Page 11 of Delivery After Dark (Gansett Island #28)

S tephanie let out a whoop from the sofa in Mac and Maddie’s spacious family room, where the McCarthy family had gathered for dinner. “Dan and Kara had a girl! Dylan Adele Torrington.” Stephanie read off the vital stats that Dan had sent.

“Two babies in the same day,” Maddie said, who’d become an aunt again with the birth of her sister Tiffany’s son.

“What if they grow up to get married?” Mac said. “Wouldn’t that be something?”

“Easy, skippy,” Maddie said. “Give them a day to get acclimated before you start arranging their marriage.”

“I’m just saying… That would be something with them being born on the same day.”

“Like Quinn and me,” Mallory said with a smile for her husband.

“Any word from Providence?” Big Mac McCarthy asked.

“Nothing since Adam texted that Abby is in labor,” Mac told his dad. “I’m sure we’ll hear something soon.”

“Mom and I are heading to the mainland on the first boat,” Big Mac told them.

“I wish we could all go,” Grant said.

“We don’t want to overwhelm them any more than they already are,” Stephanie said. “Four infants. I can’t imagine.” She rested her hand on the curve of her own pregnant belly as the countdown to her delivery inched closer to February.

Mac loved nothing more than nights like this, surrounded by most of the people he loved.

Adam and Abby were missing, as were his sister, Janey, and her family, who were in Ohio as Janey took the last exams before she graduated from veterinary school.

Big Mac and Linda were flying to Columbus for the graduation, which was another thing Mac hated to miss.

But with five young children, including twin baby girls, there was no way he was going anywhere any time soon.

That was fine, as he was where he needed to be with Maddie and their kids, but he wished he could also be there for his siblings as they achieved these significant milestones.

“Question. Do we have to call the Brat doctor when she comes home?”

“I thought we’d decided to go with Dr. Brat,” his brother Evan said.

Evan’s pregnant wife, Grace, smacked her husband upside the head. “You’re not calling her that.”

“Why not? She’ll be disappointed if we don’t.”

“I highly doubt that,” their mother, Linda, said as she rocked baby Emma.

“I’m not calling her doctor,” Mac said. “Unless it’s Dr. Brat, and that’s all I’ve got to say about it.

” Tormenting his younger sister was second nature to him, and that wasn’t about to change now that she was officially about to become a veterinarian.

He was crazy proud of her, and he’d tell her so as soon as he could, but he’d still poke at her because it was so damned fun.

His brothers agreed.

“I’m with you, Mac,” Grant said. “Dr. Brat it is. We should get an engraved nameplate for her office so she doesn’t get too big for her britches.”

“Yes,” Evan said, pumping his fist. “Let’s do it.”

“You boys never learn,” their father’s best friend, Ned Saunders, said, chuckling. “How many times does Mac gotta lead ya’ll off a cliff before ya wise up?”

Mac puffed out his chest. “They’ll never give up on me.”

“Easy, big brother,” Evan said. “We’ve learned to be more selective in how much of your bullshit we’re willing to consume. In this case, the Brat will always be the Brat, doctor or not.”

“We’re going to have to add a wing onto the elementary school to accommodate all these kiddos,” Grace said, who was also due in February with their first child.

“The town council is already talking about that.” As president of the council, Big Mac was always in the know. “And they’re blaming us and our soon-to-be fourteen grandchildren—and counting—for creating the need. Not to mention the kids Laura, Shane, Riley and Finn have or will have in the future.”

The McCarthy cousins were contributing to the baby boom with three from Laura and her husband, Owen, one on the way for Shane and his wife, Katie, and more probably coming from Riley and Finn, the “babies” of the family, who were now married to Nikki and Chloe.

“That’s funny,” Mac said. “We are a prodigious bunch.”

“You are indeed,” Big Mac said. “We’ll need a whole new wing of the school for the ones being born this year alone to our family and friends.”

