Blackout After Dark (Gansett Island #21) - Marie Force Page 0,47
don’t. Not done with you yet.
LOL, no worries. Summer needs me.
We do, too. I’m not sure what to make of her non-reaction.
Let her do this her way, son. Her relationship with him was very different from ours. You can’t compare the two. She blames him for what happened to her and Jordan as kids. He put them through hell. She’s not going to grieve for him the way you would for me. Follow her lead on this and don’t expect her to feel things she simply doesn’t.
Good advice as always, Doc. Thanks.
Free of charge, too!
HAHA
There’d been a time, not that long ago, when Riley would’ve resisted his father’s advice with every fiber of his being. He and Finn had always known that people paid for Kevin’s advice, but he and his brother hadn’t been interested in it for themselves. However, the older they got, the more they came to realize that Kevin’s advice was usually spot-on, and they were lucky to have him, in more ways than one.
You going to Charlie and Sarah’s? Kevin asked.
Heading there now, but stopping to see Jordan first.
See you there.
Nikki came down the stairs looking fresh and pretty in a dress that fell to midthigh, leaving her sexy legs on full display. She’d refreshed her makeup and brushed her long dark hair.
“You look beautiful, as always.”
“Thanks. You ready to go?”
“I’m with you, babe.”
They went out to his truck, and as they headed for Mason and Jordan’s house, Riley wondered if Jordan would be as blasé about their father’s death as Nikki was.
Nik adjusted the AC vents to cool herself. “I don’t want you to think I’m a jerk, Ri.”
“What? I don’t. Not at all.”
“I certainly didn’t want him to die, but when I tell you he’s nothing to us… I know that’s hard for you to understand. We haven’t had any contact with him in years.”
“I know, and I get that your upbringing was very different from mine.”
“It was a nightmare, mostly orchestrated by him because he used my mother’s illnesses against her, and we were the pawns in all that. He hired private investigators to track her doctor’s appointments and then used that info in court against her.”
“Damn.”
“He was relentless in the way he dragged her through the mud, when she was working so hard to get better so she could be there for us. Every time she seemed to be making progress, he’d do something else to undermine her. It went on for years that way, and it was never about us or what was best for us. It was about sticking it to her, because she stopped loving him or some other such bullshit. He doesn’t even know what happened to me in college with Griffin, because the minute we were legal adults, we walked away from his madness and never looked back.” She paused before she added, “The worst part about hearing he’s dead is having it drag up all this old shit I haven’t thought about in years.”
“I’m sorry, babe. I know those were tough times for you and Jordan.”
“It was the worst. Coming here every summer with my mother and grandmother was the only thing that saved us. It’s why I love it here so much.”
“I’m glad you get to live now in the place that meant so much to you then.”
“Me, too, but the only reason I’m still here is because of you.”
“You might’ve stayed. You love it here.”
“Nah, I wouldn’t have. I think about that a lot. When I came back last winter, it would’ve gotten very lonely very quickly if you hadn’t come over the minute you heard I was back.”
“I really did come the minute I heard. I was at the bar with my dad and Finn and some other friends, and something came on the TV about Jordan. Seamus O’Grady said he’d brought Jordan’s twin sister over earlier that day.”
“He was so nice to me. Everyone was getting sick on the ferry because the seas were so rough, and I wanted to be outside, but he said it wasn’t safe. He took me up to the wheelhouse so I could get some air and not be stuck inside with the smell of puke.”
“That sounds like him. As soon as he mentioned Jordan’s twin being back on the island, I slapped a twenty on the bar, asked my dad to borrow his car for the first time in years and drove so fast to your house that I fishtailed coming in the driveway.”