Time for Love , The McCarthys of Gansett Island, Book 9 (40 page)

“Coming right up.”

Frank turned away from the bar and noticed Betsy Jacobson coming down the stairs from the deck. Drink in hand, he went over to say hello to his brother’s houseguest, who he’d met the last time he was on the island. Her curly dark hair was contained today in a ponytail that made her look much younger than her forty-eight years. The dark circles under her eyes had faded, and she had a bit of a tan that gave her a healthy glow.

“Hi, Frank,” she said with a warm smile as she gave him a quick hug. “I heard you were back on the island.”

Although surprised by her spontaneous show of affection, he happily returned her embrace. “I promised Laura I’d stay at the Surf this time, but I was hoping to see you here.”

“I can’t believe the situation with Janey. I’m so sorry. Mac and Linda must be beside themselves.”

“I’m sure they are. I’d like to be with them, but the boys are all there, and the rest of us are resisting the temptation to overwhelm them with support.”

“They know you’re thinking of them.”

“I just wish we’d hear something.”

“I assume she’s in good hands.”

“The best possible hands. The doctor is her ex-fiancé. He won’t let anything happen to her if he can help it.”

“Oh, well… That’s a lucky break.”

“How’ve you been?”

“Better,” she said as they strolled together to the edge of Mac’s property, which overlooked the ocean in the distance where her son Steve had been killed in the sailboat accident. “Being here has helped, although I’m sure Mac and Linda are ready to be rid of me by now.”

“They’ve loved having you.”

“You know what they say about guests and fish, right?”

“What’s that?” he asked, amused by her lighthearted smile and the sparkle it brought to her dark eyes.

“They both start to stink after three days. I positively reek by now.”

Frank wasn’t sure what possessed him to lean in close enough to breathe in her alluring scent. “If that’s reek, I want to know where I can buy a bottle of it.”

Her deep and lusty laughter sparked a feeling in him he hadn’t experienced in years. Desire.
 

“I’m looking into getting a place out here for the summer.”

“You should talk to Ned. He owns half the island and can probably square you away with something.”

“Ned the cab driver?” she asked with eyes gone wide with surprise. “Big Mac’s friend Ned?”

“One and the same.”

“Well, I’ll be damned. Didn’t see that coming.”

“His secret identity as the island’s land baron is part of his mystique.” He glanced at her. “Can you keep a secret?”

“I sure can.”

“I’ve been talking to him about buying a place out here.”

“Really?”

Frank nodded. “I’m retiring in September, and since both my kids have ended up here, I’d like to be where they are, especially with two more grandkids on the way.”

“Good for you. That’s really exciting.”

“I’m looking forward to it. My work has been my life for too many years. It’s time for a little balance, and having both my kids here made it an easy decision.”

“Won’t you miss the city?”

“Nah. It’s got nothing on this place.”

“There’s something special about Gansett. I can see why you all love it so much.”

“I’m going to be back and forth a lot this summer. I’d like to see you or, um, take you to dinner or something.” God, it had been years since he asked a woman out, and apparently he was seriously out of practice if that clunky sentence was any indication.

“Or something?” she asked with a smile, poking gentle fun at him.

He liked it. He liked
her
. “Dinner. Let’s start with dinner.”

“I’d love that.”
 

*

The minute David finished closing and dressing Janey’s incision, the paramedics whisked her out of the room and ran for the chopper. David followed them, briefed the doctor onboard and then backed away as the helicopter took off with Joe, Janey and their newborn son onboard.

As it banked sharply and headed for a trauma center on the mainland, the surge of adrenaline he’d been running on drained from his system. He bent at the waist and propped his hands on his knees. He’d done all he could for her. It was in God’s hands now as well as the doctors who would care for her in Providence.

“David.” Big Mac McCarthy’s hand on his back snapped David out of his contemplation, and he stood to face Janey’s father.

Big Mac’s eyes took in the blood that was all over David’s scrubs, and swallowed hard. “Is she…”

“She should be fine. It’s going to be a tough recovery, but I was able to save her uterus.”

“And the baby?”

“I just don’t know, Mr. McCarthy. He’s only thirty-two weeks. I wish I could give you certainties, but we’re going to have to wait and see.”

“You gave them both a chance, and I’ll never have the words to properly thank you for what you’ve done twice now for my family.”

“I did my job. I did what I would’ve done for anyone on this island, but I’m happy I was here when Janey and her son needed me.”

“Thank you.”

David nodded.
 

Linda joined them and gave David a hug. “Thank you so much. No matter what happens, we’ll always be grateful for what you did.”

“I just hope it was enough.”

“Did you reach Carolina?” Big Mac asked his wife.

“I did. She’s stuck in bed with some deep wounds from her fall, so she won’t be able to go to the mainland for a couple of days. I promised we’d keep her posted.”

“Let’s go find Slim and get to Providence.”

Mr. and Mrs. McCarthy left, but their four sons waited to shake hands with David and thank him for his efforts on behalf of their sister. He saw them off and went inside, where Victoria and Mason were cleaning the procedure room.

“Thank you both for your help,” he said.

“You were amazing, David,” Victoria said. “Amazing. Any chance they have is thanks to you.”

“It was all of us. I couldn’t have done anything without you guys.”

“We helped,” Victoria said, “but you were the star. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks. I um, I need to…” David walked out of the room and went into his office, closing and locking the door behind him. The emotion-packed hour caught up to him, and he wanted to be alone when the tsunami overtook him. He sat on the sofa, head in his hands, and finally let in the overwhelming fear he’d kept at bay the entire time Janey had been open on the table.
 

