Love After Dark (20 page)

“It’s okay. She’s a nice mom.”

“Yes, she is. You’re very lucky to have her, and you shouldn’t make faces when she asks for a kiss.”

“I didn’t do that.”

“Yes, you did. You always do. I think it hurts her feelings when you do that.”

“Oh. I didn’t know.”

“Well, now you do, so you can try harder.”

“I will.” After a brief pause, Ethan said, “She used to be sad a lot, but she’s better now. You won’t make her sad, will you?”

Once again, Paul felt sucker-punched by the earnest expression on the boy’s adorable little face. “I’ll try really hard not to.”

Ethan seemed to think about that for a minute before he nodded. “Do you like to watch football on TV?”

Paul’s head spun from the rapidly shifting conversation. “I do. I’m a big Patriots fan.”

“Me, too. Maybe we can watch football sometime.”

“Any time you want. Alex likes to watch, too.”

“Cool. Here comes the bus. See you later.” He took off like a shot, covering the last twenty feet of driveway.

Paul jogged after him to make sure he didn’t get too close to the road or the bus as it came to a stop.

When Ethan was safely on the bus, Paul watched him take a seat.

Ethan smiled and waved.

Paul returned the smile and the wave. What a cute kid he was. When he thought about what Ethan and Hope had been through with Ethan’s father, Paul felt enraged for both of them. As he walked back to the house, he replayed the conversation with Ethan. It touched him to know how concerned Ethan was about his mother.
 

Despite everything he’d been through, he was a good kid who didn’t seem damaged by the trauma of losing his father from his life so suddenly and dramatically. Most of the credit for that went to Hope, who’d probably sacrificed her own well-being to see to his. Knowing that made Paul want to make it up to her, to give her everything she’d been living without for so long now.

She was loading the dishwasher when he came back into the house. He took note of his mother’s occupation with the morning edition of the
Gansett Gazette
and went over to Hope.

“Everything okay with Ethan?”

“Yep, he’s on his way.” Before they could be interrupted, he said, “Where do you want to go this week?”

“Oh, I, um… I don’t know.”

“Anywhere you want as long as it’s drivable from Providence.”

She bit her lip as she thought about it. “There was this place we used to go with my grandparents on the Cape.”

“What’s the name of it?”

“It was called the Seaside Inn in Yarmouth. There was nothing fancy about it, but it’s right on the beach. My grandparents used to take my sister and me every year. I haven’t been there in ages. I don’t even know if it’s still there.”

“Sounds great. I’ll look into it.”

“You don’t have to… We don’t have to…”

“I know I don’t have to. I want to.” Paul squeezed her shoulder and went to sit with his mother for a few minutes before they had to leave.

Jenny and Alex appeared a few minutes later, looking sleepy and dopey and sex drunk.
 

“Coffee,” Jenny said, making a beeline for the coffeepot.

“I just made a fresh pot,” Hope said.

“God bless you, woman. I need all the fortification I can get today. It’s seating chart day.”

“Better you than me,” Hope said, shuddering. “I’ll never get married again.” The words were no sooner out of her mouth when she was wincing. “Sorry, that wasn’t very nice of me to say when you’re so excited about your wedding.”

“No worries,” Jenny said, stirring cream into her coffee. “I get it. I’ve planned two weddings now, so I know what you mean. It’s a lot.”

Paul felt like he’d been gut-punched yet again. She’d never get married again? Like
ever
? And Jenny didn’t know what Hope meant. She thought Hope was talking about the logistics of planning a wedding when Paul knew that Hope’s real opposition was to marriage itself. Great…
 

Just when he was beginning to feel optimistic that they were on the brink of starting something that could go the distance, she pulled the rug out from under him. He wanted to be married someday. He wanted a family and a white picket fence and a minivan and all the trappings. But apparently the woman he wanted didn’t share those dreams.

Before he could begin to process the fact that they had very different ideas about what the future might entail, Jenny’s phone rang, and she took a call from her friend Erin.

“Wait,” Jenny said, “what happened?” Pausing to listen, she said, “Oh my God! I’ll be right over to take you to the clinic. No, I’ll get someone to cover. Of course I’ll take you. I’ll be right there.”

“What happened?” Alex asked when she ended the call.

“Erin sprained her ankle last night, or at least she thinks it’s a sprain. She needs to get it looked at, so I’m going to take her to the clinic. I’ll figure out coverage at the store.”

“I hope she’s okay,” Alex said.

“Me, too.”

With a knock on the front door, Daisy arrived to stay with Marion while Hope went to the funeral.
 

As usual, Paul’s mother was thrilled to see her friend Daisy, whom she unfailingly called by name even as she confused her own sons. When Hope had fully briefed Daisy on everything she needed to know to care for Marion for a few hours, Paul followed her out of the house. He held the passenger-side door for her and waited for her to get settled before he closed the door and went around to the driver’s side.

He wanted to ask her if she’d meant what she’d said to Jenny, but what right did he have to dig into such issues when everything between them was so new? What had probably been a throwaway comment to her had rocked him profoundly. If she honestly felt that way, he’d be a fool to go all-in with her and Ethan, and he hated that they would have to have that conversation before things went any further.

“Everything okay?” she asked when they were on their way.

“Yeah, sure,” he said, deciding on the spot that today wasn’t the day for that conversation. Tomorrow would be soon enough, but today… Today he would keep his distance a little until he knew for sure that he wasn’t risking too much by allowing his feelings for her to flourish.
 

“I really appreciate you coming with me to this.”

“You shouldn’t have to go alone.”

“Still… It’s above and beyond. And very nice of you.”

He glanced over at her and found her watching him intently. “What’s the matter? Did I cut myself shaving or something?”

