Page 35 of Delivery After Dark (Gansett Island #28)

M ac arrived to the usual chaos at home. Kids running around, babies crying, and in the middle of the madness was the woman who made it all work for him and their kids. Every day, he had the same reaction to seeing her after a long day apart—gratitude, delight, love. So much love.

Sometimes he thought about the day they met and how she could’ve ridden right by him on her bike, neither of them aware that the love of a lifetime was getting away. Thank goodness he’d taken one wrong step and ended up with everything he ever could’ve dreamed of.

Before her, he hadn’t dreamed big enough because he never could’ve imagined the life they had together. Before her, he would’ve said he didn’t want the wife and kids and the white picket fence. Before her, he’d been a shell of the man he was today, thanks in large part to her love.

“Mac?”

He’d been staring while she talked to him.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I asked if everything was all right. You had a strange look on your face.”

He picked up their son Mac and gave him a snuggle as he made his way to the sofa, where she was holding court with the twins while Hailey and Thomas ran circles around them.

Little Mac always seemed relieved to see him when he got home, which was endlessly adorable. Of all their kids, he looked the most like his daddy, which his mommy found amusing. Two Macs, mirror images of each other. Just what she needed.

He sat next to Maddie on the sofa with Mac snuggling up to him and gave her a kiss. “Hi, honey, I’m home.”

“Can you tell me why my mother was here to do something upstairs that she couldn’t tell me about?”

“I could, but then it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore.”

He loved when her smile was so big it included her eyes. “Tell me.”

“Not yet, my sweet. Give me the babies and go get ready for a night out. I’ll make dinner for them.”

“Gramps said he’s bringing Mario’s,” Thomas announced loudly.

“Well, then, I guess I’m not making dinner.” He put Mac down to play and took Emma from Maddie. “Go on.”

“They might be getting hungry soon.”

“I’ve got this,” Mac said.

“No, you don’t,” Thomas said with a snort of laughter.

“Hey, whose side are you on?”

Thomas dissolved into giggles. “Mommy’s side.”

“I see how it is. Go,” he said to Maddie. “While you can.”

“I’m gone.”

Mac gazed down at the sleeping face of his baby daughter as her twin sister snoozed in the baby swing.

“I can help you, Daddy,” Hailey said.

“That’s very nice of you, sweetie. Thank you.”

“No problem.”

As she skipped off to bother Thomas, which was her favorite thing, Mac could picture her at fifteen, gorgeous like her mother and swatting boys away with a stick. He couldn’t even think about having three teenage girls who were as pretty as their mother without wanting to wail.

He’d almost dozed off himself when Francine and Ned arrived, bearing pizza. The scent made Mac’s stomach rumble.

Thomas and Hailey attacked the pizza as if they hadn’t been fed in a week.

“Let’s see some manners, you guys,” Mac called to them. “And a big thank-you to Gramps.”

“Thank you, Gramps.”

“Yer welcome. Chew it good, will ya?” He lifted little Mac into the high chair and cut up his pizza like the professional grandfather he’d become. “Whatcha lookin’ at?”

“Grandfathering looks good on you, old friend,” Mac said.

“Best thing ever.”

“I’ll take her, Mac,” Francine said. “Go get ready.”

He transferred Emma to his mother-in-law. “Thank you for this.”

“We love every minute with them,” Francine said.

Sometimes Mac couldn’t believe she was the same woman who’d been so bitter and jaded when he first met her. Her relationship with Ned and the arrival of eight grandchildren had changed everything for her.

Leaving the kids in the capable hands of their grandparents, he went upstairs to change, checking his phone as he went.

He read a text from his brother Evan. Playing at the Wayfarer with O tonight if you guys can escape.

Got some other plans, but we may stop by.

Would love to see you. Grace is going to text about a welcome-home party for Adam, Abby and the babies at the ferry landing tomorrow.

Sounds good!

Mac couldn’t wait to meet his baby nephews, but first, he had a rare night alone with his beautiful wife, and he was going to make sure they both enjoyed every second of it.

