Book 23 Blackout After Dark #8
He rocks the baby for a while until he realizes she’s asleep and puts her back in her crib.
He leaves her room and finds Hope waiting for him.
She leads him to bed, telling him she’s heard from her attorney about Paul’s wish to adopt Ethan.
Ethan’s father has agreed to surrender his rights as long as he gets an annual update with pictures of Ethan.
Since that’s better than the visitation they feared he would ask for, Paul and Hope agree it’s for the best. “My son is very lucky to have you as his father, Paul.”
“I’m the lucky one. He’s the best kid ever. I love him so much.”
Evan McCarthy wakes up in Atlanta with a full week off to spend with his wife, Grace.
He has a surprise planned and can’t wait to get going.
He blindfolds her and escorts her to a private airfield, where they fly to Gansett Island.
When they arrive, Ned Saunders meets them but doesn’t say a word because Grace would immediately know where they are.
“When will I know where we are?” Grace asks as Ned drives them to their destination with the AC on full blast. “It’s obviously somewhere hot. ”
“You’ll know in a few minutes.” He feels like a little boy on Christmas.
Everything has changed in the last couple of years, but the best change has been the woman who is now at the center of his life.
She owns his heart and soul, and he can’t wait to show her what she means to him.
One more minute, and they’ll be there. They’ll be home.
Ned takes a left turn onto a dirt road that ends in front of a huge contemporary home that sits on the coast, overlooking Long Island Sound.
At night, they’ll be able to see the Newport Bridge lit up in the distance.
About a year ago, they attended an open house at what Grace had deemed her “dream house.” When it came up for sale again this summer, he swooped in and bought it for her.
She removes the mask, blinks a couple of times as her eyes adjust to the bright sunlight and then gasps. “We’re home? On Gansett?”
“We are, and we’re home in more ways than one. Remember this house?”
Her eyes widen. “What about it?”
“You loved it so much. We both did.”
“Evan… What’ve you done?”
“It’s ours.”
She screams and launches herself into his arms. “You’re not serious!”
“I’m as serious as a heart attack. It’s ours. The baby needs a bedroom.” The loft above the pharmacy, where they’ve been living until now, doesn’t have room for a baby.
“Oh, my God! Evan!” She hugs him so hard, she nearly breaks his neck.
He’s never had a better hug.
In the mirror, he sees Ned grinning like a loon as he looks on. “Ya done good, kid.”
Cooper stares at his dream girl, Gigi Gibson, swimming in his brother’s pool. What is she doing on Gansett?
“Hey, cutie,” she says. “What’s your name?”
“Uh, Cooper?”
He tries and fails not to gawk at her smoking-hot body, finally diverting his gaze so he won’t embarrass himself. His very own wet dream is standing before him—dripping wet. Stuff like this doesn’t happen to mere mortals like him.
“Hello? Earth to Cooper, if that’s your name.”
“It is. Cooper James. I’m Jared’s brother.”
“Now that you mention it, I see the resemblance.”
“Wh-what’re you doing here?” He’s never, ever, ever felt nervous around women, but this isn’t just any woman. This is the woman, the one he cancels plans for so he can watch her show.
She points to the garage apartment. “I live here.”
He learns they’re filming the next season of the show she stars in opposite her best friend, Jordan Stokes. He asks to hang out with her that night, and she agrees. Cooper can’t believe he has a date with his dream girl. His next stop is to ask his brother, Jared, to borrow the Porsche.
“That’s not happening.”
“Let him have it, Jared,” his new best friend, Lizzie, says. “What is it you always say? It’s insured.”
Jared’s scowl takes in both of them.
“Where are you going, anyway?” Lizzie asks.
“It seems I have a date with Gigi Gibson.”
“Oh, dear God,” Jared says. “She’s way too much woman for you, little brother.”
“She’s just the right amount of woman for me,” Cooper says with a dirty grin.
Deacon Taylor goes right to Stephanie’s Bistro after his harbor master shift to catch the end of his girlfriend, Julia Lawry’s, set.
When she finishes playing, she collects their dog, Pupwell, and walks straight into Deacon’s arms. At home, they take a cold shower to help them cool off from the unbearable heatwave.
Afterward, Deacon sits Julia on the edge of their bed and goes to get something.
He kneels in front of her and says, “When I’m not with you, I’m counting the minutes until I can see you again.
When I’m with you, there’s nothing else I want or need.
And you know how much it means to me to be your shell, to protect you from anything that can ever hurt you.
