Chapter 23
Laura zipped her duffel bag the next morning and took a long look around the cozy suite that would be her home for the foreseeable future.
The “shabby chic” antique furniture bore no resemblance to the stylish, contemporary pieces she’d chosen for her home with Justin, but she already felt more at home here than she ever had there.
As if to ensure her return, she tucked her favorite pair of black sandals into the closet.
“I’ll be back,” she said as she shut and locked the door to her suite.
She’d called her aunt and uncle earlier to let them know she’d be leaving for a few days.
They wished her a safe trip and invited her to dinner when she got back.
Dropping her bag in the lobby, she tiptoed toward Owen’s closed door. Between her illness and his gig with Evan at the Tiki Bar last night, she hadn’t seen him since the previous morning. She was about to slide the note she’d written for him under the door when it opened.
“Thought I heard you skulking about, Princess.”
His dirty-blond hair was disheveled, his eyes were red with fatigue and his smile was breathtaking. Laura wondered if he had any idea how attractive he was. He seemed to go out of his way to look like he’d just fallen out of bed. Imagining him in bed made her face heat with embarrassment.
“I wasn’t skulking.”
He ran his fingers through his hair as if that might bring order to it and fixed his gaze on her duffel. “Going somewhere?”
“To the mainland for a couple of days to take care of some things.” Confirming her pregnancy, returning the unused wedding gifts, emptying the apartment she’d lovingly furnished, filing for divorce, breaking the news of her failed marriage to her beloved father and bringing what she could fit in her car back to the island.
The usual stuff a woman had to take care of a few months after she married the so-called love of her life.
Forcing herself to focus on the here and now rather than the nightmare ahead, she tightened her grip on the folded sheet of paper. “I, ah, I was going to leave you a note.”
Holding out his hand, he said, “Let me see.”
Suddenly mortified by the words she’d settled on, she tucked it under her arm. “Doesn’t matter now.”
Before she could anticipate his next move, he had the note in his hand and was moving past her into the lobby to read it.
“That was sneaky.”
Laughing, he said, “I’m the oldest of seven. I had to be quick to survive.”
As he read the note she’d slaved over—trying for the proper level of appreciation without descending into the maudlin—Laura looked for something to do with her hands. She ended up folding and unfolding them.
“That’s very nice,” he said, stashing the note in the back pocket of his faded jeans, which were still unbuttoned. “And very sweet. I’m glad I met you, too, Princess, and it was my pleasure to provide a shoulder for you to lean on.”
She could see the button to his jeans poking at the gray T-shirt he wore over them, not that she was looking or anything.
“But you don’t have to thank me. You’re doing us a huge favor by taking on this place. My grandparents are happy, and that makes me happy.”
For some reason, it pleased her to have played a part in making him happy.
She’d have to chew on that realization when she was alone.
“About yesterday . . . I just wanted to say, you know, thanks for the tea.” Damn, was it hot in here or what?
“And everything else. It was nice of you.” She couldn’t bear to think about him watching her worship the porcelain god.
The thought of it made her ill all over again.
“How’re you feeling today?”
“More of the same,” she said with a wry grin. “Happens around the same time every day.”
He winced. “Such a drag.”
Shrugging, she said, “I hear it only lasts about three months.”
“Oh, God, that’s awful!”
The face he made had her giggling. He often reminded her of an overgrown kid.
Scooping up her duffel bag, he settled the strap on his shoulder. “You shouldn’t be carrying this heavy thing in your condition.” He held the door and gestured her out ahead of him.
“I’m pregnant, not feeble, and it’s not that heavy. I left most of my stuff here.”
“Good,” he said with the irrepressible grin that was so him. “That means you’ll be back before I have time to miss you.”
As she took the stairs to the sidewalk for the short walk to the ferry, Laura was caught completely off guard by his casually uttered comment. What did that mean? He was going to miss her?
“You heard me right, Princess. I’ll miss having you around to keep me company.”
Stunned by his confession, Laura tried desperately to think of something witty she could say. “You’ve got Evan, Mac and Grant to entertain you.”
“They’re so ugly compared to you,” he said with a pout that made her laugh again.
“I hate to break it to you, pal, but my cousins are not ugly. Trust me on that. Janey and I used to make fun of the daily parade of girls who’d show up at the White House looking for one or the other—or in some cases, all four of them. It was obscene.”
