Chapter 24
Mac hadn’t felt this helpless since Maddie had gone into labor during a tropical storm with Cal Maitland, the clinic’s only doctor at the time, off-island.
Dr. David Lawrence, home on vacation, had come to their rescue then and again when Janey had nearly died giving birth to PJ.
If anyone could figure out a way to keep Jeff Lawry alive under these circumstances, it was David.
He figured he ought to share that thought with Jeff’s siblings.
“You guys,” Mac said to the Lawrys, who were huddled together in the waiting room.
“Listen… David is the absolute best guy for this job. If anyone can save Jeff, it’s him.
Remember what he did for Maddie and Janey…
I know it’s a terrible situation, but David knows what he’s doing. He’ll do everything he can for Jeff.”
“Thank you, Mac,” Owen said. “We needed to hear that.”
“I wish there was more we could do,” Mac said.
“You did the most important thing getting them out of that building,” Johnny said.
“Let me clean that wound on your face, Mac,” Katie said.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I worry it’ll get infected, and cleaning it will give me something to do,” Katie said.
“Go, Mac,” Maddie said. “Let Katie clean you up.”
“Would you like to come sit with Kelsey?” Katie asked Maddie.
“I’d love to.”
They followed Katie through the double doors. She pointed Maddie to Kelsey’s room.
“In here, Mac,” Katie said. “Have a seat on the table.”
He did as she asked, even though he felt like the proverbial cat on a hot tin roof.
There were a million things he needed to do, but with Jeff and Kelsey in the clinic because of a building their family owned, he felt it imperative to stay close to them, to help if he could, even if he knew nothing about what they might need.
“It’s not your fault, Mac,” Katie said gently. “No one would ever blame you or your family.”
“The building was ours.”
Katie dabbed at his face with something that stung like a son of a bitch.
“I’ve gotten to know her a little in the last few weeks.
Jeff brought her to some family dinners at my mom’s.
She told us how much she loved having her own place for the first time ever.
She said it made her feel like a real grown-up. ”
“She’s the most delightful person,” Mac said, his voice wavering. “I don’t know what we would’ve done without her this summer, especially since the twins came.”
“She wouldn’t want you to blame yourself.”
“I wish she’d stayed with us or my parents. We all invited her.”
“They probably wanted to be alone. They’re madly in love.”
“I know.”
“We remember what that was like, right?” Katie asked. “Those first early days, when you think you’ll die if you can’t be together all the time.”
Mac loved to think about the day he met Maddie and every day since then. “Yeah, for sure.”
“What you said about David is true. If anyone can save Jeff under these circumstances, he can.”
“What if he can’t, though?” Mac asked her.
“Then we’ll have to accept that this was Jeff’s time to go.”
Mac refused to consider that possibility. “It can’t be his time. It just can’t. Not yet.”
The eye of the storm passed over the island on Friday around noon, giving residents a brief respite from the wind and rain.
Blaine looked up at the sky as he and Jack Downing surveyed the damage on the island’s west side, which seemed to have taken the brunt of the storm.
Trees were down, several of the summer cottages had been destroyed, and the road was covered with sand and shells and dead crabs and other crap.
“What a mess,” Jack said.
“It’ll take a while to come back from this.”
“How long do you think the power will be out?”
“Took a few days to get it back during the blackout. Who knows how long it’ll be after this? It’s not over yet. The eye is the halfway point.”
“I saw on the news that the second half of the storm is less potent. Let’s hope that’s true.”
They went to each of the collapsed cottages to make sure no one was trapped. Blaine made a note of the address of each collapsed cottage so he could notify the owners.
A call from dispatch came over the radio. “Chief, we got a call from Morgan Weyland that his brother Billy rode out the storm out on his boat in the Salt Pond. The boat is sunk, and there’s no sign of his brother anywhere.”
“Damn it,” Blaine muttered. “That’s Billy from the gym. Let’s call Linc and the Coast Guard in to search the pond. We’ll take the land. Let’s also get our divers out there to check to make sure he’s not inside the boat.”
“Ten-four.”
“What the hell was he thinking riding out a hurricane on a boat?” Jack asked.
“Deacon talked to him days ago about moving to shore, but he refused to leave the boat. Said she was his home, and he wasn’t going anywhere.”
“And now his boat is sunk, and he’s probably dead.”
Blaine’s deep sigh answered for him. “All we can do is give people the warning. We can’t make them heed it.”
“True.”
They got back into Blaine’s SUV and continued to make their way around the outer ring of the island, documenting damage to personal property, downed power lines and stopping occasionally to take a chainsaw to a tree blocking the road.
