Chapter 44
Seamus and Carolina had spent two agonizing days waiting to hear if the boys’ father would accept their offer.
Dan had called them Thursday night to say they had a deal, that Jace Carson had agreed to the plan that would allow him to see the boys twice a year.
When they were both of age—or sooner if all parties agreed—they’d be told Jace was their biological father.
If he stuck around that long, that was.
In exchange for access to the boys, Dan had required Jace to sign a release that stated he wouldn’t challenge the custody arrangements Lisa made before her death. It had been a great relief to Seamus and Carolina to hear that Jace had signed that document.
Jace had wasted no time in requesting his first visit, and he was due to arrive within the next few minutes.
Seamus had arranged for Joe to take his afternoon runs on the ferry so Seamus could be home with his family.
He’d spent a few hours online, getting to know the man who’d fathered the boys and had learned of a long struggle with drugs that’d briefly landed him in jail.
By all accounts, Jace had been clean and sober for some time and had become an advocate for others struggling with addiction.
From photos posted to social media, Seamus learned that Jace had blond hair like his sons.
In fact, Kyle looked just like him, which led Seamus to wonder if Kyle would notice the resemblance.
The boys were smart and bright, and not much got by them.
“If they figure it out,” Carolina said when he shared his concern with her, “then we’ll tell them the truth sooner rather than later. The only thing that’ll matter to them is that they’re safe and secure in their home with us.”
From where they sat at the kitchen table, they could hear the boys running around outside with Burpy barking as he tried to keep up with them. They often joked that they never had to wonder where the boys were because they could always hear them and the dog.
“You don’t think we’re doing the wrong thing by not telling them the truth from the beginning, do you?” he asked.
“No, I think it’s the right thing to wait. They’ve been through so much and have settled into their new life with us. Now isn’t the time to do anything that would disrupt that.”
“Helps to have the advice of a professional mother to rely upon.”
“I don’t know if I’d call myself a professional mother, but I do recall what it was like to move here with Joe after we lost his dad and how important it was to keep things on an even keel for him.”
The sound of a car arriving outside had them moving quickly to go out to greet their visitor. Jace emerged from the back of Ned Saunders’s cab, and the first thing Seamus noticed were forearms covered in ink. The boys were fascinated by tattoos and would certainly want an up-close look at Jace’s.
Seamus could hear the boys and the dog playing on one of the paths that led into the woods that were their playground. They’d been given strict guidelines about how far from the house they were allowed to go and were good about doing what they were told.
Jace paid Ned for the ride and thanked him.
Ned gave a little toot and a wave before backing out of the driveway.
As Jace walked toward them, Seamus noticed that he moved like Jackson did, his stride almost impatient. He shook hands with Seamus and Carolina. “Thank you for having me.”
Seamus appreciated the man’s manners, even if he was predisposed to dislike him on sight. “I’d say it was no problem, but…”
“Oh, you’re Irish.”
“Aye, that’s right.”
The two men sized each other up, almost like prizefighters about to face off.
“The boys…” Jace said. “They’re doing well?”
“They’re doing wonderfully,” Carolina said, “after a rough couple of months following their mother’s death.”
“I… I didn’t know she was sick. I felt awful when I heard about what’d happened.”
“It was a very difficult time,” Carolina said. “But the Gansett Island community stepped up for her and the boys, and we got them through it.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here to help. I’ve had some…
problems, but I’m better now. I understand it was a lot to ask to see them, but I only learned that Lisa had died when I tried to reach out to her about seeing the kids.
I wanted to wait until I’d gotten my life together before I got in touch with her, and then I found out it was too late. ”
Jace seemed genuinely sad about Lisa’s death. “This is a nice place you’ve got here,” he said.
“We added on after we took in the boys,” Carolina said, gesturing to the new part of the house. “We wanted them to have room to spread out.”
“Are they here?”
“If you listen carefully,” Seamus said, “you can hear them off playing in the trees. They love to be outside.”
“I remember that from when they were little. Always wanted to be outside.”
Seamus put his fingers in his mouth and whistled for the boys, who came running, as they always did when he called for them. He wondered how old they’d be when that stopped.
They burst through the brush, two towheads with sunburned noses and missing front teeth.
Burpy was hot on their trail, barking as usual.
Seamus often thought it was a good thing they didn’t have close neighbors with all the racket the kids and dog made.
The house where Lisa and the boys had lived was the closest one to them, and it was several hundred yards up the road. A new couple lived there now.
