A Gansett Christmas
Can Ned pull off a Christmas miracle?
Characters:
*Indicates recurring throughout the series.
*Janey McCarthy Cantrell, married to Joe Cantrell in READY FOR LOVE, mother of Peter Joseph “PJ” Cantrell in TIME FOR LOVE and Vivienne McCarthy Cantrell in KEVIN & CHELSEA.
*Joe Cantrell, married to Janey McCarthy Cantrell in READY FOR LOVE, father of Peter Joseph “PJ” Cantrell in TIME FOR LOVE and Vivienne McCarthy Cantrell in KEVIN & CHELSEA.
*PJ Cantrell, son of Joe and Janey Cantrell.
*Vivienne Cantrell, daughter of Joe and Janey Cantrell.
*Luke Harris, married to Sydney Donovan in SEASON FOR LOVE, father of Lily Harris in VICTORIA & SHANNON.
*Sydney Donovan, married to Luke Harris in SEASON FOR LOVE, mother of Lily Harris in VICTORIA & SHANNON.
*Lily Harris, daughter of Luke Harris and Sydney Donovan, born in VICTORIA & SHANNON.
*Mac McCarthy, Jr., married to Maddie Chester in FOOL FOR LOVE, father of Thomas Chester McCarthy in MAID FOR LOVE, Hailey McCarthy in FALLING FOR LOVE, Connor McCarthy (deceased) in KISSES AFTER DARK and Malcolm John “Mac” McCarthy, III, in KEVIN & CHELSEA.
*Maddie McCarthy, mother of Thomas, married to Mac McCarthy in FOOL FOR LOVE, mother of Hailey McCarthy in FALLING FOR LOVE, Connor McCarthy (deceased) in KISSES AFTER DARK, and Malcolm John “Mac” McCarthy, III in KEVIN & CHELSEA.
*Mac McCarthy, III, son of Mac and Maddie McCarthy.
*Thomas McCarthy, son of Mac and Maddie McCarthy.
*Hailey McCarthy, daughter of Mac and Maddie McCarthy.
*Big Mac McCarthy, grandfather of Thomas Chester McCarthy in MAID FOR LOVE, Hailey McCarthy in FALLING FOR LOVE, Peter Joseph “PJ” Cantrell in TIME FOR LOVE, Connor McCarthy (deceased) in KISSES AFTER DARK, Vivienne McCarthy Cantrell in KEVIN & CHELSEA and Malcolm John “Mac” McCarthy, III, in KEVIN & CHELSEA.
*Linda McCarthy, grandmother of Thomas Chester McCarthy in MAID FOR LOVE, Hailey McCarthy in FALLING FOR LOVE, Peter Joseph “PJ” Cantrell in TIME FOR LOVE, Connor McCarthy (deceased) in KISSES AFTER DARK, Vivienne McCarthy Cantrell in KEVIN & CHELSEA and Malcolm John “Mac” McCarthy, III, in KEVIN & CHELSEA.
*Ned Saunders, married to Francine in GANSETT AFTER DARK, grandfather of Ashleigh Sturgil, Thomas McCarthy, Hailey McCarthy, Connor McCarthy (deceased), Adeline Taylor, and Malcolm John “Mac” McCarthy, III.
*Francine Saunders, married to Ned in GANSETT AFTER DARK, grandmother of Ashleigh Sturgil, Thomas McCarthy, Hailey McCarthy, Connor McCarthy (deceased), Adeline Taylor, and Malcolm John “Mac” McCarthy, III.
*Royal Atkinson, Gansett Island town council member.
*Erin Barton, lighthouse keeper, involved with Slim Jackson in DESIRE AFTER DARK.
*Slim Jackson, pilot, involved with Erin Barton in DESIRE AFTER DARK.
*Jenny Martinez, married to Alex Martinez in LOVE AFTER DARK.
*Alex Martinez, married to Jenny Martinez in LOVE AFTER DARK.
*Paul Martinez, married to Hope Russell and stepfather to Ethan in DESIRE AFTER DARK.
*Hope Martinez, mother of Ethan, married to Paul Martinez in DESIRE AFTER DARK.
*Adam McCarthy, married to Abby Callahan in DESIRE AFTER DARK.