“Nothing’s the matter. You just look really good. Handsome, I mean.” She laughed. “I’ve clearly forgotten how to give a compliment.”

“No, you haven’t. And thank you. You’re rather stunning yourself.”

She surprised him when she reached across the center console and took hold of the hand that had been resting on his leg. “I couldn’t sleep after you left last night. I just kept thinking about how great you were when I told you about Carl. It’s not easy for me to talk about that, and you made it easy. Thanks for that.”

“I’m sorry you went through what you did, but I’m glad it brought you to us.” And he was glad of that, no matter what might happen—or not happen—between them.

“I’m glad, too.” She held his hand all the way to the church. When he helped her out of the car, she again took hold of his hand as they joined the stream of people heading into the island’s Catholic church. It seemed as if the entire island had come out to honor the young mother who’d died far too soon.
 

Every pew in the church was filled to capacity when the pallbearers, including Mac and Shane McCarthy, led the casket into the church, followed by Seamus and Carolina, each of them holding the hand of one of Lisa’s sons. The sight of those solemn little boys, dressed in tiny suits and ties, brought tears to Paul’s eyes.
 

By the time the four of them were seated in the front row of the church, there wasn’t a dry eye to be found. Lisa’s longtime friends spoke of her big heart, her love for her sons, her affection for her friends and the island they called home. They talked about how hard she worked to support her family. Everything that was said about Lisa came down to her two boys, who’d been the center of her world.
 

Hope held his hand through the entire service, even when tears ran down her cheeks unchecked.
 

Lisa was buried in the island’s cemetery, which boasted a spectacular view of the ocean. Her little sons sprinkled dirt over her casket in yet another heartbreaking moment.
 

Paul slid an arm around Hope’s waist, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. He was grateful that she felt comfortable enough to lean on him, because he wanted to be there for her. But in the back of his mind, her words from earlier echoed loudly, reminding him to proceed with caution.

Everyone was invited to Stephanie’s Bistro, where Lisa had been a waitress, for refreshments after the service concluded.
 

“We don’t have to go to the reception,” Hope said when they were in his truck. “I should relieve Daisy.”

“She said she had no plans for the day and to take all the time you needed.”

“You have to work.”

Though he had a million things he needed to do before he left the island for a few days, he’d never say so to her. “It’s fine. Let’s go for a little while anyway.”

They arrived to a crowd outside the Sand & Surf Hotel. The hotel’s owners, Owen and Laura Lawry, stood by the front doors, welcoming everyone who came in.
 

Paul shook hands with Owen. “Hell of a turnout.”

“Lisa was well loved around here.”

“Are we all set for Saturday night?” Paul asked.

“Yep. Evan and I are looking forward to it.”

Paul had tried to hire them to play at Alex’s party, but his friends had insisted on doing it for free. “It’ll be a good time. I’ll see you then.” With his hand on Hope’s lower back, he guided her through the lobby to Stephanie’s Bistro, which was located inside the charming old hotel that had been lovingly restored by Owen and Laura.
 

Mac and his wife, Maddie, were standing right inside the door when Paul and Hope entered the restaurant. Paul shook hands with Mac and kissed Maddie’s cheek. “You guys have met Hope Russell, right?”

“Yes, of course,” Maddie said, shaking hands with Hope. “Mallory tells us you and Katie were a great help to everyone who cared for Lisa.”

“We did what we could,” Hope said. “It’s such a sad thing.”

“How’re the boys holding up?” Paul asked Mac.

“They’re a bit shell-shocked, of course, but Seamus and Carolina are doing everything they can to get them through it.”

“If there’s anything I can do,” Paul said, “I hope you’ll let me know.”

“There is one thing,” Mac said. “We’re going to be doing an addition to Seamus and Caro’s house and could use all the help we can get to finish it as quickly as possible. I know you’ve got a lot on your plate, but we’ll take whatever you can give.”

“I’m in, and Alex will want to help, too.”

“Appreciate it,” Mac said.
 

Though the restaurant was packed to the gills with people, Stephanie’s staff circulated with trays of Bloody Marys and mimosas as well as delicious hot hors d’oeuvres.
 

Paul reached for a Bloody Mary and then took a second one for Hope.

“I shouldn’t drink when I’m working later,” she said.

“One won’t hurt anything. Boss’s orders.” As soon as he referred to himself as her boss, he regretted it. But she only smiled and accepted the drink from him. They circulated around the room, stopping to talk to a variety of people Paul had known most of his life.
 

While Hope talked with Mallory and Katie, Paul took a moment to chat with Big Mac McCarthy, who’d been his Boy Scout leader growing up and was now a fellow town councilman. Paul had always looked up to Mr. McCarthy, and respected him even more after serving on the council with him over the last couple of years.

“Heard you were off-island,” Paul said after he shook hands with Big Mac.

“I was. Took Linda to Boston for the weekend, but we both wanted to be back for the funeral. Terrible thing this is.” He glanced at the two boys, who were seated at a nearby table, eating mac ’n’ cheese and chicken tenders. Seamus and Carolina were seated on either side of them, watching over them.
 

“It’s awful.”

“Thank goodness for Seamus and Caro,” Big Mac said. “Those boys have no idea how lucky they are to have such amazing people stepping up for them.”

“They’ll figure it out in time.”

“Yes, they will.” Big Mac glanced at Paul. “Couldn’t help but notice you’re awfully cozy with that lovely nurse.”

Paul’s gaze landed on her as she talked with her friends. “She is lovely,” Paul said with a sigh. He’d woken up with high hopes for them that had been effectively dashed with one offhand comment.

“You sound troubled, son. Is everything all right?”