“That may be true, but in my eyes, they’re far uglier than you.”
“Thank you. I think.”
They laughed and joked all the way to the ferry landing, where he seemed to reluctantly hand over the duffel.
“Take care of yourself over there on the mainland,” he said, attempting a serious expression that failed miserably since he didn’t have a serious bone in his body.
He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and cuffed her chin playfully. “Don’t let the bad stuff get you down.”
She appreciated his insight and his concern. “I’ll try not to. See you in a week or so.”
He surprised her when he bent to press a tender kiss to her cheek. “I’ll be here.”
“Good,” she said, leaving him with a smile as she boarded the ferry. It was nice to know she had a friend waiting for her on the island she was planning to call home for the next little while.
Francine tossed and turned all night. Ned knew this because he’d been right there beside her.
He wanted to dance a jig and shout the news from the rooftops.
They’d finally done it—the horizontal bop, the deed—or whatever they called it these days, and it had been every bit as phenomenal as he’d remembered from the last time they were together.
Even though Ned’s heart was singing a new song on this glorious day, he knew his beloved was troubled by the news she had to bring to her eldest daughter this morning.
Ned held her hand all the way to Maddie’s home on Sweet Meadow Farm Road. “Everything’s gonna be all right, doll,” he said for the hundredth time since they woke up together and shared a pot of coffee and eggs that she’d barely touched.
“It’s so unfair to drop this on her a few days after she had the baby.”
“That may be true, but it’s no fault of yers that he showed up here when he did. Ya had no control over that, and Maddie will know that.” He squeezed her hand. “I’ll be right there with ya, okay?”
She nodded and held his hand between both of hers. “I appreciate you coming with me.”
“Of course I’m coming with ya. We’re a team now, and don’cha forget it.”
“I won’t,” she said, offering him a fleeting smile.
Ned wanted this encounter between Maddie and her father over with so Bobby could go back under the rock he’d crawled out from under and leave them all in peace. Ned had kept up a brave facade and pretended to eat Francine’s share of their breakfast, but he’d been a nervous wreck the whole time.
He had this vision of Mac flatly refusing to allow his wife to see her wayward father—not that Ned would blame the boy for not wanting his wife upset right after giving birth.
But then where would they be? Bobby could hang up the divorce forever if he wanted to, and there wasn’t much they could do about it without a protracted battle.
He wanted to be married to Francine, and he wanted to help her and her girls through this crisis.
That was all Ned cared about at the moment.
They arrived at Mac and Maddie’s home and navigated the stairs to the deck, hand in hand.
“Take a deep breath, doll,” Ned said when they were on the deck. “Remember, none of this is yer fault.”
She looked up at him with her heart in her eyes. “I could’ve chosen a better father for them.”
The significance of her words wasn’t lost on him. “I’ll be a damned good stepfather to them. I promise ya that.”
“I know you will. Come on. Let’s get this over with.”
They visited with the new parents, fussed over the baby and played with Thomas for more than an hour. Fortunately, Mac and Maddie didn’t seem to notice the tension that Ned and Francine had brought with them.
“David was just here to check on Hailey, and he says she’s doing great.”
“That’s a huge relief,” Francine said.
“It’s nice to see you two kids together again,” Maddie said as she burped Hailey.
Ned exchanged glances with Francine.
“Actually,” Francine said, “we’re hoping to be married before too much longer.”
Ned wasn’t sure his heart was strong enough for the excitement that surged through him as she said those words.
“Oh my God!” Maddie cried. “Mac, come here! Quick!”
He rushed in from the kitchen, a towel tossed over his shoulder and his eyes wide with panic. “What’s wrong?”
“Absolutely nothing! Mom and Ned are getting married!”
“Hey, that’s great, you guys. Congratulations!”
“There’s just one thing . . .” Francine said.
“What, Mom?”
“Well, it seems that I’m, um . . . God, how do I say this?”
Ned reached for her hand. “Spit it out, doll. Get it over with.”
Francine met her daughter’s gaze. “Your father and I are still married.”
“Wait . . . How can that be? It’s been more than thirty years since he left.”
“Neither of us ever filed for divorce.”
Seeming stunned, Maddie stared at her mother.
“Tell ’em the rest, doll.”
“What, Mom?” Maddie’s gaze darted nervously to Mac, who came to sit next to her on the sofa. “What is it?”