Chapter 14
Piper had expected Jack to leave after dinner, but when he checked in with work, he learned everyone was headed home to ride out the storm, knowing they could be called back at any time.
They moved from the kitchen into the salon and sat in front of the fire.
He settled in, legs crossed at the ankles, glass of ice water in hand while he entertained her with stories from his career as a state police officer after she’d asked him to tell her about his job.
“Local cops refer to us as Triple A,” he said with a grin. “They think all we do is help stranded motorists, but it’s a lot more than that. We assist in all sorts of cases, including the investigations of cops gone bad.”
“Does that happen a lot?”
“More often than you’d think. Some of them start to get a god complex.
They think they can do whatever they want and get away with it.
We get called in when a department wants an impartial investigation of one of their own.
We oversee all sorts of investigations—everything from homicide to gaming to computer crimes, and we patrol all the state’s roads and highways. ”
“Wow. That’s a lot.”
“It can be. It was when I was a detective. They moved me to admin when Ruby was sick, which took some of the pressure off. I’m still dealing with cases I had as a detective, though. Like the trial that just wrapped up after more delays than I could count.”
“Congratulations on the conviction.”
“Thanks. It was my case from the beginning, and I stayed on it all this time.”
“You must feel very satisfied now that it’s over.”
“I am. It was a grind from the start. I’ll never forget that crime scene. It was brutal.”
“I can’t imagine. I give you guys so much credit for being the ones to deal with stuff that the rest of us couldn’t bear to look at.”
“Police get a bad rap because of the criminal misbehavior of some, but most of us get into this business because we want to help people. At least that’s why I became a cop. But enough about me. Tell me more about you.”
“Your stuff is far more interesting.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
“Well, let’s see,” Piper said. “I’m the youngest of five kids.”
“That must’ve been fun.”
“It was, for the most part. They’re all quite a bit older than me, so they treated me like a baby until I was, like, fifteen and begged them to knock off the baby stuff.
My brothers wanted to kill my ex when he called off the wedding, which was kind of funny.
I’d never seen them so mad on my behalf.
They’re all married with kids and great careers, and then there’s me, still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
I’ve started more careers than anyone I know, but nothing sticks.
I’ve been a retail manager, a restaurant manager, an office manager, and now I’m trying on hotel management for size. ”
“How’s it fitting?”
“So far, so good, but mostly because I love working with Laura, Owen and Sarah so much, and I like being here on Gansett.”
“What do you like the best about the island?”
“The people. Everyone is so nice and friendly and welcoming. I’ve made so many friends here, more than I’ve ever had in my whole life.
I’ve always been content with one or two good friends.
I didn’t need to be the life of the party, but here…
Everyone is so nice that I can’t help wanting to get to know them all. ”
“I agree. It’s a very welcoming place. It’s been like that for me, too. I’ve become very good friends with Blaine and Deacon Taylor, Mason Johns, Mallory and Quinn James, to name a few.”
“I don’t know Mallory and Quinn except to say hello, but I’ve met all the others, and they seem great.”
“They are, and they invite me to join them in whatever they’re doing, even though I’m single and they’re not. They don’t care.”
“Do they know about Ruby?”
He shook his head. “You’re the only one I’ve told about her out here.”
Piper was incredibly honored to hear that. “Why is that, do you suppose?”
Jack shrugged. “I was looking for a fresh start when I came here. It didn’t seem wise to clue them in to my great tragedy. I didn’t want to become a pity case for everyone, like I was at home.”
“I can understand that, but they all seem like good people. They’d probably want to know you better.”
“Maybe. We’ll see. It’s not something I talk about much anymore. It overtook our lives for four years, and when it was over, I continued my leave of absence for a few months until I felt ready to get back in the game. When I went back to work, I wanted a fresh start.”
“How’d that go?”
“Good days. Bad days. Everything in between. I’ve learned that you can’t just power your way through a loss like that.
You have to give it the time and attention it demands.
I’m still a work in progress on that front.
I’ll think I’m doing much better, and then it’ll be our anniversary or her birthday, or some other memory will pop into my head out of nowhere, and it sets me back. ”
Piper put her hand on his arm. “I keep saying I’m sorry, but I really am. I can’t possibly know how hard that must be or the courage it takes to keep moving forward after such a painful loss.”
