Authors: Marie Force
“The fog is too thick,” Luke said. “You can’t endanger yourself—”
“I don’t care about myself! I need to find my boys!”
“The coast guard is searching with high-tech equipment,” Blaine said. “They’ll find them.”
“I
need
to be out there,” Big Mac said to Luke, who held him back.
Blaine took his other arm and helped Luke escort the older man up the dock to the restaurant.
“My wife,” Big Mac said. “She went into town to get her hair done and something…else.”
“Can we call her?” Luke asked.
Stephanie, who was working behind the counter, looked up when they came in.
“We can’t do that to her over the phone,” Big Mac said.
Stephanie took one look at Big Mac’s ashen face and came around the counter to him. “What?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”
Luke settled Big Mac in a chair and turned to Stephanie. “There’s been an accident. The boat Grant and the others were on was hit by a freighter.”
“
Nooooooooo
.” Her primal scream brought everyone in the room to tears.
“We don’t know anything yet.” Luke refrained from sharing the one thing they did know. He gave her a tight hug. “You have to stay strong until we know more.”
“Grant,” she said with a whimper. “Please, no. Please.”
“Sit.” Luke held a chair for her. “I’ll get you something to drink.”
Big Mac held out his arms to Stephanie, and she launched into his embrace.
“This can’t be happening,” she said between sobs.
Big Mac held on tight to her while she cried her heart out.
“What’s going on?” another woman asked. Blaine recognized her as the one who was running the launch service. Kara…that was her name.
In a halting voice, Stephanie filled her in.
“Oh my God,” Kara said, sinking into a chair. “I was just with Dan. I saw him this morning. He was fine. He has to be fine, right?”
Stephanie reached out for Kara’s hand and squeezed.
“I’ve got to call Linc back with the names, and then I’ll go find Mrs. McCarthy in town,” Blaine said to Luke.
“I’ll be here with them,” Luke said.
“No matter what, don’t let him go out on the water,” Blaine said, glancing at Mr. McCarthy, who stared blankly over Stephanie’s shoulder.
“I won’t.”
“Blaine.”
The single word from Stephanie stopped him. “Someone needs to tell Grace and Maddie.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you.”
With a heavy heart, he walked out of the restaurant and headed for town.
Tiffany was still celebrating the excellent news from Dan when the bells on the door jingled, and Laura McCarthy came in, looking pale and wan.
“Laura! I heard the flu hit you, too.”
“It was awful, but I feel almost fine today. Almost, but not quite.”
“Me, too. I didn’t think I’d see you out and about today with the hotel opening tomorrow.”
“It’s Owen’s mom’s birthday, so I need to get her something while she’s out with Blaine.”
At the mention of his name, Tiffany was instantly curious. “Where did she go with Blaine?”
“Did you hear about what happened to Daisy?”
“Yes,” Tiffany said, shaking her head. “It’s so awful. Daisy is such a sweet girl.”
“Blaine thought Sarah might be able to help her, so he asked her to talk to Daisy.”
“Oh.” Tiffany had heard about Sarah’s dramatic exit from her violent marriage last fall. “What a great idea.”
“He’s always thinking, that one.” Laura held up a slinky nightgown and turned toward the mirror.
“I thought you were shopping for Sarah,” Tiffany teased.
“Well, I do have a wedding and honeymoon to prepare for.”
“You’ve come to the right place for that.” As she said the words, it occurred to her that it might be fun—and good for business—to host a lingerie shower for Laura. She made a note to discuss it with Maddie, who was one of Laura’s bridesmaids.
“I have
no
idea what to get Sarah.” Laura replaced the nightgown on the rack. “You have gorgeous things, but she might not be ready for sexy yet. She only just started seeing Charlie.”
“Stephanie’s stepfather?”
“Yep. He asked her to go to the opening of the restaurant with him, and I heard they snuck off afterward without a word to anyone.”
“Good for them. Can you think of two people who deserve to be happy more than they do?”
“Not really. Well, except for my poor brother. He deserves to be happy after what his ex-wife put him through.” Laura turned a calculating eye Tiffany’s way. “You just got divorced, too, right?”
“Um, yeah,” Tiffany said warily, sensing where this might be going.
“Are you seeing anyone?”
She still wasn’t sure how she was supposed to answer that question. Was she
seeing
Blaine? Mostly she was having incredible sex with him. “Sort of.”
Laura leaned in closer. “Do tell.”
“Ah, well, um… Blaine.”
Laura laughed and clapped her hands. “Oh, I love it! I can totally see you two together!”
“Is that right?”
“Definitely. He’s some kind of good looking.”
“You’d better not let your fiancé hear you talking like that.”
“Owen has no doubt that I am hopelessly in love with him, but that doesn’t mean I fail to notice a guy like Blaine.” She leaned in even closer, as if someone might hear them. “He’s got that whole strong, silent thing going on, doesn’t he?”
“He’s a little
too
silent sometimes.”
“What do you mean?”
“His idea of talking is ‘spread your legs.’”
Laura dissolved into laughter. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing. I guess.”
“It makes it difficult to get to know him.”
“Right.”
“Well, if it’s any consolation, a man who would think to pair up two abused women because they might be able to help each other clearly has a heart of gold.”
“That’s true.” Tiffany thought of the furniture and the bath and the night he’d comforted her after the confrontation with Jim. It occurred to her that with Blaine it was more about
actions
than words, and his actions said a lot about how much he cared for her.
“
What
do I get Sarah?” Laura asked, looking around the store with dismay.
