Chapter 25
The drive to the marina took ten minutes.
Cooper chose a parking space on the street before the more crowded marina parking lot, hoping the car would be safer there.
He should’ve known it would only be a matter of time before Jared learned the details of what’d happened at the bluffs.
It was a wonder he let him borrow the car again after hearing what he’d done.
But his older brother had always been forgiving where Cooper was concerned, and he considered himself blessed to have Jared in his life.
He loved his other siblings, too, but was closest to Jared.
Quinn had been away in the military from the time Cooper was very young, so he’d gotten to know him well only in the last few years since his brother retired, and his sisters had both been married for more than ten years.
As the much younger brother to all of them, Cooper had struggled to connect with the others until he, too, was an adult, and they’d stopped treating him like a baby.
Cooper was a full-grown man and determined to succeed in business and in life.
When he’d come to Gansett, he’d been focused only on the business side of that equation.
But since he met Gigi, his plans had expanded to include her.
If only he could convince her to include him in her plans.
That was a challenge for later. For now, he had to keep his wits about him to pitch his business idea to Mr. McCarthy and the others.
He’d been working toward this moment for two years, and as he walked toward the open garage doors Mr. McCarthy had told him to look for, he took a deep breath to calm the fluttering nerves in his belly.
He recognized Big Mac McCarthy right away from the wedding.
He was sitting at a picnic table with a group of guys, laughing and talking over coffee and doughnuts.
The smell of fried dough made Cooper’s mouth water.
“Hey, Coop,” Big Mac said, standing. “Good to see you again.”
Cooper shook his outstretched hand. “You, too.”
“I’d know you anywhere. You look like both your brothers.”
“Only much younger and far more handsome,” Cooper said, making them laugh.
Laughter, he’d learned, opened a lot of doors when dealing with other people.
“You might remember these characters from Quinn and Mallory’s wedding. This is my partner Luke Harris, my best friend Ned Saunders and my brother Frankie.”
“Good to see you all again,” Cooper said, shaking hands with each of the men.
“Good ta see ya, too,” Ned said.
“We’re waiting for Kara, but she should be here soon,” Big Mac said. “The poor gal is dealing with horrible morning sickness.”
“Sorry to hear it.”
“She’s usually better by nine, so she’ll be along soon. My son Mac is our other partner, and he’s sorry to miss meeting you. As you know, he’s still in Providence with his wife and newborn daughters.”
“How’re the babies doing?”
“Excellent. We’re hearing they might come home at the end of the week.”
“That’s very good news.”
“Speaking of babies,” Luke said, “has your brother heard anything from the mother of the baby staying with them?”
“The investigator Jared hired found her. We’re waiting to hear about next steps.” He’d keep the rest of the story private until Jared and Lizzie got an answer to their proposal.
“Let’s get you a coffee and some doughnuts before we get started.”
“I won’t say no to either.”
Ten minutes later, he was settled at the picnic table with a coffee and a new plate of freshly made sugar doughnuts.
“Holy crap, that’s good,” he said of his first bite of doughnut.
“Specialty of the house,” Big Mac said with a grin. “I swear they’re what bring in most of our repeat customers each season.”
“The atmosphere is pretty cool, too,” Cooper said.
“We like it,” Big Mac replied. “I read over the proposal you emailed last week, and I really like your idea a lot.”
“Oh, good. That’s nice to hear.”
“I have some concerns, though. Chiefly, the combination of boats and alcohol can be worrisome.”
“Yes, I agree, and that’s why we’d institute a three-drink limit for each customer by offering tickets that they can redeem. Once they’re out of tickets, they’re out of drinks.”
“What do you do about people who show up already loaded?” Luke asked.
“We’re going to breathalyze everyone, and we retain the right to deny passage to anyone who’s impaired.”
Luke nodded, seeming satisfied by that reply. “If we allow you to dock your boats here, we’d want to be released from any liability.”
“Understood,” Cooper said.
“I’m here,” a pretty redheaded woman said. “Sorry I’m late.”
A handsome dark-haired man followed her. Something about him was familiar to Cooper.
“I’m Kara Torrington,” she said. “This is my husband, Dan.”
Ah, right. The world-famous attorney was known for freeing unjustly incarcerated people. Cooper shook their hands. “It’s great to meet you both.”
