Chapter 10
Every day Ned Saunders went home after the eleven o’clock ferry arrived to check the mail—and to have lunch with Francine.
Lately, the mail was the more important item on his agenda.
Surely any time now the letter they were waiting for would arrive, and he and Francine could get busy planning the rest of their lives.
As he drove his cab toward home, Ned grappled with growing frustration. It’d been almost two weeks since Bobby Chester had agreed to file for divorce from his ex-wife Francine, who also happened to be the love of Ned’s life.
When was Bobby going to come through with the papers?
Ned had personally seen to it that Bobby had Francine’s new address, and he’d hired Dan Torrington before the boat accident to make sure Bobby kept up his side of the deal they’d made when he insisted on spending time with Maddie and Tiffany before he would file.
That had happened two weeks ago, so what was the delay?
Since Dan was down with his injuries, Ned didn’t want to bug the guy, but the waiting was making him crazy.
Francine, on the other hand, was matter-of-fact about it, telling him every day that it would happen when it was meant to.
Whatever that meant. If the papers didn’t arrive soon, Ned was going to the mainland to have yet another conversation with Bobby. Enough was enough already.
Francine said they had everything they needed.
A piece of paper, she claimed, wouldn’t change anything.
They rarely disagreed, but he didn’t agree with her this time.
That piece of paper would change everything.
It would make her his wife. It would make her and her girls and their children his family.
He wanted that more than he’d let on to her or anyone.
He wanted it more than he’d ever wanted anything.
With his heart pounding, he slowed the cab and approached the mailbox at the end of the long driveway leading to the home he shared with Francine. He pulled open the mailbox and saw a large brown envelope that filled him with excitement. Was this it? At long last…
When he saw the return address from a lawyer’s office in Providence, he let out a happy shout.
“Halle-freaking-lujah!” Mail in hand, he hit the gas and flew down the dirt road, skidding to a stop in the yard where Francine was on her knees planting impatiens in gardens that had suffered from years of neglect before she moved in with him.
“What in the devil has gotten into you, old man?” she asked as she stood and rubbed her hands together to rid them of dirt. She missed the streak of mud on her cheek, which only made her more adorable to him.
He bounded out of the car, waving the envelope over his head. “Deeeeevorce papers, baby doll!”
Her mouth fell open, and she gasped. “Really?”
“Would I lie to ya? Open ’em up! Let’s get ’em signed and back on the afternoon boat!” He took her hand and tugged her inside. “I’m hearin’ wedding bells a’ringin'! Want me ta open it?”
Her hands were clutched in a nervous pose that tugged at his heart.
The poor gal had been through the wringer with Bobby Chester, especially lately when he insisted on spending time with their girls before he’d initiate the divorce.
Francine had hated asking that of her daughters, but they’d done it for her. “Please,” she said. “Go ahead.”
Ned tore open the envelope and scanned the letter from the lawyer. Divorce papers and something else, too. “Well, I’ll be goddamned.”
“What? What is it?”
“The bastard set up college funds for the grandkids. Twenty-five thousand bucks each.”
“You’re kidding me.”
Ned handed her the letter and the paperwork detailing the trust funds that had been established in the names of Thomas and Hailey McCarthy as well as Ashleigh Sturgil.
The lawyer had noted that funds would also be established for any future grandchildren.
Envelopes addressed to Maddie and Tiffany had been enclosed.
Francine shook her head as tears filled her eyes. “Finally,” she whispered. “He finally came through for them.”
“Aww, honey, don’t cry. You know I can’t stand it when ya cry.” He put his arms around her and patted her back awkwardly. He never had any idea what to do when she cried. Luckily, it didn’t happen very often. She was tough as nails, his gal, and it took a lot to break her.
“I’m sorry,” she said, sniffling and wiping her face, which made mud of the dirt on her face.
“Come ’ere, doll.” He took her over to the sink, wet a paper towel and wiped her face, showing her the results when he was done.
She laughed through her tears. “God, I’m a mess.”
“Yer my mess, and I love ya.”
“I can’t believe he did this.”
“About time, doncha think?”
“Yes, for sure.”