“Can you imagine all of them as teenagers together?” Maddie shuddered. “If they’re anything like their fathers, we’ll have to add to the police department, too.”

“One thing at a time,” Big Mac said, smiling. “We’ll beef up the police when they hit the teen years. And let me just say, I sure as hell hope I live to see that.”

“I’ll make the popcorn,” Ned said to his best friend.

“Those are gonna be some years,” Linda said. “I fear this crew will put the last group of McCarthys to shame.”

“I got here just in time for the show,” their eldest sister, Mallory, said.

She’d learned a few years ago that Big Mac had fathered her in a brief relationship before he met Linda.

Mallory’s arrival had been a shock at first, but she’d fit right in with the family, and now it was like she’d always been there.

“What about you?” Mac asked his sister. “You’re not adding to the baby boom?”

“We’re forty-one,” she said of herself and Quinn. “We’re too old and set in our ways to detonate that kind of bomb in our lives. We’d prefer to watch the hijinks from the sidelines and then go home to our nice, quiet house.”

“That’s very wise, Mallory,” Linda said.

“We’re inundated with nieces and nephews who’ll keep us young,” Quinn added.

Ned’s wife, Francine, who was also Maddie’s mother, was rocking baby Evelyn. “I can’t believe these babies sleep through all this chaos.”

“They’re used to it,” Mac said. “They’ve been listening to it since before they were born.”

“We’re so thankful they sleep through everything,” Maddie said, yawning. “I’m not sure what we’d do if they didn’t.”

Mac’s younger son, Mac the Third, toddled up to him and lifted his arms.

Mac scooped him up. “Is my buddy ready for bed?”

Baby Mac nodded. He was so unlike Thomas and Hailey, who held out to the last possible second before going to sleep. When Baby Mac was done, he was done.

“We’ll get out of here so you can put them to bed,” Evan said for everyone as the family gathered coats and the dishes they’d brought to contribute to dinner.

“Congratulations to Aunt Maddie and Uncle Mac on your new nephew,” Big Mac said when he hugged them and the kids. “More nephews coming in hot.”

“We can’t wait,” Mac said. He was so glad that Adam and Abby were in Providence at a top-rate neonatal center for the birth of the quadruplets. That sure as hell beat his twins being born in a freaking helicopter. “Give us an update when you get to Providence.”

“Will do,” Linda said as she handed baby Emma to her mother.

“Thanks for giving my arms a break,” Maddie said to her mother-in-law and mother.

Francine settled sleeping Evelyn into Mac’s right arm as he held little Mac with the left one.

“Our pleasure, honey,” Linda said, kissing Maddie’s cheek.

“That’s what grannies are for,” Francine added.

“Thank goodness for the grannies—and grandpops,” Mac said. “We’d be lost without you, so don’t forget about us when Adam brings four new babies home.”

His parents laughed as they headed for the door.

“As if you’d ever let us forget about you,” Linda shot over her shoulder, making Big Mac, Maddie, Ned and Francine laugh.

Mac helped Maddie herd Thomas and Hailey up the stairs, while he carried Mac and Evelyn and Maddie brought Emma. Five kids was a lot .

Thankfully, Thomas could take his own shower while Mac and Maddie bathed Hailey and Mac in the tub in their room. The twins were sleeping in their bassinets.

They got the three “big” kids down without much of a fuss, since they were tired after long days of school and preschool as well as playtime with friends and cousins that afternoon.

Mac fell into bed next to Maddie, who was reading something on her phone. “Any news?”

“Apparently, things are progressing quickly for Abby, and it looks like she’ll avoid the C-section. I’m not sure if that’s good news or bad for her. Pushing out four babies…” She shook her head. “Two was bad enough.”

“Good old Adam had to show us all up with his super sperm. We’re never going to hear the end of that nonsense.”

“What would you be saying if we were having quads? And before you get any ideas, that is never going to happen.”