“Have a seat, honey,” Dan said. “I’ll order your smoothie.”
“Thank you.” Kara sat on the end of the picnic bench. “Particularly rough morning. This kid had better be worth it.”
Big Mac laughed. “He or she will be. I promise.”
“I’m gonna hold you to that. What’d I miss?”
“We were talking to Cooper about liability, booze and boating.”
“Ah, yes, an often-lethal combination.”
“He has a good plan for addressing it using drink tickets to limit consumption on the boats.”
“I talked to my brothers about providing the boats, and they’re interested in helping you out.” She placed a business card on the table. “You can reach out to my brother Kieran, and he’ll work with you to get what you need.”
“This is awesome,” Cooper said. “Thanks, Kara.”
“No problem.” She turned ghostly white and then green before she bolted from the table, running for the ladies’ room.
“Something I said?” Cooper asked, grimacing.
“Happens like that just about every day,” Luke said. “She thinks it’s over, but it never is.”
Dan came out of the restaurant carrying a takeout cup and straw along with a bag. He stopped short when he noticed Kara was missing. “Again?” he asked.
Big Mac used his thumb to point to the ladies’ room.
“My poor baby mama,” Dan said, sighing. “She’s really suffering.” He seemed torn about whether he should go after her, but took the seat she’d abandoned and helped himself to a doughnut. “I have to eat when she’s not looking.”
“I hope she feels better soon,” Cooper said.
“Me, too,” Dan said. “I can’t bear it.”
“It’s always hardest on the fathers,” Big Mac said gravely.
The other guys busted up laughing.
“I read your proposal,” Dan said to Cooper between bites of his second doughnut. “You need a massive liability waiver. I can take care of that for you, if you’d like.”
“Uh, yeah,” Cooper said, stunned to have an attorney of Dan’s caliber willing to help his fledgling business. “That’d be awesome.”
“We’ll sew it up tight so there’re no loopholes.”
“I’d appreciate that. So, it sounds like I’ve got the boats I need, and the legalities will be handled. I guess all that’s left is whether you gentlemen are willing to lease me dock space next summer.”
Big Mac glanced at Luke, who nodded.
“We’d be happy to,” Big Mac said. “I also wanted to let you know that we’re working on some wedding package deals and thought your business might make for a good fit.”
“How so?” Cooper asked, intrigued.
“We also own the Wayfarer, and we’re booking for next season’s weddings, as well as planning the renovation of a former alpaca farm that we’re going to use for smaller, more intimate weddings.
We’re putting together some packages that would include bridal party massages at our new spa that’ll open next season at the hotel up the hill, along with reduced rates on hotel rooms and reduced dockage for wedding party guests who bring their boats over.
It’s a way to combine all our businesses into one big deal.
Your bachelorette/bachelor party boats would be a nice addition to the package.
We’ve also got the Curl Up and Dye salon on board to do wedding party hair and makeup and the Naughty and Nice shop to provide wedding night attire. ”
Cooper couldn’t believe the way this was coming together or how savvy a businessman Big Mac McCarthy was. “I’d love to be part of your package deals.”
“Perfect. I’ll put you in contact with Nikki Stokes, the general manager at the Wayfarer. The packages were her idea, and she’s putting together the details.”
“That’s great. I already know Nikki.”
Dan stared at the ladies’ room door. “Should I check on her?”
“Would she want you to?” Big Mac asked.
Dan shook his head. “She refuses to let me see her puke.”
“Then I’d sit tight until she’s done.”
“I hate this,” Dan said.
“It’s tough to watch the one we love suffering,” Big Mac said.
His words struck home for Cooper. He was watching the one he loved suffer through the possibility of falling in love for the first time. If only he could figure out how to help her understand how good they could be together. His phone chimed with a text from Jared.
Heard from Mike. He talked to Jessie, pitched our idea. She wants a few days to think about it.
Ugh.
“Crap,” Dan said, making Cooper realize he’d been copied on the text.
“Speaking of unbearable,” Cooper said.
“No kidding.”
“Everything all right, gentlemen?” Big Mac asked.
“Just a development with Jared, Lizzie and the baby they’re caring for,” Cooper said. “We hope everything will be okay.”
It had to be. It just had to be.
Jared was losing his mind. How were they supposed to wait a couple more days for an answer from Jessie?
