Page 48 of Delivery After Dark (Gansett Island #28)

L aura ran down the stairs at the Sand & Surf with a twin toddler in each arm. “Hey, Piper. Have you seen Owen?”

“He was in the kitchen with Holden a few minutes ago. Everything all right?”

“Yes, but I need to hand these guys off to him while I run to the grocery store.”

“Ah, okay. When you have a second, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Laura came to a halt in front of the registration desk. “Do not tell me you’re leaving me.”

“I’m not leaving you, but I am moving out of the hotel.”

Suddenly having all the time in the world, Laura leaned against the desk while the kids squirmed in her arms. She put them down, and they ran for their toys in the living room. “Are you moving into a place by yourself?”

“Nope.”

“Yes! I love this!”

“I’m moving in with Debbie from the salon.”

Laura’s face fell. “No way.”

“Ha! Got you!”

“That was mean—and speaking of mean, you’re going to deny me my viewing of Hot Cop every morning?”

“I am. You’re going to have to find a way to live without that.”

“And here I thought we were friends.”

Piper laughed. “We’re the best of friends, but it’s time to get a real home.”

“Yes, it is, and I couldn’t be happier for you and Jack. You know that.”

“I do, and I can’t thank you enough for all your support of—and interest in—our relationship.”

“I love when good things happen for good people, and you two deserve all the happiness in the world. But I’ll miss having you living close by.”

“We live on an island. I won’t be far away.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I do, and I’ll miss the pitter-patter of six little feet upstairs and having you and Owen around, too. But I’ll still be here every day.”

“Thank goodness for that. When are you moving?”

“We rented a place on the west side as of January first, so we’ll move in after we get back from Christmas with my family.”

“You’re taking Jack home to meet the family?”

“I am.”

“Wow, these are big steps.”

“It’s very exciting—and scary, too.”

“How so?”

“I love him so much. So much more than I loved the one I was supposed to marry. Everything about this is different and so special. I just worry about something going wrong.”

“It won’t. He loves you just as much. Try to relax and enjoy the best thing to ever happen. Soon enough, life and kids take over, and that early magic starts to feel like a long time ago. Don’t spend too much time worrying about a future you can’t control anyway.”

“Good advice, as always. Keep it coming, will you?”

“Any time you need it. I’ll be back shortly.”

“I’ll be here.”

Laura went into the living room to find her kids and encountered her husband, who gave her a curious look. “What?”

“‘The early magic starts to feel like a long time ago’?”

“Oh. You heard that?”

“I did, and what shall we do about that?”

“I… I was just talking to Piper. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Smiling, Owen came to put an arm around her as the kids ran in circles through the room. “I know you didn’t, but what that says to me is we need a little Mommy/Daddy time to reconnect and find some of that old magic.”

“Owen…” She looked up at the love of her life, the man who’d given up everything to stay with her when she was pregnant with another man’s child. He’d picked her up off the floor when she was so sick she couldn’t move… “Every minute with you is magic. I’d never want you to think otherwise.”

He kissed her softly. “I never would, but you’re not wrong about life and kids taking the steam out of a hot romance.”

“Our romance is still hot.”

He nuzzled her neck and brought her in closer to him. “But it can always be hotter, right?”

“Mmm. Uh-huh.” Just that quickly, he’d made her forget about why she’d come downstairs in the first place. Oh. Right. Dinner for Shane and Katie. “I need to go to the store.”

“Okay,” he said, keeping her pressed against him.

“I’m making dinner for Shane and Katie. She’s not feeling well.”

“Is the baby okay?”

More kisses to her neck and lips that made her stupid in the head. “I, uh… Uh-huh. She has a UTI.”

“Ouch.”

“Hey, Owen?”

“Yeah?”

“This, right here… It’s all magic.”

“Even the screaming kids?”

“All of it.”

“For me, too.”

“Don’t ever think that I don’t feel that every day, okay?”

“I never would. Don’t worry. So our Piper is moving out, huh?”

“That’s what she said.”

“Good for her—and Jack.”

Laura made a pout face. “But no more Hot Cop in uniform every morning.”

Owen gave her a light spank on the rear. “I’m in the room.”

“I guess I’ll have to focus on my own hot man going forward.”

“I have to get me a uniform. Gotta keep my wife’s attention on me.”

“You have her full attention, as you well know. Hot Cop is a hobby. You’re my whole life.”

“And you’re mine.” He kissed her again and let her go to tend to kids who were beginning to melt down. Over his shoulder, he said, “Meet me at bedtime for a little magic, okay?”

“I’ll be there.”

