Chapter 27
“Let’s go home,” Joe said over the radio to Seamus.
“I’m with you, boss man,” Seamus replied.
While it was still remarkable to Joe that Seamus, who’d been hired to run the company while Joe was in Ohio with Janey, was now married to his mother, Joe appreciated that Seamus always deferred to him when he was home.
Not that he cared about being the boss, but he missed the ferries and the routine of running the company when he was away, and it was nice to slip back into his former role whenever he could.
Seamus knew how much that meant to him, which was another reason to like and respect the Irishman who’d become such a big part of their lives and their family.
He’d seen Seamus step up for his mother big-time since she’d slipped in the bathroom and badly broken her leg.
She was doing much better, but still had a long road ahead of her.
He felt better about going back to Ohio knowing that Seamus and the boys, along with a wide circle of friends who’d pitched in to help, had things under control.
Joe was dying to get back to Janey as soon as he possibly could.
This was the longest they’d been apart since they got married, and he missed her fiercely.
Even though he’d already talked to her multiple times that day, he missed her so much that he decided to call her just so he could hear her voice as they steamed back to Gansett Island.
“Hey,” she said. “Everything all right?”
“It is now that I’m talking to you.”
“I miss you so much, it’s not even funny.”
“I was just thinking the same thing. That’s why I called.”
“You can never go anywhere without me again.”
“That’d be fine with me. I hate being away from you.”
“Where are you?”
“About twenty miles from Gansett.”
“How long will it take you to get there?”
“Couple more hours.”
“You must be so tired.”
“I am, but I’m fine to get us home.”
“Please be careful.”
“I will. Don’t worry. The guys are being great about letting me catnap while they keep an eye on things, so I’ve gotten some rest.”
“I can’t believe you and Seamus were going to go by yourselves.”
“That does seem foolish in hindsight, but how could we ask other people to risk their lives to save our assets?”
Janey chuckled. “‘Save our assets.’ That’s funny.”
“Glad to entertain you. What’re you hearing from the island?”
“David is operating on Jeff Lawry. Word is if he didn’t, Jeff wouldn’t survive the night.”
“Wow. David sure does earn his keep around there, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, he does. Where would we be without him?”
“Don’t even want to think about it,” Joe said with a shudder. He tried to never think about the day PJ was born. He preferred to think about the day after that, when he knew Janey and his son would survive.
“I’m praying for Jeff and Kelsey and their families.”
“Me, too. And I’m praying this goddamned storm goes away so they can get him off the island as soon as possible.”
“I hope that’s not too late.”
Hours into the surgery, David was doing everything he could to stay ahead of the game, but every time he took care of one bleeder, another one appeared.
Katie wiped the sweat from his brow and handed him the instruments he needed before he needed them.
Even though they’d never done anything like this before, they worked together like a well-oiled machine.
“Are you okay?” he asked her.
“Trying to be.”
“If you need to step out, Vic can take over.”
“I’ll stay. I’d rather be in here than out there worrying about what’s happening. At least this way, I know.”
“And that’s better?”
“Lesser of two evils. And by the way, you’re doing a great job.”
“I’m worried about the blood loss. We might need more than we have on hand, even with Cindy’s donation.”
“You’ve got five of his siblings in the building,” Katie reminded him. “Do you want me to ask Vic to work on figuring out the best match?”
“Yeah, let’s do that the next time she checks in.”
Victoria had been popping her head in every fifteen to twenty minutes to ask if they needed anything and to get an update for Jeff’s anxious fiancée and family members.
David kept up the pace of tying off bleeders and cleaning up the internal damage with the goal of not making anything worse than it already was.
Fifteen minutes later, when Victoria checked in, David had started to feel like he might be winning the war.
“Let’s type and match the rest of Jeff’s siblings just in case,” David said to her.
“On it,” Vic replied.
“I’ll go last if the others don’t match,” Katie said. “I’m type B.”
“We’ve already determined Jeff is type A,” David said.
“Oh gosh,” Katie said, realizing she couldn’t donate to him. “I don’t know what the others are, but they may know.”
“We’ll still have to confirm, of course,” Vic said.
“Yes, please do,” Katie said.
There was no room for error in these matters.
“I’ll be back,” Victoria said.
“I sure hope one of them is compatible,” Katie said.
“Me, too.”
Victoria went to the waiting room where the Lawry siblings awaited word on Jeff’s condition. “Let’s talk blood types, people. Do any of you know what you are?”
“I’m B,” Owen said.
“I am, too,” Julia replied.
That ruled them out, leaving Cindy and John as their only hope.
“I don’t know what I am,” John said.
“Let’s get you tested right away in case we need it.”