What did she have to think about? She’d dumped her newborn with them almost a week ago and hadn’t so much as checked on her since then.
If she thought they’d be returning the baby to her like nothing had happened, she was delusional.
If Jessie wanted her back, she’d have to deal with Blaine and social services first. How could they be sure Jessie intended to care for the child without some sort of formal review?
He stood at the edge of his property, looking out over the ocean crashing on the rocks below, wishing there was some way to resolve this hellish situation immediately.
Lizzie slipped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his back. The baby monitor dangled from her index finger.
Jared put his hand on top of hers. “I’m sorry this is so stressful, sweetheart. I’d hoped we’d have it resolved today.”
“I’m the one who should be sorry. I brought this stress into our lives.”
“You were trying to help someone in need. It’s not your fault she dumped the baby with us and ran.”
“She’s had time and space to think, so I guess it’s only natural she’s reconsidering what she did.”
“It’s not fair to us for her to jerk us around this way.”
“No, it isn’t, but no matter what happens, we’ll be okay because we have each other.”
Jared pulled away from her, but only so he could turn toward her. Then he put his arms around her and held her tight. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Find that inner calm or whatever it is that makes it so you know what I need to hear?”
“I’m not sure how I do it, but the one thing I know for certain is we won’t let this—or anything—break us.”
“No, we won’t.”
“If we don’t get to keep her, I’ll be really sad because I already love her. But I promise either way, I’ll be all right if you are.”
“I am if you are.” Jared held her close as tears burned his eyes.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt like he might cry.
Wait, yes, he could. It was after their last attempt at having a baby had failed.
His cell phone rang, and he pulled back from the hug to retrieve it from his pocket and put it on speaker.
“It’s Mike.” Lizzie kept her hands on his hips as he looped one arm around her. “Hey, Mike.”
“Jessie called. She’d like to talk to you about a private adoption.”
Lizzie let out a whimper.
Jared held her even tighter. “You have a copy of the temporary custody agreement to give her, right?”
“Already done, and I told her you’d cover the cost of her getting an attorney to walk her through the adoption process. She appreciated that. I set her up with an attorney friend of mine, and they’re meeting in the morning to go over the details.”
“And the father?”
“It was a one-night stand during a party, and she doesn’t know his name and doesn’t want to know his name. She was pretty adamant that he’s not in the picture and isn’t going to be. I think that’s a big part of why this was so traumatic for her. She made a mistake and ended up with a baby.”
“Thanks for your help with this, Mike.” Jared was so overwhelmed, he could barely speak. They were going to be parents.
“Don’t celebrate until the paperwork is signed,” Mike said. “She could still change her mind.”
“I hear you.”
“I’ll be back to you in the morning, hopefully with more good news.”
“We’ll be waiting for your call.”
“Hang in there. We’re close to getting this done.”
“Thanks again.” Jared ended the call and leaned his forehead against Lizzie’s. “This might be happening.”
She looked at him with barely contained joy and tears in her eyes. “I can’t believe it.”
“You heard what Mike said, though, about not celebrating yet.”
“I’m already celebrating. Jessie knows this is the right thing to do for her little girl, and Dan wrote the agreement so she can visit her. It’s the best possible solution.”
Jared drew in a deep breath. “I’m afraid to get excited.”
“I have a good feeling about this, and you know how my feelings are.”
“They’re always spot-on.” He hesitated before he said, “She needs a name.”
“Violet. We’ll call her Vi.”
“I love that. Could her middle name be Catherine, for my favorite grandmother?”
“Yes, of course. Violet Catherine James. It’s a beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”
“Our beautiful girl.”
They hugged each other as tightly as they ever had, and when they pulled apart, both were in tears.
Lizzie reached up to brush his away. “We did it, Jared. Not the way we thought we would, but we did it just the same. I have to believe this was how it was meant to be.”
“It does feel fated somehow, for sure. Thank goodness for you and your great big heart that can’t help but get involved when you see someone in need. You brought Vi into our lives, and she’s going to bring us so much joy.”
“I can’t wait to tell everyone the news.”
“We have to wait until it’s official.”
“I know, but still… I can’t wait.”
With his hand cupping her cheek, he kissed her, thrilled to see her happier than she’d ever been. “I can’t wait either. For everything.”