Book 14 Celebration After Dark
One smile changed everything…
Main Characters:
*Big Mac McCarthy, grandfather of Thomas Chester McCarthy in MAID FOR LOVE, Hailey McCarthy in FALLING FOR LOVE, Peter Joseph “PJ” Cantrell in TIME FOR LOVE and Connor McCarthy (deceased) in KISSES AFTER DARK.
*Linda McCarthy, grandmother of Thomas Chester McCarthy in MAID FOR LOVE, Hailey McCarthy in FALLING FOR LOVE, Peter Joseph “PJ” Cantrell in TIME FOR LOVE and Connor McCarthy (deceased) in KISSES AFTER DARK.
*Indicates recurring throughout the series
Supporting Characters:
Frank McCarthy, Sr., father of Frank, Mac and Kevin.
Jane McCarthy, mother of Frank, Mac and Kevin.
*Judge Frank McCarthy, grandfather of Holden Newsome in SEASON FOR LOVE, involved with Betsy Jacobson in GANSETT AFTER DARK.
Brett, Frank McCarthy’s roommate.
Diana Vaughn, mother of Mallory, ex-girlfriend of Big Mac McCarthy.
Joann McCarthy: deceased wife of Frank McCarthy, mother of Laura and Shane.
Josie, friend of Joann and Linda.
Kathy, friend of Joann and Linda.
*Mac McCarthy, Jr., married to Maddie Chester in FOOL FOR LOVE, father of Thomas Chester McCarthy in MAID FOR LOVE, Hailey McCarthy in FALLING FOR LOVE and Connor McCarthy (deceased) in KISSES AFTER DARK.
*Maddie McCarthy, mother of Thomas, married to Mac McCarthy in FOOL FOR LOVE, mother of Hailey McCarthy in FALLING FOR LOVE and Connor McCarthy (deceased) in KISSES AFTER DARK.
*Thomas McCarthy, son of Mac and Maddie McCarthy.
*Hailey McCarthy, daughter of Mac and Maddie McCarthy, born in FALLING FOR LOVE.
*Adam McCarthy, engaged to Abby Callahan in GANSETT AFTER DARK.
*Abby Callahan, engaged to Adam McCarthy in GANSETT AFTER DARK.
*Evan McCarthy, engaged to Grace Ryan in WAITING FOR LOVE.
*Grace Ryan, engaged to Evan McCarthy in WAITING FOR LOVE.
*Mallory Vaughn, nurse practitioner.
*Ned Saunders, married to Francine, grandfather of Ashleigh Sturgil, Thomas McCarthy and Hailey McCarthy in GANSETT AFTER DARK.
*Grant McCarthy, married to Stephanie Logan in KISSES AFTER DARK.
*Stephanie Logan, married to Grant McCarthy in KISSES AFTER DARK.
*Laura McCarthy Lawry, mother of Holden Newsome in SEASON FOR LOVE, married to Owen Lawry in GANSETT AFTER DARK.
*Owen Lawry, stepfather of Holden Newsome in SEASON FOR LOVE, married to Laura McCarthy Lawry in GANSETT AFTER DARK.
*Shane McCarthy, involved with Katie Lawry in KISSES AFTER DARK.
*Katie Lawry, involved with Shane McCarthy in KISSES AFTER DARK.
*Janey McCarthy Cantrell, married to Joe Cantrell in READY FOR LOVE, mother of Peter Joseph “PJ” Cantrell in TIME FOR LOVE.
*Joe Cantrell, married to Janey McCarthy Cantrell in READY FOR LOVE, father of Peter Joseph “PJ” Cantrell in TIME FOR LOVE.
*Peter Joseph “P.J.” Cantrell, son of Joe and Janey Cantrell, born in TIME FOR LOVE.
*Dr. Kevin McCarthy, father of Riley and Finn.
*Riley McCarthy, son of Kevin and Deb.
*Finn McCarthy, son of Kevin and Deb.
*Joan, Linda’s sister.
*Sydney Donovan, married to Luke Harris in SEASON FOR LOVE.
*Luke Harris, married to Sydney Donovan in SEASON FOR LOVE.
*Alex Martinez, married to Jenny Wilks in LOVE AFTER DARK.
*Jenny Wilks, married to Alex Martinez in LOVE AFTER DARK.
*Paul Martinez, engaged to Hope Russell and stepfather of Ethan Russell in LOVE AFTER DARK.
*Hope Russell, nurse, mother of Ethan Russell, engaged to Paul Martinez in LOVE AFTER DARK.
*Dan Torrington, engaged to Kara Ballard in MEANT FOR LOVE.
*Kara Ballard, engaged to Dan Torrington in MEANT FOR LOVE.
*Dr. David Lawrence, living with Daisy Babson in TIME FOR LOVE.
*Daisy Babson, living with Dr. David Lawrence in TIME FOR LOVE.
*Tiffany Taylor, mother of Ashleigh Sturgil, married to Blaine Taylor in TIME FOR LOVE.
*Blaine Taylor, married to Tiffany Taylor and stepfather of Ashleigh Sturgil in TIME FOR LOVE.
*Jared James, married to Lizzie James in CHANCE FOR LOVE.
*Lizzie James, married to Jared James in CHANCE FOR LOVE.