*Abby McCarthy, married to Adam McCarthy in DESIRE AFTER DARK.
*Evan McCarthy, married to Grace McCarthy in DESIRE AFTER DARK.
*Grace McCarthy, married to Evan McCarthy in DESIRE AFTER DARK.
*Mallory Vaughn, nursing director at senior care facility, living with Dr. Quinn James in LIGHT AFTER DARK.
*Dr. Quinn James, medical director at senior care facility, living with Mallory Vaughn in LIGHT AFTER DARK.
*Grant McCarthy, married to Stephanie McCarthy in KISSES AFTER DARK.
*Stephanie McCarthy, married to Grant McCarthy in KISSES AFTER DARK.
*Tiffany Taylor, mother of Ashleigh, married to Blaine Taylor in TIME FOR LOVE, mother of Adeline Taylor in VICTORIA & SHANNON.
*Blaine Taylor, married to Tiffany and stepfather of Ashleigh in TIME FOR LOVE, father of Adeline Taylor in VICTORIA & SHANNON.
*Ashleigh Sturgil, daughter of Tiffany Taylor and Jim Sturgil, stepdaughter of Blaine Taylor in TIME FOR LOVE.
*Adeline Taylor, daughter of Blaine and Tiffany Taylor, born in VICTORIA & SHANNON.
A blizzard is keeping the McCarthy family from gathering for Christmas, and no one is happy about it.
Janey is upset because it will be the first Christmas of her life that she won’t celebrate with her siblings and parents.
She wants PJ to play with his cousins and take pictures of new cousins Vivienne and Mac on their first Christmas.
Her husband Joe tries to distract her from her pouting, but she isn’t having it.
While the kids nap, Joe encourages Janey to spend the morning snuggling with him.
Luke Harris is excited to be snowed in with his wife, Sydney, and baby daughter, Lily. He loves their life, their little girl and the home they’ve made. When he recalls all the Christmases he’s spent alone, wishing for the life he has now… it seems like a lifetime ago.
Mac McCarthy is up early, walking baby Mac, who thinks he’s done sleeping for the day. Mac feels trapped with the snow flying outside. No grandparents to help with the baby, no cousins to entertain Thomas and Hailey, and no delicious dinner. Worst Christmas Ever!
Big Mac usually loves the snow, but not today. The lights flicker as he waits for the power to go out. Thankfully, it hasn’t, at least not yet. He turns to his wife, Linda, “Won’t be the same without the kids underfoot.”
The phone rings with a call from his best buddy, Ned Saunders.
“What’re you guys doing?” Big Mac asks.
“Same as you. Poutin’ about not gettin’ ta see our babies.”
“Damn snow.”
“Thought ya loved it?”
“I do till it messes with my plans.”
Ned laughs and then goes silent for a few seconds. “What if…”
“What?”
“Nothin’. Just an idea I had.”
“What idea is that?”
“Let me think on it a little more, and I’ll let ya know if I can make it happen,” Ned says.
“What’re you talking about, old man?”
“Gotta run. I’ll call ya back later.”
Linda’s cell phone pings with an alert from Police Chief Blaine Taylor, telling all residents to stay off the roads, and then the lights flicker and go out.
Francine asks Ned what he’s doing as he puts on his boots and parka.
He’s going to save Christmas. As he walks out the door, he tells her to pack up her stuff to go to Linda’s and to pack an overnight bag in case they get stuck there.
Thirty minutes after he leaves his home, he arrives at Royal Atkinson’s house.
He dashes through the snow and asks Royal for a favor.
Adam and Abby McCarthy wake up to a power outage.
Adam goes downstairs to set up a bed for them in front of the fireplace.
He should have listened to Abby and bought a generator.
Adam no sooner gets them settled in front of a blazing fire when Ned calls to tell them to get ready.
He’s on his way to pick them up and will take them to his parents’ house.
Ned remembered Royal had bought an oversized sleigh, so he borrowed it and two of Royal’s sturdiest horses to bring everyone together. He picked up Francine first, then Adam and Abby, before heading to McCarthy’s White House to drop them off.