Jack smothered a yawn that caught Blaine’s attention. “Are you okay? You seem sluggish today.”
“Didn’t get much sleep.”
“Me either. The storm is fucking loud.”
“Seriously loud, but that’s not what kept me up.”
Blaine came to a stop in front of a huge piece of wood blocking the road. They got out to haul it to the brush that lined the road. When they were back in the car, Blaine glanced over at him as they continued their trek around the island. “What kept you up?”
“A friend.”
“Ah, I see. Well, good for you.”
“She is good for me.” After a pause, Jack said, “I, ah, lost my wife a few years back.”
“Oh damn, Jack. I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“Thanks. It was rough.”
“I can’t imagine.” Blaine shuddered. The thought of losing Tiffany was something he couldn’t bear to consider. “I just can’t.”
“I hope you never have to go through it.”
“What happened to her? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“I don’t mind. She had breast cancer.”
“Ah shit. I’m sorry, man. Truly.”
“Thanks. I don’t say much about it, but my new friend said maybe I ought to open up a bit to my friends out here.”
“I’m honored to be considered a friend. And it goes both ways.”
“Good to know.”
“So the new friend… I take it that’s a big deal.”
“First new friend I’ve had since my wife passed.”
After a quiet moment, Blaine said, “And it was okay? Being with your new friend?”
“It was great.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“I’m happy for me, too, which is kind of weird.”
“How so?”
“As great as it is to have met someone, it’s also sad because I never thought I’d go down this road again.”
“I get that. It’s bittersweet.”
“Exactly that.” Jack took a sip of the coffee Piper had made for him at the hotel. “Life goes marching on, regardless of us. Our choice is to either live or not, and once you choose to survive, you’ve got no choice but to get on with it.”
Blaine was incredibly moved by Jack’s words. “I give you a lot of credit, man.” He wasn’t sure he’d be capable of going on without Tiffany. The very thought of having to would have brought him to his knees if he’d been standing.
Jack shrugged. “What’re you gonna do?”
“Thanks for telling me about what you’ve been through.”
“I’ve wanted to for a while now, but it’s not something you can just pop into a random conversation.”
“I guess not. I’m glad you told me, but so, so sorry it happened.”
“Me, too. I’ve been doing better since I’ve been out here. There’s something about this place…”
“I know, and what’s funny about that is when I was growing up here, I thought it was the seventh circle of hell. Nothing to do. Nowhere to go. It was so confining. And now…”
“It’s paradise,” Jack said.
“That it is, and it will be again once this goddamned storm goes away and leaves us alone.”
Tiffany had only just gotten up and started coffee for her guest when McKenzie appeared in the kitchen doorway with Jax in her arms. She had long dark hair that she wore in a ponytail and gorgeous brown eyes.
“How’d you guys sleep?” Tiffany asked.
“Very well, all things considered. Thank you again for taking us in.”
“It was no problem. I’m just glad you’re safe. Coffee?”
“I’d love some.”
“What can I get for Jax?”
“You don’t happen to have any baby food or cereal, do you?”
“In fact, I do.”
“You really are a lifesaver.”
Tiffany brought Addie’s high chair to the table and removed the tray so McKenzie could get him settled. “Does he like Cheerios?”
“He loves them.”
Tiffany sprinkled the dry cereal on the tray and laughed when Jax started grabbing the pieces with his chubby hands. “He’s adorable.” He had light blond hair and big blue eyes, which had Tiffany concluding that he looked like his father.
“Thank you. I’m quite fond of him.”
“Such a cute age.”
“How old are yours?”
“Ashleigh is six, and Addie is one.”
“And you have another coming soon.”
Tiffany rested her hands on her baby bump. “Not until the spring, but I’m huge with this one. I think it might a boy.”
“I was huge with Jax.”
“I’d love to have a boy, but another girl would be fine, too. As long as he or she is healthy.”
“That’s right.”
“What brought you to the island?”
“I inherited my grandparents’ summer cabin and came out a week or so ago to check on it. I’ve had one issue after another. No power, no TV, no Wi-Fi. That’s how I didn’t know about the storm coming until it was on top of us.”
“Oh, that must’ve been so frightening.”
“Especially when it made the house rock like it was going to collapse at any second. I figured we’d be safer leaving than trying to stay.
I tried calling for a cab, but none were running, so I decided to walk into town, and we know how that turned out.
” She shuddered. “I thought we were going to die out there. Your husband saved our lives.”
“I’m so glad he spotted you and brought you here.”
“I’ll be forever thankful to both of you.”