Chapter 24
Thanks to Cindy, the tension Jace had felt since Seamus called let up a bit. He could handle two boys for a couple of days. But what about when he had to work? Shit, he’d have to figure something out, because he couldn’t afford to miss another night of work.
At the clinic, the automatic double doors opened to admit them.
Seamus paced the waiting area, cell phone pressed to his ear. “Aye, it’s a bad break and will need surgery. They didn’t say how long she’ll be in the hospital. You don’t have to come, Joe. She’s going to be fine. Yes, of course I’ll tell her, and I’ll call you when she’s out of surgery.”
After Seamus ended the call, he turned to Jace. “Thanks for coming, mate.”
“This is Cindy. My girlfriend.”
“I know Cindy,” Seamus said with a small smile. “She cuts our hair. Didn’t know you two were an item.”
Jace put his arm around her. “It’s a new development. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not,” Seamus said, running his hands through his hair. He looked completely undone, which was a side of him Jace hadn’t seen before.
“What happened?” Jace asked.
“Craziest thing. She was getting out of the shower and talking to me and then there was this god-awful crash. I went running to her, and her leg was at this angle…” He sighed.
“It was horrible. I had to get the boys up to follow the ambulance here. They’re in with her now. I’d better go check on them.”
“We’ll be right here and can take them home whenever they’re ready to go,” Jace said.
“Thanks again for coming.”
“No problem.”
While Jace and Cindy sat to wait, he took her hand again. “I hope it was okay to introduce you as my girlfriend.”
“It was okay, although it’s been so long since I had a boyfriend that I’m not sure what the protocol is these days.”
“How is it possible that you haven’t had all the boyfriends?”
Cindy shrugged. “Didn’t want them.”
“How come?”
“Always more trouble than they’re worth.”
“Are you going to make an exception for me?”
“Seems like I already have.” She gave him a saucy smile. “I let you call me your girlfriend, didn’t I?”
“I’m honored to be an exception.”
“You’re an exception to all my rules.”
“I promise not to be more trouble than I’m worth.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
They waited for thirty minutes before Seamus brought the pajama-clad boys out to them in the waiting room. They looked as if they’d been crying.
“Everything all right?” Jace asked as he stood to receive them.
“The poor blokes are terribly worried about Caro. We assured them she’s going to be fine, but after what they’ve been through…” Seamus shrugged.
Jace squatted so he was at eye level with the boys. “Seamus and Carolina are right. She’s going to be fine. The doctors just need to fix her leg at the hospital, and then they’ll send her back home to get better. And when she gets home, you guys will help her with everything, right?”
Jackson and Kyle nodded even as their little chins quivered. They’d had a tough, emotional day and needed to get some rest before school in the morning.
“What do you say we get you guys home?” Jace asked.
“There’s ice cream in the freezer for good lads who do what they’re told and behave for Jace and his friend Cindy,” Seamus said.
“We already had ice cream,” Kyle said.
Jackson nudged his brother, as if to say, Shut up, will you?
“I don’t think there’s ever been a better night for a second scoop of ice cream,” Seamus said. “Don’t you agree, Jace?”
“Absolutely. What do you say, guys?”
Jackson looked up at Seamus. “You promise you’ll be back?”
Seamus hugged the little guy and then his brother. “Wild horses couldn’t keep us away from you two monkeys. Caro and I will FaceTime you after school tomorrow so you can see for yourselves that she’s fine, okay?”
“Okay,” Kyle said, still seeming reluctant to leave Seamus.
Who could blame him? Seamus and Carolina had provided stability since their mother’s tragic death.
“They have to be to school by eight ten,” Seamus said.
“We get them up around seven fifteen because they’re slow in the morning.
They know where their school clothes are kept and how to get dressed on their own.
They like cereal and juice for breakfast, and their lunches are already packed in the fridge.
Look at what Caro packed for them so you know what to do for the next day.
I’ll call the school and let them know what happened so you can pick them up at three.
If you have any problems at all, call our friends Big Mac and Linda McCarthy.
” He handed Jace a slip of paper. “That’s their number.
They’ve raised a bunch of kids and will know what to do in any situation.
” Seamus took a deep breath. “I can’t think of anything else you should know off the top of my head, but if I do, I’ll text you. ”
“We got it,” Jace said. “Try not to worry.”