Big Mac throws open the front door, and the euphoric expression on his face makes Ned’s day complete. “You gotta be kidding me!”
“I ain’t kidding ya.” Ned hands Francine’s bags to Linda. “I gotta go to town. Call Tiffany, Mallory, Grant and Evan. Tell ‘em all to get ready.”
“I want to go with you,” Big Mac said. “Give me one minute.” He runs to grab his boots, parka, hat and gloves and kisses Linda.
“Crazy old fools,” Linda says, but she can’t hide her delight.
“Get dinner in the oven, doll,” Ned says. “The kids are comin’ home!”
“We’re on it,” Linda says, glancing at Francine, who nods.
“Don’t get your fool selves killed out there,” Francine says. “That’d put a damper on the day.”
They pick up Evan and Grace, Mallory and Quinn, Stephanie and Grant, and then go to Tiffany’s.
They drop off that group and head to Mac’s, Janey’s and Luke’s with Ashleigh helping them drive.
Luke and Sydney decide to stay home, so loaded up with McCarthys and Cantrells, they return to the White House.
Ned and Big Mac settle the horses in the barn and grab the air mattresses and sleeping bags. Big Mac opens the kitchen door to the roar of voices, laughter, screaming babies and Christmas music. “Now that,” he says, grinning at his best friend, “is more like it.”
“Merry Christmas, good buddy.” Ned raises his hand for a high five. Big Mac returns the high five and then hugs him. “Best Christmas present anyone ever got me.”
While preparing dinner, Linda says that Frank, Betsy, Shane, Katie, Sarah, Charlie, Kevin, Chelsea and the boys stayed at the Surf last night with Laura and Owen. They’re settled for the night with each other and a generator.
Big Mac can’t remember a better Christmas. Dinner for twenty-five—counting Blaine, if he makes it—takes some doing, but Linda and Francine have a ten-pound beef tenderloin with all the fixings on the table by two o’clock.
Big Mac raises his glass. “I’d like to propose a toast to family—the best gift any of us can get on Christmas. And to Ned, our cab driver extraordinaire, who made it possible for us to be together today.”
“To Ned!” everyone says.
Ned’s face turns bright red. “Aww shucks,” he says, waving off the praise. “‘Twas no big deal.”
“‘Twas the biggest of big deals,” Big Mac says. “To all of us. Thank you again for coming up with a way to save Christmas.”
“My pleasure,” Ned says, smiling widely.
The front door slams shut, and boots land on the floor with a loud thump. In comes Gansett Island Police Chief Blaine Taylor, hands on hips, hair standing on end. “What in the name of God is wrong with you people?”
“So many things,” Quinn says, earning an elbow to the ribs from his beloved.
After dinner, they teach the kids to play Twister, which turns into Adam and Evan wrestling on the floor in front of the Christmas tree. Linda threatens to kill them if they knock her tree over.
“When can we play naked boy naked girl?” Mac asks.
His wife lets out a scream. “Mac!”
“We’re not allowed to play that anymore,” Thomas says solemnly. “But Mommy still gets to play it with Daddy cuz they’re married.”
“My mommy plays naked boy naked girl with Blaine all the time,” Ashleigh says.
After a heartbeat of complete silence, Grace snorts with laughter that takes down everyone in the room.
Linda hands out sleeping assignments, giving the couples with kids bedrooms, and suggests the moms put the babies in dresser drawers.
After getting the kids down for the night, the adults gather for a nightcap.
Linda asks Evan to play for them. He sings for an hour, running through old familiar Christmas songs.
His family encourages him to record a Christmas album.
“Best Christmas yet,” Big Mac says to Linda, when they’re in bed. He left the door open so he could hear the goings-on downstairs, which has been highly entertaining.
“By far. Having everyone sleeping under our roof again is like old times.”
“There were a lot fewer of them back then.”
“When we bought this hunk of junk house, you said you wanted to fill it with kids. I’d say you more than succeeded.”
“We succeeded. What a family.”
“And how about Ned? Has there ever been a better friend?”
“Not that I’ve ever had.”
“Me either. Maybe we should make the blizzard party an annual tradition.”
“Here’s to another year on Gansett Island,” he says, kissing her.
“I can’t wait to see what happens.”