Page 22 of Delivery After Dark (Gansett Island #28)

She’d talked to Jeff about it that morning, asking him if anything had happened when the brothers had been together in Providence after Jeff was first injured.

“Nothing that would cause him to act like this for months,” Jeff had said.

He and his fiancée, Kelsey, were living with her and Charlie while they continued to recuperate from the injuries they’d sustained when the roof at Kelsey’s home had collapsed on them during the hurricane.

“I don’t know what to do,” Sarah had said. “The longer this goes on, the more worried about him I am.”

Johnny had all but retreated from anything that wasn’t work in recent months, hunkering down in the guesthouse on Charlie and Sarah’s property since her parents, Russ and Adele, were in Florida for the winter, and rarely joining in any family get-togethers.

She went days without laying eyes on him.

His car coming and going was the only proof of life she got.

After having been through a suicide attempt when Jeff was much younger, she’d like to think she was more alert to the kind of trouble that needed to be addressed with her kids. Johnny was a grown man who deserved his privacy, but her maternal radar was attuned to something seriously amiss.

So she made meatloaf, mashed potatoes and corn and invited him to come for dinner after work, hoping to tempt him with his favorite meal.

Sorry, he’d replied. Can’t make it.

I’m not asking you. I’m telling you to come for dinner. And don’t give me any excuses. Dinner is at six thirty. Be here.

She could see that he’d read the message, but he didn’t reply.

Charlie came up behind her and massaged her shoulders. His love was such a gift in her new life on Gansett, with six of her seven children living close to them, along with his daughter, Stephanie. “Why’s my honey so tense?”

“I told Johnny he’s coming for dinner after he said he couldn’t, and he hasn’t replied.”

“If he knows what’s good for him, he won’t defy his mama.”

“What if he does?”

“Then we’ll go over there after him. Whatever it takes.”

“So you agree that this has gone on long enough.”

“I woulda said that a couple weeks ago, but he’s not my kid.”

“You said to wait him out.”

“For a while, maybe, but not forever.”

“I’m glad you agree.” She turned to face the man who’d changed her life in every possible way by giving her proof that true love really did exist. “I hope you know you can say whatever you want to me about any of them.”

“Normally, I would, but this feels… I don’t know. It feels a little different for some reason, and I don’t know him as well as I know the others. Does that make sense?”

“Yes, it does, but if you’ve got a thought about any of them, feel free to share it with me. I’ve been guilty in the past of overlooking things I should’ve paid more attention to. I don’t want to do that anymore.”

“You’re a wonderful mother, Sarah, and I have no doubt you always have been.”

“I should’ve taken my kids away from him. I’ll always regret that I didn’t.”

“You survived a horrific situation, and every one of those kids loves you and lives near you and is in your house every other minute. They don’t blame you, and you shouldn’t either.”

“It’s hard not to when I see each of them dealing with things they brought from their difficult childhoods.”

“From where I’m sitting, they’re all doing extremely well, except for Johnny. We’ll figure out what’s up with him and get him the help he needs.”

She rested her head on his chest. “What’d I ever do without my Charlie to make me feel better about everything?”

His gruff laugh made her smile as he tightened his arms around her. “What would I ever do without my sweet Sarah to make every day the best day I ever had?”

“Okay, you win.”

“It’s not a contest, sweetheart. We’ve been around long enough to know how lucky we are, and we’ll never take this for granted.”

“Not ever.”

Jeff came into the kitchen on the crutches he still used after his pelvis was shattered during the roof collapse.

Sarah pulled back from Charlie.

“Don’t let me interrupt the lovebirds,” Jeff said.

“Oh hush. You and Kelsey are the lovebirds around here.”

“Not just us, Mama,” Jeff said with the quick grin that came right from his father, not that she’d ever tell him that.

“Can I get you something?”

“I’m looking for some water, and I’ll get it myself.”

“Don’t be silly. I’ve got it.”

“Let her dote on you, son,” Charlie said. “She loves every minute of having you here—and so do I.”

“Thanks for having us. Not sure what I would’ve done without you guys, Kelsey and the rest of our amazing family these last few months.”

“We’re thankful to see you standing upright again,” Sarah said as she handed him the glass of water.

He leaned on his crutches to take a drink.

“What time is Kelsey due back?”

After getting her cast off and being cleared to drive again—finally—she’d gone to see the McCarthy kids she’d cared for before being injured.

“She said she’d be home for dinner. Is it weird that I miss her like crazy even though we’ve spent twenty-four hours a day together for months?”

“Not at all, honey,” Sarah said. “That’s how it should be.”

Once upon a time, she might’ve objected to her son sharing a room with his fiancée before they were married.

Now she couldn’t care less. Those two kids were obviously madly in love, and Sarah was so thankful to have Jeff home and recovering after a long stint in physical rehabilitation that having them sleep together was fine with her.

“Mom… What’re we going to do about Johnny?”

“We were just talking about that,” Sarah said with a glance at Charlie. “I told him he’s coming to dinner tonight whether he wants to or not, and we’ll try to talk to him.”

“Good,” Jeff said. “He’s been weird since we were together in Providence before you guys got back from Italy, and he won’t tell me what’s wrong.”

“He won’t tell anyone,” Sarah said. “We’re hoping to get to the bottom of it tonight.”

“That’d be good,” Jeff said, “because something’s definitely not right.”