Chapter 4 #2
“Next is the housewarming party,” Big Mac declared, pulling out his wallet. “Mac, you get the beer. Joe, you’re in charge of pizza.” He handed cash to each of them. “What else do we need, Lin?”
“That about covers it.”
“Go to it, boys.”
“Why do we gotta be the hunter-gatherers?” Mac grumbled. “That’s why we have wives.”
“Seriously?” Maddie asked. “You’re actually going there?”
“I don’t think she’s worshipping at the altar of Mac McCarthy anymore,” Shane said, referring to Mac’s famous comment at Evan’s wedding last winter.
“Shit,” Mac said, with a dirty grin. “She worships at the Mac McCarthy altar every day.”
“Mac McCarthy is going to be at the altar in a pine box if he doesn’t shut his mouth and do what he’s told,” Maddie said as the others roared with laughter.
“Yes, dear,” he replied with a dopey grin. “Let’s get going, Joe. The natives are getting nasty.”
Though endlessly amused by Mac, Mallory’s stomach had dropped at the mention of beer. Hopefully, no one would notice if she didn’t indulge.
“Mommy,” Thomas said, “is Daddy in trouble again?”
“Daddy is always in trouble,” Maddie said to her son.
“Maybe he needs a time-out.”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea, honey.”
“Mallory, come see the pictures from our trip,” Big Mac said of the fortieth-anniversary trip he and Linda had taken to Paris and England last month.
She joined her dad in the kitchen with a growing feeling of happiness and contentment. She was going to love living here.
The next morning, she attended a meeting at the church and ran into Quinn James at the coffee table.
“How’s it going?” she asked. He made her nervous, which was odd because men, in general, didn’t rattle her. So why did this one?
“Good. Haven’t seen you here in a while.”
“I was in Providence packing up my house.”
He stirred cream and sugar into his coffee. “Where you headed?”
“Here, for at least the summer. After that, we’ll see.” She glanced up at him, noting the golden stubble on his jaw and the dark circles under his brown eyes that made him look haunted. “What about you?”
“I live here now. My brother and sister-in-law are opening a healthcare facility on the island. I’m their medical director.”
“I heard about that. What a great idea.”
“We’ll see,” he said with the faintest hint of a smile.
Mallory suspected he didn’t smile very often. “It’s an ambitious undertaking. Congrats on the new job.”
“Thanks. I’m in way over my head, but don’t tell my brother or his wife. They think I’m overqualified.”
“Your secret is safe with me.”
“You ought to come and check it out. Your brother is the contractor.”
So he knew who she was in relation to the McCarthys. Interesting. Did that mean he’d asked about her? “I’ll do that.”
Mason appeared a few minutes later and joined them at the coffee table, his face lighting up with pleasure at the sight of her. “You’re back! And just in time for the mayhem of Race Week. Is it Memorial Day yet?”
Amused by his enthusiasm, Mallory said, “Not yet.”
“I’ll see you next Tuesday at seven at the barn. That’s what we call the firehouse.”
“You’re working on the rescue?” Quinn asked.
“Yep. Got myself a summer job.”
“I thought you were an ER nurse?”
“I was laid off in early March.”
“Oh damn. Sorry.”
Mallory shrugged. “It hasn’t been so bad. They gave me a year’s pay, and now I’ve got a fun summer job lined up to keep me busy.”
“We’ll keep you busy, all right,” Mason said. “So busy you won’t have a second to be bored.”
“He keeps trying to scare me off,” Mallory said to Quinn. “After twelve years in the ER, not much fazes me.”
“We’ll see if summer on Gansett Island can top the ER in Providence,” Mason said. “If nothing else, it’ll give Providence a run for its money.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“She says that now,” Mason said to Quinn, who laughed, and oh damn, was he handsome when he laughed.
Nina came rushing through the door, uttering her usual apologies for running late.
“If you want to come out to the site after the meeting, I’d be happy to show you around,” Quinn said.
“Um, sure, that sounds good. Thanks.”
Nodding, he went to find a seat. As he walked away, Mallory again noted he had a slight limp and wondered if he’d injured himself while running or when he was in Afghanistan. She’d really like to know.
“I guess I need to get here earlier if I want to ask you out for coffee after,” Mason said as he followed her to the circle of chairs.
Mallory turned to find him smiling down at her. “Sorry. Rain check?”
“Sure. Any time.”
As Mallory took her seat, she again wondered if he was interested in more than a professional relationship with her. That might get awkward with him as her boss for the summer.
Nina began the meeting by leading the Serenity Prayer and welcoming new members. “Mallory, it’s nice to have you back with us.”
“Thank you. I’m here for the summer, so you’ll be seeing more of me.”
“We’re happy to have you. Who would like to begin?”
Andy, the man who’d befriended her the first time she attended, talked about some recent challenges he’d encountered at social events.
Nancy, a waitress at Stephanie’s Bistro, talked about working in a place where serving alcohol was part of her job, and Russ, a deckhand on the ferries, discussed his struggles with the drunks on the boats after a long day on the island.
“I ask myself all the time, is that what I was like?” Russ said. “If so, I’m doubly glad I don’t drink anymore.”
If Mallory was going to make this her home meeting while she was on the island, at some point she had to contribute. No time like the present, she decided, signaling to Nina that she had something to say.