Chapter 24 #2
Tiffany served cereal and fruit for their breakfast and then for the girls when they appeared together, holding hands like always.
Ashleigh was the best big sister ever to Addie.
“There’re my baby girls. Ashleigh and Addie, this is Ms. McKenzie and her son, Jax.
They’re going to stay with us for a bit. ”
“Hi,” Ashleigh said with a shy smile as Addie hid behind her sister.
“Addie is our shy one,” Tiffany said, reaching for her.
Addie snuggled into Tiffany’s embrace and popped her thumb into her mouth. “Daddy,” she said over her thumb.
“He’s gone to work, but he’ll stop in to see you as soon as he can.”
Addie was the biggest daddy’s girl who’d ever lived, even if she looked just like Tiffany and Ashleigh, with dark hair and the most gorgeous face Blaine said he’d ever seen.
Ashleigh filled a bowl with cereal for Addie and pushed it across the table, knowing her sister preferred the cereal without milk.
“You have quite the helper,” McKenzie said.
“She’s the best.” Tiffany smiled at Ash. “I don’t know what I’d do without her.” Tiffany took a sip of the decaf iced tea that she drank while pregnant. “Is there anyone you need to call to let them know you’re safe? My phone is charged, and you’re welcome to use it.”
“I should call my mom,” McKenzie said, sounding reluctant. Last night, she’d said there was no one to call, so Tiffany was surprised to hear her say she should call her mother.
Tiffany got up to retrieve her phone from the counter and handed it to McKenzie. “Jax is fine with us if you’d like some privacy. Make yourself at home.”
“Thank you again, Tiffany. You’ll never know what this means to me.”
“I’m a mom, too. I get it.”
McKenzie took the phone into Tiffany’s living room and sat on the sofa to make the call to her mother.
“Hello?” her mother said, sounding guarded as she took the call from a number she didn’t recognize.
“It’s me.”
“Oh, thank you, Jesus. Why haven’t you answered your phone?”
“It died two days ago, and I had no way to charge it after we lost power.”
“I’ve been senseless with worry for you and Jax.”
“We’re fine. The Gansett police chief brought us to his home to ride out the storm. They’re taking very good care of us.”
“Why couldn’t you stay at the cabin?”
“The roof blew off, so we had to leave.” She didn’t tell her mother the part about trying to walk to town with an infant and how Blaine Taylor had saved their lives.
Her mother didn’t need to know how close they’d come to disaster, especially since she’d told McKenzie she was foolish for taking a baby to a remote island in the first place.
“That cottage was always a bit ramshackle. I can’t imagine what it must be like now.”
“It was raining harder inside than out,” McKenzie told her.
“You ought to just sell the place and use the money to set yourself up in a whole new life.”
“We’ll see. I’m not ready to make any big decisions.”
“Can I reach you at this number if needed?”
“For now. I’ll let you know when my phone is charged again. The power is out on the entire island, so I’m not sure when I can charge.”
“As long as I know you two are safe.”
“Sorry to worry you.”
“I’m thinking of you all the time and wishing I could do something to make things easier for you.”
“There’s nothing you or anyone can do. I’ve just got to get through this for Jax’s sake, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
“I’m here if you need anything.”
She had learned that her mother’s “help” came with strings attached, which was what had sent her to Gansett in the first place. “Thank you. I’ll check in soon.”
“Sounds good.”
McKenzie ended the call just as someone knocked loudly at the front door. Tiffany came into the living room, carrying Addie, and opened the door. “Hey, Duke. What’s up?”
“I, um, I heard that you had taken in the woman and child who lived next to me out on the west side. I, um, I brought some of their things from the house.”
“That’s so nice of you,” Tiffany said. “Come in.”
Duke came in bearing two huge bags. One was full of toys, and the other had clothes.
McKenzie recognized him as the guy who lived next door. She’d seen him in his yard and had wondered about him. At first glance, he’d seemed like someone she ought to be afraid of. He had kind of a tough, menacing look to him. But it was so kind of him to bring things from their house.
“This is McKenzie,” Tiffany said.
“Good to meet you. I was glad to hear you’d found somewhere safe to stay. The house collapsed. It’s a total loss. I was so worried about you and the little one. I went to the police, and Blaine… He told me you were here. That was a big relief.”
The man she’d once thought of as menacing seemed deeply rattled by the entire thing, which was so sweet. She was so amazed by his kindness that she almost didn’t hear the part about her house being a total loss. “It’s so kind of you to bring us our things.”
“I got what I could find. The clothes are all wet. You’ll need to wash them when the power comes back.”
Ashleigh came into the living room, carrying Jax. “He was starting to fuss.”
McKenzie took him from her. “Thank you, Ashleigh.”
“I, uh, just wanted to make sure you’re all right,” Duke said.
“Thank you so, so much,” McKenzie said. “I sincerely appreciate this.”
“Least I can do. Let me know if you need some help at the house. I can get a group of guys together to clean up when you’re ready.”
“Oh wow. That’d be so nice of you. I inherited the cabin from my grandmother.”
His brows lifted. “Rosemary was your grandmother? She was a great lady.”
“Yes, she sure was. I miss her terribly. I was her only granddaughter. We were very close.”
“I was very sad to hear she’d passed. She used to make banana bread for me and the guys at the studio.”
McKenzie smiled. “I miss her banana bread almost as much as I miss her.”
“Tried to talk her into some ink, but she wasn’t having it. Read me the riot act when I did my neck. ‘Duke,’ she said, ‘some day you might need to get a real job, and who’s gonna hire you with that crap on your skin?’”
McKenzie sputtered with laughter. “I can hear her saying that! She hated tattoos and piercings. I thought she’d have a stroke when I had my nose pierced as a teen.”
“Believe me, I know. She told me to quit using myself as a canvas and get a hobby. All the guys in the shop loved her.”
“Thank you for sharing that with me. It’s nice to hear that she was so well loved here.”
“She was for sure. I looked forward to her arrival every summer. She came right over to hug me and see what a mess I’d made of myself while she was gone.”
McKenzie laughed as she brushed away a tear. The memories of her grandmother were among the best in her life, and she missed her fiercely.
“Well, I won’t take any more of your time. Let me know when you’re ready for cleanup at the house. We’ll get you squared away, and you’ll want to talk to Mac McCarthy about rebuilding.”
Unless the insurance came through for her, that probably wasn’t an option, since there was no way she could afford to rebuild. But he didn’t need to know that. “Good to know.”
“All right, then. You ladies take care.”
“Thank you again, Duke.”
“No problem.”
After he left, Tiffany said, “That was so nice of him.”
“Very. He’s not what I expected.”
“How do you mean?”
“When I saw him next door, I was a little afraid of him, to be honest.”
Tiffany put Addie down to toddle over to her toys. “I can see why. He comes off as gruff and intimidating, but he’s just the nicest guy.”
When Jax started squirming, McKenzie put him down to crawl over to Addie. “I see that now. I feel bad for judging him based on the ink and the ponytail. My grandmother used to talk about having the best neighbors out here. I wasn’t sure if he was one of them.”
“Now you know they were buddies.”
“Which is so funny to me. I can’t picture her in a tattoo studio.”
“Anything is possible on Gansett Island,” Tiffany said.
“I’m beginning to see that.”