*Tobias “Slim” Fitzgerald Jackson, Jr., involved with Erin Barton in LOVE AFTER DARK.
*Mayor Chet Upton, Mayor of Gansett Island.
*Verna Upton, wife of Chet.
*Erin Barton, new lighthouse keeper, involved with Slim Jackson in LOVE AFTER DARK.
Headlines in CELEbrATION AFTER DARK…
Happy 40th anniversary, Big Mac and Linda!
Big Mac fell in love with Linda at first sight!
Flashback to Linda’s first trip to Gansett Island!
Maddie is pregnant!
Abby has PCOS and wants to call off her engagement to Adam!
Adam says they’re getting married on New Year’s Eve!
Evan and Grace are going on tour!
Grant and Stephanie are going to LA!
Janey is pregnant!
David and Daisy are engaged!
Slim and Erin are spending time together for the holidays!
Adam and Abby get married!
On the morning of his fortieth wedding anniversary, Big Mac McCarthy is reminiscing about the day he met his wife, Linda.
He was due to sign the purchase and sale agreement for the marina the next day and had just gotten into yet another argument with his father about his marina “folly.” Frank McCarthy, Senior, believed Mac was throwing away his inheritance from his grandmother on the broken-down marina in the middle of nowhere.
As he drives to his brother Frankie’s apartment, Mac thinks about what his father said and how he’s already given up a lot for the marina.
He ended his relationship with Diana Vaughn because she wanted to travel and see the world, and he’s putting down roots on a remote island off the southern coast of Rhode Island. Their life plans didn’t match.
When he arrives at his brother’s home, Frankie reassures Mac he’s making the right decision with the marina.
Frankie’s girlfriend, Joann, is coming over and bringing friends.
Frank and Joann have been together since high school.
Mac thought they’d be married by now, but Frankie is finishing up law school first.
As a group of young women walks up the sidewalk, Mac notices a pretty blonde and asks Frank who she is.
She’s Joann’s friend, Linda, from Providence College.
Frank asks him not to scare her away, to which Mac responds, “Mark my words, she’s going to live with me on my island.
” Mac asks her to take a walk with him, and she hesitantly agrees.
“Well, so, it’s kind of like this…” he says. “Tomorrow, I’m signing papers that will make me the proud owner of a ramshackle marina on Gansett Island that I plan to turn into a gold mine. I was wondering if you might like to help me do that.”
Stunned, she says, “Didn’t I just meet you an hour ago?”
“Uh-huh.”
“And you’re asking me to come live with you on your island and help you turn your ramshackle marina into a gold mine. Is that right?”
“That’s about it, yep.”
“Are you always this forward when you meet someone new?”
“Nope. I’ve never asked a girl to come live with me anywhere, let alone on my island.”
“I’m flattered to be the first, but you’ll understand my reluctance, being as I’m in school and all that.”
“What year?”
“Going into my junior year.”
“I won’t be able to wait two years to marry you. There’s just no way that’ll work for me.”
“Mac! Are you out of your mind? Do you have some sort of condition that makes you delusional?”
“Do you believe in love at first sight?”
“No! That only happens in the movies.”
“And on front porches in Providence.”
“You… I…” She purses her lips, seeming to choose her words carefully. “Are you being serious right now?”
“Dead serious. You ever feel something right here?” He pushes his fist into his gut. “And you know? You just know?”
“That hasn’t happened to me before.”
“It’s happened to me only one other time.”
“Were you in love with her?”
He smiles at her catty tone. “As much as you can be in love with a dilapidated group of buildings, a sagging dock and a parking lot full of potholes. I took one look at that mess and felt like I’d come home.
And I took one look at you, the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid eyes on, and felt like I’d found the other half of me. ”
He asks Linda if she believes in fate, and when she says no, he tells her, “It might be time to start believing.”
With the hindsight of four decades, Big Mac acknowledges he was damned lucky she didn’t run from him, screaming for the police.
Mac McCarthy, Junior, wakes to his wife, Maddie, vomiting.
Even though she pushes him away, he insists on holding her hair, cleaning her up and carrying her back to bed.
She’s pregnant again, following a miscarriage a few months back, and Maddie is scared.
Mac reassures her, reminding her that the doctors told them there’s no reason to worry about it happening again.
They talk about names and agree to wait a while to tell anyone their news.
Adam McCarthy wakes up alone in bed in a hotel room in Providence, hearing his fiancée, Abby, sobbing in the bathroom.
They’ve been trying to get pregnant for a while without success, so they traveled to the mainland to consult a specialist. Abby has been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome.
While scary and upsetting to him, the news has devastated Abby.
When he tries to comfort her, she says he doesn’t have to follow through with their plans to marry.
He wants children and should find someone who can give them to him.
Adam wants her, and only her, and they’re getting married on New Year’s Eve.
Grace Ryan surprises her fiancé, Evan McCarthy, after his last night on tour.
She’s in his room when he returns to the hotel.
For Evan, three weeks away from Grace was just too much.
He was touring with Buddy Longstreet and everyone, including Buddy, was trying to convince him to keep touring to ride the success of his number-one song, “My Amazing Grace.” But he just wants to be with Grace.
He and Grace discuss how he’d always wonder what would’ve been if he didn’t continue to tour.
She decides to hire someone to run the pharmacy and go on tour with him.