Chapter 35
Joe packed up the kids, thanked his in-laws for caring for them while he was at sea and buckled them into his truck to run by his mother’s house before they left.
Big Mac and Linda waved them off, blowing kisses to the kids that made them giggle.
“Wave to Grammy L and Pop.”
“I miss Grammy L and Pop,” PJ said.
“You just saw them.”
“I miss them.”
Joe couldn’t wait until they were back to stay on Gansett, where they belonged.
The time in Ohio had been great, but they were all ready to be home.
Janey had this last semester of school before she could come home to take over Doc Potter’s island practice.
Doc was looking forward to that as much as they were.
At his mother’s house, the driveway was full of trucks and other vehicles.
Joe parked the truck, released the kids from their seats and held Viv as PJ ran ahead of him looking for Kyle, Jackson and Burpee. “Stay out of the way, PJ,” Joe called after his son as he took in the massive cleanup going on.
“Wow,” he said to Seamus.
“You should’ve seen it before we started. Vic was having a breakdown.”
“I can imagine.”
“We’ll have it ready for the festivities next weekend.”
Shannon came over to say hello to them, wiping sweat from his brow. “Are you guys heading home?”
“We are,” Joe said. “I wish we could stay for the wedding, but their mom is getting antsy about having her babies home. And I’m antsy to see her.”
“I don’t blame you at all,” Shannon said.
“We hope it’s a marvelous day for you both,” Joe said.
“Oh, it will be. No doubt.”
“Let’s go see Grammy Caro,” he said, shepherding them inside.
Carolina was in her recliner.
Joe placed the kids carefully on her lap. “Be gentle,” he reminded them.
“They always are.” Carolina snuggled her grandchildren. “Are you guys heading home?”
“Mommy misses us,” PJ said.
“I bet she does. I’ll miss you, too, but we’ll see you at Thanksgiving.”
“That’s a long time from now,” PJ said.
“It’ll go by so fast.” Carolina kissed them both until they were laughing. “I love you forever and ever, amen.”
“Love you, too, Grammy C,” PJ said, hugging her.
To Joe, she said, “Thank you for coming and taking such good care of me after I broke my leg.”
“We were glad to be here to help.”
“Text me when you get home?”
“Will do.”
He kissed his mother, collected the kids, went back outside and signaled to Slim.
“Are you guys ready to fly?” Slim asked.
“We are!” PJ said with a fist bump.
“I’ll be back in a bit,” Slim said to Seamus.
“Be safe with the precious cargo,” Seamus said as he hugged and kissed the kids and shook hands with Joe.
“You and Shannon will pick up my truck at the airport?” Joe asked.
“Yep, we got ya covered.”
Joe gave Seamus a bro hug. “Thanks. For everything.”
“Thanks for coming when we needed you.”
“Always.”
Joe hugged Kyle and Jackson, gave Burpee a pat on the head and waved to the others, who were cutting up the fallen trees. “Let’s go see Mommy, kiddos.”
Charlie drove as fast as he could from New York to Providence, about a four-hour drive without traffic.
Sarah stared out the windshield, unable to focus on anything while she waited for another update from Johnny, who’d sent photos of the latest X-rays that showed several cracks in Jeff’s pelvis as well as a fractured hip that would require surgery to stabilize.
The phone rang with a call from Johnny.
Sarah pounced on it, putting it on speaker so the others could hear. “What’s up?”
“Jeff wants to say hi. Hang on a second.”
She held her breath waiting to hear the voice of her youngest child.
“Hey, Ma.”
Her eyes flooded with tears. “Hi, sweetie. What’s this I hear about you causing some drama during the storm?”
His chuckle made her smile. “It wasn’t intentional, believe me.”
“I heard you’re a hero with the way you saved Kelsey.”
“I don’t remember it.” His voice sounded much weaker than usual. “She says I jumped on top of her. I’d do it again to save her.”
“She’s very lucky to have you.”
“I’m the lucky one. She’s agreed to marry me.”
A few days ago, Sarah might’ve balked at the news that he was engaged at such a young age, but now she was too filled with gratitude that he’d survived to quibble over timing. “That’s incredible news. Congratulations, sweetheart. She’s a wonderful young woman.”
“She’s the best. The absolute best.”
She’d been dismayed when he gave up his job in Florida and decided to stay on Gansett with Kelsey, working construction while she fulfilled her obligation to the McCarthys.