“I’d probably be saying the same stupid shit he is.”

“You definitely would. We’d all want to stab you by now.”

“Aw, you love me.” He turned on his side to face her and slid an arm around her. “Guess what?”

“What?”

“David texted me earlier today to give me the green light we’ve been waiting for.”

“You mean the green light you’ve been waiting for.”

“ We .”

“ You .”

“Do we have so many kids now that you don’t love me anymore?”

“Oh, hush, Mac.”

“I love our family. You know I do. But I also miss when it was just us.”

“It was never just us. Thomas and I were a package deal.”

“Yes, you were, but he was a baby, and we still had lots of time to be together without any distractions.” He ran his finger lightly over her arm and loved the goose bumps that erupted from his touch. “I wouldn’t trade our five kids for anything, but sometimes I really miss us.”

“I know,” she said with a sigh. “I do, too. But it won’t always be this intense.”

“You promise?”

“I do.” She put her phone on the charger and turned to cuddle up to him. “I’m sorry if you’re feeling neglected.”

“Please don’t apologize to me for anything. I stand in awe of what you accomplish every day with five little kids underfoot.”

“I have an exceptional partner and lots of help from grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends.”

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and ran his finger over her cheek.

“You’re the one who makes it all happen, and if I want to be in awe of my amazing wife, I get to be.

Also, I don’t feel neglected at all. I’m feeling nostalgic for your little apartment over Tiffany’s dance studio and that pullout sofa bed that gave me a crick in my back that I still have. ”

She smiled. “Those were the days, my friend.”

“Yes, they were.”

“I couldn’t wait to get out of that apartment. Remember the first time you brought me here and told me you’d bought this house for us? I thought I was dreaming.”

“That was a great day, but I never go to Tiff’s that I don’t glance at that place and remember where it all began for us.”

“I do, too. I had some hard times in that place, but the time with you was magical.”

“Even though you wanted nothing to do with me and kept trying to get rid of me?”

“That didn’t last long.”

“My feelings are still hurt.”

“Sure they are.”

“Good thing I didn’t let you run me off, huh?”

She ran a finger down the center of his chest, lighting a fire of desire with that simple move. “Very good thing, but your own stubbornness is how you ended up with five children.”

“That and my endlessly sexy wife who can turn me on with a fingertip after all this time together.”

“You’re a bit primed.” She ran that deadly fingertip over the length of his erection. “It’s been a while.”

“Eighty-two days, five hours and thirteen minutes.”

Maddie lost it laughing. “Are you for real right now?”

“Hundred percent for real.”

“You’re too much.”

“You always say that.”

“Well, it’s always true.”

He wanted her badly, but she was so tired by the end of every day with the kids that he’d never want to be one more thing she had to deal with. But if she kept running her finger up and down his shaft, he might not be responsible for what happened next.

“I love you, Madeline, love of my life, secret to all my happiness.”

“I love you, too, even when you’re counting the days without sex.”

“It’s only because I miss being close to you.”

“I sleep in your arms every night.”

“That’s almost close enough, but not quite.”

She could barely keep her eyes open, so he reached for the hand that was driving him crazy and curled his fingers around hers.

“Go to sleep, love. We’ll have thousands of days to make up for lost time.”

“I feel bad leaving you like that.”

“Don’t feel bad. Don’t ever feel bad for making all my dreams come true—even the ones I’d never dared to have before you crashed into me.”

“Ha. You crashed into me .”

“Best day of my life.”

“Mine, too, except for the blood and scabs.”

He held her close to him as he throbbed with the desire that was always present when she was around.

“We need a date night soon,” she said. “A whole night alone together.”

“We’ll make that happen.”

“Yes, please.”

Mac fell asleep thinking about how he could get a night alone with his beautiful wife before too much longer. With Adam’s babies coming home soon, the grandparents would be in hot demand, so he’d need to act fast to squeeze it in before his new nephews made their island debut.