“How about some scented bubble bath and candles?”
“Now that’s an idea. She works far too hard and needs to relax more.”
“Let me show you what I have.”
As Laura was leaving with her purchases, Francine came in, took a hesitant look around and then sought out Tiffany. “It looks wonderful, honey!”
Delighted her mother had finally come to see the store, Tiffany said, “Thank you.” She stepped forward to welcome her with a hug. “It’s nice to see you here.”
“I’ve been meaning to come in for days now. I don’t know where the time goes.”
“It’s okay. You’ve been helping out with Ashleigh.”
Francine laid a hand on Tiffany’s forehead. “Fever’s gone. Are you feeling better? You look better. Still a bit pale but better.”
“I feel a lot better—even better since Dan told off Jim and made the eviction thing go away.”
“Oh, thank heavens! That’s excellent news. No one deserves a comeuppance more than Jim Sturgil.”
“No kidding. Anyway, thanks for taking Ashleigh last night.”
“We had so much fun with her. She was raring to get back to camp this morning, so we dropped her off on our way into town.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you—and Ned.”
“We’re happy to help you. We love spending time with Ashleigh. She’s such a cute little girl and so polite.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“Are you going to show me around the store?”
“Do I have to?”
Francine laughed and gestured for Tiffany to lead the way. Tiffany had thought having Linda McCarthy in the store was nerve racking. That was nothing compared to leading her mother through the beads into the back room.
“Are those…” Francine leaned in for a closer look. “
Oh
. So
that’s
what has everyone in town all abuzz—no pun intended.”
Hearing that, Tiffany’s recently ravaged stomach started to hurt again. “What’ve you heard?”
“They were talking in the diner this morning about the town council meeting. Apparently, Royal Atkinson, one of the councilmen, is determined to shut you down.”
Tiffany was filled with nerves at that news. She’d thought Verna Upton had taken care of that for her. “I’ve heard that, but I have all the proper permits. The town clerk signed off on them.”
“Then you should be fine. Don’t let the haters get you down. My daughters aren’t quitters.”
“We learned that from you,” Tiffany said as she led her mother back to the store’s main room.
“Thank you, honey.”
Despite her new worries, Tiffany reached across the counter for her mother’s hand. “It’s so good to see you happy again, Mom.”
“I could say the same for you. That handsome policeman seems awfully taken with you.”
“He’s very… Nice.” When she thought of him, as she did so many times each day, her heart fluttered.
“He seems like a lovely young man.”
“He is.” Tiffany flipped a pen back and forth between her fingers.
“What’s the matter? Don’t you feel the same way he does?”
“I do, but… I just got divorced, and after everything with Jim—”
“Jim is a self-centered asshole. I’ve thought so since the first time you brought him home back in high school.”
Tiffany’s mouth hung open in shock. “Why didn’t you ever say so?”
“Would you have wanted to hear it?”
“Probably not.”
“You had stars in your eyes for that boy from the very beginning, but I never thought he was good enough for you.”
“Good enough for
me
?”
“You heard me right. Just because he went and got himself a fancy law degree—that you paid for, I might add—doesn’t make him smarter than you. It only makes him better educated, and don’t you forget that. If you let him ruin this second chance for you, then he
wins
, Tiffany. Do
not
let him win.”
Fascinated by this new insightful side of her mother, Tiffany pondered what she’d said. “You’ve changed.”
“Lord, I hope so,” Francine said with a laugh. “I had three long months in jail to think about my life and the changes I wanted to make when I came home.”
Seeing her mother locked up for passing bad checks on the island had been a low point in her life—and her sister’s.
“And then I saw Ned…” Francine’s entire demeanor softened when she spoke of her fiancé.
“I love how you found each other again all these years later.”
“He’s the best thing to happen to me in a very long time. Don’t be a fool with Blaine, Tiffany. He’s a good man, the kind of man you and Ashleigh deserve. Don’t be so jaded by what happened with Jim that you let fear drive you away from him. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am,” she said reflexively the way she had as a child.
The bells on the door jingled, and Tiffany looked up to make eye contact with her father as he came into the store. “Um, Mom…”
Francine turned and recoiled at the sight of her ex-husband. “What’re you doing here?”
Bobby Chester scowled. “I came to see my daughter, not that it’s any of your business.”
“It’s absolutely my business. I don’t know what you’re hoping to prove by forcing these girls to see you—”
“I’m not hoping to prove anything. I only want to know them. That’s it.”
“You had ample time to know them when they were children.” Francine stepped forward and smacked Bobby right across the face.
Before Tiffany could say a word, Bobby had her by the arm to keep her from hitting him again.
The bells jingled again as Ned walked in. “Ready to go, doll? I’ve got just enough time to run ya home before the next boat.” He stopped short when he saw Bobby gripping her arm. “Ya got one second to let her go, or I’ll drop ya on yer fat ass.”
Tiffany wasn’t sure what was more shocking, that her mother had actually hit her father or that Ned had threatened him.
Bobby released her and stepped back. “She hit me.”
“Good for her,” Ned said. “Someone shoulda smacked ya years ago, leaving yer wife and kids the way ya did. Now listen here. By now ya’ve seen Maddie, over the express wishes of all of us who love her. So yer gonna end this foolishness and give yer wife a divorce. Ya got me?”
“Who’re you to tell me what I’m gonna do?”
“I’m the man who loves Francine and her girls as if they’s my own, and I’ve had just about enough of yer happy horseshit.”