Book 13 Love After Dark #3
The funeral for Lisa is beautiful and sad.
Kyle and Jackson followed their mom’s casket into the church.
By the time they reach the front, there isn’t a dry eye in the church.
The gathering following the mass is full of concerned friends.
Big Mac McCarthy notices Paul’s interest in Hope.
Paul asks Big Mac what he thinks about him dating an employee, considering his father’s rules against it.
“I had a similar rule with my boys,” Big Mac says.
“Last thing I needed was messy entanglements during the busiest months of the year. Not to mention, I was always a little afraid of getting sued by a disgruntled employee who failed to land one of the McCarthy boys. Sounds sort of silly, but you can never be too careful.”
“Yeah, true.”
“That said, your dad and I were dealing with boys and young men who hadn’t figured themselves out yet.
You’re a full-grown man now, Paul, and everything is different.
You know how to handle yourself in any situation, and I have faith you’ll do the right thing no matter what.
Your dad would certainly feel the same, especially in light of what you and Alex have done for your mom in recent years. He’d be very proud of both of you.”
Overwhelmed by Big Mac’s kind words, Paul has to gather himself before he can speak. “Thank you. That means so much coming from you.”
The next morning, Paul and Hope struggle to get Marion into the truck and onto the ferry for their trip to Providence for her evaluation.
Once they arrive at the facility, Paul takes a phone call as Hope is helping Marion out of the car.
Paul returns to them just as Marion slaps Hope across the face.
Paul is infuriated as a bright red welt appears on Hope’s face.
Paul wants to rage against his mother and the hideous illness that’s turned her into someone he doesn’t recognize.
They leave Marion with the well-trained staff at the facility, and, after getting an ice pack for Hope, they go to a bed-and-breakfast inn on Cape Cod.
Lizzie James convinces Jared to reach out to his brother, Quinn, to be the medical director at the senior care facility.
Lizzie’s plans are on hold until they find a doctor.
Jared convinces Quinn to think about the facility and come spend time on the island.
It’s not the yes Lizzie was hoping for, but at least Quinn is thinking about it.
Alex and Jenny apply for their wedding license. Toby died the day after they applied for their license, prompting Alex to plan a surprise for her. He’s arranged for a wedding at the lighthouse where they met.
Frank McCarthy is there to officiate the ceremony. “Jenny and Alex,” Frank says, “I’m honored to have been asked to preside over this incredible moment in your lives, and I love a good surprise. Well done, Alex.”
“Thanks, Your Honor.”
“This, right here,” Frank says, gesturing to the two of them.
“This is the epitome of love. What you’ve done for Jenny today, Alex, is something she’ll remember for the rest of her life.
And Jenny, you’ll someday have the opportunity to return the favor for your husband by easing his worries and his sorrows.
As long as the two of you can do that for each other, everything else you face will seem easy in comparison. ”
Jenny wipes tears from her eyes, while Alex does the same. The import of the moment hits him all of a sudden, leaving him humbled by the knowledge that from this day forward, Jenny will be his wife, his partner, his lover, the mother of his children, the center of his world.
What began right here in this yard with flying tomatoes and angry shouts has become the best thing ever to happen to him. Alex can’t wait to spend the rest of his life with her.
Paul and Hope check into their room at the inn and decide to take a walk on the beach.
During their walk, Hope shares more about what happened with her ex-husband and how her family responded to the scandal.
They end up back in their room, wrapped up in each other, making love and falling asleep in each other’s arms.
Alex calls Paul to tell him that he and Jenny were married earlier that day and to explain why.
Paul is thrilled for his brother and Jenny, but apologetic about them caring for Ethan on their wedding night.
Alex says Ethan goes to bed early, and Paul begs him not to do anything that will traumatize the boy.
Jenny still can’t believe what Alex did for her. She has a surprise for him that she plans to share at bedtime. She’s pregnant!
Erin is crying for her brother. Toby would be mad at her for shedding more tears after all this time, but Toby’s love, Jenny, has married someone else, and it’s too much for her to handle.
She’s happy for Jenny and loves that Alex cares so much for her that he arranged the surprise wedding to ease her worries.
Slim arrives after asking why she was crying and shows how kind and compassionate he is.
