Chapter 34
Seamus spent the night at Big Mac and Linda’s with Carolina and the boys. The next morning, after breakfast, they thanked their hosts for having them during the storm and set out for home, uncertain of what they would find there.
When they rolled into the driveway, they saw that Shannon and Victoria were already there, surveying the damage, which was substantial.
They had parked next to a downed tree that was blocking the driveway.
Many trees were down, one of them having just barely missed smashing the house.
The covered porch had been demolished, and the yard was a general disaster area.
“Damn,” Seamus said on a long exhale when he emerged from the truck.
“Looks like a fine place for a wedding,” Victoria said, her chin wobbling. “In less than a week.”
“We’ll get it cleaned up and right as rain,” Seamus assured her. “Don’t you worry.”
“What? Me worry?”
“I told you that’s what he’d say, love.” Shannon put his arm around her. “We’ll be ready.”
“Will we have power?”
“Even if we don’t, we’ll figure something out,” Carolina said from the front seat of Seamus’s truck.
“Your job is to not worry,” Seamus told Vic. “Leave the worrying to us.” He went to the truck to lift Carolina out to carry her to the house, stepping over a tree trunk as they went. “Boys, get the bags and then go change into your work clothes. We’ve got a wedding to prepare for.”
The boys and Burpee the dog charged inside, dragging bags and suitcases behind them while Seamus, holding Carolina, followed slowly behind them.
“You really think we can pull this together in time?” she asked.
“I’m sure of it.”
“I’m glad you are…”
“We’ll call for help and get everyone here to pitch in. We’ll get it done.”
By noon, he and Shannon had summoned a posse that included Jace Carson, Paul and Alex Martinez, Mac, Grant, Shane and Evan McCarthy, Dan Torrington, Luke Harris, Oliver Watkins and Slim Jackson.
The Martinez brothers had brought chainsaws and other equipment that was soon buzzing as trees were cut for firewood and debris hauled away.
Kyle, Jackson and Burpee were underfoot all day, helping where directed and generally adding to the chaos.
Carolina made sandwiches for everyone and then sat outside for a while to “supervise.”
Seamus came over to check on her, wiping sweat from his face with his T-shirt. “How’re you doing, love?”
“Much better now that you all have made such a big dent. I was worried when I first saw the mess.”
“Me, too, but we’ll be ready.”
“I feel better about that than I did earlier.”
He bent to kiss her nose. “Don’t get too much sun.”
“I’ve got sunscreen on. Are the boys being more trouble than they’re worth?”
“Not at all. They’re working hard.”
“Really?” she asked, skeptical.
“Really. They’re good boys.”
“Yes, they are, but they’re not workers.”
“Not yet, but they will be. It’s good for them to see everyone pulling together to get something done. Eventually, it’ll sink in. I hope.”
“It will. For sure. Joe called. He and the kids are coming by to see us before Slim flies them to Boston to catch a flight home.”
“Janey will be glad to have them back.”
“Yes, she will, but I’ll miss them.”
“Only for a little while longer, and then they’ll be home for good.”
“I can’t wait for that.”
He kissed her again. “Gotta get back to it.”
The ferries would begin running again the next day, and he wanted to get most of the cleanup done before he had to go back to work. There would be a wedding here next weekend, come hell or high water. Well, hopefully no more high water. They’d had enough of that to last them awhile.
Victoria tried to manage the panic that had her spinning with wedding-disaster scenarios.
She kept telling herself that in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t matter if her wedding went off as planned next weekend.
Everyone she loved was safe, Jeff and Kelsey were on the mend in Providence, none of her expectant mothers had gone into premature labor during the storm, and Shannon’s family would arrive as scheduled on Thursday.
Everything was fine.
Yet she still felt like she was about to hyperventilate.
Her phone chimed with a text from Shannon. Making big progress. Don’t worry!
He’d included pictures that made her feel a thousand times better. A few hours after they’d started the cleanup, she could see there were many fewer downed trees littering the yard where her wedding would be held. A huge pile of firewood had grown next to Seamus and Carolina’s house.
David came into the break room to get coffee. “How’s it going?”
“Better,” she said, showing him the pictures.
When she’d arrived at the clinic in tears, her maid of dishonor had talked her down off the cliff of bridal madness so she could focus on work.
“Wow, they’ve gotten a ton done in a short time,” David said. “Now you can focus on bride business and not worry about the location. You know Seamus and Shannon will move heaven and earth to be ready.”