“Kyle, Jackson and Burpy, I want you to meet a friend of mine. This is Mr. Jace. Can you say hello?”
He held his breath, waiting to see if either of them would recognize the man, but they didn’t seem to.
Both boys said hi and shook Jace’s hand the way Seamus had taught them. They were working on making eye contact when they were introduced to new people. So far, the handshaking was going better than the eye contact.
Seamus could see that Jace was impressed by the handshakes and perhaps a bit emotional about seeing his sons for the first time in years.
“Can we please have a snack?” Kyle asked Carolina.
She’d been working on their please-and-thank-you game. “Sure,” she said. “Let’s go inside and wash our hands.”
“Come on in,” Seamus said to Jace. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“Just some water would be great. Thank you.”
While Carolina supervised the boys washing up in the bathroom, Seamus poured three glasses of ice water, got out juice for the boys and cut cheese to serve with crackers and grapes.
The boys came out of the bathroom and dove into the snack like two savages who hadn’t seen food in a year. “Easy, mates,” he said. “We have a guest, and the polite thing is to let the guest go first.”
“Sorry,” Kyle said around a mouthful of cheese and cracker.
“No worries,” Jace said, seeming amused by the boys.
Carolina joined them at the table, and over the next hour, Jace asked the boys about their life on Gansett Island, about their school, their friends, the TV shows they liked and their favorite food.
Seamus had to give Jace credit. He made a genuine effort to get to know the boys and truly listened to everything they had to say.
And when he asked if they would show him their favorite toys, the boys were happy to lead the way to their new playroom that Seamus had told them to clean up earlier in anticipation of their guest’s arrival.
“He seems like a nice guy,” Carolina said when she and Seamus were alone in the kitchen.
“Aye, he is. I like how he gave them his full attention.” Still wary, however, he went to check on them in the playroom and found Jace sitting on the floor while the boys showed him all their toys.
Though he was glad the visit was going so well, Seamus still felt out of sorts over the situation. Carolina had wisely said that allowing Jace into their lives meant giving the boys one more person to love them. He was no threat, or so Seamus told himself.
An hour later, Seamus drove Jace back to town to catch the last ferry off the island. They were both quiet on the short ride.
“Thank you so much for this,” Jace said when they arrived at the ferry landing. “You’ll never know what it means to me to be able to see them.”
“I’m glad we could figure something out.”
“It’s obvious that they’re very happy with you and your wife, and I’m not looking to upset them any more than they’ve already been. I’d like to give you my number just so you have it, and if you’re inclined to send some pictures once in a while, I’ll always be happy to get them.”
“I can do that.”
They exchanged contact info and then shook hands.
“You know,” Seamus said, “I was prepared to hate you simply because you're their real father. But after having met you, I don’t hate you.”
Jace gave a gruff laugh. “Well, thanks for that. And by the way, it’s very clear who they consider their real father, and from what I can see, they’re lucky to have you.”
“That’s nice of you to say.”
“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, big mistakes that hurt a lot of people. I’ll always be most sorry for the mistakes that hurt Lisa and my boys. I’ve learned in recovery that we can’t undo the past. We can only try to do better in the future. That’s my only goal.”
“I can see that.”
“And I can see my sons are happily settled with two people who love them very much.”
“We do love them. They’ve changed our lives entirely.”
“Thank you for stepping up for them and for Lisa when she needed you.”
“Stepping up for them was the second-best thing I’ve ever done, after marrying my Carolina.”
“Thanks again for having me.”
“I’ll be in touch.”
Jace shook his hand and got out of the truck.
Seamus watched him join the line to get on the ferry, waiting until Jace presented his ticket and got on the boat before he pulled out of the parking lot and drove home, filled with a powerful sense of relief.
After having met Jace and learned he was a decent sort of bloke, Seamus felt better about welcoming the man into their lives.
When he got home, Carolina was supervising the boys as they ate spaghetti and meatballs, their adorable little faces covered in sauce, as usual.
Carolina gave him a welcoming smile, and Seamus felt himself finally relax for the first time since they got the letter from Jace’s attorney.
He took a seat at the table, and Carolina brought plates for both of them.
“Thanks, love.” To the boys, he said, “Thank you for being so nice to my friend. He really liked you guys.”
“He was nice,” Jackson said around a mouthful of meatball. “Can he come back to play again sometime?”
“Aye,” Seamus said. “He’ll be back.”