Waiting for the phone to ring was the most stressful thing Lizzie James had ever done. On the one hand, she wanted to hear from Kendall that the situation had been resolved and they had nothing to worry about. On the other was the fear of getting bad news that would ruin her life.

So, yeah, waiting for the phone to ring was complete torture. It had taken over every thought, emotion and action, weighing her down with unbearable stress.

In the meantime, she tried her best to stay focused on her precious Violet and keeping the torment hidden from her. All the books said that babies were incredibly perceptive and could tell if their parents were stressed or upset about something.

She didn’t want Violet to have any inkling that everything they held dear was in jeopardy from a man they’d never met and might still never know. So she forced herself to remain joyful around her daughter, to play and laugh and sing and do all the things they did every day as if nothing was wrong.

But on the inside, she was shattered.

What would she do if a judge ordered them to give Violet to her biological father?

They would run. Jared had the resources to make it possible for them to disappear into the world, never to be seen or heard from again. They’d have to leave everyone else they loved behind, but they’d do it to keep their family together.

Jared came into the room and smiled at them as if everything was normal when nothing was.

He loved Violet as much as she did, but more than anything, he loved seeing her as a mother.

He’d told her more than once that it was his favorite thing ever to witness her immense love for their child.

Losing her would break his heart just as much as hers.

“I’d ask how you’re doing, but…”

“I’m trying to hold it together for her, but it’s hard to hide the torment.”

“I know, love. But you’re doing great. She’s happy as always.” He reached out a hand to Violet, smiling when she gripped his finger.

“Can we run away, Jared? Just take her and disappear?”

“I think that’s harder to do than you might think. People know who I am.”

“But we could try?”

“If we run and we get caught, we lose her. If we stay and fight, then we stand a chance to get the outcome we want.”

“But we could lose her.”

“Yes, we could, and we always knew that was possible until the adoption was final. We talked about this at the beginning, how we were taking a huge chance falling in love with someone who wasn’t ours to keep yet.”

“What were we supposed to do? Not love her? That’d be like asking me not to breathe.”

“I know, honey, but we went into this knowing the risks. We can’t forget that now that our worst-case scenario has come to pass.”

“How can you be so calm about this?”

“I’m not calm. I haven’t had one second of calm since Kendall told us Violet’s biological father had reached out. I’m just trying to deal with the situation we’re in as best I can, and running away won’t fix anything.”

“I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”

“We’re not doing nothing. Kendall and Dan are all over it. We have to trust them to help us get the outcome we want.”

“The court will give him custody.”

“Maybe not. We know nothing about his background. For all we know, he’s got a criminal record or he’s a drug addict or any number of things that could prevent him from getting custody. Maybe he has other kids he’s not taking care of. Anything is possible.”

“I can’t stand the not knowing. It’s going to break me.”

“I won’t let it. I’ve spoken with Kendall, and she assured me we’ll have more information today. We just have to keep the faith.”

“That’s getting harder to do.”

Jared’s phone rang, startling them.

Lizzie’s heart couldn’t handle the jolt of fear that accompanied every phone call since they’d first heard about Violet’s father.

“It’s Kendall. Hey, you’re on speaker with both of us.”

“I’ve just got off the phone with the attorney for Violet’s biological father. His name is Brooks Ward, and he’s in medical school at Yale. He dated Jessie for a few weeks last summer and had no idea she was pregnant until he ran into a mutual friend who told him about the baby.”

Lizzie’s heart was pounding so hard, she wondered if Jared could hear it. “Wh-what does he want?”

“He wants to meet her.”

The floor dropped out from under her.

“Is he going to contest the adoption?” Jared asked.

“The attorney said he’s not sure what his intentions are beyond meeting his daughter.”

“Does he understand the nightmare this is for us?”

“That’s been conveyed to him, and he’s sorry about that, but he still wants to meet her.”

“When?”

“As soon as possible.”

