Blackout After Dark (Gansett Island #21) - Marie Force Page 0,77
would be welcome.
Dara leaned into her. “Thank you for listening. It helps to talk to someone who gets it. So many people have wanted to help us, but they don’t understand. It hasn’t happened to them.”
“Lewis was a lucky little boy to have you and Oliver for his parents. You should try to take the time here as a reset. Make some new friends who didn’t know you as his parents. You may find that helps.”
“It’s already helping.”
“I’m so glad you came to our island and that we had a power failure.”
Dara laughed even as she dealt with more tears. “Me, too.” She looked over at Linda. “Thank you for listening and talking about this. So many of the people in my life can’t handle their own grief over losing Lewis. They have no space available for mine.”
“I have all the space you need for as long as you need it.”
“That means so much to me. I didn’t expect to come here and make new friends.”
“When you’re ready, I have a lot of good friends and family who’ll be happy to meet you, to welcome you and Oliver into their circle, and to make you feel at home here.”
“I wouldn’t have thought I’d want to be welcomed into anyone’s circle, but after meeting you and your husband, that actually sounds rather lovely.”
“We’ll make that happen. You just say the word.”
“Thank you, Linda.”
Chapter 27
“Everyone, this is Oliver Watkins. He and his wife, Dara, are our new lighthouse keepers. Oliver, this is my buddy Ned, my brothers Frankie and Kev, my oldest son, Mac, and our business partner, Luke Harris.”
The guys greeted Oliver with handshakes and welcoming smiles.
“Let’s get the man a coffee and some of Linda’s famous doughnuts.” Big Mac was determined to show the younger man a good time and make him part of their morning gathering—if he wished to be, that was. “Cream and sugar?” he asked Oliver.
“Just cream is great. Thanks, Mac.”
“I’ll get them, Dad,” Mac said.
“Thanks, son.”
“You hafta call him Big Mac,” Ned said, “or it gets mighty confusin’ round here with this one.” He used his thumb to point at the younger Mac, who was now inside. “And he’s got a son named Mac, too. It’s a mess.”
Oliver laughed. “Gotcha.”
“The world needs more Mac McCarthys, not fewer,” Big Mac said.
“You keep tellin’ yerself that,” Ned said.
Mac returned with a tray containing coffees for himself and Oliver and a plate of doughnuts for the table. “Thank goodness for generators.”
The men dove into the doughnuts like wild seagulls.
“Get in there, Oliver,” Kevin said. “You can’t be shy in this group.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” He helped himself to one of the sugary confections, took a bite and moaned. “Holy hell, that’s good.”
“Right?” Big Mac said. “Linda gets all the credit for the doughnuts that are such a big part of this place. She started making them right after we were married, and before we knew it, people were coming back year after year for more of them. I swear they did more to make this place a hit than anything else.”
“Ya did yer share, too,” Ned said between bites.
“This place was a falling-down wreck when my little brother found it, had a big idea and made it a reality through sheer grit,” Frank said.
Oliver took in the bustling marina, full of boats and people and activity on the docks. “Quite an operation you’ve got here.”
“It’s a special place,” Kevin said. “This marina and this island. From the first time I ever visited my big brother here, I was eager to come back. The last time I came, I decided to stick around, and here we are.”
“The McCarthy brothers back together again,” Frank said, raising his coffee cup to Big Mac and Kevin. “Along with our adopted fourth,” he said of Ned.
“Do yourself a favor, Oliver,” Mac said, “and don’t listen to too much of what goes on with the four of them. You may find yourself in need of bail money if you do.”
“He’s fulla crap,” Ned said. “Stick with us. We’ll show ya a good time.”
“Are we still fishing this afternoon?” Frank asked.
“That’s the plan,” Big Mac said. “You’re welcome to come along, Oliver.”
“That’s very nice of you. Let me see what Dara wants to do today before I commit to anything.”
“Spoken like a wise man,” Kevin said.
“What brings you to our fair island?” Frank asked as he helped himself to a second doughnut.
“My wife and I were in need of a reset after we lost our