Hope Martinez found her husband, Paul, sitting on the front porch as snow flurries danced in the frigid air. She handed him the mug of hot chocolate she’d made for him with the little marshmallows he liked on top because they reminded him of his mother.

She zipped her coat and sat in the rocker next to him. “What’re you thinking about out here in the cold?”

“My mom loved this porch.” They now lived in the house his parents had called home for more than forty years. “It was her favorite spot, even when it was freezing.”

“I remember. It’s where I first met her.”

“That’s right. The porch was such a blessing to us during the worst of times. She was always happy out here.”

“It’s where I’ll always picture her when I think of her.”

He glanced over at her. “Thank you for your support through it all. I’m not sure I would’ve survived it without you, Ethan and Scarlett. Alex, Jenny and George, too.”

“I was thinking earlier how you two have built beautiful families for yourselves during the worst thing you’ve ever been through. That sorrow and joy have coexisted in this family for years now, and it’s the joy that’ll sustain us.”

His eyes filled as he nodded. “That’s a perfect summary of the last five years.

I’ll never forget having to make that call to Alex, asking him to come home because I couldn’t handle her care and the business on my own anymore.

He was so, so angry about having to give up his life in DC, and look at him now. ”

“Happy as a pig in shit.”

Paul grunted with laughter. “He’s even corrupted you.”

Alex’s colorful language was the stuff of legends.

“Not completely,” Hope said, “but I have picked up a few new expressions from him.”

“As has Ethan.”

They laughed together over how much their son adored his irreverent uncle.

“Maybe we need to keep the two of them separated,” Paul said.

“Good luck with that.”

“Thank you for the hot chocolate. It’s as good as my mom’s.”

“That’s high praise indeed. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Just having you right here with me is all I need. Is Scarlett napping?”

“She is.” Hope shivered as she raised the collar of her coat. “She went down about fifteen minutes ago, and Ethan is spending the night with Kyle and Jackson.”

“Let’s go make a fire and snuggle while we can.”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Paul smiled as he helped her up. “Your lips are blue, and we can’t have that. I need those lips nice and warm.”

Inside, he went straight to the hearth to strike the fire he’d laid the night before.

Hope kept her coat on until the fire was providing some much-needed extra heat. Then she took a call from Ethan. “Hey, how’s the sleepover?”

“Would it be okay if I came home?”

“Of course. Is everything all right?”

“I’m just really sad about Grandma Marion, and I’m sure Dad must be, too. I feel like I need to be with you guys.”

“We’ll be right over to get you, honey.”

“Seamus said he’d drive me home. He wanted me to make sure you were there.”

“We’re here. Tell him thanks for us.”

“I will. See you soon.”

“What’s up?” Paul asked when he sat with her on the sofa and pulled a down blanket over them.

“Seamus is bringing Ethan home. He’s sad about Grandma Marion and said, ‘Dad must be, too.’ He wants to be here with us.”

Tears filled his eyes. “What a sweet kid he is to think of me like that.”

Hope snuggled into his warm embrace. “He loves you so much.”

“Life is so strange. If my mom hadn’t had dementia, I’d never have met you or Ethan. I wouldn’t have the best wife, son and daughter anyone has ever had, not to mention a new baby on the way.”

“I’ll always believe your dad was looking out for all of you when he connected Alex with Jenny and me with you during the hardest time in your lives.”

“I wouldn’t put it past him. Taking care of his family was always his top priority.”

“Sounds like someone else I know.”

“I learned from the best.” After a long pause, he said, “Can I tell you something kind of weird?”

“You can tell me anything.”

“I didn’t expect to be this sad when she finally passed.”

“You’re sad for the mom you knew before her disease progressed, and probably a little extra sad now that both your parents are gone. I’ve heard that can be a difficult transition, even when your parents are very old. You lost both of yours far too soon.”

“That’s true. Thank you for understanding. Mixed in with the sadness is a lot of relief, for her and for us.”

“Which is totally normal, too.”

“Is it?”

“Yes, Paul, it’s normal to feel relief that a terrible ordeal has ended and that your mom is finally at peace—and reunited with your dad, which is all she ever wanted.”

“She missed him so much. Sometimes I wonder if losing him didn’t somehow cause the dementia, like her brain was protecting her from his absence or something like that.”

“I suppose that’s possible.”

“Now that I have you, I have a better understanding of what it was like for her to lose my dad. They were madly in love like we are.”

“Are we madly?”

“I am.”

She squeezed his arm. “So am I, and you know it.”

“And I’m thankful for that every day, but especially on days like today.”