“My nerves are shot seeing my Caro hurt so bad.”
“I’m sure, but she’s going to be okay, and the boys will be, too. Guys, this is my friend Cindy. Cindy, this is Jackson and Kyle.”
She shook hands with them. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you guys.”
“You’re pretty,” Jackson said, giving her a goofy smile.
“Thank you,” Cindy said, amused by the comment.
“Isn’t she?” Jace smiled at Cindy as Seamus handed him the keys to his truck. “We’ll take good care of them while you take care of Carolina.”
“Thanks for this, mate. I owe you.”
“No, you don’t. It’s my pleasure.”
“There are sheets for our bed in the hall closet. Make yourselves at home.”
“Don’t worry about a thing.” Jace herded the boys out of the clinic and unlocked the truck as they ran ahead to jump into the back seat. “Should I let them do that? Run into a parking lot that way?”
“At this time of day, it’s not a problem. There’s no one else around.”
“I have no freaking clue what I’m doing.”
“You’ll figure it out like everyone else does when they’re tossed into it.”
When they got in the truck, Jace glanced at the boys in the mirror. “Everyone buckled in?”
“Yep,” Kyle said.
As he drove them home on dark island roads, he was glad he’d taken the time to renew his driver’s license when he got out of prison.
He hoped he could handle the enormous responsibility he’d been entrusted with.
Cindy was right—at least they were older and could help him fumble through.
Although the magnitude of what Lisa had taken on when he’d suddenly disappeared from their lives occurred to him once again.
He felt guiltier than ever, now that the boys were under his care for the first time ever.
As daunting as this was for him, it would be a hell of a lot easier than caring for and supporting two toddlers—alone—like she’d had to.
After getting to know the boys, it was obvious she’d done a brilliant job with them. They were bright, funny, polite, smart. Everything a man would want his sons to be, and it was no thanks to him.
Perhaps he might have the chance to change that going forward.
They knew who he was to them now and had accepted him as their temporary caregiver.
While he hated that Carolina had to be so badly injured to make it happen, these next few days would give him the opportunity to further bond with the boys, and for that, he’d be forever grateful.
“Are you okay over there?” Cindy asked.
“Yeah, just thinking. I’ll tell you later.”
“Okay.”
When they arrived at the house, the boys burst out of the truck and went to find Burpy.
“Jeez, I forgot there’s a dog to be kept alive, too,” Jace said as Burpy ran out the door to pee in the yard.
Cindy laughed at the face he made and followed him inside, the dog pushing past them to get back to his boys.
“Let’s do this ice cream thing and get to bed.” He opened cabinets to find bowls and drawers looking for spoons. Thankfully, the ice cream was easier to find. He scooped some for each boy as well as himself and Cindy and placed the bowls on the table.
“You forgot the whipped cream,” Kyle said.
“And the cherry,” Jackson added. “Carolina always gives us a cherry.”
“Whipped cream and a cherry coming up.”
As he returned to the table with the additional items, he heard the distinctive sound of a helicopter flying overhead and glanced at Cindy.
The boys didn’t seem to register that the chopper had come for Carolina, which was probably for the best.
After ice cream, the boys were sent to get ready for bed.
“What happens next?” Jace asked when he appeared in their bedroom door to find them wrestling over a toy.
“We gotta brush our teeth again ’cause we had more sugar,” Jackson said. “Seamus says sugar is like a gremlin that eats your teeth while you sleep if you don’t brush them before bed.”
Jace choked back a laugh. Seamus had a way with words. “Then let’s get rid of those gremlins.”
Jace supervised them through using the bathroom, brushing teeth and washing hands before marching them back to their bedroom. “Into bed with you. No shenanigans.”
“What’s sh… nanigans?” Jackson asked.
Jace chuckled. “It means no fooling around. Straight to sleep.”
“Are you sleeping here?” Kyle asked.
“I am. We’re staying in Seamus and Carolina’s room if you need us.”
“Is your girlfriend sleeping over, too?” Jackson asked, giggling.
Jace couldn’t help but laugh along with his son, thankful to be teased by him after the day they’d had.
“Yes, she is. We’ll both be here if you need us.
” Jace went to each boy and pulled the covers up over their shoulders the way his mother had done to him and Jess once upon a time when they slept in twin beds like Jackson and Kyle did.
He hadn’t thought about that in years. He ruffled their hair.
“Sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite. ”
“There’s no bedbugs!” Kyle said as Jackson giggled.
“Go to sleep.”
Burpy jumped into bed with Jackson, who slipped an arm around the dog like it was something they did every night, so Jace didn’t question it.
On the way out of the room, he shut off the overhead light.
“Leave the door open,” Kyle said.
“I will.” Jace also left the hallway light on and returned to the kitchen, where Cindy had washed the ice cream bowls and spoons and set the table for breakfast. He went to her, put his arm around her and kissed her forehead. “Thank you for the help.”
“No problem. Let’s go make the bed so we can get some sleep.”
They worked together to change the sheets on the bed in the main bedroom and then put on the pajama pants and T-shirts they’d brought from home.
“I guess this means sleeping naked is out of the question for the time being,” he said.
“You guess correctly.”
“You’re no fun at all,” he said, affecting a pout that made her laugh.
“You know I’m lots of fun, but not with two kids sleeping nearby.”
“Is this why people refer to their kids as cockblockers?”
“I believe it is.”
“Not that I would ever say that about my sons.”
Cindy laughed. “Of course you wouldn’t.”
“I’m just going to check on them one more time.
Be right back.” Jace tiptoed to the doorway to the boys’ room, which Seamus had told him had been part of the addition they put on to make room for the kids in their home.
They’d also added a deluxe playroom and the bathroom the boys shared.
He’d expected to hear whispering, but they were quiet, so he returned to the main bedroom.
“Are they out?”
“Seems like they might be.”
“See? That wasn’t so bad, right?”
“Not bad at all. They made it easy—and you did, too.”
She held out her arms to him, and he snuggled up to her like he’d been doing that for much longer than a day. He was so comfortable with her that he felt like he’d known her forever.
As he relaxed into her warm embrace, he released a deep breath for the first time in hours. “They’re seven and eight years old, and that was the first time I’ve ever tucked them into bed that they’ll remember. I’m so ashamed of that.”
“They’ll remember the times you were there, not the times you weren’t.”
“I know, but I still feel sick to think about what I missed, what they missed, what Lisa went through on her own. So many regrets.”
“Maybe you should see the regrets as a blessing of sorts.”
“How do you figure?”
“If you didn’t have regrets, then that would mean you didn’t learn anything from everything that happened. You’ve learned so much and traveled a million miles from who you were when it all went wrong. The regret means you’ve grown.”
“I’m not sure how you manage to spin it in a way that makes so much sense, but that’s a nice way to look at it.”
“Just a suggestion.”
“It’s a good one. Do you have regrets?”
“Only one.”
He waited to see if she’d share it with him.
“It’s the same one we all have. We wish we’d told the truth about what went on in our home back when it could’ve made a difference for us and our mom. We wish we hadn’t been so frightened by his threats that we kept silent when we should’ve been telling everyone who’d listen.”
“That doesn’t really count as a regret, because you did what you thought was right to stay safe—and to keep your mother safe,” Jace said.
“We know that, but we have the regrets just the same.”
“You’re a good person, Cindy. You shouldn’t carry that any longer. Your mom is happily remarried, and she wouldn’t want you to have regrets on her behalf.”
“No, she wouldn’t, and you’re right. I spent a lot of years in therapy figuring out how to put down the baggage from my childhood and move forward without it.”
“You’re doing a great job of that from what I’ve seen.”
“It takes daily effort. I’ve been thinking about maybe writing a memoir about my childhood.”
“Really?”
Nodding, she said, “I’ve kept journals my entire life and have everything that happened documented.
I went to enormous lengths to hide the journals where he’d never find them.
In one house, I kept them in an AC duct.
I’ve always been a writer, and now that he’s locked up, I think I might want to do something with them. ”
“That would be amazing, but only if you feel strong enough to revisit that time.”
“I revisit it every day in one way or another. I think I could handle it, but I’d need to talk to my family about whether they’d want me to do it.”
“I’m so impressed that you’re thinking of writing a book. I want to be the first to read it.”
“We can make that happen,” she said, seeming amused by his enthusiasm. “If I ever do it.”
“I think you will, and it’ll be incredible. You know what I would’ve regretted?”
“What’s that?”
“Not coming here and meeting you. This is the sweetest thing I’ve had in longer than I can remember, and it’s become very important to me.”
“Likewise.”