Book 26 Hurricane After Dark #2
Julia and Deacon get married!
Shannon and Victoria get married!
Only for Laura Lawry would Piper Bennett be on this ferry ride from hell. The crew warned the passengers that the ride would be rough, and that it would be the last boat from the mainland to Gansett Island before they shut down service in anticipation of Hurricane Ethel.
Piper had received a text from Laura the night before, asking if there was any way she could come back to work a few days early because all three of Laura’s little ones were down with the flu, and Laura’s top helpers—her mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law—were in Italy, right when most of the summer help had returned to college.
“Clearly, we didn’t think this all the way through,” Laura had said, including a grimace emoji.
“And now there’s a storm headed our way! ”
Now Piper was trying not to puke as the ferry rolled its way to Gansett.
She thought about how she’d come to the island after her fiancé, Ben, had called off their wedding.
Gansett had been her escape from the chaos of the canceled wedding and her mother’s disappointment.
She’d decided her mother had loved Ben more than she did and was devastated the wedding was called off.
During that first week, she’d gone a little wild and gotten herself into trouble with a man she’d just met and followed back to his hotel room.
Laura had been such a great friend and supporter following the incident and had helped her report it.
Thank goodness the man had pleaded guilty to assault and was locked up where he belonged.
Piper had met Jack Downing, the state trooper who’d taken her statement, the night of the attack.
Even though she’s attracted to the “hot cop,” so far, it’s nothing more than a flirtation.
He’s been off-island more often than not lately, dealing with a big trial on the mainland, but supposedly, he is due back soon.
She’s looking forward to seeing if anything will come of their flirtation.
“Piper?”
His voice sends shivers down her spine as she looks up to find her favorite state trooper standing in front of her, looking as happy to see her as she is to see him. That he’s also in full uniform only makes things worse. Or better. Depending on how she looks at it.
“I thought that was you,” he says. “Are you all right?”
“I, uh, I’m trying not to puke.”
“It’s a rough one, for sure.” He gestures to the seat next to hers. “May I?”
“Sure.”
As he takes a seat, she hopes she can talk to him while trying not to vomit. That will be a challenge.
“How’s the trial going?”
“Thankfully, it’s done. After weeks of testimony, the defendant took a plea deal that locks him up for the next twenty-five years. I would’ve liked for the sentence to have included no chance of parole, but at least now he’s in jail where he belongs.”
“You must be relieved to have it done.”
“I am. Living between the island and the mainland for the last nine months has been a pain. It’s funny,” he adds with a chuckle.
“When I first got assigned to Gansett, I was furious. I wanted nothing to do with a tiny, remote island in the middle of the ocean. But after a few months there, I was hooked, and now it feels like home. I’ve missed it. ”
That was the most he’d ever said to her at one time. “I know what you mean. I came for a long weekend, and now I live there.”
“I’m not sure what it is about that island, but I love it, and I can’t wait to get back, although I could do without the looming storm.”
“What’s the latest on that?”
“It’s grown to a Cat 2, and it’s making a direct line for our favorite island.”
Rhode Island State Police Lieutenant Jack Downing wishes he had a dollar for every time he’s thought of Piper Bennett over the last few endless months spent mostly on the mainland.
He’d been helping to convict a man who’d murdered his wife during an argument, leaving three young children without parents.
Jack had been heavily involved in that investigation two years before he was assigned to Gansett, thus the back-and-forth in recent months.
He hoped, now that he was back on the island to stay, he and Piper could get on with the friendship-slash-flirtation dance they’d been engaged in for months now.
She asks how much longer the ferry ride will be. She isn’t sure she’ll make it without getting sick. He gets her a ginger ale and crackers from the snack bar to help settle her stomach. He asks her if she wants to hide out with him during the hurricane.
Mac McCarthy and his business partner, Luke Harris, are working to board up the marina ahead of the storm.
Mac’s cousins, Shane, Riley and Finn, are working on preparing the Wayfarer.
Next, they would prepare the hotel and alpaca farm for the storm.
Then they’d tend to their homes. When they take a break, Mac returns a call from his sister, Janey, who is finishing veterinarian school in Ohio.