“Janey… God…” When he allowed himself to think about how easily it all could’ve gone very wrong, he began to tremble violently. He’d been in way,
way
over his head performing surgery under those conditions and on Janey of all people. “Janey…” He sat back, fingers buried in his hair and tried to calm his racing heart.

For the first time since Joe screamed his name at Mac and Maddie’s house, David thought of Daisy and winced at the way he’d run from her side and never looked back. What was she thinking right about now? All at once, the only thing that mattered was getting to her. He stood and pulled off his bloody scrubs, changing back into the shorts and polo shirt he’d had on earlier.

Filled once again with adrenaline that zipped through his veins, he pulled opened the office door. “Victoria!”

Alarmed by his cry, she came out of the procedure room. “What’s wrong?”

“I need to borrow your car.”

She didn’t hesitate when she said, “Let me get my keys.”

David was coming out of his skin by the time she returned and handed the keys to him.

“Everything okay?”

“It will be,” he said, leaving her stunned when he kissed her cheek and hauled ass out of there.

Victoria’s old car started on third try, and David spun out of there as fast as he dared and drove directly to Daisy’s house in case she’d gone home while he was in surgery. He didn’t want to drive all the way to Mac’s house if she wasn’t there, and since he’d gotten separated from his phone at some point, he had no way to call her.
 

He pulled up to her house a few minutes later and was alarmed to find her door standing open. “What the hell?” The new door Mac had recently installed was in splinters and hung askew from the door frame. Running from the car, he went up the stairs and into the house, which had been trashed. The bouquet of lilies was scattered on the floor, the vase smashed to pieces. “Daisy!” The powerful aroma of the lilies filled his senses, and he screamed for her as he ran through the house, broken glass crunching under his feet. “Daisy!”

After establishing she wasn’t there, he ran down the stairs and out to the street, where several of the neighbors had gathered to find out what all the screaming was about.
 

“Someone call the cops,” he said as he got into the car. “Daisy’s house has been vandalized.”

“Where is she?” a woman asked.

“I’m going to find her.”

He drove faster than he ever had on the way to Mac’s, hoping and praying she was still there, that she hadn’t come home and been attacked again. Had Truck Henry been released from jail? Why hadn’t they been told? Maybe they had been told, he conceded, wondering where in the hell he’d left his cell phone. David had so many questions as he made the turn onto Sweet Meadow Farm Road. He brought the car to a skidding halt in Mac’s driveway and took the stairs to the deck two at a time, calling for Daisy as he went.

Everything stopped as he burst into the house, probably looking like a madman. “Where’s Daisy?”

She appeared at the top of the stairs, seeming baffled by his odd behavior.

Right then and there, at the sight of her beautiful face, safe and sound, David dropped off the cliff and landed in love. He ran for her, up the stairs, again two at a time, and took her into his arms. He kept going, seeking privacy for what he needed to tell her. Inside one of the bedrooms, he kicked the door shut behind him.

“What’s wrong? Is it Janey? Did she, she didn’t… David!”

He poured every bit of fear and love and desire he felt for her into a kiss he hoped she’d never forget. “I’m so sorry,” he said after several deep kisses that calmed his nerves and steeled his determination to make this sweet, beautiful woman a permanent part of his life. “I ran out of here without talking to you or saying anything. I’m so sorry, and then I went to your house, and… Is Truck out of jail?”

“What? What did you say?”

“Did Truck get released?”

“If he did, no one told me.” She drew her phone from the pocket of her shorts. “Oh my God! There’s a bunch of calls from Providence and several from the Gansett Police. I put my phone on silent while Hailey was napping. How did you know?”

“Your house, honey. Someone was there. The door was kicked in, and when I couldn’t find you… I thought… God, Daisy, I’m so glad you’re here and you’re okay. And I love you. I love you.”

She tipped her head as if she hadn’t heard him correctly. “You…”

“I love you. I’m in love with you. I have been for quite some time, but the second I couldn’t find you, I knew for sure that I had to tell you. Because if anything ever happened to you and you didn’t know that I love you…”

She put her arms around him and drew him into her warm embrace. “I’m fine. I’m right here, I’m fine and I love you, too. I heard you saved Janey and her baby. I’m so proud of you.”

His entire body shuddered as he exhaled. “I left you here like you mean nothing to me, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

“You did what you had to do in an emergency. I’ll always expect you to do what has to be done, no matter who the patient is.”

“I feel so lucky to have found you, to have somehow gotten you to fall in love with me.”

“Falling in love with you was the easy part,” she said with a smile that lit up her eyes. “Convincing myself it could actually last has been the hard part.”

“And how are you doing with that?”

“Better now.”

“Were you mad about the way I left earlier?”

“I wasn’t mad. I was…”

“A little hurt?”

“Maybe a little, but then I was immediately ashamed of myself in light of what Janey was going through—and what you were going through trying to save her.”

“I’m sorry, honey. I swear I’ll never do that again.”

She rested a finger over his lips. “Don’t make that promise. So many people are counting on you. Sometimes you’ll have to put them ahead of me, but as long as you promise to find me when you’re done the way you did today, we’ll be okay.”

As he kissed her again, a peaceful feeling came over him that was all new. Even at the best of times with Janey, he’d never felt the sense of rightness he experienced with Daisy. She calmed and soothed him. She knew the worst of him and loved him anyway.
 

“Let’s go find Blaine and figure out what’s up with your ex, and then I want to go home and sleep for a year—after I make love to you.”