“They already are, even though they’re exhausted from being at sea for days. Shannon said they didn’t sleep much at all. He came home last night, hugged me, kissed me and crashed for nine hours. And he was still tired this morning.”
“He’ll be fine by next weekend.”
“How’s Daisy?”
“She’s doing all right. I suggested she take a few days out of work at the hotel, which she decided to do because she’s still having a lot of pain.”
“Hopefully, that will stop before too long.”
“I sure hope so,” David said. “I hate to see her suffering.”
“But pregnancy is the most natural thing, don’t you know?”
“I’ve heard that nonsense somewhere before.”
“From me. I wonder all the time how anyone survived it back before all the advancements we have now.”
“Thank goodness for the advancements. Even with all I know, I still worry about her. She’s so petite.”
“She’s a warrior, and she’ll be fine.”
“If you keep telling me that, I’ll keep telling you the wedding will be fine, too.”
“You’ve got a deal.”
Piper came awake slowly, uncertain for a moment where she was until the events of the previous evening came rushing back to remind her of coming to Jack’s room at the barracks. His arm was around her, his naked body pressed against hers after a night of incredible pleasure.
She felt like she’d forgotten something as she tried to recall what day it was.
Sunday.
Her one day off at the hotel in season.
As far as she knew, Jack was off, too.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I was trying to remember what day it was and if I have to work.”
“What’s the verdict?”
“Sunday. My day off.”
“Mine, too.” He kissed her shoulder. “Nice how that works out, huh?”
“Very nice.”
“What do you feel like doing?”
“I can’t think of a single thing.”
He pushed his erection against her backside. “I can think of a few things.”
“I’m not sure I can after last night.”
“Are you sore?”
“A little.”
“Sorry about that.”
“No, you’re not.”
“I am!” he said, laughing.
“It was worth it, but I might need some recovery time before we start that up again.”
“Do you want me to kiss it better?”
“That’s what started the thing that led to the soreness.”
His low chuckle rumbled through his chest. After a long silence, he said, “Thank you for what you did last night, for coming after me, for what you said. It meant a lot.”
“Do you feel better today?”
“I felt better the minute I realized you were running after me.”
“I need to start running again. I quickly realized how out of shape I am.”
He ran his hand down her arm over her ass to her leg. “You’re in fine shape.”
“I used to be an athlete, and now I’m winded after running for two minutes.”
“I like to run. Maybe we can do that together?”
“I probably couldn’t keep up with you.”
“You keep up with me just fine.”
“Are we still talking about running?”
His hand was now between her breasts, causing a tingle between her legs that she tried to ignore. “We’re talking about everything.”
Piper went still in his arms. “Everything?”
“Everything. That’s what I want to have with you.”
“Are you ready for that?”
“I want to be. Are you?”
“I think so.”
“Are you over your ex-fiancé?”
“Very much so. I hardly think about him anymore, which is so strange. We were together for years before he backed out of the wedding. After that happened, it was like all the feelings just dried up.”
“Wasn’t meant to be.”
“Definitely not. I’m glad now that he called off the wedding, even if it was traumatic at the time.”
“I’m sure it was.”
“He did the right thing for both of us.”
“I’m very glad you were single when we met.”
“I’m very glad of that, too. That first day, I was traumatized by what’d happened, and I still noticed you, which had me questioning my sanity.”
“Is that when the nickname Hot Cop was born?”
“How do you know about that?” she asked, sputtering with laughter.
“I’m a cop. A hot cop, apparently. It’s my job to know things.”
“I can’t believe you know about that.” She couldn’t stop laughing. “That’s mortifying.”
“I call you Hot Hotel Girl.”
“You do not! You just made that up!”
“You have no way to know that.” He shifted them so he was above her, gazing down at her with those gorgeous brown eyes. “It’s fun to laugh again.”
“Yes, it is. Laughter looks good on you.”
“It feels good.” He smoothed the hair back from her face. “Ruby would like you.”
There was, she knew, no greater compliment he could pay her. “Do you think so?”
“I really do.”
“I’m glad. I think I would’ve liked her, too.”
“You would have. Everyone did.”
“You’re very handsome in the morning. Well, you’re handsome all the time.” She reached up to run her fingers through his hair, which was standing on end. “But I particularly like the morning look.”
“I’ll keep myself scruffy going forward, just for you.” He gave her a gentle kiss on lips that were as sore as the rest of her. “Now that you’ve talked me into this, you’re going to stick around, right?”
She raised a brow. “I talked you into it?”
“Very convincingly.”
“I’m sticking around if you are.”
“I’m not going anywhere as long as you’re here.”