“Ya gotta tell the girls.”
She nodded.
“Invite ’em for dinner. I’ll stop at the pier and get some lobstas. We’ll make a night outta it.”
“You don’t have to do that, Ned.”
He tipped her chin up and kissed her. “I want ta. We still got some a them chicken nuggets that Thomas likes?” He pulled open the freezer door and rooted around, looking for the chicken the boy loved.
“All gone. I’ll get some a that, too, and them apple juice box thingies for Ashleigh.
” Turning to her, he stopped short when he found her watching him with a smile on her pretty face. “Whatcha looking at, doll?”
“You.”
“What’d I do now?”
She came over to him and rested her hands on his chest, looking up at him with that soft, sweet expression that turned his insides to pudding.
Whenever she looked at him that way, the thirty-plus years he’d spent without her melted away, and he was right back in the throes of first love.
“You’re a wonderful father and grandfather, and we’re all so very lucky to have you. ”
“Oh, well…” Ned couldn’t believe the tears that filled his eyes, “That’s mighty nice a ya to say, doll.”
“I mean it, and I love you, too.” She kissed him, her hands framing his face in a tender caress. “What do you say I sign those papers so you can send them back on the boat this afternoon and we can get busy planning our wedding?”
“I think that sounds like the best idea ya ever had.” He kissed her again, lingering a bit this time. Her sweet kisses made him as crazy for her now as they had when they first met. “Do ya think it would be okay if we put them papers on the late boat?”
“I’m sure it’d be fine. Why?”
He waggled his brows at her. “I got celebratin’ on my mind.”
“Is that right,” she said with a grin. “Anything in particular?”
“Come with me, and I’ll show ya.”
Carolina spent the morning trying to work on some new designs for her jewelry, but ended up staring out the window at the bird feeder while her pencil dangled between her fingers.
At times like this, she wanted to go back to the peaceful days before she met Seamus, before she discovered he had feelings for her that he’d gone out of his way to keep to himself for a long time after they first met.
She wanted to go back to last fall, to the night they’d spent together at Joe’s house on the mainland, before she’d known what it was like to be held by him, to be loved by him.
Surely she’d been better off not knowing.
This, she decided, was a form of purgatory she never could’ve imagined.
Knowing he was out there, just a few miles from her, wanting all the things she’d tried to tell herself she didn’t need anymore…
She’d been alone a long time after her husband, Pete, died in an accident when Joe was only seven.
After the initial shock of losing her husband so suddenly had faded somewhat, she’d settled into a life that was short on excitement but fulfilling nonetheless.
She’d had her son, her work, her friends, a home she loved here on the island and another she’d kept for years in Connecticut until she decided to move back to the island permanently.
Everything was fine until he came along and turned her well-ordered life upside down, tempting her with a taste of what might be possible if only she had the courage to take a chance. Instead, she’d freaked out over what people might think and driven him away, probably for good this time.
How many times was he supposed to keep coming back for more of her special brand of punishment? How many times could she hurt him before he stopped wanting her? Before he stopped loving her.
That last thought finally broke her. Tears ran down her face, landing in a puddle on the paper that had been intended for new designs. The pencil landed on the desk as she dropped her face into her hands, letting the despair wash over her.
This whole thing was her fault. She never should have let him tempt her.
She’d known from the very beginning that he was too young for her, but that hadn’t stopped her from walking straight into the flame of his love, knowing all the while she would surely get burned.
And now that she knew what it was like to be with him, to be loved by him, to be consumed by him, how could she resist the life he offered?
How could her mouth continue to say no when her heart and soul said yes, yes, yes?
She couldn’t continue to say no, because living without him now would be impossible.
She’d learned to live without Pete because she hadn’t had a choice.
Living without Seamus would be her choice, and she couldn’t do it.
She couldn’t make that choice and go on with her life as it had been before.
That was no longer possible. He’d seen to that with every word, every smile, every gesture, every time he called her “love” and stopped her heart.
Before the thoughts had been fully processed, she was up and moving, reaching for keys like a blind woman in the dark and rushing from the house without her purse or a care to what she must look like after the sleepless night.