He covered her hand with his much bigger one. “Thank you. Life can be a bitch sometimes, but it’s also full of good stuff, too. Like this… with you. It’s good stuff, or at least it feels good to me.”
“It feels good to me, too.”
Their gazes collided and held. The wind and rain pinging against the windows combined with the cozy glow of the fireplace made Piper feel like she was inside a snow globe with only Jack for company, which was fine with her. He was very good company.
“Oh, sorry,” Owen said when he came into the room. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Feeling as if she’d been caught doing something naughty, Piper pulled back her hand, cleared her throat and shifted her gaze toward Owen. “You didn’t. We were just talking.”
“How’re you doing, Jack?” Owen asked.
“Better now that I’m back on Gansett, and by the way, your spaghetti was excellent.”
“Oh good. Glad you enjoyed it.”
“Everyone did,” Piper said. “They said to pass along their thanks.”
“No problem.” Owen moved toward the one small window that wasn’t boarded to look outside. “It’s getting worse by the minute, or so it seems.”
“It’s definitely getting louder,” Jack said.
“You feeling any shaking down here?” Owen asked.
“Nope.”
“That’s good. I’m worried the roof will blow off.”
“Nah,” Jack said. “This place is solid.”
“From your lips to God’s ears,” Owen said, still sounding concerned.
“We’ll make sure the fire is out before we go to bed,” Piper said, earning her an intrigued glance from Jack. “Or, I should say, before I go to bed.”
Jack’s low chuckle was greeted by a playful glare from her.
“The Sand & Surf is a no-judgment zone,” Owen said, grinning. “What happens on Gansett stays on Gansett.”
“What happens on Gansett is all over Gansett before it happens,” Piper said.
“That’s also true. I’m going up to attempt to get some sleep. Call if you need anything.”
“Will do,” Piper said. “Good night.”
“Night,” Owen said. “Jack, feel free to grab a room if you don’t want to go out in the storm.”
“I might do that. Thanks, Owen.”
“Sure thing.”
“He’s such a nice guy,” Jack said when they were alone.
“They’re the best bosses I’ve ever had. They’re making me want to put down some roots here.”
“Are you staying here at the hotel?”
“Yes, I have one of the tiny rooms on the third floor, which works out perfectly for what I need. I think about getting an apartment or something, but it’s so expensive to live here, even in the off-season.”
“It is. I’m lucky to have accommodations provided by the department.”
“Where?”
“Next door to the Coast Guard station in North Harbor. It’s a two-bedroom apartment that I share with whomever is sent out on any given week. I’m the only one permanently assigned here right now. In the summer, there’re two of us.”
“Like Owen said, you’re welcome to stay here if you’d rather not venture out.”
“I think I might take you up on that. If I get called in during the storm, it’d be easier to already be in town.”
“I can set you up with a room.”
“Are you eager to get to bed?”
“Not particularly. Why?”
“I was kinda enjoying talking to you and was hoping you might keep talking to me for a while longer.”
Piper melted at the way he looked at her when he said that. For a girl who’d planned to stay unattached after her most recent romantic disaster, she was getting awfully involved with a handsome man who enjoyed talking to her and made her breathless when he looked at her that way. “I can do that.”
At Eastward Look, the wind made the house shake.
Nikki Stokes was comforted by the presence of her fiancé, Riley McCarthy, his brother, Finn, and Finn’s fiancée, Chloe, as well as Riley and Finn’s dad, Kevin, his wife, Chelsea, and their baby daughter, Summer.
Her grandmother, Evelyn, was also there, and being with her always made Nikki calmer than she would be otherwise.
But damn, this storm was scary.
They had the TV tuned to the local Providence station. A weatherman was positioned on the beach in Narragansett, which was the closest town to Gansett. The wind and rain were so strong that the man could barely remain standing as he reported on the approaching storm.
“As Ethel bears down on the southern coast of Rhode Island, she has tiny Gansett Island in her crosshairs,” he shouted over the roar of the storm.
“The latest models are showing the storm coming ashore on Gansett overnight as a strong Category 3 with wind gusts topping one hundred twenty miles per hour and a storm surge expected to top ten feet.”
The in-studio anchor thanked the weatherman for his report and urged him to get to safer ground. “We spoke with Gansett Island Fire Chief Mason Johns a short time ago. He provided an update on the situation on the island.”