Page 19 of Delivery After Dark (Gansett Island #28)

“ I want to see baby Dylan,” Stephanie said to her husband, Grant, when he came in for dinner at the bar, as he did most nights when she was working at the restaurant.

By this point in December, they were usually counting down to their great escape to Southern California for the winter.

Normally, they left right after Christmas with their families.

This year, they’d be staying home to wait for their baby boy to arrive in January.

They hadn’t told anyone that he was a boy, nor had they disclosed the name they’d chosen for him: Oren Charles McCarthy.

Grace and Evan’s baby was due in February, and they didn’t want to miss that arrival either.

Grant said he was cool with spending the winter on Gansett, but Stephanie worried he’d miss being in California. It’d help that Dan and Kara planned to stay this year, too. Grant was always happier when Dan was around.

“I’m texting Dan to see if they’re ready for visitors yet,” Grant said as he sent the text.

Stephanie sat next to him and thanked her bartender, Max, for the glass of ice water with lemon he put on the bar in front of her. She looked forward to being able to drink wine again someday.

“Are you having dinner, too, Steph?” Max asked.

“Just a house salad for me, please. If I eat a big meal this late, I’ll die of heartburn.”

“Sounds good. Usual for you, Grant?”

“Please.”

He was a sucker for the shrimp scampi.

“Dan said to come tonight if we want to. The baby slept all day, so they’re anticipating a long night.”

“Is there a chapter on that scenario in the manual?” Stephanie asked.

“There’s a manual?”

“No, but there should be. What’s the latest from Providence?”

“Mom texted the group chat to say the babies are doing great and that Abby is tired but thrilled to be up and about again.”

“I don’t know how she could bear to be in bed for all that time. I’d go mad.”

“From what Adam says, she nearly did.”

“Thank goodness the babies are here, they’re doing well, and, hopefully, they’ll be home soon. That’s when the real fun will begin.”

“I can’t imagine bringing four babies home at the same time,” Grant said with a shudder. “One is going to be more than enough for me.”

“For now, though, right? We’ve got to give this guy a sibling.”

“Definitely, but I’m a little scared of the outbreak of multiples going on in my family. Twins and quads in the same year.”

“Yeah, no kidding. With our luck, we’ll get the triplets.”

Grant nearly choked on his beer. “I can’t believe you said that out loud!”

Laughing at his horrified expression, Stephanie said, “I take it back, universe. No triplets for us.”

“Stop saying that word. Right now.”

She couldn’t stop laughing at his horrified expression.

After they ate, Stephanie left the restaurant in the hands of her capable staff and went with Grant to visit Dan, Kara and baby Dylan. She was glad she’d put the baby gifts she’d bought ages ago in the car for when they got the chance to see the new arrival.

“Did Dan say how Kara is feeling?”

“He said sore and tired, but thrilled, too.”

Stephanie was incredibly stressed about the looming childbirth experience and was hoping Kara would put her mind at ease.

She hadn’t said much about her anxiety to Grant or anyone else, for that matter, but it hung over her like a dark cloud of worry that was getting worse as her due date drew nearer.

She’d thought about mentioning it to Victoria, but what could the midwife say that would make Steph feel better about it?

That women gave birth every day? That she was young and strong and would do great?

How did anyone know how it would go ahead of time?

They didn’t because each situation was unique.

The unknowns, the possible complications, the pain…

It was almost all she thought about, which she knew was unhealthy.

Grant turned the car into the Torringtons’ driveway and cut the engine.

“Can you grab the gift bags in the back seat?” Steph asked him.

“Yep.”

Stephanie stood back while Grant gave a soft knock on the door.

Dan came to the door, smiling so big it was a wonder his face didn’t break. Steph had never seen him smile quite like that.

“Come in!”

The baby was crying in the arms of her mother, who was rocking her.

“She’s got a set of lungs, huh?” Grant asked as he hugged Dan.

“Hell to the yes,” Dan said. “She’s loud like her mother.”

“Right,” Kara said. “Like anyone thinks I’m the loud one.”

An older woman emerged from the extra bedroom. She had short, white, curly hair and blue eyes.

“Grant, Stephanie, meet our Bertha,” Dan said. “Kara’s grandmother and my girlfriend.”

“Haha.” Bertha hugged Grant and then Stephanie. “He wishes. Heard so much about you two.”

“Likewise,” Steph said. “We couldn’t wait to meet you.”

“Welcome to our island,” Grant said. “What do you think so far?”

“It’s almost as beautiful as my corner of Downeast Maine.”