There’d been a time when Sarah would’ve had no choice but to forcefully object because his father would’ve blown a gasket over that decision.
But those days were long over, and Charlie had helped her see there was no point in standing in the way of true love. Before him, she’d never known true love. Now that she did, she wouldn’t deny anyone that experience, especially one of her precious children.
“I couldn’t be happier for you both. How’s she doing?”
“She’s in a lot of pain after the surgery, but they’re working on getting it under control.”
“Please give her our love.”
“I will.”
“We’ll be there in about two hours.”
“Tell Charlie to drive safely.”
“I will. See you soon. We love you.”
“Love you, too.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” Adele said from the back seat. “He sounds as well as could be expected.”
“I guess so.”
Charlie reached for her hand and held on tight, letting her know he was there, come what may. That made all the difference.
When Duke got back to his place, he went to work scrubbing the garage apartment from ceiling to floor and everything in between. He threw open the windows to air out the musty scent, put fresh sheets on the bed, plumped the pillows on the sofa and cleaned the bathroom until it shone.
Then he attacked the kitchen, which the previous tenant had left filthy.
Hours later, he raised his head from the task to realize it was getting closer to five o’clock, and he badly needed a shower before he went to get McKenzie and Jax.
On the way home, he’d stop at the grocery store to get them whatever he thought they’d need for a few days.
He had no idea what her situation was, but he was determined to make sure they were taken care of.
And why was that exactly?
He had no freaking clue beyond her being Rosemary’s granddaughter.
Before he could further contemplate that perplexing question, his phone rang with a call from Ace, the tattoo artist who’d recently joined his team after his other artist decided to move back to the mainland. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Just wondering what the plan is for reopening,” Ace said.
“Waiting on power. Until then, enjoy some time off.”
“I was afraid you might say that. I’m running a little short on cash after being out of work for days now.”
“I can spot you some until payday.”
“I hate to ask for that.”
“You didn’t. I’ll Venmo you.”
“That’s good of you, man. I appreciate it.”
“No worries. I’ll let you know when we’re back up and running.”
“I hope it’s soon.”
“I do, too. Will be in touch.”
“Thanks again, Duke.”
“No problem.”
Duke ended the call, sent some money to Ace to tide him over and ran for the shower so he wouldn’t be late for a very important date.
McKenzie was about to leave a note for Tiffany when she came in, toting groceries. She rushed over to help with the bags.
“Thank you. I always try to do it in one trip.”
“I do the same, even when it’s not practical. I’m surprised the grocery store is open.”
“They’re running on multiple generators.”
Ashleigh came in with Addie and put her sister down to run around.
“I was just about to leave you a note,” McKenzie said. “Duke offered me a place to stay in his garage apartment while I sort out the insurance and whatnot for the cabin.”
“That’s very nice of him.”
“It was.”
“Everyone likes him. He’s a great guy.”
“He’s been so good to me, and to hear that my grandmother was his friend makes me feel better about taking him up on the offer of a place to stay.”
“I hope you know you’d be welcome to stay here for as long as you’d like.”
“I appreciate it, but you’ve done enough for us.”
“What’re your plans?” Tiffany asked as she unpacked the groceries into a fridge running off a generator. “Will you stay on the island?”
“I guess that’ll depend on whether I can find a job and if we can rebuild the cabin.”
“I’m hiring at my store. I own Naughty & Nice in town, and my faithful helper, Patty, is moving off the island with her boyfriend, Wyatt, who took a job with the Providence Police Department.
They want to live off-island before they settle down to have a family.
She and Wyatt just told Blaine and me about their plans earlier today.
I’ve been in denial ever since.” Tiffany rested a hand on her protruding belly.
“With this little one joining our circus, I’m going to rely more than ever on my backup at the store. ”
“I’ll take it,” McKenzie said.
“Really?”
“Yes, of course. I’d just need to find childcare for Jax.”
“You could bring him with you to the store. We’re a very family-friendly business.”
“Seriously?”
“Very seriously. Addie has grown up there. Jax is more than welcome.”
“Wow, that’d be amazing. I’ve been so worried about how I would afford daycare on top of everything else.”
Tiffany turned and rested against the counter. “I haven’t wanted to pry, but does his father help out?”
McKenzie shook her head. “He left us. We haven’t heard from him in months.” The sentence still sounded surreal to her, even after all this time.