“Do you think you will?” Julia asked.
“David isn’t sure we’ll need it, but we want to be ready with more just in case.”
“He’s doing all right, though, isn’t he?” Cindy asked.
“So far so good, but there’s a long way to go.” Victoria wanted to be careful not to give false hope. “Let’s get you tested, John.”
Victoria went through the motions to process the blood and determined that John was also type B. So Cindy was still the only one who could donate. “I can do more,” she said.
“She’s already donated a pint, but another half should be okay,” Vic said.
“Should be?” Cindy’s boyfriend Jace Carson asked. “Will she be okay if she donates more?”
“She’ll be tired for a day or two,” Vic said.
“That’s fine,” Cindy said. “Whatever it takes to save Jeff.”
She stood to hug Jace and then followed Victoria to the exam room.
When she had Cindy set up to donate more blood, Victoria went to their tiny clinic kitchen and got a bottle of water and a protein bar for her.
“Thank you,” Cindy said. “Jeff will be all right, won’t he?”
“We’re doing everything we can for him. Hopefully, we can get him to Providence tomorrow. Do you want me to get Jace to keep you company?”
“That would be great, thanks.”
Cindy kept her gaze focused on the painting of sailboats on the far wall of the small room so she wouldn’t be tempted to look at the blood pumping out of her body. She’d been known to faint at the sight of blood, and that was the last thing anyone needed with Jeff’s life on the line.
Jace came into the room and pulled up a chair next to her, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Just trying to keep it together. It’s all so upsetting.”
“I know, babe. But he’s tough, and he’s been through worse and come out on top. We’ve got to stay hopeful.”
“Trying. Thanks for being here.”
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. You know that.”
His sweetness nearly brought her to tears, but that wouldn’t take much right about now. “Have you checked on the boys?” she asked of his sons, Jackson and Kyle.
“They’re having fun at the McCarthys’ house with PJ and Viv.”
“I’m glad the storm is fun for them.”
“It was fun for us, too, until we heard about Jeff and Kelsey.”
“Yes,” she said with a small smile, “it was.” After he closed the bar, they’d gone home to the house they now shared and spent the night wrapped up in each other. “But every night with you is fun.”
“Same for me. Being with you makes me feel peaceful in a way I never have before.”
“I love to hear that. If anyone deserves some peace, you do.”
“We all do, and I want that for you and your family, too.”
“I keep thinking about my mom and grandparents and how upset they’d be about Jeff. Are we doing the right thing keeping it from them?”
“I think so, sweetheart. There’s nothing they can do but worry.”
“The knot in my stomach… Brings back memories I’d sooner forget.”
“I’m sure.”
She glanced fleetingly at her arm that was connected to the needle. “It feels good to be able to do something to help.”
“You’re our hero.”
Maddie sat by Kelsey’s bed and kept watch over her as she slept. She felt sick seeing their beloved Kelsey injured and upset about Jeff.
Mac came up behind her and massaged her shoulders. “Do you want to head home and get some rest? I’ll stay with Kelsey.”
“That’s okay. I don’t mind staying until the babies’ next feeding. You should go home, though. Tomorrow will be busy for you, and you haven’t slept much the last few days.”
“I don’t feel right leaving you here.”
“I’ll be fine, and I think Kelsey would rather have me. No offense, of course.”
“I get it.” He continued to work the kinks out of muscles gone tight with tension.
“When I was a kid, I used to hate this place. I’d rail at being stuck here and always felt like I was missing out on what other kids were getting to do.
Since I met you and we started a family and my siblings moved home, I’ve come to love it.
But at times like this… I hate this place again. ”
“I understand that, but everyone who comes to live here knows the risks. We talked to Kelsey about that when we hired her.”
“Knowing the risks doesn’t prepare you for something like this.”
“No,” Maddie said with a sigh, “it doesn’t. But they were so happy here. Anyone could see that. Kelsey was thrilled that Jeff decided to stay so they could be together.”
“And now he might die because of that decision,” Kelsey said as her eyes fluttered open and filled with tears. “It’s my fault he was even here.”
“No, sweetie,” Maddie said, wiping the younger woman’s tears with a tissue. “He’s exactly where he wants to be. We could all see that.”
“We’re supposed to get married and have a life.”
“You will, honey,” Maddie said. “He’s fighting so hard for that life he wants with you. I’m sure you’re all he’s thinking about.”
“I want to go back to last night when everything was perfect.”
“You’ll get back there. You just have to hold on to hope.”
“You really think he’ll be okay?”
“I can’t know for sure,” Maddie said, “but if love can keep someone alive, Jeff will live forever because he loves you so much.”