sun.”

  “I’ve got sunscreen on. Are the boys being more trouble than they’re worth?”

  “Not at all. They’re working hard.”

  “Really?” she asked, skeptical.

  “Really. They’re good boys.”

  “Yes, they are, but they’re not workers.”

  “Not yet, but they will be. It’s good for them to see everyone pulling together to get something done. Eventually, it’ll sink in. I hope.”

  “It will. For sure. Joe called. He and the kids are coming by to see us before Slim flies them to Boston to catch a flight home.”

  “Janey will be glad to have them back.”

  “Yes, she will, but I’ll miss them.”

  “Only for a little while longer, and then they’ll be home for good.”

  “I can’t wait for that.”

  He kissed her again. “Gotta get back to it.”

  The ferries would begin running again the next day, and he wanted to get most of the cleanup done before he had to go back to work. There would be a wedding here next weekend, come hell or high water. Well, hopefully no more high water. They’d had enough of that to last them awhile.

  * * *

  Victoria tried to manage the panic that had her spinning with wedding-disaster scenarios. She kept telling herself that in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t matter if her wedding went off as planned next weekend. Everyone she loved was safe, Jeff and Kelsey were on the mend in Providence, none of her expectant mothers had gone into premature labor during the storm, and Shannon’s family would arrive as scheduled on Thursday.

  Everything was fine.

  Yet she still felt like she was about to hyperventilate.

  Her phone chimed with a text from Shannon. Making big progress. Don’t worry!

  He’d included pictures that made her feel a thousand times better. A few hours after they’d started the cleanup, she could see there were many fewer downed trees littering the yard where her wedding would be held. A huge pile of firewood had grown next to Seamus and Carolina’s house.

  David came into the break room to get coffee. “How’s it going?”

  “Better,” she said, showing him the pictures.

  When she’d arrived at the clinic in tears, her maid of dishonor had talked her down off the cliff of bridal madness so she could focus on work.

  “Wow, they’ve gotten a ton done in a short time,” David said. “Now you can focus on bride business and not worry about the location. You know Seamus and Shannon will move heaven and earth to be ready.”

  “They already are, even though they’re exhausted from being at sea for days. Shannon said they didn’t sleep much at all. He came home last night, hugged me, kissed me and crashed for nine hours. And he was still tired this morning.”

  “He’ll be fine by next weekend.”

  “How’s Daisy?”

  “She’s doing all right. I suggested she take a few days out of work at the hotel, which she decided to do because she’s still having a lot of pain.”

  “Hopefully, that will stop before too long.”

  “I sure hope so,” David said. “I hate to see her suffering.”

  “But pregnancy is the most natural thing, don’t you know?”

  “I’ve heard that nonsense somewhere before.”

  “From me. I wonder all the time how anyone survived it back before all the advancements we have now.”

  “Thank goodness for the advancements. Even with all I know, I still worry about her. She’s so petite.”

  “She’s a warrior, and she’ll be fine.”

  “If you keep telling me that, I’ll keep telling you the wedding will be fine, too.”

  “You’ve got a deal.”

  * * *

  Piper came awake slowly, uncertain for a moment where she was until the events of the previous evening came rushing back to remind her of coming to Jack’s room at the barracks. His arm was around her, his naked body pressed against hers after a night of incredible pleasure.

  She felt like she’d forgotten something as she tried to recall what day it was.

  Sunday.

  Her one day off at the hotel in season.

  As far as she knew, Jack was off, too.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “I was trying to remember what day it was and if I have to work.”

  “What’s the verdict?”

  “Sunday. My day off.”

  “Mine, too.” He kissed her shoulder. “Nice how that works out, huh?”

  “Very nice.”

  “What do you feel like doing?”

  “I can’t think of a single thing.”

  He pushed his erection against her backside. “I can think of a few things.”

  “I’m not sure I can after last night.”

  “Are you sore?”

  “A little.”

  “Sorry about that.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “I am!” he said, laughing.

  “It was worth it, but I might need some recovery time before we start that up again.”

  “Do you want me to kiss it better?”

  “That’s what started the thing that led to the soreness.”

  His low chuckle rumbled through his chest. After a long silence, he said, “Thank you for what you did last night, for coming after me, for what you said. It meant a lot.”

  “Do you feel better today?”

  “I felt better the minute I realized you were running after me.”

  “I need to start running again. I quickly realized how out of shape I am.”

  He ran his hand down her arm over her ass to her leg. “You’re in fine shape.”

  “I used to be an athlete, and now I’m winded after running for two minutes.”

  “I like to run. Maybe we can do that together?”

  “I probably couldn’t keep up with you.”

  “You keep up with me just fine.”

  “Are we still talking about running?”

  His hand was now between her breasts, causing a tingle between her legs that she tried to ignore. “We’re talking about everything.”

  Piper went still in his arms. “Everything?”

  “Everything. That’s what I want to have with you.”

  “Are you ready for that?”

  “I want to be. Are you?”

  “I think so.”