Kara had told them how Bertha was still lobster fishing almost every day well into her eighties—and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Steph moved closer to Kara and the baby, eager for a look at the new arrival. “She’s gorgeous. Just like her mother.”

“That’s nice of you to say, but she’s the spitting image of her father, God help us all,” Kara said with a teasing grin for her husband.

“I can’t deny it,” Dan said.

“That poor kid,” Grant replied.

Dan gave Grant a shove that had Grant retaliating with a headlock.

“Business as usual,” Kara said to Steph. “Would you like to hold her?”

“Can I?”

“Of course.”

Kara transferred the precious bundle to Stephanie, who looked down at baby Dylan in amazement. She was so tiny and pretty.

“How’re you feeling?” Steph asked as she gazed at the baby.

“Not too bad, all things considered.”

“So it was horrible?”

“I wouldn’t say that. It just took longer than I thought it would, but the end result is so incredibly worth it. Look at her.”

“She’s perfect.”

When the baby started to fuss, Bertha came to get her. “I’ll change her.”

“Thank you, B.” Kara smiled at her grandmother. “I’m so happy you’re here.”

“I’m happy to be here.”

“Bertha never leaves Maine for any reason.”

“I’m standing here as living proof that isn’t true,” Bertha said.

Stephanie laughed at their banter.

“It’s the first time she’s left in ages.”

“For a very good cause,” Bertha said, gazing lovingly at the baby.

After Bertha took Dylan into Dan and Kara’s bedroom, Kara said, “How lucky am I to have my grandmother here with me after having my first baby?”

“So lucky. She’s as great as you said.”

“She’s the greatest of all time. It’s such a gift to have her here. Slim and Erin fetched her the minute they heard I was in labor.”

“Aw, I love that.”

“Can I get you anything, hon?” Dan asked.

“Maybe a lift up. I need to pee. And what a blast that is right now.”

Stephanie winced. “It’s that bad?”

“It’s a temporary inconvenience for a lifetime with my baby girl. It’s no big deal.”

After Kara had walked away, Stephanie sat for a second with that comment.

A temporary inconvenience for a lifetime with my baby girl.

That was exactly what Stephanie had needed to hear, not that Kara could’ve known it.

While Kara’s words didn’t completely alleviate the fear she was dealing with, they helped to give it some perspective.

Grant sat next to her and reached for her hand, giving it a squeeze.

Dan plopped down into a chair across from Grant.

“How’re you doing, old man?” Steph asked Dan.

“I’m keeping it together but just barely. No one tells you how emotional it all is. I’ve been a weepy disaster since she arrived.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet.”

“Waited a long time for my girls. You know?”

Grant glanced at Steph and smiled. “Yeah, I get it. But it was so worth the wait to get it just right.”

“You said it, pal. Any word on how Abby and the boys are doing? I’m trying to picture this,” Dan said, gesturing to the baby equipment that’d taken over their living room, “times four.”

“I know. We were talking about that earlier. Linda sent a text that said Abby and all four babies are doing great, and they’re hoping to be home within a week or so.”

“That’s great news,” Dan said. “It’s such a relief that they’re here, and they’re okay—and that Abby is, too.”

“I know,” Grant said. “I hadn’t realized how stressed I was about it until we heard the good news.”

When Kara and Bertha returned with the baby, Dan held out his arms.

Kara transferred baby Dylan to her daddy, who teared up at the sight of her.

“He’s a red-hot mess,” Kara said, smiling warmly at her husband.

“Can’t help it. Look at her.”

“She’s perfect,” Stephanie said. “Open your gifts, Kara.”

Kara oohed and aahed over the embroidered tote bag and the oatmeal-colored sweater with Dylan’s name on them. They’d known what her name was but not whether she was a boy or a girl, so she’d gone with neutral colors. She’d also included some staples like onesies and a few toys.

“These are great, Steph,” Kara said. “Thank you so much to both of you.”

“We’re so excited for our babies to grow up to be best friends,” Dan said.

“We are, too,” Grant said.

“What if they end up getting married someday?” Steph said.

“On this island,” Kara said, “anything is possible.”

After dinner, Sierra and Morgan moved to the bar to listen to Julia Lawry’s performance. She opened with “No One” by Alicia Keys and then went right into “Someone Like You” by Adele.

Morgan put his arm behind Sierra’s chair, trying to decide whether he dared to actually touch her.

It’d been a while—years, in fact—since he’d debated such a thing when it came to a woman.

Usually, the path forward was obvious to him.

But with her, he was uncertain. Not because he thought she wasn’t into him.

He sensed she was having as good a time tonight as he was.

No, it was more about the rare feeling that this could be something special if he handled it right.