“Let’s do it this weekend and get it over with. Lizzie and I can’t live in this unbearable purgatory indefinitely.”

“I suggested this weekend and asked if he could get to the island. The attorney will get back to me as soon as he hears from him.”

“What’s your gut saying, Kendall?”

“I think it’s good news that he’s in medical school and has no time to care for a young child. That said, he probably has parents who could, so I don’t know what to think. We have to take this one step at a time, as excruciating as it is.”

“It’s the most unbearable thing either of us has ever been through.”

Jared’s tears gutted Lizzie. He was always so strong, and to see him break down was heart-wrenching.

She took his hand and rested her head on his shoulder while Violet played on the floor, oblivious to the drama swirling around her.

“I know,” Kendall said, “and I’m working as hard as I can to get you some resolution. But we have to play this out, as hard as it is. He wants to see her, and we have to let him. I’ll be back to you as soon as I hear anything more.”

“Thanks, K.”

“Hang in there. Love you guys.”

“Love you, too.”

“How are we supposed to breathe until we know if he’s going to take her from us?” Lizzie asked.

“We have to keep it together for our daughter,” Jared said. “Let’s focus only on her, like we always do.”

“I’m so scared.”

“I know, honey. I am, too.”

By the time Morgan knocked on her door shortly after seven o’clock, Sierra was about to spontaneously combust from excitement.

She couldn’t recall the last time she’d been so amped up for anything as she was to see him after the long day apart.

And while a tiny voice inside her head said to slow her roll and chill the hell out, she couldn’t seem to make that happen when he came through the door, smiling and obviously as happy to see her as she was to see him.

Then he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, and her knees went weak under her. Only his tight hold on her kept her standing as he kissed her face right off.

“Mmm,” he said when he finally came up for air. “I’ve been looking forward to that all day.”

“Me, too. Was it a particularly long day, or did it just seem like it?”

“It was endless, but it just got a whole lot better.” He nuzzled her neck. “What do you feel like doing tonight?”

“I, um, my brain is currently scrambled, and I have no coherent thoughts.”

His low rumble of laughter against her neck made her shiver from the sensations that rippled through her.

“Do you want to go out?”

“I heard there’s good live music at the Wayfarer tonight.”

“That sounds fun. Should we go check it out?”

“I mean, we could, but we could also stay right here.”

“I don’t want you to think that’s all I want.”

“What if it’s all I want?”

He pulled back to look at her, seeming alarmed. “Is it?”

“No, not at all, which is terrifying, actually.”

“How come?”

“Things are unsettled for you right now, but I’m very, very settled, and, well… That’s kind of scary.”

“How about we go have some dinner, enjoy some music, talk about this stuff and come back here later?”

“That sounds good. I’m starving.”

“Me, too.”

“Let’s get to it, then.” He kissed her again. “To hold me over.”

“Once more should do it.”

He smiled as he brought his lips down on hers for a kiss that quickly turned hot and had her moaning as he ended it minutes later. “If we don’t cut that out, we’ll never go.”

“Fine. Be that way.”

“One of us has to be an adult around here.”

She gave him a playful push toward the door. “Haha, very funny.”

When they were downstairs next to his truck—or Billy’s truck that he was using—he put a hand on her arm. “Hey.”

“What’s up?”

“I don’t want you terrified. This… with you… It feels so good that you’ve got me pondering some life changes after one incredible night.”

“Oh.” She licked lips that had suddenly gone dry as the desert. “I do?”

“Yeah. You do. You have me rethinking my whole damned life, so please don’t be afraid of anything other than how quickly this is happening and how epic we might turn out to be.”

Was this really happening, or was she dreaming? “Epic, huh?”

“You never know unless you try, and I intend to go for it. That is… if you’re going for it with me.

” He backed her up against the truck, pressing his aroused body to hers.

“I was guilty as fuck for feeling so good today when the last few months have been nothing but one shitty day after another. But today… Today it was like the sun had come back out after a long, dark, cold winter. All thanks to you.”