Janey’s husband, Joe, is home on Gansett with their two kids, helping his mother who is recovering from a broken leg. Janey is frantic because Joe told her that he and Seamus planned to take the ferries out to sea to ride out the storm. Janey begs Mac to talk Joe out of that plan.
“This is absolute insanity,” Carolina O’Grady says to her husband, Seamus, and son, Joe, as she sits with her healing leg propped on the ottoman.
The two of them are running around, packing for themselves, her and the two boys she and Seamus took in after their mother died.
The plan is for Carolina, Jackson, Kyle and Joe’s kids, PJ and Viv, to ride out the storm with Big Mac and Linda McCarthy while the two fools take the ferries out to sea.
“We’ve already had this argument, Mom.” Joe tosses toys into a bag. “It’s the best way to protect the boats.”
“Who will protect my son and husband while they ride out a hurricane at sea?” The thought of it gives her nightmares.
“We won’t be anywhere near the storm, love,” Seamus says as he comes into the room. “That’s why we’re going tonight, so we’ll be clear of it by the time it arrives.”
Jared James and his brother, Quinn, board up the Chesterfield and head to the senior care facility to prepare for the storm there.
Jared fills Quinn in on the baby, Violet, that he and his wife Lizzie are adopting.
They talk about Cooper, their younger brother, who’s currently in LA with his girlfriend, Gigi Gibson.
Jared tells Quinn that their sister, Kendall, is filing for divorce and moving out with her kids.
Her husband is an addict who can’t put their family first. They agree it’s probably time for her to move on.
Quinn teases Jared that, thanks to the Jared James trust fund, their sister can make it through this difficult time.
At the Marion Martinez Senior Care Facility, they find Mallory James, director of nursing and Quinn’s wife, arguing with an older man.
“Mr. McDade is insisting on taking his wife to their home for the storm,” Mallory says, sounding exasperated. “I recommended against that since we’ll have medical staff on hand during the storm, should the need arise.”
“She’s my wife, and I can take her out of here any damned time I want!”
They convince Mr. McDade to leave his wife safe in their care but invite him to ride the storm out at the facility with her. They realize he’s frightened to be alone.
Paul and Alex Martinez spend the morning in a frantic state of activity, securing the equipment they rely upon to run their landscaping business and assisting numerous customers who asked for help at their homes.
After stops at the homes of six different island clients, they’re on their way back to the compound where they live and work.
They decide to check in with their families for lunch and then will finish what needs to be done. Alex spends time with his toddler son, George, and wife, Jenny, while Paul sees his wife, Hope, their daughter, Scarlett, and son, Ethan.
Jack escorts Piper off the ferry and walks her to the Sand and Surf, telling her he missed her while he was away.
“No, you didn’t.”
“Yes, I did!”
“Why didn’t you text me?”
“I wasn’t sure you’d want me to.”
“I did want you to. I was disappointed when you didn’t.”
The noise he makes sounds as if he’s been punched. “Ouch. I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure how long the trial would drag on, and I didn’t want to be, you know, sending smoke signals I couldn’t do anything about.”
“I’m sure you had plenty of ladies on the mainland to keep you warm while the trial dragged on.”
Jack stops walking so abruptly that Piper nearly stumbles. “I wasn’t with anyone over there.”
“You don’t have to tell me what you think I want to hear. It’s fine. It’s not like we were seeing each other or anything.”
“There hasn’t been anyone since I lost my wife.”
Shocked, she stares up at him. “You lost your wife?”
“Three years ago. Fucking breast cancer.”
“Oh, God, Jack. I’m sorry. She must’ve been so young.”
“Diagnosed at twenty-eight, two years after we got married. She died at thirty-two. That was three years ago.”
Piper’s heart aches for him and the woman he loved. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“Thank you. I’m doing better than I was. The first year or two after was… It was rough.”
“I can’t imagine. I’m sorry if I made it sound like you’re a player. That was rude of me. I had no idea.”
“It’s fine,” he says with the charming smile that got her attention on the day they met, even when she was dealing with a nightmare of her own.
“You didn’t know.” He offers his arm, and she curls her hand around his elbow as they continue toward the hotel.
“You also couldn’t have known that you’re the first woman I’ve had any sort of flirtation with, if you want to call it that, since… ”
“Huh. Well, I’m, uh…” Piper releases a nervous laugh. “I don’t know what to say to that.”