Book 12 Kisses After Dark #2
“No way. I’m out to love you until death do us part, starting right now.”
After five decades as an innkeeper, Adele Kincaid is up with the roosters, as her husband, Russ, says.
She’s so happy to be back on Gansett and thrilled that the boy she loves so much has found a wonderful woman to love him.
Add to that the amazing job Owen and Laura did bringing the Sand & Surf back to life, and Adele is so proud.
She recalls the awful scene she witnessed with her granddaughter, Katie, the day before.
Thank goodness Shane was here to save her.
If she wasn’t mistaken, Adele had seen a spark between the two of them.
She’ll keep an eye on that situation. Maybe it’s time for her and Russ to move back home to Gansett.
Katie runs into Shane and Holden, taking a walk on the beach. She is sticking around for a while. He surprises himself and her by asking her out to dinner. She declines his invitation and worries that she offended her brother’s new brother-in-law.
At brunch, they end up sitting next to each other.
Russ and Adele gift the Sand & Surf Hotel to Laura and Owen.
Their other grandchildren will each receive a gift of the same value when they marry.
The Lawry kids ask, what if they don’t get married?
They’ll have to wait until their grandparents pass away, which they won’t be doing for a very long time, so it’d be better if they fall in love and marry.
Charlie announces that he proposed to Sarah and she accepted. He promises her children that she will only know love and safety moving forward.
Adele shares the story of how she saw Shane save Katie from drowning the day before. Everyone is shocked and relieved they’re okay. The moment Adele mentions the incident, Katie grabs Shane’s hand and holds on for the rest of brunch.
Following brunch, Julia, Katie’s twin sister, starts packing, and Katie breaks the news that she’s not returning to Texas right away.
She quit her job after the doctor she worked with attempted to attack her.
Shane asked her out to dinner, but she said no.
Julia badgers Katie to go on the date until she gets up, marches across the hall to Shane’s room and bangs on his door. They make plans for later that night.
Shane meets his cousins, uncles and father to fish and ends up catching an eighty-pound tuna.
Big Mac plans to grill the tuna for dinner, and everyone is invited.
Shane made reservations for dinner with Katie, but she insists on joining his family to enjoy the fish he caught.
He’s nervous to expose her to his family, but it’s fine with her.
She already met them at the wedding. The entire McCarthy family and all their close friends are there for the fish dinner.
After enjoying the delicious tuna, visiting with everyone and listening to Evan and Owen play, Katie and Shane head back to the hotel.
Shane talks to Katie about his ex-wife, Courtney, and her drug addiction.
When they take a walk on the beach, Katie steps on a piece of broken glass.
Shane takes her to the clinic, where Dr. David cleans her up and puts stitches in the cut.
She’s so disappointed because, aside from her injury, she was really enjoying her first date ever.
Shane takes Katie back to the hotel and settles her in her room. She asks him to stay with her. He keeps her safe during a thunderstorm, which scares her. Katie wakes up to a note on the pillow.
Morning! Hope your foot doesn’t hurt too much. I have to work until about five today, but I’ll come by after I get home and grab a shower. What do you think of Italian food? I had a great time last night. Shane
Katie sighs with happiness as she rereads the note. He’s so sweet and was incredibly kind and accommodating last night—not only when she injured her foot, but after she told him it was her first-ever date. He’d made her feel special, and she’s eager to see him later.
Adele comes to take Katie shopping, but since she’s injured, they settle for breakfast on the patio and plan to lounge around all day. Dr. David Lawrence stops by to speak with Katie.
“Sorry to barge in on your breakfast,” he says.
“It’s fine,” Katie replies.
“After we met last night, I was thinking about how you mentioned you’re a nurse practitioner at home. We’re desperately in need of more help at the clinic, and I wondered if you’d have any interest in relocating.”
Katie stares at him as her grandmother beams with pleasure.
“What a lovely offer,” Adele says. “What do you think, Katie?”
“I, um, I don’t know what to think.”
“I’m sorry to drop it on you this way, but we’ve been overwhelmed for quite some time now, and our uptick in patient load has made it possible to consider hiring another full-time nurse practitioner.