“She was supposed to marry your brother and today was hard for you.”
“Yeah,” she says softly. “As happy as I am for her…”
“I get it. I’m sure she would, too.”
“She’ll never know I was anything other than thrilled for her and Alex. They’re great together, and she’s certainly earned the right to be happy.”
“You’re a good friend to feel that way. She’s lucky to have you.”
“We’re lucky to have each other. We’ve been through the fire of hell together and come out on the other side, stunned and altered, but we survived.” She wipes her face and laughs. “How do you get me to tell you these things? I don’t even know you.”
“Pilots and bartenders,” he says, making her laugh again. “What do you want to know about me?”
“Did your mother name you Slim?”
“No, my grandfather did, actually.”
“I don’t mean to be insulting, but you aren’t exactly super skinny or anything.” He has the muscular build of a man who takes good care of himself.
“Is that a fat joke?”
“Hardly! And you know it.”
“Yeah,” he says, chuckling, “I know. I was a skinny kid who had the same name as my dad, so my gramps started calling me Slim, and it just sort of stuck long after I wasn’t a skinny kid anymore.”
“What’s your real name?”
“Was your brother’s real name Toby?”
Surprised by the question, she says, “No, it was Tobias, after our grandfather, but he hated that name and always went by Toby. Why?”
“My real name is Tobias Fitzgerald Jackson, Junior.”
Stunned and overwhelmed, Erin believes her brother has sent her a new Toby to look after her, and the thought warms her heart. After that, she finally agrees to go to the dinner Slim has invited her to every time they’ve seen each other.
The guys are upset after hearing the women hired male strippers for Jenny’s bachelorette party.
Mac and Maddie argue about it in front of Dan Torrington, who then confronts his fiancée, Kara.
Blaine, overhearing Adam and Joe discussing the strippers, brings it up with Tiffany.
The women play up the drama and make the men promise not to ruin Jenny’s surprise.
Paul and Hope meet with the doctor after Marion’s evaluation.
Most of the information is upsetting as Marion’s condition has seriously deteriorated.
Thank goodness Hope is there, because Paul can’t listen as he tries to process everything the doctors are saying.
The most pressing recommendation is a long-term care facility for Marion as soon as possible.
When they share the news with Alex and Jenny back at home, Hope suggests they consider it and decide when they’re ready.
Alex and Paul decide to enjoy Alex’s long-planned upcoming wedding and talk about it again afterward.
Without the job of caring for Marion, Hope and Ethan will have to leave the island and Paul. She doesn’t want to go, she tells Paul, but it’s what she has to do. They’re devastated by the turn of events and decide to take a step back from each other, so it won’t be even harder when she leaves.
Paul goes through the motions of working, eating, sleeping and getting up to do the same thing again.
He keeps his promise to harvest the pumpkins with Ethan, but every moment he misses Hope, even though he sees her every day.
A long, lonely winter stretches ahead of him.
He’ll tend to his wounds then. When they move Marion to the mainland, and Hope and Ethan leave, Paul will be alone in the house that now teems with activity.
Alex and Jenny would soon move into their own home, and with Marion gone, there’ll be no reason for David and Daisy to come by every day or the women from the church, who’ve been so generous about providing regular meals for them during Marion’s illness.
The house will be empty and lonely without the endless activity, a thought that only adds to his profound depression.
“You gotta snap out of it, man,” he whispers to his reflection as he prepares for Alex’s bachelor party.
“Alex has waited a long time for this. It wouldn’t be fair to bring him down.
” He gives himself a few minutes to summon the celebratory mood the night demands of him as the best man before he leaves the bathroom.
On the way to the bachelor party, Alex calls Paul out on his bad mood. “What gives with you the last couple of days, man? Other than the obvious, of course.”
“Nothing gives. Business as usual.”
“Try telling that to someone who doesn’t see you every day and doesn’t know you as well as I do. Something is wrong, and you may as well tell me what it is, so I don’t have to beat it out of you.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
“We both know I could, so let’s save ourselves the bother.”
“Whatever.”
“Come on, Paul. You know there’s nothing you can’t tell me.”
“It’s not the time. Tonight is about you. We’ll talk after the wedding.”
“We’ll talk now.”