“You need a lawyer, honey,” Tiffany said softly.
“I can’t afford one.”
“Would you mind if I arranged a meeting with a great lawyer who would probably take your case pro bono?”
“I couldn’t do that.”
“Trust me when I tell you he’d want you to reach out. He loves to help with cases like yours.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. Shall I call him for you?”
McKenzie couldn’t believe it had come to this. “Yes, please.”
Janey got to the airport an hour before her family’s flight was due to land at John Glenn Columbus International Airport. They’d connected in Detroit and would be arriving in Columbus any minute now. Joe had sent pictures of the kids on the plane and in the Detroit airport.
She couldn’t wait to see them.
It had been raining hard all day, making the drive to the airport a further test of her already-frazzled nerves.
In the last few days, she’d questioned every life choice she’d made since her kids arrived, asking herself repeatedly who she thought she was to be pursuing this degree when she had children to care for.
That question would’ve made Joe and her parents and everyone else who loved her angry because they wanted this for her almost more than she wanted it for herself.
But it’d been on her mind since they received the call from Seamus about Carolina breaking her leg.
She’d wanted to go with Joe and the kids to help care for her mother-in-law, as well as to help with Jackson and Kyle.
That’s what family did during a crisis. While Joe and the kids went home to care for his mother, she’d had to stay back because she couldn’t miss classes.
She had a huge exam tomorrow, for all she cared about that.
Janey didn’t care about anything other than seeing her husband and children.
By the time their flight arrived, she was about to come unglued.
Joe texted that they’d arrived and were waiting for the other people on the plane to collect everything they owned so they could deplane.
It took forever, or so it seemed to her, for them to appear on the escalator to the baggage claim area.
PJ let out a shriek of excitement when he saw her waiting, and only Joe’s tight hold on his hand kept their son from running down the escalator to get to her. The second they reached the bottom, Joe released him.
Janey lifted him into her arms and squeezed him so tightly, he squawked. “Mommy missed you so much.”
“I missed you, too. They let us have extra snacks on the plane, and Daddy let us split a Sprite!”
Oh joy, she thought as she took Viv from Joe. They’re whacked out on sugar.
Janey hugged and kissed her little girl, who clung to her. “Missed you so much, sweet girl.”
Joe put his arm around her and kissed her cheek. “Daddy gets the shaft when there’re kids to love on.”
“Mommy missed Daddy as much as she missed the babies.”
“That’s good to know,” he said with the grin she loved so much.
Joe collected the bags with PJ’s “help,” and then they walked to the parking garage.
On the ride home, PJ told her everything that’d happened since they left, most of which she already knew because she’d talked to them every day.
But she listened to him with patience and appropriate reactions while holding Joe’s hand in both of hers, delighted to be back with them after weeks apart.
“PJ, take a breath,” Joe said as he drove them home in driving rain. “We don’t have to tell Mommy everything that happened in the first five minutes.”
“Jackson ate a bug!” PJ said as if Joe hadn’t said anything.
“Ew,” Janey said.
“It was so gross!”
“Did he really eat a bug?” Janey asked Joe.
“According to all my sources, yes.”
“We had the best time with Jackson and Kyle,” PJ said, bouncing in his seat. “Did you know that Grammy C is their mom now?”
“I heard that news.
“And there’s gonna be a wedding at Grammy C’s house, too.”
“That’s exciting.”
They arrived at home, schlepped kids and bags into their townhome, greeted delighted dogs and took the kids upstairs for baths and bedtimes.
“Great job with the Sprite, Daddyo,” Janey said as the kids bounced off the walls.
“That might’ve been a mistake.”
“Do you think?”
They laughed as PJ pounced on Joe, wanting to wrestle.
It took another hour for the kids to settle down enough to listen to the two stories Janey read them before they tucked them in. They met in the hallway, and Janey leaned her head on Joe’s chest.
He wrapped his arms around her.
“I’m so glad you guys are home.”
“We missed you so much.”
“Not as much as I missed you. The silence was deafening. I found out I need chaos to study.”
He laughed. “That’s funny.”
She looked up at him. “Let’s go to bed. I want to be with you.”
“There’s nowhere on earth I’d rather be than wherever you are.”
“Seems to me I’ve heard that somewhere before.”
Smiling, he kissed her and then surprised her when he lifted her and carried her to bed.