We already have Victoria Stevens, our nurse practitioner-midwife, but the two of us are utterly swamped.
When you said you were a nurse practitioner in a family practice, my wheels began to spin. ”
Katie’s wheels spun right along with his.
“What’s your situation at home?” he asks.
“Funny you should ask. I recently quit my job in that family practice.”
David places his hand over his heart. “Don’t play with me.”
Katie laughs at his boyish grin. “I really did quit right before I came here and was going to look for a job when I got back to Texas after some time here with my family.”
“Would you consider relocating to our lovely island?” Katie reviews the momentous few days she’s already had on Gansett and how much she’s enjoyed spending time with her mother, grandparents, Owen, Laura, Holden—and Shane—not to mention the rest of the McCarthy family.
What would it be like to be there all the time, surrounded by her family and new friends like Shane and his family?
“Katie?” Adele says. “What do you think?”
“I’d love to hear more about the job.”
“Fair enough.” David withdraws a business card from his wallet and hands it to her. “My cell number is on there. Feel free to give me a call when you’re getting around better, and we’ll set up a time for you to come in. Or just stop by, and I’ll fit you in between patients.”
“Thank you so much for thinking of me for the job.”
“No problem. I hope you’ll give it some thought and remember the word desperate as you do your thinking.”
“Well, how about that?” Adele says when they’re alone again.
“Rather unexpected.”
“A very interesting offer, to say the least, and allow me to sweeten the pot by telling you that Pop and I are talking about moving back to the island in the spring.”
“You are? Really?”
“Uh-huh. We’ve had enough of the Florida sun. We’ll be looking for a little place on the island before we go home later this month.”
They discuss her date with Shane the night before. Katie is concerned about getting involved because they’re both carrying heavy baggage. He lost his wife to addiction and then divorce, which knocked him flat for a while.
Adele props her chin on her upturned fist. “You’ve waited a long time to take a chance with any man, so it’s understandable that you have concerns.
Let me tell you what I know to be true—everyone has crap.
You don’t get to be thirty years old without accumulating crap—some of it good, some of it not so good.
If you’re looking for someone with no crap, you’ll be hard-pressed to find him.
There are no guarantees in this life, and when we risk our hearts, there’s always a chance of getting hurt.
Speaking only for myself now, I’d much prefer taking a chance on being hurt over never knowing real, true love.
I look at your grandpa after fifty-five years of marriage, and I still think, ‘There he is. There’s my guy.
’ I want you to have that, too, my sweet girl. ”
She gives Katie a lot to think about.
Shane is working in the kitchen at one of the new affordable housing units when Lisa Chandler and her boys, Kyle and Jackson, arrive to check the progress of the house that will soon be theirs.
At five and six, the boys have a lot of energy, while Lisa looks exhausted from working at three restaurants to make ends meet.
She also has a wicked cough that seems to suck the life out of her.
When he asks about it, she says she’s fine and will pick up some medicine.
Mac arrived as the boys came pounding down the stairs. The boys love Mac, and he always takes a few minutes to wrestle with them. Shane and Mac aren’t sure what the deal is with the boys’ father. Lisa has said only that he isn’t in the picture.
Lisa comes down the stairs, coughing again. Mac will ask David to stop and check on her when he goes to the clinic with Maddie, who is pregnant. He jokes about having three kids. Mac asks Shane to stay for the winter and continue working with him, which Shane agrees to do.
Mac heads to the clinic to meet Maddie. This time, they’ll be settled on the mainland long before the baby is due. He can’t take any more traumatic births.
Victoria calls them into an exam room and teases them about getting pregnant again so soon after Hailey’s birth.
“Suffice to say there was champagne involved,” Maddie says with a laugh.
Before they start the exam, Mac tells Victoria about Lisa Chandler’s cough and how she told Shane she can’t afford to come to the clinic. Victoria promises to send David to check on her. Victoria performs the exam and ultrasound.
“Hang on just a second, Maddie,” Victoria says before leaving the room.
Victoria returns with David, who performs the test again.
They can’t find the baby’s heartbeat.
In all his life, Mac has never heard a louder silence.
Mac and Maddie are devastated as they make plans to go to Providence for a D&C procedure.