I was hoping that maybe you might, you know, agree to marry me. ”
He holds up the square-cut diamond ring he’d chosen with Blaine and Tiffany’s input and holds his breath waiting to hear what she’ll say.
Tears spill down her cheeks as she stares at the ring for the longest time before shifting her gaze to his face.
“If you don’t like it, we can get—”
She kisses him. “I love it. I love you, and yes, to marrying you. One thousand percent yes.”
“That’s a whole lot of yes,” he says, weak with relief.
She smooths the wet hair back from his forehead. “You weren’t really worried about what I’d say, were you?”
“Not that so much as getting the ring right. I was a bit obsessed with that, actually. Tiffany assured me you’d love it.”
“She was right. I do. But I loved what you said even more than I love the ring. That’s the stuff that really matters to me. You know that.”
“I do know, and I promise always to keep you safe, my sweet Julia, and to do my very best to make you happy every day.”
“You couldn’t offer me anything that would mean more to me than that, but you could put that sparkly ring on my finger any time now.” She holds up her hand and waggles her fingers.
Smiling, Deacon takes it out of the box, slides it on her left hand and then sits back to admire the way it looks on her. “Perfection.”
“Just like us.”
He hugs her tightly. “Just like us.”
Oliver joins Big Mac, Frank, Kevin and Ned to go fishing.
He talks about how he and Dara need a fresh start and is hoping that Gansett will be that for them.
The guys all agree that the island is great for resets.
They make him a member of their band of brothers and will be there to support him.
Oliver says, “We’ve been surrounded by well-intentioned people who want to help but only make things harder for us by adding their grief to ours.
It’s a relief to make some new friends.”
Linda talks Dara into coming with her when she goes to help out with Mac and Maddie’s kids.
“Mac and I started with the ultimate heartache and then went on to have five wonderful children, plus the bonus of Mallory much later. I’ve always been thankful we were able to push through our grief to discover that we had a lot of living and loving left to do.
The children we had after we lost our first helped to soothe our broken hearts. ”
“It’s good to know that can happen. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever feel happiness or joy again.”
“You will.”
“Maybe,” Dara says. “It’s so hard to find joy in anything anymore.”
“Perhaps you need to create your own joy.”
“I hear what you’re saying, and you make very valid points.”
“I don’t want to overstep.”
“Please, don’t worry about that. You and Mac have been a breath of fresh air for Oliver and me. He texted to tell me how much fun the fishing has been.”
“Those guys always have fun. They’ll be good for him. And my girls and I will try to be good for you.”
“So far, so good.”
“That’s nice to hear. Come along and meet my lovely daughter-in-law and grandchildren.”
After helping with Thomas, Hailey and Baby Mac, Linda puts Mac down for his nap and checks on Maddie, who’s lying down upstairs. Dara sits and colors with Thomas and Hailey. Thomas reminds Dara of her son Lewis. “Maybe you guys can come over to play at my lighthouse sometime.”
“You have your own lighthouse?” Thomas asks, eyes gone wide.
“For the next year, it seems I do.”
“That’s awesome. Can we go, Grammy?”
“We’d love to do that,” Linda says to Dara.
“Great, it’s a plan, then.” It’s nice to have something to look forward to, Dara thinks, thankful to her new friend for taking her in and giving her hope.
So far, Gansett is proving to be good for her shattered soul.
On Monday evening, the entire family gathers at Evan and Grace’s new home for a combined bachelor and bachelorette party for Mallory and Quinn. After another day without power, everyone is starting to get cranky, but they rally for the bride and groom.
Mallory appreciates that her family goes all out for her, despite the blackout, and she’s eager to see Evan and Grace’s new home.
Once everyone is present, Grant says, “Everyone is invited to the theater to see Indefatigable with an after-party at the Bistro.”
“I can’t wait to see it,” Evan says. “I read the article and review in the LA Times. They loved it.”
“The reviews have been awesome so far,” Grant says. “We’re excited for the release.”
“I’m hearing Oscar buzz for my brother,” Mac says. “Couldn’t be prouder.”
“Thanks,” Grant says, “but Steph and Charlie are the stars of this story.”
“By all accounts, you did a beautiful job bringing their story to life, and you should be very proud of that,” Evan says.
“I am,” Grant says, “but I’m even prouder of her. When you see the full extent of what she endured… It’ll blow your mind.”
“Looking forward to it,” Mac says.
“This place is awesome,” Mallory says when she joins the others on the deck. “Congratulations, Evan. You made your wife very happy.”
“She’s made me very happy. Without her, there’s no number one hit and no cool house. There’s nothing.”